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Antioxidants are compounds that protect our cells from oxidation. Oxidation is something that happens when we are exposed to things like pollution, excess sun, toxic substances, and also from immune system responses. Our cells have a specific “fat” layer that protects them from being damaged. When toxic substances like free radicals come in, they disrupt that layer and the cell may be damaged. So what if one cell damaged? Not much, your body will regenerate. However, if you multiply this by 1,000,000, then you have a lot of damaged cells. When we eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts such as blueberries, avocados and almonds, we can actually prevent some of this damage. Think of free radicals as unstable thieves trying to rob people for their belongings. Because they are unstable, they try to take things from other people to make themselves rich and stable. Does this sound like anyone you know? Free radicals work as a domino effect, where more damage to our cells gives them more power! Therefore something has to be done to stop them! Antioxidants work as superheroes to prevent this damage by donating themselves to these destructive free radicals, and therefore the healthy cells are no longer hurt. Of course the process is slightly more complicated, but for now let’s think of this as the antioxidants’ main job.

Do you dread doing 60 minutes of cardio on the treadmill, stair-climber or bike? How many more boring cardio sessions can you do? If you are sick of your cardio routine and are not seeing the results you want anymore, it’s time for you start doing HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT is different than steady state cardio because you complete several short intervals of maximal intensity cardio lasting anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds and then recovering with moderate activity, rather than performing cardio at a moderate level for one hour. Therefore, you are actually training your cardiovascular system to recover from the high intensity and then bringing the intensity back up. You end up burning more calories in a shorter amount of time, because the actual workout is more intense. Most importantly, you do not have to spend 60 minutes running on a treadmill because your workout can be completed in a short 15-20 minutes. This leaves you with more time, and a more challenging workout for your body. What could be better?

You've decided, it's final, this is the year you are getting into shape! Congrats! So where do you start? Before you get too excited and pay hundreds of dollars for a new gym membership and buy 10 different types of protein powder and bars, make yourself a plan.

Do you find it hard to get a workout in because you are constantly travelling? It’s easy to let travelling get in the way of your health and fitness goals, but there are also plenty of ways to stay active and burn fat on the road. The old adage “if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail” rings true in this situation. Here are 5 simple, but effective tips to help you stay active and healthy on the road.

It's the holiday season and you have been invited to numerous holiday parties, and every time you turn around someone is bringing cookies and something sweet to work. Although the holidays are a time for celebration, it is not a time for you to start eating whatever you want for 2 months. If you train hard and eat clean throughout the whole year, why would you stop during a time like this? You may be seeing family and relatives during the holiday season, so don’t you want to look your best? Yes, you can take a day off working out for Christmas and New Years and relax, but 2 weeks is no excuse! This is a time to enjoy, but not get out of control. Here are 5 tips how to avoid gaining the extra pounds during the holidays and how to keep looking lean.

The majority of the people reading this article probably already have an exercise program in place. However, it is likely that your friends don’t! How many times have you asked a buddy to work out with you, only to get shot down by their excuses? Here are 10 commonly used excuses, with rebuttals. Hopefully after a little more persuasion, you can get their a$$ in the gym!

Are you one of those gym rats who spends endless hours in the gym day in and day out working hard to improve your physique but don’t see any difference in your body? You believe that the more work you do, the better off you will be. You might not be seeing any results because you may be doing your body more harm than good when training so much. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms listed below, you may be over-training.

1) When starting a new diet plan, it is an excellent idea to keep a "food diary" to keep track of everything you are putting into your mouth. Make sure you write down everything you eat, including that handful of M&M's you stole off of your co-workers desk. Everything you eat contains calories which will affect your physique. If you often find yourself getting hungry between meals, a Zero Carb Protein Shake is a healthy choice to keep you satisfied! Writing down what you eat will help you to see exactly what you have eaten and to get a better understanding of what does and does not work for you. Remember, everybody is different and what works well for one person, may not be the best thing for another. Make sure to write down how you felt while eating these foods as well. You may not realize how much emotion is involved in eating. Learning these things may help you to avoid making those same mistakes again and again!

Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced bodybuilder at some point you are undoubtedly going to experience DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. What is DOMS you ask? DOMS is the pain and discomfort often felt in the 24-72 hours post-exercise. It differs from regular muscle soreness in the duration, severity, and causal factors – where regular soreness is likely due to microtrauma to muscle fiber structure and is experienced immediately after training, tapering off in less than two days. Some trainees feel that muscle soreness is a sign that they have actually done hard work, and if they don’t feel slight discomfort than they have not trained hard enough. Regardless of how hard you train, any new/different stimuli to the muscle will likely produce the same result; pain and discomfort.

There are so many aspects of nutrition that are controversial and remain so even between industry experts. How many times have you had a debate with another knowledgeable individual in regards to ANY related topic simply because your opinions stand in the way of what is actually true? And don’t say anything about “well this study says this, and that study says that,” because studies can be manipulated, results can be manipulated and people can be manipulated in to believing anything. If you are looking for a specific result, it is not uncommon for scientists and researchers to simply leave out data that does not coincide. It happens, life goes on.