Avoid fish oil supplements

Avoid fish oil supplements

I don’t generally promote supplements. Most of them play to specific, isolated points of medical research to serve as a magic pill. One remarkable example of this is fish oil.

Covert Narcissist?! How do I know if I am one?

Covert Narcissist?! How do I know if I am one?

After a fight with two friends, one of them accused me of being a covert narcissist. That offended me to my core, but then I took a moment to consider whether or not it might be true. What if I am??

Exercising My Demons, part 9 of 9

Exercising My Demons, part 9 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 8 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 8 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 7 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 7 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 6 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 6 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 5 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 5 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Exercising My Demons, part 4 of 9
Exercising My Demons, part 4 of 9

Who are your inner demons? I hear a plethora of voices in my head, and some of them aren't very kind at all. In fact, some of them are outright cruel. In this series I am going to expose one of the inner conversations I have been having with myself for far too long. I...

Kundalini Yoga reminds us to stop and breathe

My first class of Kundalini yoga incorporated practically no poses. Yoga is a practice going back thousands of years, and it has many levels. The “exercise” part of yoga is level three. Most American students skip Yama and Niyama, jumping willy nilly right into Asana. This wasn’t even an option in this Kundalini class.

Killer Gene Mutations: Folic Acid is a MTHFR

Not long ago my sister had a miscarriage. It was upsetting in and of itself, because that kind of news is terrible; however, there was more. This was her fifth miscarriage. What does this have to do with Folic Acid?

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Cortisol increases body fat and inflammation

Practically anything can become a stressor in the right conditions, and fight or flight is our only biological response to stress. Some triggers of cortisol and stress include conflict, worry, alcohol and drug consumption. As much as possible, protect yourself from stress.

Getting past the VD hump: Avoid being in the 90%

Okay, I admit it: That title was clickbait. The VD in question here is Valentine’s Day, and the 90% refers to the number of new gym members who stop going by February 14. Gyms bank on this. Gyms oversell their capacity, specifically because they know you have only a 10% chance of showing up.

Solstice Yoga embraces darkness

Solstice Yoga is a yoga dance rave party created by Jaimis Huff. It takes pace in Charlotte, NC, and was recently hosted at Catawba Brewing Company. Sostice seeks to encourage us to examine and embrace our inner darkness to help with healing, which is the process of building strength and character.

Forging gains through progressive overload

Beginning the grueling process of forging gains I started the long process of forging gains through progressive overload in 1994 at age 18. In the fall of 2018 I was watching a series on Netflix about the Celts, and how they weren’t at all the barbarians described to...

Suggested Gear: Body Helix – Elbow Helix

I have had really great results using the Elbow Helix by Body Helix. It gives very consistent, firm support without feeling constricting. It holds its shape, and it fits true to size. It doesn’t smell strange after use, and is made to withstand lots of use.

Eccentric Effort & Compression Heal Injuries

It might be counterintuitive, but your muscles are stronger when they get longer under tension (eccentric effort). Something else that is helpful for both reducing pain from injuries and speeding recovery is compression therapy. By putting the two together, you can improve your healing.

Suggested Reading: Fitness Fundamentals, vol. 1: 8 Essential Patterns

I wrote the Fitness Fundamentals collection of books to help people who are not already familiar with creating programs for healthy lifestyles. Over the course of these 10 short books, I explain in clear and simple terms how and why to design plans for personal fitness and holistic wellness.

Ripped Abs are a result of clean eating

Ripped Abs and Beauty There’ve been many signifiers of fitness and beauty over the years. You can see this by looking at art from around the world and the way people are portrayed in photographs, paintings and sculptures throughout history. Some cultures value more...

#TakeHotterSelfies: Body Dysmorphic Disorder

How does Dysmorphic Disorder affect me? Last night I was going through old selfies to measure my fitness progress. And some of those selfies were really, really truly fantastic. But with Dysmorphic Disorder, you really can't see that about yourself. So I'm going to...

Innercise: Emotional Wellness – In My Fillings

Handling Emotional Triggers Click links below to skip to: Introduction The Trigger: He got me in my fillings Room to Fail Summary Accept yourself as powerful instead of as victim to remove the veil of self-deception. When you seek to identify what is...

Suggested Reading: The Obesity Code

Dr. Fung explains in simple language why insulin response is far more important than calories themselves. I implemented his teaching from “The Obesity Code,” and I was able to shed the most stubborn fat by applying his principle for minimizing insulin spikes.

Improving body composition into middle age

Why was I concerned about body composition? By the time you read this it will have passed, but today I turned 42 years old. I’m a personal trainer and wellness coach, so I spend practically every day helping others with their goals, but I’d neglected my own. Why?...

My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 8

I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.

My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 7

I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.

My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 6

I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.

Suggested Gear: Wrist Strengthener

This wrist strengthener has helped me develop endurance and power to improve my performance for exercises that requiring pulling. When balanced with stretching, this can also help prevent or alleviate tendinitis.

My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 5

I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.

My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 4

I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.

My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 3

I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.

My 8-week Fitness Challenge: Week 2

I’m about to turn 42 years old, and I want to keep pushing myself to make fitness gains. It isn’t enough to maintain: For as long as you can grow, you should. To keep myself going, and to show how good my program is, I have designed a fitness challenge for myself using all eight of the patterns in my program.

Welcome to the INTEGRE8T Wellness Blog!
Welcome to the INTEGRE8T Wellness blog! Here you’ll find dozens of articles I’ve written about a wide range of topics. There are entries about exercise, fitness, wellness, nutrition, and personal stories. I hope they help inform you as you continue on your process of self improvement.

Blog Mission

I want to provide helpful information for workouts, recipes, personal stories, philosophy and position statements, interviews with content experts, and other ideas. I also have a lifetime of observations concerning body image, self esteem, goal setting, and perseverance. If you ever want some inspiration, I have a page just for that as well. The idea is that the posts on this site will be practical, inspirational, personal, conversational, and educational.

The INTEGRE8T System

I am a strong advocate of taking a wholistic approach to wellness. The eight patterns of fitness are Breath, Hydration, Nutrition, Strength, Conditioning, Flexibility, Focus, and Rest; however, these look primarily at the physical body. We are more complex than that, so many of my vlog posts will address the eight modalities of wellness. These address the Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Psychological, Social, Sexual, Spiritual, and Financial components of our lives, which are intrinsically connected to each other like a web. Plucking one part of the web creates reverberations throughout the whole.

I will sometimes include thoughts about my favorite topics. These pressing concerns will generally focus on arts and culture; dance and theatre; language, poetry and fiction; personal stories; The Kitty Consortium; diamonds; aesthetics; chocolate; and, most importantly, Janet Jackson.

Enjoy!

Jack Kirven is a mobile personal trainer in Charlotte, NC. He is the owner of INTEGRE8T Wellness.

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