DIY Fitness Fashion Tee

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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Friday Fitness Trend: Bikram Yoga

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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Motivating Your Monday!

Yet another week has rolled around and PGX wants to help motivate your Monday.

Before you let those Monday blues get to you, check out this week’s Monday Motivation!

Even with the longer days of summer, many of us (myself included!) are wondering where the hours in each day scurry off to. There never seem to be enough hours in a day to sneak in that workout, make that healthy recipe you’ve been wanting to try, or get out to those hiking trails with your friends after office hours.

Which led me to wonder, how would you spend your days, if there was no midnight? Would you get to the gym every day? Would you make that healthier dinner that takes a little bit longer to prepare?

So, here’s a little inspirational wisdom from Cinderella: go after your dreams, whether they’re work related, health related or weight related and “Live like there’s no midnight”!

Don’t let the hours in the day determine your lifestyle! Stay healthy PGX’ers and happy Motivation Monday!

 

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Old Man Winter and Your Workout

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!

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

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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PGX and Colour Psychology

PGX Investigates Colour Psychology and Your Well Being

Can the colour of your home affect your efforts for healthy living?

You may be surprised to discover that the colours you surround yourself with may have an affect on your health and well being. Usually we pick the colours of our home based on personal preference, but now colour experts believe that hues of our homes can have an effect on our emotions.

So how does this relate to making healthy choices and keeping fit? Our emotions have a lot to do with the choices we make. If the colour of your kitchen or the gym walls can help you choose healthy snacks and run that extra mile, then why not give yourself that extra help?! Read on to get a taste of what colour can do for us!

Blue is a colour of calm, promoting physical and mental relaxation. What comes to mind when you think of blue? Blue skies and beach getaways? When you are stress free, your fitness efforts will always be more effective.

Yellow is a bright and cheerful hue that has often affected people in a positive way. It has been shown to help people with better decision-making and adopting a positive attitude. Positivity, however attained, goes a long way in helping us achieve our fitness and health goals. Like yellow, orange is considered to be one of those “happy” colours as well.

Red is a vibrant and stimulating hue associated with energy and activity. It can be a strong colour for your walls that is very well suited to spaces of movement like the stairwell, hallways or the exercise room! A splash of red might give you more of boost than you realize!

Green (my personal favourite) is the colour of nature, relaxation and wellness. Greens of various shades can be inspire calmness or in it’s lighter tones, create an atmosphere of lightness and joy! Whatever shade it is green can bring back a touch of nature and often has positive effect on your mood, which can mean the world of difference to your health.

Making healthy choices can be challenging at times. Positivity and inspiration can make or break a healthy lifestyle. You may not even notice how the colours around you affect your mood, but if yellow in a kitchen can inspire a rush of positivity or if that red exercise ball can get you pumped for your workout, why not surround yourself with mood-lifting colour?!

Want to know more about colour psychology? Visit Pittsburgh Paints’ Voice of Color.

 

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The London 2012 Olympics

Welcome back to another week of PGXs’ Thursday Obsessions!

PGX is obsessed with the London 2012 Olympics and the inspiration that it provides the world.

The London 2012 Olympics are finally here, so it’s no wonder that this week we’re obsessed with The Games! Like many people around the world, I’ve been tuning into the 2012 Olympic Games since they began last Friday in London. And like many people, I’ve become obsessed with watching the world’s greatest athletes achieve the seemingly impossible, day after day!

Personally, I find that witnessing these extraordinary athletes achieve their personal bests is incredibly inspiring (nevermind that some of their bests are breaking Olympic Records!). Watching an athlete who has given a sport their all, finally reap the benefits of all of their hard work is inspiring. Not that I believe that the Olympic Games are anywhere in my future, but I find myself wanting to challenge myself in my workouts. I want to run faster, longer and train harder. Here’s to hoping that I can hang onto that Olymic Inspiration when the Games are finished!

Some of my favourite Olympic sports to watch are gymnastics (how DO they do all that?!) and volleyball. What are your favourites to watch? Do you find that the Olympics inspire your workouts?

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Weight-Wise Wednesday: Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet uses Mediterranean-style cooking and is considered a heart-healthy eating plan.

The Mediterranean diet is based on a healthy eating plan using the traditional cooking style of countries around the Mediterranean Sea.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes:

  • Getting plenty of exercise
  • Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts
  • Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
  • Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
  • Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
  • Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
  • Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)
  • Enjoying meals with family and friends

As the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid shows the diet includes plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables! Many people who switch to this diet say they’d never eat another way! For more on the Mediterranean Diet check out the Mayo Clinic website.

Does this look like something you’d like to try out? Let us know in the comments below! 

 

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PGX Office Tip: Desk Exercises

Stuck at desk all day? Here’s a simple desk exercise!

Relieve the tension in your legs with this easy desk exercise we’ve found for you!

Do you sit at your desk all day, staring at your computer, hunching and tense all over without even realizing it?  Work can be a really busy place that doesn’t always allow you the luxury of a midday stroll. We’ve done some internet sleuthing and found how you can loosen up stiff leg muscles without leaving your desk or disrupting your productivity!

Wellness Matters and BC Living have come together to share this easy exercise to relieve the tension in your legs.

It’s always best to get up from your desk, stretch and take a short walk around to keep your muscles limber, but when short on time, try this desk exercise!

 

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