In recent years awareness of vitamin D deficiency and resulting related conditions has increased dramatically. Canadians specifically are affected by this issue with estimates of more than 97% of Canadians being deficient at some point in the year. Vitamin D – long known only as the body’s catalyst for proper calcium absorption – is now known to play a key part in cell growth regulation in the body. The health ramifications appear to be enormous with a reduced risk of breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancer as well as multiple sclerosis and diabetes.

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Have you tried using the Woodway Curve self propelled treadmill at both BeachWalk Family Fitness locations? It’s an amazing cardiovascular workout that burns more calories than the traditional motor powered treadmill. It’s IDEAL for doing intervals because you don’t have to wait for the motor to slow down or speed up. It’s just like doing run/walk intervals outdoors.

The Woodway Curve addresses the common concern treadmill runners have about the treadmill doing half the work. Essentially, with the band being moved for you, instead of moving yourself forward on pavement, you are losing out on some of the benefits of running on the road. The curve is not powered by electricity, but instead by the user itself, allowing for the runner to accelerate and decelerate at his or her own pace. Avoiding a treadmill because it is doing half the work is then also no longer necessary.

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If you enjoyed the high protein pancake recipes that I shared in a recent post, you’re going to fall head over heels in love with these high protein crepe recipes.

In 4 out of the 5 high protein crepe recipes below, I add 1 scoop of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Protein Powder, which you can find behind the counter at BeachWalk Family Fitness. There are 77 servings in the container and it’s a great value. I’ve used both the Double Chocolate and the Cookies and Cream flavours in these recipes and love the taste! Protein powders is definitely not just for shakes. Adding it to your recipes is a great way to boost your protein consumption while adding flavor.

Some of these recipes are ideal for post workout meals or for breakfast, because they are higher in carbs as well as protein. Others are very low carb recipes, for the times when you are cutting back on your carbs a bit.

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Today I would like to share a favorite meal of mine that I eat everyday, either for breakfast or as a post workout meal. This healthy and tasty recipe allows me to achieve one of my main goals, which is to consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight everyday. It’s just as important that I consume adequate amounts of carbohydrates to keep my energy levels up throughout my weight training sessions. That’s what makes high protein oatmeal pancakes an ideal meal for physique artists like you and me.

I have been experimenting with a variety of high protein oatmeal pancake recipes. Here are just a few to give you an example. Please feel free to modify the recipes to suit your caloric needs…

High Protein Oatmeal, Banana, Blueberry, and Cinnamon Pancake

Ingredients:

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There was a great turnout at our first Body Sculpting Secrets Seminar last night. Thank you to everyone who took the time out of their busy evening to take part in the presentation.

The Body Sculpting Secrets Seminar covered the key motivation, nutrition, and workout strategies that I applied during my recent transformation…

Here’s Some Highlights From The Seminar…

Mindset: Change the way that you view training and nutrition. Transform yourself from a fitness enthusiast to a physique artist. View your body as a work of art.

Ditch the scale. Focus on visual progress. Take daily or weekly photos of yourself as a measure of your progress. Schedule a photo shoot for accountability and to reward yourself in the end.

Use a training journal and nutrition log book to track your progress and to become inspired every time that you improve from workout to workout or week to week with your nutrition.

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Rennee and Mario recently invested in a new piece of equipment that has me giddy with excitement. It’s called a Hex Bar or Trap Bar. It’s great for performing Deadlifts, Rows, Shrugs, and many other exercises. What I like about performing Deadlifts with the Hex Bar is that I don’t scrape up my shins and it’s easier on my lower back.

Here’s a video demonstration of a killer superset routine that you can add to the end of your back workout using the Hex Bar…

The superset begins with

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Lately I have been hearing many of my friends complain about lower back tightness, tension, and soreness. They’ve been asking if there is anything that I can recommend they do in order to relieve the tension and get on with their workouts.

Now before I continue, I must make it absolutely clear that I am not a doctor or specialized therapist of any kind. If you are experiencing lower back pain I recommend that you first consult with your physician to ensure that the problem is not any more severe than you may believe.

The tips that I am about to share are based on my personal experiences with lower back tightness or soreness and how I relieved the tension.

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This killer quad developing exercise is for BeachWalk Fitness members who have what it takes to dig deep and give every workout absolutely everything that they’ve got. This is not for the faint of heart.

This exercise is to be performed toward or at the end of a leg workout. It’s a finisher. By the time that you get to it, your legs should already be pretty close to toast.

The exercise is… 3/4 Hack Squats, where you go down deep and only come up 3/4’s of the way. This will keep constant tension on your quads. Here’s the video demo…

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Jen Moore is a Certified Personal Trainer and Kettlebell Instructor at BeachWalk Family Fitness. “Best Thing About Life, is Loving Who You Are.”

Nutrition Tip: Don’t skip meals, just beacuse you are eating less food doesn’t mean you are losing weight. You are putting your body into starvation mode and lowering your metabolism. You should eat 5-8 small meals a day to maintain energy levels and to prevent temptations to binge.

Eliminating complex carbs will allow you to sustain your energy levels throughout the day, while making improvements and staying super lean.

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If you have recently began running on the treadmill and experienced pain or tightness in your shins or plan to begin running as a way to promote cardiovascular health, but would like to avoid getting shin splints in the process, you’re going to benefit greatly from watching the video below.

There are many great exercises and stretches that will help you avoid shin splints as well as recover from them, but today I am going to focus on a few that have helped me the most.

The first exercise to strengthen the muscles in your shins requires only a

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