General Fitness article by Ben on Monday, August 24, 2009 7:49:56 PM EST
I just got home from a weekend road trip through the Okanagon Valley in British Columbia, Canada. It was absolutely beautiful! We spent a few days driving through the country side and stayed in a couple of little towns along the way. Both of the towns we stayed in were beside lakes so we stayed in nice motels overlooking the lakes in each town. We spent the first night in Osoyoos and went swimming in the lake the following day. It was so spectacular! The water wasn't too cold, the weather wasn't too hot and the water was crystal clear! And there's something about swimming in a lake that is so refreshing!
The Okanagon is also the Napa Valley of Western Canada so we had to stop at a winery while we were up there. I'm not kidding, there were dozens and dozens of vineyards along the highway but we settled for a place a few kilometers off the highway up the side of a mountain called See Ya Later Ranch. The place was really cool and we were able to sit out on the patio overlooking the valley and share a bottle of chilled Unleashed Riesling.
My favorite part of the whole trip though was being able to enjoy and stock up on some great locally grown produce. The Okanagon valley is very warm and perfect for growing cherries, grapes, peppers, tomatoes, pears, apples, apricots and especially peaches. I absolutely LOVE Okanagon peaches! They are the sweetest, juiciest peaches you will ever taste! There's even a town that we drove through on the trip that was named Peachland. It looked like a pretty nice town too!
We also bought some locally grown blueberries and they look so delicious! Blueberries are loaded full of anti-oxidants and I'll definitely be having them with my Kashi cereal in the mornings for the next few days!
Anyways that's by far one of my favorite things about Summer.. fresh locally grown produce! I find myself very fortunate to live in a part of the world where I can have such a wide variety of tasty fruits and vegetables available to me. So if you have a chance before the end of Summer, try to get out there and support your local farmer's market. (man I can't wait till I can sink my teeth into some peaches and cream corn on the cob!)
Diet & Nutrition article by Marlaena on Monday, August 17, 2009 4:37:08 PM EST
Hey Everyone!
I figured there are probably quite a few people out there that are looking for a clean healthy protein bar so I thought I’d let everyone know about my personal favorite - ELEVATE ME! It’s a family run business that makes protein bars that are made with premium protein, organic dried fruits and natural ingredients from the Rocky Mountains of Jasper and Banff, Alberta!
Ingredients: whey protein isolate, dates, organic raisins†, almonds*, apples, cranberries (cranberries, apple juice, sunflower oil), blueberries, goji berries.
This protein bar does it’s best to keep the finished food as close to it’s natural state as possible, with no added colors, flavours or sweeteners. It contains 24% protein, naturally derived carbohydrates and low fat... plus vitamins and minerals.
The Blueberry Cranberry Bogiberry Boost is probably my favorite but there are lots of different ones to choose from… check out the link if you’re interested, you can find them at organic grocery stores, health food stores, drug stores and even Save on Foods…
General Fitness article by Ben on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:11:44 AM EST
Have a look at this video link that my client sent me this morning from ABC News (please forgive the commercial at the beginning, it's worth sitting through though). It's about Australian personal trainer Paul James who packed on almost 90 pounds of fat for an independent documentary and to get a better understanding of what it would be like to be as big as his overweight clients.
In just six months, Paul James was able to transform his body from ultra ripped fitness model to overweight, tubby guy with moobies and terrible posture! He had no rules and ate anything and everything he could get his hands on and stuff in his mouth... you can see by the picture above that he was really dedicated to the experiment!
He now battles an addiction to fats and sugars, experiences muscle, joint and lower back pains, has high cholesterol and high blood sugar and is realizing that it is going to be a very long road back to health. What took only 6 months to achieve will take much, much longer to reverse. That is if he's even able to get back into the shape he was in before he went on a six month eating binge! It's going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get his ripped, beached body back!
He claims he has no regrets and can now completely empathize with his heavier clients and the extra obstacles they face by being overweight. I guess now at least he'll never have another client sit there and try to say... "you don't know what it's like man!"
General Fitness article by Ben on Sunday, August 09, 2009 4:58:38 PM EST
Did anyone watch the mixed martial arts clinic that was put on by Anderson Silva and BJ Penn last night in Philadelphia at UFC 101: Declaration? Both fighters were victorious and both completely outclassed and dominated their respected opponents.
Bj Penn looked great! He came into the fight looking stronger and more defined than he has in the past. He also seemed to be in far better condition for this fight because even as they were going in to the championship rounds, he still looked pretty fresh. He was able to grind Kenny Florian down, pound him with elbows and punches, take his back and finish him off with a rear naked choke. It was a very impressive win but nothing like the beating that Anderson Silva unleashed on Forrest Griffin.
Anderson Silva looked like Muhammad Ali in his prime last night and put a beating on Forrest Griffin that won't be forgotten by MMA fans for a very long time. Silva absolutely dominated the entire fight and definitely proved beyond a doubt that he is the "pound for pound" best MMA fighter in the world! He looked so relaxed during the fight and carried his hands at his waist and his chin in the air taunt to Griffin into a stand up brawl. It worked and Silva's counterpunching, pin point accuracy, and devastating punching power proved too much for Griffin. He went down several times during the the fight and was unable to continue after being dropped a by a perfect right hand counter punch near the end of the first round. Griffin was overwhelmed and totally outclassed. It's too bad because I really like him as a fighter and hope that he can come back from this loss.
Silva has now solidified himself as the King of the Octagon and I'm not sure who they will throw at him next. Dan Henderson is next in line for a rematch but unless Hendo can bring something new to the table I don't think he has much of a chance of dethroning the King either!
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