FitSugar

Everyday Nutrition Shakes

FitSugar — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:00:00 -0800

Dr. Jana Klauer, author of the new book How the Rich Get Thin: Park Avenue's Top Diet Doctor Reveals the Secrets to Losing Weight and Feeling Great has created ready-to-drink Everyday Nutrition shakes.

Everyday Nutrition shakes are supposed to be a tool for weight loss because they contain high quality whey protein and calcium - two proven ingredients for weight loss and with only 180 calories, 20 grams of protein and 400 mg of calcium, the 11 ounce drink packs a powerful punch. One reason why I actually like this product is because the shakes contain omega-3 fatty acids which has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and depression. The shakes are available in rich (no pun intended) cocoa and vanilla bean.

I am also pleased that the shakes do not contain artificial appetite suppressants, which is common in 'diet' shakes. Dr. Klauer's site says, "Everyday Nutrition shakes will supply nutrients your body needs to lose weight safely and efficiently, but they are not designed to replace food entirely." Giving the shakes another bonus point in my book.

Sounds like something you want to try? Buy the shakes from Janeklauermd.com, but buyer beware: These shakes are not your typical protein shake as a pack of 24 will set you back $114.00.

I guess if you live on Park Avenue, $114 is just a drop in the hat.

You Asked: Why Do I Shake During Hard Exercises?

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:50:00 -0800

Dear Fit,
I tried out a new strength training class at my gym, and it was awesome. It uses dumbbells, resistance bands, gym balls, and mat exercises to tone your whole body. There were definitely a lot of new moves I'd never done before, and during one of the exercises, where you're balancing on your bum in a V-position, and lowering your torso and legs toward the floor, I was shaking uncontrollably. It was kind of embarrassing. This happened during some other really challenging moves, and I'm wondering why this happens, if it's bad for me, and if it'll ever go away.
-Trembling and Shaking

There are two things you should know about your body shaking. One, it's completely normal, so it's nothing to be embarrassed about and I bet if you had looked around you would see your classmates trembling along with you. Learn the second bit of info about shaking when you read more.

Your body shaking during strength training isn't a bad thing. It just means that your muscles are working hard and are not used to the demands you're placing on them. Meaning they're just not strong enough yet. The trembling is caused by your muscles grabbing and releasing one another as they lengthen and shorten. Once your muscles become accustomed to doing these new exercises, that action will become smoother and your trembling will stop.

Since quivering means that your muscles are hard at work, you just want to be careful not to overdo it, since you can end up tearing a muscle. Gradually work your way up to challenging exercises. Either do modifications, less reps, or hold difficult positions for less time. Keep up with the class, and as your body becomes stronger, you'll be able to say sayonara to the shaking.

Any other shakers out there? Tell me the move that gets ya!

I Don't Buy It: Shake Weight

FitSugar — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:30:00 -0700

Who isn't looking for a quick and easy way to get toned arms? That's just what the Shake Weight ($20) promises - in just six minutes a day. Weighing in at just 2.5 pounds, it supposedly tones your upper body faster than regular dumbbells. I'm not buying it though. I'm sticking with regular hand weights since they're effective and don't require you to gyrate your body up and down. Dumbbells are also fairly inexpensive, easy to use, and offer more variety since they come in a range of weights. Another plus is that you can use dumbbells to tone just about every part of your body, depending on how you use them. The Shake Weight only works your upper body (if it works it at all).

If you aren't convinced and want to learn more about the Shake Weight, check out the infomercial when you read more.

Is Shaking While Strength Training Normal?

FitSugar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:30:00 -0800

Have you ever been doing push-ups or ab exercises and noticed that your body started to shake? This happens to me when I'm pushing myself or at the end of a set of exercises. Why does it happen?

Basically your muscles shake when they are working hard at something they're not used to doing. Maybe you're lifting a heavier weight, or doing more reps of a certain move. When your muscles begin to quiver, it's because they're grabbing and releasing one another as they lengthen and shorten. Once your muscles become accustomed to doing that exercise or lifting that amount of weight, the trembling will stop.

So is it a bad thing? To find out read more.

The shaking indicates that you're demanding more from your body than it's normally capable of doing. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but you can expect to be sore the next day since you're making tiny microscopic tears in your muscles. As the muscles repair themselves, you'll become stronger. So the more you work on those exercises that make you quiver, the stronger you'll get and the less you'll shake.

Fit's Tip: Just a reminder - you never want to push yourself too hard, so if you find that you're shaking from your first overhead press trying to lift 10 pounds then you should drop down to a lighter weight.

Source

Why Does My Body Shake?

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 08:45:00 -0800

Sometimes during certain exercises, my muscles quiver involuntarily, especially when I'm doing ab work. Does this happen to you?

Good news: That shaking means you're working and strengthening your muscles. But it's also a sign that the muscle is not accustomed to the demands you're putting on it.

The trembling indicates how the muscles grab and release one other as they lengthen and shorten during the exercise. But that action will become smoother, and the shaking will stop, once the muscles become more used to the activities you're doing.

Although the shaking isn't dangerous, the fact that you're putting extra demand on the muscles could result in some soreness the next day. The soreness reflects the fact that there's some muscle damage, but when the body repairs it, you come back fitter and stronger in the end, so it's a good thing.

Just think - If you do the exercise everyday then you will get stronger and shake less. Test that theory by doing the 4 minute short, sweet and complete ab routine everyday.

Fit's Tips: So don't overexert yourself too much. If you find yourself quivering from the start, take the intensity down a bit, and ease your muscles into working harder gradually.

Kissing vs. Shaking Hands

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:15:00 -0800

It is still cold and flu season. It drags on through February so we still need to be playing defense to avoid coming into contact with viruses. I have a little one-question quiz here to see if you know this tactic on how to avoid catching the common cold.

Source

Take the quiz

Can My Earbuds Give Me an Ear Infection?

FitSugar — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:00:15 -0800

When the weather isn't good for exercising outdoors I run on a treadmill, sometimes for well over an hour. No matter how many fans are blowing and how many windows are open at the gym, I seem to sweat 10 times more when I'm running indoors than when I'm running outside. I always cue up an inspiring playlist on my iPod - especially for long indoor runs - but lately I've been having a problem with sweat getting into my ears during the runs and wondered if sweat in my ears (ew!) might cause an ear infection.

Since using in-ear headphones does increase bacterial growth in your ears, the headphones I use for running are no exception. Plus, there's the chance of developing swimmer's ear, which occurs when water - or anything else, cotton swabs included - gets into your inner ear and breaks down the skin, allowing bacteria inside.

Luckily I'm not sweating profusely enough to warrant shaking out any excess sweat that gets into my ear canal after a long run - how funny would that look? But to minimize ear infection risk, it's important to keep your earbuds clean, especially after a long sweaty workout or after storing them in a stuffy gym bag.

Food Review: Forze GPS Shakes and Bars

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:46 -0800

I'm typically wary of fitness drinks with gold packaging; they remind me of the weird muscle-building brands I see at the gym. But when I read the label on Forze GPS shakes and bars, I was intrigued.

This line of snacks, including chocolate and vanilla shakes and four flavors of energy bar, is described as a "weight management tool designed specifically for athletes." They promise to activate your appetite control signals, so they can be used as a between-meal or pre- or post-workout snack. Hear what I thought about their taste and the results.

AnnaLynne McCord Is Bikini Ready

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:23 -0800

AnnaLynne McCord looks like she's ready to hit the beach in Shape's March issue. In the magazine, the 22-year-old 90210 starlet shares with readers her eating and exercising tips. AnnaLynne's advice is really easy to follow and even leaves a little room for indulgence. Her vice? Taco Bell Mexican pizzas. Given her svelte body, the pizzas don't look like they're doing much harm - must be her three-hour hikes through Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles. Here are some of the highlights:

Don't always clean your plate. AnnaLynne has learned to finish eating when she's full, even if there's still food on her plate. It's a technique she learned from her mother, who lost 45 pounds following The Weigh Down Diet. "The author studied the habits of thin people and discovered that when they're done eating, they wrap up their leftovers instead of just finishing whatever they were served."
Make a fitness date with a friend. "With my unpredictable work hours, I rarely have time to exercise and have fun, so my idea of a good workout is to mix them both. I love being outdoors, playing beach tennis, going for runs in the sand, or doing a three-hour hike with my best girlfriend, Mieko."

To see more of AnnaLynne's tips, read more.

Start cooking. Because of her schedule, AnnaLynne doesn't get to cook as much as she wants but takes every opportunity that she can get. Cooking at home is the one way you know you're getting a healthy meal. A dish that Annalynne loves to cook is citrus marinated herb-chicken with spinach and fettuccine."I love this meal because it's simple and ready in 30 minutes."
You don't need to spend money to look good. "When I first moved to L.A., I didn't have a lot of money to join a gym or take classes, so I improvised. My sister and I went to the library and looked over their DVD collection and discovered Neena and Veena, these Egyptian twins who have a whole series of belly dancing routines. We did them all. When you're shaking your booty," she says, "you can't help but feel beautiful and sexy."

Feel the Burn? Shake It Out!

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:41 -0800

I hit a wall last year. I was working out a lot and eating well, but my body wasn't progressing. Whether it was doing that last pull-up, biking that last mile, or adding heavier weights to my routine, my muscles just gave up on me. This year as part of the Get Fit For 2010 challenge, I made it my goal to increase my strength and endurance.

To accomplish my goal I've been doing a lot of interval training, and it's definitely paying off. Still, it's not unusual to feel a slight burning sensation in my muscles during my workout and have them give up on me. Instead of stopping my workout like I did in the past, I take a small break and get on it again.

To see how I've overcome the burn, read more.

I've since learned that the heavy, burning sensation I'm feeling while I am working out is from a buildup of lactic acid in my muscles, but it's not a bad thing. (This burn is different than the soreness you feel after a workout, aka delayed onset muscle soreness, which is caused from small tears in the muscles.) An article in the New York Times explains that lactic acid fuels muscles and gives the body energy to perform longer: "Muscle cells convert glucose or glycogen to lactic acid. The lactic acid is taken up and used as a fuel by mitochondria, the energy factories in muscle cells." Since periods of high-intensity anaerobic activity are balanced out with low-impact activity, interval training is a great way to increase lactic acid production without overdoing it.

Shaking, stretching, and dancing it out during a workout also works wonders for me. If my muscles feel tense from lactic acid buildup I lightly shake out my arms or legs to loosen up, relieve tension, and get the blood flowing. Sometimes I raise my arms above my head or swing them slowly in a large circular movement. A little shakedown is all I need to get right back on the climbing wall, bike, or pull-up bar.

Try this the next time you're working out and see if it works for you. As always, remember to listen to your body. If you're feeling a lot of pain, or if the burning sensation does not disappear after a small resting period, take a real break. It's always better to walk away then to risk having a serious injury on your hands.