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Just like there's an app for that, there is a hormone for everything. Including one that will help you build lean muscle and defy aging!
Human Growth Hormone (HGH), is our anti-aging hormone, or as I like to think of as our Hey Girl Hey hormie!
She can also be thought of as:
tight booty enhancer
body fat blaster
SHNM - skin, hair, nail & metabolism booster
all over muscle toner
😊
Whatever you decide to think of it as, our human growth hormone has amazing benefits for our body.
However, it begins to decline in our 20s.
You may begin to notice a loss of muscle definition and/or weight gain. You could start to notice thinning hair and wrinkles. And you may experience your metabolism slowing down.
It's a sad, sad day when you realize your body doesn't recover as quickly as it did when you ate sweets, carbs, and indulged in cocktails in your early twenties.
Activating your human growth hormone can help keep you fit and healthy, boost your metabolism, and allow you to age gracefully. It'll decrease wrinkles, keep your hair, skin and nails strong, and improve your mood, sleep, and energy levels. It also keeps your body working as a lean, mean, fat burning machine!
If there was ever a hormone for the fountain of youth, this is it!
Here are a four ways to naturally increase its production:
1. HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)
Adding HIIT workouts to your regimen can drastically increase your human growth hormone.
High Intensity Interval Training are workouts where you perform short bursts of high intensity at 100% effort, with short rest periods. One of the glorious aspects to this type of fitness is that a little bit goes a long way. So if you've got a jam packed schedule, it's a great way to fit your workout in for maximum benefit.
I aim for 3-4 HIIT workouts a week and try to do it in the morning before breakfast. It feels like a natural cup of coffee!
Other HIIT workouts include a spin class, an interval run (I use trees as markers on where to start sprinting and where to end), attend a bootcamp, or take advantage of the many online resources available.
Here are two of my favorites!
Bikini Body Guides by Fitness Guru Kayla Itsines - she offers 28-minute workouts with intervals lasting seven minutes each. If you haven't heard of her, she has blown up social media and taken Instagram by storm! The reason why her millions of followers look so great is because they continuously activate their human growth hormone.
Tone It Up by Personal Trainers, Karena & Katrina - their fitness empire provides many short and free videos on YouTube that you can do anywhere, as well as an app for paid classes. One of my favorite 20-minute HIIT workout is their HIITy Bitty Bikini sesh.
**Disclaimer - Balanced Bombshells has no affiliation with Kayla Itsines or Tone It Up. I just love their programs and personally use them. Thought you might enjoy them too 💜
2. EAT FOODS HIGH IN L-GLUTAMINE & VITAMIN C
Eating foods high in L-Glutamine and Vitamin C can enhance our muscle performance and boost HGH production.
Foods high in L-Glutamine (an essential amino acid your body needs) include bone broth, grass fed beef, asparagus, broccoli, hemp seeds, spirulina, and cabbage.
Foods high in Vitamin C include red peppers, oranges, kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli (double whammy!), grapefruit, kiwi, and strawberries.
I use a bone broth protein powder as post workout fuel and love topping a smoothie bowl with hemp seeds, kiwi, and strawberries.
3. CLEAN & DETOX YOUR LIVER
If you don't regularly eat and live in a way to clean your liver, you will never experience the full benefits of your human growth hormone.
Depending on your lifestyle, your liver can take a real beating. Any time you consume alcohol, use chemical loaded products, eat meat filled with hormones, and even fruit and vegetables sprayed with pesticides, it works extra hard to clear out toxins.
Some foods have a huge cleansing effect on your liver like cilantro, garlic, lemon (hot water with lemon in the morning is a great option!), avocados, apples, leafy greens, and green tea.
You could also consider a milk thistle supplement and focus on self-care activities like an Epsom salt bath (just 20 minutes!) which helps clear your skin of toxins.
Consider switching your cleaning and make-up products to all-natural options. The chemicals in these products cause your liver to work extra hard - all day long - to protect your body from them.
**An added benefit of a clean liver is no more acne!
4. GET YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP
Your human growth hormone is secreted (meaning to produce and distribute in your body) during exercise and when you are sleeping. So making sure you get enough rest is crucial to activate this hormone and reap its benefits.
To best improve its production when you're sleeping, stop eating 2-3 hours before going to bed, and don't eat past 9pm. This can keep your insulin levels low, which will amplify HGH's efforts.
Learn more about amplifying this hormone and many others inside the Balanced Bombshells Lifestyle Plan.
