Macronutrients became the new “counting calories” wave of the nutrition and fitness industry a while ago. The difference is the attention paid to what types of foods are eaten, in the correct amounts.  We will look at what macros are, how much of each you should be eating, and which foods count for which macro.

What are macronutrients?

Macronutrients are the nutrient parts of food the body needs for energy. These carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are the nutrients you use in the largest amounts.

A healthy diet should include all three macros and with awareness eat them in the correct quantities.

Why you want to count macros:

• It can help you lose weight
• Get your metabolism revving
• Have more energy
• Stay full longer after eating

Guidelines:

Carbohydrates - 45-65% 

Proteins - 10-35%

Fat - 20-35%

Pick your ratio based on body type, goals, activity level, and medical history.  

If you are an endurance athlete, you will need more carbohydrates, where Keto...

How important is core strength for massage therapists?

Can it make a good massage therapist better?

Core strength has nothing to do with your skill as a massage therapist right?

BUT a stronger core will allow you to share your talents with more clients and save your back from painful workdays.

Why core strength is important

A strong core will:

1. Build your endurance so you can complete more massages in a day

2. Improve your body mechanics and stability for those deep tissue, sports massage sessions, and hard to work on clients

3. Prevent suffering from back pain while working and after long days on your feet

Exercise 1: Crunch

This exercise is a good starting block to build your ab strength with, the basic crunch.

The important thing is to use good form and do them correctly.

1. Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground, with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Alternatively, you can place your feet up on a bench a few inches apart with your toes turned inwards and...

As massage therapists, we work with clients using our bodies all day long to provide relief and relaxation to others.  

At times, our own body's signs of fatigue go overlooked until we feel pain or discomfort.  Low back pain or tightness can really hinder our focus on clients and make our massage less than great.  

Why is your back hurting?

Improper table height

The first signs of back tightness may be because your table height is off.  When working with a table that is too low, it's easy to slouch or bend forward towards our work on the table instead of getting lower in our stance using legs.  

Always check your table height at the beginning of your day and make adjustments.  The rule of thumb for table height is when standing next to the table with a loose fist, your first knuckles should just brush the top of the table. 

Another possibility contributing to your low back pain is a weak or unengaged core.  

Weak core...

In Southern California, there is no shortage of Mexican food restaurants and you don't have to drive far for a taco shop.  We love our Mexican food and a platter of loaded nachos with a good margarita or Corona is always fun to share with a group.

I'm always looking for a substitute for the chips in the nachos because they are the one thing that takes an otherwise healthy meal to unhealthy. 

Sweet potatoes, in place of chips, can be thinly sliced and crisped in the oven before adding the rest of the toppings. 

Use all the fresh toppings you want.  It's an easy-to-make meal that only requires a bit of chopping and slicing.    

RECIPE

Sweet Potato Nachos  

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 2-3 sweet potatoes sliced in 1/4" rounds
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• cheddar cheese shredded or your favorite cheese
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1...

Hands, we can't massage without them. 

It's easy to overuse hands during a workday, and then they are still needed for everything we do after work.  We need our hands for all aspects of life and daily activities. 

A weekend gardening project, painting a room in the house, or trimming a tree all use the same muscles massage therapists use while working.  Those are sporadic activities, but what about a massage therapist's hobby that requires hand repetitive movements?   Playing the piano or guitar, knitting or crocheting, sewing, gardening are all movements that wouldn't give the hands the rest they need. 

When your chosen profession and the activities you love require hands to have extra care, here are the top five ways to provide excellent self care to your hands. 

1.  Manage your work schedule

Being self-employed brings a different set of scheduling challenges than therapists who have someone else writing their schedule. 

When...

Massage therapists know hands are their most important asset.  Education, intuition, and experience are nothing without the tools to carry out the massage session.  Protecting and caring for these important tools is never more important than when they start to hurt.  Here are some self-care ideas for the massage therapist's hands that therapists can do between clients or at home to prevent and care for hand pain.

1.  Hand Shake

This rapid shaking of the hands rejuvenates tiered hands and only takes 20-30 seconds.  Holding the hands out in front of you, elbows bent, shake hands back and forth with loose wrists very quickly.  Watch a video here. 

2.  Ice massage

Ice cubes in a bag or water frozen in a paper cup are all you need for a quick ice massage on your hands and forearms.  The two best places to concentrate the ice massage as self-care are at the thenar eminence and at the elbow's tendons, where tendonitis begins.  The inner...

As a student in massage school, we had the luxury of the instructor's eyes on us, making corrections to our body mechanics. 

We had time to learn and practice good body mechanics, and now, months or years later, maybe we've gotten lazy, picked up bad habits, or made adjustments because the room we work in is too small. 

The main reason massage therapists' bodies begin to hurt is bad body mechanics.  We are really good at modifying and compensating our body mechanics for:

• less than optimal working conditions
• trying to accommodate a picky client
• attempting to "go deeper" for a client
• fitting as many clients into a day as possible

To help therapists who are in their first year out of massage school and those who've been massaging for 20 years, here are the most important body mechanics practices to stay working pain-free.    

Massage Therapist Body Mechanics Best Practices 

Using Feet and Legs

Using feet and legs to your full advantage takes some...

Healthy Hot Breakfast Idea

On a cold rainy day, a breakfast smoothie doesn't sound as appealing as something hot.  This hot breakfast idea hits the spot and is ready in 7 minutes.  Have these healthy staples on hand to whip up this balanced breakfast and keep your hunger at bay for hours!

Quick Hot Breakfast Idea: What's in the bowl?

This 7-minute breakfast bowl has steel-cut oats sprinkled with chia seeds and pepitas, topped with a fried egg, blueberries, and sliced tomato.  The best thing about this hot meal is it's a balanced breakfast.  When you eat carbohydrates, protein, and fat in a meal, you stay full much longer.  Let's break it down. 

Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats

Steel Cut Oats are a high-quality complex carbohydrate with a good amount of fiber and protein.  Complex carbohydrates aren't as refined as simple carbs and keep you full longer. 

Your body uses a complex carb over a long period of time instead of burning it quickly like a...

This at-home workout for massage therapists strengthens the abs, chest, shoulders, and legs.

With no equipment needed, this workout is easy to perform anywhere and helps build strength to support massage therapists' body mechanics while they work.

A leading cause of overuse injury in the massage therapy field is poor body mechanics and lack of strength to support the work an individual performs.

Strength and fitness allow massage therapists to work long, pain-free careers without injury.

This video's information is for general knowledge only, and exercises should not be performed without a doctor's consent.

Circuit D should be completed without a break until the end of the third exercise and then move on to circuit E. The same applies to circuit E to F.