An Alternative Approach to Improved Health

I have a pretty cool article from my friends at TheAlternativeDaily… it shows a very simple and quick drink you can use first thing every morning with some major health benefits!

Drink THIS first thing in the morning (3 major benefits of warm lemon water)
contributed by TheAlternativeDaily.com

Although we may go to sleep each night, our body continues to work to rebalance, heal, repair, restore and revitalize so that we can have ample energy to face the next day.

Because we are exposed to so many environmental toxins from what we breathe in to what we put on our skin, in addition to the damaging impacts of our Western diet, our body quickly shifts into toxic overdrive.

If you knew that there was one simple, inexpensive thing you could do every day to help build health and rid your body of toxins, would you do it?

Ayurvedic philosophy states that the choices that we make each day can either build us up or make us more susceptible to life-destroying disease.

Consuming a cup of warm lemon water upon rising is one small change that can make a dramatic impact on how our bodies function. If this seems too simple to be true, we invite you to read on…

The health promoting benefits of lemons is old news. For centuries, it has been known that lemons contain powerful antibacterial, antiviral and immune boosting components. We know that lemons are a great digestive aid and liver cleanser.

Lemons contain citric acid, magnesium, bioflavonoids, vitamin C, pectin, calcium and limonene, which supercharge our immunity so that the body can fight infection.

How to Make Warm Lemon Water

While it is not rocket science, making warm lemon water involves paying particular attention to a couple of things. The water you use should be purified and lukewarm. Don’t make the water super hot, and avoid cold water.

It is hard on the body, especially first thing in the morning, to ask it to process ice cold water. Always use fresh, organic lemons in your water, never bottled lemon juice. Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon into each glass of warm water. Be sure to drink the lemon water before you eat anything. This also makes a nice pre-workout drink.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider adding a warm glass of lemon water to your daily routine:

Improves Digestion: Your body works hard to digest all that you give it. Lemon juice helps flush away unwanted materials and toxins left from the digestive process. Because lemon juice is similar in atomic composition to digestive juices and saliva, it does a great job breaking down material and encouraging the liver to produce bile.

Warm lemon water is a great tonic for heartburn, indigestion and bloating. The American Cancer Society recommends warm lemon water to encourage regular bowel movements.

Balances pH: Lemons are considered one of the most alkalizing foods you can eat. This may seem untrue as they are acidic on their own. However, in the body, lemons are alkaline; the citric acid does not create acidity once it has been metabolized. The minerals in lemons are actually what helps to alkalize the blood.

Most people are too acidic (from eating too much sugar and grains), and drinking warm lemon water helps reduce overall acidity, drawing uric acid from the joints. This reduces the pain and inflammation which many people feel.

Boosts Energy and Improves Mood: Have you ever gotten up on the “wrong side of the bed?” If you are often lethargic and cranky in the morning, or any time of the day, for that matter, you may want to consider a little glass of lemon and water. Our energy comes from atoms and molecules in our food.

When positively charged atoms flood the digestive tract and mingle with those that are negatively charged, a positive reaction occurs. Lemons contain more negatively charged ions than positive ions, which gives you a boost as the warm drink enters your digestive tract.

Just the scent alone of lemons can improve your mood and elevate energy levels. Lemons also promote clear thinking and help reduce anxiety and depression. Enjoy!

-The Alternative Daily

The Essential Supplements for Women

Last Saturday, August 3, 2013 I published a post: “The Five Essential Supplements for Men.”  That blog received a good response and naturally begged the question: What about the essential supplements for women who are into fitness training?  With that said, all women should read the blog last week of the five essential supplements for men as they too should be taking a Multivitamin, Omega 3s, Whey Isolate and Casein Protein Blend like the men.  However, all women should also add the Calcium, Vitamin D and should substitute L Carnitine instead of taking L-Glutamine like the men.  Here are the reason why women should take these supplements:

• In addition to a women’s multivitamin, many healthcare practitioners now recommend, extra calcium and vitamin D, because it’s tough to squeeze the right amounts of these into your diet every day.  A good multivitamin and omega 3’s combined with calcium and vitamin d is linked to health benefits, ranging from lower risk of cancer and heart disease to better mood.

1. Calcium is crucial for strong bones— especially for women, who are five times more likely than men to develop bone-weakening osteoporosis. According to the USDA, pre-menopausal women under 50 need about 1,000 mg a day; those over 50 or who’ve gone through menopause need 1,200.
2. Vitamin D  aids in calcium absorption (which is why it’s often added to milk), so look for supplements that combine the two, or be sure to take your D and calcium pills at the same time.
3. L Carnitine with omega-3 fish oil is one of the simplest things you can do to lose weight and raise your energy levels. The cool thing about carnitine is that by elevating the amount of carnitine stored in your muscles, you will see improvements in your quality of life.  Fat loss and more energy are two of these benefits, but taking carnitine is known to improve work capacity, increase performance, speed your recovery from intense exercise, and make your brain work better.  It will also prevent oxidative stress that leads to longer term health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic inflammation.

   

   
   

The Five Essential Supplements for Men Involved with Fitness

 Here at iLiveFit we are constantly asked: “What supplements should I be taking?”

The answer: All MEN in fitness should be taking the following five supplements:

1) Multivitamins are critical to supplement the daily vitamins and minerals lost on low calorie and poor diets.  Vitamin deficiencies are found to cause lethargy, depression, exhaustion and depression.  Dieting causes hunger pangs and blood sugar fluctuations however, a multivitamin that is rich in chromium aids in preventing swings in blood sugar level AND assists your body in using fat storage.  Intense workouts drain your body of essential nutrients that can be replaced by good a b-complex multivitamin.

2) Omega 3 Fatty Acids, have been found to eliminate depression, improve skin health/complexion, lift brain fog, ease joint pain, prevent cancer cell growth, boost your immune system and lower risk of heart disease.

3) Whey Isolate/Casein Protein Blend is far superior to all other forms of protein.  It provides the body with the perfect amino acid profile for muscle building strength and recovery.  Body builders, professional athletes all use Whey Isolate protein to increase lean muscle mass, strength, metabolism and muscle repair.  Hydro whey also works to reduce recovery times and post-workout muscle breakdown.  Hydro-whey protein is fast ingesting and works as an antioxidant to boost the body’s immune system. Casein protein is considered to be the “slow” acting protein and can be taken in conjunction with whey or not.  While whey is fast acting and intended to be ingested ideally within 15 minutes of exercise (and before a workout for mass, and weight building) Casein is slow acting and generally intended to be ingested before bed. Any athlete or body builder will experience benefits of Casein as it is a slow digesting protein that is optimal for recovery, size and strength gains.  Casein works by providing a steady stream of amino acids and suppresses protein breakdown for muscle sparing.

4) L-Glutamine causes healthier intestines, a stronger immune system and improved exercise endurance, fewer infections. Glutamine supplements may also help in recovery from severe burns and play a huge role in a healthy gastrointestinal system. This amino acid is the primary nutrient for the cells lining the digestive tract and allows these cells to better absorb nutrients.

5) Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) – are a group of essential amino acids that are absolutely vital to the proper health and functioning of skeletal muscle and are considered to be the raw building blocks of muscle tissue. The three branched chain amino acids: Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine are metabolized in muscle tissue while all other amino acids are metabolized in the liver. This means that branched chain amino acids go directly into muscle tissue.  The three branched chain amino acids affect the body in different ways, but they must work together to be completely effective and because of their importance in muscle tissue creation and retention, branched chain amino acids supplements are very popular with athletes who are seeking to get the most they can from their bodies.

We Can Inspire Children Even When Our Backs Are Turned!

Here at iLiveFit we always like to acknowledge how the simple, seemingly innocuous events in life can have huge impacts on our children. This photograph is of a child who accidentally wondered into a photo shoot of Michael Charles, a professional body builder who trains at iLiveFit location Finest Fitness of Patchogue.  iLiveFit founder Stephen Curran was so inspired after viewing this photo he wrote the following poem in only twenty minutes! Enjoy…

Wow, soooo cool, look at that man.
I’d like to be super strong one day, I really wonder if I can?

How did that happen, my muscles are small?
You CAN do it one day, just give it your all.

Always work very, very hard and never, never quit,
just like those muscles, you build a STRONG non-quitting spirit!

At school, at home, in sports and in life, always give it your all.
You can do it, keep trying, always get up when you fall.
In time you will get it, build confidence and stand tall.

As far as you can see, as high as the sky,
that’s how far you can go in life when you try and try.

Wow, I ‘m going to try my best in everything, I can, I can, I can,
Thanks for being such a great example to me, Mr. Muscle Man!!!

LIVEFIT! Pass it on!!!

Workout Wednesday

Fitness competitions are the latest craze.  Here at LIVEFIT we love training for our next event which happens to be the Leukemia Lymphoma Society Pineapple Classic 5k Obstacle Course on Sunday April 21, 2013 on NYIT Campus.  Everyone Wednesday night until the event we will be doing circuit training from 6-6:30 followed by a 30 minute jog at Clubfit 247 located at 99 Jericho Turnpike, Jericho NY 11753.

If you didn’t make our fitness training tonight then try this brief workout on your own time:

Warm-up:

Jump rope 5-10 minutes
Stretch

Main Set:
30 seconds of box jumps or step ups
5-10 seconds of rest

30 seconds of push-ups or modified push-ups
5-10 seconds of rest

30 seconds kettle bell swings or plank
5-10 seconds of rest

30 seconds of jumping lunges or reverse lunges
5-10 seconds of rest

30 seconds of pull-ups or bent over rows
5-10 seconds of rest

Run

30 minute jog at  comfortable aerobic pace – or 30 minutes of jogging for 2 minutes then walking for 2 minutes

Cool Down:
Stretch

 

As always please “like” us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ilivefit247

And if you would like to join the LIVEFIT team in the Pineapple Classic 5k Obstacle Course on Sunday April 21, 2013 on NYIT Campus go to:

http://li.pineapple.llsevent.org and register as a member on the LIVEFIT team.

Training Tip Tuesday

LIVEFIT trainer using Boxfit to get fiancé’ in best shape for wedding day.

Boxing and kickboxing are two of the best (and most fun) cardio exercises around. Anyone who is looking to shed some pounds should consider the hybrid Boxing, Kickboxing and Exercise program “Boxfit” for weight loss. What makes the Boxfit group exercise and personal training so great are the drills – which essentially act as intense anaerobic and aerobic interval training.

Boxfit should be incorporated into your weekly workouts to build more stamina and gain more muscle tone. In a Boxfit workout session it is possible to burn more calories than you can with with any other training method. My fitness pal estimates 1034 calories burned for me during an hour of Boxfit as compared to 600 calories burned during an hour of running and 862 calories burned during an hour of intense/vigorous swimming.

For more information on Boxfit, the LIVEFIT Group Exercise program Exercise program available at Finest Fitness of Patchogue, The Body Shop of Lindenhurst, Clubfit 247 of Jericho and Snap Fitness of East Setauket please like us on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/BoxFitFight2BFit

or you can watch the you tube video at: