Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to fill your days with dull meals and repetitive workouts. There are a ton of trends to help spice up your everyday routine, and it’s just a matter of finding one that will work best for you. Here, six industry influencers tell us the health and wellness trends that have changed their lives for the better.
“DASH and Mediterranean diets—I think these are great as they may not only change how our body looks on the outside, but can positively change our insides as well. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This is an approach to eating that's designed to help lower your sodium intake and prevent or improve high blood pressure. The Mediterranean diet is considered heart-healthy and includes a well-balanced selection of daily fruits/veggies fruits/grains, weekly fish, poultry, beans and eggs, moderate dairy and limited intake of red meat. Both will help your waistline while helping what’s inside as well like your heart, blood pressure and more.”–Dr. Jennifer Caudle, family physician at Rowan Medicine and associate professor at Rowan University, @drjencaudle, drjencaudle.com
“I'm totally on the boutique fitness bandwagon and am currently obsessed with boxing. Smaller participant fitness offerings lend itself an opportunity for community building, more individualized attention, team atmosphere and attention to detail. It's these components that not only create an environment that class goers want to come back to time and time again but allows like-minded individuals to push past their limitations because they know they're not the only one in the class being challenged. Boxing has given me the ability to feel strong in ways I never imagined while working on total mind and body conditioning.”–Jayel Lewis, Director of Health and Wellness at Fitler Club, @jayelllewis, fitlerclub.com
“Right now, I am taking advantage of the weather, so a big trend for me would be outdoor workouts over at the Art Museum and Pod Park. For the most part, I’m doing bodyweight high-intensity interval training, which means using any nature equipment available like steps, decks, trails, and benches. The reason I like this type of exercise is that I truly believe that the endorphins from working out and the sunlight improve not only physical but mental health as well.”–Marko Nestorovski, lead trainer at Fit Academy, @markonestorovski, fitphl.com
“One of my current favorites is a booty activation routine. So many of us go through our day to day suffering from lower back problems or just simply dormant glutes because our job requires us to sit for long periods of time. Glute activation will not only help strengthen our glute muscle and prevent ‘dormant glute,’ but it will also help reduce lower back pains as well. Most lower back issues are due to the fact that our glutes are not active and the workload falls on our lower back.”– Fabiana Ferrarini, international fitness icon, certified health coach and personal trainer, @fabiana_ferrarini, fabianaferrarini.com
“I'm terrible at committing to any routines besides my morning coffee, but in the past year or so, I have been drinking 16 ounces of celery juice first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I've been through my share of juicing phases—alkaline juices, wheatgrass shots, ginger shots, anything with turmeric—but celery juice has been a game-changer. Every morning, I wake up and make my celery juice. My 11-month-old twins have a fresh-pressed apple and celery juice with me. It's the greatest hydration and energy pick me up ever. I still have my coffee after, but mostly because I love coffee! Since drinking celery juice, my skin is the clearest and smoothest it's been since childhood! It helps promote regularity, rids toxins and helps heal so many other health issues we face today.”–Ashley Rufo, yoga instructor at Stillpoint Yoga and Float, @ashleyrufo_yoga
“Gratitude has completely changed my life. I love how simple it is to use gratitude as a tool to change your life. You don't need to do anything special or have any special equipment, and it’s completely free. I started doing this by listing things in my head I was grateful for before I fell asleep and realized that I woke up in a better mood, so I started doing it in the morning as well. Now, I sprinkle it into my day almost without thinking. If I am in a traffic jam and late to an appointment or meeting, I remind myself—sometimes out loud—how grateful I am for something small like my car’s air conditioning or the music on the radio.”–Madaline Tague, food blogger at madaboutfood.co, @mad_about_food
Photography by: Dr. Jen Caudle, Photo by Claire Buffie; Marko Nestorovski, Photo by Joe Longo; Photo by Meagan Rachman; Madeline Tague, Photo by Sienna McGinnis
