By Ashley Watson

Whether you are training for a marathon or just trying to get in shape, it’s the time of year that many runners start getting serious about their training. If you want to be in the best shape possible, don’t forget the value of strength training for runners.

According to an article in Runner’s World, strength training can help reduce the risk of injury and improve overall performance. It can also help you keep off those few extra pounds: “Studies have shown that strength training can improve body composition by helping you maintain or increase your lean body mass and can decrease your percentage of body fat, helping you look leaner and burn additional calories.”

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By Ashley Watson

After I moved into an apartment building with a fitness center, I could no longer justify paying for a gym membership. But the one thing I do miss about my gym is the sauna. While I found many benefits to using the sauna after a workout, here are the top five.

1. Eliminates Toxins in the Body

Sweating helps release toxins that build up in your body. Because many of the toxins from our environment get trapped in the water molecules of your body’s cells, these pollutants are excreted through urine or sweat. The deep sweating caused by sitting in a sauna increases the elimination of toxins—which can reduce blood flow and disrupt cell energy and reproduction.

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By Karin Krisher

Resistance bands can give you a whole new type of workout. They’re perfect if you want to shake things up at the gym or if you have a small budget, small space, and small amount of time. For women, they can provide strength training while creating tone, instead of bulk.

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By Karin Krisher

All right folks, we’re back again with another awesome smoothie recipe that supports energy and muscle recovery to keep you at your brightest.*

Healthy shakes are a dime a dozen. But delicious healthy shakes? Those are hard to come by.

This one is incredibly simple. It includes just five ingredients and a power punch for your morning or after a good workout. In the spring, it’s a great choice for its green content and for added energy support.* DMG is included to support recovery and oxygen utilization, as well as to support antioxidant power!*

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By Karin Krisher

This week, hemp seed oil kept coming up in our health conversations. As it seems to be a staple of many nutrition and beauty companies’ offerings, and our customers are interested, we decided to look into it a little further. So, what are the benefits of hemp oil?

Some advocates call hemp seed oil “Nature’s Perfect Food.” Derived from the seeds of the Cannabis sativa plant, it does not contain the psychoactive compound THC.

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By Karin Krisher

At the end of winter, my skin isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the healthy glow of summers past. Gone is the moisture of humid June air. And sticking with me, of course, is the dry, flaky feeling of five months of freezing. And I’m sick of it.

Wouldn’t it be great if I didn’t have to go through these cycles? Wouldn’t it be lovely to have something—anything—to support normal skin health and hydration all year long? Because FoodScience skin care supplements are designed to do just that, I decided that this year I would assist myself with normal upkeep from the beginning, so the end wouldn’t be so…rough.

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If you started the year off with a bang and are now dragging, this post is for you. If you feel physically energetic but mental fatigue is weighing you down, this post is for you. If you’ve ever been stressed in your life—you guessed it—this post is definitely for you.

Because this post is about making excuses not to exercise.

It’s a slippery slope, one decorated with big red signs telling you to stop and exits that beckon, but that you can’t seem to reach. It’s a cycle, even: you’re stressed, so you don’t work out. You don’t work out, so you’re stressed.

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By Karin Krisher

We know winter doesn’t last forever, and we keep holding out hope that we’re almost out of the chill. But here in Vermont, it stays cold for a while. If you’re in a warmer climate, consider these winter running tips whenever gearing up for an especially cold day.

Your main goal should be to keep your muscles warm without sweating too much. To that end, nothing is more important than a serious warm up. Move around a bunch inside, either by jumping rope or mopping the floor, so that by the time you head outside, you’re body is working up to warm. Walk briskly for a few minutes and before you break a sweat, start your run.

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