An upper-body stretch to help your lats and shoulders

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another week of fitness and nutrition! 

I am so excited to have you here and I hope by the end of this article you have more of a grasp on some healthy habits.

Today we will dive into a great upper-body stretch to help with recovery and a great quick meal for the whole family to enjoy.

As referenced in previous articles, one of the biggest components to a healthy lifestyle is recovery. Recovery can look like a lot of things, but one of my favorite aspects is stretching, which is a great way to help with soreness and improve mobility. One of my favorite ways to stretch my upper body after a long day or workout is a forward bend lat stretch. It is a very simple and low-impact stretch. 

To begin, find a stable surface that allows some space between the item and yourself. Next, grip the edge of the item and start to bend forward. Have your head go between the space of your body and the item you are gripping. 

Make sure your arms and palms stay facing downward with your elbows extended. You should feel a stretch through your lats and into your shoulders and forearms. For an added challenge, start on your knees and bend forward, this will help stretch your upper and lower back as well as your quads.

After your stretch, it’s always good to recover with a nice balanced meal.

Chicken and veggies

Today I will be sharing one of my simple one-pan protein recipes. My wife is an amazing cook. I have to give her credit for taking something as simple as a handful of vegetables and two chicken breasts and making it amazing. 

To begin, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Next, you will want to choose 3-4 vegetables, preferably root vegetables, cauliflower or broccoli. Following that, dice up your choices and toss them in some olive oil, garlic salt and pepper and then spread out the veggies on a large sheet pan. 

Next, dice up two chicken breasts and marinate them in Italian dressing. After, spread the chicken out among the vegetables and bake for about 50 minutes or until chicken in cooked through. If chicken isn’t for you, you can easily substitute it out for many other meats. 

Following dinner, one of my favorite desserts is a Built Bar. These bars are packed with tons of protein to keep you full while tasting like candy. Use code NERDLIFTS to save 15 percent and get free shipping.

That concludes this week’s “Finding Fitness.” I hope you walked away feeling a bit more refreshed and excited to try a new recipe. 

Next week we will be looking at some easy leg workouts to help build strength. We will also dive a little bit further into muscle repair and how it happens after a workout.

Never give up!