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Fitness

Busting 8 myths about nutrition & exercise

When it comes to creating a healthy lifestyle, we often don’t make the progress we’d like because we’re operating under erroneous assumptions. Here, Warren Honeycutt shines a light on eight common myths about nutrition and fitness. Fitness and weight loss When it comes to losing weight and getting fit, do you find yourself unable to make progress despite your best efforts? If so, you’re not alone in your frustration—and it may not be entirely your fault. According to Warren Honeycutt, fitness and nutrition expert, marketers in the nutrition and fitness industries are very good at obscuring inconvenient facts that might keep consumers from buying their products. And beyond that, he says, misinformation about what’s healthy and what’s not often masquerades as “common knowledge” and “common sense.” “If you want to move the needle on your fitness, you have to separate fact from fiction, once and for all,” says Honeycutt, author

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Healthy Recipes

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Perfect for refuelling after a workout or a big outdoor adventure anytime of the year! So delicious! Sweet potato pancakes Ingredients: 6 oz cooked sweet potato 2 ounces of JUST egg or similar vegan egg alternative 1 oz vegan egg whites ½ tbsp coconut flour 1/8 tsp cinnamon ½ oz whey protein  1 oz blueberries ½ tbsp coconut oil 2 tbsp 100% pure organic maple syrup To prepare Peel sweet potatoes and cut in chunks. Boil until soft (I prefer to cook enough sweet potatoes to last the week to save having to do this step every time). Pre-heat non-stick frying pan on medium heat with coconut oil. Combine all ingredients in the blender–except coconut oil, syrup and blueberries. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Pour batter in the frying pan and add blueberries. Cook until one side is done, flip and cook the other. Top with maple syrup and

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Fitness

How about exercise ”snacks”?

We often have this notion that exercising has to be at a set time and place everyday. We go to the gym or run at a set time. For some, that can be very helpful and useful, but you can also do exercise snacks. Recent research has shown that short bursts of activity can have the same effect over time on our health. It may also be of benefit to those with some exercise restrictions as we age. Says Dr. Martin Gibala, a kinesiology professor at McMaster University in Ontario “The big picture it’s just about activity, and there are lot’s of ways to build it into your day.” The federal government guidelines on weekly physical activity is at about 150 minutes total that includes some aerobic activity as well as bone and muscle strengthening exercises at least two times a week. And most of these activities can be done

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Fitness

How to fight fitness fatigue

Fitness burnout is a real thing — these foolproof tips will help you get out of your workout rut. Trust me, it happens to all of us. Regardless of how dedicated a person is to their fitness routine, there will be times when they just don’t feel as motivated as they usually do. It’s easy to feel discouraged and to blame ourselves for losing focus, but the truth is that fitness fatigue is just one of the ways our bodies let us know what they need. Don’t think of a dip in your exercise enthusiasm as a negative reflection of your dedication to health and wellness, think of it as a sign that it’s time to change things up! Here are a few ways you can rev up your fitness performance and stay on track with your goals: Tips to fight fitness fatigue Modify your short-term goals If your regular

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Fitness

Fuelling your body to exercise

Meet Karen Graham, a registered dietitian and a certified diabetes educator. Karen shares her tips in how to properly fuel your body. In a Zoom interview Karen explains about healthy eating into their exercise routine. “I think what’s really important is to have regular meals and snacks. So for snacks, you may not want to have snacks, but regular meals and snacks, if you wish, and that’s the basis of your healthy eating and then your exercise, you build in around that. But you still maintain that regularity in terms of the time, because we know that for people who maybe they’re trying to lose weight or just eat healthier, that having a regular schedule is very important. So I think establish your schedule first.” She further explains, “So really it’s, what’s going to work with your schedule. The most important thing is that you build that exercise into your

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Fitness

Beware the deodorant you choose

Some people sweat more than others. The right deodorant can help. Sweating can be embarrassing, smelly and just downright messy. We’ve all been there. An awkward situation, a really hot day, or a workout at the gym, and all of a sudden our body temperature rises, our face gets red, our palms get clammy, and sweat pours out of our armpits, staining our brilliant white tees. This is the body’s natural response to activity level, stress and extreme temperatures that helps us cool down. What if you were constantly sweating excessively without anything to trigger it? This actually is a medical condition called hyperhidrosis. These people produce more sweat then the average person and they have an over-stimulation of sweat glands. This embarrassing disorder can lead to awkward social situations and can cause people to withdraw from normal daily activities. So what causes it? Hyperhidrosis can be caused by certain

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Fitness

The boxing workout

Boxing is a great basic sport, but drilling for the actual sport can actually improve your cardio stamina, endurance, coordination, strength, and balance. To help you improve on your boxing skills, we have designed a boxing style circuit mixed with a conditioning round, Tabata style (20 seconds of full on effort followed  by 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times). But first, you will need a lesson on the basics: BASIC “FIGHTER STANCE”  Keep your feet shoulder width apart and stand diagonally with your lead foot (if you are right handed, your lead foot will be your left leg) slightly ahead. With your hands in a fist, bend your elbows and keep your hands in front of your face. Lean forward slightly, and keep your abdominals tight. Always be ready for action by keeping on the balls of your feet. BASIC PUNCHES All punches include a rotation of the hips

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Fitness

The benefits of working out in water

Water can make a deep impact on your workout by eliminating potential injuries. Especially if you’re over 50. IT has happened to almost all of us. We train hard all year, looking forward to a successful season in our favourite sport only to be stopped short by an injury. The thought of losing our hard-won fitness while waiting to heal has sent many of us back into training before we are ready, only to suffer a more serious injury. If this is you, maybe it’s time to try water running. Merina Farrell is an age-class duathlete who qualified for the world championships in 2013. Farrell suffers from a herniated disc and has used water running exclusively for her running training. “Water running lets me continue my training program without further injury to my back from high-impact running,” Farrell says. In fact, water running might actually improve your speed. Sue Watson, a

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Fitness

Top 10 Exercise Mistakes

We’ve probably all made at least one of these bloopers when we’ve exercised. Sometimes we’ve learned the hard way. If you’re just getting going with your fitness plan, be sure to remember these mistakes you can avoid! 1 Exercising too hard or too fast. If you exercise for 30 minutes most days, increase speed and distance by no more than 10% per week. 2  Lack of variety. Doing the same workout month after month can lead to fitness plateaus, boredom and overuse strain or injury. Mix up your activities. 3  Doing all or nothing. Not having a full 30–60 minutes to exercise is no reason to skip your workout. Even 10 minutes of exercise is beneficial. 4  Unrealistic goals. Impractical goals often lead to exercise dropout, if not injury. Stick to a plan that suits you—challenging but not so difficult you get discouraged from lack of progress. 5  Not warming up.

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