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Everyone should know by now that exercise is essential for good health, but what many people don’t realize is exactly how beneficial it is. Exercise is not only useful for helping you lose weight, maintaining a healthy body weight, and making you feel good but exercise can also help treat many medical conditions - many times more effectively than the medications intended for that specific purpose. If the effectiveness of exercise to treat chronic disease and conditions was considered and exercise was a pill, it would be the most prescribed medication in the world. However, drug companies don’t make any money promoting free and natural solutions that work better than the medications they’re selling, so you are bombarded with the message “take this pill and call me in the morning”. Below is a list of the top ten medical conditions that can be treated with exercise as effectively, or more effectively, than medication. Before you ditch your meds for exercise,...

     Each day we get a lot of really motivating, incredibly encouraging feedback from you guys. We wanted to compile a list of just a small sampling of all of the kind words that you’ve shared with us – the words that have kept us working hard for you guys. We know that this is a long post but we think too much of a good thing will be okay just this once. Fitness Blender Reviews, raves & feedback: Love this site! It's like having a personal trainer at home :O) This is freaking amazing!!! Nicely explained & easy! I can feel my body being healthy again already! Woo hoo! Thanks so much for this!!! Fitness Blender has given me hope for my future health. Hey, nice work!! I'm actually a very fit guy whose schedule is getting tighter and tighter, gotta say your vids are helping a great deal in keeping fit and rock!! All the way down to Mexico! Congrats! I don't think that I can every thank you guys enough for posting soooooo many incredible...

     With the average American working a 40 hour work week, the number of calories that you burn during your working day is no small or dismissible variable in staying fit.      Unfortunately, many of us have sedentary jobs that have us staring into a computer screen while sitting on our bums all day long. I thought it would be fun to apply a rough equation based on the average steps taken in an occupation to work out a guesstimate of how many calories any given specific job burns throughout the day.      All calculations are for an individual weighing 145 pounds. As always, a person's energy expenditure will depend on weight, muscle content, gender, age, and many other factors. How many calories are burned at work? Calories burned in a desk job Examples: Receptionists, counselors, customer service telephone workers, writers, graphic designers, accountants, commercial and public transportation drivers, cashiers, tech sup...

     Everyday we are bombarded by images and messages created by people who want to sell us something that are telling us that we aren’t good enough in one way or another. It’s an endless stream of you aren’t thin enough, rich enough, young enough, you don’t wear the right clothes and you don’t drive the right car, you have wrinkles, your hair needs to be dyed, you need dangerous plastic surgery if you want to look the way you’re “supposed” to and you need to be flawless inside & out if you are to believe that you are worth anything at all.      We thought we’d put a message out there that was a little different. Yeah, it’s cheesy, and yes; we all have legitimate personal things that we can work on to improve ourselves, but positive self talk will get you there faster than negative self talk every time – with a whole lot less misery involved, too.      A lo...

We just got back from a vacation and a question that came flooding in was regarding how we eat while we're on vacation - Do we cheat? Do we maintain the same clean diet as we do at home? We know a lot of you end up wringing your hands about this one so we thought we'd share our outlook on it. There are two things that you need to think about when considering your vacation and your eating habits - first, how often do you get to go on vacation, and second, how long is your vacation? If you're going to be gone for less than a week, there's only a certain amount of damage that you can do - although that's definitely not a license to eat complete junk and be completely sedentary while you're away. If you're gone for more than a week, you're going to need to think about ways to incorporate a good amount of physical activity (like any one of our hundreds of free workout videos) and finding some ways to maintain a relatively clean diet - cooking at least som...

     When it comes to working out what you eat, when, and how much, can all have an effect on how efficient your exercising is.  Fueling your body properly for your next round of physical activity can be a science and this video and article are intended to help clear up some of the questions you have and give you a general understanding of why. Now keep in mind while reading this that our suggestions are based on what would work best for the largest population of typical exercisers. If you are a competitive athlete or have special dietary issues then you might not fall into the population that this is meant for. Pre-workout Snack      Eating before a bout of physical activity falls into two main categories; having access to food, or the ability to eat 2 to 3 hours before or 1 hour or under. This time frame is important specifically because of how your body digests different types of food.  For example the higher the fat content is in...

Here are our best tips for how to enjoy the holidays without gaining weight. Buckle up, it might not be what you expect. Don't count calories. Don't practice portion control. Don't starve yourself the week before, or after a holiday. Don't punish yourself with a restrictive diet or brutal workout video the next day. Don't weigh yourself after a great big holiday cheat day. Don't worry about weight gain. Don't throw up your hands over minor slip ups or even giant whole-day slip ups and declare that the entire rest of the year is a wash because you have failed, that you will instead start your clean eating and exercise habit January 1st. Just like one meal or one workout isn't going to make you fit or lean, a couple of cheat days in the form of holidays is not going to ruin your progress or make you gain weight. What matters most around the holidays is that you realize that the actual holidays only take place around several days. Do your best (practici...

We use a large number of variables to give estimates of "Calorie Burn" for every single Fitness Blender workout. In this video and article, we give you a rundown of the factors that we consider in order to create these figures, which will hopefully help you determine where on our ranges you might fall. How Fitness Blender calculates calories burned ranges Here are a handful of the most influential factors we consider to give our calorie burn ranges. Bodyweight - Our calorie burn ranges typically reflect the calorie burn of someone who weighs between 110-200 lbs. Heavier people will burn a higher number of calories than people who are lighter. If you're lighter than 110 you may burn lower than our estimate range; heavier than 200 and you may burn higher than our estimate range. Workout length - The amount of time spent exercising is an important variable in calorie burn. Additionally, longer workouts may create more of a metabolic disturbance (depending on the intens...

Nearly everyone at some point has been told to "just wait", to see what happens to their bodyweight, metabolism, fitness, flexibility, body fat percentage once they hit a certain age. program of cardio and strength training (like they should be) then the entire aging process is going to be that much "nicer" to you. In reality, weight gain with age is often times due to a decrease in caloric expenditure (less exercise) and/or the wrong kinds of exercise (for example, all cardio and no strength training to help maintain that muscle mass). In a vastly oversimplified, quick explanation; your body operates off of a "use it or lose it" principle. If you don't use your muscles, your muscle mass will diminish, which will in turn slowly lower your metabolism over the years. So if you don't put in the effort to stay active and maintain that muscle mass, it will inevitably become much harder to stay at a healthy body weight. While this initially might se...

Be warned, the content of this video is as random as the title of this article. And yes we really cover all of those topics, including Ryan Gosling. There are a lot of things that bother us about the fitness industry, things that really make us grind our teeth and bite our tongues - and surprisingly we're not talking about florescent leg warmers, unitards or bad workout music. To be honest, we are growing tired of biting said tongues, and have decided that we are no longer going to hold back when it comes to calling out the misleading, misinformed information relating to health, fitness, and body image pushed by some of the less-than-trustworthy media outlets, fitness industry players, and fitness personalities. From now on, part of our mission is calling it like we see it in an attempt to arm people with what they need to live long lives with healthy bodies and minds. Here's the rundown of topics and a summary of what we want you to take away from this video. Fitspiration ...

Living is expensive. It feels like literally everything costs an arm and a leg and healthy eating is just one of the things that tends to fall to the wayside when money is tight, but it doesn't have to. With some savviness in the grocery store, and a little creativity, you can have nutrient dense, delicious tasting eating habits, without having a sky high grocery bill. seems cheaper. Often times those quick, convenient already-prepared meals and snacks are very literally more expensive than healthy whole foods, but that's not even taking into account that a wholesome diet can save you thousands and thousands of dollars on health care bills. A healthy diet can serve as preventative medicine (the best kind of medicine), saving your health and your money in the long run. Here are our food group essentials that are great clean eating staples, as well as a list of ways to make them more affordable. You don't have to like the same ones we do; find ones that make you...

We get this question frequently, but the only person that can really answer it is you - though I’m happy to give you some guidance as well as a get-out-of-jail-free card for workouts on days when you’re feeling extra crampy and fatigued. Technically, you can carry on with your workouts as you usually would while you’re on your period. However, if you’ve got bad cramps and you’re feeling overly tired, it’s okay to either take down the intensity of your training session, or skip the workout altogether - though there are certain types of training that can actually help reduce symptoms.  Working out can help boost your mood, reduce your pain, and help you feel less sluggish; yoga, stretching, Pilates, and really light cardio are all great options - check out the links below for a few suggested workouts for times when you want to be active but you’re not feeling so hot.  27 Minute Stretching, Pilates, Yoga Workout Blend - Relaxing ...

Harvest bowl are the ultimate celebration of produce in seasons. No matter if it is summer, spring, fall or winter, Nature offers a variety of colorful and vibrant veggies to delight our tastebuds and nourish our bodies. This harvest bowl is a beautiful example of this transitional period between winter and spring. We still enjoy earthy and juicy beet, but combine it with cleansing and nutrient-dense greens for optimum energy and nutrition. Check out some of our other recipes:  Healthy packed lunch idea - Quick & easy to-go lunch    Nutrition Powerhouse Beet Veggie Burger Easy Homemade Mushroom Mozzarella Pizza This recipe is so easy you can make it on the go, pack it for lunch or take it out on a weekend picnic. Do not forget to customize it depending on the season (and your fridge leftovers) so that you get a variety of nutrients and enjoy a new flavor each time! Type: Vegan, vegetarian Prep Time: 1 h Cook time: 15 min Serves: 2  Ingredients: 2-3 cups ...

Slow cookers are life savers! It takes no time to throw everything in and forget about it over the next few hours. We frequently use a slow cooker to make homemade beans but there are a ton of different options when it comes to these incredibly convenient kitchen allies. Beef has the property to become quite rubbery when not cooked properly - that’s why slow cooking it is always a good option if you want your meat nice and tender. It doesn’t need searing but you can definitely do this if you like it crusty and brown on the outside. It is a very important step to season the meat well before roasting it. Using flavorful herbs gives it such an amazing aroma. They also season the vegetables and help infuse all of the ingredients together. Herbs like thyme, basil, oregano and sage are also great digestion boosters. Their oils have a soothing effect on the intestines which is important when eating meats that are generally hard to digest.  When it comes to vegetables, fee...

For all of the methods we have that are geared towards helping people lose weight, good old-fashioned walking is still one of the best things to add onto a weight loss plan or workout program. While walking is very healthy for the body and it is absolutely helpful as supplemental exercise if you're trying to drop weight or body fat, it does not cover all of the bases. However, if you combine a walking habit with a smart workout program , you're going to drastically increase the health benefits and also see a lot better results, a lot faster. challenge your cardiovascular endurance (for health and calorie burn). Keep in mind that this is relative to your own fitness level and it doesn't have to be intimidating. Listen to your body, and move at a pace that is challenging to you specifically. The other piece of the puzzle is  strength/resistance training , which is one of the best ways to lose extra weight and keep it off - it a...

This Garlic Tofu Stir Fry is packed with nutrients and flavor. The vegetarian dish is virtually free of saturated fat and because of its high fiber content, can actually serve to lower your cholesterol. With a generous dose of both phytochemicals and antioxidants, this recipe is a great defense against harmful free radicals. Ingredients 14 Ounces Tofu 1 Onion 5 Large carrots 8 Ounces mushrooms 1 Green or red pepper 2 Cans of red beans (roughly 26 ounces) 1/4 Cup brown sugar 2-3 Garlic cloves 1/4 Cup vinegar 1-1/2 Tbs canola oil Cumin, to taste Mince the garlic and toss it in with the oil to begin cooking. Add the diced tofu, cumin, and brown sugar and cook until the tofu is browned; less time on the stove for a soft texture and a longer cooking time for crisp bites (recommended). Add the onions, carrots, peppers, and mushrooms, along with the vinegar. Saute until the vegetables are as tender as you like. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the red beans and heat the entire dish befor...

Cholesterol levels are directly linked to atherosclerosis, which can cause heart attack and stroke. This means that keeping your numbers in check is a must for a long, healthy life. High levels can be attributed to various factors, including diet, lifestyle, and genetics; here's what you can do to keep your levels under control. Understand what it is. Cholesterol is a chemical built primarily in the liver for the transportation of fats around the body. It is carried around the body by various means but the most important of these are Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL), and High Density Lipoproteins (HDL). These are the types that are checked in your blood when determining your risk levels. LDL-Cholesterol (also known as the "Bad" kind) is responsible for depositing fatty streaks on your artery walls known as plaques. Over time this causes blockages, which can result in heart attack or stroke. HDL-Cholesterol (also known as the "Good" kind) actually scrubs your art...

Embarking on a healthy diet journey doesn't mean eating boring foods and flavorless dishes. Not at all, and this master veggie burger will actually prove the contrary – it's the easy way of turning a classic into its healthier version, using fresh veggies and healing spices, and creating a nutrient-rich dish, bursting with flavor and vibrantly colored. Beets, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, nuts and seeds, fresh parsley and turmeric – simple and nourishing ingredients, turned into delicious veggie burgers, bathed into flavored sauce and packed into whole wheat buns. Doesn't it sound delicious? Legumes, beans or cereal grains as a base – this could be anything from lentils, quinoa, bulgur, brown rice, beans of any variety, chickpeas. Egg or egg replacement (ground flax, chia seeds) – to hold the ingredients together. Vegetables to add nutritional value and lovely color to your burgers – sweet potatoes, beets, broccoli, spinach, parsley, kale. N...

This is a great vegan take on the traditional meat based chili soup, with way more health benefits. It uses natural, plant based sources of protein. All the ingredients in this recipe add to your body’s intake not only of loads of protein, but also fiber, vitamins, minerals, iron and capsicum (great for your body’s metabolic rate). The ingredients in this healthy chili may boost your endorphin and serotonin levels, reduce your cravings for sugar and fat, boost your immune system, regulate your blood sugar and clear congestion. If you’re exercising regularly, and particularly if you’re lifting weights, the high protein in adzuki beans contributes towards building muscle mass while keeping lean. Are you in love with this little bean yet?! Quinoa is a great little super-grain to supply you with more fiber (almost twice as much as other grains), as well as incredible protein, since it is a complete protein which has all nine of the essential amino acids that our ...

One of the first steps towards cooking healthier at home starts with keeping a well-stocked arsenal of spices. First things first: this does not refer to the jars that have been sitting at the back of your cupboard for the past decade. Spices will last for a few years when stored securely in a cool, dry place (check the packaging for an expiration date), but if they are older than that they lose their flavor and do little more than take up space in your pantry.  This collection of seasonings can be used, either in combination or individually, to bring big flavor into your kitchen. What’s more? They each boast a wealth of health benefits. This particular recipe for Moroccan Red Lentil Soup uses ginger, turmeric, cumin and paprika.  Related: Healthy packed lunch idea - Quinoa & Veggie Sweet Potato Salad Ginger and turmeric, which come from the same family of flowering plants (Zingiberaceae) have a wide array of potential health benefits, such as aiding in dige...

Interval training is the best way to build cardiovascular endurance and best mimics the cardiovascular stress one is subjected to when skiing or snowboarding. Interval training should only be done 2 -3 times a week during the snowboarding or skiing preseason or midseason as it requires at least 48 hours for the body to fully recover from the stress. Constant intensity cardio should be done in between the days of interval training. For example, a typical cardiovascular training program would be as follows: Monday: C, 45+ minutes Tuesday: I, 20+ minutes Wednesday: X Thursday: I, 20+ minutes Friday: C, 30+ minutes Saturday: C, 45+ minutes Sunday: X C= Constant Intensity I = Interval Intensity X= Rest Constant intensity cardiovascular training is bringing your intensity level up to a comfortable but challenging range and holding it for the allotted time; in this case 30+ minutes or 45+ minutes. There are there are two ways to set up an Interval Program, one uses time and heart rate, and ...

Flexibility is the most important training tool you can use to improve your golf swing. Next, but only barely, is balance training. Strength training is usually the first thing people think of for exercises to improve their swing but without flexibility you will not have the range of motion to properly implement any power gains you get from that added strength. On top of that, if you don’t have good balance, which is basically control through your ankles, hips and torso, then you have an unstable stance, which prevents you from using 100% of your swing power and destroys your accuracy. This portion of Fitness Blender’s Golf Exercise Program will be covering golf stretches in order to help you build up the control over your swing as well as unlock the power you already have. If you are serious about improving your golf swing, also see the Strength Training Workout for Golfers . Golf Stretching Routine Straight Leg Hang with Flat Back Description: Stand with feet shoulder w...