Jeremy from Carbon Energized Canada Apparel was nice enough to send me a sports bra and a pair of shorts. The products are designed and made in Italy.
The long pants and shirt are the most popular but perhaps that was because of the winter weather. They were made from Polypropylene Dry Yarn which has the best thermal capacity of ANY fiber even wool. Great abrasion resistance. They also don’t absorb water. They are antibacterial, anti mold, and are Hypoallergenic.
The apparel was tested in a hospital sports lab, and decrease lactic acid build up 12% more than Polyester. Decrease heart rate and respirations also compared to Polyester. 3X less body temp variation during your workout compared to Polyester.
I found them to be quite comfy. A lot of the other apparel that they have on their website looks great too! http://www.carbonenergized.ca
If you get a chance to purchase the shirts and tights from them let me know if you liked the apparel as much as I do.
Thanks again Jeremy and Carbon Energized Canada! Good luck with your awesome apparel line!
Train It Right - Get Walking During Your Pregnancy
Train It Right
Fitness is very popular right now, between instagram, twitter, store shelves filled with fitness DVDs for pregnancy that include, cardio, strength training, Zumba, Pilates, and hip hop dancing just to name a few. But when you're pregnant learning new moves of the latest fitness fad is probably not a top priority on your to do list. That’s what makes walking so amazing!
Walking is a great way to stay fit during your pregnancy. Not only is it free but it’s low impact so you can even do it closer to your due date. Just make sure the farther along you are that you have checked with your doctor that you can be active. Unless you are having a high-risk pregnancy you should be fine.
If you walked often before your pregnancy you probably won't need to change your normal walking habits during your first trimester. Small changes may need to be made during the second and the third trimester. However, during all three trimesters if you find yourself unmotivated grab your husband, boyfriend or friend to join you on your walks. Make sure to set specific walking date nights at specific times. That way you don’t skip out on your exercise.
No matter what trimester you are starting your walking at make sure you have walking shoes that support the ankles and arches. If you go to a local running store they can assess your walking gait and get you fitted in the proper shoes. When you walk, keep your eyes up, your hips tucked under your shoulders to avoid a sway in your back. Swing your arms for balance and to intensify your workout. This is also known as power walking.
Make sure to bring drinking water with you to avoid dehydration. Try to avoid walking in the heat. If it is too hot you can get cramps, which are never a good thing for the baby. Try finding shade to walk in or an air conditioning mall to walk in so you can beat the heat.
Thank you to the folks over at BODYARMOR for providing me and my athletes with some cases of their product a few months back. Its delicious! If you are looking for a drink that has electrolytes, vitamins, coconut water, and is low in sodium gibe this stuff a go It has Vitamins A, C and E in it.
It is also used by top athletes like Andrew Luck, Rob Gronkowski, LeSean McCoy, James Harden, Mike Trout and Buster Posey. For additional Information check out their website.
This is a quick message those of you who have purchased or have inquired about the Groupon.
Sessions will be taught either by Alicia Bell or Alysha Emerson
Overweight and Pregnant - You Risk Gestational Diabetes
If you are overweight, pregnancy can be a challenge at times. You can be prone to many complications. This can include complications not just for you but your baby as well. Your baby could be at risk for gestational diabetes.
According to research you are at risk of developing gestational diabetes if:
You're obese (your body mass index is over 30).
You've had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy.
You have a strong family history of diabetes.
According to The Canadian Diabetes Association“all pregnant women should be screened for gestational diabetes within 28 weeks of pregnancy” So make sure to check with your physician that you have been checked.
What exactly is gestational diabetes? The Baby Centre describes gestational diabetes as “a type of diabetes that some women get during pregnancy.” It has been estimated that between 2 and 10 percent of expectant mothers develop this condition. This type of diabetes can occur during pregnancy when your body cannot produce enough insulin to handle the effects of a growing baby and changing hormone levels. Insulin helps your body to control the level sugar in your blood. If your body cannot produce enough insulin, your blood sugar levels will rise and result in negative side effects.
If your blood sugar levels are too high, too much sugar will end up in your baby's blood. When this happens, your baby's pancreas needs to produce more insulin to process the extra sugar. All this excess blood sugar and insulin can cause your baby to put on extra weight, particularly in the upper body. This is not something you want to happen.
The good news is women who do develop gestational diabetes can go on and give birth to perfectly healthy babies if they properly manage their condition. Healthy dietary changes and exercise may be enough to keep your blood sugar levels under control. However, sometimes medication is needed, too. The American Diabetes Association recommends the following:
1. Eat three small-to-moderate-size meals and two to four snacks every day, including an after-dinner snack. Your meal plan may contain fewer carbohydrates than you normally eat. It's best to include complex carbs (contain more fiber) Pair lean protein with carbohydrates at all meals and snacks. Protein helps to make you feel fuller, sustain energy, and give you better blood sugar control.
2. Don't skip meals and eat breakfast. Be consistent about when you eat meals and the amount of food you eat at each one. Your blood sugar will remain more stable if your food is distributed evenly throughout the day and consistently from day to day.
3. Include high-fiber foods, such as green vegetables and fruit, whole grain breads.
4. Stop snacking on foods and beverages that contain simple sugars such as soda, fruit juice, flavored teas and flavored waters, and most desserts – or avoid them altogether.
Remember being active and exercise helps. Make sure to check with your physician if it is ok for you to exercise. Once you are make sure to exercise within your ability. If you are unfamiliar with exercise or what you should be doing when you are pregnant seek out a proper fitness expert for a consultation.
Alicia Bell
@trainitright
www.trainitright.com
BSc Kinesiology
Precision Nutrition L1
1. Sun exposure increases vitamin D levels in the body and helps optimize hormones.
2. Fresh air has more oxygen in it then inside.
3. Exercising outdoors feelings of well-being and lowers depression.
4. Outdoor greenery raises serotonin levels.
5. In nature you get more sensory stimulation than indoors.
VITAMIN D
According to the Vitamin D Council, the sun is a good source. Vitamin D is also especially important for good overall health and strong and healthy bones. I also helps fight infection by helping your in the muscles, heart, lungs and brain work optimally. According to the Vitamin D Council "a lack of vitamin D has also been linked to some other conditions such as cancer, asthma, type-II diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, Alzheimer’s and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s and type-I diabetes."
OXYGEN
Outdoors air has more oxygen than the air we breath indoors. Indoors the air can be destroyed by tobacco smoke, city smog fumes, re-circulating air in buildings, improper ventilation, exhaust, and other pollutants. Aqua 4 Balance states that ome of the bad side affects from a lack of fresh air are caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain include, fatigue, drowsiness, dullness of mind and irritability.
DEPRESSION
Nature increases positive thoughts and feelings of well-being and has been shown to reduce depression. Research has shown that exercise is an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression.A current study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, followed a similar method to one from 2008 that showed that a one-hour walk in a woodland park improved memory and attention. Web Md states that endorphins that are released during exercise trigger "a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as "euphoric." That feeling, known as a "runner's high," can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life." Regular exercise has been proven in studies to reduce stress, ward off anxiety and feelings of depression, boost self-esteem and improve sleep.
SEROTONIN
Serotonin levels are increased when you exercise outdoors or in green spaces. What is serotonin you ask? According to Australian Lifestyle seratonin is a neurotransmitter that is important in appetite control, sleep and our general metabolism.
SENSORY STIMULATION
The outdoors is constantly changing. You see birds, as you walk terrain changes, people you walk by have different faces, there are sounds and smells. Exercise is beneficial for physical and mental health and sensory stimulation can improve the quality of life for the average person and especially people with mental dementia according to Alzhemers.Org.
You need to show your loved one how much you care by putting in the effort to make the day unique by celebrating it in both a healthy and sexy way.
Play Together
According to Psychology Today "couples who sweat together stay together." Sign your partner and you up for a sexy dance class, a partners hot steamy yoga session or some fun partnered workouts with a trainer. Exercise increases testosterone in men and nothing is more exciting then seeing your partner work up a sweat. In addition to the release of hormones working out gets the blood pumping, heart racing and adds something fun and exciting to the relationship.
The Way To The Heart Is Through The Stomach
Both men and women love food. Impress your partner with some cooking skills in the kitchen. Make a romantic candlelit dinner for two at home. This is a great way for you to control what you are eating and how much. It also lets you show off your cooking abilities that your partner may not know about. Don't forget to serve a healthy sexy dessert. Try serving strawberries and low fat whipping cream which could lead to burning some extra calories in the bedroom.
Burn Calories In The Bedroom
According to WomansDay "having sex burns 144+ calories per half hour." So get into the loving spirit and get close and intimate with your loved one. This has many health benefits and it provides your ability to boost your immune system, lower blood pressure and it also counts as exercise!
Go That extra mile to show your partner how much that you care by doing something unique thats healthy and good for the heart. Couples who are healthy and active have been shown to have happier, longer lasting relationships. When your body, mind and spirit are stimulated you will have a long and healthy relationship.
According to the Huffington Post most of use consume an excess of up to and beyond 500 extra calories of sugar per day. One pound weight gain is equivalent to approximately 3500 calories. This means that the average person is putting themselves at risk to gain a minimum of one extra pound a week.
Here are 10 more reasons to cut back on sugar:
Sugar sweetened beverages are related to obesity
Canadians are drinking roughly twice as many soft drinks now as they did in 1970. Sugary liquids may make us fatter because they don’t curb our appetite for more food.
Sugar enriched beverages are linked to diabetes
Sugar sweetened soft drinks might increase the risk of type 2 diabetes because they’re high in rapidly absorbable carbohydrates. Also, studies have shown that people who eat foods that raise blood sugar levels have a higher risk of diabetes.
Sugar contains empty calories
There’s no question that sugars are a major culprit in obesity, because they’re a source of empty calories that most people don’t need. Sugar has no nutritional benefits whatsoever. Added sugars crowd out healthy foods, or make you fat if eaten in addition to healthy foods.
Sugar-sweetened drinks can raise the risk of heart disease
Excess weight isn not good for the heart. A big belly is one part of the metabolic syndrome, which raises the risk of heart disease (and diabetes). But sugar-sweetened beverages may promote heart disease whether or not they make you gain weight.
Sugar raises triglycerides
When you consume a large dose of glucose, the liver doesn’t pull much of it in if you don’t need the calories. In contrast, fructose ends up in the liver whether you need the calories or not. What does the liver do with all that fructose? It converts some of the fructose into fat, which gets sent into the bloodstream, resulting in higher levels of triglycerides.
Sugar promotes belly fat
According to the Huffington Post A 2010 2010 study in children found "excess fructose intake (but not glucose intake) actually caused visceral fat cells to mature -- setting the stage for a big belly and even bigger future risk for heart disease and diabetes."
Sugar may be linked to cancer production and may effect cancer survival
According to research done by the Huffington Post. A 2013 study found that "sugars in the intestine triggered the formation of a hormone called GIP (it is completely dependant on sugar levels), that in turn, increases insulin released by the pancreas. Researchers found that β-catenin may in fact affect the cells susceptibility to cancer formation. They found an associations between high sugar and starch intake and survival rates in both breast cancer patients and colon patients." This link between sugar and higher cancer risks should make you wan't to cut back if nothing else does.
Leptin is a hormone made by fat cells. It’s supposed to make you stop eating. Over time a high sugar diet blocks the leptin signal in the brain. The result is that you keep eating and no longer know when you are full.
Minimizing added sugars has been known to keep blood pressure down
There’s a possibility that sugar raises blood pressure, but it is not definitive. It is clear that there’s little place for sugar in a diet that’s designed to lower blood pressure.
Most sugary foods are low in nutrients
When you consume high sugar foods from companies such as Coca-cola, Pepsi, Hostess, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme etc you are getting over fed and under nourished. These foods are high in sugars and low in nutrients. Many are also packed with white flour which does not contain much nutritional value.
Alicia Bell, BSc Kin, CPT, NCCP, CF-L1
For more info follow Alicia on twitter or check out her website
Do you suffer from indigestion, heart burn, bloating or gas? You are not alone. According to Yahoo around 70 million of American's suffer from different types of digestive problems each year.
It is important to your overall health to maintain a healthy digestive system. GESA reports that "Although the digestive system can withstand a lot of stress (from the foods you eat to emotional stresses), it can only do so for a limited period. Over time, the negative effects will accumulate and create health problems in the long-term." Therefore you should watch your diet and take preventative measures to limit the risk of problematic situations occurring.
Although the best way to diagnose and take care of digestive problems is to promptly report any that appear to your doctor, research on nutrition has found that certain foods effect your digestion positively than others. According to Inside Fitness some of these foods include the following five:
Apples: This tasty fruit has a magic combination of both soluble and insoluble fibre helps you eat and digest quickly and easily.
Tumeric: Has been known to help with inflammation which can help smooth out the digestion process as your food travels through your system.
Almonds: These little nuts are filled with digestion enhancing fibre and calcium which also supports many functions in the body.
Peppermint Tea: Is known to calm the stomach muscles and improve the flow of your bile. Try to refrain from the use sweetener or milk.
Coconut Oil: This natural oil is made up of medium chain fatty acids that can help with digestion. You can take it as a supplement, cook with it, add it to smoothies or even use it as a replacement for butter.
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