Tag Archives: fit

Fitocracy: a Fitness App

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On your marks. Get set. Exercise!

Get in shape with the app that turns fitness into fun and games…

We’ve all got a competitive side right? Now there’s a fitness app that appeals to our inner competitor (racer, fighter, Olympian?) and can help you stay motivated to workout! Fitocracy is an app that turns your exercise routines into games!

Fitness geeks and gurus, Brian Wang and Richard Talens, decided it was time to help people actually fall in love with fitness; not an easy task! With Fitocracy you can climb levels, earn points, and compete in quests and challenges, turning that routine workout into an addictive game world of health and exercise! A healthy habit addiction?! How very convenient!

So if you find yourself lacking in consistant motivation or just looking to stir the exercise pot, try this app and start competing with yourself and your friends. A little healthy competition can go a long way!

 

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Correcting Your Exercise Moves!

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Here are the top 5 exercises that people often do wrong…

Save yourself injury and really make your workouts effective by learning the proper exercise postures!

When I saw this infographic, I couldn’t resist sharing it with all of our dear PGX readers. These five exercises are very popular moves to do at home and make full body workouts accessible to anyone, no gym necessary. However, they are easier said than done. As someone who guilty of making at least one (or two…fine, maybe three) of these mistakes in my earlier days of fitness exploration, I find this chart to be an excelent reminder.

For a more detailed explanation of how to do all five of these moves correctly, visit the Spark People Blog: The Top 5 Exercises You’re Doing Wrong.

 

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DIY Fitness Fashion Tee

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DIY fashion for our dollar-savvy fans!

Don’t let your exercise outfits break the bank when you can create your own fabulous tee’s!

Do whatever it takes to motivate you to workout. I find cute exercise clothes are a huge help, but these cute clothes can be so expensive! On top of that expense, my closet is usually bursting with clothes that haven’t seen the light of day in a long while. Those clothes deserve to be given a second chance, some new life, don’t you think?

So here’s a fabulous little tutorial on how to breathe (or cut) new life into old t-shirts. You’ll be able to save money and the time you wold spend taking out those old clothes and finding them a new home!

Catherine of Rabbit Food for My Bunny Teeth shared her simple and fun project: DIY Workout Shirt.

Enjoy!

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Eat Like an Olympic Athlete!

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Today’s Thursday Obsession: Eating Like an Olympic Athlete!

The 2012 London Olympics are almost here! Let’s learn to eat like an Olympian!

We’re 14 days away from watching the world’s greatest athletes compete in the summer olympics and I wondered, “What do these incredible people eat to keep themselves in tip top, spit spot shape?!” Luckily for me and anyone else who was wondering, Canadian National Olympic team dietician, Kelly Anne Erdman shared her knowledge on how these and probably all other athletes are keeping healthy to prepare for the games!

Check out the fabulous article from BCLiving.com and learn how to eat and maintaina the healthy lifestyle of an Olympic athlete!

As always PGX’ers, stay healthy!

 

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Get Your Morning Energy Boost!

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PGX wants you to start your day with energy!

Not a morning person? Here are 5 easy tips to give you a blast of energy!

I am not a morning person. Plain and simple. I love the quiet of the morning and the idea of waking early to watch the sunrise, but when it comes right down to actually waking up and getting out of bed, I am not a morning person. I do not just naturally wake up at 6 am, and if I do? I promptly go back to dream land.

So what can we night owls, and anyone else feeling sluggish in the morning, do to get that much needed energy boost?

Here are five fabulous tips from Real Simple to wake us up in the morning!

    • Enjoy a pop of colour! Bright colours like yellow and orange are known to have invigorating effects on your mood and can give you that shot of energy. So be bold and don that bright yellow raincoat or use those fuzzy orange towels!
    • Let in the natural light! When you wake up, resist the urge to keep your room dark. Throw back the curtains, open the window and blink in the light! Enjoy breakfast outside. Dr. Joyce Walsleben, Ph.D. says, ?If you can go outside within 15 minutes of waking for 20 minutes and face east, even on a cloudy day, you?ll get enough light to energize yourself for the day.?
    • Need a morning shower to wake up? End it with a blast of cold water! That will definitely wake you up!
    • Laugh! Laugh and laugh some more! Laughter can give you the recharging benefits of a good workout, help reduce stress and help boost immunity. So turn on your favourite morning sitcom because a little laughter goes a long way…
    • Dab on some jasmine-infused scent. According to neolorologist Alan Hirsch, jasmine helps increase beta-waves which make you more alert.

Looking for more ideas that will keep you energized throughout the day without the unhealthy energy drinks? You can find more great energy boosting tips in the Real Simple article, 25 Easy Instant Energy Boosters by Eleni Gage.

 

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Friday Fitness Trend: Bikram Yoga

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Thinking about yoga? Let’s think about Bikram Yoga!

If you love the heat, this might just be the yoga for you…

Ahh yoga! I’m sure you’re familiar with all the possible benefits of practising it regularly: stretching and muscle toning, weight loss and increased stamina, mental clarity, inner peace…general overall health and well being. All of these thoughts went through my head when I decided to try hot yoga, specifically, Bikram yoga.

Founded by Bikram Choudhury, Bikram yoga consists of a sequence of 26 poses, or asanas, practised in a room heated to 105 Fahrenheit and 25% humidity for a 90-minute session.

I’m no yoga expert. In fact, I am absolutely a beginner, and I jumped right into a heated room for Bikram yoga! It was a hot and stuffy experience. It did feel good afterward but I don’t know if that was from the yoga itself or the fabulous rush of cold air when I left the room!

My conclusion: Bikram yoga will not be for everyone. Although I didn’t come out of that first class a big fan, there are many who love and swear by it. Bikram Choudhury himself was able to overcome the setbacks of a serious knee injury through his hot yoga method.

If you are thinking of trying a class, make sure to read the details first and drink plenty of water! Learn more about Bikram yoga and the benefits of heat.

 

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Stress and Your Weight

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PGX wants you to relieve your stress!

Your health, weight and stress: a bad combination.

Have you reached a plateau in your weight loss efforts? You may be surprised just how much stress has to do with that! Stress. Even the word sounds scary.

Stress causes our body to secrete cortisol which in turn, prompts our body to release stored glucose, increasing our blood sugar. Unfortunately for our waists, all the excess sugar that we don’t use gets stored as fat! Essentially, having too much stress in your life is like eating too much dessert, not too mention the sugar rush usually leads to food cravings. It seems a cruel and revealing trick of the English language that stressed spelled backwards is desserts!

Real Simple has three quick ways that you can relieve stress and, consequently, help you stay trim.

Work, school, family obligations, meetings and appointments, housework, projects… Life can get busy and overwhelming. So, my two main tips for this sunny Monday? Don’t stress the little things and get your daily fiber!

 

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Old Man Winter and Your Workout

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Avoid those winter workout blues!

It’s cold and it’s dark for more hours than it is light out, but don’t let winter mess with your workout!

How many times have you let winter convince you to skip your workout? I don’t know how many times I’ve convinced myself that it’s too cold to get moving, too rainy to drive to an exercise class or the gym, too early to get up and ski… Unfortunately, it has happened. But this winter, my major fitness goal is to overcome the laziness, ditch the excuses and get exercising!

Fitness Magazine has a great article that has all the answers to trump those winter excuses: Winter-proof Your Workout!

Don’t let Old Man Winter get you down. Jump up and exercise!

 

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Workout Bloopers!

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It’s PGX’s Weight-wise Wednesday and we’ve got a quiz!

Take the quiz and spot the workout bloopers!

Quiz time! Don’t worry it’s not scary. Have you ever gone religiously to the gym, had what seemed like the perfect workout, and then got stuck on a weight loss plateau? You could be eating healthy food and exercising, but if you aren’t seeing the results that you hoped for, you might be committing some workout bloopers!

When I took the quiz, I discovered the mistakes I was making in the gym and now that I have an answer to my plateau troubles, I feel more motivated to change things up! Take Fitness Magazine’s Can You Spot Workout Bloopers? quiz and test your gym know-how!

Good luck and keep on moving!

 

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At the Gym: Technique & Results

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Welcome back to Weight-Wise Wednesday with a look at proper fitness technique at the gym!

PGX takes a look at how doing an exercise with the correct form could make all the difference to the outcome of your routine.

We’ve all been there. You’re eating well, you’re fitting in regular exercise sessions but for some reason, your workout routine is just not working for you. Chances are, a small mistake, such as not taking a long enough rest period, as explained by shape.com, is coming between all your hard work and the results you derserve! So, let’s master those moves!

Shape.com’s list includes:

  • Proper posture on cardio machines
  • How to correctly execute sit-ups on an exercise ball
  • Working on your core to improve your form in all areas of your workout
  • Proper kettleball technique

All it takes are a few tiny adjustments to your form. So, adjust, apply and get out there PGX’ers and show those exercises who’s boss!

 

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