Muscle Cramping –- How to Protect Yourself

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In our last Fit Tip we gave you three of our top superfoods to help with your quest in fine-tuning your nutrition for a healthy lifestyle.

This week we tell you how to defend against muscle cramping that can limit your fitness progress during training as well as post-exercise.

If exercise has been cramping your style as of late and you’re not sure how to find the root cause, follow these five no-fail tips to fast-tracking your muscle flexibility and recovery in no time!

It's a fact that athletes and fitness buffs are most prone to muscle cramping during pre-season training when their body conditioning is at a lower capacity.

What to Do

Tip #1 – If the cramping occurs during exercise, stop and hold the muscle in a gently stretched position until the cramp dissipates.

Tip #2 – If muscle cramping happens while resting post-workout, in the leg for example, put weight and walk on it.

Tip #3 – Light massage can sometimes help alleviate the pain.

Tip #4 – Warm-up and adequate stretching is a must before exercise, especially in the muscle groups prone to cramping.

Tip #5 – Maintain sufficient hydration during training using sport beverages instead of water as they can help prevent electrolyte imbalances such as low sodium levels.

Bonus Tip – If you experience frequent or severe muscle cramping not associated with exercise and does not respond to stretching or massage, consult your doctor to determine if it’s a sign of a more serious condition called Intermittent Claudication brought on by poor blood circulation to the legs.

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

3 Top Superfoods for Healthy Living

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

Last week we gave you the lowdown on how our customizable Workplace Wellness programs can have a positive affect on the bottom line of your business.

In this week’s Fit Tip we give our top three “superfoods” to supercharge your nutrition for healthy living.

What makes a "superfood"?

When it comes to healthy eating, there are foods that are so exceptionally nutrient dense and the benefits of eating them so amazing, that they are often referred to as “super foods”.

What’s more, they have more nutrients per calorie than most other foods and have also been proven to contain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that work to prevent many types of disease such as cancer and heart disease among many others. They are also perfect for low-fat and heart-healthy diets.

Superfood #1

Berries

Extremely rich in antioxidants (noteably ellagic acid), vitamin C and soluble fiber, berries help protect the cells in our bodies from damage, and in doing so prevent disease and aging. Blueberries in particular contain more disease-fighting antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable.

Superfood #2

Broccoli

The vegetable you need to learn to love, broccoli’s nutritional benefits boast high levels of vitamin A, beta carotene, B vitamins (especially B3 and B5), folic acid, phosphorus, potassium, iron, chromium (which is an easily absorbed form of calcium), zinc, loads of fiber, and is also packed with carotenoid antioxidants.

Superfood #3

Nuts – Walnuts & Almonds

If you think that nuts are too high in fat for a healthy diet, guess again. These nuts help lower cholesterol due to the amount of antioxidants, phenols, vitamin E, ellagic acid and gallic acid they contain.

Cardiovascular Health – The monounsaturated fat in walnuts has a beneficial effect on cardiovascular health and is associated with a reduced risk for heart disease.

Heart Disease – Omega-3 essential fatty acids (a special type of fat that is essential for our bodies, but that the body cannot produce) found in these nuts protect us against heart disease and help to prevent irregular heart rhythms.

Omega-3 also helps reduce LDL (bad) and total cholesterol levels, provide anti-inflammatory benefits and are helpful if you suffer from asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema or psoriasis.

UP NEXT ... How to defend against muscle cramping during and post-exercise. We tell you next week!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

Pump Up Your Employees

The Power of Workplace Wellness

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In our last Fit Tip we showed you how to show off your BBQ skills with a grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pizza recipe.

In this Fit Tip we take you from the backyard to the office. Here’s the lowdown on how our customizable Workplace Wellness programs can have a positive affect on the bottom line of your business!

Workplace Wellness is divided into four complimentary offerings:

1. Interactive Employee Involvement

A unique, interactive forum is created using a micro-website that is run by our team of experts. The goal – to encourage employees to become involved within a company-wide health and wellness community, incorporating fitness and wellness challenges and personal goal-setting.

2. Lunch and Learns

Used on their own or as a compliment to any challenge, Lunch and Learns can be customized to fit any challenge. A few topic examples covered are: Nutrition, Exercise, Stress Management, Executive, and Team Building.

3. On-Site Health Programs

A certified instructor/trainer will deliver a dynamic fitness program that motivates and reduces stress, enabling your employees/staff to re-energize and improve their overall health and productivity. Some classes are, but not limited to, the following: Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Beginner running, Aerobic classes, Sport-specific (Golf, Tennis, etc.).

4. Interactive Micro-Website

This interactive website will be customized and available to each employee. The micro- website will include:

Competitions/Challenges: Length – 12 wks (90 days): Ensures employee’s long-term success

Focus on Charity: Within each challenge the company may choose to donate money in the winner’s name to a specific charity

• eLifestyle Points: Collect points to be “cashed in” for prizes for accomplishing the following examples: Walk to and from work, physical fitness, lowering cholesterol, etc.
• Weekly FitVid: Highlights fitness and lifestyle tips.
• Weekly Fit Tips: Fitness and lifestyle tips emailed to employees
• Monthly lifestyle e-newsletter: Highlights winners of challenges and showcases profiles of individuals within the company that have accomplished other personal fitness challenges such as triathlons, marathons, etc.

Contact us today to help improve employee health and streamline the efficiency of your business!

UP NEXT ... We give you our 3 best "superfoods" for a healthy lifestyle. Find out next week!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

BBQ Bonus: Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Pizza – Fast!

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In our last Fit Tip we served up our top-5 fat-burning foods to healthfully increase your ability to shed unwanted pounds.

This week we take advantage of the continuing good weather and show you a great low cal, high protein meal jam-packed with flavor. It preps in no time so you can feed hungry mouths after your busy day with ease!

With summer’s end still producing good weather, we keep your BBQ blazing! Today we’re using your grill for the true taste of a wood-burning pizza oven for Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Pizza. It takes just five minutes to prepare and only five minutes to grill!

Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Pizza

Ingredients (2 servings)

1 pre-cooked seasoned chicken breast

1 small zucchini

2 ripe, firm plum tomatoes

1 Spanish onion

Generous pinches of salt, pepper, dried basil and oregano

3 tbls extra virgin olive oil

1 large or 2 small Greek-style flat pitas (or pitas of your choice)

½ cup (125ml) goat cheese or crumbled feta

Directions

1. Lightly oil grill and heat barbecue to medium-high. Cut chicken into pieces as desired. Thickly slice tomatoes. Cut Spanish onion to desired thickness. Cut zucchini diagonally into long ovals. Place in a large bowl. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with seasonings. Stir to evenly coat toppings. Brush bread with olive oil.

2. Place vegetables on grill and barbecue until tender and lightly charred, 2 to 5 min per side, removing them as they are done.

3. Then, place bread on grill and barbecue with lid closed, just until grill marks form, about 1 to 2 min per side. Crumble goat cheese over hot bread, then arrange tomatoes, chicken and zucchini on top. Scatter onions overtop. Add a little goat cheese on top if desired and voila!

Nutrients per serving:

• 20 g protein
• 21 g fat
• 71 g carbohydrates
• 4 g fibre
• 131 mg calcium
• 1355 mg sodium
• 552 calories

Bon appetite!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

Top 5 Fat-Burning Foods

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In last week’s Fit Tip we told you how consuming the right amounts of protein could accelerate the time it takes to reach your fitness goals.

This week we serve up our top five fat-burning foods that, in conjunction with regular exercise, will supply your body with exceptional fat-burning potential to shed the pounds.

What are the best?

Quite simply, foods that are high in protein and fiber are the best kinds of food to eat if you want to rev up your fat-burning potential.

Top-5 Fat-Burning Foods

1. Eggs

More precisely, egg whites. They are very high in protein but won’t put you over the recommended daily amount of cholesterol contained in a couple of eggs with yolks. Eggs contain the vitamin B12, a great supplement for breaking down fat cells.

2. Low Fat Dairy Products

According to an article in Obesity Research, women who ate low-fat dairy products such as nonfat yogurt and low-fat milk three to four times per day lost 70 percent more fat than low-dairy dieters.

3. Oatmeal

Gaining popularity in recent years, naturally prepared oatmeal (unsweetened and unflavored) definitely has some great nutritional qualities. It’s loaded with soluble fiber, which helps reduce blood cholesterol by flushing the bad digestive acids out of your system, and is also beneficial in fighting colon cancer and heart disease.

4. Olive Oil

Rich in monounsaturated fat (good fat), a type of fat researchers have found to provide outstanding health benefits, olive oil is so good that it helps you burn fat while keeping your “bad” cholesterol intake down.

5. Whole Grains

Your body needs carbohydrates. If you go without them completely your body will start to crave them, so it’s best to include the right kinds. That means one’s that haven’t been processed and contain the fiber and minerals your body needs.

Bonus Tip: It takes more energy to digest protein than it does to digest fat. Therefore, the more protein you eat, the more calories your body burns!

UP NEXT… Surprise sizzling summer recipe. Get it here!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

How Much Protein Do We Need?

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In last week’s Fit Tip we gave you some simple rules to follow to help ensure you’re counting your calories correctly.

This week we share some insight on how consuming the right amounts of protein can accelerate your fitness progress.

What is protein?

Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the human body, making up about 16 percent of our total body weight. Our muscle, hair, skin, and connective tissue are mainly made up of protein.

In fact, protein plays a major role in all of the cells and most of the fluids in our bodies. Even our DNA are at least partially made up of protein.

Do I need more protein if I exercise?

Studies show that people engaging in endurance exercise (such as long distance running) or medium to high intensity resistance exercise (such as fitness training or body building) can benefit from additional protein in their diets.

This is due to the greater demand of muscle repair and maintenance brought on by a greater degree of use by the individual.

The Numbers

Research suggests 1.2 to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for endurance exercisers and 1.7 to 1.8 grams per kg per day for medium to heavy strength training.

So just how much protein do we need?

Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. Professional nutritionists and fitness consultants use a standard method to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement where body weight is multiplied in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37.

Your end number is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. Therefore, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day.

What happens if we don’t eat enough protein?

Unlike fat and glucose, our body has little capacity to store protein. If we were to stop eating protein, our body would start to break down muscle for its needs within a day or so.

So keep your protein intake in check and you’ll greatly enhance the rate in which you meet your weight loss and muscle building goals!

UP NEXT… Top 5 fat-burning foods. We serve them up next week!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

Nutrition That Counts – Counting Calories The Right Way

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In last week’s Fit Tip we discussed how to differentiate between good and bad muscle soreness post-exercise.

In this week’s Fit Tip we offer some simple rules to follow to help determine if the make-up of total calories in the food you eat is comprised of the right kinds of calories that will provide optimal nutrition.

It really doesn’t take a lot of effort to read the labels of what we eat. Where the real challenge lies is in understanding what makes up the total calories we consume from any given food choice.

Even for savvy health-conscious consumers it’s a common mistake to look at food labels and make a purchase based on the lowest total calories for that product type alone, and not what nutritional value is contained within.

4 Simple Rules to Counting Calories The Right Way

1. Look at the content of protein, carbs and fat

2. Look at sugar and sodium sources

3. Look at additives and preservatives

4. Do not go by the government’s Daily Recommended Value (DRV) as it is based on the average sedentary adult, and therefore won't end up being much help.

We Are What We Eat

The power of T.V commercial marketing can be very persuasive, so it’s extremely important to understand that 100 calories from a piece of chocolate, for example, is not the same as 100 calories from a piece lean protein, such as chicken.

Remember, the key to healthy living is that you MUST base your nutritional intake on what actual nutrition your food can provide for you!

UP NEXT… How much protein is enough? Find out next week!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

Muscle Soreness Post-Exercise – Good or Bad?

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

In last week’s Fit Tip we explained the differences between running and walking and where each has it’s place in promoting weight loss.

This week we tell you how to distinguish between the physical discomforts in muscles post-exercise and why the situation occurs.

Some fitness fanatics tend to look at pain as the goal marker that tells them they’ve pushed themselves to the max. This “No pain, no gain” philosophy can be a little misleading, however, due to the stigma attached to it that if the individual doesn’t feel any pain post-exercise then it was a wasted effort.


Distinguishing Between Good and Bad Muscle Pain

When it comes to pushing towards making gains with any training program, the words should more aptly be said; “No fatigue, no gain” because you are trying to exhaust your muscles, not cause damage.
You must note that microscopic tearing is good (actual tearing of the muscle fibers), whereas slight rearing of the muscles (inflammation of the tendons) is bad.


DOMS

Delayed-onset muscle soreness is the pain caused by the microscopic tearing of muscle fibers, and it actually allows your muscles to grow. The best way to combat the soreness is adequate rest between bouts of exercise accompanied by proper nutrition.
Just how much rest and how many and which type of calories will depend on the intensity level and goal of the individual.


DOMS can be caused by:

* You're new to working out
* A new exercise you are not accustomed to
* Pushing muscles beyond their normal range of motion
* Performing different types of resistance contractions such as eccentric or negatives
* Performing an exercise not tried in a while
* Increasing intensity, frequency or duration
* Aerobic or anaerobic activity


Should You Be Sore Every Day?

If you train regularly your body will adapt, thus keeping muscle soreness minimal. If you are sore most days then it’s possible you may be over-training (not enough rest days between exercise) or training too hard, which can lead to injuries down the road due to over-use.

So, keep your muscle soreness in check and you’ll be pushing yourself safely toward new fitness gains!

Note: Check back every week for more helpful health and fitness tips from eLifestyle's Fit Tips by Robb!

Running or Walking – Which is Best for Weight Loss?

By Team eLifestyle Fitness and Lifestyle Expert Robb Armstrong

Last week in our “Ask an Expert” segment we explained the importance of maintaining muscle mass throughout the aging process.

This week we observe the differences between running and walking and which is best for weight loss – undoubtedly one of the most common concerns to the weight-conscious individual.

Simply put, both running and walking while trying to cut the excess pounds are a good choice, however, running does burn far more calories and can have a greater effect on overall health.

You must also keep in mind though that there are a few things to consider to determine which is best for you to do as an individual to meet your weight loss goal – all of which are predetermined by your personal ability.

Your Fitness Ability
Matching your intensity for walking or running with your ability is key in a few ways. First, if you’re you a beginner, are overweight, have any current injuries, or have any pre-existing physical or medical conditions such as shin splints, a cardiovascular condition or osteoporosis, you’ll want to limit your intensity.

Next, you should monitor your success and increase intensity accordingly. This is where walking for weight loss has the clear edge due to the low impact it has on bones, joints and muscles while still increasing the benefits on overall health.

Time Spent
Whether walking or running, you’ll get the greatest benefit if you aim for thirty to sixty minutes each day, building on your intensity as you improve on your ability.

Goals
For best results keep them small and stay consistent, increasing them bit-by-bit every week.


Note: Check back each week for more of eLifestyle's helpful health and fitness tips by Robb!