At Under Armour, we believe that sports can inspire, unite, and even change the world. We see it break down barriers and unite people of all backgrounds in arenas, stadiums, and playing fields. We see it inspire little girls and little boys to believe in themselves. We see it when teams, leagues, athletes, fans and you answer the call for help when disaster strikes. We created this video before the impact of #HurricaneHarvey, where we’ve all now witnessed the devastation that’s been caused. As we send our thoughts and prayers to all those affected, and as a brand that’s now making the bold statement that sports can change the world, it’s our job to demonstrate how we are doing more. We’re taking action through our partnership with @teamrubicon, a first responder organization who deploys former service members to emergency situations. SPORTS INSPIRED CARLA’S UNSTOPPABLE RUN STREAK Through these efforts, our mission is to get everyone back in the game, back to their Friday Night Lights, and to aid in the healing process by uniting us all through the power of sport. If you want to help change the world through sports, check out a few ways you can volunteer or donate to athletes’ organizations below.
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TEAM RUBICONWe’re taking action through our partnership with Team Rubicon, a first responder organization who deploys former service members to emergency situations. We’re supporting the efforts of those on the ground to secure the safety of all those affected, stabilize the community and return kids to school & sports. MISTY COPELANDPremier Ballerina Misty Copeland helps to provide access to dance for kids who otherwise may not have had the same opportunities as she has. STEPHEN CURRYNOTHING BUT NETS // THANKSUSA Off the court, you can find Stephen Curry lending his time and resources to United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets, a campaign to save lives by fighting malaria, and ThanksUSA, an organization whose mission is to provide need-based scholarships to support our military. BRYCE HARPERBaseball player Bryce Harper uses the fun and excitement that sports provides to help lift kids battling cancer. ANDY MURRAYAndy Murray has set up his own annual tennis exhibition even in Scotland’s biggest indoor arena, with all proceeds going to UNICEF, a children’s charity, and a local Scottish charity to improve the lives of the less fortunate. The event also brings affordable tennis to a Scottish audience which Andy hopes will inspire a generation to take up sport. CAM NEWTONCam Newton is committed to enhancing the lives of youth by addressing their educational, physical, and social needs. MICHAEL PHELPSMichael Phelps is using sports to bring kids together and promote a healthy lifestyle through swimming. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/we-will/via Blogger Sports Will Change the World
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Similar to “American Ninja Warrior” and the obstacle-based fitness trend it spawned, strongman training first started as a hit TV show strictly for our own entertainment. In 1977, CBS aired the first edition of a contest called “World’s Strongest Man,” where participants — a mix of bodybuilders, weightlifters, football players and the like — literally strapped refrigerators to their backs and sprinted for 17 seconds. Four decades later, strongman training techniques and equipment have evolved, and the trend is making its way into commercial gyms. While this fitness method is much more thoughtful, functional and safe than it once was, it still tends to attract spectators. But you no longer have to sit on the sidelines. You can try these muscle-building, fat-torching moves regardless of your fitness level. In other words, you don’t need to be a strongman to train like one. “[Commercial gyms] are starting to get variations of strongman equipment that won’t destroy their facility. You might see super heavy medicine balls that people use to simulate a stone load. Or you’ll see people carry dumbbells like farmer handles. There might be sandbags for people to lift and carry,” says Chad Canter, a trainer at the strength and conditioning studio, TS Fitness, and coach for PowerNYC, where he works with 20 male and female strongman athletes, including four pros, a national and world champion. WHY NOW?Strongman training is nothing new. In fact, the concept is centuries’ old. But in recent years, it has progressed to “focus not just on maximal strength, but also endurance, conditioning and an emphasis on skill and speed as well as brute strength,” says Lee Bell, MS, lecturer at The Muscle Mechanic UK. Other reasons for the sudden spike in popularity may include boredom and the fulfillment of a basic human need. “People just don’t do manual labor like they used to, so they need more of a variety of movement at the gym now. It’s not just about coming in, sitting on a machine and doing your presses, then sitting at another machine and doing extensions. Strongman lets you pick things up and move them around in a much more dynamic way that’s also more mentally stimulating,” says Canter, who also regularly competes at 200 pounds in qualifiers for national strongman competitions. There’s a cool, creative component to strongman training, too. “A stone or sandbag is not like a bench press, where you just press it up and down and rack it. With a stone or sandbag, you can pick it up and carry it. You can press it to your shoulders. You can load it over a bar repeatedly. There’s lots of things you can do, so you’re not as limited as you are with machines. Plus, it’s all very functional fitness that helps with day-to-day tasks. Farmers carries prep you for hauling your groceries, lifting a stone over a bar is like putting a box on a shelf and a clean and press is like picking up your kid.” READ MORE > MASTER THE MOVE | THE PUSHUP An additional appeal is that anyone can do it. “Anybody can learn how to pick something off the ground and put it on top of something else.You just need to scale things back to where you can handle it, and build up,” Cantor says. “I have a 75-year-old client who does farmers carries.” Science also suggests strongman workouts are better at burning fat. “An interesting study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that the sheer intensity and volume of these exercises [i.e., farmers walk, log press and the stones] helped strongmen form an athletic look with high muscle levels and a lean body composition,” Bell says. “Any exercise that requires repeated, high-intensity activities with multiple muscle groups will improve conditioning and burn a lot of calories. Couple that with some a muscle-building stimulus from the heavy loads and strongman training will soon improve body composition.” STRENGTH TRAINING VS. STRONGMAN TRAINING?The larger and heavier equipment is the most obvious difference, but not the biggest. How you move with these tools is really what separates these methods. “In regular strength training, every movement has an A and a B move. If you squat, you lower your body down (A), then you stand up (B). In strongman training, the moves are much more dynamic, involving the total body, which is why I think it’s now gaining popularity,” Canter explains. “For example, you might pick up a yoke — a giant metal frame with a crossbar designed as a lifting station — and carry it 60 feet. Or if you lift a stone, you have to do a deadlift then row to get it to your lap, squat to stand up, then walk. You’re rarely ever picking something up and just standing in one place.” While you can certainly perform strongman training on your own, it is smart to seek advice from someone knowledgeable as you would whenever you’re learning a new activity. “It’s good to have a trainer or coach introduce you to it and show you how to do it properly. You want to make sure that you’re going to pick things up in a safe way. Once you get it down, you can do it on your own,” Canter says. The odds of getting hurt are no greater in strongman training than in regular weight-room work, but, as always, it’s good to be cautious and calculated. “Usually, pushing through a movement when you shouldn’t is when you get into trouble,” Canter warns. So when you power through, try to stay closer to 7 or 8 on a difficulty scale of 1–10. Ready to become a strongman? Incorporate the following workout from Canter once a week and see how you feel — and look — over time. 1. SINGLE-ARM PUSH PRESS Grab a bar or a dumbbell (such as the circus dumbbell, pictured) and hold it at shoulder level. Choose a weight you find challenging to straight press for a few reps. Standing with your feet hip-width apart, dip down as if you’re about to squat, then spring up, pressing the weight skyward. Slowly lower your arm, then repeat. This total-body exercise generates power from your lower body, which means you can lift more than you think. Do 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps, alternating sides. 2. FARMERS CARRY Start this move the same way you would a deadlift. Grip the handles of dumbbells or kettle-bells tightly, keeping your back straight. Stand up and start walking. Not only does this strengthen your back and legs, but also it engages your core. Make sure your hands are actively squeezing the handles. If you don’t feel a strain in your hands by the end of each set, the weight is too light. Aim to cover 50–100 feet as fast as possible (or 45 seconds) for 2–4 sets. 3. SANDBAG CARRY This variation of a carry lets you work through how to hold heavy objects in front of your body, engaging your core, hamstrings and glutes. If your gym doesn’t have sandbags, take a 45-pound weight plate (be sure to deadlift it up), bear hug it, slightly lean back and start walking. Set a timer to see how far you can go in 30 seconds. Each time you do this exercise, try to beat your distance. Aim for 50–100 feet as fast as possible for 2–4 sets. 4. DEADLIFT You’ve already had to deadlift heavy weights for all the previous movements, so you know very well how to do this. The checklist to keep in mind here is to make sure your back is tight, not arched like a scared cat. Don’t let your hips come up before your shoulders when you stand up. If you break form, don’t go up in weight yet. Start with 5–10 reps for 4 sets. GEAR UP FOR YOUR NEXT WORKOUT > Men’s Compressions Shirts The post You Don’t Need to be a Strongman to Train Like One appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/dont-need-strongman-train-like-one/via Blogger You Don’t Need to be a Strongman to Train Like One Similar to “American Ninja Warrior” and the obstacle-based fitness trend it spawned, strongman training first started as a hit TV show strictly for our own entertainment. In 1977, CBS aired the first edition of a contest called “World’s Strongest Man,” where participants — a mix of bodybuilders, weightlifters, football players and the like — literally strapped refrigerators to their backs and sprinted for 17 seconds. Four decades later, strongman training techniques and equipment have evolved, and the trend is making its way into commercial gyms. While this fitness method is much more thoughtful, functional and safe than it once was, it still tends to attract spectators. But you no longer have to sit on the sidelines. You can try these muscle-building, fat-torching moves regardless of your fitness level. In other words, you don’t need to be a strongman to train like one. “[Commercial gyms] are starting to get variations of strongman equipment that won’t destroy their facility. You might see super heavy medicine balls that people use to simulate a stone load. Or you’ll see people carry dumbbells like farmer handles. There might be sandbags for people to lift and carry,” says Chad Canter, a trainer at the strength and conditioning studio, TS Fitness, and coach for PowerNYC, where he works with 20 male and female strongman athletes, including four pros, a national and world champion. WHY NOW?Strongman training is nothing new. In fact, the concept is centuries’ old. But in recent years, it has progressed to “focus not just on maximal strength, but also endurance, conditioning and an emphasis on skill and speed as well as brute strength,” says Lee Bell, MS, lecturer at The Muscle Mechanic UK. Other reasons for the sudden spike in popularity may include boredom and the fulfillment of a basic human need. “People just don’t do manual labor like they used to, so they need more of a variety of movement at the gym now. It’s not just about coming in, sitting on a machine and doing your presses, then sitting at another machine and doing extensions. Strongman lets you pick things up and move them around in a much more dynamic way that’s also more mentally stimulating,” says Canter, who also regularly competes at 200 pounds in qualifiers for national strongman competitions. There’s a cool, creative component to strongman training, too. “A stone or sandbag is not like a bench press, where you just press it up and down and rack it. With a stone or sandbag, you can pick it up and carry it. You can press it to your shoulders. You can load it over a bar repeatedly. There’s lots of things you can do, so you’re not as limited as you are with machines. Plus, it’s all very functional fitness that helps with day-to-day tasks. Farmers carries prep you for hauling your groceries, lifting a stone over a bar is like putting a box on a shelf and a clean and press is like picking up your kid.” READ MORE > MASTER THE MOVE | THE PUSHUP An additional appeal is that anyone can do it. “Anybody can learn how to pick something off the ground and put it on top of something else.You just need to scale things back to where you can handle it, and build up,” Cantor says. “I have a 75-year-old client who does farmers carries.” Science also suggests strongman workouts are better at burning fat. “An interesting study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that the sheer intensity and volume of these exercises [i.e., farmers walk, log press and the stones] helped strongmen form an athletic look with high muscle levels and a lean body composition,” Bell says. “Any exercise that requires repeated, high-intensity activities with multiple muscle groups will improve conditioning and burn a lot of calories. Couple that with some a muscle-building stimulus from the heavy loads and strongman training will soon improve body composition.” STRENGTH TRAINING VS. STRONGMAN TRAINING?The larger and heavier equipment is the most obvious difference, but not the biggest. How you move with these tools is really what separates these methods. “In regular strength training, every movement has an A and a B move. If you squat, you lower your body down (A), then you stand up (B). In strongman training, the moves are much more dynamic, involving the total body, which is why I think it’s now gaining popularity,” Canter explains. “For example, you might pick up a yoke — a giant metal frame with a crossbar designed as a lifting station — and carry it 60 feet. Or if you lift a stone, you have to do a deadlift then row to get it to your lap, squat to stand up, then walk. You’re rarely ever picking something up and just standing in one place.” While you can certainly perform strongman training on your own, it is smart to seek advice from someone knowledgeable as you would whenever you’re learning a new activity. “It’s good to have a trainer or coach introduce you to it and show you how to do it properly. You want to make sure that you’re going to pick things up in a safe way. Once you get it down, you can do it on your own,” Canter says. The odds of getting hurt are no greater in strongman training than in regular weight-room work, but, as always, it’s good to be cautious and calculated. “Usually, pushing through a movement when you shouldn’t is when you get into trouble,” Canter warns. So when you power through, try to stay closer to 7 or 8 on a difficulty scale of 1–10. Ready to become a strongman? Incorporate the following workout from Canter once a week and see how you feel — and look — over time. 1. SINGLE-ARM PUSH PRESS Grab a bar or a dumbbell (such as the circus dumbbell, pictured) and hold it at shoulder level. Choose a weight you find challenging to straight press for a few reps. Standing with your feet hip-width apart, dip down as if you’re about to squat, then spring up, pressing the weight skyward. Slowly lower your arm, then repeat. This total-body exercise generates power from your lower body, which means you can lift more than you think. Do 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps, alternating sides. 2. FARMERS CARRY Start this move the same way you would a deadlift. Grip the handles of dumbbells or kettle-bells tightly, keeping your back straight. Stand up and start walking. Not only does this strengthen your back and legs, but also it engages your core. Make sure your hands are actively squeezing the handles. If you don’t feel a strain in your hands by the end of each set, the weight is too light. Aim to cover 50–100 feet as fast as possible (or 45 seconds) for 2–4 sets. 3. SANDBAG CARRY This variation of a carry lets you work through how to hold heavy objects in front of your body, engaging your core, hamstrings and glutes. If your gym doesn’t have sandbags, take a 45-pound weight plate (be sure to deadlift it up), bear hug it, slightly lean back and start walking. Set a timer to see how far you can go in 30 seconds. Each time you do this exercise, try to beat your distance. Aim for 50–100 feet as fast as possible for 2–4 sets. 4. DEADLIFT You’ve already had to deadlift heavy weights for all the previous movements, so you know very well how to do this. The checklist to keep in mind here is to make sure your back is tight, not arched like a scared cat. Don’t let your hips come up before your shoulders when you stand up. If you break form, don’t go up in weight yet. Start with 5–10 reps for 4 sets. GEAR UP FOR YOUR NEXT WORKOUT > Men’s Compressions Shirts The post You Don’t Need to be a Strongman to Train Like One appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/?p=24084via Blogger You Don’t Need to be a Strongman to Train Like One This article is an excerpt from THE SLEEP REVOLUTION by Arianna Huffington. Copyright © 2016 by Christabella, LLC. Published by Harmony Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. It was originally published at Thrive Global. One of the teams leading the way in capitalizing on the sleep advantage is the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl in 2013 and came within two yards of repeating their victory in 2014. Head coach Pete Carroll is known as much for his innovation off the field as on it. “When it comes to the precision and science of sleep for optimal performance,” says Carroll. “We’ve been fortunate to work with experts to help guide us on both the physical and mental strategies to enhance our recovery process.” “Fatigue and performance are intimately linked,” they tell me. “And sleep is one of the important variables to get right to help athletes sustain high effort and enthusiasm for the long haul.” “The decisions that I make always center around performance enhancement,” he says. “I want to be the best I can be every day.” The Chicago Bears are employing a similar strategy. Their sport-science coordinator, Jennifer Gibson, teaches players how to develop good sleep habits and proper napping techniques as a way to maximize performance, and provides them with memory-foam mattresses during training camp. Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long has become an enthusiastic sleep advocate. “Getting that eight, nine hours is just as important as weightlifting and studying your playbook,” he says. “I can know all the plays like the back of my hand. I can lift all the weights in the world. But if I get five, six hours of sleep, I’m going to have that doubt in my head and that sluggish nature, and you can’t have that when you’re trying to block these elite guys. I’d absolutely say sleep is a weapon.” As former NBA All-Star Grant Hill puts it, “People talk about diet and exercise, [but] sleep is just as important.”
Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James swears by twelve hours a day when practicing. Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash believes that “napping every game day, whether you feel like it or not, not only has a positive effect on your performance that night but also a cumulative effect on your body throughout the season.” Professional triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker describes sleep as “half my training,” while Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, explains, “Sleep is extremely important to me. I need to rest and recover in order for the training I do to be absorbed by my body.” Volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings, a three-time Olympic gold-medal winner, admits that sleep “could be the hardest thing to accomplish on my to-do list, but it always makes a difference.” But tennis great Roger Federer trumps them all. “If I don’t sleep eleven to twelve hours a day, it’s not right,” he says. “If I don’t have that amount of sleep, I hurt myself.” Before Wimbledon in 2015, he even rented two houses: one for his family to sleep in and one for him (and his training team), so the family activities wouldn’t wake him. This recognition of sleep’s impact on performance is now a worldwide phenomenon. In the United Kingdom, the Southampton soccer club has its own sleep app, which players use each morning to log the previous night’s sleep. If a player’s sleep-quality level drops, team officials will intervene. The Manchester City soccer club has a new £200 million training center that includes eighty bedrooms. The team sleeps in the training center the night before home matches — a recognition by the coaching staff that sleep isn’t just for training, but an integral part of game-day preparation. “I had been preparing with various teams for the 2016 Rio games,” he says. “A key part of that is ensuring the hotels being used in the run up to the games are ticking all of our recovery boxes.” “At first, we didn’t really know much about sleep and we were just curious,” say then-defensive end Tyler Scott. “But we really embraced it, and after a while, we got really competitive about sleep efficiency. We started checking our data every day.” “It was very powerful to see the cultural shift at the University,” says cofounder Leon Sasson. “It went from who can sleep less and still do well at practice to it being cool if you show up to practices with nine-plus hours of sleep under your belts.” “We’ve got lights out at 10:30 and bed check at 10:45 every night, so we’re trying to get them down early. We can’t close their eyes at night for them, but you can see it on the field that I think our kids are getting better rest.” GEAR UP FOR SLEEP The post Top Athletes On Why They Prioritize Sleep appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/top-athletes-prioritize-sleep/via Blogger Top Athletes On Why They Prioritize Sleep It’s safe to say comparing yourself to a lizard has probably never crossed your mind. And for good reason. But, we actually have more in common with these ancient, cold-blooded reptiles than you may think — especially when it comes to athletic ability. Humans are often compared to closer animal relatives like primates, but when it comes to humans and reptiles, similarities are harder to wrap our heads around — especially when we think about training. It’s hard to see commonalities between us, and, say, an iguana. However, research led by Jerry Husak, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, is beginning to open our minds to the possibility we’ve got more in common with lizards than we realize. “My work is essentially about trying to see what kinds of trade-offs lizards make regarding athletic performance, because the responses lizards have are shared across all vertebrates, including humans,” Husak explains. “Lizards have their entire genome sequenced, so we know that they have all of the same genes [as humans] that turn on and off during exercise.” THE LIZARD-HUMAN CONNECTION Because of this shared response and their sequenced genome, lizards are actually an ideal specimen to study to understand the effect exercise has on our bodies. Related factors, like diet, can be manipulated in a drastic way in lizards that isn’t possible for humans. “We give the lizards different exercises, but by also restricting their diet, we can really get at metabolic things like the mechanism behind obesity and how it might work on the molecular level since we can manipulate these conditions extremely in lizards,” Husak explains. After exposing the lizards to endurance training, “their oxygen carrying capacity [also known as RBC] increases, their hearts get larger [like we see in human athletes], and we notice changes in their muscle fibers. The big-level effects are the same.” Knowing about the bigger effects means scientists can study the small-scale, molecular effects. They’re exploring whether the molecular pathways in lizards are the same as they are in humans. This is important because molecular pathways essentially define what our cells do and how they function at the most basic level. THE EFFECTS OF EXTREME EXERCISE “[Through our lizard research], we’ve been able to see the whole molecular cascade [i.e., what’s happening at the molecular and cellular level when we exercise] and we can get a sense of all the benefits of exercise for us, like decreasing obesity and even the cognitive benefits that actually change the metabolic structure of the human brain,” Husak explains. Additionally, his work can begin to model and point to the long-term effects of extreme exercises like HIIT and CrossFit on human bodies. “[Extreme exercises] don’t just affect a couple of things — they have really widespread effects in the [entire] body,” Husak notes. His lizard research also shows it’s possible to advance athletic ability to the detriment of other vital body functions. His work has illustrated that, even when their immune systems are repressed and their ability to reproduce has been compromised, lizards continue to improve their endurance skills. We can see this in humans, too, when women do extreme exercise, overtrain and lose the ability to menstruate. READ MORE > GOT 15 MINUTES? SHORTER WORKOUTS MIGHT BE BEST Therefore, it’s likely our athletic ability has evolved over time, pointing to the idea that training is an inherent, important trait for all humans, regardless of how often we work out. Our athletic ability isn’t some kind of bonus talent only elite humans possess. “Because the response to exercise is seen across all vertebrates, it’s really implied that our ability to exercise the way that we do is something we inherited hundreds of millions of years ago — it must have been adaptive at some point in the past,” Husak hypothesizes. The post What Lizards Can Teach Us About the Effects of Training appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/lizards-can-teach-us-effects-training/via Blogger What Lizards Can Teach Us About the Effects of Training
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiYDujOxpCY
via Blogger MY FULL COVERAGE FOUNDATION ROUTINE FOR OILY SKIN! Carli Bybel There’s no denying that HIIT is a great way to train and improve your health and fitness. But HIIT-mania has many of us in the mindset that more is more and faster is better. After all, that’s the goal of all those AMRAP exercises and ladder workouts — as many as possible, as fast as possible. However, that’s not the only way to build muscle. “If you want to improve muscle definition and see muscle growth, you have to induce muscle fatigue, which will stimulate repair,” explains Pete McCall, spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise and host of the podcast All About Fitness. HIIT, which is considered explosive exercise, is one way to do that. But “at some point, you need a new stimulus to the body,” McCall says. And one new stimulus is to slow down. THE BENEFITS OF SLOWING DOWN You may roll your eyes at the idea of slowing down, especially if you’ve been told to do this in other areas of your life (work, dating, life overall). But just as completing a work project with haste or starting to plan a wedding after a good first date can lead to bad results, working out too quickly can lead to poor form, which can then lead to injuries. It’s especially important for beginners to perform strength exercises slowly. “Your joints, ligaments and tendons haven’t become acclimated to so much stress,” explains Noam Tamir, founder of TS Fitness in New York City. Moving slowly allows your body and brain to learn how your muscles should move and feel during an exercise so you can perform it safely and effectively. But experienced exercisers also benefit from slowing down. It’s a principle called time under tension, which refers to how long your muscles are under tension during an exercise. The slower you move, the harder your muscle fibers have to work to control the motion, which leads to muscle growth, McCall explains. For example, 10 squats at a speed of 1 second down and 1 second up will take you 20 seconds. If you slow down and take 4 seconds to lower and 2 seconds to lift, it’ll take 60 seconds. That’s three times more time under tension. READ MORE > IDEAL REP RANGES FOR WEIGHT LOSS AND 4 MORE GOALS Now, that doesn’t mean three times the muscle growth. It’s simply a different way of training and can help you grow stronger in different areas. “If you are constantly training fast, you’re not teaching yourself to decelerate, which minimizes the potential for strength gains,” says Tamir. “We’re stronger in our negative movements than our positive ones.” Translation: You are stronger when you are moving against gravity (lowering into a squat, lowering dumbbells to your chest in a bench press) than you are powering up (rising to stand, pushing the dumbbells up). So don’t ignore working on that strength. HOW SLOW SHOULD YOU GO? McCall recommends weight training slowly one day a week. There is no one-set protocol for slow training. He suggests moving at a pace of 4–6 seconds down and 4–6 seconds up. You only need to do two sets of 10–12 reps really slowly to have it be effective. If that sounds like it’ll take decades to complete your workout, consider Tamir’s paces. He has beginners start at 4 seconds down, 2 seconds hold, 2 seconds up, then transition to something like 3 seconds down, 1 second hold, 2 seconds up. Whatever pace you choose, remember to breathe. “Inhale during the negative phase and exhale during the positive phase or at the top,” Tamir recommends. “This will eliminate creating too much extra tension in your body.” Be warned: You will be sore the next day since your muscles aren’t used to being under tension for so long. Foam roll or do other recovery work, and you’ll feel better and be prepared for your next workout. The post Why Slowing Down Leads to Better Results appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/slowing-leads-better-results/via Blogger Why Slowing Down Leads to Better Results If you have leftover rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast, make this high-protein chicken salad as an easy lunch option. Lean shredded chicken is combined with creamy yogurt, crispy apples and sweet grapes for a tasty, tangy combo. Serve between 100% whole grain bread and you have a satisfying, packable lunch. If you’d rather go low-carb, you can sub in a side salad instead of the bread. High-Protein Chicken SaladIngredients
DirectionsIn a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, red onion, apple, grapes, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. Using a 3/4 cup measuring scoop, portion out the chicken salad. Serve with a lettuce leaf and 2 slices of 100% whole grain bread. Nutrition InformationServes: 6 | Serving Size: 3/4 cup (about 5 ounces or 142 grams) + 2 slices whole grain bread + 1 medium lettuce leaf Per serving: Calories: 364; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 65mg; Sodium: 412mg; Carbohydrate: 44g; Dietary Fiber: 7g; Sugar: 10g; Protein: 34g Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 249mg; Iron: 17%; Vitamin A: 1%; Vitamin C: 7%; Calcium: 12% Energizing Tips (optional)
The post Recipe: High-Protein Chicken Salad [Video] appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/high-protein-chicken-salad/via Blogger Recipe: High-Protein Chicken Salad [Video] There are a few months out of the year when that mountain vista, grassy knoll, local park bench and rooftop make suitable dining rooms. The next time you have the romantic (and relaxing!) urge to “eat out,” don’t reach for a bucket of greasy fried chicken or limp grocery store sandwiches. With these healthy, easy-to-make, quick-pack formulas, you’ll be out the door and dining healthfully al fresco in no time! Before you go, here are seven tips to optimize your picnic basket: 1. WHAT TO LEAVE AT HOME …
2. DON’T FORGET …
3. PICK VEGGIES AND FRUITS Fresh produce is always ready, and there’s very little you need to do other than load it in your basket. When you’re eating “out,” fresh produce is a great menu move because your dishes won’t spoil, veggies are easy to eat and they capitalize on the bounty of summer and great weather that lured you outside in the first place. Our best ideas for fresh veggies and fruits in your picnic basket:
READ MORE > HOW TO STORE SUMMER FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 4. BRING PICNIC-READY PROTEINS Salami, prosciutto and other cured-meats are a nice way to start your meal without worrying about spoilage (or messy cleanup and transport). A rotisserie chicken is an easy, finger-friendly way to add protein, too, though it can’t live outside of temperature control for very long. Beans, nuts and eggs are also great choices since their spoiling points are a bit less sensitive. A few protein-packed picnic ideas:
5. MIX IN HEALTHY CARBOHYDRATES Almost any carbohydrate is easy to pack and can be combined with veggies and proteins to make a picnic-friendly meal. Potatoes, polenta, cooled cooked rice, pasta, quinoa or even crusty loaves of bread fit the bill — no worrying about spoilage in this macronutrient department! Here are some of our tastiest meal-making ideas:
6. A NOTE ABOUT FATS When it comes to eating outside, not all fats are created equal. Choose healthy fats that won’t melt or change composition when the temperature rises. Leave the butter at home and opt instead for healthy drizzles of olive oil, avocado oil or your favorite nut oil for flavor. Avocados and fresh cheese are a great way to add texture to your meals without the melty-ness. 7. ADD A SWEET FINISH! Packable desserts are awesome but typically require extra forethought to prepare. Pass up the pre-packaged sweets and stuff a couple of 70% dark chocolate bars into your basket, or bring a pint of fresh berries or stone fruits to slice and share. These sweets are simple and easy to enjoy as you’re gathering around your picnic blanket, celebrating a meal well served. The post 7 Quick-Packing Picnic Tips appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/7-quick-packing-picnic-tips/via Blogger 7 Quick-Packing Picnic Tips Although you work out and stay physically fit, you can always boost your efforts to make healthy choices and stave off extra pounds. To start, try healthy lifestyle swaps like these four below, which can impact your overall well-being. AFTERNOON SWAP Why: Research published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests ingesting caffeine hours before nightfall causes a disturbance in sleep. In this study, participants who consumed caffeine up to six hours before bed lost more than an hour of sleep. The Swap: To avoid the 4 p.m. slump, hit the stairs. A new study published in Physiology & Behavior found that 10 minutes of walking up and down stairs at a regular pace was more likely to make participants feel energized than ingesting 50 milligrams of caffeine. (This is the equivalent to about a cup of green tea (59 mg), two cans of soda (58 mg) or just less than a shot of espresso (63 mg)). WORK SWAP Why: The American Heart Association released a science advisory on the dangers of sedentary behavior. It states that Americans, on average, sit 6–8 hours per day, which leads to all types of health issues, ranging from diabetes to death. Even those who stay active in their personal time don’t have the same problematic health reductions as those who move more. READ MORE > A NEW TREND IN WALKING MISTAKES (THANKS, AUSTRALIA) The Swap: To improve your daily mobility, try switching your smaller work meetings, such as one-on-ones, to walking meetings. “The goal with walking meetings isn’t to sweat up a storm. The goal is just to integrate a little more natural movement into daily life,” says Dani Singer, fitness director of Fit2Go Personal Training in Baltimore, Maryland. “The boost you receive in mood and energy will pay off much higher than the calories you burn.” As added bonuses: research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology suggests that walking leads to increased creative thinking, and an exploratory study from the Harvard Business Review proposes that walking meetings support better cognitive engagement on the job. VACATION SWAPS Why: A vacation may not only leave you with extra weight, but it can hang around for six weeks post vacation. In a study published in Physiology & Behavior, participants who took a one- to three-week vacation gained an average of almost 1 pound. To put this amount in perspective, the average American gains 1–2 pounds per year. The Swap: Skip the depressing hotel gym and build exercise into your vacation by doing what the locals do. “Different places often have different cultures when it comes to exercise, and trying working out their way can add a fantastic experience to your trip. In India, try yoga; in China, try tai chi,” says Julia Buckley, a trainer in the U.K. and author of “The Fat Burn Revolution.” “Change your mindset from seeing exercise as a chore which you shouldn’t have to do on vacation to thinking of it as something that will enhance your vacation by energizing your body and calming your mind.” READ MORE > IS SITTING TRULY THE NEW SMOKING? SHOPPING SWAP Why: Although the percentage of online shoppers continues to outpace in-person buyers, the statistics show people still prefer brick-and-mortar stores. Retail TouchPoints, an online publishing network for retail executives, conducted a survey of consumers and found that 85% prefer to shop in person because they like to touch and feel products before they purchase; 36% don’t like waiting for items to be delivered and 30% like to receive advice on what products they should purchase. The Swap: Park your car far from the front and enjoy the time spent strolling around — you’re burning calories. Use a basket instead of a shopping cart if you’re only picking up a few items. To find out how many calories you’ll burn, use the MapMyRun calorie calculator. The post 4 Healthy Swaps to Help You Lose Weight appeared first on Under Armour. Source: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/4-healthy-swaps-help-lose-weight/via Blogger 4 Healthy Swaps to Help You Lose Weight |
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November 2020
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