March's issue

Fitness

March 2015

THE

MAGAZINE

Lean & Flexible Body NOW

Meet The

Squats

BUILD MUSCLES ENDURANCE POWER

YOUR GUIDE FOR

HOT BODY Speed Your Recovery With These Super Foods

Riham masoud

5 Dangerous Kettlebell Moves

the fittest woman in egypt

Contents MARCH 2015

Nutrition

34 Why Your New Resolution Will Probably Fail 36 Should I Eat Before My Workout 38 Chicken Paillards With Squash And Spinach 40 The Portion Size 42 Speed Your Recovery Phase With These Super Foods 44 Super-Healthy Smoothies 46 12 Foods That Fight Fatigue 48 How Long Does It Take To Burn Off‌

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32

Be Fit With Circuit Training

Top 5 Dangerous Kettlebell Mistakes

Fitness 10 Build your body lift Some Weights 12 Great Moves To Firm Your Core 14 Be Fit With Circuit Training 16 No Gym Workout 18 Boost Your Endurance 20 7 Ways To Improve Flexibility 2 | March 2015

22 Exercise mash ups 24 Your guide to running At any level 26 How to improve your fitness level 28 Meet the squats 30 4 Steps To Master Your First Pull Up 32 Top 5 dangerous kettlebell mistakes

44

Super-Healthy Smoothies

Soon at

Tivoli Heliopolis

18

Boost Your Endurance

The Fitness Magazine

CEO: Zeyad Sorour Editor-in-Chief: Ahmed El khodary Managing Editor: christine kassasseya PR & Advertising Manager: Naira El lamei Project Manager: Samar Zaki Project Executive: Mirna Abou Ghazala Art Director: Eman Salama Senior Graphic Designer: Marina raafat Financial Director: Haitham Hamouda Distribution :Ahmed Abou el Ela, Ahmed Fawzy & Alaa hussein The fitness Magazine The Fitness Magazine www.thefitnessmagazineeg.com

Body & soul 50 What is inside our knee 52 How to create an

extraordinary life 54 The breath of life

The game 56 CrossFit

STYLE & FEATURES 58 Stallions Egypt 60 Shop Cross Fit Footwear &

Apparel 62 Portable Gadgets You Want To Have in 2015

In every issue 64 66 70 71

Fit Facts Meet the Experts Upcoming Events The Fitters

4 | March 2015

Success story 68 Meet The Fittest

Women in Egypt: Riham Masoud

Cover photo Karim Habashy

54

The Breath Of Life

62 Gadgets

Soon at

Tivoli Heliopolis March 2015 | 5

Contributors hussein abdeldayem

Co-Founder, Performance Specialist, and Head Coach at IGNITE.

The first official Performance Specialist in Egypt.

He completed FIFA CIES Sports Management Diploma in 2012 and pursued his career in this field, along with managing sports activations’ accounts for Lion and Barclay’s Bank. He took his passion to the next level, establishing IGNITE in 2014.

Email: hussein.abdeldayem@ignite-egypt.com, info@ignite-egypt.com

Abdelrahman alaa

Co-Founder of HIT Egypt

Received a Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy, he has also been a former football athlete for 13 years and currently a Crossfit L1 Trainer.

Contact: abdelrahman-alaa@live.com

Noura Hassaballa

Nutritional Consultant

Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Nutrition holder from Northern Illinois University, USA. With great passion, she decided to pursue her successful career in Egypt as a nutritionist, with the mission of raising awareness on developing a healthy eating lifestyle, in addition to being one of the presenters of Dr. Chef on MBC 4. She is also the founder of Diet Rite Nutrition Center.

For more advice, please contact: noura.hassaballa@gmail.com Facebook: Noura Hassaballa

Mahmoud Talaat

Clinical Nutritionist, PT and Pharmacist

The Founder of The Freakenstein Training program, which transforms any body type into a freak athlete in only 8-12 weeks. With a degree in Pharmacy, a certificate in Clinical Nutrition and Obesity, and 8 years of experience in training field, he is able to understand the biochemical mechanisms, actions of drugs, and the science of herbs, which gives all his diet plans a twist not seen anywhere else. contact :m.tal3at@live.co.uk

Yasmine Shahine Life Coach

An Associate Certified Life Coach (ACC) by the International Coach Federation (ICF). At the begining of her coaching career, she engaged herself in ONE on ONE coaching and through years she developed her own tailor made coaching programs for people and companies to develop their potentials and awareness.

For advice, please contact: Yasmine@yasmineshahine.com Facebook:facebook.com/ YasmineShahineLifeCoaching YouTube:youtube.com/user/ YasmineSLifeCoaching

Sandra Shama Kaur

Founder of YallaYoga Center

She is the founder of YallaYoga Center in Heliopolis and a pioneer in repackaging Yogic based solutions for Mind & Health Management. In 2012, she completed Yoga Teacher Training at the Kundalini Research Institute, New Mexico, USA. Upon her return, she founded YallaYoga, the center that seeks to create a community of people who are keen to live life with more awareness, better health, and in service to assist one another. She is a Yoga educator, offering group classes, one on one sessions and public talks across Egypt.

6 | March 2015

Ola El Abany

Group Fitness Instructor and Zumba Instructor

Certified to teach aerobics classes (hi lo, step, and toning) Zumba, Zumba step, and Zumba toning.

Website: olaelabany.zumba.com Facebook: Ola El Abany - Zumba

Sara Taha

A Lifetime Fitness Enthusiast,

In December 2013, she established My Fitness Scout Egypt, which offers health and fitness guide and support. She believes it is her true calling.

Location: Heliopolis Sporting Club | Gezira Sporting Club Tel: +(2) 012 2555 7777 Email: myfitnessscout@gmail.com Facebook: My-Fitness-Scout-Egypt

Dr.Shady Labib

dentist-turned-Nutritionist.

He is a Precision Nutrition (Canada) certified Lifestyle and Nutrition cwounselor and a member of the Syndicate for Sports Professions in Egypt with a sports-nutrition specialization. He has a nutrition consultation office. facebook: shadylabibnutrition Email: info@shadylabib.com

Stallions Egypt is the first to introduce and adopt Sports Performance Training methodology in Egypt.

Stallions was founded by Athlete Karim Ismail ‘Kersho’ in 2012, with a vision of benefiting our community by changing the way fitness is perceived.

Stallions designs fitness programs for everyone including people with no fitness background, those with a good fitness background and wish to advance to the next level as well as professional athletes.

Lina Lotayef

Founder of Fitzane (an online health and fitness forum) A qualified group fitness instructor, spinning instructor, and licensed Zumba instructor based in Muscat, Oman. She has been teaching group fitness classes since June 2012, specializing in dance fitness and body weight strength training as well as completing workshops in kettle bell weight training, nutrition for sports and exercise and trigger point foam rolling. She is currently fulfilling the final qualification requirements to obtain the AFAA Personal Training Certification.

Samira Khalil

Egyptian Fitness Blogger,Crossfit L1 Trainer,Specialist in Fitness Nutrition & Group Fitness Instructor.

Visit www.bodyshred-eg.com Contact: khalilsamira1@gmail.com

Dr.Sameh Mohsen Professional Affiliations

8 | March 2015

A PHD holder in Clinical Nutrition and Health Science from Ohio Medical School. Earned a Master Degree in Nutritional Science and Clinical Nutrition from Sophie Madison Medical School.

Registered dietitian and nutrition therapist.

American Dietetic Association.

Nutrition Entrepreneurs Dietetic practice group.

Sports, Cardiovascular and wellness dietetic Practice Group.Behavioral Health Nutrition and Supplement specialist.Exercise physiologist.

ACSM,ACE,ISSA and IFA certified.

Ismail Fathalla

Graduated from Cairo University in 2001, he has been practicing orthopaedics since 2002. He has been to fellowships in California and Shanghai to learn new techniques in treatment of orthopaedics sports injuries by keyhole surgeries in 2008 and 2009. He moved to UK in 2010 and has been working as a senior fellow of sports injuries of the lower limb since then, along with University Hospitals Birmingham, where he runs a weekly clinic of knee and ankle injuries to see high level athletes and military personnel.

He visits Cairo every 4-6 weeks to review patients and perform surgeries when needed. He holds the highest British qualification in trauma and orthopaedics, the FRCS.

Fitness

Build Your Body Lift Some Weights By: sara taha

Well let’s face... life is much easier when you are stronger. Carrying out daily tasks like lifting grocery bags, doing laundry, and carrying your kids, can be exhausting and tiring!

Most women who exercise spend most of their time on cardiovascular exercises and less time on strength training.

They avoid lifting weights in fear of building large muscles and gaining weight, despite the proven benefits of strength training.

Before discussing the endless benefits of strength training, it is important to put into consideration the differences in body composition between men and women. Women have very low amounts of testosterone, a significant element in muscle development, in comparison to men! So don’t worry ladies, lifting a few kg of bars and dumbbells wont turn you into the incredible hulk!

Strength training is a critical component of any exercise program; without it, any exercise program won’t be complete. The most effective fitness 10 | March 2015

programs should integrate all components of fitness, including cardiovascular, strength, flexibility, speed, power, and agility exercises.

Men and women of all ages can benefit from strength training. Improved muscle strength and mass through strength training increases bone density, which ultimately decreases the risk of developing osteoporosis. Strength training also controls body fat, by effectively burning more calories. Because the muscle is a very active tissue with high-energy requirements, an increase in its size increases the number of calories burned, even at rest.

Not only that, but strength training also builds a stronger heart, improves cholesterol levels, enhances blood flow, and improves posture. Not to mention that it makes you feel and look better!

It is recommended to perform strength training 2 to 3 times per week, allowing a rest period for recovery!

Remember, it is only during recovery period when your muscles recuperate.

Weather you are planning to lose weight, stay fit, or build up muscles, strength training is definitely an essential ingredient to the formula!

I’M POSSIBLE;

a life changing experience How many times have you said to yourself, ‘I am going to lose weight,’ or ‘I am going to stop smoking,’ or ‘I am going to change my life’ And how many times have you failed to do so? Many of us start new initiatives and New Year’s resolutions that last just a few weeks, or even days. With that in mind, we have developed the right framework to guide you through this transformation journey of changing your life. This journey can be easily summarised as a ‘life coaching’ experience. This program would be offered by a very qualified team with very different backgrounds. What’s important is that each qualified member has gone through a transformation experiences themselves and made it their lifestyles. They are examples of real provencases! They simply

know that this is going to work, because they are a living proof of it.

Program pre-requisite: Your real, true dedication and your willingness to achieve.

This is a 90-day framework that is designed to alter your current lifestyle to a healthier and more active one!

4. Weekly friendly group activities of all I’m possible members.

5. A weekly one-on-one session to discuss your own personal progress, struggles, and obstacles during your lifestyle changing journey.

What we offer?

We offer a fully integrated 90 day lifestyle coaching program through a structured, easy-to-follow proven framework that includes the following: 1. A personalised nutrition plan that will lead you to eat right for the rest of your life.

2. A personalised physical activity plan that provides you with the fundamentals of turning this program into a lifestyle.

3. Structured periodic follow-up sessions to ensure that your goals are achieved.

If interested in joining this program please email Cients@iampossible.me to receive the registration application.

Fitness Great moves to FIRM YOUR CORE By: lina lotayef

What is the Core: It is a collection of muscles that extends far beyond the abdominals and affects every movement we make. It is made up of major muscles that move, stabilize, and support the spine. The main ones are rectus abdominis, erector spinae, internal and external obliques, and transverse abdominis. The core is like a cylindrical tube that extends from the bottom two ribs all the way to the pelvis encompassing everything in between.

How do we use our core:

Benefits of having a strong core:

Our core muscles are responsible for regular and lateral extension/ flexion and rotation of the trunk, in another words, it is the primary stabilizer for all your movement. Motion from the upper body to the lower body or vice versa will always pass through the core, allowing you to control the force produced and decreasing the risk of injury.

A weak or unbalanced core can undermine your performance during workouts as well as the execution of daily activities such as, household chores, gardening, lifting heavy objects, or jobs that require you to be standing for extended periods of time.

A strong core will ensure you have better overall posture, protect your back, and increase your overall stability.

How to effectively strengthen your core: Since our core acts as a stabilizer and force transfer center as opposed to a primary mover, it is often not effective to train the core seperatly.Therefore, instead of endless crunches and back extensions, it is advisable to train the core in its element by performing functional exercises that use many large muscles in the body.

T

he pictures below illustrate different plank positions that can be done on a sport mat as well as different core strengthening exercises that can be performed using a pilates ball for an effective core focused workout.

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3

5

12 | March 2015

2

4

Plank Series 1. Standard plank: Hold for 30 seconds (and increase 5 seconds each day).

2. Side plank: Hold for 20 seconds on every side and increase 5 seconds every day.

3. Hover Plank: Hold for 15 seconds (when you get stronger you can alternate between a standard plank and a hover plank for added intensity).

4. Plank Side jumps : from a standard plank position jump both feet towards your right hand, and back to plank and then towards your left hand.

Alternate to complete 5 on each side.

5. Plank with leg raises : From a standard plank position, lift one leg for 2 counts then lower and repeat on the other side. Alternate legs to complete 5 lifts on either side.

Pilates Ball Series Once you feel confident on a flat surface, you can increase the intensity of you plank by using a prop such as a pilates ball.

• Standard plank: Hold the standard plank position with your forearms on the floor and shins on a swiss ball.

• Push-Up Plank: While keeping your body in a straight line, lower your upper body, pause, and then lift yourself back into a plank.

• Leg Extensions: From a plank position, pull your legs towards you as you contract your abs, and bring the ball towards your body. extend them back into the starting position.

Other Recommended Workouts:

Pilates, kick boxing, dance based workouts (belly dancing, Latin dancing, Ballroom dancing), watersports, sand boarding, and snow boarding.

March 2015 | 13

Fitness

14 | March 2015

Be Fit With Circuit Training

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Circuit training is a short burst of resistance or weight training in frequent repetitions, followed by another exercise to target different muscle groups within a short period of time. Circuit training is ideal for people who would like to gain muscles, lose weight, and build overall strength without spending too much time exercising.

Generally, circuit-training programs comprise several stations arranged to exercise the entire body. A person can complete all sets of one exercise then move to the other exercises (horizontal training), or transfer from one set to another, and then repeat the circuit in the same order (vertical training). The most important factor of this training is to take 30 seconds rest between sets. A circuit can consist of as few as 6 stations to as many as 15 stations based on the pre-training level and goals of the exerciser.

The Process

Circuit training can be done with free weights, resistance bands, or weightlifting machines to enlarge muscular strength; however, it is not perfect for weightlifters and strength athletes who focus more on heavy weights and fewer repetitions.

If you are a beginner, always warm up before starting your circuit. You can do some stretching for five minutes.

Begin your circuit with the larger muscle group, such as chest, back, and legs. It is best to use large, compound muscle group movements, such as the leg press, chest press, and lat pull.

Potential

Practicing numerous exercises on regular basis enhance muscular and overall cardiovascular strength as they develop your performance and increase the number of repetitions your muscles can do before getting tired. They can also refine your body

composition and the distribution of fat among all areas by burning calories and increasing muscle mass. Start with training circuit twice a week with few repetitions and then make it more challenging.

Benefits

Circuit training plays an integral role for exercisers who want to lose weight, as it elevates the heart rate for the entire period of workouts. Circuit training and interval training increase the amount of oxygen consumed post exercise, which burns calories throughout the day. The combination of cardiovascular exercises and weight training enhance endurance and muscles as well as burn high amounts of calories.

Advice

Stay hydrated. Keep a sport water bottle next to you.

Dehydration can cause muscle cramps, chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Have water during your short rests.

March 2015 | 15

Fitness

No Gym Workout By: Stallions

bodyweight exercises are ideal for individuals who are interested in fitness, but have no access to equipment. Bodyweight exercises, compared to weight lifting, often requires more flexibility and balance, in order to perform repetitions.

Many bodyweight exercises can be progressed or regressed to meet the individual’s need. This progression/ regression strategy allows nearly all levels of fitness to participate.

Bodyweight training can be used effectively to strengthen the core muscles with the addition of speed or unstable surfaces as well as exercise variations that limit the motion (such as extra wide push-ups or wide pull-ups).

Just a few minutes of a bodyweight circuit training can have a major impact on the body’s metabolism. Bodyweight exercises are ultimate, because they’re easily modified to challenge any fitness level. Adding extra repetitions, performing the exercises faster or super-slow, and perfecting form are a few ways to make even the simplest exercise more challenging. Progress is easy to measure, since bodyweight exercises offer endless ways to do a little more in each workout.

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a workout routine that can be done anywhere without machinery or extra equipment 50 Jumping Jacks 5 Push Ups 50 High Knees 7 Burpees 50 Crunches 15 Squats 5 Push Ups 15 Squats 50 Jumping Jacks 1 Minute Wall Sit 50 High Knees 1 Minute Plank Rest 1 minute after each set and repeat 3 times.

March 2015 | 17

Fitness

Boost Your endurance By: Ola El Abany

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High Intensity Cardio: Where 80-90% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) is reached, and you feel breathless and are able to say only a few words at a time.

Examples of high impact cardio are HIIT, Tabata workout, running, hill walking, jumping rope, and plyometric exercises.

Moderate Intensity Cardio:

Picture this. You're sitting in your office. You're stuck at your desk, with back pain, tense shoulders, aching muscles, and you can't wait to leave. Now picture yourself after a good run or a class at the gym. Think of how warm and flexible your muscles feel; blood is pumping through your body and you feel energized and confident. You feel GOOD! Our bodies were designed to MOVE, and that's why cardio exercise is one of the best ways to make that happen. Cardiovascular exercises boost your heart rate up and increase blood circulation throughout the body. There are various forms and methods of performing cardio exercise, all of which have specific benefits.

Some of the main benefits of cardio are the following: • Improving heart health: The heart is a muscle, which works by pumping blood to the rest of your body when exercising. So whenever you work out, you're actually making your heart stronger.

• Increased metabolism: Which means you can maintain your weight or even lose weight.

• better mood: Cardio releases endorphins, which are the feel good hormones. They ease the symptoms of depression and fatigue, and also stimulate the release of hormones that decrease appetite and help you sleep better.

• stabalize blood pressure: It helps in the management of diabetes and irregular blood pressure.

18 | March 2015

basically, cardio is necessary for weight loss and maintenance. But how often should you do it?

The guidelines published by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) suggest 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 times a week or vigorous cardio 20 minutes a day 3 days a week. (For weight loss, you may need 60-90 minutes) To measure the intensity of your workout, you either use a heart rate monitor, or “The Talk Test”, which is self explanatory, whether or not you’re able to talk.

70-80% of MHR is reached.

Moderate intensity exercise raises your heart rate to the extent that you sweat but able to carry on a conversation while working out.

Examples are walking at a fast pace, riding a bike, swimming laps at a medium pace, and aerobic exercise (hi lo, step, dance).

Low Intensity Cardio: 40-60% of MHR. This is usually good for beginners, or people who are too overweight to go into medium intensity. It's also perfect for pregnant women who did not exercise prior to pregnancy or who have just had a baby. These include; a light walk, stretching routines, beginner yoga and even house chores such as vacuuming or washing windows or mopping floors.

The options to cardio sessions are endless, but there is no right and wrong when it comes to how you choose to exercise. Remember, it's not what you do, but how hard you work. Any exercise can be made challenging if you make it that way.

So do kickboxing or a dance class, a jog or a morning swim, just do something that you enjoy, something that you can do at least 3 times a week. And remember to keep it up, and never stop moving.

Fitness

7

I

Ways to Improve Flexibility

f you are struggling with being less flexible than you’d like to be, you are not alone! Practicing flexibility trainings is an imperative aspect of gaining strength and size. It is also crucial for preventing injury and having a good posture and muscular physique. The trick to getting flexible fast is figuring out the areas you need to work on, and finding the best methods to attain your goal. Here are five simple ways to improve your flexibility.

1 . Figure Out Your Flexibility Needs First of all, there are multiple reasons to make you work on your flexibility such as: reduce soreness after workout, decrease the risk of injury, improve your overall performance, and advance the range of motion. Furthermore, proper flexibility goes hand in hand with full range of motion exercises like squats and weight lifting. But above all, flexibility is important to attain any position you want… from getting down on the floor to play with your children to picking up stuff from the floor. Now, you need to think of an uncomfortable position that you constantly perform. This will be your objective.

2. Determine What is Holding You Back Once you have set a goal in mind, you will start to search for reasons that are hindering you from attaining it. For example, if you can’t bend forward to touch your toes, you may consider some bodyweight movements like squats, push-ups, side lunges, cross-legged sitting, and neck positions. Do 15-25 reps to warm up your whole body and to leave you ready to resume with your workouts.

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3. Slow Down To Fasten Flexibility Rushing your exercises can hurt your body and impede your progress. To improve your stretching tolerance, you’ve got to take it slow. Prolong the duration of stretches to strengthen muscles that were tightened up during the lifting session. Focus on the chest, hip flexors, and lats as they bend to be tight on most individuals.

4. Prioritize Full Range of Motion The inability to move in a specific range of motion as a result of tightness can be related to several factors like: structural adhesions that is preventing motion, restrictions at the joints due to injury, or higher resting muscle tone. Apart from consulting your trainer, work on performing each exercise in a full range of motion to reap major flexibility benefits. Follow a consistent plan. Start with lighter weights to build stamina and endurance, and then go an extra mile.

5. Massage More Often Following a stretching routine will improve your flexibility, but massages add an extra benefit of helping to break up knots in muscles and tissues that hinder movement. Focus on hitting the main muscles like calves, upper back, quads, and lats.

If possible, reward yourself with a message therapist once a week for extra relief.

6. Learn to Breathe Properly

Vitamins B and C

Increase cell wall elasticity, which allows the muscle to stretch further without tearing.

Breathing correctly means that our bodies are being supplied with the right amount of oxygen, essential for replenishing our brain and assisting our performance during exercising.

To breath properly you need to use your diaphragm. If you are not familiar with it, sit on a chair and place your right hand on the upper chest and the left hand on your abdomen.

When you breathe in and out, your right hand should remain still, while your left hand should move up and down. Spend 15 minutes a day working on improving your breathing for a better lifestyle.

7. Stay Hydrated If you are dehydrated, water is drawn from the synovial fluid around the joints, leading to joint pain. When your body is having water deficiency, the body produces histamines that cause fatigue and pail to slow down body motion and conserve water. Consume water before and after your workouts to keep your energy and performance optimally.

Stretches Guideline Static stretching

Dynamic stretching

Ballistic stretching

is used to stretch the muscles while the body is at rest, by holding a joint in a stretched position for 20-30 seconds, allowing the muscle to slowly adapt to the new range of motion and lessen the sensitivity of tension receptors.

Static stretches can help you lengthen the muscles and improve your overall fitness.

propels the muscles through an increased range of motion using bodyweight movements like squats and lunges. Dynamic stretches prepare the body for physical exertion and hard training sessions. It is also considered a vigorous stretch since the muscle is contracting and relaxing.

involves forcibly moving your body into an extended range of motion usually by performing quick, powerful movements.

A prime example would be bobbing up and down in an attempt to touch your toes. In general, this type of stretching can cause muscles to get tight as well as make the body prone to serious injuries.

March 2015 | 21

Fitness

Exercise Mash Ups

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By: Sara Taha

Before starting your workout, think about efficiency. One of the best ways to burn calories in less time and work all muscles is to “PUT IT TOGETHER.” Pairing big and small muscles together, will involve your biceps along and your legs simultaneously. Here are some moves for you to try.

Tips for proper form • Keep you hands directly beneath your shoulders.

• Keep your body in a straight line from head to toe without sagging in the middle or arching your back.

• At the top of the row motion, the dumbbell should be close to your chest and elbow pointing upward.

• Keep your hips stable; don't rotate the torso as you perform the row.

• Keep your core tight throughout the entire exercise.

Another example is a bicep curl with alternating lunge, a one-intwo classic exercises that target several muscle groups. Lifting dumbbells for a bicep curl while performing a lunge targets biceps, glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. The abdominal muscles are automatically activated with a tight core.

In addition to the one of the best exercises, squats. A squat is a functional strength training exercise, which mainly targets the quadriceps, but also activates the glutes, hamstrings, calves, back muscles, and abdominals.

Tips for proper form for a front squat • Maintain spinal alignment by keeping a straight head position.

• Hinge your hips backwards and keep toes behind knees.

• Keep your chest out and shoulder back to maintain a natural curve.

• Keep your elbows up.

• Depth of the squat will depend on your hip flexibility. Aim for hour hamstrings to be parallel to the floor. Go deeper if you can, however make sure you do not experience lower back or knee pain.

Strengthening your body does more for your overall health than just giving you ripped muscles to admire in front of the mirror.

Weather you are aiming for weight loss, fitness, or body building, strength training is definitely an essential ingredient to the formula!

22 | March 2015

March 2015 | 23

Fitness

Your Guide To Running at Any Level With the start of fitness training or distance running, many people discard the weights in favor of extra miles on the road. While the added mileage can be beneficial, the effect of strength training on endurance running performance can be more fruitful. Whether you are planning to hit the track, or a sprint triathlon, here is a full guideline to promote persistence and strength.

Why Do You Need A Plan For Running?

Not everyone who goes to track has a clean bill of health. If you spend most of your time sitting in front of the computer and television, your heart, lung and other body muscles and organs might not be ready for an excessive training all of a sudden. Running is not as easy as putting on your training clothes and heading out the door. Let’s be realistic… you are not yet ready to race. Running fast puts an enormous strain on the body, just as lifting many kilos for the first time. In order to prepare yourself for this challenge, you should go through three phases of running.

Running Phase 1 – Build Mobility and Stability

To start the process of running, you must develop mobility, stability, endurance, strength, and power. Sounds like a long way to go! You can learn mobility and stability through the walk/run program.

The first stage is thirty minutes total – jog one minute and walk four minutes. Do this three times per week.

• Week 1 – Jog 1/Walk 4 x 6 • Week 2 – Jog 2/ Walk 3 x 6 • Week 3 – Jog 3/Walk 2 x 6 • Week 4 – Jog 4/Walk 1 x 6

Now add ten minutes to the intervals to make them 40 minutes in total.

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•Week 5 – Jog 6/Walk 4 x 4 •Week 6 – Jog 7/Walk 3 x 4 •Week 7 – Jog 8/Walk 2 x 4

Now make it 45 minutes • Week 8 – Jog 12/Walk 3 x 3 • Week 9 – Jog 13/Walk 2 x 3 • Week 10 – Jog 14/Walk 1 x 3

The last interval lasts an hour • Week 11 – Jog 17/Walk 3 x 3 • Week 12 – Jog 19/Walk 1 x 3 • Week 13 – Jog an hour This gets us to the end of phase one.

Although the first phase includes many weeks of regular running, it will assist the second phase and will reduce chances of injury.

Running Phase 2 – Build Endurance, Strength, and Power Now that you can run for an hour, you might need to make them two. Usually people have no capacity to encounter an increase in running strength on weekdays – unless you can’t take your boss or partner any longer! Thus, it is recommended to run the last twenty minutes a little bit harder on weekends, to build a solid bed of strength endurance before adding intensity. Stick to this phase up to seven months. If

you hit the gym regularly, you might consider adding weight to exercises to increase intensity and improve your strength. Do not opt for many repetitions, just adjust the quality of your performance and take rest periods.

Running Phase 3 – Speed Work and Gain Power The purpose of this stage is not to flat out, but to slightly increase the pace of your performance. Your goal now is to accomplish some quality work at higher pace than your target.

At this stage we are up to three runs per week: 45 – 60 minutes runs twice a week, and a long 120 minutes run with the last 30 minutes hard. Since the running volume is increased during this peak phase, it is better to decrease volume. Exercises like squats, box jumps, and pushups are excellent for maintaining strength without tearing your muscles.

Extra 5 Tips To Make You A Better Runner 1. Fuel Up: Carbs fuel your muscles before workout, while protein after running builds the muscles. Cereals, oatmeal, and peanut butter sandwiches are ideal before workouts.

2. Stretch for Speed: Stretches like table fold, bound angle pose, twisted wide forward bend, and low lunge, can make you a faster runner as they improve flexibility and strength over time.

3. Energize: Drink coffee about an hour before your workout to improve endurance and give you an energy boost.

4. Hydrate: Try to have 4 – 6 ounces of water every 20 minutes during the runs, and a glass of water when you are done. This will beat fatigue and muscle cramps.

5. Sleep: Your body needs to recharge in order to function properly the next day. Have from 7- 9 hours of sleep every night. If you are facing some sleeping disorders at the mean time, drink herbal tea or use a lavender shower gel in your bath to unwind your senses.

March 2015 | 25

Fitness

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR FITNESS LEVEL.

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By: Hussein Abdeldayem

FREQUENCY

here are a variety of ways to improve your fitness levels.

Whether it’s your cardiovascular endurance, strength, flexibility or power, there are many ways to improve all these aspects of your fitness level. Your options are endless, but some of them include activities such as running, swimming, or cycling, or any form of resistance training like weightlifting and gymnastics, known as body weight training. These activities can be found all over the country. No matter where you live, you will find at least a group of fitness enthusiasts who perform some activities at least once or twice a week, if not on a daily basis.

The biggest mistake many people make is to start really hard for a couple of days, then turn off for another couple of days, then on again and so on. To really improve your fitness level and start witnessing results, you have to commit because simply there is no short cut. No matter what your goals are, frequency is what will get you there. We are not talking about a crazy 3 hour workout each and every day, in fact a 30-60 minute workout 3-5 times a week on a regular basis will do the job.

By taking the BCAA’s in particular, muscle catabolism (the breakdown of muscle) can be prevented quickly, especially for usage in highvolume cardio work.

Leave your comfort zone

Nothing comes easy in life and training is no exception either.

Let me tell you this, IT WILL NOT COME EASY, but it will come if you train for it. You must challenge yourself every single time you hit your session. No matter what it is your doing always LEAP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. If by the end of the session you feel as good as you did at the very beginning of the session, then you need to increase your exercise intensity and spice it up a notch.

E N T F I

FIND SOMETHING NEW

Always find something new to do.

Nothing will kill your motivation like boredom. Performing a variety of workouts throughout your week can keep you motivated and hungry for more, as well as help you improve faster.

Rapid improvement will take place when different training styles target many areas of your fitness, leaving you with no active muscle groups in your entire body. Running is great for your cardiovascular endurance, while lifting weight can build strength.

There are endless exciting and effective classes that are available nowadays, including body weight circuits, jumping fitness, performance training, CrossFit and even team sports. You can integrate in as many classes you want, without sticking to one type of training.

KNOW WHERE YOU ARE

An effective way to improve your fitness level is by keeping track of where you are. Keep records with miles you ran and weigts you lifted to help you figure how far did you and what new challenges can be made. You should always find progress in your training.

The process is as simple as recording notes on your phone or on your daily calendar.

When you keep regular and actual figures, you will be able to add new challenges and goals that fit whith where you are standing. This will help you keep every workout as effective as possible without reaching a fitness plateau, in fact this will always keep you interested and challenged by every workout.

A quick and effective way to keep track of your progress is to bring a small calendar with you on every single workout you perform.

This will act as a test to determine the quality and progress of your performace.

S S

For one minute, perform as many; 1. Sit ups 2. Pushups (for a modified version, try an elevated pushup or on your knees, preferably elevated) 3. Lunges (2 steps=one rep) 4. Squats 5. Burpees 6. Low plank (keep track of time) 7. Run 1 mile

For every single minute, keep track of your repetitions. As a start, take 30sec. to 1 min. off between every performed minute. As you progress, you can start decreasing the rest intervals until there is no rest between every performed motion. When you reach the level where you do not rest between each performed motion, the count does not stop at each workout, in fact they all round up to one whole number at the end. So if you have started with the sit-ups for example and you did 50reps in one minute, then the first pushup will be counted as 51‌ and so on.

March 2015 | 27

Fitness

meet the squats By: Abdelrahman Alaa

S

quat exercises are often made in real life.

Whenever you bend down to pick something up, you’ll be thankful that you’ve got the strength and flexibility to get the job done, because of the squats routine.

Squats build muscles all over the body specially (quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves) naturally releasing testosterone - the growth hormone - hence aiding in the growth of the body muscles; however, squats tones the entire body by building more muscles that will eventually shred more fats than normal exercises during rest and training.

Squats are great functional movement and the base for all other functional movements.

Many people don’t really know the true mening of functional movements. Basically, they involve multi planner and multi joint movements, which engage more than one muscle group.

One of the main function of squats, is to prevent injuries.

Most athletic injuries involve weak stabilizer muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues, which squats help strengthen. They also help prevent injury by improving your flexibility (squats improve the range of motion in your ankles and hips) and balance.

28 | March 2015

The Air Squat Exercise:

• Stand with your feet hip width apart • Tighten and pull in your abdominal muscles • Lower your body as if you were going to sit on a chair and keep the motion slow • Hips descend lower than knees • Lumber curve maintained • Knees tracking the toes • Now press down onto your heels and slowly come back up to a standing position • Complete at full hip and knee extension

The Overhead Squats:

• Shoulder width apart • Wide grip on the bar (snatch grip) • Shoulder push up into the bar (as if pushing the ceiling) • Armpits face forward (active shoulders) • Hips descend back and down • Hips descend lower than knees • Lumber curve maintained • Weight on heels • Bar on the top of the frontal plane • Knees tracking the toes • Complete hip and knee extended

The Front Squats:

1. Shoulder width apart 2. Hands just outside the shoulders 3. Loose grip (fingertip on the bar) 4. Elbows up high to maintain lumber curve 5. Hips descend back and down 6. Hips crease below parallel 7. Lumber curve maintained 8. Weight on heels 9. Knees tracking the toes 10. Complete hip and knee extended.

March 2015 | 29

Fitness

4

Steps to master before doing your first pull up

P

By: Samira Khalil

ull-ups are one of the best upper body exercises that exist. Pull-ups have been used for ages to build strength functional physiques, as they build and work your back, shoulders, biceps, forearms, and core at the same time.

There is a wide misconception that pull ups are biased to a specific gender. Believe it or not, I have seen tremendous improvement in my upper body strength and shape when I started doing pull ups. They have built a stronger core, stronger shoulders, and better-looking back!

If you have never trained with pull ups before, try those exercises that would help you build the sufficient strength for your first pull-up.

Negative Pull up

“As the human body is strongest in the negative phase, it makes it useful for building strength when the positive phase is not yet attainable.” Negative pull-ups are a very popular progression exercise used to develop more strength. It involves only performing the lowering phase of the standard pull up.

• Grasp a normal pull up bar with your hands shoulder width apart.

• Stand on a box so as to be very close to the bar. Jump so as to get your chin well above the bar. Catch yourself at the top of the movement and hold it.

• Squeeze your muscles as much as you can to generate maximum tension in those parts needed.

• Every time aim to hold for more seconds. Its really effective!

• “Static Hold” If you are really comfortable with the move, progress and lower yourself until your hand form a 90 degree and hold.

30 | March 2015

Negative Pull up

Australian Pull up This workout involves the same muscle group as the pull-up, but easier to perform and would assist your first pull up. You will need a bar that sits around waist height.

• Position yourself under the bar and place your heels on the floor.

• Hands shoulder width apart, pull the bar towards your chest while keeping your body straight line.

• Straighten your arms back and lower your body down till you reach starting position and repeat.

Wide Grip Pull up • Grasp a pull up bar with hands slightly wider than shoulders.

• Hand with your hands completely straight. Shurg your shoulders down first then pull yourself up towards the bar.

• Keep your legs straight. Do not lift your knees or swing to make it easier.

• Lower yourself down to the starting position.

Pull ups are considered a compound exercise where you train more than one muscle group simultaneously. They also recruit a huge amount of muscle fibers that helps you gain more strength efficiently and very easy to install at home.

A

B

Lateral pull down If you are a member of any gym, you will find this lateral pull down machine, which features a wide bar overhead. Both pull-ups and lat pull down share a lot of similarities in joints, muscles, and techniques used.

• Hold onto the bar and secure your thighs against the support pads.

• Sit with straight back and pull the bar towards your chest.

• Return to the starting position and repeat.

Facts About Pull Ups • The old saying goes: pull-ups are squats for upper body.

• Guinness record for most pull-ups in one minute is 41 repetitions by Ronald Copper Jr. on the 2nd of June 2013.

• Pull-ups are great indicator of the individual’s upper body strength. For that reason, they are fundamental test exercise in almost every PST (Physical Screening Test) in military, police force, fire department or any other organization where physical fitness and endurance is of importance.

*Your goal is to be able to pull your body weight towards your chest. For example, if you can pull 10kg of weight and your weight is 70kg, keep on progressing and increasing the weight gradually until you pull a 70 kg bar. This is where you will be able to do your first pull up easier.

If you are now comfortable with the above moves, then its time to try doing your unassisted first pull up.

March 2015 | 31

Fitness

Top

5

Dangerous

Kettlebell

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Whether you are a beginner or a pro, you are prone to injuries if you practice workouts using kettlebell incorrectly. A kettlebell consists of a cast-iron ball and handle, to improve your aerobic capacity and build strength and endurance. Proper form is essential for avoiding any problems, so it is recommended to ask a personal trainer to assist you. Here are some mistakes that can hamper your fitness goals.

32 | March 2015

1

Not Engaging Your Core and Lower Body

Kettlebell exercises are dynamic, whole-body exercises, which are designed to engage all muscles in heavy lifting. Overemphasis of upper body muscles or core may defeat the purpose of these exercises, and might place a strain on vulnerable areas.

The Fix:

Practice kettlebell swings to experience this transfer of power from lower to upper body, and use your entire body in any ballistic movement.

2

Focusing on Number of Reps

If 10 reps are good, then 50 reps must be five times better and more productive…right? Wrong! Quality matters more than quantity - this is the key to optimal success. You will already exert tremendous efforts to involve all your body’s muscles and you might even drain sooner than you might think.

The Fix:

Complete 10 reps of any given kettlebell exercise with the perfect posture until your strength increase, and then you can make it more challenging.

3

Swinging The Kettlebell Too Fast

The faster you go, the more you suffer.

Swinging a heavy weight without control can result in a pulled muscle or joint.

The Fix:

A slower, controlled movement will strengthen stability muscles and larger muscles group at the same time on your way down and on your way up. Whether you are seeking light exercising like presses or curls, or more advanced moves, ask a trainer to guide you in order to enjoy a safe and effective workout.

Going Heavy

4

5

Wearing The Wrong Shoes

While super-cushioned running shoes might be invading everyone’s wardrobe for the tremendous comfy feel while running, those shoes are not ideal for kettlebell exercises. Running shoes tend to have a cushioned heel, designed to lift the heel off the ground and undermine your natural grip on the floor. Kettlebell exercises, on the contrary, require smooth movements of the foot, ankle, and lower leg ligaments. Avoid placing your entire weight on either toes or heels.

The Fix:

Do your kettlebell workouts with bare foot or minimalist shoes with thin soles.

Converse sneakers are also another good option.

Even though it is tempting to grab the heaviest kettlebell in front of your gym mates, exercising with bad posture will yield nothing but injury.

The Fix:

Start the workouts with light objects and few basic mobility exercises to warm up your joints. Focus on snapping the hips forcefully forward rather than elevating the weight.

March 2015 | 33

Nutrition

Why Your New Resolution Will Probably Fail?

By: Dr. Shady Labib

Let’s have a look on that list:

Take a moment now and imagine the perfect new resolution.

Like many of the folks who want to change their physique or lifestyle, you have waited impatiently for such a moment to launch your new plan by which you are determined to win the diet war once and for all.

Enthusiastically, you start jotting down your long list of things you want to accomplish and strategically start planning your grand move.

34 | March 2015

1. “I will cut out all sugars, processed carbohydrates, and practically anything that is sweet.”

2. “I will cut out all fats.”

3. “I will drink 3L of water everyday.”

4. “I will only feed on steamed veggies with no salt.”

5. “I will eat lean grilled skinless proteins twice a week only.”

6. “I will cut out all dairy products.”

7. “I will workout for 1 hour a day.”

8. “I will sleep early every night in order to maximize their recovery. ”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

First week is pretty tough. I mean when you think about adapting to all of these changes, you feel it is hard, but it’s worth it. You feel lighter, energized, and most of all, the scale is moving down.

Second week is better, you are starting to get used to it and you could still see and feel the results. You are probably thinking “I can’t believe how I used to eat

crap, or I just can’t live without exercising.”

Third week, the spark starts to lose its momentum and things become a little bit routine.

It’s not as exciting as it used to be and the scale is barely moving. It is also starting to seem like you are putting a lot of effort to juggle around all of this at once.

Fourth week becomes stressful rather than helpful. You feel exhausted and drained most of the time and you started to miss some of your workouts and forget to drink your water, until it happens.

On a long stressful day at work where you had to watch your colleagues indulging the pizza they just ordered, listening to all the sounds they make “UMMM that’s the best pizza ever, the dough is so tender” while you are sipping on green tea in the corner, because you didn’t have time to prepare your food earlier.

You come back home to find on your kitchen counter this poor cookie looking at you, then you all know what happens next.

hange more than 1 thing at a time.

(Yes 1 thing, not 2 not 3! Have you tried to swim in all directions all at once?)

2. Will power is an exhaustible fuel and will fail you if you only depend on it.

easy and realistically achievable.

(Drinking 3L of water per day while you are not a person who drinks water is not an easy one, rather aim for 1L/day.)

3. Be consistent with it, which means you should be able to repeat it every day for a month.

4. Keep track of it. Create a calendar or log down on your phone and tick it off everyday.

The only way for you to change something in your life, is by building habits.

Habits are simple to build, but, under certain conditions, so here is how to do it: 1. Choose only 1 habit and resist the urge to add more.

2. Choose a habit that is a bit too

Soon without noticing, you will be hooked on your new habit and only when it doesn’t feel like work anymore that you consider adding a new one.

WHAT WENT WRONG? 2 things:

1. Change doesn’t happen if we try to

THE POWER OF HABIT

WHAT TO DO TODAY? Write down what change you want to make and think of all the habits that would contribute to that change. Follow the simple steps for building habits as mentioned in this article.

If you don’t know where to start, here are some good habits that will help you become healthier: 1. Have breakfast every morning.

2. Drink a large bottle of water everyday.

3. Walk 10 mins every day.

4. Wake up or sleep 15 mins earlier.

5. Eat half of your daily amount of chocolate/sweets.

March 2015 | 35

Nutrition

Should I Eat Before My Workout?

By: Noura Hassaballa

The question that puzzles many people about whether or not to eat before workout?

36 | March 2015

Y

Yes, definitely you should; at least have a snack if you are not planning to have a meal a minimum of one hour before training. Doing cardio on an empty stomach for maximum fat loss is another common myth... A BIG FAT LIE. Following these methods will actually cause your body to burn muscle tissue in order to supply you with energy instead of burning fat. Your body needs a certain amount of glucose to fuel while training. Think about a car, would a car be running without fuel? That’s exactly how our bodies work. You need to fuel and replenish every two to three hours in order to function properly. Your pre-workout meal should be something that is easy to digest.

The last thing you want to do is to eat a bunch of proteins and fats (large quantities), even if they are healthy fats and proteins. These types of fuels take a long time to digest and draw precious oxygen and energy-delivering blood into your stomach and away from your exercising muscles. They also may be heavy on your digestive system as well as causing you stomachaches during your exercise. Your best bet is to consume your pre-workout meal about two hours before exercise; it should be around 300-500 calories, and is composed primarily of healthy carbohydrates (Complex carbs).

If you didnt have the chance to do so, opt for a quick 50-100 calorie snack 5-10 minutes prior to exercise. Try a bowl of oatmeal, whole-grain cereal, whole-wheat toast, sweet potato or yam as a preworkout meal eaten two hours before your workout. If you have to eat directly before your workout, a small piece of fruit—like an apple or banana will do.

What you eat after cardio and after weight training workouts are not always

the same. Weight training is more towards muscle gain, while cardio is mostly used for fat loss. When doing weight training, muscle glycogen starts depleting, and as mentioned before, muscle tissue starts to break down. So our main goal is to replenish muscle glycogen stores and starts rebuilding muscles.

Carbohydrate is the main macronutrient that needs to be replenished in your post workout meal. There is a window of time about 20-60 minutes after you exercise in which your muscles accept the carbohydrates and protein that you consume, absorb them to be stored as energy, and build blocks for recovery. If you wait too long to eat after exercising, your body will not use what you eat for fuel and recovery. So basically after a weight lifting session you want to have your complex carbs and proteins; something like brown rice and a chicken breast, or a protein shake with half a banana whichever one that suits you more. On the other hand if you are doing cardio and your main goal is to lose fat then cutting

out carbs and focusing on proteins and healthy fats will be best for you. During a typical cardio session, your body’s biochemistry undergoes some changes.

Your body suppresses insulin production and starts releasing other hormones like growth hormone (GH) and testosterone.

Not only that, but your body releases several neurotransmitters like adrenaline, epinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins. The first two assist with fat mobilization, while the last three are feel good chemicals. So, to stay on the fat burning mode, a protein shake (whey protein isolate) mixed with omega 3 fatty acids would be a great option; some salmon and mixed veggies will also do the job; try grilled chicken salad with veggies topped with some nuts. As long as you consume lean proteins, some greens, and healthy fats, you will be good to go. Keep in mind that everyone is different and your exercise goals may be different than someone else’s goals. So whether your target is to build muscles or shred some fats, your magic keys are time frames and types of food after different workouts.

March 2015 | 37

Nutrition

Chicken paillards with squash and spinach

butternut squash and acorn squash are worth exploring, but japanese kabocha squash will also give you a mouth watering, light meal that is worth trying. with its slightly sweet, fresh, and edible taste (which also contains many nutrients), kabocha is especially good roasted; try it steamed, too.

Ingredients

• 1/2 small kabocha squash, unpeeled, seeded, and cut lengthwise into 3/4-inch slices • 1 small red onion, sliced into wedges, root end attached • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil • Coarse salt • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 to 5 ounces each), butterflied • Red-pepper flakes • 16 fresh sage leaves • 1 cup baby spinach leaves 38 | March 2015

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place squash and red onion on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil evenly over vegetable mixture, and season with salt. Toss to coat, then spread in a single layer. Roast until squash is tender, about 15 minutes.

about 1 minute; use a slotted spoon to transfer to paper towels to drain.

Working in batches, add chicken to pan; sauté until golden and cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Serve chicken topped with spinach, roasted vegetables and fried sage.

Meanwhile, pound chicken to a 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Season with salt and red-pepper flakes. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Fry sage until just crisp,

Nutritional information

Per Serving: 267 calories, 15g fat (2g saturated fat), 51mg cholesterol, 10g carbohydrates, 26g protein, 2g fiber.

Eat as much as you can

Every day only for

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Indulge your senses with exquisitely handcrafted Sushi specialties, created by our famous Chef Sherwin, while enjoying a whole range of Japanese delights and Sushi platters with the ‘All You Can Eat’ offer at our Izumi Sushi Bar. Daily from 1:00 pm-11:00 pm.

Terms and Conditions Above mentioned price is excluding taxes and service charges.

Above mentioned price is per person.

Not subject to Delivery or Take Out services.

Excluded from any other promotions or discounts or sushi combos.

Nutrition

The Portion size effect By: Dr. Sameh Mohsen

Background:

Large portions of food may contribute to excess energy intake and greater risk of obesity. However, data on the effects of portion size on food intake in adults are limited.

Objectives:

We examined the effect of portion size on intake during a single meal. We also investigated whether the response to portion size depended on which person, the subject or the experimenter, determined the amount of food on the plate.

Design:

Fifty-one men and women were served lunch 1 d/wk for 4 wk. Lunch included an entrĂŠe of macaroni and cheese consumed ad libitum. At each meal, subjects were presented with 1 of 4 portions of the entrĂŠe: 500, 625, 750, or 1000 g. One group of subjects received the portion on a plate, and a second group received it in a serving dish and took the amount they desired on their plates.

Results:

Portion size significantly influenced energy intake at lunch (P < 0.0001). people consumed 30% more energy (676 kJ) when offered the largest portion than when offered the smallest portion. The response to the variations in portion size was not influenced by who determined the amount of food on the plate or by subject characteristics such as sex, body mass index, or scores for dietary restraint or disinhibition.

Conclusions:

Larger portions led to greater energy intake regardless of serving method and subject characteristics. Portion size is a modifiable determinant of energy intake that should be addressed in connection with the prevention and treatment of obesity.

40 | March 2015

Portion Size:

It is no secret that portion sizes, as well as waistlines, in this country are expanding.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 20051 urge Americans to pay special attention to portion sizes, which have increased significantly over the past 2 decades.

Restaurant meals of all kinds have gotten larger with an emphasis on getting more food for the money. However, the rise of portion sizes is not limited to restaurants alone. Bags of snack foods or soft drinks in vending machines and the grocery store are offered in larger and larger sizes that contain multiple servings while a 1-ounce bag of snack food or an 8-ounce soft drink, which are the recommended single serving sizes, are very difficult to find.

Americans are surrounded by larger portion sizes at relatively low prices, while the cost of health may be higher than most people realize. In the section on weight management, the Dietary Guidelines address portion sizes, stating

that there are no empirical studies to show a causal relationship between increased portion sizes and obesity, but there are shortterm studies showing that controlling portion sizes helps limit calorie intake, particularly when eating high-calorie foods.

What is missing from the research is whether people monitor portion sizes and consistently choose to eat recommended serving sizes. The following research review examines what science underlies the notion that large portion sizes have contributed to weight gain among Americans. The research-to-practice section offers ideas to practitioners about how to counsel their patients or clients about portion size.

Research Review Eat More Than You Use = Weight Gain, The fundamental rule of weight management is that people gain weight when they eat more calories.

Therefore, the number of calories in the amount of food consumed is integral to weight management. Portion size does not matter if the person chooses to eat only

an appropriate serving or fewer calories in subsequent meals and snacks that allow them to stay within recommended calorie limits. But do people look at food that is offered and automatically assess how much is a normal serving size, and then actually eat only the normal serving size? Do they adjust what they eat after consuming large portion sizes?

The research says they may not. Trends in increasing portion sizes restaurants eating in restaurants offers many opportunities to encounter large portion sizes. The number of eating establishments in the United States increased by 75 percent between 1977 and 1991. While Americans have many choices in restaurants, the food (especially from fast food restaurants) is often very cheap and available in large quantities, which is associated with an increase in energy and fat intake and with a higher body mass index. Even those who do not frequently visit restaurants are confronted with large portion sizes of prepackaged or frozen foods.

March 2015 | 41

Nutrition

Speed your Recovery Phase With These Super Foods

Y

Your body is a vehicle that needs fuel to carry on its physical experience, and skimping on fuel will slow down your healing process. Most athletes get injured at least once in a lifetime. Whether it is an ankle sprain, hamstring pull, or hip bursitis, your body goes through a series of reactions to start healing itself. Among the recovery procedures is food! Here are foods to speed healing process and drive back weight gain.

You Need Protein

Your vehicle needs serious maintenance and repair through protein intake. Your body needs adequate amount of protein to digest into the amino acid required to prevent muscle tissue breakdown and to promote healing.

The best way to consume whey is in the form of protein shake mixed with fruits or flaxseed. Eggs, lean meat, chicken, hummus, and low-fat dairy, are other protein-rich foods. Around 90 grams of protein intake is required on daily basis.

Spice Up Your Diet Those tiny powders have tremendous healing effects if consumed on daily basis. Marinate your food and add flavor and odor with turmeric, curry, garlic, cocoa, and most plant foods.

One teaspoon of cinnamon on your food every day can decrease muscle soreness.

42 | March 2015

TIP

A huge barrier to speedy recover for injured athletes is fear of getting fat. Making the wrong food choices or eating little will hinder the healing progression. It is better to include all essential nutrients in your diet, in small quantities, but many times throughout the day.

Omega-3 Fats

Over exercising does not merely lead to chronic inflammations symptoms such as pain and swelling, but the organs of the immune system can also be inflamed if combined with stress and poor eating habits. Omega-3 is not only excellent for heart health and joints recovery, but can also hamper the healing phase. Fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna, black cod, and herring are excellent sources of omega-3 fats. Another way to enjoy the health benefits of fish is through fish-oil supplements sold in drug stores.

MYTH

Some people claim that muscles turn into fat.

Actually, your muscles will only shrink when you stop exercising, but they wont somehow turn into fat. Once your muscles are healed, you can rebuild them to the original size.

Never Miss Your Vitamins Never underestimate the healing power of fruits and vegetables, for they have powerful anti-oxidants that knock down inflammation. A bowl of colorful fruits and vegetables are way better than supplements and pills. Strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate, carrots, broccoli, and pineapple are among the healthy choices for your new daily diet routine. Among the best is Vitamin D, which plays a key role in rebuilding the bone after injury. Make sure to expose yourself to sunlight, in order to influence the healing effects of vitamin D.

Glutamine and BCAA prevent muscle catabolism ( breakdown of muscles )

March 2015 | 43

Nutrition

Super-Healthy

Smoothies Summer is approaching, and it is time to learn about healthy ways to replenish your brain and refresh your skin with healthy and delicious smoothies.

Whether you are a fruit or veggie lover, we’ve got you covered with a couple of recipes and some ideas to design your favorite drink.

Strawberry Mango Spring Smoothie • • • •

1 mango, chunked 1 peeled banana, sliced 5 strawberries, hulled Coconut milk

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

44 | March 2015

Winter Greens Smoothie • • • • • •

1 cup of spinach 4 small broccoli, sliced 1 peeled banana, sliced 1 apple, chopped 2 oranges, diced 2 carrots, diced

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

Design Your Own Smoothie: • High-protein ingredients: low-fat

yogurt, skimmed milk, peanut butter, soymilk, and almond milk.

• Best fruits: apricot, strawberries, mango, guava, watermelon, banana, peach, berries, and pineapple.

• Best vegetables: carrot, tomato, cucumber, avocado, spinach, and mint.

• Healthy additions: vanilla extract, unsweetened cocoa powder, flaxseeds, cinnamon, and ginger.

Avoid those Smoothie Ingredients: • • • • • • • •

Whipped cream Chocolate syrup Canned fruit in syrup Sugar-sweetened juice Flavored yogurt Effervescent drinks or sodas Sorbet Ice cream

March 2015 | 45

Nutrition

12 Foods that Fight Fatigue Melons

By: Mahmoud Talaat

Dehydration is one of the main causes of fatigue and exhaustion. watermelon has 90% water content, which helps prevent dehydration and provide energy.

Milk

Drinking casein (one of the proteins substances in milk) at night boosts muscle recovery and growth.

Nuts

Include both protein and fiber, which help boost your energy and keep it from wavering all day. They also give a great top up right after a workout. A handful of smoked almonds is a great natural way to get back some lost electrolytes during your workouts that leave you worn out such as potassium and sodium.

Mushrooms

Rich in Vitamin B, mushroms are essential for energy production.

There are two types of vitamin B found in ‘shrooms; Vitamin B5 which fights fatigue in times of stress and Vitamin B3 which converts food into energy.

Oatmeal

Oats contain quality carbs that are stored in the body as glycogen and provide fuel for our brains and muscles. In the morning your body is usually running low on fuel and needs that push to get going. So grab a bowl of oatmeal in the morning and wipe that fatigue off.

Bean

(Fava Beans) the Most Common breakfast in Egypt

Fibers take longer to digest and provide a longer energy boost gained from carbs. It also keeps energy levels balanced because it helps stabilize blood sugar.

46 | March 2015

Sweet Potatoes

Maximum hydration all day is all that can be said about sweet potatoes which have a quarter of a day’s worth of potassium.

It helps keep electrolytes stay balanced, body feel relaxed, and supply you with as much energy as possible.

Eggs

Eggs are a great energy source—they have iron, zinc, and a lot of protein. This does not only keep your muscles fuller but also supplies sustained energy to the body. The 6 grams of protein in an egg helps maintain level blood sugar and includes the amino acid leucine, which is an important part of protein synthesis (a factor in muscle growth and recovery).

Citrus Fruit

Studies have shown that vitamin C deficiency is associated with fatigue. It is actually the citrus scent that can help cure chronic fatigue. So get yourself some oranges and lemons and start eating up.

Spinach

Be Popeye for a day. One of its nutrients, magnesium, helps relax the body to allow for an energy restoration and activates all cell enzymes that produce energy.

Avocados

Running short on potassium causes weakness to the muscle. Avocados are full of potassium which will help maintain your water balance and regulate your muscle contraction.

Black/Green Tea

Tea contains the amino acid thiamine, which improves attention and alertness, and you’ll still get a little boost from caffeine (about 35 to 50mg per cup compared to the 100 to 140mg in a cup of coffee).

Just make sure not to drink tea before you sleep

Water

Staying hydrated is one of the easiest ways to stay alert and energized. It’s key to maximizing performance – on the playing field or off. Aim to drink every hour or two so you don’t feel thirsty. Carry a water bottle and sip water throughout the day instead of trying to down extra fluids right before exercise.

Benefits of Carob?

Carob is frequently used as a chocolate substitute in baking and in sweets, although it is not from the same plant. Carob is most commonly made into carob flour, which is similar in appearance and texture to cocoa.

Whole pods are sometimes processed to make a syrup used in commercially produced foods, including baked goods, carob chips, ice cream and carobcovered fruits such as raisins.

Lowers Blood Cholesterol Levels Carob naturally contains polyphenols, which help with blood cholesterol levels in a way similar to dietary fiber. Dietary fiber helps lower cholesterol levels. A 4-gram serving of polyphenol-rich fiber twice a day decreases the level of serum lipids; low density lipoproteins, also known as “bad” cholesterol; high density lipoproteins, or “good” cholesterol; and triglycerides after a period of four weeks.

Natural Antioxidant The polyphenols in carob are also powerful antioxidants, protecting your body from damage from free radicals and environmental toxins. A 2002 publication of the “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry” included an in vitro study of the antioxidant ability of carob pod polyphenols.

The study determined that even the pods of carob contained polyphenols. These were shown to have a distinct antioxidant ability when adjusted for polyphenol concentration, which was lower in the pods than in the beans.

Rich in Calcium Carob is naturally high in calcium, an essential mineral. A 1-cup serving of carob flour has 358 milligrams of calcium per serving. This provides between 30 and 36 percent of the recommended daily allowance of calcium, In addition to keeping your bones healthy. Calcium is essential to blood clotting and maintaining a regular heartbeat.

A Good Source of Selenium A trace element, selenium is nonetheless important for your overall health. A 1-cup serving of carob flour contains 5.5 micrograms of selenium, which provides roughly 10 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for adults. The selenium content in carob, however, can vary depending on the growing conditions. Selenium is important for healthy thyroid function, the production of DNA, and defending your body from infection and oxidative harm.

March 2015 | 47

Nutrition How Long Does It Take to Burn Offâ&#x20AC;Ś

FOODS VS EXERCISES

Coca Cola (20 fl. Oz.) 240 calories 40 minutes of running Fruit Cake (30 0z) 330 calories 95 minutes of walking Potato Chips (15 pieces) 160 calories 12 minutes on jumping rope Pepperoni pizza (1 slice) 324 calories 35 minutes of cycling Cheese burger and fries (medium) 700 calories 141 minutes on the elliptical Doughnut (1 unit) 242 calories

88 minutes of crunches

Loaded Burrito with Nachos Bell 1600 calories Roll with Butter (1 unit)180 calories Red Velvet Cupcake 248 calories

18 sets of 20 pushups

1 hour of running

Fried Chicken Breast 444 calories Frappuccino (Medium) 500 calories

3.5 hours of swimming

60 minutes of cycling

170 minutes of pilates

March 2015 | 49

Body & soul

What is inside our knee By: Ismail Fathalla

T

he knee has got a complex structure and is composed of several components each of which has its role.

1. Cartilage: This is the soft glistening surface that allows smooth movements.

2. Menisci: This is the inside padding of our cartilage.

3. Ligaments: There are several ligaments that help maintain the stability. Perhaps the most feared is the cruciate but is not the commonest to be injured.

4. Muscles: These allow for dynamic movements and also have protective roles.

50 | March 2015

Q

How do knees get injured?

You can get a knee injury as a result of 1. Contact injury: This is only common with tackles and is hence possible only with contact sports.

2. Non-Contact injury: This is the commonest mechanism of injury even in contact sports. It始s the type of injury that results from sudden change in direction, or what is known as pivoting.

3. Overuse injury: This is the type of injury that one can get as they exercise heavily without giving the body an adequate amount of time to regenerate and recover.

Symptoms of knee injuries: Athletes who sustain an acute knee injury are likely to complain from sudden onset of pain, swelling, and inability to continue exercising. The severity of the symptoms and the consequences depend on the energy imparted at the time of injury. So if you twist your knee at a low speed you are more likely to have sprained one of the ligaments and you are more likely to recover fully within

Q

a week or so of rest, pain killers, and the magical effect of ice. Higher energy mechanisms are likely to cause an injury to the meniscus (the cartilage pad) and/or a ligament rupture. Unfortunately, these will have an after effect and may lead to ongoing pain, instability or knee locking.

Athletes with these types of injuries will probably require an operation to be able to perform again. On the other hand, athletes who sustain an overuse injury will have no history of a traumatic event.

They would be complaining from dull ache pain that increases with exercise and can limit their capacity to perform. The pain is usually caused by a muscle fatigue and tends to be localised to the front of the knee or the outer aspect.

This type of knee injury responds adequately not only to rest but more importantly to specific types of exercises that need to be advised by a specialised physiotherapist.

Is there anything I can do to prevent a significant knee injury?

In fact, there are loads of things that one can do to prevent these injuries from happening. One could just watch how football players sustain significant tackles, yet only a few minority develop a disabling injury.

1. The power of warming-up: I am sure that none of you ignore warming up yet one cannot overemphasize the importance of doing that for at least 15-20 minutes before exercise.

2. Wear appropriate shoes: You canʼt explore the desert terrains in your Ferrari. Similarly, no matter how fancy your shoes are, they have to be designed to do the job. Choose proper trainers and also donʼt forget to change them regularly. It has been recommended that you buy a new pair every 500Km. Yes, it is like your car and you have to change the tyres.

3. Proper technique: This is why we need a coach. If you are playing heavy sports at a competitive level, you will need someone to show you how to do things right. This includes techniques to run efficiently and recruiting the right group of muscles at different stages.

4. Have strong, yet flexible, muscles: Muscles help not only in movement but also in protecting the other structures like ligaments and cartilage. The stronger and more flexible your muscles are, the less likely that you will injure the important structures in your knee.

5. develope stretching routine post workouts and rest.

Q

When Do you need to see a doctor?

1. After an acute injury, if your knee swells up and you are unable to continue with the rest of the game.

2. If you have been complaining from ongoing knee pain for more than 2 weeks even if you have no history of trauma.

3. If you feel like your knee is unstable.

4. If you feel that your knee is locking and that you need to do something to unlock it.

On the contrary, painless clicks are usually insignificant and will not cause any problems. They are likely to respond to physiotherapy. Your doctor will perform a full knee examination and based on that, may ask you to do an X ray and MRI.

Preventing Injury • Avoid bending knees past 90 degrees when doing half knees bends.

• Avoid twisting knees by keeping feet as flat as possible during stretches.

• When jumping, land with your knees bent.

• Do warm-up exercises not just before vigorous activities like running, but also before less vigorous ones such as golf.

• Do warm-up stretches before activity. stretch the achilles tendon, hamstring, and quadriceps areas and hold the positions. don't bounce.

• Cool down following vigorous sports. for example, after a race, walk or walk/jog for five miutes, so your pulse comes down gradually.

• Wear properly fitting shoes that provide shock absorption and stability.

• Use the softest exercise surface available, and avoid running on hard surfaces like asphalt and concrete. Run on flat surfaces. Running uphill may increase the stress on the achilles tendon and the leg itself.

• Don’t overdo.

March 2015 | 51

Body & soul

How to create an Extraordinary Life By: Yasmine Shahine

Instead of wishing that your problems would just disappear, why don’t you challenge yourself to create the life you want? An extraordinary life of your own design.

Is that possible? Can I Really do that? How? • If you want to have an extraordinary life, you have to first recognize and appreciate the extraordinary things that are already part of your life. Go find them NOW. • Believe that you fully control your life, no matter what circumstances you are facing; you will pass them with success.

Quit saying “Ill try” say “I WILL.” • You always, always, always have a CHOICE. Even if you have to be somewhere doing something, you still have a choice for your attitude and actions.

• Bring a big hammer and smash down this suffocating comfort zone that you are locking yourself in. BE FREE. • Start NOW to train your brain to start thinking with the right focus. The focus that is empowered by achieving your goals in life, the ones that will push you to the next level not those that will bring you down.

• Who doesn’t love food? Feed your body with the right ingredients. It’s all about how we use our bodies as it directly affects how our brain works.

Commit to a healthy life style.

52 | March 2015

• Do you know that tears you have when you cry out of stress and when you cry out of joy have completely different chemical effect on your brain?

• Find your treasure. You are unique and you are here and now in this moment reading this article for reason!! Solve this puzzle to discover who you are and who you can become.

• Stop whining, you are NOT a victim.

• Gratitude. Are you grateful for your country? Are you grateful for the family that you were raised in?

Are you grateful for the fact that you can pay your bills and that you’ve got food on the table? How often do you think about that?

• Be aware of the negative people around you,”Hm, can they have that big effect?” Yes they can and they will, it’s a fact that I can assure you will happen.

• Stop overthinking if you are that kind of a person. “Too much analysis leads to paralysis.”

• Can you control what happened in the past?

Can you control what will happen in the future? Then what can you control? THE PRESENT MOMENT, so live it.

• Do something that makes you uncomfortable! Yes my friend, I’m talking to YOU. In order to accomplish new things that you never had, you have to do things that you’ve never done before. Makes sense right?

• Courage is a muscle, did you know that? So work it out now and watch how your life will work out in return.

• What are you doing for others? When was the last time you smiled to a stranger in the street? When was last time you opened the door to someone? When was the last time you looked to a waiter in his/ her eyes and said “thank you” like you really mean it? Try it out today and enjoy an immediate great feeling.

• Stop comparing your life to others. Facebook, Twitter or Instagram are not life, they are just a small snap shot not the whole picture.

• You want to cry? Scream? Do you feel miserable?

Fine, allow yourself to feel them all, you are not a robot, but only for an hour per day max. Then GET UP put a smile on your face and go kick it.

• You are now thinking, “That’s just crazy” right? Tell me what’s more beautiful than discovering how fun being crazy can be?

• Lets throw that “fear of failure” out of the window now. If a close friend came and told you that he’s having this new project but he’s afraid of failure, what will you tell him? Say the same to yourself.

Millions of people out there have created their own happy extraordinary life. What’s stopping you from doing the same??

Let us take action NOW. You know what it needs?

Back Straight Chin Up Big Smile GO! March 2015 | 53

Body & soul

The Breath of Life By: Sandra Shama Kaur

So often we hear that Yoga is about the breath and we wonder, what’s the big fuss? Don't we all breath naturally anyway?

Yes, indeed we do, but sadly due to the past pace of life, we usually breathe incorrectly and in a shallow manner.

This means that instead of stretching the stomach outwards on the inhale and drawing the navel inwards on the exhale, we do the exact opposite. Not only that but instead of using the entire capacity of our lungs to breathe, thereby breathing long and deep from the lower abdomen upwards, we commonly breath only from the chest .

TIP: How to practice long deep breathing Long deep breathing uses the full capacity of the lungs, by utilizing the three chambers of the lungs: • Abdominal or lower • Chest or middle • Clavicular or upper Long deep breathing starts by filling the abdomen, then expanding the chest, and finally lifting the upper ribs and clavicle. The exhale is the reverse: First

the upper deflates, then the middle, and finally the abdomen pulls in and up, as the navel point pulls back toward the spine.

First, practice by separating the three parts of the breath. Sit straight on the floor, on a chair, or lie on your back. Initially have the left hand on the belly, right hand on the chest to feel the movement of the diaphragm.

What needs to be understood is that we have a fantastic, superb vehicle, called the body which can be likened to an A class vehicle, a ferarri maybe?

And the lungs act like the engine to this fantastic vehicle. Thus, to optimize performance, we must utilize the full capacity of the lungs. However, when we breathe fast, shallow and erratically, using only the upper portion of the chest and shoulders, we end up only using about a third capacity of this fantastic engine we have. Thus, our performance becomes affected; we may suffer from low concentration, memory problems, headaches, mental fogginess, and fatigue. Thus, to reverse this and utilize the full capacity of the lungs, we need to learn to breath long, deep and slow.

54 | March 2015

Magnesium relaxes muscles.

Abdominal Breath: Take a slow deep breath by letting the belly relax and expand. As you exhale, gently pull the navel in and up toward the spine. For this experiment, keep the chest relaxed. Focus on breathing entirely with the lower abdomen. The diaphragm muscle separates the chest and thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity and intestines. As you relax the diaphragm extend the belly, the dome flattens, and extra space is created to expand the lungs above it. When you exhale, the dome is re-created and the air from the lower lungs is pushed up and out. This pushing allows a portion of the lower lungs to be used efficiently.

Place one hand on the navel point and one on the center of the chest. On the inhale, raise the hand on the navel toward the ceiling (with the movement of the belly). On the exhale lower it steadily. Monitor the chest with the other hand. It should stay still and relaxed.

But there is more. Since the world is full of toxins, even when we try to eat and drink healthily, for example, the body produces waste products that remain in the body, which cause congestion in the lungs. In other words, the lungs become very full, like a big room that is filled with useless, unwanted bits of furniture. Naturally, when we breathe, the breath gets stuck and does not travel freely up the spine towards the head. Breathing well takes much training and practice.

However, what can start you off to break down toxins from the lungs is the powerful breath practice of Rapid Breath Of Fire.

Most importantly, what you need to keep in mind is that the breath is like a traffic signal: red is a warning and green is a go. Thus, when you find yourself breathing fast, shallow and erratically, this good red warning signal to pause and slow down.

When you feel that you are confused, emotional or commotional, watch your breath, and if it signals red just chillout and slow it down.

Chest Breath: Sit straight and keep the diaphragm still.

Do not let the abdomen extend. Inhale slowly using the chest muscles. The chest expands by using the intercostal muscles between the ribs. Do this slowly and focus on the sensation of expansion. Exhale completely but do not use the abdomen. Compare the depth and volume of this breath with the isolated abdominal breath. If you place your hands on the top and bottom parts of the ribs you can feel how the bottom ribs move more than the top ones. They are the floating ribs and are not as fixed as the upper ones are to the sternum.

So much of the contribution of the ribs and intercostal muscles comes from an expansion out to the sides of the lower ribs.

Clavicular Breath: Sit straight. Contract the navel in and keep the abdomen tight. Lift the chest without inhaling. Now inhale slowly by expanding the shoulders and the collarbone. Exhale as you keep the chest lifted.

Putting the Parts Together • Each part of the breath expansion is distinct. If all three are combined, you have a complete long deep breath.

• Sit straight. If the spine is in a balanced position, the ribs and muscles can move freely.

• Begin the inhale with an abdominal breath. Then add the chest breath and finish with a clavicular breath. AIl three are done in a smooth motion.

• Start the exhale by relaxing the clavicle, then slowly emptying.

TIP: Stress relief meditation

TIP: How to rapid breath of fire • Sit straight and place the hands in Prayer Pose.

• Close the eyelids 9/10ths. Roll the eyes up and concentrate at the brow point.

• Begin Breath of Fire for I-3 minutes.

• Then inhale and hold for 10 seconds.

• Relax. Stay still and place the hands on the knees in Gyan Mudra, palms up.

• Watch the natural flow of the breath and the constant stream of internal and external sensations. Continue for 3 minutes.

• Inhale deeply, exhale.

• Repeat this combination 3-5 times.

• Posture: Sit in a comfortable meditative posture with a straight spine--chin in, and chest lifted, hands in Gyan Mudra or any other comfortable meditative mudra.

• Eyes: Close your eyes and concentrate on your breath.

• Breath: Inhale through the nose in 8 equal strokes. Exhale through the nose in one deep and powerful stroke.

• Time: 11 minutes.

• To End: Inhale deeply and hold the breath 5-10 seconds. Exhale. Inhale deeply and hold the breath 15-20 seconds and roll your shoulders.

Exhale powerfully. Inhale deeply and hold the breath 15-20 seconds and roll the shoulders as fast as you can.

Exhale and relax.

March 2015 | 55

The Game

Crossfit History

Coach Greg Glassman started CrossFit, the company, in 2000. In his early years as a young gymnast, Coach Glassman observed that when he added weights and cycling to his training regimen, he got stronger and fitter than just training with body weight movements like his fellow gymnasts. He then came to the realization that specializing in only one method of training deprived the individual from achieving a higher work capacity in other domains.

The first CrossFit affiliate was CrossFit North, which opened in Seattle in 2000. By 2005, there were 13 affiliates. In 2012, only 12 years after the company started, the number of affiliates jumped to 3,400, and then up to 10,000 worldwide.

CrossFit In Egypt

In Egypt, CrossFit is fairly young. In fact, back in 2010 no one in Egypt had even heard of CrossFit. I first came across CrossFit on a trip to Salt Lake City in 2010 and immediately fell in love with it. I decided right there to fly to Los Angeles and attend the CrossFit Level-1 seminar and apply for affiliation.

Starting in Egypt was a great challenge as no one had ever heard about this sport before. All I had to work with were a few eager friends and a muddy soccer field to train them in. To compound the problem, CrossFit equipment wasn’t available in the market and everything had to be imported from abroad. Moreover, finding a suitable location to start an affiliate was close to impossible because of space restriction in crowded Cairo.

Nevertheless, the challenges didn’t slow us down and in 2012, the first official CrossFit Box “CrossFit Stars” opened its doors to the public and officially introduced the world’s fastest growing sport to Egypt.

56 | March 2015

What Is CrossFit

We’ve all heard the saying “Jack of all trades, Master of none.” Perhaps this is the best phrase to describe the heart and essence of what CrossFit is really all about.

CrossFit’s specialty is in not specializing, and its workouts elicit a response from your body by taxing it to its core with constantly varied functional movements that are performed at high intensity.

The CrossFit Program was developed to enhance an individual’s competency at all physical tasks. It is not a specialized fitness program but an attempt to enhance and optimize a person’s physical competence in each of the ten recognized fitness domains. They are Cardiovascular and Respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy.

What makes CrossFit effective and more fun than the average gym workout is the “WOD” or workout of the day. These Workouts change on a daily basis in order to maximize the adaptation response from the body and athletes could go for months without doing the same workout twice.

Why Is CrossFit Growing So Fast?

The Sport of Fitness” is taking the world by storm simply because it re-introduced personal athletic achievement and performance in the average person’s fitness routine. The mindset at the beginning of each workout is to be stronger, move faster, more efficiently, and with better form. CrossFit is hard, fun, exciting and challenging because you’re always pushed to achieve you’re absolute best and you know that there’s always room for improvement.

The average gym goer goes to the gym to attain a certain look or lose a certain amount of weight but what happens after that goal is attained? People sometimes get bored, lose interest; stop going to the gym, gain all the weight back and the vicious cycle starts. However, this rarely happens in CrossFit simply because goals are tied to performance and human capacity has no ceiling. You can always lift heavier, jump higher, and run faster.

A lot of people wonder if CrossFit is for them or not and whether they need to be actually fit before giving CrossFit a try.

According to Greg Glassman, our needs and those of Olympic athletes differ by degree not kind. In other words, a simple exercise like squatting will benefit both an Olympic athlete and our grandparents.

CrossFit is unique in that sense, everything can be scaled down in order to match a person’s capabilities and that’s what makes it suitable for everyone.

March 2015 | 57

Style & features

Stallions Egypt

S

tallions is an Egyptian Sports Performance Training facility, founded

by Athlete Karim Ismail in 2012, with a vision of benefiting our community by changing the way fitness is perceived.

Stallions is the first to introduce and adopt Sports Performance Training methodology in Egypt, which is a science-driven program, aiming at maximizing results while minimizing chances of injury. Stallions designs fitness programs for everyone including people with no fitness background, those with a good fitness background and wish to advance to the next level, professional teams or athletes aiming to improve the moves and techniques that their specific sport requires and former athletes wishing to get back in the game.

58 | March 2015

Stallions training programs are categorized as follows: High Performance Training Programs When it comes to High Performance Training (HPT), the sky is the limit for people who wish to benefit from it as it includes a wide range of exercises.

HPT aims at upgrading your fitness level, whether you are a beginner or an athletic person with a history of regular exercise. HPT is designed to gradually build and improve all aspects of your fitness, using the three main building blocks: stabilization, strength, and power.

Members joining Stallions HPT training programs are closely monitored during their first few months to make sure they use proper techniques and posture for every exercise.

Sports Performance Enhancement Programs This program is designed around the sport-specific needs of each athlete. Its goal is to increase each athlete’s strength, power, energy system resources, and flexibility—resulting in players who are stronger, quicker, and at a lesser risk of injury.

Sports performance training programs are designed to achieve the highest degree of performance through a high tempo, comprehensive training system all about explosive movements, reaction, speed, and agility. International sports league have all been adopting the successful formula of Sports Performance

training, and it was about time for Egypt to join the ranking of these respectable athletes. Based on scientific research and facts, training today’s athletes must address many factors simultaneously that traditional methods of training seem to neglect, these factors are: flexibility, functional strength, neuromuscular efficiency, endurance, and power.

Regardless of your age or fitness level, our programs will help you reach your ultimate fitness goals.

The challenge and program variety will keep you coming back.

Stallions Performance Training encompasses the above by carefully designing integrated programs that would stress athlete’s ability to maintain proper execution of learned movement skills while enduring a state of fatigue.

Youth Sports Performance Training Program In addition to the adult training programs, Stallions offers special training programs for child and teen athletes. Stallions Youth Training Program is designed to introduce and create foundations of overall athleticism in a fun, positive, and highsuccess environment. These programs teach young athletes the running technique, athletic coordination, balance, and relative strength, which are vital in establishing a child’s athletic foundation for improved performance, injury prevention, and long-term enjoyment of sports participation. Stallions currently conducts special performance training programs for Heliopolis club swimming teams for age (7-14), and Inspire Academy for Squash,

owned by famous Squash Champion Ramy Ashour for age (5-14).

Stallions Camps

Stallions hold regular fitness camps throughout the year in order to keep valued members engaged and entertained.

Stallion’s high performance camps span over the course of 3-4 days, in locations outside Cairo. These camps help strengthen the social bond between Stallions members as well as their team spirit.

Nutrition

Nutritional support for optimal training and competition performance is vital. Based on sports nutrition science and exercise physiology, nutritional therapists from the Cairo Nutritional Therapy Centre, in coordination with Stallions Egypt, will provide tailor-made programs for fat loss, fueling, recovery, and muscle building, to help you reach your weight and training goals, in addition to sharply improving energy, memory, mood, and sleep quality.

Nutrition is the most important factor when it comes to improving body composition.

Good nutrition combined with physical activity can help individuals reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce their risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer), and promote their overall health. For those who wish to reach the best results in the shortest period of time, Stallions offer individual nutrition counseling to help their members reach their fitness goals, through losing weight, increasing muscle mass, or simply maintaining weight.

March 2015 | 59

reebok COMMUNITY FLEECE FULL-ZIP

Style & features

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Mens Under Armour Raid Printed Unlined Shorts March 2015 | 61

Style & Features

PORTABLE GADGETS YOU WANT GARMIN

According to myLOT, Garmin has released 4 new watches; Garmin Epix, Vivofit 2, Fenix 3, and the Garmin Vivoactive. De Garmin Vivoactive has the potential to be of big impact to the world of portable gadgets, because it’s the first smartwatch of a big manufacturer that has an integrated GPS system and also specific sports apps. Fenix 3 has a complete new design and a new color scheme. The big difference is the support of the new Garmin IQ platform. De Fenix 3 Sapphire has all the functionalities of the Fenix 2 and the Forerunner 920XT. These new watches will be released in March / April! myLOT will definitely be the first in line (in case I have money of course).

QuitBit Smart Cigarette Lighter

So you want to stop smoking? The QuitBit lighter is here to help.

The small gadget tracks smoking habits (every time you light up, for instance) and lets you set a date for when you want to stop.

As the date approaches, it lowers the number of cigarettes you’re allowed to have. Expect it to go on sale for $100 in March.

JAWBONE UP – ‘THE VIBRATION GET-OFFTHE-COUCH-WRISTBAND’

In the future it appears gadgets will be able to track a lot of things, such as how you feel, what you eat, and social activity. These gadgets can track your steps by registering the length and quality of your sleep automatically. Moreover, the band can measure foods that you consume. To get you more active, the wristband vibrates if it measures no activity for a while.

Fitness statistics can be viewed in the app and track your progress during the day.

62 | March 2015

SmartMat Yoga Mat

This is no average yoga mat, that’s for sure. The SmartMat syncs with an app to track when you’re out of alignment and give you verbal, real-time feedback on how to correct your poses. Preorder it now for $297 (full price is $477) and expect it to ship in July.

TO HAVE IN 2015 Breath Monitor

It’s almost impossible to tell if you have bad breath — until now. Simply place the Breathometer Mint into your mouth and the device will measure its humidity and bacteria levels, giving insights on bad breath, tooth decay, and gum disease. You can wait until August to order it for $99, or you can support the Indiegogo campaign and get it sooner.

Sensoria Fitness Socks

Billed as a “smarter way to run,” these high-tech fitness socks from Sensoria feature pressure sensors that track your foot landing, running form, pace, distance, speed, and more. That data is then sent to an app for your analysis. There is currently a wait list for preorder but they should ship Winter 2015 and will cost $49.

THE REVISED AND IMPROVED APPLE WATCH

S+ Sleep Tracker

Here’s a sleep tracker that collects data without requiring any contact with your body. Simply place it by your bed and it will monitor your breathing patterns, chest movements, environment conditions, and more. You’ll also get insight on what exactly is influencing your sleep patterns and tips on how to improve them.

Order the CES Innovation winner now for $150.

The new extraordinary product features new apps, and available in all kinds of colors and shapes. You can get the iWatch in gold, silver, metal, or leather. The iWatch focus on 3 things: 1. Keeping track of time 2. Personal messages 3. Fitness and activity meter Keeping track of time is possible in your own personal way. Personal messages can be shown via very quick and instant drawings, messages, or pictures.

You can also create a special way of messaging so you can communicate with your friends in your own private language! Furthermore, its use for fitness. The possibilities you have with the iWatch are larger than with existing trackers, because it can measure your distance, heart rate, and the intensity of your activity.

Even a difference in height can be measured, such as when you are working out on a stairs.

March 2015 | 63

F T Facts

The heart is the strongest muscle of your body and beats about 100,000 times a day, for an average adult.

Underwater swimming is the only time you should hold your breath while exercising.

For every one-pound of muscle you burn an extra 45kcal per day.

Running puts about five times your body weight of pressure through your feet, so get some good trainers.

You burn more calories during the 23 hours you don’t exercise than the 1-hour you do.

It’s impossible to “turn fat into muscle” but you can lose fat and gain muscle.

If you weigh 47kg on earth, you will weigh about 120kg on Jupiter!

Only fat and protein are essential macronutrients.

Carbohydrates aren’t.

Eating at night does not make you fat – overeating does.

If all 600 muscles in your body are pulled in one direction, you can lift 25 tones.

64 | March 2015

Fat cells formed during adulthood can only be shrunken but not lost.

Meet The What is the best food and drinks to have before an early morning workout?

How can I differentiate between normal soreness and DOMS? Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is a painful condition common among athletes and can hinder training program for several weeks. DOMS differs from regular muscle soreness, where normal muscle soreness happens right after workout and can last a couple of days, while DOMS has the following symptoms…

• Signs appear 24-48 hours after your workout • Feels like soreness in a particular muscle • Decreases over the course of few days See your doctor if the pain...

• Started in the middle of your workout • Is sharp and concentrated • The pain persists for longer than 4 days 66 | March 2015

It is imperative to plan a healthy breakfast made from wholesome food ahead of time. Best drinks to have in the morning are smoothies made of fresh fruits, orange juice, and coffee, as they nourish your body with nutrients and curb your need for sweets throughout the day. Whole-wheat bagel, cottage cheese, boiled eggs, turkey and veggies wraps, and oatmeal, are good options for morning breakfasts less than 400 calories.

How often should I exercise?

According to the ACSM, “Appropriate Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults,” a minimum amount of 2.5 hours per week of physical activity at a moderate intensity can have significant health benefits; however, it is better to increase your exercise duration to 3.3-5 hours per week. Overweight and obese people should gradually work their way up to this level.

E PERTS I have an injury, what should I do?

Joint Injuries

It is imperative to perform few exercises every morning to move your joints. Joint circles, moving joints in a clockwise and counterclockwise motion, is excellent for your elbows, knees, and fingers, but never for your hinge. Perform a number of repetitions equal to your age number, and do them all slowly without hurting yourself. It may also help to put light pressure on the injured joints by doing standing pushups against the wall for instance.

The key is to move them, and put stress on them, but not a lot.

Muscular Injuries

Is there any problem weight lifting on a vegetarian diet?

Weightlifting is a great muscle and bone-building activity, regardless of your dietary plan. As long as you are having a balanced and healthy diet that includes an adequate amount of protein (from animal sources or vegetarian) you will witness remarkable results.

Some good sources of protein for vegetarians are soybeans, quinoa, nuts, green peas, seeds, beans, some grains, and sesame.

RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Is used as a treatment for common muscle strains and sprains to reduce the swelling and pain. Simply take a break from any activity, apply a pack of ice for 10-20 minutes, wrap the injured area with elastic bandage, and finally elevate the injured area on pillows above the level of your heat to minimize swelling.

How do I calculate my macros?

“Macros” is short for macronutrients.

These include dietary carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Key to setting up your macro split is knowing your total calorie intake needs and the fact that protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, while fat contains 9 calories per gram. The following is a generic guide to get you started.

Protein: One gram of protein per pound of body weight (1g/lb) or 2.2 grams per kilogram (2.2 g/kg) is the traditional recommendation for protein intake.

Fat: It is idea to have 0.4g-0.5g/lb (0.91.1 g/kg) of total body weight.

Carbohydrates: Basically, whatever caloric intake is left over after determining your protein and fat needs is met by carbohydrate consumption.

So your goal carb intake in grams = [Goal calories - (Px4 + Fx9)] ÷ 4 where P and F are target grams of protein and fat, respectively. This result can range from 0.0-2.2g/lb (0-4.8g/kg) of total body weight.

March 2015 | 67

Success story

The winner of ElFit competition talks her success story exclusive to The Fitness Magazine.

meet the fittest women in egypt

Riham masoud

68 | March 2015

Tell us a brief about yourself I received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and a Master degree in Television and Online Journalism.

Frankly, I never developed passion for either majors, even though I have a wide experience in shooting and producing videos. My real passion is and has always been towards sport, music, and dance.

Currently, I provide training sessions on the latest educational technologies.

When did you start your fitness journey?

Ever since I was a little child, I used to run, climb stuff, and play hide and seek with my friends. I never stood still. When I was 15-years-old, I attended aerobics clasees, which included everything I loved: sports, music, and dance. And it is when I discovered my real passion.

Did you involve in other activities?

anymore in addition to seeing my opponents ahead of me and I’m stuck with the sled that doesn’t want to move.

I decided to overcome it by doing some self-talk and some positive thinking.

Determination and commitment are the key words for any success.

How many hours do you spend practicing in a week?

10-15 hours/week

How do you set your goals and how do you achieve them?

I am old school. I tend to set my goals on stickie-notes or create “to-do” lists of the things I need to work on. I feel a sense of accomplishment everytime I check one item off the list.

Some of the “to-do” list includes, increase my 1Rep Max in Front Squats, or improve my Double-unders. Focus more on eating clean,... etc.

Who inspires you?

My mom! She has always been a fighter, independent, and a very strong confident woman. She’s my role model indeed .

What’s your diet like?

I’m currently following the Zone Diet. On and off to be honest. I really love food and I can’t resist chocolates. I found that the zone diet is the most effective diet, because you could eat faty foods like chocolates for example, but within the required quantity that you are required to consume. The other benefit of the Zone is if you measure your blocks accurately and eat at the scheduled times, you’ll never feel hungry.

Any advice you would like to share?

Never give up on your dreams, they’re just around the corner , you just need to do some effort and fetch them.

During high school, I started practicing yoga , pilates, and recreational sports.

I became a part-time group fitness instructor during my junior year at college.

I also joined the track and field team in 2003 (won 4th place at 800m sprint) and the Taekwondo team in senior year In 2006. Eventually I got a knee injury that hindered my fitness path except for yoga and pilates toning classes. I started joining Cairo Runners and cycling with GBI to stay active until I heard about Crossfit.

So how did it all start?

In Feb 2013, My friends and I agreed to join Elfit (season 1) as a team and join a few Crossfit sessions to get us prepared. Crossfit had me from hello and I’m not exaggerating. The WODs were challenging and different every single time.

I just loved it. Two months later I decided to coach there, train, and teach people what I have learned.

What was the biggest challenge during the competition? And how did you manage to overcome it?

My biggest challenge during the competition was doing the 30m sled pull right after the 30+ Thursters (including the no-reps) My legs weren’t functioning

March 2015 | 69

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March 2015 | 71

UPCOMING EVENTS Siwa Adventure By Cairo Hiking March 12th – March 15th

BUILD YOUR BODY AT YOGA CAMP March 19th – March 21th Ever felt like you need a vaccation from your daily work stress and routine?

Ever felt like i need some time to cool down and relax?

Then it’s time for “Trasnforma yoga camp”.

Live the difference, release your everyday stress and find your inner peace with “Transforma yoga Camp”.

Came to you by “Transforma” fitness company collaboration with one of the best and well known instructors in egypt “sarah yassin” at Matarma Bay ( Ras-sudr ) from 19 to 21/3 2015

Get Ready for the Maratona di Roma March 21st – March 25th That’s right, we’re taking you to Italy!

For the first time ever, Cairo Runners is off to Europe. Join us for a 5-day trip to take part in the full Rome Marathon, or a 5K Fun Run. The package includes four nights accommodation in a double or triple room on bed and breakfast basis, flight ticket, city tour, Vatican tour, and much more!

For more information and reservation, you may contact: Ahmed Osama: 01144442231 Yasmin Malak: 01093128515 72 | March 2015

A new, exciting adventure to one of the most beautiful and heavenly places on Earth, Siwa, is awaiting you with endless activities. From cycling, swimming, sand boarding, to sightseeing and dancing, this trip will leave you with amazing memories. The four-day trip shall include transportation, accommodation, tour guide, 4x4 desert safari, cycling, sightseeing (Mountain of the Dead, Alexander the Great Temple, Cleopatra Spring, and Romel Cave), and a trip to Marsa Matrouh.

For more information and reservation, please contact the head office on: 01221383430

The First Les Mills Groundworks Workshop of 2015 is Here!

March 6th, 2015

Grab your gym buddies, friends, and family members and join us at Hers/Balance Gym. Enjoy an exciting Les Mills Fitness Experience in collaboration with Reebok. For more information, please call us on: + 20 106 238 50 51, or send an email to: info@les-mills.com *All BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT and CXWORX Instructors need to get with them a Laptop at the day of the Convention for GROUNDWORKS.

UPCOMING EVENTS Sharpen Your Skills With ZUMBA® March 29th, 2015 ELFIT TOUR – Mini Challenge- Kheir Festival Charity Event March 28th

ELFIT Tour is a sub brand of ELFIT Reebok Fitness Challenge.

ELFIT Tour is a 1day fitness challenge that was created based high demand of having more frequent competitions. Kheir Festival: A one day event featuring simultaneous activities at the same time targeting different audiences, will donate all its profits to sustainable community development project which is a roofing campaign for houses in Fayoum partnering with “Nebny hayah” and in Arab 3eish Sakara with “Rotary Fustat”. Kheir festival main aim is to promote community development and civic engagement within Egyptian youth through entertaining event and activities.

This course is now packed with more content and flavor than ever: Learn six more rhythms (belly dance, flamenco, tango, samba, plus two new high-intensity rhythms, soca and quebradita) while reinforcing the Zumba® formula in an effective class for everyone.

You’ll also learn advanced dance-fitness techniques like music fusion and stylistic separation, network and share choreography with the most dedicated and knowledgeable instructors. The program starts on Sunday, March 29th, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. – 06:00 p.m. at Fibers Club in Maadi.

For inquiries and cash payments (in dollars only), please contact Sally Salama E-mail: sallysalama.zumba@gmail.com Mobile: +201116113003

ELFIT Opening Announcement of Season 3 & ELFIT 2nd anniversary celebration April 4th

Description: a free entrance event- announcing details about the season- fitness challenges- games activities- free fitness sessions- music and lots of entertainment Venue: Sawy Cultre Wheel

Employer's Corporate Fitness Competition and Fun Weekend April 2nd – April 4th

Whether you are a business entrepreneur or a manager, it is our goal to create a wonderful work environment and bring the best of your job everyday. We believe that encouraging our employees to embrace fitness as a lifestyle choice pays off in numerous ways! The event will take place at The Village inside Smart Village. We promise you an unforgettable experience.

For sponsorship and teams packages, contact us on events@ the-employer.com or call us on: 010 19 44 76 53/52/46/49/41

Rush Finally in Egypt 2-4 April 2015 Rush is the first Eco Sports festival covering most of the adventurous yet environmental friendly activities and sports aligned by huge line up of music and entertainment makers. Rush will be hosting Dune Rider International Sand boarding world tour in Egypt for the first time in Middle East and Africa with the participation of International countries under the support of Ministry of Sports and Youth. The championship shall entail 3 stages; drag race, big air, and rails. The first place winner will be awarded $1000 presented by DRI. For more information and reservations, please call on 0128 545 2447, 01288329226, 0224144800

THE FITTERS

ELFIT Reebok First Tour in Alexandria ELFIT team joined the biggest Sports Festival at Alexandria with the initiative to spread awareness about fitness and health by setting up a mini challenge for all fitness enthusiasts. The challenge was held at the park near Bayram El-Tunsi Theatre. More than 130 athletes competed at ELFIT Mini Fitness Challenge along with our loyal ELFIT athletes. Winners received vouchers from Reebok worth 250 L.E each. Alexandriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new governor Hany EL Mesairy, who has a solid background in athletics, tested his physical skills by trying out ELFIT experience.

74 | March 2015

THE FITTERS Yoga Immersion on the Banks of the Nile Nubia, Aswan A rejuvenating 4 day retreat in colourful Nubia, Aswan with Yogi Ali, where people practiced yoga and meditation twice a day by the Nile. In their free time, they took in the serenity of the natural surroundings and visited some of Aswanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique sites by boat.

For more information or upcoming events visit Facebook.Com/Elyogiali Photographer: Xuan GutiĂŠrrez

76 | March 2015

THE FITTERS Throwback of ELFIT Reebok Season 2 ELFIT Reebok, which is created and organized by In The Zone Sports (ITZ) with Missan Sports as its eminent co-owner, is the leading fitness event that proved its success for two consecutive years and gained a lot of recognition from all fitness enthusiasts. ELFIT Reebok provides the ultimate fitness experience by fusing Fitness and Entertainment. Stay tuned for Season 3 in 2015 with ELFIT Reebok fitness event going even BIGGER. It will take you into a whole new level.

For more information visit ELFIT EGYPt ELFIT_EGYPT

March 2015 | 77

THE FITTERS A New Jeep速 Adventure to Promote Tourism in Egypt Jeep Supports Cairo Runners in Dahab In an attempt to support domestic tourism in Egypt, Jeep速 sponsored Cairo Runners in their run that was held in Dahab Sinai from February 5 -7, 2015. This initiative aims at sending an internal and external message that tourism and domestic trips are being held normally as planned and that they are not affected by the current situation and events occurring in the country.

78 | March 2015

THE FITTERS Eight Fitness Club Hosts the Eight Ride in Partnership with Bescletta On the first Friday of every month, Eight Fitness Club hosts the Eight Ride in partnership with Bescletta. A 10 Kilo ride through Heliopolis with the Eight community is a great way to start a Friday morning. Their community of members is dedicated to living a fit and healthy lifestyle. Though going to the gym is an essential building block to maintaining a fit lifestyle.

March 2015 | 79

THE FITTERS

Stallions First Camp Abroad in Faraya Stallions first camp abroad took place last January in Faraya, one of Lebanon’s most beautiful areas, over a span of 4 days.

The camp was a great chance for the team to reconnect with nature, as they held their HPT sessions in the deep snow of the beautiful mountains of Faraya. It was an enriching experience for Stallions’ members as they visited the country’s main attractions during their stay and got introduced to new fitness activities such as; ski doo rides, American football and skiing. As a result of its success, Stallions plans to hold an annual fitness camp abroad to break the routine for members, give them a new workout scenery,and strengthen the bond of friendship between them.

80 | March 2015

Automech Formula

12th to 17th March 2015