How to squat

I've spent a lot of time at the gym and I see a lot of mistakes when it comes to squats. There are many different kinds of squats but there are some basic principles that apply to most if not all of them. 

1. Hips should initiate the movement. Imagine sitting in a chair. When you sit down your hips move backwards into the seat.( this is a good way for beginners to start squatting ) This action brings me to my next point

2. If your knees are behind your toes, the power for the squat is coming from you Glutes and hamstrings. When your knees fall forward in front of your toes you are putting a lot of stress on your knees. Another good indication is that you will feel the weight in your heels. If the weight is in your toes it's wrong. ( this applies to leg press machines as well)

3. Keep your chest up.  Each person is shaped differently and will have different ranges of hip mobility  but despite your range, you want to try and keep your chest as vertical as it will allow. A tip to help with this is to keep your gaze above eye level. When your eyes fall your head tends to go with it and when your head falls, your back tends to go too. 

4. Stance. Because there are many different squats I'm going to focus on the basic squat. You want to be hip to shoulder width apart.  From my experience very few people can do a correct squat with their toes absolutely straight forward so turn them out slightly. Think 11  and 1 o'clock. Stick your butt out ever so slightly while keeping your chest up. 

A retirement plan for your body.

I had lunch with a very good friend today and amidst our conversation he shared that he has high cholesterol. His doctor expressed that he should get a nutritionist and I also asked what he was doing exercise wise. He hadn't really made moves In either direction and explained it was because his focus wasn't in there. He's been focused on his work and I have to say I'm very proud of what he's doing but I could not help but ask the question, "If the doctor said that you had to change your lifestyle now or else... How would you have reacted?" Needless to say he started to see things a little different.  I wanted to share this story to talk about how a lot of us wait until our health is being threatened to start making lifestyle changes. 

      Growing up, my father always used to say, "take care of your body, you only get one." And for a long time I never paid attention to those wise words until I discovered my passion for health and fitness I really started to see their value. Unfortunately, some people don't come to that realization until they are faced with a life threatening situation. And until that happens, we tend to make excuses to explain why we can't do it. " I don't have the time." "I would go to the gym but I don't know how to use weights and I don't want to hurt myself." "I'm to big to go to the gym and people will make fun of me." 

From my experience, I've learned that people function in two capacities; fear or faith. Fear is the voice making the excuses and faith is the voice that finds a way to make it happen. I'm not religious but I do understand that the key to success in any aspect of life begins with your mindset. But that topic is for another post. 

     We spend so much time focusing on our jobs to make money for our retirement that we often neglect our health. And I ask, what good is your retirement going to be if you are laying in a hospital bed? Look at health and fitness as a retirement plan for your body. The work that you put in now will pay for itself down the road. Any person would ridicule someone if they waited 5 years before retiring to start saving. Why don't we apply the same thinking when it comes to our bodies?

Getting Greens

One of the biggest challenges I think people face are how to get enough veggies and greens in their diet. I stated before the fruits and vegetables should be consumed more than any other food group and I decided to share a few pointers on how I incorporate them in my diet.

- Every morning I start off having something warm wether it be oatmeal, Eggs, Bacon a croissant as well as a protein shake. The ingredients of my protein shake include, 2 scoops of chocolate or vanilla whey protein 1 banana, 1/2 or a whole apple, a hand full of greens i.e. Kale, spinach, chard, arugula and sunflower leaves etc. A spoonful of coconut oil and roughly 1/2-1 cup of oatmeal and a few sprinkles of cinnamon. I know what you're thinking, That sounds Disgusting! But the reality is that its very tasty and pretty filling as well. Chocolate and banana and cinnamon are very strong flavors that over power the greens and coconut oil and If you are like me and can't stand the taste of coconut oil, this is a great way to incorporate it into your diet. The greens will cause your protein shake to look funny but I guarantee they wont affect the taste. And this is just a recipe that I enjoy. You can make a smoothie or protein shake using what ever combination of fruits and veggies that satisfy your taste pallet.

-Another way that I incorporate veggies and greens into my diet is by blending them with fruit . Sometimes fruit can be very expensive to buy or difficult to get rid of before going bad; so I'll blend my veggies with juice as well . Not any kind of juice. You want it to be 100% juice preferably not from concentrate with no added ingredients or sugar. The farmers market has some great juices as well as trader joes and whole foods. Personally, I like to use pineapple juice because its very sweet and can mask the bitter taste of green veggies. You can throw in any vegetable you want this way. I often throw in peppers, Brussels-sprouts, a radish, carrots, lots of leafy greens like Kale, spinach, chard, arugula etc. Then you can load it with fruit and if desired, juice as well. The idea is to find the right combination of fruits and vegetables that you will enjoy.

I prefer to blend over juicing because juicing strips the fruit of some of the nutritional value in the skin and other parts of the fruit. Benefits to green blending are,

-super hydration

-Natural detoxification

-weight loss

-stress reduction

-improved moods and sharper mental processes

-better skin, hair and nails

-immune system booster

-energy booster                           -- Hive Health Media


Another great benefit to blending is that your body receives more of the nutrients. A lot of raw vegetables contain cellulose fiber which the body can not break down sufficiently. Blending them breaks down the fiber releasing more nutrients to the body. It's best to consume blended juice with in 24 hours. Once fruits and veggies are blended they begin oxidizing, loosing nutrients and over blending allows more air in and increases the oxidation process. -Hive Health Media

A great article about GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms)

http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/top-10-cereals-that-contain-gmos/

Jawbone UP vs the Nike fuel band

Hey, I'm back. Happy New Year and I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. Took a little break during nutcracker season to make some money to buy presents :-). Speaking of presents, I received a jawbone up and a Nike Fuel wristwatch and thought it would be a good idea to do a blog on the pros and cons of each one to help those who might be torn between which one to buy.

Lets start with the jawbone.
In my opinion, the jawbone bracelet's appearance is pretty bland aside from the color choices. I think the design was geared to appeal more to women but is not by any means too feminine for a man. As far as function, it's pretty great! It provides information on how many steps you have taken in a day as well as how many active calories burned, idle calories burned, your longest period active, your longest period idle, the amount of calories burned that day and the distance covered while active. It also charts the exact time of when you were most active and idle. You can also set what is called an "Idle Alert" which when you have been idle for a long period of time will vibrate to tell you to get up and move. The best feature the Jawbone has is its sleep mode. Before you go to bed you switch the band into sleep mode and it records all of your nightly activity; how long it takes you to fall asleep, how long you are in a light sleep, deep sleep, how many times you get up, how long it takes you to fall back asleep, and the total hours slept. It also has some pretty cool features like power nap,which when activated will use the most previous sleep data to decide the optimal nap length ranging from 27-45 minutes. You can still set your own nap length as well and it will wake you up with a gentle vibration as opposed to a loud noise. It also has a built in stop watch so you can time certain activities, and the app allows you to log work outs. The major drawback to this device is that you can only see the information by syncing it to the app which requires you to detach a small cap on the end of the bracelet, which I have lost repeatedly, and stick the bracelet into the earphone jack. This can become annoying and frankly I sometimes forget to do it. It makes it hard to keep track of my goals and by the time I get around to syncing the device the day is gone. Also without a visible screen, you have to remember a combination of clicks to activate different modes.

The Nike Fuel band has far fewer functions. It counts steps, calories, active time, and distance traveled. The package however, is much more appealing because all the information is given to you on the bracelet in color and instead of having to plug the band into your app devices, you can sync it with Bluetooth which makes reaching your goals before the days end a lot easier. Aside from health information it's a nice looking watch. Because Nike is a bigger name than the Jawbone UP, more people have it therefore making it easier to find friends on Facebook that you can engage in healthy competition with. Nike created something called Nike Fuel which you attain by being active and is also what you use to measure against your competitors. Neither device is water proof which sucks because I swim a lot. The jawbone can withstand thousands of showers as the website says but they advise you to not go swimming with it. The Nike fuel band doesn't talk about its water resistance much but I just don't get it wet.

Overall, I think either one is a good purchase. Combined, they are the perfect fitness band, aside from the water issue. The jawbone cost $130 and the Nike fuel band is $150. I hope this helps with those of you who are deciding on purchasing one.

How to be a better mover.

If you have ever found that your "movements" aren't as smooth as you would like I have a suggestion for you. Psyllium Husk. Psyllium Husk also known as Isphagula is the covering of seeds grown on the plant, Plantago Psyllium. Mostly found in the Middle East, when it is ingested, psyllium husk absorbs water  throughout the digestive track without itself being digested creating bulkier but softer stool. While traveling through the digestive track it continues to expand and scrape the intestinal walls clean of waste products. When used daily, it can greatly reduce intestinal problems like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), constipation, and diarrhea. It has also been know to aid in the treatment of colon cancer, ulcerative colitis and atherosclerosis and many other health conditions. Aside from the benefits psyllium husk provides for digestion, It is also an incredible source of fiber. Wisegeek.com posted that Oat Bran, a great source of fiber, has 5 grams of fiber per 1/3rd a cup and psyllium husk in the same 1/3rd cup, contains 71 grams of fiber. It is also beneficial for lowering blood cholesterol and when taken regularly lowers low density lipoproteins aka, bad cholesterol.  It can also be a useful weight loss supplement. If taken 30 min before eating, it will have time to expand giving your stomach a full feeling making you want less food.

Psyllium husk should be taken with a lot of water. The most effective way is to drink a glass of water then mix psyllium husk in a glass of warm water until it has a cream of wheat texture then drink. Be careful not to take too much when starting out. I recommend  half a tablespoon twice a day and then increase the dose once your body has gotten used to it. Taking to much to fast can result in bloating or gas. Also, check with your doctor to make sure that you are not allergic to psyllium husk. Some have been known to go into anaphylactic shock when using it. If you have texture issues like me, drinking psyllium husk in warm water may be unbearable. Another way to take it is to put the psyllium husk in your mouth using a spoon but  DO NOT SWALLOW. Then drink it down with warm water. Its very important that you do not swallow psyllium husk alone. Once it mixes with water it will start to expand and if you try to swallow it dry it can cause choking. Psyllium husk is most effective when you consistently drink water all day; so be sure to stay hydrated. Without enough water it can cause blockages in the intestines.

When purchasing psyllium husk, make sure to buy whole psyllium husk. This can be found in a health food store like Westerly or Whole Foods. Regular groceries may carry it but chances are their brand is ground up into a fine powder and has added flavors or other additives that will introduce unwanted toxins into the body. I have been using psyllium husk for a few weeks now and have never been a better mover.

Sugar: The bitter truth

This video will change your life. It's an hour and a half long but is completely worth the watch. Even if it is playing while you do the dishes or when you take a shower you will gain a great understanding about sugar; specifically high Fructose corn syrup. I have watched it 5 times and catch something new every time. Do yourself a favor and watch it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM