Top 5 Fitness Trends

At some point or the other we all get tired of our monotonous workout regime which also reflects on our body and mood (if you know what we mean). Whether it is HIIT or Boot Camp or good old fashioned gym, you have to experiment with new workouts to shock your body and to make things interesting. Let’s look at some fitness trends that have changed the fitness world for good!

   1. Animal Flow:

Designed by Mike Fitch in partnership with Equinox, Animal Flow taps into your primal instincts to get you moving your body in ways you’ve never imagined before. You’ll go through a series of functional body weight movements that fuse gymnastics, acrobatics, Parkour, capoeira, and break-dancing, all while staying low to the ground and engaging many muscles at once. This creature-inspired class is a serious, drench-you-with-sweat workout.

   2. Ropes Gone Wild:

Waving a rope up and down sounds simple—until you try doing so with the Art of Strength’s signature weighted ropes. Ropes Gone Wild relies on the “art of undulation,” or creating a wave-like pattern in the rope with your body. You’ll work every muscle, especially your core, while reaping cardiovascular benefits, improving coordination, and increasing metabolic endurance. Plus, this highly effective workout is low impact, so it’s safe for anyone from newbies and injured athletes to decided gym-goers.

   3. Wave Shape:

Personal trainer and The People’s Bootcamp founder Adam Rosante first designed this workout for friends who are professional surfers and paddleboarders. After seeing how effective it was, he decided to put it online for people to enjoy for free. WaveShape is 45-minute, equipment-free workout that draws on the multidimensional movement patterns of surfing and other board sports to build explosive strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility. 

   4. City Row:

The rowing craze is quickly catching on around the nation, with some even calling it the “new spinning.”  There’s good reason people are starting to gravitate toward this full-body workout that hits about 85 percent of your muscles when done correctly. “Rowing is high intensity yet low impact, so it’s safe and smart for your body,” says Helaine Knapp, founder and CEO of New York City’s CityRow, where intervals on an WaterRower are broken up with strength exercises on a mat. 

   5. Body Blade:

This futuristic-looking tool promises to deliver an out-of-this-world workout. Using vibration training, the Bodyblade targets specific muscle groups by varying the positions of the body or direction of the flexing blade. The blade rapidly changes directions at a rhythm of 4.5 cycles per second, which means your body has to move 270 times per minute to resist the forces of it moving back and forth. It promises to deliver benefits such as enhanced coordination, flexibility, posture, efficiency of muscle function, and muscle definition.

Happy Workout!

Source:

http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/15-next-big-fitness-trends/slide/1

7 Primal Movement Patterns

We often see people in the gym who are completely lost as to why they are working out at all and unsure of what exercises they should be doing while they are there. At the most basic of levels, each one of our goals should be focused first and foremost on ‘function’. What we SHOULD do in the gym is make sure our bodies are 100% functional and perform all the movements necessary for a more active lifestyle.

We’re laying out the 7 basic, primal movement patterns you should use at least once per week and that form the foundation of the workouts & exercise programs we develop. 

The Seven Primal Movements:

1. Bend to extend

Bending with a hips back movement, back straight, feet flat and forward. It can be performed bodyweight or in dozens of other variations including the deadlift. Bend to extend movements work your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

2. Squat

This is a hips down motion. Keep your bodyweight in its neutral gravity line with your back flat, developing range of motion that will take you to “rock bottom.” You will not use much forward lean here as your hips are more directly under you. This is all about strength and flexibility and works every muscle in your legs and core.

3. Lunge

This is a long, linear stride, lowering your back knee to just above the ground, with a completely upright torso. Lunges will make your quads and hip flexors sore from the long range of motion and will require more core strength to stand up out of than the squat and deadlift.

4. Rotate

This is your ability to twist in your core, from your pelvis to your ribcage. Every step you take has rotation in the thoracic spine, as a matter of injury prevention, train it in your practice. Not only will it keep your core strong and mobile, unifying your body, but it will also tone up those midsection muscles!

5. Push

This is your upper body muscles pushing things in various directions. In the real world, you would have to do this with different objects, in different ways, quite frequently. Depending upon the lift this trains your chest, shoulders, and triceps differently.

6. Pull

This is your upper body muscles pulling weight toward you. This is often seen in a row or pulling your body weight up in a pull-up. Pulling trains your upper back, biceps, and grip. There is a version of pulling out there for everyone. This movement can also help correct the forward shoulders that have become so common among people today from spending so much time at computers and smart phones.

7. Gait

Walk, jog, run or sprint. I truly believe that we should all be able to enjoy the freedom to run. Training strength and mobility in the first six primal movements will allow you to enjoy exercises such as running with less of a likelihood of injury. I always tell people to get fit so they can run not run to get fit. Long distance running is more likely to stimulate unwanted stressors and overestimate your sympathetic nervous system.

Source:

http://www.realjock.com/article/1485

http://whole9life.com/2014/12/seven-primal-movements/

http://www.builtlean.com/2013/04/24/primal-movement-patterns/

Foods to Boost Your Immune System

The Excuse of the Millennium: “I’m sick” (we mean literally)

Here are a bunch of foods that you HAVE to include in your diet to avoid the common ailments and if you can’t include them in your daily diet then supplements will do the job.

Vitamin C

You probably know about vitamin C’s connection to the immune system, but did you know you can get it from much more than just citrus fruits? Leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale, bell peppers, brussels sprouts, strawberries and papaya are also excellent sources. In fact, vitamin C is in so many foods that most people may not need to take supplements unless a doctor advises it.

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Vitamin E

Vitamin E can be a powerful antioxidant that helps your body fight off infection. Almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds are all high in vitamin E. So are spinach and broccoli if you prefer to increase your intake through meals rather than snacks.

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Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is a part of nearly 200 biochemical reactions in your body and is critical in how your immune system functions. Foods high in vitamin B6 include bananas, lean chicken breast, cold-water fish such as tuna, baked potatoes and chickpeas.

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Vitamin A

Foods that are high in colorful compounds called carotenoids — carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cantaloupe and squash — are all great options for Vitamin A. The body turns these carotenoids into vitamin A, and they have an antioxidant effect to help strengthen the immune system against infection.

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Vitamin D

You can increase your Vit D intake through foods such as fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines) and fortified foods such as milk, orange juice and cereals. If you have a vitamin D deficiency, talk to your doctor about supplements.

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Folic acid

Folic acid is often added to foods because of its health benefits. To get more folic acid, add more beans and peas to your plate, as well as leafy green vegetables. You can also get folic acid in fortified foods such as enriched breads, pastas, rice and other 100 percent whole-grain products.

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Iron

Iron helps your body carry oxygen to cells and comes in different forms. Your body can more easily absorb “heme iron,” which is abundant in lean poultry such as chicken and turkey, plus seafood. You can get other forms of iron in beans, broccoli and kale.

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Zinc

Zinc is found in oysters, crab, lean meats and poultry, baked beans (without added sugar), yogurt and chickpeas. Zinc appears to help slow down the immune response and control inflammation in your body.

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Source:

http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/01/eat-these-foods-to-boost-your-immune-system/

Much Ado About Zumba

      If you feel the need to shake a leg at the drop of a hat, there is nothing wrong with you. When you are running on the treadmill and you are listening to your favourite dance track, all you want to do is find a dance floor - you are very normal.

      Alberto Perez, the inventor of Zumba, must have acted on this impulse to dance while exercising! Well, if you really must know, he forgot his aerobics tape (remember those?) and grabbed the first dance music tape he could from his car. He improvised and the rest is history.

      Zumba, a dance cum exercise routine has taken over the world of fitness with a whirlwind. Imagine putting on really comfortable shoes to a dance floor and performing the same routine as others while you break into a sweat and lose a little weight. It’s like a party in the house, all day everyday! Dream come true!

      A typical one hour long Zumba class consists of an upbeat dance performance that revolves around a few repetitive steps per song. It’s like learning to be a better dance as well as exercise more effectively. It’s a two for one deal! You can have the dreariest of days and feel elated after a Zumba session. That’s the power of Zumba.

Why do Zumba?

   One is known to lose between 600 to 1000 calories in a Zumba class.

   With dancing you move your body to the rhythm of the music while you do specific moves, your body will undergo a good amount of toning, with time of course.

   You don’t have to be a great dance - that’s why you join Zumba. If you claim to have two left feet (aren’t we tired of that one?) you aren’t the only one there. Make mistakes and laugh it off with others like you. Plus, you get to improve your coordination - so no more embarrassing out of sync dancing at the next wedding!

   Exercising is known to make people (the endorphin release, remember). Add some funky dance moves. Good riddance, stress.

For the simple reason - when has dance music not made you feel better?

Content source:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/zumba-fun-is-secret-ingredient-of-latin-dance-workout?page=3
http://weightloss.allwomenstalk.com/amazing-benefits-of-zumba-that-will-make-you-dance-your-way-to-weight-loss/10/

Rise and Shine!

“It is easier to wake up early and work out than it is to look in the mirror each day and not like what you see.” Jayne Cox

http://youbeauty-wpengine.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/648_morning_person.jpg 

Given our daily schedules and busy personal lives, we hate waking up in the morning on weekdays. Especially Mondays…

So today we shall give you some tips on how to become a ‘morning person’, well at least five days out of seven and make the most of ‘today’.

If you have issues with your sleep cycle, fix with eating early. Eat your last meal about 12 to 16 hours before you want to get up.When you begin eating again i.e., the next morning your body will reset the clock and consider it ‘morning’. So, eggs or pancakes?

• DRINK.MORE.WATER. By drinking more water during the day time can reduce the effort your body has to make at night by keeping it well-hydrated. 

• The Boogeyman keeping you awake? Drink some apple juice before bed as the chemical compounds in the fruit will keep the nightmares away and give you a sound sleep.

• Set your favourite dance number as your alarm ringtone and keep the phone on a table or the dresser in your room. a. You will wake up amused and b.) You will have to walk or dance, if you will, to the phone to switch it off. 

• Eat light and avoid spicy foods at night to keep heartburn at bay. You won’t wake up feeling like you have ‘just eaten’.

• After a long day, just hop into the shower and take a warm bath even if it is for two minutes. It will instantly relax you and make you feel drowsy.

• If you are trying to get up early, do it with a 15 minute mark. Say you have been waking up at 9 a.m everyday and you need to get up an hour early. Set your alarm to 8.45 on Day 1, 8.30 on Day 2, 8.15 on Day 3 and finally 8.00 on Day 4. The key is to start slowly. This way you won’t feel drowsy on your way to work or during that 9 a.m. meeting! 

• Do a quick workout before you jump into the shower. There are plenty of things you can do in an hour (or less) now that you are waking up early. Join the gym! 

• Speaking of gym, if you are starting at the gym make sure you prep your gym gear/bag the night before. As silly as it sounds to do it at night, it seems that much more tedious in the morning. Since you will be all ready to go, you will want to make a move as soon as you hear that alarm. 

• Create your own routine. In the morning, do something that makes you feel confident or comforted. It could be anything - watering the plants, doing weights, putting on makeup or just reading the morning paper. This should be your ‘me time’ before you go cray-cray during the day! 

There are only 24 hours in a day, you will say. But if Bill Gates can find time to read books, then so can you! Just wake up a little earlier than usual and see what a difference it makes.

Content source:
www.busykidshappymom.org
www.9gag.com
www.sparkpeople.com
http://backonpointe.tumblr.com/post/20370749127/fit-tista-ill-be-up-bright-and-early-tomorrow