The Benefits of Cold Pressed Juice for Your Spring Workout Plan
With the winter weather (hopefully) behind us and the air abuzz with spring, everyone’s number one agenda item is to shed winter weight and get in shape for summer. While it may seem like a small undertaking, sticking to a spring workout plan can feel nearly impossible with temptations like happy hours with friends, birthday celebrations and dinners out. As it turns out, the benefits of cold pressed juice are vast when it comes to helping you stick with a new diet or exercise regimen. You’ve probably seen cold pressed juice sold at your local high-end market or juice bar franchise. Cold pressed juice is the most efficient way to flood your body with vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients, all of which are vital elements of a healthy diet. Not convinced about the benefits of cold pressed juice? Below, we’ve outlined the top benefits of cold pressed juice to help you take your spring workout to the next level. But first, let’s talk about what cold pressed juice is and how it differs from traditional juicing methods.
What Makes Cold Pressed Juice Different
For novice juicers, cold pressed juice may sound like a marketing gimmick that is meant to fool health fanatics. However, research shows that the benefits of the cold pressed method of juicing far outweigh the traditional method of centrifugal juicing. Most juicers who make their juice at home do so with a centrifugal juicer. This method of juicing uses a centrifugal blade that pulverizes the produce, separating the juice from the pulp. What makes this method subpar is the fact that, as the blades spin to pulverize the produce, they create heat that can destroy essential vitamins, minerals and live enzymes naturally found in fruits and vegetables. As a result, the juice obtained from this method is not as nutritious as it could be.
The cold pressed method of juicing is different in that it produces no heat when separating the juice from the pulp. Instead, the cold pressed method applies intense amounts of pressure to the produce to first crush, and then press juice out of the fruits and vegetables. The resulting product retains one hundred percent of the natural vitamins and minerals found in the produce, making it to most nutritious method of juicing available today.
While it is easy to dismiss the cold pressed method of juicing as simply a gimmick to increase prices, this method is, in fact, far superior to any juice you may be able to make at home with a standard juicer. That’s not to say that homemade juice isn’t nutritious, but it does lose a bit of its nutritional density as the heat oxidizes the nutrients.
Now that we’ve cleared up any confusion about the different methods of juicing, let’s jump into the benefits of cold pressed juice for a spring workout regimen.
Boost Your Spring Workout with Cold Pressed Juice
No, you don’t have to take on a cold pressed juice cleanse to reap the benefits for your workout routine. Instead, try incorporating one cold pressed green juice into your diet each morning to kickstart your day. Some of our favorites are Pure Greens with apple, lemon and ginger, Rockin Beet, and Wake Up Call, as they are all full of nutrients and are a great way to boost your metabolism first thing in the morning. Below are some of the key benefits of our favorite cold pressed juice for your workout.
Increase energy before your spring workout
Our go-to choice for pre-workout fuel is a cold pressed juice, as it is the most efficient way to flood the body with nutrients and readily-available energy. Before a workout, fueling up with complex carbohydrates is key, as the body converts complex carbs into glucose slowly, so that you can power through your workout without hitting a wall. Cold pressed juice is full of complex carbs and won’t cause a crash mid workout.
Create a healthy routine
Humans are creatures of habit, so it’s important to incorporate other healthy routines into our lives in order to stick to a workout regimen. One of our favorite routines, and an easy one to incorporate daily, is to consume a cold pressed juice first thing in the morning. Not only is it a far better, sustained energy source than a cup of coffee, but it also floods the body with nutrients first thing in the morning, so you can start your day feeling energized, hydrated, and prepared to follow through with other healthy goals you’ve set for yourself.
Feel good first thing in the morning
Waking up on the right side of the bed plays a huge role in how the rest of your day will play out. As we mentioned above, starting your morning off with a routine that you can follow through with easily and provides an immediate pick-me-up is key if you want to stick to other healthy habits like a spring workout plan. That’s why we love starting the day with a cold pressed juice instead of reaching for a coffee. Cold pressed juice provides sustained energy through the morning, so you won’t be reaching for something sweet mid-morning. It also revs the metabolism first thing, so you can start burning calories as soon as you wake up.
Recover after a tough workout
After a workout, it’s common to want to reach for a protein supplement to help your muscles recover. However, if you really want to aid muscle recovery and get back in the gym fast, consuming protein in the form of leafy greens is your best bet. Leafy greens help muscles recover by fighting inflammation, a common cause of muscle soreness.
Boost your confidence
Let’s not forget about the role that confidence plays in sticking to a spring workout routine. When you feel good about yourself and how you look, you’re more likely to keep that momentum going by heading to the gym weekly. Cold pressed juice helps give you that glow we all love. Plus, staying hydrated and filling up on healthy calories helps keep bloat at bay, so you don’t have to worry about feeling heavy around your midsection.
Reduce unhealthy cravings
Cutting out sugar and swapping in healthy alternatives like cold pressed juice means that you’ll no longer have intense cravings for junk food due to energy slumps. When we fuel our bodies with natural foods like fruits and vegetables, we come to expect this type of food everyday, and healthy sweets like apples and pineapple satisfy our cravings, instead of unhealthy options like ice cream and pizza.
Avoid An Energy Crash
As we mentioned before, the complex carbohydrates in cold pressed juice provide long-term sustained energy, so you won’t feel an intense energy slump after lunch. The complex carbs naturally found in produce are broken down slowly into readily-available glucose, which means sustained energy for hours after you consume a cold pressed juice.
Fuel up during your spring workout
Cold pressed juice isn’t just beneficial before and after a workout. You can also tote a cold pressed juice to the gym along with you to flood your body with readily-available energy as you workout. We particularly love cold pressed juice during long runs, over other options like energy gu or protein bars. They’re easy to consume, provide immediate energy, and won’t lead to a crash post-workout.
Sleep Better
Did you know you can actually achieve better, more restful sleep with cold pressed juice? Consuming juice that contains romaine lettuce or watercress before you fall asleep can actually help you get to sleep faster and stay asleep, thanks to its calcium and magnesium content. These nutrients have been known to calm nerves naturally and relax the body. Plus, if you usually reach for a midnight snack before heading off to sleep, a cold pressed juice is a great alternative as it’s easier to digest and won’t lead to tummy troubles if you lay down immediately after consuming it.
You Need Cold Pressed Juice in Your Spring Routine
As you can see, the benefits of cold pressed juice go far beyond boosting your spring workout routine. Incorporating a cold pressed juice into your daily routine can lead to less bloating, better sleep, faster workout recovery time and better digestion. It should be a key element to anyone’s spring cleaning regimen, and you can expect to see results fast. Before opting for an unhealthy crash diet or setting yourself up for failure with an intense workout regimen, consider adding cold pressed juice to your diet in order to achieve your goals and power through spring feeling healthy and confident.