GForce Home Training Blog

Tea...part 2

2010-03-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Tea: Black, Green, White or Oolong?
Black, green, white, and oolong teas derive their leaves from a warm-weather evergreen tree known as Camellia sinensis. The leaves from this tree contain polyphenols. The more processing tea leaves undergo, the darker they will turn. Green tea and white tea are the least processed tea. They are simply steamed quickly. White tea is derived from the young new leaves from the Camellia plant in early spring. These young leaves contain no chlorophyll, so they are silvery white. Black and oolong teas are partially dried, crushed and fermented. Regardless of the processing method, black, green, white and oolong teas all contain polyphenols - tea ranks as high as or higher than many fruits and vegetables in the ORAC score, a score that measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods. Visit us @ www.gforcetraining.com today for more info on antioxidant-rich foods...

Tea...part 1

2010-02-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

Tea is a healthy beverage offering many benefits (if you skip the cream and sugar). Brew your tea for at least 3 - 5 minutes to bring out the beneficial polyphenols. Numerous studies have demonstrated the anti-cancer properties of antioxidant polyphenols found in tea - some studies have suggested that tea's polyphenols may reduce the risk of gastric, esophageal and skin cancers, another showed that just 2 cups of tea may lower the risk of ovarian cancer by 46 percent in women. Other studies have found that polyphenols help prevent blood clotting and lower cholesterol levels. So add a few cups to your diet each day!

Progress tracking

2010-02-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

Make sure the start of your exercise program includes an assessment of some sort, with measurements of your girth and body fat percentage, in ADDITION to the traditional scale. These outside factors, like waist line girth, can help determine if your fitness training program is effective much better than your scale can. Sometimes people go only by their weight and easily get discouraged because although your scale may not have moved, you still might of lost body fat, especially in the early stages of your program. To learn more about monitoring progress, contact us and one of our personal trainers can give you some tips. Train your mind to train your body!

Flax seeds

2010-02-22T08:02:00.001-08:00

Most of us know the health benefits of flax seeds, but do we know how to eat them? The human body cannot digest the whole seed, so to ensure proper absorbtion, I recommend adding freshly-ground flax seeds to your meal right before consumption. Make sure to store your flax seeds in the fridge or freezer to ensure freshness and avoid rancidity. Email us for more info...fitness@gforcetraining.com

2010-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

The weekend is here - enjoy the above seasonal temperatures and BE ACTIVE. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have. HAPPY FRIDAY :)

What is commitment?

2009-10-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

What is it REALLY, to commit to any program?! The obstacles are EVERYWHERE - if we watch TV, the commercials scream, EAT and BE fat! 90% of our peers don't have a consistent healthy lifestyle for ours to synergize with. Our business lifestyle obligates us to wine + dine. When it would be so cool if it required people to meet at a workout facility for a meeting ! But seriously, its everywhere around us, pushing us to be fat, making it that much more challenging. So, how do the ones that do it, do it?! There is such a huge psychological factor that it almost makes the physical adaptation look easy! All the "close to tears and vomiting" workouts, pfft! That's fun n' games compared to the consistent effort it takes to be 100% successful. Now its all relative, some of us don't need a lot of consistency and effort to maintain FITNESS levels, but I mean HEALTH, which ALWAYS requires consistency in lifestyle. The reality is, as much as one who is religious would never compromise a belief in his religion and perform an act outside of those guidelines, is the same commitment one has to make to his lifestyle in this sense. Our bodies are very responsive to what we put them through. I've made and heard all kinds of excuses to temporarily enjoy an endulgement, or miss a workout, there is ALWAYS a "good" reason to distract or derail us from the path we need to take. The idea is that the frame of MIND that we were when when we made the decision to make a change in our life has to STICK. Maybe wear a string on our wrist or a ring on the opposite finger to give you that reminder. We have to be able to tap into that mind frame NOT JUST to make the decision to START a program but to be reminded EVERY MINUTE how important it is for us to achieve our goal, and if its not in fact THAT important, then so be it, but accept the outcome and responsibility - sounds harsh but its true :)

Give it 100%!

2009-09-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

The almost drunk-like exhilaration of eating is gone, but the "PIG"-like feeling is long-term. Forget the yo-yo dieting, its even worse. Just DECIDE WHEN you are ready to go 100% consistant and fully focused and then eat clean, but until then forget the 4-5 days per week, half-hearted effort.

2009-08-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Training your mind to train your body helps you focus on specific muscles and the task at hand. Your muscles have more than a 10% response to when you simply imagine moving them. Mental imagery alone causes activity in the muscles, so doing this while you train allows you to build on that!

2009-04-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

It is well established that if you eat too much fat and calories you will tend to increase your stores of body fat; in other words get fat. This is mainly because dietary fats tend to be more easily stored as fat than carbs or proteins. However, scientists have determined that the KIND of fat you eat can effect the composition of your body at the cellular level. Fatty acids are an essential part of all cellular membranes, but the fatty acid content of the body varies greatly and is dependent on your diet. For example, individuals that eat a higher amount of essential fatty acids, mostly from vegetable fat sources, tend to have higher amounts of these more desirable fatty acids as structural components of the cell membranes and fat stores. Individuals eating diets high in saturated fats, low in essential fats, and high in excess calories, ten to have a lower percentage of their body composed of essential fats. The significance of this is that people with more of their body composed of essential fats are less prone to degenerative diseases. Additionally, tissues higher in essential fats are healthier, particularly the skin. Most athletes take this for granted. They wrongly assume that because they are in shape and burning a lot of calories, the bad fats and cholesterol are of no consequence to them. You might not get fat eating that way while you're an athlete (or intensely consistently training), but years down the road, your cardiovascular system will fall apart from the nutritional abuse

Why You Should Consider a Meal Delivery Service

2009-01-05T05:37:00.000-08:00

What are the four things you should consider when choosing a delivery service? Vanessa Agosta outlines the good and bad of these programs.Chances are you could eat better than you do now. You could probably eat smaller portions, more vegetables, better proteins and you could avoid skipping meals. If only you could have someone else cook healthy, delicious meals for you and prepare them in the exact portion sizes you need, right? Sure, you think, but not everyone can afford a personal chef. Well, don’t fret. You can have the luxury of having food prepared just for you and delivered to your door. And it’s not as expensive as you think.

How They Work
Diet delivery service companies vary in terms of the number of meals, types of foods and prices that they offer. You can choose:

* A service that offers low carb meals, low fat meals, vegetarian or even diabetic friendly meals.
* Foods based on your likes, dislikes and allergies.
* Meal programs that are designed for weight loss or weight maintenance.
* Deliveries as frequent as seven days a week or as few as three days per week.
* Two or three meals per day plus snacks.
* Whether to have the meals delivered to your home or office.

The more flexible the options that a service company offers, the better off you are. This is because ultimately to get the results you want, you have to like what you eat and it has to work with your lifestyle. Otherwise you won’t stick with it.

Helping You Lose Weight
Yes, this type of service can help you lose weight, as long as you follow the program and eat well on the days you don’t have your food delivered. Most diet delivery services state that their clients lose between 2 to 5 pounds per week, depending on the client’s age, gender, level of activity, etc. Of course, the accuracy of these numbers may be biased, as weight loss depends on the level of adherence as well as your body’s propensity for weight loss. Some people lose weight quickly and some lose it more slowly.

The bottom line is that by having your meals already prepared, eating well becomes something you don’t have to think about. The reason why a lot of people try to lose weight and can’t seem to keep it off is because life has many factors that influence their food choices and eating behaviours. Take away those factors (like lack of time for meal preparation, skipping meals, etc.) and you have a relatively fail-safe solution.

What It Costs
According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian household spends about $7,000 on food a year. When you compare the costs of meal delivery services, which range from $20 to $40 per day, you may think that diet meal delivery is too expensive, but if you calculate how much the average person spends on weight loss products like supplements, diet pills and exercise equipment that only gathers dust, suddenly that original bill grows substantially.

Also, if you are the kind of person who believes time is money, then the time you save from shopping, preparing meals, researching healthy foods and recipes, and counting calories is worth it.

Key Factors When Choosing a Diet Delivery Service
There are many things to consider when choosing a diet delivery service. As with all investments in your health, take the time to do your homework and figure out which service is best for you based on price, taste and your specific needs.

Price
Price variety usually depends on the quality of food and its preparation. Higher priced plans are usually gourmet meals, freshly prepared (not frozen) or highly specialized in some way (for example, diabetic friendly).

Prices also vary based on whether or not you want a full plan (breakfast, lunch and dinner) or just lunch and dinner; and how many days of delivery you want (for example, five or seven days). Some delivery services give you price per week or price per month. Ordering in larger amounts may save you money if a diet delivery company offers discounts for buying in bulk.

It is cheaper to choose fewer days to have your food delivered to you, but keep in mind that the burden of responsibility falls more on your shoulders on the days that you have to prepare your own meals.

Types of Diet Meals
Many diet delivery services are based on a popular diet, like the Zone Diet. Others are based on broad diet types like low carb or diabetic friendly. Some services let you choose among different diet plans like low carb, low fat or vegetarian. Regardless of diet type, most services are based on low-calorie, portion-controlled meals and snacks.

Menu variety is also important. Although it's hard to get bored on diet delivery programs, there are some services that offer better menu variety than others. For example, a program may offer a 4-week rotating menu.

Support
If you think you may need some extra help, choose a company that offers support mechanisms like message boards, chat rooms, diet and weight loss trackers, informative articles, progress snapshots and more.

Commitment Level
Some diet delivery plans do require you to sign a contract for a certain length of time. The most popular time commitment is one month. If you are required to purchase more than that, make sure you’re getting a discount for it.

Some companies also offer a trial period of a week to 10 days. I am an advocate of the “try before you buy” strategy, so take advantage of it if you can.

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recommended

I rarely condone weight loss programs or products, because most of them do not offer long-term weight loss solutions. They also often do not offer you the opportunity to develop healthy lifestyle habits. Diet delivery services are the one exception to my rule because they are consistent, provide you with nutritious food and make weight loss an afterthought instead of an obsession.

Why You Should Worry About Chronic Inflammation

2008-12-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

Let me be the first to admit that fear-mongering in the health and fitness industry is common, but often irresponsible and overblown. Without having all the facts, people can get overly preoccupied by concerns about their well-being. So I am going to pre-empt this by stating that inflammation is generally not something that you should worry about. When you stub a toe and it swells up to the size of a golf ball, your body will eventually repair the damaged tissue and your toe will return to normal. However, inflammation that is not a result of an acute injury such as this is a more threatening condition. First, let’s find out what inflammation is.

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is a localized bodily reaction to tissue irritation, injury, or infection. Inflammation is often painful, accompanied by swelling, red coloration, and sometimes loss of movement. Most often, inflammation is acute—it is caused by a known source (e.g. an injury) and it will go away once the area has healed.

Chronic inflammation is a condition of the body where tissue is constantly being destroyed and repaired. This can be caused by a bacterial infection, prolonged exposure to chemical agents such as tobacco smoke, or autoimmune reactions such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is also a component of chronic diseases such as heart disease and strokes. In elderly people, the immune system can be over-stimulated and create chronic inflammation in the body.

Why is Chronic Inflammation so Bad?

Chronic inflammation has been linked to a number of age-related diseases, such as hardening of the arteries, cancer, heart valve dysfunction, obesity, diabetes, congestive heart failure, digestive system diseases, and Alzheimer's disease.

How Can I Prevent Inflammation?

Common ways to treat chronic inflammation include rest, light exercise, weight maintenance, stretching, and anti-inflammatory medications such as Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). Numerous studies have supported the theory that Alzheimer’s is linked to chronic inflammation through findings that suggest that regular use of NSAIDs like ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve) reduce the risk of developing the diesease.

For the most part NSAIDs are safe to use, although they can irritate the stomach and lead to ulcers. In some instances, long term use can lead to kidney problems.

Avoid Foods that Cause Inflammation

Now we have one more reason to stop eating junk food: high-fat meats, sugar and fast foods will increase inflammation in your body. This is partially due the use of trans fats and saturated fats in prepared foods. Nirates, which are found in processed meats such as lunch meats, hot dogs and sausages, are associated with increased inflammation and chronic disease as well. Be sure to choose low fat milk and cheese and lean cuts of meat, which will not promote inflammation. Avoid too much red meat, as it also has been linked to increased inflammation. When you do eat red meat, choose lean cuts of bison, venison and other game meats, or the lowest-fat cuts of beef, preferably grass-fed beef.

Diets high in sugar have also been associated with inflammation, obesity and chronic disease such as diabetes. Eliminate high sugar foods such as sodas, soft drinks, pastries, pre-sweetened cereals and candy.

Choose Anti-inflammatory Foods

Some foods have been linked to reducing inflammation in the body. In particular, fish oils, which contain Omega-3 essential fatty acids, are very powerful anti-inflammatory agents. Other sources of Omaga-3’s are walnuts, flax seeds, canola oil and pumpkin seeds. Although adding omega-3 fatty acid supplements from flax oil or fish oil may help reduce inflammation, always be sure to speak with a doctor or nutritionist before taking any supplement.

Although compounds in olive oil have been shown to reduce inflammation, you would need to consume a full cup of it to reap any benefits. But it never hurts to keep healthy oils such as this in your diet; other healthy oils include rice bran oil, grape seed oil, and walnut oil.

Berries are also a great food choice, especially blueberries and strawberries. These gems are packed with anti-inflammatory phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. The pigments in brightly colored fruits, vegetables and berries contain many phytochemicals that have anti-inflammatory properties. One example is quercetin, which is found in apple and red onion skins and has strong anti-inflammatory properties.

You may not ever feel the painful effects of chronic inflammation, however, it is something worth paying attention to. It is always easier to prevent illness than to deal with its consequences. Making the right choices for your body now can make all the difference when you are older.

How Caffeine Can Put a Buzz in Your Workout

2008-11-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were something you could take to make you feel energized during your workouts, allowing you to get the most bang for your buck in that single exercise session? You could lift heavier weights for a longer period of time or go an extra mile on the treadmill and still feel like you had enough energy to do more. My philosophy is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. However, new research has brought to light the benefits of taking caffeine to improve sports and exercise performance in elite athletes.

The issue of caffeine and its effect on exercise performance has long been an issue of debate. Decades of studies have brought us full circle, from the belief that caffeine is helpful to the belief that the risks of its use outweigh the benefits and then back again.

Athletic Performance and Caffeine

Caffeine has been long thought of as a performance-enhancing drug. In fact, it was a banned substance for professional athletes until 2004. Competitors could test positive for caffeine use if they drank as few as three cups of strong coffee.

Because caffeine was so common in most athletes’ diets, the World Anti-Doping Agency decided to remove it from its restricted list. The funny thing was, as soon as it was allowed, caffeine levels dropped in urine tests for most sports. The prevailing wisdom in the elite athlete world was that if it wasn’t banned, then it must not enhance sports performance.

Today, there is no doubt that caffeine is a powerful performance enhancer. Decades of studies have established that caffeine helps with aerobic sports, such as sprinting, and other endurance activities for up to two hours. A growing body of research now also suggest that it helps resistance exercise such as weightlifting.

Caffeine, however, is a diuretic and will make you lose water. It is therefore commonly believed that caffeine use can leave you dehydrated, which is not what you want while you’re exercising.

How Does Caffeine Improve Performance?

How caffeine works is still a matter of some debate. Some weight loss drug manufacturers would have you believe that caffeine increases your metabolic rate a
nd helps you burn more body fat. However, research has dispelled this notion.

The current theory on caffeine’s effect on exercise performance is that it directly affects how muscle fibres contract. Caffeine may actually cause each muscle fibre to contract more strongly when it receives a signal from the nervous system.

Caffeine vs. Coffee

There is a difference though between the caffeine we are talking about and coffee. One rigorous research study done at the University of Guelph found that it was only pure caffeine that produced a performance boost, even when the level of caffeine in the bloodstream from coffee was the same.

Other studies have found a performance-enhancing effect from coffee, so we must take this finding with a grain of salt. The bottom line is it is much more difficult to pinpoint the effects of a more chemically complex substance, such as coffee, than those found from the use of pure caffeine.

Nowadays, coffee is a popular choice as a performance enhancer among athletes. A British study published in June found that 38.1 per cent of track and field athletes drank coffee for the specific purpose of enhancing performance, while 28.6 per cent took caffeine pills.

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for the average joe

Those of us who are recreational athletes and exercisers are mainly focused on beating our own best performances rather than beating other people. This is where the value of the use of caffeine comes into question. If you’re not concerned with shaving seconds or even milliseconds from your marathon time, would caffeine still be helpful to you?

Considering that the most common way most of us ingest caffeine is through tea and coffee, it may not be that helpful. You may wonder if caffeine supplements would be a good route to take, but keep in mind that most supplements are unregulated. Caffeine is also addictive. So as with any product that can improve performance, do your research, talk to your doctor and see if it is the right choice for you.

Welcome to the new GForce website!

2008-09-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

After many months of work, our new look is complete. Make sure to browse through our entire site to learn everything you could need to know about the best personal trainers in the GTA.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to blog it up. Remember, Train Your Mind to Train Your Body!

Gidon