“A little progress each day adds up to big results.”

Especially as of late, it is important to keep to the grind and remember that little things make a big difference. If you missed anything this month, we will be covering healthy eating ideas and recipes, as well as guiding you through a monthly exercise circuit to help you keep your mind clear and ready to tackle each day. We encourage you to look to our fitness community during this time to find support, motivation, and inspiration to fuel your fitness journey.

Article I. Nutrition

Knowing the benefits of your food can help you find your perfect personal balance, from meal prepping to purposeful snacking!

Did You Know?

When we hear potassium, I’m sure we all think—banana! And though that may be true, one medium avocado (just over a cup) holds over 700mg of potassium while a banana holds just over 420mg. It is important to find ingredients, like avocados, to reach your daily nutritional intake and keep your blood pressure at healthy levels! Avocados are a nutrient-dense fruit that have up to 20 vitamins and minerals, as well as good fats to help your body absorb fat-soluble nutrients!

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Recipe Post

Our Garbanzo-stuffed Peppers this month were low in ingredients and rich in benefits. First on the list was cumin seeds, which are rich in just about everything! Health benefits range from antioxidants that encourage strong energy levels, to increased digestion that has often been connected with healthy weight loss. Garbanzo beans, or as you might call them, chickpeas, are a great source of potassium, fiber, and protein! In fact, a cup of cooked garbanzo beans yields close to 15g of protein, which is equivalent to nearly half of a chicken breast. Bell peppers, apple cider vinegar, and cilantro, also known as coriander, each provide ample sources of our suggested daily vitamins!

For this recipe, we first toast our cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes. Then, we simply blend 1 can of garbanzo beans, 1/4 cup cilantro, 3 tbsp. water, 3 tbsp. vinegar, and a pinch of salt in a food processor and cut our bell peppers into halves. Then just spoon the mixture into the peppers and top it with fresh cilantro for a crunch-tastic snack!

Article II. Circuit of the Month

This month we posted our first #FCFitCircuit and challenged you all to follow along as we built a full circuit workout, exercise by exercise! This month we focused mainly on our core, quads, and glutes—no chance to skip leg day with us!

To start things off, do 12 reps of Side Leg Lifts on each side, which focuses on strengthening your outer thighs and glutes with the added benefit of stretching our hip flexors to increase hip mobility.

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Up next is 10 reps (each leg) of Knee Up Lunges, to really get your quads working. Lunges are not only a great way to break a sweat and build some lean muscle, they also help improve your stability and balance, requiring you to firmly engage your core as you move yourself from the kneeling to raised positions.

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The third exercise calls for 50 reps of Flutter Kicks to follow up on your core stability. Push yourself on strengthening your lower abdominals here to keep your feet off the ground and your core fully engaged.

And end with 30 Bridges to bring it home. Fully flex your glutes and core while raising your lower half during this exercise, you’ll finish out the circuit feeling tired, tight, and full of confidence!

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If you’re looking to push yourself, you can add bands or weights to any of these exercises to increase the intensity. Just make sure you stretch properly or getting off the couch that night might be more difficult than you thought. And for those who participated in this month’s circuit, don’t forget to tag us on IG and include #FCFitCircuit to show us how it’s done!

Article III. UGC – Featured Members of the Month

Finally, we reminded you that you are not alone in your fitness journey! Whether you’re just starting out or pushing through PRs (personal records), we’ve all been there. And as a fitness community, we want to highlight some of our members for their strength and inspiration this past month. Shout out to @myglife9 and @coop_a_loop3 for their perseverance and positivity while making the gym safe for everyone’s workout. Keep it going, guys!

Closing

Have any questions about safety concerns or a healthy eating regimen? Need some more workouts to try in the gym or at home? Visit us at Fitness Connection today and our staff of fitness experts will be glad to help on your fitness journey.