There is a paradox that isn't well understood in the fitness industry, and it's that overtraining can lead to under-training. This can inhibit you from results from your workouts. When you are chronically inflamed from overtraining, muscles don't receive great input, and muscular results decline. If you feel like your results aren't matching the amount of effort you're putting into your workouts, you should listen to this episode. I give suggestions on how to know if you are overtraining, under-training, or a combination of both, and what to do about it. 2:32  Overtraining 6:40  Symptoms of Overtraining12:12  Under-Training From Overtraining16:45  Symptoms of Under-Training From Overtraining21:53  Under-Training 22:29  Symptoms of Under-Training 26:33  What to Do If You Are Overtraining29:34  What to Do If You Are Under-Training36:16  What to Do If You Are Under-Training From Overtraining  To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

 Listen to this episode to learn about resistance curves, phase loading, levers, and how much to stimulate a muscle to see better muscular growth. Muscle is the most metabolically expensive tissue in your body. It burns more calories and takes more energy to maintain than any other tissue. Therefore, the more we have, the better our metabolism and the healthier many other processes in our bodies. We also resist aging, and are able to stay limber and fit and independent for much longer. We all need to be focusing on building muscle as we age, it’s extremely important for our longevity. We all want the time we are spending in our workouts to actually be doing something. So to do this, we need to select exercises that are the highest bang for your buck. The reason my workouts are so short but effective is because we cut out all the fluff, and we apply the principles that I’m going to talk about in this podcast to each exercise. This means you are getting better muscle stimulus in 30 minutes than you do in most hour-long workouts that choose ineffective exercises that make you feel “tired” and are burning calories, but aren’t going to move the needle for you long-term because they aren’t accurately stimulating your muscles. Levers are what will magnify the resistance of an exercise. The weight you’re holding is not the amount of force applied to the muscle. The amount  of force being applied to the muscle is the weight of the resistance multiplied by the length of the lever. So the magnification to the muscle, or how hard the muscle has to work, isn’t just about the weight you’re holding, but also how long the lever is. Exercise is physics, and not enough fitness professionals understand this which is why the work is there, but the results don’t seem to match the hard work and frequency you’re putting into your workouts. 1:14  Why Women Shouldn’t be Afraid of Gaining Muscle5:28  Exercise Selection and Proper Muscle Training7:20  Levers16:43  Video Example of Levers on Instagram Reels (April 20th) 20:25  Resistance Curve 22:33  What Exactly is the Resistance Curve?24:20  Phase Loading40:25  Favorite Early or Middle Phase Loaded Exercises 43:15  Favorite Late Phase Loaded Exercises 44:23  Late Phase Loaded Exercises to Avoid46:42  Why You Don’t Need to Feel Exhausted After Your WorkoutTo take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

If you feel like you’re doing everything right - putting in work at the gym, you’re trying to eat less, and still not seeing results - it COULD be because of cortisol imbalance. In this episode, I want to explain how too much exercise and too little eating can have the reverse effects that you’re hoping for because of potentially messing with your cortisol and hormonal balance. One of my goals, which I hope is evident by my content, is to encourage people to get away from the damaging “grind yourself into the ground if you want to look good” mentality. Not only do I believe this is damaging to our body image, joints, and mental health, but it doesn’t work for most people long-term, and one of those reasons is related to cortisol.3:04  What is Cortisol?7:30  The Role Cortisol Plays in Your Body12:04  Cortisol’s Relationship to Body Composition 14:07  Insulin and Insulin Resistance 19:27  How Lower Intensity Workouts Can Help Blood Sugar Levels24:59  How Much Exercise Is Too Much? 32:07  Symptoms of Elevated Cortisol 36:14  Tips For Balancing Cortisol Levels To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

In this episode, Dr. Shannon discusses steady-state cardio. She speaks on how the body adapts to cardio, and some cardio can be beneficial, but how too much can blunt protein synthesis and inhibit results. She provides a framework on how to implement cardio, both steady-state and HIIT, into your routine. 2:10  How the Body Adapts to Exercise 6:50  What Happens When you Overwhelm Your Body 10:57  What is Steady State Cardio?12:45  LISS (Low Intensity Steady State Cardio) 14:17  MISS (Medium Intensity Steady State Cardio)17:56  Basil Metabolic Rate 20:37 HIIT vs Steady State Cardio 23:30 How to Incorporate HIIT and Steady State Cardio 32:45  How to Incorporate Running To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

Dr. Shannon discusses the research behind how much high-intensity cardio is good for you and how much could be negative for your health. She discusses how exercise can either aid in improving insulin sensitivity or reduce insulin sensitivity and the consequences to your overall health and fitness. Shannon provides a framework for how to implement cardio based on your body's needs. 0:40  What Types of Exercise are Typically Considered Cardio? 3:33  Focus on HIIT Cardio 4:16  What is Mitochondria? 5:57  What is Insulin Resistance? 8:54  The Upper Limit of HIIT (How much is too much?)10:40  Neuromuscular Adaptation14:55  Overuse of Your Muscles 16:35  Short Intense Exercise vs Longer Gentle Workouts 20:04  What the Right Amount for You?23:10  Why Cardio Has Been Recommended For Weight Loss 26:36  A Framework For How Much Cardio to Add Into Your Routine  To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

It’s the norm in the fitness industry to try to fit your body into a certain exercise. I often get asked “can you help me with my deadlifts” or “how can i do planks without shoulder pain” or “how can I strengthen my core so squats don’t hurt my back.” There are so many fitness professionals and PTs out there who will help you achieve these goals. And there ARE ways to improve your form and strengthen/stabilize muscles to feel more effective and safe in an exercise. I think if that’s your goal to do that one exercise, KEEP ON KEEPIN ON. And that perspective is this… Why don’t we choose ANOTHER exercise that feels better on your body? Why don’t we consider selecting an exercise that fits your body, rather than fitting your body into an exercise?Dr. Shannon has another HOT TAKE for this week's episode. You don't HAVE to do exercises/workouts that you hate. This will either frustrate you or relieve you. Shannon discusses her perspective on this and breaks down three exercises specifically in this podcast. She offers that you can take these exercises out of your regular routine and STILL be balanced, strong, and fit. 2:30  Choosing Exercise Variations That Feel Better on Your Body 4:27  Making Your Body Stronger While Keeping Your Joints Intact 6:17  The Difference Between Replacing an Exercise That is Uncomfortable and Avoiding Working a Muscle Group Completely 6:48  Exercises That Are Most Commonly Uncomfortable and Variations For Them7:37  Burpees 9:23  Planks/Push Ups16:37  Lunges 22:17  Picking Exercises That Are More Comfortable and More Satisfying To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

This interview is with Justin Prier, a physical therapist and personal trainer from BioFit KC. BioFit was Shannon's first job out of physical therapy school, where her eyes were opened to a new fitness philosophy that has shaped her method now. Justin talks about the nervous system and ways to use neural inputs to improve your fitness results. You can work with Justin by visiting www.biofitkc.com.To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

The amount of time you spend in your workout isn't necessarily an indicator of the effectiveness of that workout. In this episode, Shannon will guide you on her principles for getting a more effective workout in less time. 1:18  Working Smarter Not Harder2:50  Catabolic State and Anabolic State 4:06  Ways You Might be Overdosing Your Exercise Routine7:39  Running For an Hour vs Lifting for 30 Minutes 13:26  How to Use Mechanics to Your Advantage 17:27  Low Volume with High Weight vs High Volume with Low Weight19:12  Signs That You Are Overdosing Your Workouts and 4 Ways to Avoid It To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

Dr. Shannon breaks down where and why the philosophy of muscle confusion came about, if it is effective, where this philosophy could potentially have a place, and the best way to see results from your workouts. To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.

You want to make sure the time you're spending in your workouts is actually going to make a difference in your body. You want to make sure your workouts are moving the needle for you and creating the highest payoff. This podcast will teach you some basic principles behind what makes an exercise "productive" and what types of exercises are "just hard," but maybe not as productive. To take our free 35-minute Upper Body Build class taught by Dr. Shannon, visit portal.evlofitness.com.