So I’m developing a CoreFit Deck that you can take with you. Get the first of these workouts here and print out so you can just grab them and go to the gym. In fact, why not just take a few in your gym back so all you have to do is follow the pictures and do the routine. Simple. And it won’t even show up on your data usage.

There’s a new blood pressure trigger in town, folks.

Thought if you exercised and ate right you could prevent heart disease? Turns out research is piling up against more chemicals found in plastics. The latest study adds further credence to a growing concern that plastic chemicals not only throw off hormones and cause obesity but also cause oxidative stress internally on major organs within the body.

Researchers from New York University’s Langone Medical Center, the University of Washington, and the Penn State School of Medicine recently made a first-of-its kind connection between phthalates, a common chemical used to soften plastic, and higher blood pressure in children and teens. The study appeared in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Similarly, BPA has been shown to trigger abnormal heart rhythms.

9 Ways to Dodge Phthalates (DEHP):

We know our minds change our bodies. But do our bodies change our minds?

Powerful people typically are assertive, confidant, optimistic, risk takers, tend to think more abstractly. Physiologically they have more testosterone (dominance hormone) and less cortisol (stress hormone). High power alpha males in nature have high testosterone and low cortisol and powerful and effective leaders also have high testosterone and low cortisol.

Amy Cuddy describes her 2 min experiment;

“this is what we did; we decided to bring people into a blast and ronaldo experiment and these people adopted for two minutes either high-power opposes or low-power poses.”

The results

High Power Poses produced a 20% increase in testosterone (dominance hormone) and a 25% decrease in cortisol (stress hormone).

Low Power Poses produced a 10% decrease in testosterone (dominance hormone) and a 15% decrease in cortisol (stress hormone).

Simply expanding your body for two minutes produces very significant increases in your hormonal levels. These hormones are the same hormones that drive our confidence and our success in many cases. Amy Cuddy makes a strong case for the body’s ability to influence the way we think. Simply faking a motion for two minutes can convince you that you do belong, you can be successful and that you are powerful.

Day 1: 6-80zSalmon with 12oz veggies

Day 2: All vegetarian meal

Day 3: 6-8oz Chicken breast with 12oz veggies

Reach for a fork over a knife and increase your health benefits by going veg for a week. I like this recipe from Wendy Solganik over at Forks Over Knives. It’s a website dedicated to healthy vegetarian eating.

Italian White Bean, Kale and Potato Stew
Serves 6

Ingredients

The first ever yoga study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found yoga to be a safe, effective and relatively cheap therapy for improving the lives of heart patients.

The study conducted by The University of Kansas Hospital found that,

“

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/23/the-heart-loves-yoga/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/22/snowy-exercise/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/22/snowy-exercise/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:46:17 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=768 Continue reading →]]> Think the snow will slow down your exercise? You could be right–but only in the best way possible! Snowshoeing burns about 45 percent more calories than walking or running when done at the same pace and on the same type of terrain.

Don’t have snow shoes? No worries–just walking or running in your regular shoes with clips or without will produce about a 30 percent higher calorie burn. Plus the cold weather challenges your body to maintain an internal homeostasis, further burning calories.

Don’t use a snowy day as an exercise to skip your workout. Use it as a training tool and best yourself next time the street is clear

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/22/snowy-exercise/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/21/the-mystery-of-foot-pain/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/21/the-mystery-of-foot-pain/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:52:15 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=751 Continue reading →]]> What do the Lakers star Kobe Bryant, the quarterback Eli Manning, the Olympic marathon runner Ryan Hall and the presidential candidate Mitt Romney all have in common? Foot pain. Believe it or not, Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common sports injuries, and it’s also one of the least understood.

While Plantar Fasciitis is a very common injury, the consensus on the cause and treatment remains clinically a mystery. Little is understood, medically, about overuse sports injuries in general and that’s why, as a result, they remain difficult to treat.

Most medical professionals agree that Plantar Fasciitis is, very basically, an irritation of the soft tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot, attaching the heel bone to the toes and forming your foot

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/21/the-mystery-of-foot-pain/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/20/sugar-sugar/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/20/sugar-sugar/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:48:45 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=733 Continue reading →]]> Think a can of Coke here and there can’t hurt you? Think again.

The American Heart Association recommends women consume no more than 6 tsp and men no more than 9 tsp.

Guess how much is in a can of Coke? 13tsp.

Check out The Center for Science in the Public Interest website for more great dietary nutritional information.

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/20/sugar-sugar/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/18/protein-for-the-people/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/18/protein-for-the-people/#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:55:29 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=745

My new fav protein bar tastes like a rice crispy treat and is low cal at 140 cals for a whopping 13g protein. Huzzah!

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/18/protein-for-the-people/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/17/60-second-healthy-microwork/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/17/60-second-healthy-microwork/#comments Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:30:37 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=583 Continue reading →]]> Sometimes getting healthy means making a major time investment at the gym or eating really healthy for a month straight. But sometimes you can make bigger broader strides by making small changes. I call this MicroWork. Check out my own personal set of MicroWork; 18 little opportunities a day to make a change.

MicroWork

Studies have shown changing small habits can help you achieve your goals faster. You should have a long term goal and small short term goals, with sets of habits you can change and check off. These ground rules have a lasting impact on your overall success in any future goals too.

When	The Change	The Benefit
When you get out of bed	Stand up and stretch your hamstrings for 30 sec	27% increase in flexibility in 6 weeks
Before you brush your teeth	Take a baby aspirin	20% reduced risk of breast cancer in women who take one a day
At breakfast	Take a daily vitamin	19% reduced risk of getting sick. When you take daily vitamins, you support your immune system
At the office	Walk to talk to your co-workers, instead of emailing	More than 1lb of weight lost per year by taking an extra 4-5k steps per day
With every meal	Drink ice water	1lb lost every 8 weeks ]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/17/60-second-healthy-microwork/feed/ 0