Reflecting on Night Safety

The days are getting shorter, which means that any outdoor workouts done before or after work will probably be done in the dark. For the next few months it's important to take some time to make sure you are prepped to ensure your safety when training at night . Remember to: Dress to be seen - The biggest difference between exercising at night versus during the day is visibility. This is an...Read more

Exercise is a brain booster!

One of the most interesting findings in the last few decades is that the increased oxygen that the brain gets while exercising is almost always accompanied by an upswing in It is interesting to note that these studies determined that the intensity of the exercise mattered less than the frequency. It was found that you don't even have to go for long periods of time, any amount of movement creates...Read more

Does exercise help osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis or "common arthritis" is the gradual wearing down of the joint's hyaline cartilage. Our joint's have a shiny, smooth surface at the end of each bone which allows friction and free motion. When this area becomes damaged, thinned or worn away it is known as osteoarthritis. The rubbing of the damaged area is painful and the repetition leads to inflammation, swelling and more pain...Read more

Managing Calf Strains

Whether you are a high performance or recreational athlete, you have all probably experienced cramps in your calves at one point or another. The main cause of calf strain comes from muscle fatigue and can happen while participating in a variety of different sports. It is commonly believed that cramps can be caused by low electrolytes/sodium but so far there has been no evidence to support that...Read more

When is Pain "Acceptable"?

Anyone who has trained even moderately will have experienced pain sometime during a workout. However, if we all stopped exercising every time we had an ache or pain, we'd never get off of the couch. When you experience pain, it's your body telling you that it is under stress and being potentially damaged. Guidelines are always helpful in determining the extent of an injury but if you are in a lot...Read more

Maintaining your Summer Fitness Gains

Many of us have been taking advantage of this hot summer to exercise and further our training goals, so with fall just around the corner, how can we maintain the fitness gains we worked so hard to attain? Consistent commitment to any exercise training involves a lot of motivation, effort and hard work that we don't want to see decline over the winter months. Long-term exercise training has many...Read more

Are Cool-downs Worth your Time?

After you finish an intense workout , you must remember that your body will still be trying to deal with the stress you have been putting it under for the past few hours. Since muscles need oxygen, our heart will continue to pump hard in order to transport the oxygenated blood through our bodies. Respiratory rates will be high, the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments will all experience...Read more

Is Stretching Really Necessary?

Stretching is an activity that we all know is beneficial to us but it's often overlooked. Stretching is necessary to a body in motion in order to help prevent injury and prepare the muscles for work. However, stretching is not a warm-up, in fact, stretching requires a warm-up. Stretching when your body is not warmed up can cause tiny tears in your muscle and also make you more prone to injury...Read more

Are Sports Drinks a Waste of Money?

Sports drinks are extremely popular right now and with so many appearing on the market all claiming different things, before you buy, you should know what's in those bottles and how to use them properly. Sports drinks are made to replenish the body's fluid losses during intense physical exercise, and the "classic" sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade) aim to accomplish three things: Prevent...Read more

Do Quick-fix Diets Work?

It’s human nature to be on the lookout for the " magic diet/pill " that will give us that quick-fix when it comes to losing weight. This attitude has fueled the craze for new fad diets while encouraging the belief that if we eat specific “healthy” foods the weight will just come off. Can these diets give us what we are looking for? Well, the quick and easy answer is no. New research has found...Read more