Welcome to the VPX Sports Supplement Blog

Whether you are a newbie or seasoned veteran, every gym-goer should have a bag with a few essential items! You might not have any idea what to bring if you recently just started going to a gym. Seasoned veterans, you might be missing something you never thought of stocking your gym bag with.

When I was in the gym last Saturday, I noticed an overflow of “weekend warriors.” As I continued training throughout the day, I also noticed that some of those warriors were fast and furious regarding their workouts, and some seemed to be there through multiple sessions that I trained. The million dollar question is: Which workout was most efficient?

We’ve all seen that person who's turning red in the face while maxing out, or that person who sounds like a leaky tire or hissing snake. Those people are the reason that I am writing this article. Proper breathing during exercise is a very important, yet a mostly overlooked action.

Cardio in the morning on an empty stomach, or cardio after a meal? This question is probably one of the Top 10 debated topics in the fitness realm. Over the years I have read countless articles showing evidence for both sides; however, in doing some more research I came across a very interesting study. The study was written by Brad Schonfeld, MSC, CSCS in the February 2011 Strength and Conditioning Journal. The theory behind fasted cardio is that there is a shift from utilizing carbohydrates, which will allow greater use of stored fat for fuel. However now there is some hard scientific evidence showing that this theory is not true. I will do my best in this blog to explain the highlights of this article keeping it as easy to understand as I can.

With the New Year approaching, everyone is getting geared up for the typical “New Year’s Resolution” of weight loss. But with so many options and activities to do, what is the most efficient way of spending your time? If you have an hour to workout, how do you decide between playing football or going to the gym?

These days when I walk around my gym I feel like I always see someone jumping over boxes, throwing medicine balls up to the ceiling, or hopping around like a rabbit. When I go over to these people and ask them why they're doing these specific exercises, their typical response is either they have a friend that showed this to them or they saw it in on the internet. What they need to understand is that all of the above are variations of plyometric training.

I have to admit that the first time I saw a set of bands hanging from what appeared to be giant, triangle-shaped monkey bars, I was skeptical… but boy was I wrong.

How many of us have spent endless amounts of time calculating our caloric burn during exercise? We use pedometers, heart rate monitors, digital displays on cardio machines, etc. What people need to realize that it isn’t just about the calories we burn in the gym that help towards our goal of fat loss; it is also the amount of calories we burn AFTER the gym that count.

To stretch or not to stretch, that is the question. But what is the answer? This topic is one of the oldest debates in the fitness realm. There are countless articles, studies, and views on this topic. In this week’s blog I will share with you some of the information that I feel is useful and compelling.

Exercise Induced Asthma is typically characterized as an allergic reaction of the airways to the cool, dry air inhaled during exercise. This subject is one that hits close to home as my 5 year old son was diagnosed with it in a roundabout way. I use the term “roundabout” loosely after visiting countless doctors, allergists, and ear, nose and throat specialists. Most doctors "prefer not to label people, especially children with any form of asthma, as they can outgrow it.”