Skinny-Teatox

By: Bethany Barich (Follow on Instagram & Twitter)

If there’s one part of the body that needs to have strength during a good yoga session, it’s the core. Not only does having a powerful core help alleviate back pain, improve posture and balance, but having a strong core just looks fantastic!

Who doesn’t dream of having a tiny midsection with the hint of a six-pack?

Add all of those benefits with the amazing ones from doing yoga daily, and you’re on the way to becoming a positive and slimmer person!

To improve on that core and help better yoga postures (including the ones about to be listed), here are some of the top moves to help strengthen the core and flatten the stomach:

Boat Pose

Boat Pose is definitely not an easy pose to ease in to. If you’re new to yoga or, in general, core strengthening moves, checking out beginner variations of boat pose is highly recommended. But once you’re finally into the advanced variation your core will be halfway to it’s full potential. Not only is this move beneficial to strengthening the core, but it’s also a fantastic balancing pose and it helps stretch the hamstrings!

By: Robyn Sukatski  

Fitness Bands: Worth It?

Have you been thinking about getting a fitness band but don’t know which to buy? Fitness bands not only track your exercise and sleep patterns, but help you get in shape and stay in shape. There are multiple bands on the market and some do more than others, while some cost more than others. It’s up to you to decide which is going to work best for you and fit your lifestyle.

Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the top rated bands:

Garmin Vivofit 2        

The Garmin is not as well advertised but may be one of the best bands out there. This fitness band syncs with Bluetooth and is both Android and iOS compatible. It connects with heart rate monitors, is waterproof up to 50 meters and has a battery life that lasts 1 year blowing the competition out of the water. Not only does it track your progress daily, weekly and monthly, it adjusts your goals based on whether you reach them or not. Visually it also reigns as you can purchase interchangeable bands from patterns to solids to metallic finishes. The Garmin retails at $129.99. 

By: Cassandra Cardona

Hello all, it’s me Cassandra again, and I am I back with a regular gym day routine for you. I want to point out a few things that are very important.

Whenever working out always remember this and never forget it, “form over function”. You NEVER want to sacrifice your form over performing the exercise. You can injure yourself very fast that way. So, when training, grab a weight that you can maintain the perfect form with. Of course, you don’t want to grab a 3lb dumbbell and do your biceps if you know you can curl 10lbs. The movement obviously should create some discomfort, and burn. But it shouldn’t cause you to start leaning the wrong way or hyper-extending your body in any way. Form is the most important component of an affective training day.

By: Megan Harvey

Behold the power of juice! No I’m not talking about the orange drink found in a plastic jug on your supermarket shelf; I’m talking about using a countertop appliance to extract the juice from fresh fruits and vegetables. For some of you die hard ‘jug juicers’ this concept may be completely foreign, so let me start at the beginning.

What is juicing?

Juicing has always been around but in more recent years we have moved from manual juicing (think those little lemon juicers and manual presses) to incredible motorized juicing machines. If you have ever owned a TV I’m sure you’ve seen the infomercial for Jack Lalanne’s Power Juicer and maybe you seriously considered buying one. Don’t forget that Jack lived to an amazing 98 years old, and swore by juicing and a healthy diet that did not contain any processed food. He lived by "if man made it, don't eat it" seems pretty simple doesn’t it?

By: Taylor Hollingsworth

When it comes to trying to loose weight, we ladies all know that the struggle is in fact, real. It can be a frustrating and time consuming ordeal trying to shed those few extra pounds around our mid section.

Not to worry, below is my list of 10 foods that can give you that extra push needed to get the perfect belly. 

1.Chia Seeds

When I say Chia seeds what do you think of? Do you think of a whole grain food loaded with fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and tons of antioxidants? If so, you're ahead of the game.

Chia seeds are slowly but surely coming the next “super food”. Most plant foods can't compare to the amount of quality protein found in these powerful seeds. What makes these tiny super seeds so beneficial when trying to loose weight is that the protein found in them is the most weight loss friendly macronutrient and can decrease cravings and reduce appetite.

These seeds can be paired with almost anything. From fruit smoothies to bread, this seed is truly a front runner when fighting stubborn belly fat.

2.Greek Yogurt

Not only is greek yogurt packed with tons of probiotics to help regulate and balance the digestive system, but it can also aide with weight loss. Since protein takes longer to digest in the body, it can help you feel full longer.

This is most important when trying not to pick up that unhealthy snack in-between meals. Greek yogurt is absolutely a perfect alternative healthy snack to help minimize those extra cravings, and its not a bad thing that it goes with almost any fruit or vegetable.