Our War on Seasonal Depression

Seasonal Depression is real. The sun going down at 3pm each day is real. The angst, the gloom, and the sadness that comes with waking up, going to work in the dark, and leaving for home after work while again in the dark is real. Here at the Fresh Squeeze, we unfortunately do not have a solution for these things. However, your Vitamin D intake is very much within your own control. And more and more people around the world are lacking in this critical aspect of their nutrition, health, and lives, especially as seasonal depression rears its ugly head. What’s more -  Recent studies have now linked Vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease as if we all needed any more gloom and doom.

But the best defense has always been a great offense. If you’re in a place where sunlight is hard to come by, you need to gear your diet towards foods that are rich in Vitamin D to maintain healthy skin and bones, improve your heart health, and manage inflammation. Here’s the best way to start doing that.

#VitaminsAndMinerals

Much of the chatter this time of year in the fitness industry has been about figuring out how to piece together workouts while on the road, in a hotel, or just with the general busy-ness of the season. Understandably, and as we’ve shared in the past, a lot of these next few weeks might feature bodyweight workouts. So there’s no better time than now to master the Bodyweight Squat. When done correctly, the squat is the single most important exercise in any lifter’s repertoire. The combination of quad, glute, core, lumbar, and upper back engagement is rarely replicated anywhere else in the gym, but before you start loading up hundreds of pounds, you have to master the basics. Dr. Chris has you covered here.

#ExerciseGuide

If the earlier chat on Vitamin D deficiency and fighting seasonal depression piqued your interest, we won’t leave you hanging - here’s a rundown on some of the top vitamin D supplements you could be taking.

#WeeklyRecommendations

If you’re looking to beef up your fitness knowledge, learn from the best of the best, or pick up some new workout ideas, social media is a very effective way to do that. But how can you tell the difference between the good and the bad? (The guy you went to highschool with who may or may not have taken steroids once and now tries to sell an online program for $29.99 a month.)

That’s where we’re here to help. We’ll fitler down the millions of social media accounts to give you the few you can actually learn something from... And today’s feature is Bret Contreras, also known as “The Glute Guy” because he invented The Hip Thruster. When he’s not developing his backside, he's been writing books as a 3x published author since 2013, or he’s earning his PHD in exercise science check him out.

#InstagranToFollow

LuluLemon’s We Made Too Much Sale offers both men and women 20-50% OFF the popular products that you’re used to paying top dollar for...Check that out here.

Keeping with the theme of Vitamin D, did you know that the mushroom is the only natural, non-animal source of vitamin D?

Where do you stack up? The average American man aged 20-50 can do between 13 to 28 pushups, and the average American woman of the same age group can do between 11 to 20.

Have questions about your own fitness routine you’d like us to address? Or feedback about what you’d like to see more or less of? Shoot us an email - today@thefreshsqueeze.com, we’d love to hear from you!

#GetSmarter