Family Fitness

Fit Parents: Keeping Fit for Family Life

When you’ve got children what’s better than being able to play with and keep up with them? Better yet, when you’ve got children what is better than being able to do those things without getting out of breath? Being fit parents and keeping active is so important; not only for a great body, but also for daily life. For new parents you’d want to be able to pick your baby up and carry him or her around with ease. You’ll not only have to carry a baby around, but I’m sure you’ll have a stroller and other luggage as well. Exercise helps...

Body After Baby

So new mom, you have just welcomed your new bundle of joy into the world and now you want your body back. First, congratulations! Now, here are some tips for you to get on the road to getting your body after baby back. If you haven’t considered exercising, now is a great time to start. First of all, you will need your strength back to perform your duties as mom such as lifting, carrying and holding the little one. And don’t forget about carrying that stroller up and down the stairs and also, in and out of the car. Energy along...

Reversing the Calcium Crisis in our Youth

Calcium is critical to the physical structure and healthy functioning of the human body. It is necessary for transmitting nerve impulses and regulating muscle contraction. Calcium is the primary mineral in your body that makes up your bones and keeps them strong. Ninety percent of the human body's calcium is stored in the bones and teeth. The need for calcium starts with infancy and continues throughout one's life. If your diet is deficient in calcium, your body will take what it needs from your bones. The result, osteoporosis, is a reduction in bone density that leaves bones more porous, fragile,...

Exercise to Improve Confidence and Self Esteem

If you have ever experienced the heart-thumping, invigorated state of a high-intensity cardio workout, you have likely had that surge of enthusiasm that accompanies blood flow and endorphins. One of the bonuses of having this boost is that your brain accesses a state in which your world feels manageable, and more hopeful. You feel more ‘on top of the world’, and better about yourself. Experiencing an increase in confidence is one of the best pay-offs of exercise. When we feel good, we see the world through brighter lenses. We tend to feel more confident, excited and more assured. When we hold...

Dogs Make Excellent Workout Buddies

Let’s face it, we don't always have time for 30-45 minutes of cardio, or do we? Any cardio workout is better than no cardio but how do you fit it in on a busy schedule? As we've said countless times before, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn over a period of time to lose body fat. The best way to up your energy expenditure is by doing a mixture of resistance training and aerobic exercise. The problem becomes finding the time to do both. While a session of weight training may take only 20 minutes, a cardio...

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Are Our Kids Trying To Tell Us Something?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has been a hot topic in the pharmaceutical industry over the last several years. And rightfully so. There is an alarmingly high rate of children being diagnosed with ADHD. In fact, there are even adults being diagnosed in recent years! So what’s going on? Is it really possible that such a high percentage of our population has always had these issues, but the medical community is just beginning to recognize it? Or perhaps it’s more plausible to consider that ADHD was essentially non-existent a few decades ago? I’m not going to try to debate the possibilities surrounding why...

Got Stress? Alpha-Lactalbumin to the Rescue

Most people these days will tell you that they are stressed! Chronic stress has been linked to North America's five leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung disease, accidents and cirrhosis of the liver, but there is also much evidence that also implicates stress in the number one cause of disease (and death) these days--obesity. Author and stress researcher Kenneth Pelletier has contended that, in America, between 80-90% of all illness is linked to stress and that 75-90% of all visits to the doctor are for stress and anxiety-related concerns. Many people realize how detrimental the effects of excess stress can...

Getting Physically Fit Before Pregnancy

Four years ago I made a promise to myself… I would never again join a gym that required more than a month-to-month commitment. You see, despite all my best intentions, I have a really bad habit of not going to the gym. This became especially apparent to me a few years ago when I joined a gym that was literally a few steps away from my apartment. There was absolutely no excuse for me not to go to the gym and yet I still couldn’t motivate myself to go on a regular basis. That’s when I realized that no matter...

How Exercise Reverses Aging

The best anti-aging solution isn’t for sale, in fact it’s free. It can also help you lose weight, think better, sleep sounder and give you a stronger heart. Solid scientific research proves this one thing can help you live longer, stronger and happier. It’s called exercise. The key to a successful fitness plan is persistence, so if just squeezing back in your pants and looking better isn’t quite enough motivation for you, here are some powerful reasons to lace up those sneakers and break a sweat. Turning Back the Clock on Aging Back in 1966, a group of 5 young men took part...

Stress and Weight Gain – What’s the Connection?

Ongoing stress results in the production of cortisol, a steroid hormone produced from the adrenal glands. Cortisol mainly functions to regulate energy production and mobilization; it does so by selecting the right type and amount of macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat or protein) that is needed by the body to meet the physiological demands (eg. stress) that is placed upon it. This hormone mobilizes energy by moving the body’s fat stores from one location to another to provide fuel for muscle tissues. Under stressful conditions, cortisol can provide the body with protein for energy by converting amino acids in muscle into useable carbohydrate (glucose) in the...