What Is It: BoxUnion — Charlotte McKinney’s favorite boxing studio — combines shadow boxing and heavy bag drills with cardio, core work and plyometric intervals to “sculpt, lean and champion a fit physique in a thoughtful, motivational environment.”
Who Tried It: Gabrielle Olya, PEOPLE writer and reporter
Level of Difficulty: 7 (on a scale of 1 to 10). I took the “Box U” class which is catered to beginners, so it’s easy to follow along and they offer plenty of modifications for every move so you can do a workout that’s appropriate for your fitness level. While I was able to do all the moves the class required, that doesn’t mean it was easy! I guarantee you will break a serious sweat during the 45-minute class.
The class started off with shadow boxing drills to make us more comfortable with the different punches (while also working our core and arms to do the moves). Then the boxing gloves went on, and we spent the remainder of class doing a mix of boxing intervals with the bag and floor intervals that included squatting, jumping, running in place and ab work.
While the class was physically exhausting (I was drenched in sweat about 10 minutes in!) the upbeat playlist and encouraging trainer helped me get through the whole class without stopping. I definitely felt challenged, but I was able to get so mentally lost doing the moves that I was honestly surprised when the class was over!
“It’s a really cool moving mind-body meditation,” Marxel Leobez, who trains the Baywatchstar, tells PEOPLE. “You’re in constant movement so you can kind of let go.”
And it’s also a really effective calorie-burning workout.
“The sequencing we use in BoxUnion is like HIIT training,” says Leobez. “You’re getting your heart rate elevated and bringing it down, so you’re boosting your metabolism to burn fat and sculpt muscle at the same time. It’s a high caloric burn.”
In addition to scorching calories, the boxing moves work muscles throughout the entire body.
“By using the rotations, you’re using every spacial plane,” explains Leobez. “You’re working your glutes, you’re working your core, especially, to keep the balance, and especially the transverse abdominus which pulls the abs in tight. It’s a lot of core work, and on top of that it works out your arms. It’s a full-body exercise.”
The Verdict: I left BoxUnion feeling sweaty and sore, but also really energized for the rest of the day. Not only did I feel like I got a great workout, but punching a bag was also an amazing stress reliever. I would definitely go back to sweat out a bad day (or start off a good one)!
Ask kids what their favorite part of the school day is and most will say lunch and recess. But the timing of these events matters when it comes to what children eat and how much physical activity they get, researchers report.
The new findings could help schools develop policies to promote healthy eating and exercise habits for kids, the study authors said.
“Overall, our findings suggest that recess and lunch behaviors are interrelated. However, the specific food choices and activity levels children engage in may be subject to the timing and duration of lunch and recess,” researcher Gabriella McLoughlin said in an American Society for Nutrition news release.
Nutritional Intake and Physical Activity for Kids
McLoughlin, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, is scheduled to present the research Sunday at the society’s annual meeting in Chicago.
For the study, researchers analyzed what 151 fourth- and fifth-graders at two schools ate for lunch and their physical activity. All ate lunch right before or right after recess. Most research has focused on nutritional intake or physical activity during recess. Study leader Naiman Khan called this the first “to objectively measure food intake at lunch in conjunction with physical activity, and consider the influence of duration and timing.”
Khan is an assistant professor of kinesiology and community health at the university. The researchers discovered that students who had recess before eating lunch wasted less food. But kids who had lunch before recess ate more vegetables.
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends recess before lunch to help curb food waste, researchers say this schedule and how much time kids have to eat and play could have unwanted effects on what they eat and how much exercise they get. The study found that kids who had more time for lunch and recess and who ate before they played were more active. The opposite was true for boys and girls who had less time for lunch and recess. These students were more active if they had recess before they ate.
“We plan to communicate our findings to school teachers, administrators and policymakers to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based policies that support children’s ability to meet their daily physical activity and nutritional recommendations,” Khan said.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Additional Topics: Whole Body Wellness
Maintaining overall health and wellness through a balanced nutrition, regular physical activity and proper sleep is essential for your whole body�s well-being. While these are some of the most important contributing factors for staying healthy, seeking care and preventing injuries or the development of conditions through natural alternatives can also guarantee overall health and wellness. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective treatment option utilized by many individuals to ensure whole body wellness.
PUSH-as-Rx � Fitness & Athletic Training is re-writing the status quo of fitness all together.
PUSH-as-Rx �� is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.� The PUSH-as-Rx � System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through detailed and continued assessments of the athletes in motion and under stress loads offer a clear scientific picture of body dynamics. This system also has helped many athletes come back from injury faster, stronger, and ready to safely return to their sport without losing a beat after recovery. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time and advantageous postural-torque mechanics.� PUSH-as-Rx � offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.
Please Recommend Us: If you have enjoyed this video and/or we have helped you in any way please feel free to recommend us. Thank You.
PUSH Fitness & Athletic Training is pushing the barriers of average gyms. Not only do we offer training sessions on the hour every hour but we also cater to the most athletic to the elderly and obesity of populations. We are a no contract gym because we believe in you making the commitment to change your lifestyle and not forcing you to.
By blending CrossFit and Personal Training, we are able to tailor make workouts that are very specific and individualized to each member no matter where they are physically. Ultimately PUSH�ing them to feel and look their absolute best.
We don�t stop there. PUSH also offers strength and conditioning programs, which improves the athletic ability of kids and teams of any sport at any age.
PUSH-as-Rx �� is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.� The PUSH-as-Rx �� System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through detailed and continued assessments of the athletes in motion and under stress loads offer a clear scientific picture of body dynamics. This system also has helped many athletes come back from injury faster, stronger, and ready to safely return to their sport without losing a beat after recovery. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time and advantageous postural-torque mechanics.� PUSH-as-Rx �� offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.
Please Recommend Us: If you have enjoyed this video and/or we have helped you in any way please feel free to recommend us. Thank You.
Pablo Mena and his son came to Push-as-Rx �� with a great purpose, to gain strength and physical condition. After receiving care for a back injury, Pablo Mena was recommended to begin exercising at Push as Rx. That’s when Mena’s son joined in his workouts to continue supporting him and together with the help and patience of the trainers at Push, they were encouraged to finish their workouts.
PUSH-as-Rx �� is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.� The PUSH-as-Rx �� System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through detailed and continued assessments of the athletes in motion and under stress loads offer a clear scientific picture of body dynamics. This system also has helped many athletes come back from injury faster, stronger, and ready to safely return to their sport without losing a beat after recovery. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time and advantageous postural-torque mechanics.� PUSH-as-Rx �� offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.
Please Recommend Us: If you have enjoyed this video and/or we have helped you in any way please feel free to recommend us. Thank You.
The exercises you do before your workout may matter just as much as the main event. That’s why we tapped David Reavy, founder of React Physical Therapy in Chicago, to show us the best exercises to become a better runner. According to Reavy, getting the body warmed up pre-run is key, since “your muscles aren’t elastic.” By easing into exercise, you reduce your likelihood of injury and prime your body for the activity head. The four exercises in the video above will prep your muscles so you have a better (and safer!) run.
Watch the clip above to see Reavy demo the key exercises every runner should be doing regularly, or read up on the important moves below.
Hip flexor release: Start with your stomach on the mat, using your elbows and forearms to prop the upper body up so your chest is lifted off the floor. Bend your right leg at a 90-degree angle at your side and extend your left leg long on the floor behind you. Bend the left leg at the knee, bringing the foot toward the glutes 30 times. Switch the positioning of the legs and repeat the movement 30 times on the opposite side.
Lateral quad release: Start with your stomach on the mat and use your elbows and forearms to prop the upper body up, so your chest is lifted off the floor. Place a foam roller underneath the left quad with the right leg bent at a 90-degree angle to the right side of your body on the floor. Bend the left leg at the knee, driving the foot from the floor toward the glutes 30 times. Switch the positioning of the legs and foam roller and repeat the movement 30 times on the opposite side.
Four-way lunges: Start in a lunge position with your left leg in front. First, continuously move your hands from chest-height toward the mat, moving your torso back and forth slightly with the movement. Return to a regular lunge. Next, continuously twist your torso from left to right. Return to a regular lunge. After that, raise your hands up, bending the elbows at 90-degree angles on each side. Continuously lower each elbow toward your waistline one at a time to stretch your side body on the left and right. Return to a regular lunge. Do 10 to 15 reps of a standard lunge. Repeat all four exercises in a lunge on the other side, with the right leg in front.
Inner thigh squat: From standing, complete 10 to 15 deep squats with the toes turned slightly out to target the inner thighs.
When celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser calls and invites you to do a 5-day intensive workshop with her that mimics the exact workout she does on her famous clients, you don�t say no. At least�I�don�t say no. Because Kaiser, founder of�AKT In Motion, is one of the most motivating, positive, brilliant minds in the fitness industry. And she kicks major ass. This worked out perfectly since I was in the mood for a major ass-kicking.
So I said a resounding YES and shortly after found myself waiting patiently inside her Nomad studio one Monday morning a few weeks ago for day�numero uno�of the aforementioned workshop. On the agenda: 5 days of intensive classes, all led by Kaiser, that would give me a taste of the full scope of the concept behind her workout. (Her method, by the way, is an exercise routine rooted in functional movement combining circuit training with HIIT, strength, toning, dance cardio, Pilates, and yoga.) Oh, and PS,�Kelly Ripa,�Karlie Kloss,�Shakira, and other beautiful bods in Hollywood all call her on the reg to whip them into shape.
Day 1:�Happy Hour, her signature dance cardio class (below). We start with a warm up before we start rocking out to a beast of a playlist that gets us through an hour + of sweat drenching cardio. Anna (who by the way just had a baby), is working harder than any other person in the room, as revealed by all of our heart rate monitors that are displayed on a screen at the front of the studio. Her energy is palpable, and I leave the class feeling incredibly inspired and excited for the week of classes ahead of me.
Day 2:�I leap out of bed in the morning without hesitation (this is rare. Unheard of, actually) and make my way to the studio for Sweat Dream, a cardio-strength combo class using resistance bands hung from the ceiling. This class is no joke. By the end of the hour I can barely move my arms. But just like yesterday, Anna�s energy gets me through it, no problemo.
Day 3:�I wake up this morning extremely sore, as anticipated. But I feel great. Today�s class is called Tone, which consists of 45 minutes of total body toning followed by 15 minutes of foam rolling and deep stretching. This is actually the perfect day for this class because I am in desperate need of stretching. I am 10 minutes late which puts me in a state of panic the whole subway ride uptown, but I finally make it. Bonus: My heart rate is already through the roof and I�m sweating, and I haven�t even started the workout. The first 45 minutes are a challenge (think Pilates and barre-inspired strength moves) but it�s the cool down that really throws me over the edge. Yes, the cool down. We work our fatigued muscles out on the torture device known as the foam roller and suddenly I�ve never been so desperate to get back to toning. It hurts. BAD. The best kind of pain that is so brutal yet you know is doing your body so much good. By the time 15 minutes has ended I feel like I just had a 90-minute massage. I leave class and head immediately to Paragon Sports to pick up a foam roller for my apartment. I�ve used it every day, ever since. It�s changed my life.
Day 4:�Due to the aforementioned foam rolling, I feel pretty good. I am sore from head to toe but oddly also feel refreshed and renewed. I head to day 4 of class, known as 4Play. (4 exercises x 4 circuits, done through a combination of HIIT intervals and functional strength training, using weights, bands, balls, and anything else you can think of). This. Is. Hard. SO hard. I think about quitting, but then I look over at bright-eyed bushy-tailed Anna, and I instantly erase that thought from memory. As a plow through a series of weighted squats, I ponder how it is that she is pouring sweat and exerting more energy than all of us, yet doesn�t look tired in the least bit. Then I think about how she has a newborn at home and begin to wonder how many hours of sleep she got last night (Two? Three, maybe?) I decide to squat lower and suck it up because I literally have zero excuses not to.
Day 5:�The last day of the workshop! One would think I would be thrilled to be done with this journey of torture, but in actuality, I woke up this morning feeling sad. For the entire week, I committed to something that was doing my body, mind, and soul an incredible amount of good. I started each morning with one of the most positive, upbeat, inspiring woman I know. I tested my body to its limit. And I feel incredible. I go to class (a combination mixer of all of AKT�s offerings) and give it my all. I collapse into a sweaty fetal position on my mat at the end.
What did I do after? Go directly to the spa? Throw my gym shoes in the trash on the way out the door? No. I immediately went to the front desk and signed up for a double class for the next morning. Crazy? Yes. True story? Double yes.
I�ve been addicted ever since. And my body has never felt better. Karlie, I understand your obsession.
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