We just closed another cross country season and my 5^th daughter’s accomplishments for this year made me very proud. She made personal records every week except for one, and had a successful season over all. It was great to watch her out there working hard and having a fabulous time. The weight she lost was a plus for her, and she’s enjoying smaller jeans as a result. However, just as I’d expect, the season didn’t end without some running injuries.

This is my 5^th girl of 6 that’s been on the cross country team, and I’ve been a runner for 30 years. The reasons my daughters get running injuries is for a few reasons, maybe in different sequences depending on what my cross runner is doing as she runs. The same goes for myself when I practice poor running techniques.

#1. Don’t run more than your body can handle

This became my own problem as I aged being a veteran runner. I thought I could increase my mileage and run longer and faster even though my body had aged. Increasing my training agenda ebbed and flowed back and forth as I ran depending on whether I was involved in a race, or perhaps just wanted to lower my stress level. When I was younger, that didn’t matter, however aging is a different story. I can no longer over do running…ever.

#2. Be consistent with your training

My 3^rd daughter was notorious for this during her bout as a cross country runner. When she first began her cross career, she was on fire for the sport. Then, she would go through periods where she would slack off, not run much at all, then try to make up for it all a day or two before the race. Bad idea. Looking back at it, I can’t believe she made it through the cross season at all that year. In the years following, she was much better from the experience and became more consistent in her training schedule.

#3. Alternate between hard and light workouts

Hard workouts are certainly the way to increase stamina and endurance, however, if that’s all your doing without some light workouts in between, you’ve got a recipe for an injury of some kind. Always have a solid plan of some light workouts in between your tough ones to avoid a setback with an injury.

#4. Always run on even surfaces

Running on street sides is also asking for injury. This is due to the grading downward of the street, which is designed to run water off of the center. For this reason your outside foot will pronate or roll inward, while the inside foot will roll outward (supinate). Do your best to seek out the flattest surfaces you can to minimize your chance of injury.

Do you need help with fitness training and running? Trainer.ae does all the relevant checks for you. All trainers from Trainer.ae have the right visa and are fully qualified to train you.
______________________________________________________________
WhatsApp number: +971 56 58 30067  (please send code 1445 and we will get back to you asap)

Contact us : Click here to send us your details.
______________________________________________________________
Get in touch with us today. Our male or female personal trainers can help you look and feel younger. One-on-one personal training lessons are available in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman or RAK. Act quickly, your health is more important than you know.

Taking a bite into a delicious cool avocado straight from the fridge can help suppress your desiring appetite and for this reason it can result to weight loss, so the answer to the main heading you’ve been dying to know is YES!

What Studies Suggest :

1. Avocados are excellent for controlling belly fat.
2. Boost a sensation of fullness and satisfaction in your stomach
3. Helps you lose weight

Many are still hesitate to try out an avocados because of its high-fat reputation, but avocados are filled with vitamins, nutrients, potassium and also fiber. So you can eat this green delight everyday and it’ll still  be good for you!

Did you know : An avocado consists of 180 calories and 17g fat. It’s important to keep a watchful eye on how many of these you eat. Although one avocado is healthy, adding numerous avocados into a soup or eating them with high fat souses may not be so good.

Experimenting With Your Avocado

• One of my personal favorite dishes is a half chopped avocado with egg. You can fry the egg or scramble it, completely up to your own personal taste bud preferences. Sometimes if you scoop the avocado out first then mash it back in, it is easier to eat.
• Eat the avocado plain or with dips (low fat dips remember)
• Another way is to mash and season the avocado then spread it onto whole-grain toast or crackers,

The possibilities are really endless, send us pictures of what you do with your avocado!

Finding the right resistance band for you is important as it helps the performance of your core, lower and upper body during exercising. There is no age or gender restrictions here.

• It is important to know the level of fitness you are currently working in so you don’t buy a band that is of no use for another couple of months.
• Buying the appropriate band for your strength training can be more effective than having a band which is of no use and could possibly injure you.
• Lighter bands are mainly used for inexperienced, rehabilitating patients or the elderly but it is entirely up to you, what makes you comfortable is most important.
• Pregnant women can also choose to work with a lighter resistance band.
• Those who practice intense core training can purchase extra heavy bands that are not available to all. (Bodybuilders)

• Therapy bands : 4 feet long – 5 inches wide
• Clip tube resistance band : comes in 16 to 48 inches
• Fit tubes : between 4 to 18  feet long
• Ring resistance band :  8 inches in diameter

Depression undetected and not treated can be deadly, it has taken many lives throughout the years. With a significant rise of you teens taking their own life. In the beginning, it may start as a feeling of stress, a bad day at school or your boss has been on your case in what feels like forever and it’s becoming unbearable. Many fail to realize that depression doesn’t just disappear, nor is it as simple as you’d first think, it’s so much more than a bad day. The power depression posses doesn’t come with a straight forward answer, many suffer small symptoms whilst others are forced to sit in silence and for this reason allow depression to gloom them in darkness.

Where does it all begin – Looking for signs of depression.

Finding yourself uninterested, even the things you used to enjoy : This type of symptom can be very self destructive, it’s not that you had a bad lesson and couldn’t concentrate, you totally begin to distance yourself from the real things you enjoyed, watching movies with friends, playing outdoors or as simple as music and movies. Losing all enthusiasm and joy can soon become very daunting.

Struggling with sleeping pattern : Normally people suffering from depression will be tormented both in their dreams and their inability to sleep. They will experience high anxiety levels, endless thoughts and fears will constantly be swarming their heads making it almost impossible for the body to find rest and gradually fall asleep. Other people will find comfort in sleeping throughout the day and finding themselves in a muddle when night time comes around.

Feeling random rush of anger and irritation towards everyone and everything : At times depression can really play mind games with its victims, switching moods as if it were a button. A main reason detecting depression is positive early, is so that people can get the help they need even if it’s simply a few hours a week with a specialized therapist.

Feeling lonely and hopeless : The feeling of never being able to find strength and things will ever get better is what causes many who suffer from extreme depression to attempt suicide or self harm. You almost feel abandoned by everyone, or ashamed that people will be disappointed that you can’t get your life together. When you’re constantly failing it can only push you to self criticize and resent yourself even more each day. The inner demon can take control and influence negativity into our minds. This is another symptom that needs major help and can only be done if the person suffering from depression choices to speak to a therapist about it.

Feeling pain : Surprisingly, many people who seek advice will complain of body pains instead of mentioning their mental state. And it’s not their fault, the brain works in such a way when suffering depression that it processes what’s going on in your head as an actual physical pain.

It is statistically proven that eaten a whole juicy grapefruit or any fruit for that matter before a meal can benefit you on lower blood sugars. The reason behind this is that it helps die out a excessive hunger yearnings, therefore you’re more likely to eat less.

What Are The Specialists Saying?

• Studies have proven grapefruit can lower blood sugars within the body
• Studies have also shone light on weight loss through grapefruit
• It is said that just chewing and digesting this fruit alone can help you burn tons of calories
• 80 low calories per grapefruit – Just one should be enough to control your stomach from wanting anything more.

Want To Know What To Do With Your Grapefruit?

Here are some of our suggestions:

• The delightful taste of grapefruit can be added into a normal mix of salad, add in your usual lettuce, tomatoes and chicken. You can even choose to squeeze the juice of the grapefruit over the salad as a scrumptious dressing. You can prep this meal over night and take it with you for lunch the following day, you’re good to go for a healthier lifestyle!
• Let’s just be normal and cut it in half and half it again, take a seat out in the garden and enjoy the hassle free way of eating your fruit. You might even want to leave them in the fridge so that they’re cooler.
• The next time you plan a night in or preparing for a romantic picnic, why not cut up all your favorite fruits along with the grapefruit and turn it into a fruit salad. Fruit salads are excellent way to introduce new and exciting foods to your children, the smaller the chunks the better!
• Some replace their lemons for grapefruit chunks, try this out on your fish and even chicken the next time you cook, remember to squeeze some of the flavor over the meal.

Variety is the spice of life and the key to succeeding in your workouts. So whether you’re a beginner or an advanced athlete, resistance bands are the perfect piece of equipment. Adding bands into your workout will constantly keep your muscles guessing and your body changing. These lightweight, portable, fat-blasting bands can be taken anywhere. The following exercises will give you a full-body burn and help you escape the boredom of your regular workout routine. So get ready for the top 10 resistance band exercises.

Seated Triceps Extension

How to do it :

1. Take a seat on the ground
2. Wrap resistance band around your feet
3. Make sure the other side is around you, you are within the circle
4. Lean forward and engaging your ab muscles at the same time and grab other side of the band
5. Palms facing down on the band
6. Begin to extend your hands back until you feel the pressure on your triceps
7. Slowly find your way back to starting position
8. Repeat exercise.

Overhead Press

How to do it:

1. Place band under your feet
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
3. Lower your body down into a squat position
4. Bring your hands to your shoulders
5. Begin to stand up from squat.
6. Engage your core and lift your hands up in the air, still holding the band
7. Lower back down slowly to shoulder level
8. Go back into squat position
9. Repeat exercise

Upright Row

How to do it :

1. Place band under your feet
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
3. Place band in your hands
4. Raise your elbows to the sky while keeping your hands close to your body
5. Raise elbows higher than your shoulders
6. Bring yourself back down
7. Repeat exercise

Pull – Aparts

How to do it :

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
2. Double the band until it feels a couple bands thick
3. Palms facing up
4. Pull the band out and to the sides of your body towards chest level
5. Keep your core tight as you slowly let the band come back in.
6. Repeat exercise

Side-Stepping Lunge

How to do it:

1. Place band on ankles
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
3. Twist band so that it looks like an X
4. Pull the band apart with your legs so that you can feel tension in your hips
5. Lower down into a quarter squat
6. Start to step out to the side
7. Keep glutes and core tight
8. Switch sides, step to the left squat hold and lift, move to the right, squat hold and repeat

The sun is brightly glistening and the birds are caroling their favorite songs, it can only mean one thing! Summer is in full swing and the barbeques are at the ready. For many of us who calorie count, it’ll be a sigh of relief to hear that BBQs are actually a healthy option if you eat smart.

Your main dilemma might come from the meat aisle when picking what to actually cook on the BBQ, veggie burgers and fat free meats could be an option you might consider. And who doesn’t love grilled chicken right? Another option you might turn your nose up on is to cook fish or shrimps on your BBQ. Make sure that the burger or hot dog buns you purchase are low on calorie intake, you might even have to fold one in half instead of having two if the calorie count is high. Another suggestion is to BBQ plenty of vegetables and add them to your burger or simply eat on the side, remember to buy lettuce!

Does the BBQ grill contain fat?

Other than giving you a crisp and smokey delicious finish, the actual barbeque grill does not add on any more calories to your food.

Things to avoid :

• Big portion sizes is a no no!
• Chips
• Excessive cheese
• Too much beer
• Avoid too much sauce – definitely say no to the mayo!

Why not cut up fruit and vegetable for everyone to dip their fingers in whilst waiting for their burgers to cook.

• Drink plenty of cold water to help you stay hydrated in the scorching summer heat.

Exercise

Once the BBQ burger has settled in your stomach, you might want to round up the kids for a game of football, rounders or any sport of your choosing. The beauty of BBQs is that the weather is lovely and everyone will be in good spirits to tag along.

Important : Don’t forget the sun screen!

Dancing is a fantastic aerobic exercise for your body, it supports to boost your heart rate and along side this allows you to lose weight. However, the extent of what weight you lose through dancing is established through the intensity of your dancing routine and the type of dance performed.

Benefits of Dance

• Health : Dancing helps increase your heart rate
• Strength : Dancing routines that incorporate movements such as squats, lunges, high kicks and also your back help to strengthen your muscles all around your body
• Strength : Through dance you will also strengthen your abdominal muscles from quick movements such as hip rotations and immediate turns.
• Health : Fat will be replaced by lean muscle when you take dance seriously and attend regularly. The fluid movements will help you burn plenty of calories in no time!
• Health : 1 hour of dedicated dance a day can help you lose up to 2 pounds every week

Suggested Dance Exercises

Zumba – Burning up to 650 calories per hour

Zumba welcomes all ages and different sizes, an excellent fat burning exercise that will have you dripping with sweat once you’re done. You won’t ever want to leave, zumba is an aerobic fitness exercise that involves movements inspired by various Latin American dances.

Ballet or Jazz – Burning up to 500 calories per hour!

Ballet is an elegant dance with tippy-toe steps and very marvelous hand gestures – a mesmerizing dance performed with music.

Jazz in origin being a black American style music, will have you swinging and grooving for hours on end.

Water Aerobics – Burning up to 400 Calories per hour

If you don’t like to sweat inside a class then water aerobics is just the place for you. Don’t panic just yet, the exercise routines you will perform are always within shallow waters so not being a confident swimmer shouldn’t be a problem. You can choose between mixed and single sex classes.

The nutritional value of vegetables rises when they are cooked rather than simply eaten raw.

Nutritionists are stating that cooking certain vegetables can help break down extra nutrients for the body to absorb. Splitting up these fibres whilst boiling vegetables can free plenty of minerals to be absorbed.

Benefits of cooking vegetables :

• Cooking asparagus will increase nutrient bioavailability
• Cooked tomatoes benefit from lycopene, tomatoe fruit has also been credited for helping to reduce risks of prostate cancer.
  
• Spinach contains both fibre and oxalates to make up its iron and calcium resource
• Cooked mushrooms are excellent for your diet containing plenty of vitamins and minerals, however, watch out on the oil and butter you add onto the pan
• Cooked carrots are rich in carotenoids
• Boiling carrots can expand the antioxidant carotenoid content 
• Avoid overcooking vegetables as too many vitamins are lost otherwise
• Dark chocolate is fantastic for preventing risks of heart disease
• Within tea and red wine there is beneficial antioxidant properties