FitSugar

Gisele Bundchen Is a Fan of Anusara Yoga

FitSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:00:22 -0700

How does expectant mother Gisele Bundchen stay in shape? Aside from exercising and playing outdoors with Tom Brady and little John, Gisele practices Anusara yoga in the morning for an hour.

Anusara means "flowing with grace,” “going with the flow,” or “following your heart." As the name suggests, this type of yoga has a deeply spiritual side that is focused on connecting with the Divine Spirit (God), opening the heart, and uplifting your soul. As you flow through the challenging sequence of postures, the teacher will give extremely specific verbal cues to help you get your bones, muscles, and even your organs in the right place to ensure proper outer and inner body alignment. At the end of class, your body will feel open and light, and your mind will feel calm and content. Practicing Anusara yoga will increase your flexibility and strength both emotionally and physically. If you're looking to deepen your yoga practice, definitely try Anusara.

Gisele: Not Quite the Authority on Anorexia

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:30:00 -0800

Gisele's statements on the causes of anorexia are making quite the stir.

Apparently she believes that the modeling industry is not to blame for the rise in anorexia, but the parents of the models are. Of course Gisele is basing her opinion on her own experience as she did not have to deal with an eating disorder because (in her opinion) she had good family support. While experts are not discounting that family support is obviously important in any situation, there is no scientific evidence that families straight-up cause anorexia nervosa. Researchers are actually finding that anorexia is not just simply wanting to be slim to achieve some fashionable slender ideal. Furthermore, the data shows that anorexia has a strong genetic component that may be the root cause of this illness.

Experts say:

"An uninformed opinion such as Bundchen's causes harm on a number of levels. By contributing to the stigma, it drives sufferers underground and creates obstacles to seeking help. It damages attempts at advocacy and hurts parents who are desperately fighting for their child's recovery."

Looks like Gisele may want to take her foot, while it may be a very polished and high paid foot, out of her mouth.

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How You Can Avoid Tom Brady's ACL Injury

FitSugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:00:00 -0700

You may or may not be a football fan, but chances are high you've heard of Tom Brady, the boyfriend of supermodel Gisele Bundchen. In his first game of the season, Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots, limped off the field, and folks are speculating that he's torn his ACL. An MRI will help determine the diagnosis and extent of his injury.

One of the most commonly injured ligaments, ACL stands for anterior cruciate ligament. It's one of the four major ligaments that connect the bones in the knee joint. A torn ACL is a serious injury that often requires surgery followed by a lengthy recovery period. While accidents happen, like random tackles, there are some preventative measures you can take to avoid this injury:

Before moving right into an intense workout, always warm up your muscles first for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Low impact activity like walking is a great way to warm up.
When exercising, try to keep your motions smooth. Turning directions quickly or coming to an abrupt stop can result in a torn ACL.
Spend time strengthening the muscles surrounding your knees including your quads, shins, calves, and hamstrings. This will increase stability in your knee. Lunges, squats, walking up stairs, or doing exercises with dumbbells are great to work into your routine.

For other helpful hints and to see a video showing how Tom Brady suffered his injury read more.

Cross-train with various types of exercise. Sticking to just one activity can result in an injury caused by repetitive movements. Plus mixing up your routine helps you burn more calories and strengthens different muscles.
Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight puts stress on your joints and can increase your risk for degenerative arthritis, which can result in knee pain.
Always stretch after you run, bike, hike, swim, or do anything active. Flexible muscles and ligaments are less likely to tear. Avoid stretching before an activity when you're not warmed up. Think of how cold bubble gum will rip in half if you pull it, but if it's warm, it'll stretch.
If you're experiencing pain in your knee, back off a little on the intensity of your workouts. Working through pain can make an injury worse.

Here's the video of Tom Brady (#12) from yesterday's game. Fast forward to .38 and keep an eye on his left knee just after he throws the ball.

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How the Stars Get Bikini Ready

FitSugar — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 03:30:00 -0700

Life & Style is reporting on how our favorite stars are getting bikini ready this year. Looks like they are turning to Brazil. Brazilian trainer and author of The Brazilian Bikini Body Program, Regina Joseph, gives us the scoop.

Drew practices Pilates! Forget dieting! Drew Barrymore prefers to burn calories with a workout that includes Pilates, one of the most popular pastimes in Brazil. For a complete cardio session, fitness pro Joseph details a combo of core Pilates moves and capoeira (a Brazilian martial art that includes cartwheels, kicks and flips) in her book.
Cam eats early in the day! An always active Cameron Diaz gets going with a protein-packed breakfast of eggs and meat. "The beginning and middle of the day are when you need a big burst of energy," says Joseph. "In Brazil, evening meals are smaller and lighter." That leaves plenty of room for desert!
Denise's smart snack! "I need foods that energize me," says Denise Richards, who revs up on the Amazon-grown acai berry (now available in stores like Whole Foods Market. Says Joseph, "An Acai smoothie provides enough fiber and protein to last until lunch."
Kristen never feels hungry! "I stopped dieting because it made me binge," Kristen Cavallari tells Life & Style. The reality show alum solved her dieting dilemma by opting for smaller, more frequent meals (she snacks on almonds) to curb her cravings. Explains Joseph, "Meals and snacks spaced throughout the day help keep blood sugar up."
Gisele fills up on fruit! Brazilian-born Gisele Bundchen can thank her homeland for her supermodel bod. The Victoria's secret stunner says her fav foods are tropical fruits from her country - which she considers to be the "best place to live."

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They Are AB-ilicious

FitSugar — Mon, 07 May 2007 14:32:00 -0700

Life and Style put together the best abs in Hollywood, with a few tips on how they get them that way. It is a little motivational and a lot of eye candy. Plus they asked FitSugar to comment on the lovely bellys of these stars. How's that for a day's work - gazing at the celebs' six packs.

Here are the top ten bellys in Hollywood, listed in order of appearance, and what I had to say about some of them.

Shakira: Those abs don't lie!
Jessica Alba: It is a sin to look that good. She's ab-ilicious.
Gisele Bundchen
Mario Lopez: He's saved by the belly.

Want to see who else made the cut? Then read more

Denise Richards: She lives in a bikini, and with those abs we know why. Two kids later and she is still looking fabulous.
Keira Knightley and Rupert Friend
David Beckham
Jessica Biel
Matthew McConaughey

They all look ab fab. Does it make you want to do more crunches? Let me know below in the comments section.