With every new year comes an influx of new trends that sweep through the fitness world, taking it over by storm. While some (most) trends are exactly that—trendy—and don’t stick around very long, it’s the trends that are backed by science that really take roots and transform the way people get in shape.

While 2018 was all about HIIT (high intensity interval training) based workouts, there’s a growing realization that cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, is responsible for a lot of health-based issues people are experiencing—and over-doing it on the intense workouts is one of the biggest offenders.

According to Well+Good’s top fitness trends of 2019, cortisol-conscious workouts will be on everyone’s radar this year. And if you’ve already been doing the P.volve method as part of your routine, you’re way ahead of the game. By it’s very nature, P.volve is a cortisol-conscious workout that reduces inflammation and tones and strengthens the body without putting it under extreme duress.

While being interviewed on the “That’s So Retrograde Podcast,” I mentioned cortisol as a huge factor preventing people, particularly women, from losing weight and achieving the physique they work so hard for. Ultimately, since intense workouts activate that fight-or-flight response, they put the body into even greater levels of stress, spiking cortisol levels further. It is this chronic state of stress that leads to a whole slew of problems, from weight gain to hormonal issues to joint pain…

It’s important to note that cortisol isn’t all bad. As I mentioned previously, cortisol truly is necessary for balancing out the body’s central nervous system. The body goes back and forth between being in an anabolic state (relaxed, calm, recovering, building up) and a catabolic state (breaking down, excited, using up energy). The body needs both, but if you’re putting your body under stress 5+ times a week with crazy workouts on top of other daily stress factors contributing to cortisol, such as improper diet, caffeine, difficult times at work or (go figure) stressing out about needing to look a certain way, you’re simply going to wear yourself into the ground!

As I explain on the podcast, there’s a lot of confusion around exercise and strength-building these days, suggesting that you need to run for miles and pack on pounds of muscle in order to be lean and strong, but that’s not the only way to go about it (and often has the opposite dreaded bulking effect).

Rather, by conditioning the body in natural ways with some added resistance equipment, you can create incredible strength and definition without the cortisol spike, inflammation, and feeling of being run-down. Looks aside, the whole point of exercise is to create a strong body that is less prone to injury, promotes longevity, boosts your mood and creates that sense of self confidence that radiates into all other areas of your life. 

All of this to say, I created P.volve to be a workout that did just that. Based in functional science, my method replicates the three-dimensional motions your body goes through in everyday life such as walking, climbing, reaching, lifting, etc., to collectively strengthen, tone, and shape your body in a natural way that not only is sustainable and nurturing, but that actually gets you excited to move and feeling like your best self. 

Catch the rest of the podcast interview here!  

Get ahead of the fitness trends by signing up for the P.volve 90 Day Challenge today, and join others around the world committed to making their fitness resolutions a reality.

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