Unfinished Athletics

At Unfinished Athletics, we pride ourselves on helping you achieve your fitness and wellness goals with precision and care. While a customized training program is essential, there’s another often-overlooked factor that significantly impacts your success: sleep. The Science of Sleep: Your Fitness Superpower Sleep is the unsung hero in your fitness journey, offering benefits that extend far beyond feeling refreshed: Muscle Recovery and Growth: During deep sleep (particularly in stages 3 and 4), your body produces growth hormone, which helps repair and rebuild muscles damaged during your workouts. Skimp on sleep, and you limit your recovery potential. Performance Boost: Studies show that athletes who prioritize sleep experience faster reaction times, improved strength, and enhanced endurance. A well-rested body performs better in every way. Mental Clarity and Focus: Sleep solidifies memories and strengthens neural pathways, helping you master new exercises and stay mentally sharp during training. Hormonal Balance: Sleep regulates hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin, helping to control cravings and maintain a healthy weight. It also keeps cortisol levels in check, reducing stress and lowering the risk of injury or burnout. How Much Sleep Do You Need? For most adults, the ideal sleep range is 7–9 hours per night. Athletes and those engaged in rigorous training may benefit from even more to allow for optimal recovery and performance. Habits for Better Sleep Here are some practical tips to help you prioritize high-quality sleep: Stick to a Schedule: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Consistency helps regulate your internal clock. Create a Sleep Sanctuary: Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Consider blackout curtains, a white noise machine, or earplugs if needed. Limit Screen Time: Reduce exposure to screens at least an hour before bed. The blue light emitted by devices can disrupt your body’s natural production of melatonin. Watch Your Intake: Avoid caffeine and large meals in the evening, and limit alcohol, which can interfere with deep sleep. Wind Down: Develop a pre-sleep routine that relaxes you, such as reading, meditating, or taking a warm bath. Your Fitness Journey, Elevated With the right combination of sleep, personalized training, and recovery, your success in 2025 will be inevitable!

As we approach the start of 2025, it’s the perfect time to align your fitness goals with a plan for success. Whether you’re looking to build strength, improve endurance, or achieve greater balance in your life, thoughtful preparation is the key to unlocking your potential. Here are 5 essential tips to guide your fitness planning for the first quarter of 2025: 1. Set Clear Goals: Define what success looks like to you. Is it running a 5K, mastering a challenging yoga pose, or hitting a new personal record? Write your goals down and break them into actionable steps. 2. Review Your Schedule: Carve out time for your workouts. Consistency beats intensity every time. Aim for at least 3–4 sessions per week, and let us know if you'd like help planning around your commitments. 3. Focus on Recovery: A great fitness plan includes adequate rest, stretching, and mindfulness practices. Recovery accelerates progress, so make it a priority. 4. Fuel Your Body Right: Nutrition is foundational. Start the year strong with balanced meals, staying hydrated, and considering supplements tailored to your needs. 5. Measure Your Progress: Track your milestones—whether it’s through wearables, photos, performance stats, or how you feel day-to-day. Celebrate small wins to keep your motivation high. Exclusive Year-End Offer—Don’t Miss Out! Start the new year with a commitment to your fitness goals! We’re offering 20% off all executive coaching packages now through December 31, 2024. Take advantage of this special discount to secure your spot and save on your 2025 journey to success. Let Us Help You Succeed As your trusted fitness partner, we’re here to help create a personalized plan that aligns with your goals and keeps you accountable. Schedule a goal-setting session with us today and let’s map out your first quarter of success. Here’s to a strong and healthy 2025! 💪

🌟 Make 2025 the Year You Crush Your Fitness Goals! 🌟 The new year is here, and it's the perfect time to level up your fitness game. But let’s be honest—sticking to a fitness routine can feel like a monumental task amidst busy schedules and countless distractions. Here's the good news: 2025 can be your breakthrough year if you approach it the right way! 💪 Here are 5 proven strategies to build a sustainable fitness routine in 2025: 1️⃣ Set SMART Goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. Instead of saying, "I want to get fit," try, "I’ll run 3 miles twice a week by March." Clear targets fuel motivation! 2️⃣ Work with Fitness Professionals Take advantage of a coach's expertise since it's the most efficient way to develop the skills and habits you'll need to be successful. If the cost of coaching isn't in the budget, join a fitness community, whether it’s a local running club, a group fitness class, or a virtual wellness forum. Accountability + camaraderie = success. 3️⃣ Leverage Technology Fitness in 2025 is tech-driven! Use apps for personalized plans, wearable devices for tracking progress, and AI-powered platforms for real-time insights. Let technology be your cheerleader. 📱🎧 4️⃣ Prioritize Consistency Over Perfection It’s not about going all out on Day 1—it’s about showing up regularly. Missed a workout? No sweat. Get back on track tomorrow. Progress, not perfection, wins the race. 5️⃣ Make It Fun! Experiment with activities that excite you—dance classes, hiking, or even VR fitness games. If you enjoy the process, sticking with it becomes second nature. 👟 Bonus Tip: Schedule your workouts like meetings. If it’s on the calendar, it’s non-negotiable! Let’s make 2025 the year we invest in our health and happiness. 🌟 What’s your go-to strategy for staying consistent with your fitness goals? Share in the comments—We’d love to hear! #FitnessGoals #NewYear2025 #WellnessJourney #HealthyHabits #Motivation

Attending corporate holiday parties is a popular way to connect with colleagues to build relationships and solidify pipelines, but it can also pose challenges to maintaining healthy habits. Here are some tips to make healthy decisions during these events: Here’s What To Do Before the Party🤓 1. Set Your Intentions: Decide in advance what your goals are for the event, whether it’s to socialize, enjoy good food, or stick to healthy choices. 2. Eat a Healthy Snack: Have a nutritious snack before the party, such as fruits, vegetables, or a small portion of nuts. This can help curb your appetite and reduce the temptation to overindulge. 3. Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water before the event. Being well-hydrated can help you feel fuller and may reduce the desire for sugary drinks or overeating. Here’s What to do During the Party ✅ Choose Wisely: When it comes to food, opt for healthier options. Look for items like salads, grilled meats, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid fried or heavily sauced foods. ✅ Practice Portion Control: If there are high-calorie options, consider taking smaller portions or sharing dishes with others to limit your intake. ✅ Limit Alcohol: If you choose to drink, set a limit for yourself. Consider alternating alcoholic beverages with water or non-alcoholic drinks to stay hydrated and reduce overall alcohol consumption. ✅ Mindful Eating: Pay attention to what you’re eating and savor each bite. This can help you enjoy your food more and recognize when you’re full. ✅ Stay Active: If possible, engage in conversation and movement during the party. This can help you avoid the temptation of grazing on food throughout the event. Do This After the Party 1. Reflect on Your Choices: Consider what went well and what you might do differently next time. This reflection can help you make better choices in future social situations. 2. Don’t Skip Meals: After the party, maintain your regular eating schedule. Skipping meals can lead to overeating later on. 3. Balance is Key: If you indulged a bit more than you planned, don’t be too hard on yourself. Focus on balance in your overall diet in the days following the event. Here’s Some of Our Most Consistent Clients Are Doing ✅ Plan Your Outfit: Wear something that makes you feel confident and comfortable, which can help you feel good about yourself and make healthier decisions. ✅Engage in Conversations: Focus on networking and socializing rather than solely on food and drink. Building connections can help take your mind off the temptation to eat. ✅Remember that it’s okay to say no to food or drinks that don’t align with your health goals. You can politely decline without feeling pressured. By preparing ahead of time and being mindful at the event, you can enjoy those corporate parties while still making healthy choices that support your well-being. 💪

7 Fun Discipline Hacks for the Gym & Kitchen! Priortizing your health and fitness routine is a challenge as a busy professional. Check out these awesome hacks that will keep you motivated and make your journey more manageable! 1. Kickstart your day with a protein-packed breakfast! fuel your energy and set the tone for success. Let’s go, protein power! 2. Gym Time with a Game Plan: Don’t just wing it! Walk into the gym with a solid plan. Knowing what you’re gonna do ahead of time cuts down on decision fatigue and keeps you focused. Ready to crush it! 3. 4-Ingredient Meals: Keep it simple in the kitchen! Aim for meals with just five ingredients—think protein, veggies, a starch, and healthy fats. Eating well doesn’t have to be complicated! 4. Just Move for 5 Minutes: Feeling overwhelmed by long workouts? No worries! Just commit to 5 minutes of movement. Once you get started, you’ll probably want to keep going. 5. Control Your Environment: Stock your fridge and cabinets with healthy goodies so you’re not tempted by junk. Healthy options make it easier to stay on track—your future self will thank you! 6. Win Tomorrow Today: Leave a little energy in the tank so you’re pumped for the next day. Avoid burnout by pacing yourself—this journey is about enjoying every step! 7. Be Flexible: Treat yourself in small, thoughtful ways each day. Balance is key! Enjoying the process makes it all worthwhile. Sometimes, we all need a little reflection. A coach can be that accountability mirror, helping you see what’s working and what needs a tweak. Staying on track is easier with support!

During our coaching sessions with the busy professionals we work with, we’ve gotten some macro tracking questions and wanted to do a post about the basics. (Let us know if you need more specifics for you individually!) Macro tracking is the act of weighing/measuring and hitting goals for the three main macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. (Yes, you should be taking in ALL three - carbs are not your enemy.) It’s the most precise way to keep manage your food intake - but also arguably the most time-intensive. You are literally weighing out everything you eat (and drink) and entering it into an app to see the total grams of each macro, and total calories for the day. This allows you to see over time if you’re over or under in any area, assess what makes you feel the best and make progress towards your goal (often weight loss).  When you have a goal like fat loss, or even muscle gain, macro tracking can be an excellent tool in your toolbox to help you get there. Although it can be super exciting to dive into macro tracking on your nutrition journey, we typically don’t start most of our nutrition clients there on Day 1. When we do nutrition coaching there’s lots of basics we cover first, such as: sleeping 7 hours/night, eating at least 3 meals/day, eating balanced plates (each plate having a protein, fat, carb, and veggie), drinking half your bodyweight in ounces of water, getting regular daily steps (ideally 7k-10k), and more! We want to have the basics dialed in before tackling a higher level tool in the toolbox - this sets you up for the most achievable success and sustainable results. Once you’ve got the foundations down consistently, you may see enough progress on your goals that you don’t even need to track macros! But if you still have room to grow, or even if you just want more data to help you on your journey, then macro tracking is where it’s at! We highly recommend working with a coach, as those apps are not humans - they’re just calculators. They don’t know your history, daily activity, or your behaviors. And they can’t tell you if your goals and timelines are realistic or not. So make sure you have a reputable coach in your corner to help you along the way (and keep you accountable!). Let us know if you need a hand!

Vitamins are organic compounds necessary for body functioning. Besides lots of science-y sounding stuff, the important thing to understand is that vitamins help your body make hormones and get energy from our food. In a perfect world, our food would be full of exactly the vitamins we need, we’d eat a perfectly balanced diet forever, and feel great. But here we are… not sure what to eat or how much, trying different diets, leading super busy lives. And, most likely, missing some key nutrients during all that. A GOOD* multivitamin is like bubble gum over the hole in the bucket. How? When we diet, or “cut”, we have less food for our bodies to get vitamins from. We eat less, so there’s less to take from, meaning our need for nutrient-DENSE food increases (aka, not powdered food or meal replacement shakes). Multivitamin fills this gap. We are creatures of habit, so we generally don’t eat a ton of variety. We eat what we like, but probably certain vitamins and minerals don’t make the cut as often as your body wishes it did. Multivitamin fills this gap. Fat loss metabolism depends on a complete set of vitamins and minerals, and when we keep on dieting and keep on eating just our easy go-to favorites, we start to stockpile a deficit of certain vitamins. It can sometimes take up to two months of NOT dieting and eating a truly balanced diet to make up for this! Multivitamin fills this gap. In short, EVERYONE should be taking a multivitamin. If you ARE dieting, if you’re about to diet, if you just ended a diet, if you don’t really pay attention to what you eat, or if you’re pretty sure you eat in a balanced way but you probably don’t… you should take a multivitamin. Feel free to contact us for a more indepth conversation and what are most common recommendations are for our remote and inperson clients. *GOOD does not mean gummy vitamins for adults, or the BOGO deal from the local vitamin superstore 🙃 *

4 Healthy Eating Habits to Add This Month Healthier food choices and habits help you maintain a healthy weight and boost your energy and mood. A balanced diet can also help lower your risk for many health conditions. ✔️Eat a fiber-rich breakfast. 🥑 The biggest reason not to skip breakfast is the amount of fiber you can get from popular breakfast foods. For example, many types of cereal, oatmeal, avocados, and wheat toast are loaded with fiber and other essential nutrients your body needs. Fiber also makes you feel fuller, keeps you regular, and even helps stabilize your blood sugar and lower your cholesterol. ✔️Hit the frozen section. 🧊 Frozen vegetables are convenient, last longer in your freezer, and can be sautéed, roasted, steamed, and grilled–just as you would cook fresh vegetables. ✔️Change your shopping habits. 🛒 Going to the grocery store when you’re starving isn’t going to be the best idea. Chances are you’d grab unhealthier choices or stock up on more than you need. Making a list or ordering for pickup is an excellent way to stick to the items you need and make healthier choices like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products. ➡️ The bottom line. Changing your eating habits may sound like a big undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be. With some planning, you can be on your way to a healthier you. If you have any questions about your meal planning or nutrition please feel free to reach out.

Vacation Tips! 🏖️🏝️ We hope if you are traveling in these warm summer months, you get to enjoy and explore. Make the most of these moments, and remember that you don't have to eat and train perfectly every day of your life to make incredible progress. 👉🏼Don't try to be perfect on vacation 👉🏼The memories you make, food you eat, and people you meet will be far more meaningful in the long term than your perfect workout and diet while you travel 👉🏼Get walking: No work obligations means you have many more hours in your day to move. Put them to use. Walking a city/ taking a hike is the ultimate way to see the sights. Aim for 5-8k more steps than your typical day. 👉🏼 Look for small windows to get in high quality protein without the added calories. 👉🏼 If possible, Pack Healthy Snacks: Bringing your own snacks can help you avoid unhealthy temptations during your trip. Pack some fresh fruits, nuts, or granola bars to keep you satisfied between meals. 👉🏼Stay Hydrated: Drinking enough water is essential for maintaining good health. Carry a reusable water bottle with you and make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. 👉🏼Portion Control: It's easy to overeat while on vacation, so try to practice portion control. Listen to your body's hunger and fullness cues and avoid eating until you're overly stuffed. 👉🏼Relax and Enjoy: Don't let the stress of making healthy choices ruin your vacation. Remember to relax, enjoy your time away, and focus on the overall experience rather than obsessing over every food choice. Remember, the goal is to make healthier choices without stressing too much. It's important to find a balance and enjoy your vacation while taking care of your well-being.

Let's talk about the benefits of active recovery! Active recovery plays a crucial role in our fitness journey, and here's why it's so important: ☑ It promotes faster muscle recovery: Engaging in light exercises on rest days helps improve blood circulation, delivering vital nutrients and oxygen to our muscles, which aids in their repair and growth. ☑ It reduces the risk of injury: Active recovery activities, such as stretching or low-impact exercises, help improve flexibility, mobility, and joint stability. This decreases the likelihood of strains, sprains, or other workout-related injuries. ☑ It enhances overall performance: By giving our bodies a chance to rest and recover while staying active, we're actually improving our overall performance. Active recovery helps prevent burnout and keeps us energized for our next training session. So, tell us, what's your go-to active recovery activity? Do you enjoy a peaceful yoga 🧘♀️ session, a refreshing 🏊♂️ , or maybe a family hike 👨👩👦👦 ? Share your favorite active recovery tips and tricks in the comments below.