STYLE FILES | SS20

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #57 and see Style Files in mag.

9 COMMON SPORTS INJURIES AND HOW TO MANAGE THEM

Many people like sports so it’s not surprising that many people become the so-called ‘weekend warriors.’ Once these people finished their work duties, they look forward to spending some time outdoors to participate in some popular sports on the weekends.

However, some people risk getting injured during a friendly game, especially if there are many players aiming to win and the game gets really physical. If you do get injured, it would be helpful to know how to identify the point of injury so that you’ll know how to manage it.

That being said, here’s a list of the most common sports injuries and some tips on the best way to manage each injury:

1.      Strains versus Sprains

To clarify, a strain is an injury of the muscle tendons or muscle fibers. On the other hand, a sprain is an injury of the ligaments. Because the muscle fibers, tendons, and ligaments are not usually used forcefully, the sudden exertion can cause each of these to be pulled, or even torn, to the point of pain.

If this happens, you may need medical professionals to treat the injury site. However, if you’re far from the clinic, you should apply the PRICE Method:

·       Prevent the worsening of the injury by rendering the strained or sprained body part immobile until a doctor can take a look at it.

·       Refrain from moving the injured body part, even to walk a short distance.

·       Ice the location to prevent inflammation

·       Compress the injured body part with an elastic bandage, if you have it.

·       Elevate the injured location so that it doesn’t swell too much.

If there’s a lot of pain from the site of injury, you may take an over-the-counter pain reliever to manage it temporarily until you can consult a doctor. Take note that the PRICE Method may also be applied for other sports injuries when needed.

2.      Groin Injuries

Many amateur athletes experience groin injuries, particularly in sports such as baseball, football, soccer, and hockey. It’s the side-to-side movement in the game that can result in groin injuries. Sometimes, athletes may forget to do some leg and abdomen stretches, causing the injury.

The groin is made up of muscles within the inner thighs, near the urethra. When these muscles are strained, the pain will suddenly set in. To manage it, you should protect the injury site by rendering it immobile and apply some ice.

If the pain is too much, you can temporarily take some over-the-counter painkiller. Take time to rest so that you won’t be escalating the pain. To determine the extent of the injury, you’ll need to consult a medical professional, such as Walker Spine & Sport.

3.      Shin Splints

The front of the legs is where you can experience the injury known as shin splints. This usually crops up when the athlete is running a lot on a paved surface.

If there’s quite a lot of pain, you may have to see a doctor just to rule out stress fractures that may be causing the pain. A stress fracture is a break in the bone of the lower leg. Persistent pain may indicate the presence of a stress fracture.

Shin splints can be managed by complete rest, which sometimes lasts for a month.

4.      Patellofemoral Syndrome

This injury affects the tissues under the kneecap, characterized by constant friction between the patella (knee cap) and your thigh bone (femur). The injury can affect one or both knees. Basketball, volleyball, and running are common sports that are prone to patellofemoral injuries.

Once you have this injury, you may have to take a break from those sports mentioned above for around six weeks. In that time, you can rest, although your doctor may advise some mild, low-impact exercise as well as exercising your quadriceps to manage the injury.

5.      Epicondylitis

This injury affects the outside of the elbow, which is sometimes referred to as ‘tennis elbow.’ Hence, it’s common among tennis players but golfers can also have this injury.

The pain is caused by minor tears in the elbow’s tendons. Your doctor will recommend a complete rest of the affected elbow until the pain has dissipated.

6.      Dislocated Bones

This sports injury occurs when the end of one of your bones is suddenly forced out of its socket, which can happen to your leg bones or to your shoulder bones. If the bone is suddenly dislocated, you’ll instantly feel pain and there will be swelling of the injury site.

One of the most commonly dislocated bones is the shoulder joint since it’s often used in sports activities. The dislocation of the shoulder joint may be due to a lack of strength, reduced flexibility, or being unstable.

If you dislocate your joint, it’s advisable to rest and apply ice. Doing so will help reduce the pain and any swelling. If the pain persists for at least two weeks, you may need to consult a physical therapist.

7.      Fractured Bones

Any of the multiple bones of your body can be fractured, even during a friendly game. Some people should be careful about impact sports if they have a bone disease, like osteopenia or osteoporosis, since their bones can easily fracture.

If you have a fractured bone, you need to be rushed to a hospital emergency room for appropriate treatment.

8.      Concussion

Even friendly games may result in someone getting a concussion. This sports injury involves a blow to the head that can affect your brain, which can be quite harmful if left untreated. If you suspect you have a concussion, it’s best if you consult a sports doctor right away.

Here are the following symptoms of a concussion:

·       Inability to reply to questions right away

·       Confusion/feeling disoriented

·       Light sensitivity

·       Slurred speech

·       Feeling the urge to vomit, or actual vomiting

·       Feeling dizzy

·       Headache

If you do experience such symptoms, you should be brought to the emergency room right away. By using imaging tests, medical practitioners will examine your brain for possible internal bleeding or damage.

Remember, you shouldn’t return to the game after a concussion. You should also refrain from participating in future games until the doctor says you’ve recovered from it. It’s advisable to have adequate rest for and avoid using your mind in stressful work. Doing so will help relieve your brain until it has recuperated on its own.

9.      Sciatica Back Pain

Some athletes may develop a form of back pain known as sciatica. The pain may extend along the back of the legs and, sometimes, can reach the feet as well. This is caused by a pinched nerve or swollen disc in the back. There may also be some numbness and tingling sensations.

Some athletes, such as golfers, tennis players, and cyclists, are at risk for this due to the twisting of the trunk or keeping the back straight for extended periods of time.

Athletes who develop sciatica may be asked by their doctor to rest. As a form of therapy, the doctor may then recommend some stretching exercises for the hamstrings and back.

Tips in Managing Accidental Sports Injuries

The first and best way to address accidental sports injuries is to educate yourself about safe exercise practices before you take up a sport. This means doing the following:

1.      Get A Competent Coach

If you want your sports activities to be injury-free, it pays to have a guide for every game, session, or match. So, take your time looking for coaches who know how to train amateur athletes for a particular sport.

You may have to pay the coach but at least you won’t be easily injured as you take part in your favorite activities. To find reputable coaches, you can go to schools, like colleges and universities.

2.      Don’t Forget To Warm Up and Stretch

Many people who are new to sports aren’t taught to warm up first and do some stretching. Warming up and stretching are very important parts of any sports since they help your muscles and ligaments to be prepared for some exertion.

Refusing to warm up and stretch can result in painful injuries.

3.      Learn Safety Tips For Any Sport

Your preferred coach should be able to teach you how to safely take part in sports. For instance, if your preferred sport is diving, your coach should teach you the right way to jump off a platform and dive into the water. Divers may perform gymnastics moves during each dive, so part of their warm-up routine is to practice gymnastics on a safe surface in the facility.

If, on the other hand, you prefer a good old game of basketball, your coach should give you tips on how to actively look for an opening in the defense of the opposing team without falling and hurting yourself.

4.      Cool-Down and Stretch After the Game

As you let your body heat dissipate, it’s recommended that you do a lot of stretching as well. This allows your body to let the muscles, tendons, and ligaments gain some more flexibility, which is crucial for improving your muscle control skills. It also gives you time to assess how well you performed for that game, helping you evaluate whether you’re making progress in that sport.

Final Takeaway

It’s great if you have a favorite sport to pursue, especially during weekends when your schedule is lighter. Although, the drawback is that you might suffer some sports injuries that can leave you out of the game for a while.

To avoid sports injuries, you may need guidance from someone more knowledgeable and experienced. That way, you can still have fun without the pain and hassle of an injury.

BINGELY BOOKS

100 COOKIES: THE BAKING BOOK FOR EVERY KITCHEN, WITH CLASSIC COOKIES, NOVEL TREATS, BROWNIES, BARS, & MORE

Chronicle Books

Sarah Kieffer

We've all been taking an interest in either cooking meals, watching more shows or imagining that this is something that we would do. In this cookbook, which is divided into 7 chapters, you will learn everything that you need to know about these sweet treats from cookies, brownies, bars and other novelty treats. In addition, there are over 1oo illustrations sharing the treats that you will be able to make for yourself as well as to gift to others who would be interested in enjoying this delectable treat!

In addition to recipes, you'll also learn about a number of techniques and tricks that will make you a better baker regardless of your expertise!

HEART BONES

Independently Published

Colleen Hoover

You can't control to whom you are born to and Beyah Grim knew that her parents only gave her 2 things, a sad life and a name that seemed very dismal. She learned to pull herself up and has made her way through her life through the power of her own ingenuity. She's so close to a new life with only a few months left, but a death leaves her spinning with no place to go. As a last resort, she finds herself with her father in Texas to pass the time before her world begins to take off.

While trying to stay the course, she connects with her father's neighbor who has a boy that is the complete opposite of her and how she grew up. As they are both drawn to sadness, they find a commonality in one another. Although they agree to keep their relationship easy and a summer fling, they have no idea how their lives will turn out as the summer continues.

THE LAST TRIAL

Grand Central Publishing

Scott Turow

Alejandro "Sandy" Stern is 85 and about to retire after a stellar career as a defense attorney. But when he finds that his friend, Dr. Kiril Pafko, a former Nobel Prize winner in medicine is faced with charges of insider trading, murder and fraud, he decides that even though his health is failing, he needs to take on his last case.

In taking this case, the stakes couldn't be higher as his career is in question and he finds that what he thought he knew about his friend as well as his stellar career is not what he thought it was. Even with his new knowledge of his friend's shortcomings, can he still be innocent of the crimes that he is being charged with? How far is he willing to go to save his friend and can he live with what he may or must do in order to secure a win for himself and his friend?

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #56 and see Bingely Books in mag.

ATHLEISURE LIST | PRESSED JUICERY

With over 75 locations across the US, local delivery and the ability to have products shipped nationwide, Pressed Juicery ensures that you're able to consume vital fruits and vegetables to fuel you throughout the day via their cold-pressed juices which have 4lbs of produce in each one. The brand is also focused on making sure that their nutritious endeavor is delicious, affordable and accessible to everyone. With a farm to bottle process, their healthy juice is sourced from California's Central Valley. To round out their assortment, enthusiasts can also enjoy plant-based soft serve and power packed shots.

Select from juices to enjoy as you wish, from cleanse bundles to shot bundles, vitamin C packs, daily packs, fruit juices, almond milks, green juices, root juices, citrus juices, lemonades, healthy snacks from an array of partners, icecream, power bowls, acai bowls and chia pudding and overnight oats. We enjoy that their beverage options change depending on the season so there is always something new for your tastebuds to enjoy to change things up!

Whether you buy your favorites in person (check to see if your location is open as well as what is being offered at that specific locaton) or have them brought to your door, you can decided to get them a la cart or join their VIP Membership. In addition, purchases allow you to accrue Pressed Points.

Another fun element for Pressed Juicery consumers is the fact that they are limited edition or collaborative beverages. It's a great way to mix up how fruits, vegetables and other ingredients come together to create a new flavor that you may not have actually had together.

PRESSED JUICERY

Check the website to see about whether your city has a Pressed Juicery in your neighborhood, local delivery as an option or to receive them nationwide via being shipped to your home.

www.pressedjuicery.com

IG @pressedjuicery

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #56 and see Athleisure List | Pressed Juicery in mag.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT IN 30 DAYS

Let's be realistic: there's no one-size-fits-all solution to weight loss. Each person differs in genetics, metabolism, and a host of other biological and psychological factors. This makes drafting a single weight loss plan for everyone an impossible task.

That being said, to find a method of weight loss that works for your individual needs, you'll have to start with the basics. Some of the most proven tips that have produced excellent results for weight loss enthusiasts revolve around healthy eating and physical exercise. Many people make wrong nutritional choices, exacerbating their already deteriorating mental and physical health instead of cutting weight. Making small lifestyle changes can remedy this problem.

Below is a list of popular weight-loss strategies to help you lose weight within a month and take a big step towards meeting your fitness goals.

1.     Cut Calories

Some experts have a very simple answer to losing weight fast: if you consume fewer calories than you burn i.e., if you achieve a hypocaloric state, you lose weight. Sounds reasonable, right? Then, why are so many people not doing it right?

The problem is that weight loss doesn't follow a linear trajectory. You might get great results from cutting calories in the first week, and then tank bad during the rest of the month. That's because, in the initial period, most of what you discharge from your body is water weight and lean tissue. You need to continue cutting calories each week to maintain results. Moreover, a calorie isn't always equal. Two hundred calories from high fructose syrup don't affect your body in the same way as 200 calories of cabbage.

The key is to choose good calorie foods. Good calorie foods, such as vegetables and fruits, make you feel full for longer periods, and curb cravings. In contrast, foods such as candy, despite being low caloric, can set you on a very dangerous road to binge eating and derail your progress. You can also try a 30 day cut supplement to get good calories and keep your cravings at bay if you can't always consume whole foods.

Bottom line: To lose weight within 30 days, you’ll have to reduce your calories the right way to get optimal results.

2.     Cut Carbs

Another perspective of weight loss doesn't recommend cutting calories, but carbs. Your body uses glucose as a primary source of energy. This bodily preference shields fats and lets them accumulate inside your body, which can lead to obesity. Moreover, a carbohydrate-rich meal (French fries, rice, etc.) is known to cause insulin spikes. Insulin prevents fats from being utilized as fuel and produces more fat tissues to store leftover carbs. This also inevitably causes you to gain weight.

Most low-carb diet aficionados suggest substituting carbs with healthy fats and proteins. Some options include:

·       Fish

·       low-fat dairy products

·       leafy green and non-starchy vegetables

·       lean bird meat, such as chicken

·       Eggs

Whether you decide to slash carbs in your 30-day meal plan or not, you have to swallow the hard pill of removing sugars and refined carbohydrates from your diet. White bread, white rice, pizza, cakes, and artificial sweeteners are all obesity roots. It would be in your best interest to replace them with whole-grain substitutes, such as whole-grain wheat, brown rice, and brown sugar.

3.     Get Moving

Exercise doesn't just help you cut calories; its benefits extend way beyond. From increasing your metabolism to improving your mood and energy, regular exercise can change your entire outlook on weight loss.

A holistic 30-day weight loss program can never survive without a weight loss component. Do yoga, or stretch in the convenience of your home. If you can hit the gym to lift some weights — even better! It's extremely crucial to have some form of exercise to supplement your nutrition.

Here are some tips you can use to incorporate an exercise regimen in your busy routine over the next 30 days:

·       Don't have time for a proper workout? Ten minutes of high-intensity training (HITT) is just as good and effective as a 50-minute cardio session.

·       Remember, some progress is better than no progress. Start with little spurts of physical activity. As you lose weight, you'll have more strength and energy to take the next step.

·       Engage in exercises you have a knack for. Dancing, cycling, playing table tennis, or kicking a football around are also on the table.

4.     Stay Motivated

Even if you've curated the perfect fitness plan, you have to stay consistent with your good habits. To stay motivated:

·       Use apps to track your progress. Calorie trackers and other smartphone apps keep your mind on top of things.

·       Find a support network. Join a Facebook group of fellow weight loss enthusiasts. Share your progress through a YouTube Channel. The possibilities are endless.

·       Get a lot of rest and sleep. Sleep regulates eating habits. If you don't sleep well, you're going to feel agitated and stressed, and you're more likely to bypass your daily eating quota.

Final Thoughts

The widely agreed statistic is that 95% of people never get to maintain their weight loss results. While this isn't a scientific fact set in stone, many weight loss journeys are known to falter after the first few months. This is often the case because diets are too restrictive and hard to adhere to for longer periods.

However, this doesn't mean you’ll end up with the same fate. Any attempts to stick to healthy habits, such as daily exercise and eating a nutritious diet, will give you good results, even beyond the 30-day mark.

9PLAYLIST | MARTIN GARRIX

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #56 and see 9PLAYLIST | Martin Garrix in mag.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW WITH GUNNAR PETERSON

This month, we chat with one of our favorite celebrity fitness trainers Gunnar Peterson who has worked with a number of your favorite personalities from Khloe Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and more. In addition, as the Director of Strength & Endurance for the Lakers, we talk with him about how he has worked with his clients and the team to keep them on their routines. He also shares advice on movements that we can do at home regardless of whether we have equipment or not. He also shares his thoughts on returning to gyms and studios as the country is in various stages of reopening.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We always love being able to talk to you and being able to optimize our workouts and here in NY we have been in since March 13th. Thankfully, we got all of our equipment that we needed and we had no idea how long that we would be staying in due to COVID-19. What did you suggest to your clients in terms of equipment that they should have on hand?

GUNNAR PETERSON: I love that you guys got your equipment right away because it seems to me from what I heard, that the people that didn’t get it right out of the gate automatically had to line up and there was a delay. I have a very strange relationship with equipment – you can call it an addiction or a relationship whatever you want. That said, look whatever you have – even if you have nothing, you can still make it work. I would suggest adjustable dumbbells, a piece of cardio equipment that you enjoy, an assortment of bands, an auxiliary piece of cardio – think jump rope, a utility bench, a stability ball and that is all best case scenario. Worse case, we will get busy with water bottles, soup cans, a broom stick, a stepping stool, a couple of pieces of scrap cardboard. If you have that kind of stuff lying around it doesn’t have to be a mish mash like that, I actually thought those through it’s not grab bag you can come out of this lockdown in better shape. How’s that for a statement on standby?

AM: Love that statement. About a week before this quarantine, we had bands and a few other things, but didn’t really have dumbells, weight plates and other things like that so I was on Amazon and started amassing these items. And once we were in quarantine, you couldn’t get anything. We were pretty well stocked on our end.

GP: I heard it from people that are planners and those that get out ahead of things like this. There were other people that told me that they had nothing and that they had given everything away. Ever since they had started coming to me, they had given everything away as they didn’t need it in their house anymore because they came to me. I was like, “oh I’m sorry – like I’m supposed to be the person to blame for this.”

The household items though the water bottles and the soup cans, broom stick an ottoman – you can fill up garbage bags with laundry because they have the handles built in and scrap pieces of cardboard or a towel. You can use a scrap piece of cardboard if you’re outdoors on the lawn or turf. If not on a towel if you have a hard surface like poured concrete or hardwood floors. Any of those towels can work for leg curls, hip curls, hip bridges, ab extensions, chest flys there are so many movements you can do on the floor with that. People are like, “cardboard?” and I’m like yeah. I actually demo-d that workout online for someone out on the lawn, you put your heels on the cardboard and you do a leg curl in and put your hips up and your hamstrings and your glutes are good to go.

AM: What are 3 movements for abs, and legs, butts and arms that we should include within our routines as we’re always looking at changing it up a little bit and just optimizing that workout?

GP: For abs I would say, think bicycle crunches where you’re pulling left knee into right elbow and you’re up and semi crunched the entire time so that you’re abs which is all about time under tension the TUT Principle. The abs are engaged the whole time and you’re working that transverse rotation bringing the right elbow to left knee while extending that right leg and pulling the right leg in and extending the right leg and the left elbow to the right knee.

Also abs in extension which comes down to you being on your knees, toes in contact with the ground in sort of like a coffee table position and then extend the arms by sliding a towel out or if you’re on a piece of cardboard then you’re on cardboard. You want to extend them and working abs in extension is important and not just working them in inflection and also athletically – a lot of the strain happens when people will go into extension against resistance and they weren’t prepared for it. So you want to work on extension. You can also do that single arm right? You can fly one arm out and bring it back and the other arm up and bring it back just to create an uneven load.

The third one I would say is the hip bridge. So, using that same towel, put your forearm on it, extend your body and think about keeping a straight line between all of the h’s – head, hip, heels – straight line. Lower the hips down, draw the abs in. Your cue is when you pass center line pull your abs in and then bridge up so now you’re working frontal plane abs. So those are the movements for abs.

For legs, I would say squats and you have a number of squat movements to choose from whether it’s a basic squat, a sumo squat, a split squat, kick stands – there are a million ways to do that. But you definitely want to hit a squat and you should do that loaded because you’re working a big muscle group and it can handle an exterior load.

Then I would add clock lunges. Picture yourself standing in a center of a clock right where the hands are right where the hands meet in the middle. With your right leg step to 12 step to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 which involves a full pivot again the transverse plane. Then bring it back to 12 and then with your left leg, go to 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and back.

Then I would say, single leg deadlifts and if you need that, do it next to your dresser, counter or a willing family member so that you can stabilize. You want to hinge at the hip and have something in your hand, something weighted whether it’s the water bottle or a dumbbell – whatever you have and down to your hip and then come up so that you have a stretch in your hamstring. Push through your heel and your big toe as you stand up so you fire the glutes and continue through that – you’re a lot stronger. A lot of people say, “aww my back.” Don’t worry about your back. You’re going to go in that position through your life so many times, you have to strengthen it. You’re doing yourself a disservice to not strengthen it.

And for glutes, I would say a lateral lunge. A deep lunge out to the side and really getting low on that because you want to hit gluteus medius and power through back to the starting position and alternate sides.

I would say a hip bridge, you can do that single leg or double leg. So put one foot up – one foot off the ground. You’re lying on your back, create a triangle between where you’re up from the ground and where your heel is on the ground and then bridge up by driving into the heel on the floor which is a single leg version. The double leg version, obviously both of your heels are on the ground.

Then I would add something explosive and plyometric. A tuck jump and you can do those in place. The goal is not to drop down super low into a squat and jump. Think about when you see someone jumping at a volleyball net or when they’re getting a rebound from a basketball – they don’t drop their hips all the way to the floor, they literally hinge at the hips and explode upward. So think of that kind of jump.

For arms, I would say something in a curl and I would spice up the curl a little bit and do it in a split stance. I like to create the offload, I like to make the core fire even more and do whatever your scheme is half of it with your right leg bag and left leg forward and then you drop down relatively low and then switch the split and repeat the same number of the reps of the curls.

That’s 1 the 2nd one would be a close grip push up. So keeping your hands relatively narrow and more importantly than that, tuck your elbows into your sides so you can feel your ribcage slide down against your forearm on the way down. If it’s too hard to do them on the floor, instead of doing them on your knees – I’m not a huge fan of that, I would say do them off of something. Elevate the hands versus just staying on your knees. So you’re still getting that fully planked position whether you come up and do it on an ottoman or at the end of a bed or on the end of a couch depending on your fitness level right?

Back in the day, Zsa Zsa Gabor did a workout video (Editor’s Note: of course we had to check out this video which is 30 mins of Zsa Zsaisms, working out and is worth watching) and she actually had 2 body builders come out and she just leaned back and did the push up off their chest. So she was still standing at a 5° incline but you can work backwards to any level of fitness. I want to say that she was in her 70’s when she did it so kudos to her for still doing the work.

AM: That’s pretty amazing!

GP: I know, when I saw it, I thought, “you have to give her credit for that.”

The 3rd one would be a press overhead. And that’s not for your arms, biceps, triceps, but it’s for your shoulders. If you look at the side view of the arm, almost half of that is the cap of your shoulder. So overhead pressing of any kind whether you alternate, palms forward, palms in – you just want to make sure that you get the shoulders. Especially since a lot of clothing in the summer time is exposing the shoulder.

AM: I know on your Instagram, that you created quarantine courses for your family to do. How important is it for your to incorporate movement especially with children and what do you suggest to do to keep them engaged?

GP: For us, it’s a priority. It’s not for everybody but it is for us. The kids learn how to move and use their bodies, how to work through things that are difficult and I think that that’s a life metaphor and you get to spend real quality time with them and I would suggest mixing in things that you know that they like as well as things that they need. That’s the challenge of being the parent. You challenge them and then you reward them with something that is good for them. My kids love Propel, they love the electrolyte water and there are 0 grams of sugar and I know that post workout, they need the electrolytes so it’s such an easy reward and sometimes I will put it at the end so right when he comes off the course, they’re there. They can pick the flavor and you’re empowering them with that.

AM: In addition, you have been participating in a number of IG Lives doing various workouts during this time of quarantine, how important is that to you to do those things and let people across the internet to have people workout with you and also engage with you?

GP: It’s important for me because A it keeps me sharp on the selfish side. I like doing anything that I can with the fitness community and the fitness industry as a whole. If I can add to that collective, then count me in. It’s not like I am putting on the Propel fitness stuff in my backyard, but if I am giving something that can approximate that during a time when we may have to push that back in a calendar then I’m all for it – sign me up.

AM: Across the US, we have various levels of openings on city and state levels. A lot of gyms and studios are doing that as well and a lot of people are excited to go back to their favorite spaces, but there is a lot of apprehension to in terms of whether the gyms themselves are actually prepared to be opened. What are your thoughts on how we can return to them safely and what we should be looking for when we enter? Should we be bringing items with us?

GP: You said it first – safety right? Be smart and be safe. Make sure that you’re doing the right thing and if you see someone who isn’t, instead of tattling and being condescending – I would share with them what the right approach is and be open if they share with you. We can all get better together. Remember we all heard a lot of information in the last 5+ months and we all process it differently. There are a lot of beliefs, so it’s better to be open and tolerant until we have all the facts locked down. I know I said lock down, but I said that on purpose!

As far as what you bring, I am a big fan of bringing my towel and water to the gym. I bring my towel and my Propel. You might want to double up and bring gloves, I don’t know the science on that one yet, but I’m OCD enough that I’m taking my towel and Propel with me for sure. I’m not going to be needing water fountains for a little bit if I can help it.

AM: For sure! You’re the Director of Strength & Endurance Training for the Lakers, our favorite team!

GP: Ah I love that!

AM: The Lakers have been our team since the 80’s.

GP: Not a fair weather fan, I like that!

AM: With the NBA completing their season and getting closer to the Playoffs, what has this time been like for you in terms of working with the team, preparing them prior to going to the bubble in Orlando and during this season?

GP: So our Strength Staff, a guy named Chattin Hill (Lakers’ Associate Head Strength & Conditioning Coach), Ed Streit (Lakers’ Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach) and I put together a Fit Kit and we sent the Fit Kits to the players early on. I don’t think that we got the jump on as early as you did, but we were a couple of days behind. We sent those to the players and we also emailed and texted them daily individualized workouts and all that was done within days of the lockdown. We also held and this ended up being great, but there was an element of comedy to it, we held Zoom workouts a couple of times a week to maintain the interaction, to keep the camaraderie up, trash talking – that was the great job of our GM Rob Pelinka and it ended up being great. There were times when the strength staff were a little disjointed and disconnected in doing it all on Zoom, but it created a moment of levity during some of those uncertain times. I’m sure you guys went through it too! There were times when the lockdown felt super annoying and there were times when it felt super scary! Like it was legitimately, “let’s not poo poo this guys. This is real.” Then you just develop a system. I’m sure that there is a psychology there of numerous phases that we all went through and having those workouts allowed those guys to keep connected and also allowed them to keep connected to us allowed them to keep connected to us which was key.

AM: Wow! When we did our last photoshoot it was with Rachel Nichols from ESPN. It was literally the day after the NBA announced that they were postponing the season. We’re literally sitting with her coming off of ESPN, doing the shoot and we’re looking at each other saying, “is this the last time that we’re going to be doing this for awhile?”

GP: I know Rachel and I like her. She’s very smart and she’s not taking any chances. If she did that then she did the right thing and hats off to her! I’m not surprised actually that she did it the right way.

AM: She is amazing and she was an awesome cover for us in March.

Obviously, the word “typical” feels like a very strange word right now, but what is a typical day or week like for you right now in terms of all the stuff that you’re doing?

GP: The only thing typical is that everything changes every day. I make sure to get some kind of workout in for myself, call it selfish, call it self preservation. I use the down time to connect with my family as well as a lot more Face Time calls with my brother, my parents and I think that it’s probably fair to say that our house as well as my sock drawer has never been neater! I have a lot cleaned up – everything is clean!

AM: You’re always working on so many things, is there anything coming up that we should know about or that your happy to announce with everyone?

GP: Lots of irons on the fire, that’s the way that I like it. I’d rather do than talk so let’s see what actually materializes after this. I will say that I have not been idle, definitely not going to sit around and do nothing. There’s definitely good stuff coming up though – definitely! More than just Instagram obstacle courses. Although I did enjoy those I’ve gotta say!

AM: As someone who is working with your clients whether it’s in person or virtually, doing things with your family and you have all of these different projects, how are you taking time for yourself just to make sure that you have the time that you need?

GP: So, I emphasized and the things that I struggle with the most – sleep and recovery. I’ve been working on that for the past 4 years and I’ve really made that a concerted effort to bump those up. I’m far from perfect for sure but it is still a focus and I have been able to improve it. I make sure that I get my workouts in which keeps me sane and it also makes me less of a jackass around my kids and my wife so that’s a priority ha!

AM: Haha I know they appreciate that! So we love asking our changemakers who inspire so many people who are 3 people that inspire you that have gotten you to where you are now?

GP: My parents and I have to put them together. A, for no backlash and B, because it’s the right thing. My parents for just the way that they weather storms. They have been married for over 60 years and I’m sure it hasn’t been perfect, but they just finish what they start kind of thing. My brother who is a super successful business man and all around greatest most generous guy going and I’m going to keep it in the family and say my wife and kids. They really inspire. It’s those days that you get up and go, “I’m getting up today because I know my purpose.” Obviously, you know that it supports your family, but they make me better!

Years ago, I worked for Jennifer Lopez for a long time and that’s not name dropping a lot of people know that. I wrote her a note one New Year’s morning. It just hit me that I was so thankful to have had the opportunity – I was still working with her, but I wanted to acknowledge it in real time. The opportunity to work with her – my working with her made me want to do my job better because I saw how well she did her job and how hard she pushed. I wrote her a note and I just said, “I want you to know I recognize this. I was always going to push myself and I was always going to strive for greatness, but being around you for this many years and watching how you do it has just made me A, be a representation of you at the same level, but also just to hold myself accountable because I see how hard you go and the standard to which you hold yourself.”

IG @GunnarFitness

PHOTOS COURTESY | Propel

Hear Celebrity Fitness Trainer and LA Lakers' Director of Strength & Endurance Gunnar Peterson on our show, #TRIBEGOALS - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multi-media podcast network! Make sure to subscribe to find out when the episode drops. You can hear it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and wherever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcast.

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #56 and see Something You Should Know with Gunnar Peterson in mag.

5 INCREDIBLE IMPACTS OF SPORTS ON EDUCATION

The theory of education has extremely changed over the years, whereby institutions, apart from focusing on daily classroom activities, are equally focusing on sports and co-curricular activities. These activities, in turn, are crucial in the all-round development of students.

Games also play a vital role in education, as they enable students to have inner strength as well as develop a fit and sound physique. Nonetheless, sports and extracurricular activities must be purposely designed and efficiently executed to deliver educational outcomes. That said, here’s a look at some of the positive impacts of sports on education.

Improving Academic Performance

Being confined to classroom walls every day can be very exhausting. Students become both bored, as only studying thoughts occupy his mind. As a result, he or she cannot be very productive in the classroom.

Unfortunately, it is commonly perceived that sports and extracurricular activities are a complete waste of time and that students should dedicate their time and energy to studying only. However, this should not be the case anymore, as sports has its major benefits.

Additionally, if a student is overwhelmed by classroom assignments, he or she can seek help from custom essay writing services and have the assignments done for them, so that they can maintain a balance is classroom work and physical activities.  

In conclusion, sports enables students to have a little escape from the norms of daily classroom activities, thus improving their academic performance.

Initiating Inclusive Participation in the Classroom

In every sport, team effort and collaboration is crucial for the success of every match. Taking part in sports and other physical activities give students a chance to interact with different people, thus building confidence, which in turn promotes active participation in the classroom.

Besides, extracurricular activities that are team-based are beneficial when it comes to overcoming divides. They enhance a shared feeling of:

·       Fellowship

·       Purpose

·       Identity among participants

Bettering Mental and Physical Health

Frequent participation in sporting activities by students from a young age reduces the risk of cardiovascular illnesses in teenage years through adulthood. Involvement in extracurricular activities is also positively related to the low abuse of drugs and alcohol in learning institutions.

Besides, incorporating sports and physical activities in education help in the reduction of depression, anxiety, and stress levels in students. As a result, scholars now can:

·       Make quick decisions

·       Better their problem-solving skills

·       Work well under pressure on the field

Paving the Way for Future Aspirations

Many students are passionate about sports. They often aspire to become sportspersons; thus, the integration of sports in education enables them to translate their aspiration into their profession.

Enhancing Concentration and Attention

High concentration and attention levels in the classroom are positively related to routine participation in sporting activities. This frequent participation in physical activities enhances the learner’s ability to grasp, remember, and utilize all subjects taught in the classroom.

Final Thoughts

Finally, it’s important to note that not all sporting activities automatically deliver positive gains. Therefore, to give positive academic outcomes, sports and extracurricular activities should be designed intentionally and effectively implemented.

THE TRANSFORMATION WITH KIM KIMBLE

When it comes to creating dynamic hair in film, TV, photoshoots, videos, red carpets (Met Gala, Oscars, etc.), Coachella and cover editorials (Vogue, Vanity Fair, etc.), Kim Kimble is a known name in the industry. Her level of creativity and transforming her clients to another level has been seen on Beyoncé, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Zendaya and Kelly Rowland to name a few. This 3rd generation hair stylist has grown her brand to include a full line of products from wigs, extensions and hair care. For 5 seasons, she shared the business of hair from her salon, team and her celeb clients on WE TV's L.A. Hair. In addition, she continues to challenge herself as she takes on projects that showcase that her there are no bounds to her vision of dominating the industry that she loves so much.

ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be a hairstylist?

KIM KIMBLE: Well in all honesty, I’m a 3rd generation hairstylist so my mother and my grandmother also did hair. I was around it all my life; however, I wasn’t convinced that I would do it forever. I would do hair, work my way – after I got my license, I worked on hair as I made my way through fashion school as I wanted to be a fashion designer. That was my dream at the time. In all honesty, once I started doing hair, one day I realized that I love the challenge of it. I saw you could do more than just stand behind a chair. Early on – they called it Platform Artists Hair Stylists, there were hair shows and I could see that there was more then just doing this. Once I saw the transformation of my clients in my chair, when they would get out of my chair – that’s where my slogan, ‘Great Hair Equals Confidence,” came from as I saw the change in my clients when they would get out of the chair and how they would transform. I would see it later when I would work my celebrity clients and they would get on stage and how they would become a whole other person.

That gave me a lot of purpose and even with creating products and things like that, seeing the change and how it could make a difference in a person’s life – there is something about that that fulfills me. So I was like, I’m sticking with hair and gave up fashion.

AM: What was the project that made you realize that you had made it?

KK: Oh wow. I mean when I did BAPS, that was my first movie and that was pretty great for me. I had so many milestones in my career. But I think that once I started working with Beyoncé and I saw respect. I started getting so many different people reaching out to work with me. I started seeing the change of being accepted for different magazines and being able to do different covers. Then I knew that the career was really taking off and was onto something special. You know, I was able to transform my career and I saw a change. One day, you’re doing your thing and then the next day you’re like the most sought after hairstylist in the world because of one client. I got to experience that. I was doing celebrities before I met her and I was doing film before I met her. How I met her was through film, but in all honesty, I really took off and everything changed. When her career started taking off as a solo artist as her career was huge with Destiny’s Child, it was her solo career when I started working with her and everything changed.

AM: What does it mean to be Kimbleized?

KK: Well Kimbleized, the phrase came from one day when I was on WE TV’s L.A. Hair, my reality show. I mentioned it in a confessional that she has now been Kimbleized. It means that she has been touched by the Kimble, her hair has been certified by Kim Kimble and transformed by Kim Kimble in the Kim Kimble style and in the Kim Kimble way. I said it one day in an interview and then they put these chimes behind it and I was like, “yes” and I had an epiphany and I said, “everyone is going to be Kimbleized.” When I have finished someone’s hair I will tell them, “you have just been Kimbleized.” It’s also because when I’m with my clients, I spoil them so well when they get their hair done that they don’t want to go to anybody else. Your life has been changed and you want Kim Kimble to do your hair. It’s a whole thing.

AM: In talking about your show, it was one of the first ones that I knew of that incorporated your whole team, having the nail artists that was there and showing the culture of getting your look put together. What was the confluence that happened that made you think that you wanted to do a show?

KK: In all honesty, I’m a creative person. I used to produce hair shows and events like that. So I had the producer/creative bug in me. I had been trying to create these shows for a minute but I hadn’t been successful. I wasn’t really trying to do one surrounding me and my squad. That’s not what I was pitching. Then I gave up because I hadn’t had any luck doing that and I didn’t get picked up. It happens a lot. You go out there, you pitch, sometimes you’re hot and sometimes you’re not. I stopped pitching, gave up, said forget it and then a producer reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in coming in and having a show that was about me and my team. They knew there was someone who was looking for something like that. I said, “yeah ok, whatever.” I didn’t think that it would happen. At first I was a little nervous about doing something like that because I know how dramatic the salon, stylists and artists are. But you know that that’s what the shows look for, but I didn’t know if I wanted to put my business or brand in a situation that would affect me. I know that I had seen some of the shows and there was a little negativity there and I’m a control freak. I wanted to be in control of my brand and what I did. I didn’t want to put my brand in the hands of just anybody.

With the shows, those contracts are real serious. I didn’t even get to go on the pitches, I didn’t know who they pitched or what they did. All I know is that I was on a show called Let’s Stay Together on BET in Atlanta and I get a call and they say, “guess what? Your show has been picked up by WE TV.” I was like, “what?” It happened so fast that I didn’t even get a chance to think about it. I’m like that, I will just jump in feet first and just see what happens. I jumped into it. Was I nervous? Yes. I worked on TV and films, but I hadn’t worked on any reality shows. I didn’t know what that was like. I did a lot of television in terms of makeovers and interviews so I had done some things – it helped break me in, but it was a completely different thing.

The day the cameras came into the salon, I was like, “oh my God, what have I just done?” I didn’t know anything about this and it ended up working out just fine. I would do it again. It was dramatic, 5 seasons, but I was very proud of what we did. It was dramatic in front of and behind the camera, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. A lot of people really admired and loved the show. Every time I’m on my social media, I’m asked if L.A. Hair is coming back, what am I doing, will there be another show etc. They don’t realize that I’m a hair stylist first and not a television personality first. My day job is always working with clients. So when you saw that on the show, a lot of that stuff was real jobs that I had done and they allowed us to bring a camera. Sometimes it would be stuff that we would create for opportunities, but a lot of them were people that I had worked with. Some of them were people that I had not worked with and it was my first time working with them. It was important for me to show what we really do. The realness, running a business and a lot of people underestimate entrepreneurship which is interesting for women and especially women of color. There are a lot of women entrepreneurs and a lot of times in shows they may think that people want to see the drama, but they also want to know about running a business. It was important for me to share a lot of the things that were going on in the business, things that I did on set and that’s why people liked it – it was the real deal.

There was a little drama here and there and I would have people call me and say that they were going through the same thing at their salon. People can relate because everyone knows this is what salons bring and that’s why I was nervous because I knew that we were about to look real crazy on there. I’ll be honest with you, I’m not ashamed of any of it. I think it was a great opportunity and I know a lot of people have a lot of bad things to say about reality TV, but I will be honest with you. I don’t put anything out there that I don’t want out there! If I don’t want it out there, I don’t do it. What TV does is bring out who you are. It really brings it out whether you want it to or not. I will put that out there that if you want to do reality TV, then be careful because who you are will come out. A couple of times I got heated, but that’s real though. You can’t blame anybody who is focused on their business or their brand. I’m not afraid to let people know that I am territorial when it comes to taking care of my clients and I don’t want people taking advantage of me. I’m a business woman and I enjoyed it. I hope to get another chance as we’re looking at other opportunities which will be a little different. I don’t know if we’ll do L.A. Hair again because the times have changed and that’s been done – so I don’t know if we will do that again.

AM: You have created iconic looks and just recently with Beyoncé’s Black is King video with the 30ft braids. How do you come up with your concepts and what is that process like?

KK: This particular process was interesting. When we work together, we create boards and on this one, we started with Africa early on when she was doing Lemonade. I felt that natural hair was wear we wanted to go, her weave was more natural textures. We looked at the beauty of Africa and I was looking at women. I keep referring to Lemonade and going back there because that whole concept was about women early on before we had relaxers and that kind of stuff. We started with a lot of different African inspirations for hair. When she did Black is King, it was more about Africa and with The Lion King – what it would be like and discovering the beauty of Blackness. That’s what was amazing about that project. There were a couple of things that I had worked on for some of her videos. She has a creative director team and we were talking about a 30ft braid that needed to be long so that it could wrap around the body. Of course, that didn’t happen, but the wig was made and I have an amazing team of braiders that have worked with me on many projects. I dream up something and we get together and it’s like a lab. We test it out, do a couple of samples to see how it works and then it becomes something that we execute. When Beyoncé dreams something and says she wants this or that, we just create it – that’s what we do. That’s why I like working with her. It’s a lot of fun, it’s creative and I like to be challenged. Those challenges can be something crazy like a 30ft braid, Ivy Park beads in my braid – but you get with the team and we make it and we made history.

When I worked with Nicki Minaj, she had been wearing long hair and I wanted to do pink braids because she likes pink. I got together with the team and I said, “hey let’s do pink braids to the floor.” We broke the internet. I have been blessed to have great opportunities that are allowed by artists who create. I’m just an out there person when it comes to this and I like it!

AM: In addition to your great talent and custom work, you also have a line of products and hair as well. How important was it to you to bring this to market to round out your empire?

KK: This is the thing. With the celebrities that I work with, a lot of people want the same celebrity look and they want to know what you use and how to use it for that same look. A lot of the items were created to fit the needs of my clients. A lot of my clients are the inspiration behind these types of products. I started creating them to fit the mood of my customers.

In about a week or so, I am launching a line for Sally Beauty for natural hair. I’m excited about it, it’s an amazing line. I did it because on L.A. Hair people would message me on social and they would ask me what they could do to put on their natural hair. I have natural hair and creating great products, it’s so hard to find the right curl mixture. So we create those products because we need these items that work well in our hair. Sometimes they’re too greasy or they’re good with the hydration but they don’t quite get the style right. You have a lot of people that create lines, but they’re not hair stylists that have been doing hair for so many years. They don’t understand how hair works and what kinds of products are best suited for the hair. It’s another part of the creative process and it’s something that I like to be able to do.

AM: What are the other projects that you have on the horizon that we should know about as you’re always doing something.

KK: I’ve been doing a lot of consultations with clients online which has been a lot of fun actually! I can help them through this whole time to get their hair together for color, extensions and wigs. I’m creating a line of wigs which I am launching for HSN and I just told you about the products launching at Sally Beauty. A lot of people don’t know that we also do hair tools and there can be movie and TV shows that I’m working on coming up. I created a digital TV show on my own. You’ll be hearing about it soon. It’s not ready just yet we’re shooting it now but keep an eye out. It’s really great because it’s fun. You know Kim Kimble is always doing something even in the middle of a pandemic child!

AM: Honestly, if you’re able to do so. The pandemic has been a great time to launch, refine, pivot and deploy. People are a little more accessible at the moment.

KK: Exactly.

AM: We always like asking our changemakers as you are definitely one and you’re a trailblazer and being Ms Transformer, who are 3 people that inspire you to be where you are in your career?

KK: That’s easy. Madame CJ Walker, Jas On and my mom. Those are the people that inspire me.

IG @KimbleHairCare

PHOTOS COURTESY | Kim Kimble

Hear Celebrity Hair Stylist Kim Kimble on our show, #TRIBEGOALS - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multi-media podcast network! Make sure to subscribe to find out when the episode drops. You can hear it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and wherever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcast.

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #56 and see The Transformation with Kim Kimble in mag.

5 WAYS TO PASS THE TIME WHILE WFH

We’re definitely living during strange times. We’re working from home, taking on a number of roles that we have never had to and we find that we’re always looking to change it up when it comes to adding a little variety to how we spend out time inbetween Zoom calls, projects and so much more. Pre COVID-19, we took our lunch break, popped by a neighbors cubicle or office to get a 5 mins escape or even took a moment at our desks. Being at home presents its challenges, but we have 5 ways that you can take a break while you’re WFH.

FITNESS BREAK

Sometimes we find that hours have gone by and we’re navigating projects, meetings and making note of what to do next. The day gets away from us and we realize that we’ve barely gotten up from our desk or couch and have been glued to our screens. It’s important to get up and walk around to ensure that you’re staying lucid as well as getting in a bit of fitness. Whether you’re doing stretches, meditation or 10-15 minutes of movement! We always have a number of apps that we enjoy using and when it comes to only using 7 minutes of your time, we suggest visiting 7 Minute Workout: Fitness App.

WATERCOOLER BREAK

It’s so important in this current time of social distancing and ensuring that you’re being safe as you navigate your life, to check up on those that you would usually see in person or who live away from you. As social people, it’s important to be able to laugh with one another, see one another’s faces and more. Whether you do a personal Zoom, Facetime or use Google Hangouts, this is a great way to make sure that you’re maintaining your relationships, continuing positive mental health and just getting back to basics with people that love you and know you. Make it as in person as possible – even though you’re virtual!

GAMING BREAK

Sometimes, you need to zone out for a few minutes or maybe a meeting was pushed back and you have more time on your hands. We’re all for playing responsibly so heading over to an online live casino is a great way to keep your mind engaged, play a variety of games and to keep yourself motivated throughout your day.

ORGANIZATION BREAK

It’s amazing how many of us have switched up our living spaces! Whether you’ve focused on enhancing your backyard, bedroom or other living areas in your home – making your space your own has become an essential since we spend so much time there. Sometimes, when we work from our desks, we find that piles of paper and other items begin to stack up. When you need a break, taking a few minutes to do a power clean allows your space to stay fresh while letting you come up for air throughout the day. For inspiration, we always enjoy looking at this feed to get home décor inspiration.

COCKTAIL BREAK

A great way to end the day is to have a cocktail. Once your work is done, it’s a nice way to transition from a busy day to your home duties. You can also see if other co-workers want to join you via Zoom or other friends that you know would be interested. If you are living with other people in your bubble, you can make this an event to connect to catch up on what you’re doing as well as upcoming plans. If you live in an area that has outdoor dining, this is also a great way to engage with others that are socially distanced.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

CAN MEDICINAL CANNABIS HELP YOUR WORKOUT SESSION

As an athlete or fitness enthusiast, you need to refuel your body and take supplements to boost muscle recovery after a long training and workout session. Also, injury prevention should be an important aspect of your exercise. Fortunately, CBD is a promising supplement that can assist individuals during their workout sessions.

While reliable scientific evidence concerning CBD's relevance to athletics hasn't been established yet, many researchers are finding pieces of the puzzle.

Take a look at what they have to say about how CBD helps in athletic activities:

1.      Helps in Alleviating Soreness

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is one of the usual effects of pushing yourself too much when working out. It happens because of stress and inflammation in the muscles, which makes it painful and stiff. Usually, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as Ibuprofen, are used to treat DOMS. However, it might not work all the time and may have detrimental effects due to long-term use.

With its anti-inflammatory and pain-killing properties, which don’t make you high, cannabis is believed to overcome the post-workout pain. Additionally, it's thought to treat muscle spasms linked with Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis diseases. Furthermore, it's safe to use and doesn't affect your performance as an athlete.

To ensure that they're non-intoxicating and non-psychoactive, always check the ingredients of your CBD supplement. Ideally, they shouldn't have THC content or at least less than 0.3%.

2.      Improves Metabolism

CBD is thought to boost existing fat cells' metabolism and prevent the formation of new ones. There are two types of fat cells: white adipose tissue that stores excess body fat, and brown adipose tissue, which is responsible for using the beneficial fats of the body and generating it into heat.

By consuming CBD-containing supplements, they can support the browning of the white adipose tissues, decreasing the percentage of excess fat in the body and allowing a more productive metabolism. However, more studies are still required for this to be definite, but the initial finding is promising for preventing obesity in the future.

Moreover, skipping your meal after exercising can increase your weight rather than cutting them down. Instead, you can inhale CBD vapors as it helps refuel your body.

If you don't want to smoke, incorporating CBD on your foods can help. An excellent example is making your own CBD flour by following this instruction from seed supreme, which can be used for baking and cooking.

3.      Speeds Up Recovery

Injuries are prone to happen while training or working out. To prevent these from happening, you have to pay attention to muscle strengthening. Fortunately, cannabis can benefit your muscles and help you take fitness seriously.

CBD is thought to respond similarly to an anti-catabolic supplement, which is done by strengthening the endocannabinoid receptors. Once the endocannabinoid system operates, it may help prevent muscle loss and speed up the recovery process. Also, high-quality CBD supports the endocannabinoid system and enhances its function.

4.      Improves Sleep and Induce Calmness

Peace of mind and comfort are paramount to having an effective workout session. Taking medical cannabis is a great anti-inflammatory substance that induces calmness and enhances sleep quality. This way, you can focus more on working out or doing your training because you're not bothered by the pain.

Furthermore, an adequate amount of sleep every day is essential for your overall well-being. Cannabis is believed to play a role in your sleep, including:

·       Enhance sleep quality and duration

·       Help people who are suffering from sleep apnea

·       Aid people with PTSD by suppressing their dream

·       Alleviate Rapid Eye Movement (REM)

·       Decrease daytime fatigue

·       Lessens stress and anxiety

Best Ways To Consume CBD

To enjoy the effects of CBD, your product and method of administration significantly matter. There are different ways on how you can use CBD, and you can experiment which is best for your workout sessions.

Edibles are one of the trendy forms as it has a good taste, but it may take hours before it kicks in. People who use edibles often take another one after consuming one edible, which doubles the dosage before the effects hit.

On the other hand, the sublingual route is one of the best ways to take CBD as it's more effective and acts faster. Another way is smoking CBD, but it could cause lung diseases, while vaping may involve residual solvents and chemicals that could be dangerous.

If you're not a fan of vaping or smoking, you can try topical creams where you can apply it to your painful joints and muscles. If you want to relax while soaking yourself after a grueling workout, bath bombs are also a good idea.

Takeaways

Consuming cannabis is believed to alleviate muscle soreness, improve metabolism, improve sleep, calm you down, and speed up your recovery during injury. However, studies backing up these claims are still insufficient. Thus, as an athlete or gym enthusiast, it's advised that you seek help from a professional before trying CBD to prevent unwanted outcomes, ensuring your overall well-being.

7 TIPS ON STRENGTHENING YOUR MIDSECTION

Whether you’re looking to gain strength or just feel better about the way you look, proper exercising is the key to strengthening your abdominals. If you want to have a six-pack, or you would just prefer a tighter and more toned look to your stomach, getting there involves strengthening your core muscles. Here are 7 workout tips to point you in the right direction.

1.      High-Intensity Interval Training

If you’re looking to shed fat around your midsection, this comes down to reducing your overall body fat percentage. High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, has been proven to be one of the most powerful ways to accomplish this. Basically, what you do is take just a few different core-strengthening exercises, and complete each one at a very high intensity. When switching from one exercise to another, resist the temptation to rest in between. This elevates your heart rate, and helps to rev up your metabolism.

2.      Use a Stability Ball

To see some definition appear in your ab area, try including balance work into your exercise regimen. Using a stability ball, or yoga ball is a great way to engage your core. When you exercise with a stability ball, you not only build strength in your midsection, your back and pelvis get stronger as well. Strengthening your lower back is important because if there’s an imbalance of strength between your abs and your lower back, you may experience an injury or back pain.  Some great exercises you can do with a stability ball to flatten and tone your stomach area, while protecting your lower back, include:

·       Ball crunch

·       Ball knee raise

·       Ball bicycle crunch

·       Ball tuck

·       Ball pike

These are just some of the types you can do to get you started.

3.      Exercise with An Inversion Table

Have you ever thought of hanging upside down to strengthen your core? This can be done by using an inversion table. Doing sit-ups with the force of gravity against you can really be an effective way of strengthening your midsection. The best inversion table will come with detailed instructions on how to get the most out of it, in regards to therapy and exercise.

4.      Take it Slow

When you perform your stomach exercises, are you tempted to just fly through them to get it over with? Chances are, this approach isn’t going to give you the results you want. The most effective method is to slow down and feel the burn. Doing so helps target specific muscles and works them in a more effective way, promoting greater strength and getting your stomach toned more quickly.

5.      Engage Your Abs

Engaging your abs means holding your abdominal muscles tight, as if someone were about to punch you in the stomach. The idea is that you want to maintain this constant tension the entire time you’re working out your abdominals. Doing so really gives your workout an extra punch. The great thing about flexing your abs is that you can do this anytime. Even when you’re at home doing the dishes perhaps, you can engage your abs and no one has to know!

6.      Just Breathe

Never hold your breath when you’re exercising, whether you’re performing strengthening exercises or doing cardio. Your stomach muscles need oxygen to perform at their complete capacity, so be sure to feed them enough with full, deep breaths. In general, it’s recommended that you inhale when you’re having to exert the least amount of force, and exhale when you’re putting forth the most effort.

7.      Mentally Focus on the Task at Hand

When you exercise, are you daydreaming about all of the things you need to get done today? Are you focused on watching your favorite series on Netflix? If so, it’s time to shift your attention to your body. This is important for several reasons.

First of all, being completely in the present moment, paying attention to the sensations in your body will activate the mind-body connection. According to research, when you focus on activating your core, muscle activity increases. The result of this is that the strength of your midsection maximizes over time.

In addition to this, you also need to be aware of any painful sensations in your body that may indicate a possible injury, as you could push your workout too far.

Final Thoughts

Gaining abdominal strength has many benefits, other than just cosmetic appeal. Having strong abdominals supports good posture, which makes you look taller, and feel more confident. Abdominal strength reduces back pain, and helps your back fatigue. Strong abs also help to balance and stabilize your body. While doing your ab exercises, try visualizing your stomach getting flatter, and feel your muscles getting stronger. Focusing your mind can help bring you the results you desire.

CREATE THE RITUAL WITH STEVE SCHWARTZ

Tea has always been a beverage that we have enjoyed hot, iced, alone, with an array of sweeteners and even mixed with the spirit of our choice. We wanted to delve more into tea culture to find out the origin of tea, how it should be consumed, stored and what the benefits are when drinking it. We talked with Steve Schwartz, the founder of Art of Tea which is known for their 100s of options that they have available on their site, their hospitality partnerships with Wolfgang Puck, Aria, Caesars Palace and more. He talks with us about his background in Ayurveda, how he got into the industry, how he grew his company and the importance of our individual tea rituals wherever we are in the world.

ATHLEISURE MAG: What is a master tea blender and what does that position entail?

STEVE SCHWARTZ: Great well let me first share a little bit on my background. My background entails Ayurveda. It’s a form of preventative medicine based in India. I got into that because my mom was actually diagnosed with brain cancer when I was just out of high school. I got a full paid scholarship to go to college and I ended up dropping out so I could go and move back in to take care of her. So, I took care of her for about 10 months until she passed. The whole time, we were just on Western medicine and there is nothing wrong with Western medicine, it just didn’t work for us. So we went from one doctor to another and one external treatment to another. Before she passed, it got me to thinking, “gosh, cancer must have been around for thousands of years, we have only just recently labeled it as cancer. What are the other healing modalities that are out there?” I didn’t want to stick needles in people, I didn’t want to be a massage therapist or an herbologist – there is nothing wrong with any of those, it just wasn’t my path.

So, I found this school in New Mexico called the Ayurvedic Institute and really fell in love with the alchemy of blending herbs, teas and botanicals and how those herbs and botanicals link together to create unique flavor profiles and how those flavors, their profiles, herbs and healing properties affect the body in very different ways. In both a metabolic way, but also in terms of helping with hormones, digestive fire, immunity, longevity and all these things that really rally behind how these botanicals are blended together. So it’s not 1 herb plus another herb or botanical equals 2, but rather 1 + 1 could equal 4 or 6. It could multiply and increase in terms of its strength.

So I was looking into old texts and Sanskrit while I was at school and really trying to get an understanding of the alchemy of teas and herbs and it was funny that one of the patients that was there was a gentleman by the name, Yogi Bhajan (Editors Note: he is cited as bringing his version of Kundalini Yoga to the US in the late 60’s/early 70’s) and he would come to the facility and see the doctor. I would make the blends for him. Another thing that was requested was that their family would ask for other ingredients and ask us to blend in different ratios these different botanicals. So we would source and then send them the first samples and I would find 6 months or 9 months down the road that these blends were on supermarket shelves known as Yogi Teas. I was like, ok I know what I’m doing and at this point, there wasn’t a lot of real internet connectivity.

There was this company Amazon that was starting out. But most of what I was doing was making phone calls to origin all throughout Asia and India. I remember that I needed to source ginkgo. So I called and it was like $4 a minute, so I wanted to be respectful of budget and time and I said, “I need to order some ginkgo.” They said, “do you want a Western slope or an Eastern slope next to a river?” I told them that it didn’t really matter, I just wanted to order ginkgo. He said, “no sir, it does matter. I need you to come here yourself so you can experience it.” I was intrigued, I appreciated the invitation and I saved up my money and worked 4 different jobs, got a backpack and started traveling the world to find the best teas and the botanicals possible.

I had no idea that I was going to start a tea company. I just knew that I was a huge tea nerd and was into it. I saw the impact that it had on people’s lives – those that drink tea and those that don’t. What it means to them, whether it’s sitting down with a loved one at the end of the day, engaging in a meditation practice or needing to work out a research paper. Whatever it might be, I just saw the level of the impact that tea could have and so I started sourcing the different botanicals in my living room, started blending and started peddling my teas around town. I caught the attention of Wolfgang Puck and a hotel, a restaurant, a spa! Then I caught the attention of Caesar’s Palace and I ended up training the first Tea Sommelier in the United States. It sort of just grew from there and I ended up teaching classes at these world tea conventions and they were sold out. So I taught them 5 years in a row beginning with advance blending classes. There was no one teaching blending. In fact, when I realized they were asking me to teach it, I knew I had to look up old books and I ended up finding one from 1896 on blending!

AM: Wait what?

SS: Yeah! There was nothing at the time. So I said, “ok, if I’m asked to create a format, then I’m just going to share my failures and my wins. What’s working and what’s not and hopefully leave an impression and an impact. For people that took the classes, they’re now publicly traded companies or sold to Procter & Gamble. So, it’s awesome to see the impact on what’s happening in the tea industry.

AM: Wow, just thinking of you talking about this, are there new blends or nutrients that grow that they didn’t exist in the 18 or 1900’s? We enjoy a number of the items that we consume and feel that those have always been around, but are there new hybrids?

SS: Great question! First, let’s dive into what is tea and what was that book from 1896 all about back then? True tea comes from one evergreen shrub called Camellia Sinensis. All true tea comes from that evergreen shrub. If it’s not from this evergreen shrub, then it’s not tea. So for example White Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, Pu-erh – all of these come from Camellia Sinensis. Then there are differences in terms of how they are produced, but it is very similar to wine – it all comes from grapes. Now depending on the grape that’s used, how it’s grown and processed – is it stored in an oak barrel or a stainless steel container, is the skin left on? All these play into crafting a really delicious glass of wine. The same way that tea is separated, picked at different harvest times depending on what they are looking for, put into these silos of White, Green, Oolong, Black and Pu-erh. There are some subcategories between there, different varietals of tea, those that are grown specifically for those types of teas as well.

But if it is Chamomile or Rooibos then it’s not actually a tea. It’s a totally different category known as a Tisane. It is a fancy French word that basically means botanical. You can have Mint, Chamomile and Rooibos blended together and you have a Tisane or what is called a fusion or you can blend it with tea and then you have a Tea Fusion. But Chamomile tea is actually an oxymoron as it’s not really a tea.

AM: Wow!

SS: And you now know more than 99% of the US population!

AM: Our minds are now kind of blown as we’re processing this information!

So, what do you define a Master Tea Blender as?

SS: I guess the 10,000 hour rule plays deeply into this. Having a strong sense of origin, where and how the teas are grown and when you’re tasting tea about 98% of what you are drinking is water. So what you’re looking for is the nuance within that 2% and so your tongue ends up becoming like an instrument. You’re learning how to play with the high notes and the low notes, the terroir of the different ingredients and how they will play well together. So, like an artist that is using color and a color palette to define what a painting will look like, they know where and when to add specific colors. The same thing with a blend. You want the blend to be even in terms of ingredient size so that smaller bits don’t fall into the bottom, you want that flavor profile to have a nice mouth feel in terms of what you are looking for in terms of beginning, middle and finish. But it’s knowing your ingredients well enough to see how that symphony of ingredients will come together for that final composition.

AM: What is that process like when you’re blending the teas? As you were talking, I was thinking back to last month’s issue when we talked with a Master Winemaker and she was talking about how it’s the harvest season and what takes place during this time. You were talking about that there is that kind of season in tea as well. So what’s the blending and the harvest season like for you?

SS: Great question. So the blending process in terms of the creations, when I was first starting out, I became obsessed with new blends that were coming out and I had a journal next to my bed where I would wake up in the middle of the night and I’d go, “oh, I have this great inspiration.” Sometimes, a great inspiration comes from odd things. My wife is an aesthetician and she got tons of samples of different skincare products from vendors that were sending them to her to try. Our shower is populated with tons of different scrubs and conditioners and all sorts of stuff. Being curious, I opened one up called Mandarin Cashmere and it was wow – you could almost bite into it. It was smooth, sweet, citrusy and creamy! I thought it would be an amazing tea and obviously I didn’t want to eat a scrub and no one is going to want to eat cashmere, but I thought, “ok, maybe I can take this and make it. Call it Mandarin Silk.” I ended up really honing in on where those flavor notes were hitting my nose. Over 80% of what we taste, is through our sense of smell. So where are those flavor notes hitting my nose and how can I duplicate that within a product that someone is going to want to drink? It ended up doing really well and the tea won Best Oolong in the World. So, it was really really fun and really cool!

So, there’s that part and then there’s Vera Wang who is coming up with a new line and she was like, can you make a tea that matches this perfume. In some cases, it’s really complex and in some cases, it’s really trial and error. One blend I made, I made on accident. What happened was, I was first starting out and I was on the phone with a customer and I was blending one ingredient in a batch of other ingredients that were resting. Meaning, as you blend, you want certain aromatics and compounds to be able to mesh together before you begin to introduce other ingredients to it. Just like you’re going out with friends and say you’re inviting other friends over, you may ask, “should we invite that other person?” Because that person could add a lot of value or that person could just take the air out of the room. So in the same way, you’ll introduce ingredients at staged times. So I was on the phone with the customer and I accidentally dumped one ingredient into a batch with another. While I was on the phone with them, I was like “oh shit” and this was with a 5-Star restaurant and I was like, “oh no, I’m sorry, how can I help you?” This was when I was customer service, sales, accounts receivable, accounts payable and marketing. Everything was tied into my cell phone when I was in my living room. I actually blended this, realized that I made the mistake and put it in this cello bag and put it in the corner. My wife walks in and she immediately notices where I messed up right? It’s part of her super power and she asked me what was that and I told her that I had messed up and she asked how I knew that I had? I told her that I was a Tea Expert, a Tea Master and that I knew. She said, “well you might want to try it.” I told her that I didn’t need to try it and that I knew it would be bad. She was right, it was burning in my head and I knew that I should at least try it. The next morning I woke up, I tried it and it was really good. I ended up sending samples out to different customers and they loved it. This is a tea called French Lemon Ginger and it’s still one of our most popular herbal botanical tisanes that we have to offer.

AM: What lessons have you learned through creating your teas?

SS: Allow yourself permission to fuck up!

AM: Yup!

SS: Giving yourself that permissions, messing up along the way, learning and customer feedback! That’s also been really powerful. When we launch something, what we do is first go through rounds internally and then we’ll go through rounds externally for our customers and then we’ll do a launch. So right now, we’re experimenting with a bottle beverage and we’re testing it out and we created it during this time of COVID-19. It’s called Open Sunshine and the whole idea is that there is so much power and energy by just going outside. People have this mixed relationship with what it means now to go outside and be in open sunshine. There are so many health factors about going outside. We took a look at getting Green Tea, Black Tea, Passion Fruit, Jasmine, Lemon and Ginger. We created an effervescent sparkling tea out of all of these different kinds of ingredients. So it’s a little spicy and a little sweet and slightly floral. We’re launching it in about 2 weeks and we’re pretty excited about it!

AM: That is so exciting! What is that process like when you’re thinking about your assortment? Do you have a brainstorm where x amount of products have to come to market and x amount have to go into the vault to then come back again? You have an extensive amount of teas that are on your website – so it’s interesting to hear about the rotational aspect to it.

SS: That’s a great question. So in some cases, it’s through that trial and error and we’ll walk before we run. So we’ll do soft launches, we gain feedback, learn from what people are experiencing and our tribe is very vocal. They will share direct feedback on what they love and what they don’t love. It could be through Facebook or wherever that opportunity is for them to share with us. It’s having that dynamic trust relationship with our customers to be able to learn and to hopefully get better.

We’ve tried shaving back some of our offerings as well. I think that because we have such a vocal community, they will tell us that we can’t take that tea down. So we decided that at particular times, you may or may not like this analogy – the McRib.

AM: Haha that’s smart!

SS: Yeah, we’ll say, “we’ll McRib that.” We won’t get rid of it, but we will offer it at this particular time. For example, we have a tea called Pumpkin Spiced Chai that does so well in the fall and in the winter time. But for us to sell it in the heat of the summer, just doesn’t make sense. So we’ll breathe life back into certain teas at particular times of the year.

AM: What destinations have inspired you in terms of creating different kinds of teas?

SS: Great question! We actually created and found that there are 4 reasons that people like to drink tea. We did this whole brand exercise a couple of years ago really trying to identify what it was that people are gravitating towards for their cups of tea. We found that they drink tea because it tastes good, they drink tea because of a period of time (they have to drink it in the morning to get them going, at night to help them wind down) a location (I remember going to London and sitting outside and enjoying a beautiful cup of tea or sitting on your grandmother’s porch and enjoying a delicious tea) and the last piece is the wellness piece. People drink tea because they think of the medicinal value whether it’s something that their grandmother gave them when they were a kid or they read on a supermarket label that this does a particular kind of function.

We created a Location Collection that included London, Big Sur, Tuscany – that’s a few. We also created specific teas that are only sold at specific hotels. Like at the Peninsula Hotel in Tokyo, we created a Cherry Blossom Tea in honor of the cherry blossom season. I’ve been very inspired by these different areas. In terms of the seasonal blend, there is one called Summer Rain. My family and I were driving from LA to Palm Springs and we got stuck in a monsoon. We couldn’t leave the car because it was pouring rain. By the time it stopped raining, we opened the door and you have this dry desert that is now hit with fresh rain and the smell that comes up from that floor is incredible. So I thought, how can I capture this in a tea and we created a blend called Summer Rain. It’s always a different inspiration and it’s not always so far out there in the world. It could very much be in our backyard, a memory or something that is close to us.

AM: We believe in drinking tea for its medicinal properties and we have members of our team that do so as they opt out from taking traditional medicine. Can you share what the benefits are in consuming tea in general and are there specific teas that are good for targeting immunity, relaxation and gut health?

SS: All great questions. The most powerful benefit of tea is really the ritual. I was just learning with someone about how SnapChat had this new thing called Spectacles it’s Augmented Reality and you can dive in and it transforms your physical reality with these goggles and puts you into this internal/external world combined in one. Sounds interesting right? I was curious, So I wondered, what is “augment” mean? To me, it means to change or to alter. But augment actually means, to improve. So this whole world is going to continue to evolve as we’re dealing with what COVID-19 could mean, what connecting with people remotely could mean and this whole AR world is going to continue to transform. If the biggest benefit of tea to answer your question, is that ritual, then how can we create a modern day ritual without feeling foreign or without feeling like you need all these right tools or worry that we might mess it up.

So this morning, I also looked up the word, “analog.” Analog means relating to physical space. So you have augment which means to improve and analog which means to relate to your physical space. So, I’m sort of playing with the idea of AAR. Instead of Augmented Reality, there is an Analog Augmented Reality. So what does that mean? Basically, how can we dive into that ritual of getting your water ready, selecting your tea pod, getting your cup together, selecting the right tea leaves and tapping out of technology. I am a huge fan of technology, but for just about 8-10 minutes, turn that stuff off and really dive in and hone in on that process and really be mindful and intentional. If you allow yourself that permission, that space – imagine what it could do throughout the rest of your day, the rest of your life, the people that you love and the people that you are surrounded with. Giving yourself that permission to dive in completely with all of your senses and go all in on that Analog Augmented Reality of brewing that process and sipping that process. Your mind will get totally distracted and say, “oh I need to do this and I need to tackle that email.” But just keep honing in on those few minutes and that intention is a whole paradox. You might now have 8-10 minutes to do this, but if you allow yourself that time, the impact will be so great, but it’s really allowing yourself that permission.

AM: It’s a great way of putting it. In Tokyo, we went to a tea house and had the ability to see them make our tea. To think about all the steps that we do to create tea on a daily basis as a ritual is an interesting concept – from the use of our Breville, designated cups and you do take at least half a beat to do that.

SS: And it’s a modern day ritual right? You don’t have to travel to Tokyo to have this experience. It’s a corner in your garage, it’s a small section in your patio, it’s a place in your room – wherever it might be where I am designating this space as a sacred space. That intention, you are breathing life into that intention. It will spill over into everything else that you are doing.

AM: Do you have teas that you would suggest that people can use to target issues that they are focused on?

SS: Great questions and I will answer it twofold. The first is yes, we have a wellness section on ArtofTea.com. It’s Flow Blend and Glow Blend. We have a Happy Tea, a Chill Out, Feel Better Blends, Throat Therapy, Breathe – all of these things that target very specific things. They’re all blended with Ayurveda and wellness in mind and at the same time, there is a story out about the student and the master. The master says, “You’re ready for the final exam. I want you to go in a 1 mile radius and I want you to find a specific botanical that doesn’t have medicinal value.” The student is excited and says, “ok, great”. The student has 24 hours, goes and comes back 24 hours later sobbing and says, “master, I failed. I couldn’t find a single botanical that didn’t have medicinal value.” And the master looks up and says, “no you’ve passed. Every root, every leaf, every berry, every botanical, bark has medicinal value.” But on the same tree or plant, the root may be medicine for one person and the leaves could be poison for someone else. The berry could affect one part of the body, meanwhile, the stem or the roots could affect a different part of the body. How they are blended together might also have very powerful affects. Whether you’re living reading or listening to this in the East Coast, West Coast, Mexico or Canada wherever you might be – within a 1 mile radius there are many different botanicals that are worth learning about. So I encourage local sourcing as much as possible, but also if you don’t have time, we have definitely taken a lot of the guess work out and crafted really delicious teas through what we are doing in our wellness line.

AM: You have such an interesting distribution in the sense of the website and your hospitality partners. How is that for you, is it different when you’re doing something for a hotel group versus those who are coming directly to the website to purchase?

SS: It’s a great question. We will do signature blends for our hospitality partners that are just for them like Google for example for their offices. The Aria Hotel, there are very specific teas for very specific properties, but the large majority of teas that we have to offer can be found at our website. We found that with a lot of our hotels closing and people had summer plans, a lot of the places where people would meet to work over tea – they still needed to connect over the tea experience. The ritual of what they built, still needed to happen even if it was virtual. So we decided to create a Rework kit and we crafted it with Google. Google said that they had budget and that they wanted to connect with their team and would we could do. So we created this kit with a little message inside that said, “Loving you remotely, from Google.” It was sent out to a variety of different staff members there at Google. A certain amount of boxes that were sold were sent out to First Responders. It’s been great and we’re trying to tie into this element of still connect ing with our tribe or community and really looking to make an impact through tea.

AM: We find ourselves asking this to everyone because of the impact of COVID-19 across industries has been beyond what anyone could have even imagined. Have there been effects in terms of production of tea? Has it hindered it in any way?

SS: Good and bad. So, from our side, we have the freshest and best Chamomile that we have ever had and we have a very abundant amount of this Chamomile. We bought based on what we thought the demand would be. We’re sitting on a lot of amazing Chamomile – we’ve always sourced it great, but this is really good! On the other side, Darjeeling, which is a region in India – think about a large hippie commune that has a very specific region where they have low valleys and high hills. It’s the champagne of teas and a really crisp tasting tea. They have 3 harvest seasons. Their most profitable and most important season for that region happens in a very short window. It starts, regardless of climate change and on a very particular day of the year. All the workers come together and they wait year around for this day when they can harvest. This happened at the end of March, I believe it was March 29th and the government said the day before when everyone was gearing up to harvest, that we couldn’t harvest and they were preventing it from happening. All these estates, estate owners, garden workers and harvesters – their livelihood was about to be shifted dramatically. There is already a shortage and a high demand for this high quality product so those stories, we have seen an impact. They were still able to harvest, they got creative through means of social distancing, but they were unable to do it on the exact day that it has been happening for many many years.

AM: From a customer perspective when they go to your website, are they able to request custom blends for themselves if someone is having a wedding or if they have a small business? Is there an ability to do that on a smaller level vs your larger accounts?

SS: What we have done is to create blog articles where people can take specific teas that we have and create their own fun blends with them with specific recommendations around that. We’re doing a project now with these guys called Try Guys that have a YouTube channel. We’re working on a custom tea blend with them. So we will work on specific projects, but in terms of custom blending based on individual customers or a smaller business, we will typically have them start with our 100+ teas that we have to offer on our site and helping them navigate through that process through that channel.

AM: What is the Art of Tea Academy and can you tell us more about what happens there?

SS: So glad you mentioned it. This COVID-19 period has given us the time to be super creative. So we created a 25 video series all on becoming a Tea Expert. It’s in depth training on how to taste tea, how to understand origin, flavor profiles and indepth learning on the different styles of tea. Lots of people that are foodies know where their wine comes from, their coffees their chocolate, but there is still a lot of mystique around tea. There is this idea that people will mess it up somehow. So we wanted to demystify the leaf and get people more closely connected with learning about tea. So in a very short period of time, we have had a few thousand people sign up and the response has been super positive so far. People have the time to learn and they want to up their game. Whether they’re in the hospitality space or are passionate about the love of learning, we wanted to put this out there in the world.

AM: You recently launched your tea app as well, which looks really beautiful. What are the types of things that people can do through that app?

SS: I’m so grateful for the talent of our team. Specifically, Hanna who helps leads up our marketing and is so instrumental in getting both of these sections live on our site. With the app, the app is a really fun and dynamic way to understand to best brew tea? There is a steep time section on there that you can take a really quick glance on. I found that one of the most popular pages on our site was how to brew tea. So it’s a quick and easy way that you can know how not to mess up your tea and how much to put in there.

The others connect to our tea quiz. So a lot of people will say, “I know that we need to get into tea because it’s good for me, but I don’t know where to start.” Or they have a loved one who loves tea, but they don’t know what to get them. The Tea Quiz is a bit of the ShoeDazzle and helps you navigate what is out there like a personal shopper. In just a few minutes, how can you best identify what tea will best match what you are looking for. Those are some of the fun connections that are happening on the app as well as discounts, checking out and notifications.

AM: What are your 3 go to teas that you enjoy?

SS: Wow man – it’s like what’s your favorite kid? We have a tea called Earl Grey Crème which I know we sent you guys.

AM: Yes – so good and we like the idea of adding a little gin to it at night!

SS: That’s awesome! We found that with Earl Grey, there’s lots of ways to make it. We found, that we like to make it the authentic way with Bergamot oil and we use an Italian Bergamot Oil. We put that in our Earl Grey and we also found out that some may find that it is slightly astringent for some people so some add cream, milk or sugar to it which kind of neutralizes that. What we did is to add a touch of French Vanilla which is sort of this eggy, creamy flavor profile. So the combination of that Bergamot Oil which is a bright citrus note that is slightly floral and that black tea with its brightness and astringency blended with the French, lemon, ginger – you get this full mouth feel really rounded out and smooth. I could drink that all day and we grow mint in our backyard which is easy to grow and we’ll throw that in there as well. We have a blend that has it already called Big Sur which is awesome. I could drink Earl Grey Crème all day.

I also love Japanese tea – we have one called Matcha+ which is Sencha, Green Tea and blended with ceremonial grade matcha. So you get more of a bioavailability from the matcha and it impacts the thyroid which governs immunity and metabolism and gets everything active. It is the same style tea that they use in Zen monasteries throughout Japan before they go into meditation so they can focus. You get this clear rush, but you don’t feel that jolty jitteriness that you feel with coffee.

The third that I can drink on an ongoing basis is our Silver Needle. It’s harvested about 7-10 days out of the year. It’s handpicked from Fujian Provence. We bring it in and it’s like drinking from a fresh spring. It’s slightly sweet and has slight notes of melon to it and it’s really great.

AM: Do you envision with the trend to have tea and alcohol together as a hard tea, do you envision a collaboration of something like that?

SS: It would be fun. We do work with several Kombucha companies that have both hard as well as non-alcoholic. There is a cider company that is in the works to launch something sometime next year with our tea. Just in general, I think that tea and alcohol especially now, right? I need to do something good for me and I need to be able to put something in my body and at the same time, they’re like fuck it – I need alcohol and I need something that’s going to make me chill out a bit. When you blend the two together, it’s not so bad!

AM: Does tea have a shelf life in general and what is the best way to put it in containers to keep it fresh?

SS: Great question! Tea is sensitive to light, heat and humidity. As long as you keep it from those, you can have tea last for a long time and have a really great experience. If it is subject to any of those or is near your spice drawer or anything that is fragrant, it acts as a natural odor absorber and it will take up the smells of other things. You just want to make sure that it is in an airtight container.

In terms of the shelf life for tea, tea if produced well and is high quality, it shouldn’t go bad. What we end up finding is that we have Best by Dates as we believe that there is a peak flavor profile that you’re going to get out of a tea in terms of being a live product. Over time, that flavor will drop which means you will lose some natural oil content, the vibrancy of the leaves will start to diminish.

We moved warehouses a few years ago from one location to the next. We found, tucked away in one drawer, tea that was over 5 years old. It was packed well, kept cool in a dark place and we decided to try it and it was fresh, dynamic and really really good. As long as it is stored right, you can have tea last a long time.

AM: I know earlier we were talking about the Pumpkin Chai Tea, but are there things coming out in the fall or holiday that we should keep an eye out for whether it’s new to market or being placed back into rotation?

SS: So a few things. Today we just launched in celebration of our SoCal roots, a beverage that is really popular here is Agua Frescas – just imagine melon water, hibiscus water or cantaloupe water. We did a few events, one was called Summit and a big coffee and tea tea trade show where we soft launched this product called Matcha Fresca!

AM: Oooo that sounds refreshing and amazing!

SS: Haha yes we will send you some! It’s a premium grade matcha with cantaloupe essence and it’s so good! You get this fresh taste like you’re biting into this juicy cantaloupe and the matcha is a really bright green color to stay consistent. This is out now and we’re super excited about that!

IG @ArtofTeaLA

PHOTOGRAPHY | Audrey Ma

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #56 and see Create the Ritual with Steve Schwartz in mag.

Hear the founder of Art of Tea, Steve Schwartz on our show, Athleisure Kitchen - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multi-media podcast network! Make sure to subscribe to find out when the episode drops. You can hear it on iHeart Radio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and wherever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcast.

ATHLEISURE LIST | AARMY

AARMY involves the integration of three founders' unique expertise with a shared vision. Both Akin Akman (right) and Angela Manuel Davis (below) grew up training to become pro athletes and share the instinctive drive and authenticity that comes from all their years of dedication. They each combine inspiring mental conditioning with a strong physical regimen to bring out the best in the athletes they coach. Trey Laird adds his years of creative, marketing and branding expertise to deliver the full AARMY experience in a visually powerful and innovative style.

This fitness method launched September 2019 and its second location in LA opened in January of this year. In AARMY's studio their ethos is written on the wall: 'A trained force, a united team. A skilled group of soldiers ready to fight for what they believe in.' When working out, having this sense of community to inspire their guests is an empowering feeling while working on their goals.

With the combination of mental conditioning and physical strength training through a range of Bootcamps targeted to certain body parts, Cycle practice sessions for high-intensity cardio, Recovery and stretch, and dedicated inspirational programming are offered. Lift focus sessions will be added later this year. Athletes can personalize this mix of modalities to match their fitness goals.

Although both locations closed in March, AARMY immediately pivoted by offering multiple hours of live programming via Instagram Live, free of charge to keep their community strong and have done so for 150 days straight, non-stop. Phase 1 of AARMY's Digital Subscription App includes their content, their message and their movements in one place.

This app currently has over 20 new on-demand practice sessions that are uploaded each week. Additional features will be added this fall to the premium subscription. Guests feel like they are working out directly with the coaches. Music is a key component to the experience and comes from the world's top artists. The AARMY founders loved the energy and driving force of Boys Noize Cerebral track and are proud to have that as the soundtrack for all their launch films.

It's worth noting that a state of the art cycling bike will be released soon and although they have yet to release specific details on this, this custom AARMY bike will propel users to push themselves to A Higher Standard much like the brand itself. This development that has been done to the bike, reimagines what cycle equipment should look like as well as how it should feel. This will create a complete experience to those that workout on it and will be made available later on this fall.

PHOTOS COURTESY | AARMY

AARMY NYC HQ

636 Broadway

NY, NY 10012

AARMY LA HQ

8599 Santa Monica Blvd West

Hollywood, CA 90069

www.aarmy.com

IG @aarmy

Read the Aug Issue #56 of Athleisure Mag and see Athleisure List | AARMY in mag.

ATHLEISURE BEAUTY

Read the Aug issue #56 of Athleisure Mag and read Athleisure Beauty in mag.

THE 5 BEST IMMUNE SYSTEM BOOSTERS

A weakened immune system is the last thing you want when you get sick, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. While people can only do so much to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria, they can do certain things to boost their immune system to fight off sickness.

But what are the signs of a weakened immune system? How can you boost your immune system quickly? What is the best immune system supplement? Discover more as you continue reading. 

Signs of a Weakened Immune System

Many things can boost our immune systems, but many things can weaken them, as well. What warning signs do you have to show your immune system is weakening? See these four warning signs that can quickly indicate a weakened immune system. 

·       High-Stress Levels. When your body experiences high levels of stress, it decreases white blood cells known as lymphocytes that help to fight off infections. Your body is at a higher risk to catch a virus when you have low lymphocyte levels. 

·       Persistent Colds. While it is normal to have two to three common colds per year, any more than that indicates you have a struggling immune system. A common cold lasts seven to ten days because it takes your body three to four days to develop germ-fighting antibodies. 

·       Digestive Problems. Other signs of a weakened immune system include constipation and diarrhea. If you experience diarrhea that lasts more than two to four weeks, a weakened immune system may harm your small intestine's lining or your digestive tract. If you have difficulty with bowel movements, it may indicate your immune system is slowing down your intestine.  

·       Frequent Infections. Here, one of two possibilities exists. The first is that your body is incapable of making enough immune system cells to fight off infections. The second is that it is making enough cells, but those cells fail to properly function and are thereby unable to fight off infections.

Do Immune System Boosters Really Work?

People say immunity boosters can fight off annoying germs and bacteria, but do they really work? What ingredients do they have? Are they safe? Continue reading to learn more about immunity boosters, and what they can do for you.

Immune System Boosters Defined

Immunity booster products claim to do just that--support and boost your immune system to prevent you from getting sick. Though some vary, many immunity boosters have the same key active ingredients, including:

·       Vitamin C

·       Zinc

·       Magnesium

·       Vitamin D

The Effectiveness and Safety of Immune Booster Supplements

Are Immunity Boosters Effective? 

As homeopathic products or products that do not require approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many immunity boosters have no claim to proof of their safety, effectiveness, or quality. 

While rules exist for these kinds of products, safety is another element of concern. 

Are Immunity Boosters Safe?

Safety is a major concern for immunity boosters as FDA approval remains to be seen. Many immune system booster products on the market today come with alarming ingredients that cause nasty side effects. One example is a product that has Belladonna, nux vomica, and pulsatilla. 

Immunity boosters include many beneficial ingredients, such as vitamin B12 and vitamin D. While these are often necessary to have high energy and immunity levels, too much of any ingredient is unhealthy, and can even be dangerous. Large doses of things like vitamin C, zinc, and vitamin B6 can cause problems like stomach difficulties, copper deficiency, and nerve damage. 

How to Boost Your Immune System Quickly

The strength of a healthy immune system is primarily based on a healthy lifestyle. 

But what does a healthy lifestyle look like? An immune system can get stronger from maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but what does a staying healthy look like? 

Description of a Healthy Lifestyle 

·       No smoking.

·       A balanced diet complete with lots of fruits and vegetables.

·       A pattern of routine exercise.

·       Healthy weight.

·       Drinking alcohol in moderation.

·       Adequate sleep patterns.

·       Proactive steps to avoid infection.

·       Stress management. 

But how can you boost your immune system quickly? By incorporating the lifestyle described above in your daily routine. By making any necessary changes, you will quickly boost your immune system in both a healthy and natural way.  

Drinks to Boost Your Immune System

As a constantly active machine, your body's immune system needs the healthiest energy and strength it can get. By fueling your body with a healthy, daily dose of important minerals and vitamins, your body has a better chance of fighting off viruses such as the flu. These can include vitamin C, zinc, potassium, vitamin B-6, and more.

The list of drink recipes below come complete with healthy nutrients and minerals to boost your immune system. But before you try them, consider the following list of important minerals, nutrients, and/or vitamins they contain.

Immune System Boosting Drinks

·       Orange, grapefruit, and another citrus (potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9(folate), vitamin C, and zinc)

·       Green apple, carrot, and orange (potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9(folate), and vitamin C)

·       Beet, carrot, ginger, and apple (potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9(folate) and vitamin C)

·       Tomato (magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9(folate), vitamin C, and vitamin K) 

·       Kale, tomato, and celery (magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9, vitamin C, and vitamin K)

·       Strawberry and kiwi (calcium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, vitamin B-1(thiamine), vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9(folate), vitamin B-12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, and zinc)

·       Strawberry and mango (calcium, manganese, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-9(folate), vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E)

·       Watermelon mint (arginine, citrulline, magnesium, vitamin A, and vitamin C)

·       Pumpkin seed (magnesium, manganese, potassium, and zinc)

·       Green apple, lettuce, and kale (iron, manganese, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B-9(folate), vitamin C, and vitamin K)

Now that you have discovered some natural recipes for healthy immunity boosters, what about supplements? 

The Best Immune Booster Supplement

Whether you forget to run to the grocery store for your drink ingredients or are looking for a simple addition to your daily routine, nothing beats a quick and easy daily supplement. 

Made with pure ingredients and with an efficient distribution of minerals and vitamins from micronutrient-targeted technology, AdvaLife offers smart health from smarter technology.  

Multivitamins for men and women are available from AdvaLife. You can finally have a safe, effective, and budget-friendly immunity-boosting supplement to help you from getting sick. Get yours today!

ZEROING IN WITH DWYANE WADE

We're excited that we're in the midst of the playoffs for the NBA season, whether your team is playing or you're just happy to have basketball back on TV! Even though we're socially distancing, it's a way for us to feel like we're together. We caught up with Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers veteran, 3 X NBA Champion Dwyane Wade who is also commentating the games for TNT in 'Inside the NBA'. In addition to number of projects that he is working on, Dwyane is the Co-Founder of Budweiser Zero which is a non-alcohol alternative to enjoying a beer solo, with friends or after a great workout.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Prior to the launch of Budweiser Zero, tell us about your initial work with Budweiser and your synergy with the brand?

DWYANE WADE: I started working with Budweiser a little over a year ago when they did the “This Buds For 3” film for my retirement. Most recently, I was part of the Whassup reboot that came out a few months ago with DJ D-Nice, Chris Bosh, Candace Parker and my wife, Gabrielle Union, focusing on checking in on your friends when COVID first hit. I’ve always respected what Budweiser has built and their continued work with athletes. Entering the non-alcoholic market has always been of interest to me and this project seemed like a natural progression of my relationship with Budweiser.

AM: There has been a rise in the beverage industry for zero alcohol beers. Why is this important for those that are athletes or are focused on their fitness endeavors to have this as an option for their celebratory moments?

DW: The non-alcohol category of beer is rapidly growing and with Budweiser Zero, we are able to bring some familiarity into the category. Budweiser’s brewing heritage alone helps redefine pre-existing expectations and associations with non-alcoholic options.

Oftentimes, people feel like they are giving something up with a non-alcoholic option, but we are trying to change that perception and create more opportunities to celebrate life’s moments, both big and small. A focus for me when helping to develop the product was thinking about the athlete’s experiences during the season. Being in the game for so long, I can understand the need for a drink option that lets a player stay on their game but still enjoy social moments and celebrations.

AM: You are the Co-Founder of Budweiser Zero, what drew you to being involved in this and to take on such a role with the brand?

DW: It’s important for me to work with brands who have similar values and priorities that I want to accomplish. When I sat down with Budweiser to start talking about what Budweiser Zero would become, the synergy was there and felt like a great use for my platform, post-basketball.

AM: What can we expect to see for roll out of this launch and how will you be involved?

DW: Budweiser Zero started rolling out in the US in March, but officially launched at the end of July, and will soon be available in Canada and the UK. Budweiser Zero will play a huge role in the sports world, for both athletes and fans. Athletes who are in training or in season, but still want that classic, refreshing beer flavor without compromising their game now have that option. Once fans are able to return to stadiums, Budweiser Zero will become the beer of the ninth inning and fourth quarter. While alcoholic beverages can’t be served at this time, fans can continue to enjoy Budweiser Zero till the last moment of the game. Beyond athletes, I think this product will resonate with consumers looking to cut back on sugar or alcohol and those looking to participate in social occasions without feeling the effects the next morning.

Budweiser and I worked together on this from the start to bring Budweiser Zero to life and I’ll also be sharing the beverage with my friends currently playing in The Bubble.

AM: Tell us about Budweiser Zero as well as elements that you had a direct impact on in terms of bringing the product to market.

DW: Budweiser Zero is Budweiser’s first zero-alcohol product with zero-sugar and only 50 calories. Budweiser Zero is light and crisp and has the same refreshing full-flavored taste people know from Budweiser. I worked with Budweiser from the inception of the idea and helped design the attributes and packaging of the product.

IG @DwyaneWade

PHOTO COURTESY | Budweiser Zero

Read the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag #56 and read Zeroing in with Dwyane Wade in mag.

MICROSOFT AZ-304 EXAM: GAIN EXPERT-LEVEL SKILLS WITH SIMPLE PREP TOOLS SUCH AS PRACTICE TESTS

To earn the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert credential, there are two new tests that you must pass. This is Microsoft AZ-303, which is also known as Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies, and Microsoft AZ-304, or Microsoft Azure Architect Design. Website In this article, we are going to discuss the AZ-304 exam so you can know everything you need to know about it.

If you asked anyone who has been in the IT industry for a while, they will tell you that the notion of survival for the fittest directly rules the IT job market. So, for one to make themselves a preferred candidate, they need to be updated in every domain, especially those that are relevant in their area of specialization. Author: HUGO S The certificate helps to validate your skills and knowledge to your superiors and helps you stand out in the crowd. In simple terms, the credentials in the IT industry have become a crucial part of job culture as they keep a specialist updated and ahead of others. Without much ado, let’s get into the finer details of the test.

What is Microsoft AZ-304?

An Azure solution architect typically partners with the clients, Cloud DBAs, and Cloud administrators to implement solutions. These specialists have various responsibilities, including advising the stakeholders and also translating various business requirements into reliable, scalable, and secure Cloud solutions. Author: LUKE V The candidates for the AZ-304 exam should have advanced knowledge and experience in IT operations, including disaster recovery, identity, security, networking, business continuity, governance, data platform, virtualization, and budgeting. This role basically requires managing how decisions in every area affect the overall solution. The applicants should possess the expert-level skills in Azure development. They must also have experience with DevOps and Azure development processes.

What details should you know?

The high-level list of the skills measured in the Microsoft AZ-304 exam is presented below:

·       Design Monitoring;

·       Design Data Storage;

·       Design Infrastructure;

·       Design Identity and Security;

·       Design Business Continuity.

The test became available at the end of June 2020. It consists of 40-60 questions that should be answered within 150 minutes. Certkiller >> The questions in this exam can be presented in different formats, such as multiple choice, active screen, short answer, review screen, build list, and best answer. The Microsoft Azure Architect Design test is given in the English language only and costs $165. As for the passing grade for Microsoft AZ-304, this exam is scored out of 1000 and the learners need to get 700 points or higher to pass it in order to obtain the associated credential.

To succeed in your endeavour, Microsoft offers two ways of learning: free self-paced or paid instructor-led courses. Author: MOHAMMAD R These two options are available right on the certification exam webpage under the block with the list of skills measured.

Conclusion

To sum it all up, anyone who wants to advance their career in Microsoft Azure, the AZ-304 exam should be one of the tests to clear. Discount 35% >>> With the latest exam dumps and practice tests used along with official prep options to polish the candidates’ knowledge and test-taking skills, this exam can be relatively easy to pass.

#TRIBEGOALS

Read the Aug Issue #56 of Athleisure Mag and see #TRIBEGOALS in mag.

ADDING EXAM DUMPS TO YOUR CISCO 200-201 PREPARATION PLAN IS THE BEST WAY TO GET CERTIFIED

Have you been looking for a chance to have your skills recognized and validated? If yes, then you have got it. Obtain your CCNA Certification 200-301 so you can demonstrate to your peers and employers that you can be able to keep pace and stay current with your job role. Get the recognition you have always wanted by proving your Windows Server 2016 expertise.

Taking the Cisco 200-201 exam is the best and proven way to prepare adequately in the Cisco Cybersecurity Operation domain. The candidates for this test are the IT professionals who are responsible for networking tasks. They are expected to have a complete understanding of the networking functionalities and features in the CyberOps environment of the Associate level.

Using valid Author: Joseph R as your aid for this certification test, you will be able to understand what it entails and what to expect in the real exam in terms of the types and number of questions, time limit, and how it should be approached for an excellent performance.

What does the Cisco 200-201 exam entail?

Two CCNA certification exams of the CyberOps track have already been retired by Cisco on May 28, 2020. Now, the company has changed the name of the credential and it is known as Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate. The SECOPS and SECFND tests have been combined into one, CBROPS, which became available on February 24, 2020. This new exam does not require any prerequisites. It contains about 95 to 105 questions with the time limit of 120 minutes.

The 200-201 CBROPS exam includes the following areas that you should learn:

·       Security Policies and Procedures (15%);

·       Host-Based Analysis (20%);

·       Security Monitoring (25%);

·       Network Intrusion Analysis (20%);

·       Shop This >>>

As you can see, the Cisco 200-201 exam covers mainly the basic skills of cybersecurity. Thus, you should conceptually understand its topics, including PKI infrastructure, encryption, antivirus, firewall, and some specific technologies, such as SIEM, Wireshark, and Author: Mark N.

Benefits after passing the Cisco 200-201 exam

With the Cisco 200-201 exam, you will have the opportunity to learn the fundamental skills and get the relevant knowledge of deploying Cisco Cybersecurity Operations. The badge you obtain will make sure that you can work with both an improved and new understanding of the required fundamentals.

In addition, you will also be able to find dependable Software-Defined Data Center solutions for your organization. As a result, you will become a conceivable employee who will worth more to the employers ensuring you get the job in return. Dealing with the Cisco 200-201 exam is the only thing standing in your way to getting the career everyone wants. Here are some of the related job roles, which you can get after passing your CBROPS test:

·       Network Analyst;

·       Systems Administrator;

·       Network Administrator;

·       Author: Philip Q

And this is the least that you will be able to apply for and get.

Conclusion

Cisco Start can help you develop and grow your skills, as well as stay updated and more employable. If you use some practice tests during your preparation process, they can help you ace this certification exam so you can tap on the brilliant career opportunities that come with passing it. So, don’t miss the chance and grab it right away!

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