Archive for February 2015
Functional Strength Training Combinations
Functional training essentially involves moving the body through different planes of motion while working multiple muscle groups and challenging balance. This Add It Up! strategy includes an upper-body move, a lower-body move, a core exercise that offers active rest, and then a compound movement using the same strength exercises.
Read MoreAppetizers
Two nutrition trends to watch this year, according to marketing communications branding agency J. Walter Thompson’s 10th annual trends report, The Future 100, are (1) “hipster matcha,” the Japanese powdered green tea that’s been tagged as the new health drink among hipsters; and (2) “cold-pressed,” the new byword for purity and quality (think juices, beauty products and nut milks). Hipster matcha with cold-pressed almond milk, anyone?
Read MoreEat More “Bugs” for Lower Blood Pressure
Every day there seems to be a new study heralding the work done by the billions of microorganisms in our guts. Probiotics, the live organisms (naturally occurring bacteria) in your body, are working overtime to keep us healthy, and now—according to recent research published in the AHA journal Hypertension (July 21, 2014, doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.114.03469)— it seems they could play a role in keeping our blood pressure in check.
Read MoreQuestion of the Month
What flavor trends, food trends or flavor profiles have you been seeing in your part of the world? What flavors or foods are you experimenting with in your own kitchen, and how do these translate to being part of a healthy diet?
Read MoreLook for Global Melting Pot of Flavor Trends This Year
The global village has come to the table to share its food traditions, but mostly its flavors. This year, look for flavor profiles that are more interesting—if not arresting—than ever.
“Today’s consumers are a diverse and growing multicultural mix of individuals,” said a press release from Comax Flavors. “Younger demographics and consumers’ changing eating habits are pushing the envelope for innovative flavor combinations, versatile ingredients and unique textures.”
Read MoreWhich Plays Greater Role in High Blood Pressure and CVD: Sugar or Salt?
If your answer to the question in the headline was “salt,” you are wrong, say authors of a published study in the online journal Open Heart [doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2014-000167]. Added sugars, particularly fructose, in processed foods are likely to have a greater role in high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke than added salt.
Read More“What website, e-newsletter or other health resource do you recommend to your clients, and why?”
Before my studio opened, I worked out at home and I needed guidance and structure. In searching the Web, I stumbled on FitnessBlender.com. I have never stopped using it or endorsing it! The site’s owners are people with strong, diverse fitness backgrounds. Their workouts are varied and well put together. You can find information on whatever your body needs that day, from Pilates and yoga to HIIT to total strength exercises. The site has tons of options for length and levels of workouts.
Read MoreHot Training for Outdoor Enthusiasts
Do you want your fitness business to shower you with people and profits? Would you like your brand to be synonymous with fun and adventure? Then take your clients into the great outdoors. Discover how to implement a specialty program to keep your current clients active and engaged, and to attract new clients who will see your business in action and will be clamoring to join the tribe.
Read MoreFitness and Personal Empowerment
Needing change. One of the most common reasons people work with a personal trainer is to lose weight. Not for Katie. By age 29, she had devoted countless hours to becoming a successful real estate agent on Martha’s Vineyard, an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She was rewarded for her efforts with professional and financial success but at the expense of her physical and emotional health. The young entrepreneur had become overstressed, overworked and underrested, and knew she needed a change.
Read More“The Super Bowl of Fitness”
With over 12,000 personal trainers, group fifitness instructors, mind-body professionals, business owners and managers, and experts from every corner of the globe, the IDEA World Fitness Convention has been called “the Super Bowl of Fitness.” Fitness pros who attend gain valuable education and strategies to expand their skill sets; they discover diver- sity that evolves their careers or businesses; and they establish expert connections that open doors and offffer new opportunities.
Read MoreSeven Trends Coming to a Meal Near You
Spotted the other day at the grocery store: 100% all-natural, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free cactus water.
Read MoreYou May Live Longer Eating a Mediterranean Diet
Crous-Bou, M., et al. 2014. Mediterranean diet and telomere length in Nurses’ Health Study: Population based cohort study. British Medical Journal, 379, G6674; doi: 10.1136/bmj.g6674.
Read MoreTry This Trick to Get More Output From Female Clients
In certain circumstances—for example, when preparing for an endurance event—pacing is a necessary component of safe training. But some protocols may call for the opposite, requiring clients to generate as much strength or power as possible for a shorter period of time. Researchers believe they’ve developed a tool to help females give more during the workout.
Read MoreHow to Increase Your Lifespan
Researchers believe they may have honed in on a fountain of youth, and it could be all in our heads. According to a new study, people who “feel” younger live longer.
The researchers asked 6,489 individuals, aged 52 and older, a simple question: “How old do you feel you are?” Then they compared responses with actual ages, all-cause mortality rates and deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease during a 99-month follow-up.
Read MoreMartial Arts Become Fitness Industry Juggernaut
Have you ever considered adding a martial arts component to your current offerings? According to IBISWorld Industry Report OD4187 Martial Arts Studios in the US, now may be the time to do it.
Read MoreWhen You Lose Weight, Where Does It Go?
When a person loses weight, have you ever wondered where it goes? Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia have put together a calculation to explain the process. And it turns out most expert theories are wrong.
Read MoreThe Healthiest U.S. State
The results are in! For the third year in a row, Hawaii has claimed the top spot as healthiest state, according to America’s Health Rankings®—2014 Edition.
Hawaii remains at the top of the list in part because of its low rates of smok- ing, obesity, and deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease. Conversely, Mississippi takes the bottom spot owing to a high prevalence of obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes and more. The southern state has been listed in the bottom three states since the report was first conceived in 1990.
Read MoreObesity’s Impact on Lifespan
Here’s more reason to encourage individuals who are obese to move more and improve their diets: Obesity can chop up to 9 years off a lifespan.
Read MoreStable or Unstable Training: Which Is Better?
Is stable or unstable training superior for improving physical adaptation? Recently, researchers compared the two modalities to see which was better for developing strength, power and velocity.
Read MoreFrequent Sitting Means Weight Gain for Women
Seated desk work has come under fire these past several years as countless studies have linked it with a variety of health problems. But not all associations affect all people. When it comes to weight, a new study shows that the effects of regular sitting differ by gender and race.
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