Tapping Your Confidence Reserves
When I first began researching athletic potential, I was surprised to find that one of the attributes that sets elite athletes apart has more to do with the mind than with the physical body.  Most world-class athletes possess an extraordinary ability to block out all distractions, while concentrating and focusing solely on the present moment and visualizing their future success.  This skill, combined with an unwavering desire to be their best, is a crucial factor for athletes competing in today’s hyperspeed world.

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Cellulite, Bringing it into Focus
There has been considerable debate through the years over exactly what “cellulite” is. For all practical purposes, what is commonly called cellulite is simply excess adipose tissue or bodyfat, not some unique type of tissue.

Due to natural physiological differences, women normally have more bodyfat than men and the excess is stored in different areas, namely the hips, thighs, and buttocks. The distribution of a woman’s fat deposits is determined largely by hormones, which play a major role in the buildup of excess bodyfat.

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Why Dieting Does Not Work

Hopefully, we are all aware enough by now to know that quick-fix or severe caloric restriction diets simply do not work, and that they can be very unhealthy and dangerous.

When you severely restrict the amount of calories that you take in, your body perceives this condition as starvation.  The body's natural response to starvation is to lighten the load by shedding its muscle tissue. Since muscle is metabolically active, your body needs less food to survive when muscle tissue is lost.

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Tips for Developing a Healthy Posture

Your self-image, and the way others view you, are directly affected by your body posture. We have all observed people who seem to draw attention and attract positive energy, simply because of the confident, self-assured way that they carry themselves through a room, or briskly stride down a crowded street.

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Fueling Your Body, Eating For Content

As a nation of impressionable consumers, we all too often accept the advertisements we see on television or in magazines as the truth, subconsciously storing the information as fact because they said so without ever questioning the source.  Exactly who are the all powerful and all knowing they anyway?

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A New Look at Food

If you are at the point along your path where you are ready to permanently change unhealthy eating habits but have previously had difficulty breaking years of conditioning, I would like to recommend the following tips for what I like to call the transition stage. During the transition stage, you can begin gradually changing your eating habits by reducing fat, sugar, salt, and chemical additives and replacing unhealthy favorites with more nutritious substitutes. 

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Protein, Separating Facts from Fads

Lately, one of the three macronutrients has been receiving quite a bit of press, and also more than its fair share of controversy.  If you are confused by all of the information and misinformation swirling around concerning dietary protein, perhaps it is a good idea to learn the basic facts about this popular subject and then form your own opinion.  As you have found thus far on your Pura Vida journey, the more you know, the easier it is to sort out the truth from the lies.

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The Changing Tide

As recently as a few years ago, the mysterious authority commonly called “They” claimed that taking vitamin and mineral supplements was a complete waste of time and money and only gave you expensive urine. During the majority of its history, conventional medicine has contested the importance of supplementing one’s diet with vitamins and minerals, severely criticizing “alternative” practitioners who believed that nutritional factors were crucial in preventing and even curing disease.

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The Hidden Secrets of Stretching

As thousands of world class, Olympic, and professional athletes are rapidly discovering, the practice of regular stretching can be a crucial factor in achieving goals related to peak athletic performance.  Fortunately, you don’t have to be a Tiger Woods or Ironman competitor to reap the long-term health benefits of various types of stretching techniques. 

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Getting Stronger Every Day

If you are finding it challenging to integrate the gym into your daily lifestyle despite your good intentions, perhaps you will find the following information helpful.  Fortunately, it is possible to reshape your body with the application of resistance to specific muscle groups through the use of weights or some other form of strength training.

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5 Tips for Getting in Shape

Summer is the perfect time of year to move your health and fitness goals closer to the top of your priority list and to take the steps necessary to obtain a body that is both healthy on the inside and strong and physically fit on the outside.  If you have been putting off taking care of yourself all year, this summer is the time to finally get serious about achieving your physical fitness goals.  Listed below are five helpful tips that will help you get the ball rolling and maintain a healthy momentum.

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Do's and Don'ts

As a chiropractor who has treated thousands of patients since 1986, I have found that certain tips and advice that I have shared with my patients have stood the test of time. 

Here are some simple reminders that may help you reduce muscle spasm, neck, shoulder, and lower back pain and possibly prevent structural problems in the cervical and lumbar regions of your spine.

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Natural Stress Management

One of the things I enjoy most about living in South Florida is sneaking away from the pressing demands of our busy “season” for a few precious hours and driving straight to the beach for some exercise and sunshine.  There is no feeling in the world quite like working up a healthy sweat while  rollerblading on a brisk November day or walking for miles on the beach before diving in for an invigorating swim in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Aerobic Exercise & Bodyfat Reduction

If you have participating in some form of aerobic exercise for twenty minutes, three or four times a week, yet never seem to lose any excess bodyfat, I hope that you will find the following information helpful.

In my own ongoing search for the truth about health and fitness, I discovered an interesting fact in one of my exercise physiology textbooks that has become one of the core fundamentals for my own personal beliefs about exercise and fitness. 

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Keep Walking

People are often surprised to learn that walking is one of the best exercises for strengthening the muscles of the upper back. Strong back muscles create stability in the spinal column and help keep the upper and lower vertebrae in proper alignment.

The human body was designed to walk. All of the joints in your body, including your sacroiliac joints and the intricate joints of the vertebral column, work best when they are regularly taken through their normal ranges of motion during exercise and physical activity, including consistent walking.

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Staying Fit While You Sit

As many of us are experiencing firsthand, neck and back pain aggravated by sitting at a desk or using a computer is an accelerating problem in today’s busy, high tech world. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to take some of the risks out of computer usage and office work.

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