Great iphone app for runners/walkers/cyclists

Hello.

I have just tried out a fantastic iphone app called GPS MotionX. A client of mine recommended it and I love, love, love it!! It has a track recorder on it, which tells you time, how fast you are going, your average speed and how far you have travelled. It evens has the map with the route you took. You can save all of this information into your phone and even share it with your friends on twitter and facebook. There's even a button for controlling your ipod at the same time. Very funky indeed and only costs $3.99.

It gave me some very interesting information i.e. I am running further than I realised and much faster, but probably way too fast to increase my distance so will try to slow it down next time and I may not collapse at the end - very useful!

Check it out.

Growing old gracefully

Hello.

One of my clients recommended this website. It is really interesting, and is packed with nutritional information. I tried the nutritional typing questionnaire and came up as a 'Mixed Type' which means I'm suited to veggies mixed with meat. It has lots of anti aging tips so check it out!

www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/if-you-want-to-age-gracef_b_700335.html

Grab A Beetroot-Ade!

A few of my clients and friends are currently taking part in iron man/woman activities marathons and triathlons so they may find this article useful.

It looks like the Aussie love-affair with the humble beetroot may be able to reap its rewards on the sports field, with a recent UK study showing that beetroot juice may increase stamina and endurance by up to 16 per cent.

Researchers from the University of Exeter found that nitrate in beetroot juice reduced the intake of oxygen by a higher degree than other known methods.

Eight male study participants between the ages of 19 and 38 drank half a litre of organic beetroot juice daily, for six days, after which they completed a selection of tests on an exercise bike. The results were measured against the findings of the same tests when conducted using a daily placebo in place of the beetroot juice.

After consuming beetroot juice, the participants cycled for an average 92 seconds longer (16 per cent) than they did after drinking the placebo beverage, and also displayed a lower resting blood pressure.

Study author, Andy Jones, a professor in the university's School of Sport and Health Sciences, said "Our study is the first to show that nitrate-rich food can increase exercise endurance'.

Warm Tandoori Chicken Salad

Super low fat and super yummy courtesy of WeightWatchers.

Warm Tandoori Chicken Salad

1/3 cup (95g) skim-milk natural yogurt

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander

2 tablespoons lemon juice

6 small pappadums (20g)

280g chicken tenderloins

2 tablespoons tandoori powder (or tandoori paste bought from the supermarket marinated with yogurt as per instructions on jar)

cooking-oil spray (no need if marinated from jar)

100g baby spinach leaves

1 lebanese cucumber (130g), halved lengthways, sliced thickly

125g cherry tomatoes

1. Combine yogurt, coriander and juice in small bowl.

2. Cook pappadums in microwave oven on Medium (50%) for about 40 seconds; break into pieces.

3. Sprinkle chicken with tandoori powder, spray with cooking oil. Cook chicken on heated grill plate (or grill or barbeque). Slice thickly.

4. Combine spinach, cucumber and tomatoes in medium bowl; add chicken. Serve salad sprinkled with papadums, then drizzled with coriander yogurt.

Tasty!

Olive Oil

I've attached an article from my Australian Fitness Network publications highlighting the health benefits of olive oil. Dr Oz on Oprah recommends a tablespoon of olive oil per day for good health (it must be cold extra virgin olive oil - if you heat it, it loses it's benefits). I know the weight watchers among you will be dubious, but when I am trying to lose a couple of kilos, I focus on healthy eating and will include healthy oils in my diet e.g. avocado, olive oil etc. My favourite salad dressing is one part olive oil, mixed with one part lemon juice - it's yum!

Olive oil may be key to heart health
The Mediterranean diet has long been touted as having numerous health benefits, which have been attributed to its high levels of fresh fish, fruit, legumes and olive oil. According to a new study, however, it may be the olive oil, more than the other ingredients, which is the key to its respected dietary credentials.

Researchers from the University of Cordoba in Spain have suggested that the heart benefits of the diet may be due to phenol compounds in virgin olive oil which repress genes that promote inflammation.

A team led by Francisco Perez-Jimenez of the University of Cordoba researched how diets rich in phenol compounds such as olive oil affected the gene function in 20 study subjects with metabolic syndrome, a combination of medical disorders which put people at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Commenting on the study, Perez-Jimenez said, ‘These findings strengthen the relationship between inflammation, obesity and diet and provide evidence at the most basic level of healthy effects derived from virgin olive oil consumption in humans’.

Source: BMC Genomics

From Couch Potato To Triathlete

Hello!

I am finally back to blogging! A couple of my clients are doing mini triathlons in a couple of weeks (you go girls!!) and they recommended a really cool site for beginner exercisers. You may not be keen to do a triathlon but the basic principles also apply if you want to become a runner, biker or swimmer and don't know where to start. Check out www.beginnertriathlete.com. It's a very cool site. Let me know what you think.