EstimatedEst. Read Time: 6 minutes

fitness motivationNew here?  Like Athlean-XX for Women on Facebook to stay up to date with new posts, great fitness and nutrition articles, motivations and inspirations, fitness challenges, Q&As, giveaways and more!

It’s not news to any of us that the Power of Suggestion greatly influences our eating decisions.  We’ve experienced firsthand how seeing a treat – whether right there in front of us or in a photo – can make us want it.  There are subconscious mind and physiological processes at play here.  When we see a tasty food or even an image of one, we begin to salivate and this starts a cascade of other physical responses to prepare our body to process the food to come.  Advertisers use this to their benefit by working on our subconscious minds.  They show us huge billboard photos or commercials of juicy hamburgers or decadent desserts knowing that our subconscious minds respond to this imagery.

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EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes

upper body stretchesNew here?  Like Athlean-XX for Women on Facebook to stay up to date with new posts, great fitness and nutrition articles, motivations and inspirations, fitness challenges, Q&As, giveaways and more!

Regardless of how physically active we may be, for most of us our desk jobs and lifestyles leave us with hunched shoulders and a tight sunken chest.  For those of us who are on a balanced strength training plan, we are likely working as hard on our upper body as we are on our lower body.  But when stretching,  we may find that we tend to neglect our upper body.

Stretching your upper body has several important benefits.   It increases range of motion, which in turn helps  you gain muscle strength.  It also helps improve posture and reduce muscle pains that can occur due to office work.  Finally, stretching regularly can help reduce chance of injury to the upper body.

Let’s have a look at some of the best upper body stretches for chest, shoulders, arms and back.   Some of these can be done anywhere while for others you’ll need an exercise ball.

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EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes

Spinach SaladNew here?  Like Athlean-XX for Women on Facebook to stay up to date with new posts, great fitness and nutrition articles, motivations and inspirations, fitness challenges, Q&As, giveaways and more!

Just because summer is winding down doesn’t mean your salads have to get boring.  In fact, exploring some of fall’s flavors in your salads is a great way to incorporate in-season produce into your diet.  Eating fruit and vegetables that are in season is better for your health and the environment.  First of all, in-season produce is ALWAYS more flavorful.  It is also higher in nutrients since it is properly ripened.  Buying produce that is produced locally and in season is also much better for the environment. Since it doesn’t have to travel such a long way to get to your plate, not much gasoline is used to get it there, thus less pollution!

Below are 12 amazing fall salad recipes including such tasty autumn ingredients as sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, beets, green beans, pumpkin, dried cranberries, and even fruit!  Head out to the farmer’s market, grab some fall produce and serve up salad!

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EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes

serena williams tennis 10 best quotesNew here?  Like Athlean-XX for Women on Facebook to stay up to date with new posts, great fitness and nutrition articles, motivations and inspirations, fitness challenges, Q&As, giveaways and more!

Yesterday Serena Williams became the 3rd woman in history to win the US Open, the Olympics and Wimbledon in the same year.  The only other two women who have done so are her sister, Venus Williams and Steffi Graf.  At almost 31 years old, she’s also the 2nd oldest US Open women’s champion.

When we think of Champion Serena Williams, the last thing we imagine is that she’s had personal and health struggles.  In fact, if there’s anything we can’t ignore about this champion, it’s her incredibly strong body.  And it turns out she’s got personal inner strength to match!  Although we might imagine Serena to be as tough as her physical exterior, the truth is that there’s a sensitive woman inside her that has fought against her own personal body image issues and gotten past major setbacks including injuries, health problems and losing streaks.

What makes Serena a champion is her attitude and perseverance.  These 10 awesome quotes give us insight into how she handles setbacks and keeps herself motivated!

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EstimatedEst. Read Time: 6 minutes

yoga poses athletesNew here?  Like Athlean-XX for Women on Facebook to stay up to date with new posts, great fitness and nutrition articles, motivations and inspirations, fitness challenges, Q&As, giveaways and more!

Back in 2008 the Department of Health and Human Services designated the month of September as National Yoga Month.  As we’ve all witnessed, yoga has become a huge fitness trend in the past 10 years!  New yoga styles are cropping up regularly, and yoga classes are now a standard offering at most gyms.  Those of us who’ve tried yoga can attest to its benefits to the body and the mind.  Yoga can also be very beneficial in supporting a regular strength and conditioning routine. Certain poses can stretch and lengthen muscles in ways that traditional static stretching can’t!

Many of the most popular yoga styles like Bikram (hot yoga), Power Vinyasa and Ashtanga are demanding and challenging workouts unto themselves!   If you’re already doing a hardcore well-rounded fitness routine like Athlean-XX for Women, you may not have time for full 90 minute yoga classes several times per week.  It may also not be beneficial to your body to incorporate more strength-based activity like one of these more physically demanding styles.  However, it’s not necessary to go long and hard to reap the benefits of yoga.  Performing just a few specific yoga poses following your workout and help you stretch spots you weren’t aware existed!

In celebration of National Yoga Month, here are 5 yoga poses to complement your length strength training routine.

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