Sugar gets a bad rap. A popular YouTube video by Robert Lustig titled, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, garnered a lot of negative attention for sugar. The New York Times magazine even published an article about the dangers of sugar two years later. These documentaries demonized sugar in the modern human diet. No one can argue, sugar has been tied to … Read More
How much rest do you need between workouts?
Muscles are made in the gym, right? In order to burn fat and build muscle, you need to be working out hard and often. That means showing up to the gym a lot, lifting lots of weight, and a whole lot of reps. Muscles actually aren’t made in the gym; they’re broken down in the gym. Muscles are made in … Read More
Does Gua Sha help reduce wrinkles?
Gua sha has remained popular in the East over many centuries – and for very good reasons. Besides the benefits to the body, which include relieving congestion, reducing pain, and getting rid of toxins, the technique is also often used as a “natural face-lift.” Since ancient times Asian women have used it to effectively fight the signs of ageing. Dr. … Read More
Does Gua Sha Hurt and Is It Dangerous?
Gua sha is a traditional healing technique that originated in the Far East. It has a long history, and it is still very popular in Asia, where millions of ordinary people use it to relieve congestion and muscle pain, but it is still not very well-known in the West. Because people don’t know much about it, there are a lot … Read More
CrossFit: It’s Not the Workouts That Get You Fit
In order to get in shape, we need a good workout. So it’s no surprise that when you think of a good workout, high intensity interval training (HIIT) comes to mind. Studies point to HIIT as a great way to lose fat, build muscle, and develop overall fitness. It’s also immensely popular because of Reebok endorsements and the CrossFit Games. … Read More
A Beginners Guide to Intermittent Fasting
If leanness in combination with increased strength gains is something that sounds appealing to you, then consider intermittent fasting (IF). This is an alternative approach that you can use instead of the conventional 5 or 6 small meals per day that most people tend to recommend. Not only can you skip breakfast, but your body will not start to cannibalize its own … Read More
The Key to Optimizing Recovery and Working Out More Often: Managing your Cortisol levels
I have the good pleasure and honor of sharing a gym with a top 10 CrossFit games athlete (a fact that I almost immediately bring up in conversation with anyone who has even a remote idea of what CrossFit is). The first time I watched this athlete/unstoppable force of nature throw weight around and do gymnastics maneuvers that make you … Read More
Why Women Should Lift Weights: 5 Myths Busted
As someone who is heavily involved in the fitness industry, friends and family always come to me asking for gym advice – whether it’s to lose weight or change the way parts of their body look. My suggestion to them always involves some sort of weight lifting component which always scares the females off. Speaking to my personal trainer friends, they … Read More
What is Insulin and It’s Connection to Fat Storage
Insulin is one of those words that everybody’s heard of, but many can’t actually explain. Asked what it is and why it’s important, they shuffle their feet and uncomfortably shrug their shoulders. For those people concerned with controlling their body fat levels (and who isn’t?) that creates a problem. Insulin, you see, has a critical part to play in determining … Read More
What is Cortisol and it’s Link to Fat Loss
Cortisol is a hormone that is induced by stress. It is commonly known as the fight-or-flight hormone which is triggered when your body perceives to be in immediate danger. For example, if you were walking around town and a bear appeared in front of you, your cortisol levels would immediately skyrocket. Cortisol is a very natural hormone response in our … Read More