High Sugar Consumption, Cardio Benefits, and Creative Combos

Nutrition Corner

Scientists Discover That Reduced Activity and High Sugar Consumption Is Worse for Men Than Women

Nutrition - 'More Herbs, Less Salt Day' calls for creative combos: Adding herbs and spices to foods can be a personal preference, so don’t be afraid to try and fail while using them.

Recipe for The Day

Tres Leches-Inspired Overnight Oats: We use those milks to hydrate oats, creating a creamy, satisfying breakfast. A sprinkle of cinnamon adds a nice touch of spice, while sliced strawberries provide a pop of color.

Lifestyle & Fitness Focus

4 Benefits of a Cardio Workout

• How cardio benefits your heart: When part of an overall heart-healthy lifestyle, not only can regular cardio exercise lead to a decrease in your resting blood pressure and heart rate, but these basic changes can also mean your heart doesn’t have to work unnecessarily hard all of the time. Maintaining a good cardio routine also helps improve good cholesterol levels while lowering blood fats.

• How cardio benefits your brain: Increasing blood flow and decreasing chances of stroke. Improving memory and thinking ability. Combatting a decline in brain function with age. Protecting your brain against developing Alzheimer’s disease.

• How cardio benefits your joints: Fight osteoporosis and reduce your chances of a hip fracture. Manage arthritis discomfort and maintain range of motion.

• How cardio benefits your skin: Better blood flow to your cells, including the skin cells on your face. That helps reduce signs of aging and improve your complexion. Lower stress levels, which helps keep chronic skin conditions like eczema at bay.

Need Motivation? 3 Unexpected Benefits for Your Happiness: Exercise isn't just good for your body, it also helps the brain produce more dopamine. Here's how it affects your mental health.

• Movement helps you bond with others: Movement itself primes you to connect with others. That's just the brain chemistry of it. When you get your heart rate up, when you use your body, when you engage your muscles, it changes your brain chemistry in a way that makes it easier to connect with others and bond, trust other people. It enhances social pleasures like a high five, laughing or a hug.

• Exercise helps reduce anxiety and depression: When you exercise, it increases endorphins, dopamine, adrenaline and endocannabinoid -- these are all brain chemicals associated with feeling happy, feeling confident, feeling capable, feeling less anxiety and stress and even less physical pain.

• Exercise can help boost your confidence: When you move with other people it creates a strong sense of 'bigger than self' possibility that makes people feel more optimistic and empowered. And it allows people to feel more empowered about facing the challenges in their own lives.

6 Health Benefits of Tomatoes

• Both Cooked and Raw Tomatoes Are Full of Nutrients: Tomatoes are low in calories and full of vital nutrients. A single raw tomato contains about half a cup of water, making it an excellent food for hydration.

• Support Heart Health: You can get a healthy serving of potassium from tomatoes, Houlie said. One medium tomato contains about the same amount of potassium as a banana.

• Support Exercise Recovery: Tomatoes contain several electrolytes, which are essential for basic cell functioning. The potassium, sodium, magnesium, and fluoride in tomatoes may help decrease muscle soreness and exercise fatigue after a workout.

• Help Protect Against Dementia: Potassium helps power the heart and plays a role in nerve function throughout the body. One recent study found that people who consumed more potassium and less sodium had better cognitive function.

• Cooked Tomatoes Help Prevent Prostate Cancer: Cooking tomatoes may compromise the vitamin C content, but it increases the availability of several important antioxidants that may protect against cancer growth.

• Help Balance Blood Sugar: Tomatoes can help manage blood sugar in people with diabetes. Their fiber content helps regulate blood sugar and bowel movements. The fruit is also low glycemic, so it can be a good snack for avoiding a blood sugar spike and crash.

The 5 Arm Exercises Shaun Clarida Trains to Defend His 212 Olympia Title

• Rope Triceps Extension: Clarida opened with 20 to 25-rep sets of rope triceps extensions to warm up. Once into his working sets, he performed 10 to 12 reps. He kept his upper arms pinned to his sides with slow eccentrics.

• Cable Biceps Curl, Triceps Pushdown, & Dumbbell Hammer Curl: Clarida grabbed an EZ bar with a wide supinated grip and did two warm-up sets. The reigning 212 Olympia champ spends considerable time warming up — much more than when he first began his career in the gym compared to his younger days when he got straight to lifting heavy after entering the gym.

• Single-Arm Overhead Triceps Extension & Biceps Preacher Curl: Clarida favors single-arm overhead triceps extensions to build the long and medial triceps heads. He performed extensions standing with his elbows flared to allow for a more natural range of motion.

• Cross-Body Triceps Extension & Overhead Cable Curls: For the cross-body extensions, Clarida grasped a cuff attachment using a neutral grip. He assumed a hip-width stance, grabbed the pulley machine with his non-working arm for better stability, and limited his elbow movement during reps. He mimicked the front double biceps pose during his overhead cable curls. He trained to failure one side at a time during the final set.

• Triceps Machine Dips: Clarida wrapped up his arm day with machine triceps dips. He maintained an upright torso, keeping the tension on his triceps. Clarida advised moving through one’s full range of motion to build “horseshoe” triceps.