Elite Youth 2008 Rankings Are Here!!

 The 2008 Rankings are in, The new season rankings are just beginning to come in, almost daily they will be changing and updating. Check it out and see where your youth athlete is. Below are a few pictures of a few of the latest  girl athletes  in  So Cal Region 15 and there current Top 20 Ranking as of 3.30.08    eliteyouth.com 

 Janette Paul Quiet Fire  100M # 2  14.14   1#400 Left with Mom and Sister

Autumn Wright  L.A.Jets 100m  #7 14.42  #20 400 1:14:47 with Lauren Williams

Laura Panteau 100m#9 14.60 and #2  400M 1:06.14 with Lauren Williams

Don’t get left behind Sign up Today for your   Free TrackMom Newsletter  Lots of free information on nutrtion,diet training for your youth athlete. This Month you are entered in a cintest to win a gift card to Nordstroms!!  Sign up Now! Free TrackMom Newsletter

Why Is Hill Work So Important?

 Ask Coach Henry

My wife “TrackMom” Lorraine has asked me to answer a few questions she has received in the mail from  readers of the site. So here I am writing along with her now.  : )

Why is hill training good for sprinters ?

1. Hill sprints provide the perfect combination of strength and speed training.

It’s like lifting weights and sprinting at the same time.  The hill furnishes the resistance for the sprints, making them more difficult while remaining shorter in distance and duration.  It can produce great results in as little as 15 minutes once or twice a week.

 2. Hill sprints build stamina.

Endurance is something that every runner needs, but it has to be a special kind of endurance.  If you want your sprinters  to perform at their peak, you have to avoid low, slow distance types of cardio.  They just won’t work.  The endurance training has to mimic the demands of the race :  short bouts of intense exertion with periods of rest and recovery in between. 

Hill sprints provide just this type of interval training.  They will take your sprinters’ hearts and lungs to far greater intensities than those found in jogging or traditional types of endurance training.  Their bodies will become used to reaching these higher levels, and recovering quickly between the “sprints.”

More and more scientific studies are showing that VO2 Max (the traditional measure of aerobic endurance) is improved as much - or more- by using high intensity exercise like hill sprinting.

3. Hill sprints increase ankle strength - helping prevent one of the most common injuries in sports, the ankle sprain.

Ankles are strengthened because of the need to push off harder when sprinting up the hill.  More drive is needed than when sprinting on a flat surface.  Improved ankle strength also leads to the ability to push off harder during the game - benefiting the sprinter’s important “first step” and the lengthening of their stride on the track.

4. Hill sprints increase sprinters’ speed and explosiveness. 

This is because hill training promotes two key factors in running faster and jumping higher. First, it forces the proper knee lift, which is essential for driving the legs downward and back for more force. 

Second, hill sprinting makes the sprinter dorsi-flex his foot while running.  The closer the toes are brought to the shin, the more force they can apply on ground contact.  Think of dorsi-flexing as loading the foot, then unloading it into the ground, pushing you forward.

Explosiveness is also shown in the way hill sprints can increase a jimpers’ vertical (and horizontal) jumps - a key measure of power. Jumping is really the same as sprinting - pushing your body forward (or up) against gravity.  The more power you can generate from your legs when pushing, the farther or higher you will go.

5. Hill sprints provide a way to safely train your athletes.

In addition to protecting the ankles, hill sprinting will protect against other types of injuries as well.  The last thing you want to do is to injure the athletes while conditioning.

Hill sprinting provides safety in two ways:  One, the slightly shorter stride length of the hill sprint is a great way to protect the hamstrings.  Most hamstring pulls and strains are caused by over-extension  improper firing of the glutes- something that rarely occurs when sprinting hills.

Second, hill sprints can decrease the pounding on the sprinters’ legs.  Studies have shown that even a slight grade can decrease the impact on the runner’s legs by as much as 25%.  Shin splints, foot problems, and sore knees can be greatly reduced by getting on the hills for your sprints.

6. Hill sprints as mental training (my personal favorite)

Besides all the physical benefits, hill sprinting promotes mental toughness and goal-setting behavior in your athletes.  Looking up at the hill can be daunting when your players are fatigued and at the end of their sprint session. 

By using the hill as a metaphor, you can show them the importance of having a goal (the top of the hill), taking the steps necessary to reach it (one step at a time up the hill), and celebrating their success when they reach their goal (their very own Rocky imitation at the top of the hill).  Looking back down the hill after their workout, your athletes can feel the satisfaction of accomplishing something that may have seemed an impossible obstacle.

TrackMom will return tomorrow

Coach Henry Williams

Inspiration Friday…..”Track And Field the Greatest Sport In The World”

 The Greatest Track and Field Athletes in the World….and the list is growing. Maybe your “Youth Athlete” will be there one day…. Good Luck this weekend. Encourage your youth athletes to do their Best….

 TrackMom

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJKK_Jeu9EQ&hl=en]

                             My new fascination “The Javelin”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFCkix3sWCk&hl=en]

Expectation For Positive Results

                                                       Expect the Best

As parents of athletic children we always want them to do their best. How do we bring out the best in a positive nurturing way? Academics as well as athletics should be a hand in hand proposition. They go together, not work separately. In both arenas we should expect the best. Here are some suggestions that apply to both important aspects of the youth athlete’s life.

The author W. Somerset Maugham once wrote, “It is a funny thing about life: If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.” Your expectations can create wondrous achievements. Shooting for the stars helps you become a star.  Before Roger Banisters’ great performance, everyone believed that breaking the four-minute mile was impossible.

 This belief placed a ceiling upon their running performance and prevented their bodies from breaking that elusive barrier. However, after Roger’s great performance, the ceiling was broken and these runners had the “I can” belief. Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re probably right.” Believing you can run as fast as Roger Bannister can make you faster.

 Parents need to develop an “I can” philosophy in their children. Children should believe that everything is possible under the stars. Parents do need to be aware of their own expectations for their children. The following points were adapted from the book “Flying Lessons” Gregg Steinberg, PH.D will help you as a parent focus on having effective expectations for greater achievement. No matter what the level of athletic ability your youth athlete has.

1. Parents must be aware of their expectations for their children. Children have different ability levels, whether it is in science,  track or soccer. Parents usually see the difference. But those apparent differences should not influence their reasonable  expectations for their child.

2. Parents should have high expectations for their children, regardless of ability level. This will lead to interactions between parent and child that contribute to high-level performance. However, expectations should not be set so high that parents have to push their child too hard. Set expectations that are high but realistic. In that way, children will be more likely to achieve their potential.

3. Parents should avoid negative expectations. If your son or daughter has a track record of problem behavior at school, it may be easier to expect the worst. But this could cause a downward spiral to develop. For example, the child has some initial difficulties at school. The parent expects more difficulties, leading to interactions that reinforce the problems at school. In turn, this creates more problems at school.

Until Next Time,

TrackMom

Dehydration Makes Excercise Induced Asthma Worse

                        Dehydration Makes Excercise Inducted Asthma Worse

ScienceDaily  Seattle — If athletes from elite to novice needed yet another reason to drink plenty of fluids during exercise, a new study by University at Buffalo exercise scientists provides it.

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Their research shows that dehydration may induce bronchospasm even before exercise and make exercise-induced asthma worse. Results of the study were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine .”The message continues to be, ‘Drink fluids whenever you get the chance,’” said Frank Cerny, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the UB Department of Physical Therapy, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. “If you have asthma, dehydration may make it worse, particularly during exercise.”Cerny said exercise-induced asthma probably is caused by heat and water loss from the airways. “By dehydrating yourself, the airways also become dehydrated,” he noted. “We first observed this problem in high-school and college athletes — that as they became dehydrated, they seemed to have more trouble with their asthma.”Asthma is a major health problem in the U.S., with experts placing the incidence among children as high as 40 percent. Cerny said 80 - 90 percent of asthma sufferers experience exercise-induced bronchospasm, and that about 10 percent of elite athletes have the condition.In their current study, UB researchers put eight persons between the ages of 19 and 29 with exercise-induced asthma, and eight persons of similar age without the condition, through six minutes of high-intensity exercise on a cycle ergometer and/or treadmill. Each person’s forced vital capacity — the volume of air blown out in one second (FEV1 ) — was measured before and after exercise, both when fully hydrated and after 24 hours without fluids.Results showed that among the non-asthmatics, hydration status had no effect on the FEV1 before, during or after exercise. However, the FEV1 of the asthmatics was significantly lower, both before and after exercise, when they were dehydrated, compared to their respiratory performance when completely hydrated.Researchers found that the rate of respiratory decline remained the same in the asthmatics during exercise, regardless of their state of hydration, but they started out with less capacity when they were dehydrated, Cerny said.

“Asthmatics are more sensitive than non-asthmatics to dehydration, but we need to investigate this condition further to determine how it affects pulmonary function,” he said.

Paula Maxwell, a doctoral student in the UB Department of Physical Therapy, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, was the lead researcher on this study, working with Cerny. Additional researchers were Patricia Ohtake, Ph.D., UB assistant professor of physical therapy, exercise and nutrition sciences, and John Leddy, M.D., associate director of UB’s Sports Medicine Institute.

Adapted from materials provided by University At Buffalo.

 Resources:MLA University At Buffalo (1999, June 7). Dehydration Makes Exercise-Induced Asthma Worse, Study By UB Researchers Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 26 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/1999/06/990607071643.ht

L.A.Jets Relay Carnival 3.22.08

               Taylor, Janette, Lauren and Shante 1st Place

                     Quite Fire Bantams Girl 4×100 Relay

 Saturday was a beautiful day and great weather for a  track meet. As usual smiles for miles and  fun for all the youth athletes. See for yourself.

                       

Wanna see your child here next week? E-mail me a picture and information trackmom1@gmail.com

 Until next time,

Trackmom

Ten Mental Strategies For Your Youth Athlete

How do professional Olympic athletes do it, anyway? They exercise day after day, sometimes even two or three times a day. What drives them to keep trying? I assume you, like me, are not a professional or Olympic athlete, nor do you have the desire to be one. It is hard enough to keep on a fitness routine for good health. How can you stay on track with your fitness and achieve a lifetime of fitness success? Here are 10 mental strategies athletes use, and will help you to a life-long journey of fitness success.

1. Decide on your goal. If you’re not sure what your athletes  goal is, ask her “Why do  want to take time to participate in a sport?” Is it because you “have to” or because you “want to”? Find a personal reason that rings an emotional bell.   

2. Find an inspiration. Help your athlete find someone or something (A “PR” maybe?)  they admire, it is much easier to stay on course. Keep picturing their success and follow their strategy. A successful person’s way of achieving success may be your key to success as well.

3. Visualize your objective. Encourage her to see her self yourself exactly as they want their outcome to be. Olympic athletes picture themselves on the podium with a medal every time they practice their sport.  

4. Encourage yourself. Help your athlete encourage herself. Winners don’t talk down to themselves, but build themselves up. If you want her  to be successful, give her the acknowledgment that her goal is not only possible, it’s inevitable. Many say that they will try to succeed at something only if obstacles, such as time or money, won’t get in their way. They’ve already given themselves a reason to fail. People who say they will succeed regardless of obstacles are the winners.

5. Don’t quit. Never allow them to consider quitting, Remind them that success doesn’t come to those who quit. Even if their training seems too routine, or maybe even too hard, adjust it. Time, place and activities can be changed, but once you quit, you lose your momentum, and it’s only that much harder to begin again.

6. Overcome your fear.  Help her define her fears. Is it fear of failing? Fear of uncertainty? She can’t fail; unlessshe does nothing at all. Even a little effort means you’ve succeeded.

7. Get some feedback. If your athlete can measure  success, whether in seconds ,minutes or hours, feet and inches and how she feels about it, you’re more likely to  have an athlete that wants to continue the pursuit.  Encourage her to journal her activities, and write how she feels both physically and mentally. Looking back in her journal will be an inspiration to keep with her  routines and goals. It’s hard to see progress when you’re knee-deep in the trenches, but if you remember where you came from, you’ll be inspired by your own actions and results.

8. Have a support team. Be a great support to your  youth athlete, show the possibilities in all sporting situations. Be a great cheerleader. A cheerleader’s purpose is to keep a team motivated, and can even make a big difference in a  game or meet. You are your child’s special team support .Yours support is just what she needs to work through frustration or boredom.

9. Maximize your opportunities. It may take some thinking outside of the box, but look for ways to  help your youth athlete  fit in every day living situations not just sports competition . Walk or ride your bike whenever possible. Stretch while you’re watching television, (we do this at home and it works great) or buy a fitness ball to sit on while watching TV too! Help your athlete to look at the world as an opportunity to get stronger, and be creative. This will allow fitness to be a natural part of their day.

10. Knowledge + Action = Achievement. If you want your youth athlete to achieve a lifetime of fitness, you only need two things:  teach her the clarity of mind to know she need to keep active and the get-up-and-go to “just do it”. One without the other will get you nowhere. And if you’re reading this article, you’re not the kind that is content with status quo for your special youth athlete.

Until next time,

TrackMom

Reducing Your Stress Helps You And Your Youth Athlete

Continuing on the theme from yesterday of setting  good health and wellness examples for your children,  think about what you can do to improve the quality of your life which will enhance the quality of your child’s. 

 To be the best for our children we have to help ourselves  be the best emotionally and physically. Remember, to really help your child on a plane when the oxygen  mask falls down for use you MUST place the oxygen mask over your own nose and mouth  before, YES before you can place it over your child’s. Read the following article and take one small step to decreasing your stress and improve your health.  

We certainly live in stressful times. It’s not easy to assess whether our era is the most stressful, but we do have plenty of daily stress. The job, the home, the kids, the relatives, and the economy - all these stresses add up and yet we wonder why we have so many aches and pains.

So many ailments are stress-related. Americans are notoriously overweight. Overeating is a stress-coping mechanism.¹ Headaches and backaches are often associated with increased stress. There’s a strong correlation between high blood pressure and stress, ulcers and stress, and even cancer and stress.

What can we do? The external stresses in our lives aren’t going away. Our activity-filled lives are busy and complex - there’s always going to be stress. The key is to help avoid or ease the physical effects of stress. Interestingly, chiropractic treatment can be of great assistance in reducing the effects of stress on the body.

In general, stress causes muscles to tighten. This is an unconscious reaction. Tight muscles cause a cascade of further muscle tightening, shortening of muscles and ligaments, and a resulting decrease of mobility in joints, particularly shoulder joints, hip joints, and joints of the spine.^2,3

This overall mechanical effect of stress has a number of additional consequences. All the extra unconscious muscle activity wastes precious nutritional resources and uses up energy needed for critical body functions. Lactic acid accumulates, irritating nerve endings and further increasing muscular tightness. And, importantly, the losses in spinal joint mobility lead directly to increased levels of pain. This, of course, leads to more stress.

This vicious circle of stress, muscular tightness, and pain can be relieved and reduced by chiropractic treatment.⁴ Chiropractic therapy is specially designed to improve joint mobility of the spine and pelvis. This gentle, effective treatment gradually restores maximal spinal motion. Muscle tightness is alleviated, metabolic processes begin to return to normal, and nutrients become more available to help maintain healthy functioning. Levels of pain are reduced, and we become better able to withstand the physical effects of stress.

Your chiropractor can explain the many benefits of treatment, and will provide instruction in stretching techniques and specific exercises that help maintain the positive results of therapy.

There will always be stress. We can learn how to reduce the physical effects of stress, and become stronger, healthier, and happier in the process.

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Take a Break! A few quick tips -

• Get up out of your chair or leave your workbench and walk over to an open window. Change your point-of-view. Breathe some fresh air.
• Go for a five-minute walk, either in the corridors of your building or out-of-doors.
• Call a friend and chat for five minutes.
• Close your eyes, clear your mind, and take an imaginary vacation - relaxing on a warm beach, deep-sea fishing on a beautiful yacht, or skiing down a gorgeous mountain.

These short, focused breaks will help reduce muscular tightness and physical stress, and also help your brain recharge so you can be more creative and productive!

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¹Marchesini G, et al: Psychiatric distress and health-related quality of life in obesity. Diabetes Nutr Metab 16(3):145-154, 2003
²Weickgenant AL, et al: Coping activities in chronic low back pain: relationship with depression. Pain 53(1):95-103, 1993
³Burns JW: Arousal of negative emotions and symptom-specific reactivity in chronic low back pain patients. Emotion 6(2):309-319, 2006
⁴Hurwitz EL, et al. A randomized trial of chiropractic and medical care for patients with low back pain. Spine 31(6):611-621, 2006

Setting A Better Example For Your Youth Athlete

 Set a better example

While 15 percent of kids are overweight, that number pales in comparison to adults, a whopping 60 percent of whom are overweight or obese.

A recent survey by the American Dietetic Association Foundation found that, more than anyone else, parents have the most potential to influence their children’s behavior, including their eating habits. Parents were chosen by kids as their most important role model, outshining “rock stars” and “celebrities.”

This survey confirms what we’ve long known: Kids watch what their parents do and they follow much of that behavior. That certainly includes eating and exercise. Research has found strong links between the food mothers eat and the choices made by their children.

We cannot slink into the couch and cavalierly command our kids to “go play, go get some exercise.” Part of helping your child commit to better fitness is becoming a positive role model by making your own exercise a priority and by playing with your child more often.

Exercising with your children is a great way to spend quality time with them, improve their health and make your own exercise more rewarding. Staying fit can improve your child’s self-esteem and decrease their risk of developing serious illnesses, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

You can also set a good example by eating better. Improving your diet needn’t be unpleasant or unpalatable either. Health food isn’t what it used be. There are more sumptuous options out there than ever before; it’s just a matter of taking the time to find them.

Limit tube time

The average American child gets less than one hour of exercise per week, but watches more than 30 hours of television. Thirty hours. This is mind boggling.

A University of Buffalo study found that a child’s risk of obesity doubles for every hour of TV he or she watches each week; for many kids, that’s a whole lot of doubling going on. You may consider striking a deal with your children. For every two hours of TV viewing, they must engage in one hour of fun physical activity. The operative word there is “fun.”

Make it fun (really fun)

According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 75 percent of high school students do not attend physical education classes. Much of that has to do with the fact that it isn’t fun. If it were, more kids would attend. Parents, coaches and teachers need to band together and commit to keeping sports fun and challenging for kids.

If kids who are overweight are having fun, weight loss comes as a natural consequence of the activity, rather than the focus. Make having fun the singular focus of your child’s relationship with physical activity.

“Kids who enjoy sports and exercise tend to stay active throughout their lives. And staying fit can help improve your child’s self-esteem and decrease the risk of serious illnesses (such as heart disease and stroke) later in life,” says Dr. Steven Dowshen, chief medical editor for KidsHealth.com.

Expose kids to new activities that they truly enjoy - and that they excel in. I was an overweight, gangly mouth-breather in grade school. I hated sports. That is, until I played my first game of soccer. My parents took the time to help me discover my bliss, and once I did, I couldn’t be stopped! I was even known to sleep with my soccer ball.

Never before have there been more sports available to kids: ballet, lacrosse, water polo, soccer, golf, tennis. Keep trying new activities until you find the one that clicks with your kid.

Strike a junk food deal

Each year, the average American child eats 28 pounds of french fries and consumes 868 cans of soda a year. (Yes, you read that right). You may want to consider this approach: No junk food during the week, but on weekends, allow your kids to slack off and have the bad stuff. That way, they’re consuming less overall junk food, and you haven’t made it as taboo, which only increases their desire to have it. Another related strategy to help kids eat better is not to deny the “bad foods,” but merely to insist that they have the “good stuff” first. The idea is that after eating the good, they will have less room for the bad. That’s not a bad suggestion for parents, either.

Take time to eat together

In our culture, we tend to view food as a tool rather than as nourishment. We often eat on the run and give little or no thought to what we’re putting into our bodies or how we’re doing that. We need to give more reverence to food - and to mealtimes. Establish daily meal and snack times, and eat together as frequently as possible. Some research has shown that kids who sit down to eat with their families develop healthier dietary habits. This is a tip that can benefit parents as well.

Parents, it’s a now-or-never proposition to keep our children healthy and fit; their lives depend on it. Exercising with your children is a great way to spend quality time with them, improve their health and make your own exercise more rewarding. Staying fit can improve your child’s self-esteem and decrease their risk of developing serious illnesses, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

We cannot blame this problem on video games or TV commercials or Tony the Tiger - or the “resistance” put up by our children. That merely disempowers us. The solution to the problem of childhood obesity in this country - resulting from too little exercise and poor nutrition - rests squarely on the shoulders of parents.

Let’s all take the concerted and consistent action necessary to improve the health and fitness of our children. After all, they are our most precious asset.

 Until next time,

TrackMom

Juicing For A Great Energy Boost!

I really like juicing before a meet. It is quick, easy and provides lots of good nutrients.Lauren has  always liked my juicing,of course she frowns a bit at the green variety but with a little coaxing she takes that down too! Juicing is a great way to make sure your youth athlete starts the day off with a good nutrient base. Try juicing before the meet tomorrow .It can  provide all the right stuff your youth athlete needs before the race.

Track Mom

 There’s a common myth out there that you should refrain from eating before working out.   Your body needs fuel to provide energy for your workout and compete–whether it be cardio, weightlifting or running. Juicing and blending the right food nutrients(protiens healthy fats) can be a quick and easy way to get the best, energy-boosting fuel that your body needs for an effective workout.

There are numerous types of foods that can be juiced or blended. Foods with complex carbohydrates provide some of the best energy-producing fuel, as they supply glucose and are able to convert glucose into energy slowly, giving your muscles a consistent energy supply throughout your workout. Complex carbs are also better for your body because they’re typically found in foods that are loaded with vitamins, minerals and nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables and grains.

Your body takes about five hours to digest fat, three hours for protein and two hours for carbohydrates. For this reason if your workout is a few hours away your meal should consist of a combination of low fat, high carb foods with moderate protein. If your workout is about 90 minutes away–have a snack to energize.

This is where juicing enters the picture. Health drinks can be prepared quickly, easily and can be a great source of complex carbohydrates, protein, minerals, vitamins and nutrients.

The following recipes and their descriptions are extracted from the book Power Juices Super Drinks, by Steve Meyerowitz. They provide some great examples of health drinks that will boost your bodies’ energy for a more effective workout.

Battery Recharge

The first example is a quick pick me-up that provides long term energy and is easy to make. Carrot juice is a great source of beta-carotene, the famous antioxidant that protects against the damaging effects of exercise and increases oxygen in the blood, tissues and brain. Ginseng is renown for providing strength and energy. Garlic, among its many other benefits, increases stamina.

• 8 oz Carrot Juice
• 1 clove Garlic, juiced
• 1 tsp Ginseng Powder(or fresh piece ½ inch)
• ¼ Apple

Juice the carrots and garlic and stir in the ginseng powder or granules. Ginseng is available at health and oriental food stores. Use organic carrots for the best tasting juice.

Stamina and Endurance

The second example involves banana and spirulina, good sources of potassium and important for the conversion of glucose to glycogen for energy. Magnesium (from bran, almonds and spirulina) is important for the storage and release of glycogen. Almonds are also a high energy food, producing six calories per gram. Adequate levels of chromium (from bran and banana) and zinc (from spirulina) help balance blood sugar regulation and therefore energy production.

• 1 Cup Apple Juice
• 1 Banana
• 2 Tbsp Oat, Rice or Wheat Bran
• 1 Tbsp Spirulina, Chlorela or Blue-Green Algae
• 8 — 12 Almonds
• To Taste Pure Water

Blend the banana and the bran in the juice until smooth. Add the spirulina or other algae powder. For best digestion, almonds should be softened by pre-soaking them for several hours. If you like a crunchy, chewy drink, add the almonds at the end and just chop or blend them briefly.

Muscle Milk

Oats provide a rich source of carbohydrates that are easily converted into energy. Oats increase stamina and are particularly fortifying for the heart muscle. Oat milk is available in health food stores, or you can make your own. Or you may substitute soy milk.

The calcium contained in cocoa acts as a muscle tonic and helps with muscular contraction. Whey protein is the richest dietary source of BCAA’s, a form of amino acids that builds muscle mass. Whey protein prevents muscle loss and promotes muscle growth and repair. Honey provides glucose, a source of energy.

• 1 cup Oats or Soy Milk
• 1 tsp Whey Protein Powder
• 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp Honey

Serve hot or cold. If drinking hot, stir the cocoa powder and whey into the hot milk. Heat up to a boil, but do not boil. If drinking cold, shake or blend the powders and honey thoroughly into the milk.

Tips for Successful Juicing

• There are loads of other healthy fruits, vegetables and grains that can be juiced and blended to benefit your body for pre and post workouts. Consider the following tips when using your juicer or blender.
• Always remove the peel from citrus fruits before juicing them. The peels from oranges, tangerines and grapefruits contain oils that are indigestible and provide a bitter taste. If consumed in large quantities citrus peels can lead to digestive problems. Lemon and lime peels can be juiced, but if consuming them, make sure they’re organic to avoid pesticides. The white portion of a citrus fruit is actually the most beneficial part as it contains the most vitamin C and bioflavonoids (an antioxidant).
• Don’t forget to wash your produce and remove any bruised portions.
• Remove large pits and hard seeds from fruits such as peaches, plumbs and cherries. Smaller and softer seeds, like those found in watermelons and grapes, can be juiced as they include beneficial nutrients.

Until next time

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