Welcome to the VPX Sports Supplement Blog

All too often people are intimidated to step into their own kitchens, fearful of where to start.  With a little knowledge however, that fear will subside into confidence and your skills will grow from there.  This article is designed to give you several basic starting points to help get you into the kitchen and start creating your own delicious healthy meals. 

In the mood for a healthy, low calorie meal replacement? Try a deliciously fulfilling Pumpkin Protein Shake! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this treat will complement your spread - Perfectly! At just 188 calories with zero cholesterol or saturated fats, it’s rich in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals and other vitamins; suitable any time of day!

At VPX, every day is a day for celebration! Whether you hit a new PR in the gym, prepped your meals for the entire week, or even did something as simple as waking up in the morning, there is ALWAYS something is worth celebrating. So what better way to celebrate than with cupcakes?! Unfortunately, cupcakes may not exactly line up with your strict diet and training protocols - UNTIL NOW! Check out this awesome recipe from our friend Mike Metzger (@Muscle_Chef on Instagram). With only 150 calories and over 12g of Protein per cupcake, this is a tasty treat without the cheat!

What a wonderful, rewarding and equally self-gratifying sport! Along my journey, I have met a myriad of people – all sharing different reasons why they decided to embrace such a vigorous and sometimes compelling sport. I’ve even had to ask myself that very question. Through it all, the sole reason that kept resurfacing was I OCR for the people - plain and simple.

Listening to your body and understanding your limits can be a difficult thing to recognize for athletes at any level. Most athletes who exercise regularly have no problem taking rest days to recover; however some athletes who train too frequently for specific athletic events, may see signs of overtraining syndrome.  Proper rest and active recovery days can benefit your body to repair muscle fibers that are often fatigued and stressed during constant training. Common symptoms of overtraining syndrome include: washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy, mild leg soreness, general aches and pains, pain in muscles and joints, sudden drop in performance, insomnia, headaches, decreased immunity and damage to the central nervous system over time.

The sport of Obstacle Course Racing has miraculously bucked the trend of our recent economic struggle, and has seen a meteoric rise despite the high price tag associated with a day of running around getting muddy.  Going through the laundry list of items involved when doing an OCR, here are some ideas on how to save a few bucks (and maybe then do a few more!):

In 2009 more than 871,000 people in the United States were being treated for End Stage Kidney Disease (ESRD).  Patients with ESRD have a few options; they can try to get a kidney transplant, go on dialysis, or choose to not be treated.  Dialysis is a method of filtering toxins in the body either using a dialysis machine, or using the body’s own peritoneal cavity.  Without dialysis or a transplant, the outcome for ESRD patients is very poor, so when faced with the decision, most choose dialysis.  

Standing on the start line at an obstacle race, it’s easy to find motivation. You see it in the eyes of the person next to you. You hear it in the shouts and cheers. You feel it amid the smoke and chants and near-tangible nervous energy of beginning a new adventure.  

In Part 1 of the Temperature Training blog we covered the difference between relative race temperature (RRT) and absolute race temperature plus tips on how to train for a warm weather OCR when you live in a cold environment. This blog will focus on the opposite, training in warm weather for a race that will take place in a cold climate.

One of the least acknowledged challenges a competitor faces in Obstacle Course Racing is the impact of relative race temperature (RRT). This differs from absolute race temperature, in that RRT is a comparison of the climate in which you train versus the climate in which you will race. With the sport still in its infancy and therefore the amount of available races in a specific geographic region still low, and with competitors targeting specific races that meet their own personal preferences for distance, difficulty, terrain, etc., it is not uncommon for an athlete to be traveling across the country or even internationally for a race.