All posts by NTrainers

8 Lessons Learned As A Personal Trainer

February 6, 2023

jamie botti personal trainer8 Things I’ve Learned In My 8 Years Of Training

By Jamie Botti, personal trainer

This past September marked my eighth year in the fitness industry, and recently, I’ve been reflecting back on the big lessons I’ve learned since I became a personal trainer.
I started my journey at a private training studio in Chelsea, called Titan Fitness Studios. At the time, I had just graduated from college, dropped out of a fellowship that I thought I wanted to be in (to become a high school science teacher), and decided to work at a restaurant as a waitress while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life.

One of the chefs at the restaurant I worked at saw that I would always come into work with this big gym bag and he also always heard me talking about how much I loved training, even though I was always sore. After some time, he told me he had a cousin who was a personal trainer, Sam, and he set us up to chat so I could pick his brain about training.

During my meeting with Sam, I got some great information about personal training as a career, educational resources and some tips on training myself. At the end of our meeting, Sam asked if I wanted to train with him, but as I mentioned, I was just out of college and waiting tables, so I wasn’t in the place to afford his services. Instead, Sam asked me to become his intern in exchange for personal training. And of course I took him up on his offer, and that’s really where it all began.

I started my journey folding towels, shadowing other trainers, and soaking in all the information I could. Since then, I’ve trained hundreds of people, worked in several gyms all over the city, got certified as a Yoga Instructor and a Health Coach, and have improved my relationship with my own body tremendously!
Here are 8 big lessons I’ve learned over the last 8 years of training both myself and my clients:

  1. Don’t compare yourself to anybody!

    Not your body, not your program, not your abilities, not your weights…none of it! STAY IN YOUR LANE. You have no idea what anybody else has gone through on their journey or what it took for them to get to where they’re at now. So keep your focus on you and how you can improve a little bit at a time, starting from where you’re at.

  2. Be patient and trust the process.

    There 1000% will be a process- nothing you want will happen overnight. Avoid looking for quick fixes or programs that promise you your dream body in 12 weeks. Train in a sustainable way and be consistent and your process will lead to your progress.

  3. Train to honor your body, not to punish yourself.

    Even when you feel like you’ve “fallen off’ or “been bad,” YOU NEVER NEED TO PUNISH YOUR BODY! EVER! We’ve all had those times when we feel like maybe we went overboard or overindulged a little too much. In those cases, as soon as you can, get back to regularly scheduled programming! Don’t add anything extra. Just focus on getting back to your sustainable routine as soon as possible and be kind to your body.

  4. Manage your lifestyle.

    There are so many factors that could be affecting your progress in your training. If you feel like you’re not progressing, consider what else is going on outside of the 3-10 hours you spend in the gym. Consider where you have room to improve in areas like nutrition, stress management, sleep, mindset and water intake. A big reason I became a health coach was because I wanted to help people with those other areas of life because that’s where we spend most of our time.

  5. Take notes.

    I can not stress this enough! It is so important to keep record of everything you do when you train. The more specific you get, the better! Keep track of your weights, your sets and reps, your RPE (rate of perceived exertion), how your form felt, and anything else that will help you track progress over time. Don’t rely on memory! The more you track, the more efficiently you can progress in your training.

  6. Know your why.

    From my experience, there generally is a deeper reason people want to hit aesthetic based goals, so if that is your driving factor, ask yourself why? I have been there, but I felt that wanting my body to look a certain way often made me feel stressed out and like I was under pressure. A few years ago when I decided to set performance-based goals, that really changed the game for my mindset. It has been really empowering to set goals to see what my body is capable of, and achieving those goals through hard work. Think less about how you want to look and more about how you want to feel!

  7. Challenge yourself appropriately .

    In all my classes, I always tell my students to pick weights that will feel challenging, maybe even uncomfortable, but to also tame their ego. It’s about finding that sweet spot between babying yourself and ego lifting. You’ll need weights that are challenging, but by no means do you need to be hitting max numbers or personal records every time you train. Keep in mind, there are so many other ways to progress aside from increasing your weights.

  8. Understand the difference between pain and discomfort.

    This one goes back to my last point. It’s okay to be uncomfortable, in fact, it’s beneficial to be a little uncomfortable at times. But, know the difference in your own body between discomfort and pain. Discomfort means proceed mindfully and with attention to detail. Pain might be telling you to back off a little (lower your weights, decrease range of motion, regress the movement, etc.).

My passion and love for training has only grown in the last eight years and I know that I am just scratching the surface of what there is to know in this field. I’m looking forward to many more years of being a student and learning from my own body and experiences.

What are some things you’ve learned in your own training journey?

Contact Jamie today!

@neighborhoodtrainer

6 reasons to workout

December 20, 2022

6 reasons to workout6 Obvious Reasons Why You Should Workout

If you poll 100 people and ask them if they feel and look their best all the time, it’s likely you would get a unanimous yes from voters.  If you asked them as a follow up, are they willing to workout to do it, most would still say yes, but you surely would get a few, unfortunate no’s.  A litany of excuses would follow.  Most of them would be easily refutable.  However, the excuses may still prevail.  Here are six reasons that could overcome those excuses

Better Mood

Who doesn’t want to be happier today than they were yesterday.  Exercise makes you feel better.  You’ll feel stronger.  Stand up taller.  You feel more positive and people take notice.  It may take a few sessions to start seeing results, but keep checking yourself in the mirror.  The results will come.

You Can Eat More

When you see people who look great, but also always seem to be eating making your wonder where they put it all, you can’t help it to feel a little envious.  During exercise, you burn more calories than if you were sedentary.  When you are done working out, you need to replenish and refuel the body.  Protein for your muscles.  You also need to rehydrate.  You can take in more calories because you are expending more calories.  That mean you might even find a little room for a cheat meal here and there.

Good For Your Health

Yes, exercise is excellent for achieving optimal health.  Going for your annual checkup, your doctor will be checking lots of data points.  Being at a healthy weight leads to a generally healthy BMI.  Exercise also promotes healthy skin and a healthy heart.  Lastly, your doctor will check your bloodwork and get back in touch with your numbers.  Working out will certainly help improve cholesterol and other levels.

Reduces Stress

Get rid of all of that nervous, pent up energy by throwing some weight around.  If something is bothering you, like a relationship or a work project, sitting still and doing nothing will lead you to getting antsy.  Shifting your focus and your energy to something productive will help you release the stress and turn that pent up energy for good.  You’ll take the stress off your heart and make it stronger in the process.

More Energy

Working out to get stronger does actually make you stronger.  Personal trainers will stake their entire professional careers on this idea.  You will have more energy to do more activities.  A boost of endorphins can send positive vibes through your whole body and mind.

Improves Sleep

Better workouts lead to better sleep which leads back to a better workout.  Sleep is so important for achieving the fitness results you desire.  Experts recommend 7-9 hours of sleep per night.  Try to go to sleep and wake up at consistent times.  Because exercise reduces stress, it allows you to get into bed with less on your mind.  And, whatever is on your mind, you’ll have an easier time sorting through it and coming up with ways to solve and accomplish the task at hand.

@neighborhoodtrainer

The Positive That Fitness Brings Us

December 5, 2022

fitness is moreFitness Is More Than Just Your Fitness Level

The stories of transformation are endless when it comes to people who have changed their lives dramatically simply by starting some type of fitness routine above and beyond what they were previously doing.  People who were overweight, lacked muscle tone or suffered a tragedy, have credited getting stronger and healthier for helping them overcome.  Fitness can make a difference.

Fitness is personal growth

By embarking on a fitness program, people learn about the human body and about themselves.

Fitness is mental health

Fitness helps you process the events of the day.  It’s a personal time to reflect while simultaneously focusing on your body.

Fitness is therapy

Pushing past physical strength boundaries, can also help you realize you have the fortitude to complete a tough work assignment or deal with a difficult person.

Fitness is transformation

One workout at a time, we can see our bodies changing.  A change that seeps into other aspects of our lives.

Fitness is accountability

Through exercise, we create a daily responsibility to take care of our body.

Fitness is confidence

Being stronger means feeling stronger, standing straighter, exuding confidence that people notice.

Fitness is strength

The more we lift, the stronger we get.  That strength seeps into our mindset, too.

Fitness is peace

Working out reduces stress and helps us enjoy a sense of order.  Our bodies have been exercised and our minds have had time to organize what we need to do, want to do and how we can get it done.  By working through these on our own time, we do not encounter the stress that would come if someone else thrust is up on us.

The benefits of fitness are clear.  Though, not everyone knows how to get started.  You can exercise at home or in a gym.  Enlist the services of a personal trainer to get started.  It’s the best way to begin with a sound plan.

Follow us on Instagram- @neighborhoodtrainer

Keto Diet Benefits

November 8, 2022

The Benefits of the Keto Diet

An excerpt from the book THE 10 BEST WAYS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR HEALTH!!  by Sara Vogeler, personal trainer

When you begin to follow keto, ketosis is the goal. But what is a ketone? What does it do? Understanding this information can help you become aware of how your low-carbohydrate diet will work with your body’s systems to lose weight and promote overall wellness.

Ketones are a type of chemical that your liver produces when it breaks down fats. The simplest ketone is acetone, with the formula CH₃CCH₃, which will make your breath smell fruity or sweet as you breathe it out.  Beta-hydroxybutyric acid (or BHB) – formed from acetoacetate–Acetoacetate (or AcAc) – is the first ketone created when the body begins to burn fatty reserves for energy. BHB and AcAc transport energy to other areas of the body from the liver.

When you consume fewer carbs, it lowers your blood sugar and insulin levels, which then increases your production of ketones. Ketosis occurs when the body begins to burn ketones as an alternative fuel source when there is a low carb intake.

You can add MCT oil which is derived from coconut oil, starting with 1/2 teaspoon and building up to 3-6 tbsp. Read The Coconut Oil and Low-Carb Solution by Dr. Mary T. Newport, M.D.

The Keto Diet offers many benefits: weight loss, increased energy, improved mood, neuroprotection, and fighting inflammatory diseases like diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s. Studies show that working toward ketosis helps to balance blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol. Sugar is thought to feed cancer, and accumulates on blood cells (glycosolation) which causes atherosclerosis, retinopathy (the leading cause of blindness), kidney disease, diabetes and brain diseases. Ketosis shifts the source of fuel from glucose to ketones, thereby reducing the inflammation which damages so many organs and tissues in our bodies. It even reduces the amount of seizures in children with epilepsy.

What you eat matters

The average American eats 17 times more sugar on a daily basis than they did 100 years ago. The typical Western diet includes many carbohydrates (bread, rice, grains, oatmeal, cereals, alcohol and more) and lots of glucose that is the body’s main source of energy. The keto diet involves cutting these starchy carbs (not vegetables which are carbs), increasing proteins, and eating saturated fats (specifically, coconut oil) in order to retrain the body to run on fatty acids.

Weight loss is only one piece to the puzzle—physical activity, sleep, stress management, feeling connected to others, medical issues, and hormones contribute to your overall health and wellness. If you are pregnant or nursing, have diabetes, have a thyroid disorder, are underweight or have nutrient deficiencies, experience kidney stones or kidney disease, or if you have an enzyme defect, discuss whether you should follow Keto with your doctor.

But it’s better to stop eating sugar, cold turkey. Once you cut the carbs, it’s easier to avoid them. Write down your goals to stop now, then buy lots of green leafy vegetables, fresh pasture-raised meats, wild caught fish, and organic chicken. Eat good foods and throw away the bad! Don’t even bring them in the house!

Join the “Black Friday 7-D Keto Challenge” (see https://www.TheNeuroMuscularCenter.com) and learn how to monitor your blood sugar, your ketones, fight inflammation, follow intermittent fasting,  and feel supported in the group!

Chest Exercises With Dumbbells

October 7, 2022

Dumbbell Chest Exercises: Various Types of these Exercises 

Dumbbell chest exercises have proven effective in building strong chest muscles. Unlike other weight-lifting equipment, they give you a maximum range of exercises and activities. Because of the versatility and flexibility of dumbbells, one can easily change the direction around and even engage in different exercises. Dumbbells are indeed suitable for dynamic movement. They can easily use in small places. When someone has dynamic motion, it shows that various positions can be taken without the danger of accidents. 

incline dumbbell chest pressDumbbells can serve as a good fellow if you are just starting as a bodybuilder and want to make your chest the best. With just a little instruction manual, you can engage yourself in your favorite exercises suitable to your body. If a lift goes wrong, it is easy to carry up and drop a dumbbell. It is the first part of your body that other people see when they first spot you. Because a gorgeous body has a positive impact on others.

Therefore, building up a significant and robust chest is likely one of the top goals of your training plan. In addition, if someone wants a balanced and robust physique, he cannot skip the chest. Therefore, dumbbell exercises can help you get your chest muscles firm and beautiful. 

Different types of Dumbbell Chest Exercises

There are different kinds of dumbbell chest exercises. Some of them below will help you strengthen your chest muscles.

Dumbbell Floor Press

It is one of the best exercises for your chest muscles and is effortless. In which you simply lay on the floor instead of an exercise bench. And you can do it at your home as well. You can do dumbbell floor presses in both arms or one arm at a time, as preferred. Your movement reach will be shorter, but this may be advantageous as this exercise is much more shoulder-friendly. 

Dumbbell Stability Ball Press

A stability ball is also a great lightweight alternative to an exercise bench. In this exercise, the curved surface means your shoulders are free to move naturally, which may assist you in taking some stress off a contorted joint. It will increase shoulder stabilization and core muscle activation. It is also straightforward to perform.

You just sit on your stability ball with a dumbbell in both hands. It would be best if you kept your arms bent, walked your feet forward, and leaned your back. Position the ball behind your head and upper back. Press the weights to arm’s length over your chest, slowly lower them, and repeat. You can do it as per your body’s needs.

Dumbbell Floor Fly 

This is another good exercise for your chest muscles. Dumbbell fly exercises on the floor will trim your range of movement. On the other hand, it will help you to eliminate momentum, and you will have to work a bit harder to lift the weights. It would be best to lay on the floor, your legs bent and your feet flat. You should press and hold your dumbbells up properly and palms facing inward. Open your arms and lower the weights until your upper arms touch the floor. 

Dumbbell Stability Ball Fly

The dumbbell stability ball fly is a great chest isolation exercise. Using a ball means the range of motion is slightly greater than floor flys. This may increase muscle activation. Just like the stability ball press exercise, you should sit on your stability ball with a dumbbell in each hand. 

chest press on ball

You have to keep your abs and pull your shoulders down. And move your arms bent down, walk your feet a bit forward, and at the same time, lean your back. 

Spot the ball behind your upper back and head. Stay your legs and central core to calm down your lower body. Moreover, you should weights up to arm’s length with your palms facing inward. Wide your arms and lower the body weights out and down until the weights are slightly below the level of your shoulders. Without bouncing, squeeze the dumbbells back up and together. 

Incline Bench Press 

At first, lie down on your back on an inclined bench and hold a set of dumbbells in your hand at chest level along your body, must sure your palms are facing each other. Raise the dumbbells straight up until your elbows are close to being locked and down them back gradually after a short gap. You must take a breather out when raising the dumbbells and breathe in when lowering them back. This is the way you can achieve good results.

Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

This exercise smashes your chest like any other bench variation. But what makes it primarily distinct is that the other side of your body, such as your core, has to lock down, so the dumbbell does not pull you off the bench. If you want to do this exercise, you should lie with your back flat on a bench and hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Hold the dumbbell straight over your chest until your arm is straight. Then it would help if you slowed down the dumbbell to the right side of your chest. Pause, then press it back up. In addition, you can do reps on your right side. Hereafter, repeat on your left.

Conclusion

Using dumbbells for chest exercises allows a great range of motion, gives your chest tremendous strength and look, and places less stress on your joints. Different exercises are available, which people can do according to their body’s requirements. You can take help from Google and other online resources to learn about chest-related exercises. 

Why You Should Workout

September 19, 2022

why you should workout4 Big Reasons to Exercise

Anyone who enjoys working out has there own individual set of reasons.  There may be some overlap of reasons and goals when discussing and comparing them with others, but each person has a unique combination of reasons as to why they exercise.  However  what you get out of working out, generally has the same main benefits for everyone.   People who exercise enjoy the benefits of being more productive, happier, sleeping better, and longer life.

Be More Productive

When you exercise, you increase your heart rate.  Your blood flows carry more oxygen to every part of your body, including your brain.  This helps you improve your focus, sharpens your instincts and increases your energy.  All of this amounts to someone who wants to do more with their time.  Whether that means getting more errands done one day, or to start tackling a long anticipated project the next.  When that blood starts flowing you’ll be looking for more things to do.  Ask anyone who exercises and they will tell you they get more done.  

The Happiness Factor

People who exercise, have more energy and get more things done are generally happier.   Additionally, exercise makes you feel and look better.  When you combine all of that, what’s not to be happy about? Your clothes fit better, you project happiness through a smile, your posture, your conversation.  It rubs off on others.  People want to be around you.   Especially personal trainers 💪.   They love working with personal training clients who have a positive attitude. 

Better Sleep

Is there anyone who couldn’t use more sleep?  Exercise is definitely one way to improve your sleep.  Studies show that as little as 30 minutes of exercise daily can help improve sleep immediately.  Exercise helps raise our core body temperature.  Which, by contrast, hours after exercising when your core body temperature falls, this starts to signal to the body that it is time to sleep, inducing a bit of sleepiness.  For those who enjoy evening workouts, this is welcome news.

Live Longer

And prosper.  Yes, why not live longer and enjoy a better quality of life?  Those who enjoy regular exercise are more likely to maintain a healthy weight and perform better during annual medical examinations.  Everything you do comes down to this general principle.  Live well, love long.  Live poorly, live less.

@neighborhoodtrainer

Why Lower Body Fat is Better

September 5, 2022

benefits of lower body fatBenefits of Lowering Your Body Fat

Joint Health

Simply put, more body fat usually translates to a person being a heavier weight than they should be. Thus, this extra weight puts more stress on your joints with every step you take.  Additionally, fatty foods promote inflammation. That’s not good.  Reducing intake of fatty, sugary foods can help reduce inflammation. 

Clearer Skin

Having clearer skin isn’t just about surviving your teenage years.  Eating poorly is a major contributing factor.  We’ve all seen adults with bad skin.  If you look below the neck, you’ll notice that many of them are overweight.  Eating greasy, fried, higher fat content foods can lead to unhealthy looking skin.  All the fat and oils have to go somewhere and have to be expelled as well.  It’s going to try and find a way out anywhere it can.

Heart Health

In simple terms, fat clogs up your veins and arteries making it more difficult for your blood to flow more freely. Your heart has to work harder to keep your blood flowing and getting oxygen and nutrients where it needs to go.  Cutting down on your fat intake and lowering your body fat percentage will take stress off of your heart.  It will also increase your energy levels.  Your doctor will enjoy quantifying the results of your next blood test.  When you work with a personal trainer, they will do a fitness assessment at the start and will check your heart rate.

More Aesthetic Look

The human body has a very distinct shape when lean.  Our skeletal system provides for a shapely design with which our muscles, skin, etc are layered upon.  Ideally, our upper bodies have somewhat of a “V” shape from our shoulders to our waists. A well defined physique will show off muscle mass and have a low body fat percentage.  This tends to be a more preferred appearance for most people.  

Better Mood and Confidence 

There is obviously a vanity play when it comes to having a more aesthetic look.  If people perceive you in a more positive manner, you will feel more confident and be in a better mood.  People like to be around other positive people. It is uplifting for the group. Plus, you get more done, want to do more and continue to ;enter yourself. 

Lower Risk of Disease

As mentioned before, by lowering your body fat percentage, you reduce stress on your heart, joints, and improve your skin.  All of this helps to reduce your risk of disease.  Heart disease can lead to a multitude of diseases.  Joint diseases can lead to a lot of pain and discomfort, as well as limit your ability to participate in some activities when issues flare up.  Reducing your body fat can provide relief and help you avoid many of the most commons issues overweight people develop.

@dualbellstrong

Signs That You Are Overtraining

September 2, 2022

overtraining signalsSix Signals to Watch For

For those people that enjoy exercise, physically, there is a fine line between training the right amount and training too much.  Those who train too much, experience what is known as overtraining.  When you are in the zone of constant training it is hard to know if you are experiencing overtraining.  Here are six ways to know if you are overtraining.

Not Eating Enough

You might be having your regular meals and regular meal breaks, but you aren’t having enough to eat.  It may be that your meals are not substantial enough.  They lack the calories and nutrients to make up for what you are expelling through training and daily activity.

Soreness, Strain and Pain

If you are constantly walking around sore from your last training session, your body is sending you a message that it needs a rest day.  Muscles need time to repair.  Take a day or two off.  Don’t train the same way or the same body parts everyday.

Constant Fatigue

If you are finding that you are tired throughout the day, despite having had a restful night sleep, your body is telling you that you are overtraining.  You may also be having trouble sleeping, because your body, despite being tired, is experiencing restlessness.

Decreased Performance

Overtraining leads to the exact opposite of your desired goal.  When the body is lacking proper nourishment and rest, but is being push to its maximum activity level, you will see a decrease in your performance.  A body that is not properly hydrated, fed and rested, begins to feed upon itself.  The body will take nutrients from the muscles to be able to feed itself.  

Reduced Appetite

Different from not eating enough, overtrainers may find themselves with a reduced appetite.  Skipping meals is never a good idea.  Missed meals can lead to energy swings and mood swings.  Your body will also be missing out on nutrients needed to fuel your muscles and help with recovery.  Those missed meals end up taking you further down the overtraining rabbit hole by exacerbating problems associated with nutrition and sleep.

Loss of Motivation

Burnout is another feeling you want to avoid.  Why go through all the training, spend all the time going to the gym only to fall short of your goal.  As with many things, pace yourself.  The best thing any athlete or fitness enthusiast can do is to create a fitness plan to follow.  If you need help designing one, consider hiring the services of a personal trainer. 

more fitness tips

3 Easy Ways To Boost Your Energy

September 1, 2022

3 ways to increase your eneergySimple Ways to Increase Your Energy 

Exercise Regularly 

Thirty minutes per day. That’s all it could take to give you a little more pep in your step.  And speaking of steps, why not try a brisk walk.  Of course. You may want to do something more rigorous such a weight lifting or running, or a more structured modaity such as yoga or Pilates.   Or something more communal like a group fitness HIIT class.  Whatever you decide to do, choose an activity you’ll enjoy and be consistent.  If you want personal attention, consider employing the services of a personal trainer. 

Eat Well 

There are lots of crazy diets out there.  But, before jumping off the deep end, take the steps into the shallow end.  Look for the basic building blocks of a healthy diet.  Plenty of fruits and vegetables and lean proteins.  Limit your intake of sugar, fats and oils. You have to start there before you can know what you need to change.  When those basics principles aren’t enough to help you see the results you want, nutritionists are the stars you’ll want to speak with to shine a light on building your best nutrition plan. 

Improve Your Sleep

So many things can prevent us from falling asleep these days.  It used to just be, and for many still is, the television. Now, we are distracted by phones and all that they do to compel us to spend more time looking at them.  Avoid your phone in the last couple of hours before bed.  The screen’s blue light is harmful. Let your mind process the day and get into a restful state. 

Work toward a consistent bedtime.  Avoid eating late.  The combination of daily exercise, a well balanced diet, along with a bedtime routine that leads to a consistent bedtime will help you sleep better, so you wake up full of energy for the next day.  Health coaches are great when you need help with multiple life factors.

What Not To Do

Unfortunately, when you don’t exercise, eat, or sleep well you reduce your bad habit defenses.  This opens you up to preventable mistakes.  The big three to avoid are energy drinks, sugary snacks and drugs.  These will give you a short burst of energy, but after a short time will send you crashing down hard.  Not to mention the addiction that can come to along with taking drugs. 

Sugar also has addictive properties and has been well documented to cause the brain to react in a similar way to which it reacts to illicit drugs. The number of people that have removed sugar from their diets in recent years is steadily growing.  Do your best to reduce sugar where you can and learn to rely on exercising, proper nutrition, and sleep for longer sustained energy.

@neighborhoodtrainer

Treating An Injury

August 3, 2022

MOVE-ing, not RICE-ing

An excerpt from the book THE 10 BEST WAYS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR HEALTH!!  by Sara Vogeler, personal trainer

MOVE, not RICE!  Unless you have suffered a fracture, the best advice if you are injured is to MOVE, not REST.  The old adage was to rest, ice, compress, and elevate, but the new advice is to “MOVE: Move your body, find Options for cross training, Vary rehab with strength rehab and agility drills, and Ease back to activity early for emotional well-being according to doctor Jennifer Robinson in her article: https://thischangedmypractice.com/move-an-injury-not-rice/

It’s better to activate the tissue and maybe keep it warm instead of icing so the cellular cleanup process isn’t inhibited by reduced blood flow from the cold ice. Gently moving your body creates more blood flow, exchange of oxygen for waste products, and prevents stiffening and adhesions take a shower or a bath with Epsom Salts, or even bubble bath to de-stress you and help you detoxify. Put on your favorite music, or listen to a podcast that engrosses you and takes your mind off your pain, if possible.

Enzymes to reduce inflammation

Natural oral alternatives to pain medications include enzymes ,such as bromelain derived from pineapples, that have shown promise in breaking down inflammation, reducing thrombotic and fibrinolytic effects fighting cancer activity and modulating the immune effects. They facilitate wound healing and improve circulation.