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It’s a story I hear all the time… You’ve spent the entire day focusing on eating right- you started out the day strong with a balanced breakfast, packed a healthy lunch, even ate baby carrots for a mid-afternoon snack. You did everything right, then just around 9pm,the sure-tell cravings begin…and they aren’t cravings for more baby carrots or even sugar plums…you’ve got visions of sweets and carbs dancing in your…
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There is much confusion in fitness centres regarding what the best methods are for reducing body fat. So many people are using terrible training and nutritional protocols that I cringe every time I step foot in a gym! This article aims to help abolish some of the common misconceptions people have regarding fat loss, as well as offer some appropriate guidelines to achieving a more toned physique.…
Recent research (e.g., Willardson, 2007) highlights the numerous benefits of core stability training for a variety of outcomes. A strong core region takes pressure off the lumbar spine and can prevent injury to the lower back. Core stability training is becoming increasingly popular in sports conditioning programs as well, as it can improve the transfer of force between the upper and lower body. Core stability can also promote better balance,…
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Gyms are great. I love putting on gym clothes, walking to my car, driving 20 minutes, finding a parking sport, doing 30 minutes of cardio, performing a weightlifting circuit, and then heading back out in the cold to drive home again (it’s really cold where I live right now). Since I have so much time to kill in my life, I try to take a one hour workout and turn…
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A quick internet search of weight loss programs will provide more information on the subject than any normal human being could possibly digest. From low-carb diets, protein-based diets, rotating carbohydrate intake, and popular weight-loss programs such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem, you won’t have any trouble finding sites that claim they’ve discovered the secret to losing weight.
I’ve written about some of these diets in other posts, but…
Some days an extra ten minutes on the snooze button is enough to leave me running around flustered trying to get out the door in the morning. However I always make it a priority to make sure I have a lunch cooler filled with nutritious and filling foods to get me through the day at work. The key to healthy eating is planning ahead, but we have all encountered the…
Shin splints, IT band issues, plantar fasciitis. These are all common injuries of which most runners will at least get a taste at some point in their training. Each is treatable in its own way. One of the most common, if not most annoying, “injury” symptoms that many runners experience is blistering.
Here are some tips to combat these debilitating nuisances:
Get professionally fitted for shoes–This is the single most…
Protein bars can be a great snack or meal substitute for people trying to lean up and lose belly fat. Although most bars will be a good source of protein, some can also be packed with calories, contain little fiber, and as much sugar as a candy bar. Below I have compared several different common protein bars to help you find the best fit for you. Take my advice, reading…
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An increasing body of research (e.g., Karp et al., 2006; Pritchett et al., 2009) is supporting the effects of chocolate milk as an effective post-workout beverage. One group of researchers from Indiana University investigated the effects of drinking chocolate milk following a workout in a group of elite cyclists. Following a series of interval workouts, one group of athletes consumed servings of chocolate milk while a control consumed another commercial…
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Hopefully you guys are all ready to feast your heart out. Since I don’t want to be a party pooper and rob anybody out of their Thanksgiving food glory, I’d like to provide some quick holiday eating tips on how to eat like a king at holiday dinners while minimizing fat gain. Here are my tips for holiday eating outlining what you should be doing the day…
As a Registered Dietitian, one of the questions I hear often is concerning Vitamin D. How much Vitamin D is too much? Where do I get it? Why is it important? Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin” is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in several forms. One of the largest roles Vitamin D plays in the human body is in calcium metabolism. Maintenance of blood calcium is vital…
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It’s hard to find a work-out ensemble that fits into a diverse workout routine. Sometimes the long pants you wear for yoga isn’t suitable for a long distance run and the booty shorts you wear while you run is not always comfortable to wear in a yoga class. Sometimes you might just want to wear your workout clothes to work or school and be able to hit the gym immediately…
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While women and men tend to differ in body size and composition, as well as hormonal characteristics, they do not differ in measures of relative strength, nor do they differ in their responses to exercise. The same weight loss principles, therefore, apply to both sexes.
Is There a “Best Weight Loss Program?”
Much debate exists regarding the best weight loss programs. Advocates of Atkins, Paleo, Ideal Protein, and other low-carb…
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Dietary fiber is one of the most important components of a healthy diet. Fiber, a carbohydrate that enters the large intestine undigested, helps control weight, and people who consume high fiber diets tend to weigh less than those with low fiber diets. Along with weight control, studies show fiber can also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, colon cancer and Type 2 Diabetes.
There are two different kinds of…
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In order to reduce body fat, you should steer clear of a number of foods. Two categories of foods, in particular, can have a particularly adverse effect on body fat: most white foods and foods high in sugar — especially fructose. White-colored foods are often high in the carbohydrates starch and sugar. Carbohydrates are an essential component of a healthy diet, but many people are not active enough to burn…
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Fat-free, low-fat, part-skim, trans-fat free- huh?? With more options at the grocery store these days then stars in the sky, it’s often hard to distinguish the best choices when it comes to fat in your diet. Although fat has gotten a bad reputation among the major macronutrients, rest assured that including sufficient amounts of fat is your diet is not only o.k. to do, but it can also help you…
Running requires endurance and flexibility, but strength also plays a significant role in running performance — especially for women. Because women carry the majority of their weight in their hips and lower body, strength in these areas can enhance their running stride and efficiency, while minimizing fatigue and injury.
You can improve both muscular strength and endurance in the gym through resistance training. To improve endurance, however, you first need…
My workout days are my favorite days out of the week because that means I get to get 20% more Calories than my basal metabolic rate for that day and macronutrients for those days are typically high protein low fat and high carbs (carbs tastes so good!). Last time I mentioned a list of high protein low carb snacks from PROTEIN POW(D)ER which are ideal for days when your macronutrient…
If you missed it, I previously wrote about the top 10 rated pre workout supplements. After publishing that article, the nice guys at Gamma Labs contacted me and asked if I can help review their new Gamma Labs PTF (Pre-training Formula). Being the supplement nut that I am, I agreed that I will do an honest review of the product (no matter how good or bad it is). Let the review begin!…
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The goal of building muscle in weight lifting is known as hypertrophy. Different than simply increasing strength or power, hypertrophy is an increase in the size of the muscle’s contractile area as a result of greater contractile proteins and a greater number and size of myofibrils in each fiber. Unlike maximal strength training, hypertrophy is best-achieved with just moderate loads. Therefore, to build the most muscle, you don’t always need…
