Cardio Trek - Toronto Personal Trainer

5 National Parks that are Great for Cardio Workouts

Joshua Tree National Park

By Ella, October 2018.

America's vast network of national parks is one of the country's most well-loved treasures. From towering mountaintops to crystal waters to sweeping desert land, the parks are varied in their terrain and choices of recreational opportunities. These parks are an ideal place to get outside for your workout and connect with Mother Nature at the same time. Here are five national parks that are ideal for getting in a solid cardio workout:

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK: The desert wonderland is ideal for those seeking dry and warm conditions during their workout. Mountain climbers and those looking for a surge of adrenaline will revel in all of the rock faces just asking to be climbed and scaled. Because rock climbing is a serious calorie blaster, Joshua Tree National Park is a great place to work up a sweat in the desert while feeling good about your cardio efforts. Located in Southern California and straddling both the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert, this park is named for its network of twisted Joshua trees of the region. Sweeping views of the Coachella Valley give this park a distinctive desert vibe.

Voyageurs National Park

VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK: This unique park is located near International Falls, Minnesota, close to the Canadian border. The area is most known for its large network of waterways, creating an oasis for those who love being out on the water. Exercise enthusiasts will delight in the many opportunities to kayak, canoe, and SUP their way through a workout. The remote location makes Voyageurs National Park the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday living. Unlike some national parks that can get extremely crowded during the high tourist season, Voyageurs is a haven for peace of solitude.

ROCK CREEK NATIONAL PARK: This urban oasis is conveniently located in Washington, D.C., making it a quick escape to those city dwellers who want to get away from the lights and noise of the nation's capital and connect with nature. 32 miles of wooded trails beckon runners, walkers, hikers, and bikers. The Thompson Boat Center provides the opportunity to rent kayaks and canoes if a water workout is what your body is craving. Those looking for a competitive team sport can take to the many tennis courts or the 18-hole golf course.

Rock Creek National Park

Golden Gate National Park

GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARK: This jewel is one of the most visited national parks in the country. And for good reason. The San Francisco park gives visitors plenty of opportunities to get in a good workout while providing amazing views of the city landscape at the same time. The experience of biking along the Golden Gate Bridge and taking in all of its majesties never gets old. The urban location delivers a variety of group exercise class options located in the park.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK: There is no shortage of outdoor recreational opportunities in Colorado, but this gem in Estes Park is top of the list. In the winter, the snowy mountains of the region deliver a host of skiing, snowshoeing, and snowboarding options. However, the workout fun does not stop when the temperatures warm up. The summer, spring, and fall provide a bevy of opportunities to work up a sweat while running, hiking, or biking through the many trails. When are you done with your workout, the quaint town of Estes Park is a fun place to grab a bite to eat or do some shopping in the historic downtown area.

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

Whatever your workout fancy, America's national parks provide something for every personal need and preference. The only thing left to do is lace up your shoes and get moving!

Ella, Content Manager for trekbible , is a writer and content specialist with a predilection for learning and exploring new places and cultures around the world. With family scattered throughout the U.S. and South Korea, she loves to see cross-cultural influences around the world. Her favorite thing to do on her travels is to taste the local cuisine of each destination.

7 Ways a Physical Therapist can Ease Your Pain

7 Ways a Physical Therapist Can Ease Your Pain

If you’ve been dealing with a sports injury for some time, you may want to take a trip to a physical therapist. Additionally, if you have a short-term injury that you’d like to speed up your recovery for, seeing a PT about your treatment options is a smart idea. The reason is that physical therapy has an excellent track record in a variety of wellness domains. One of them is pain reduction for short and long-term injuries. Below, we explain exactly how a physical therapist can ease your pain and hopefully convince you to give one a try.

Targeted Exercise

When you have a significant sports injury, exercising without in-depth knowledge of your conditions is a risky decision. What will likely happen is you injuring yourself even more, and making your eventual recovery more difficult. The best way to avoid this trap is by talking to a physical therapist first. They will construct a workout plan for you that takes your injury into account and makes it better, not worse.

Manual Therapy

One option your therapist will explore with you is manual therapy, which refers to treatments that are done using just the hands. What this will entail is feeling, massage, and stretching the injured area and those that surround it. There are many purposes for this type of therapy, but the most common are making an initial diagnosis, warm up, cool down, and soft tissue treatment.

Other Treatments

Beyond manual therapy, there are a variety of methods that your PT might use to treat your sports injury:

Ice - The primary purpose of ice is to constrict blood vessels and reduce inflammation. Though an inflammatory response can help an injury, it can also become excessive and painful. Your PT may use ice to manage that inflammation.

Heat - In other situations, heat is the answer. The reason is that it can reduce pain and increase mobility. Additionally, when you are more mobile, you are more receptive to manual therapy.

Ultrasound - Your PT might use ultrasound waves to loosen your tissue before using other forms of therapy.

Laser - Lasers have a variety of functions, but the most prevalent are stimulating healing, reducing inflammation, and lessening pain.

Electrical - Sending electrical impulses through your body can stimulate muscle contraction and speed up the healing process.

Education

One of the best things your therapist can do for you is to educate you on the nature of your sports injury. Not only will this let you understand it better, but it will also inform you on how to live with it. With this knowledge, you can go about your life without making your injury worse.

Avoid Surgery

Though many people with injuries opt for surgery, its track record is not as good as you might think. In fact, a significant portion of operations do not yield the results that they intend, or even make symptoms worse. Physical therapy helps you avoid this cost and pain by using non-surgical methods.

Speed Up Recovery

While you might recover without any attention from a PT, their expertise will surely speed up your recovery. This will allow you to feel less pain and get back to living your life without restriction.

Keeping You Involved

A great thing about physical therapy, as opposed to traditional medicine or surgery, is that you are involved. Your therapist will explain your injury to you and inform you on how to treat it. Because of this, you take an active role in your recovery, which makes you feel less pain and more satisfaction.

If your sports injury is severe enough, you will probably see a family doctor about it. Depending on the nature of that injury, your next step might be seeing a PT. This is the right choice, as physical therapy has been shown to be incredibly useful in pain reduction. If you’re interested in seeing what physical therapy can do for you, find yourself a local physical therapy clinic and schedule a consultation.

6 Foods to Improve your Diet

Losing weight is often a combination of exercise activities plus eating and drinking in a healthy manner. Even if you do intense exercises, you must watch what you eat, or you will not meet your weight loss objective. It is beneficial if you are very specific about what foods you are putting into your body, or else you may be consuming foods that are no good for you and are ultimately ruining your weight loss goals. Some foods are also slow in providing you with the desired weight loss results.

A highly controversial category of foods for weight loss includes superfoods, and they are controversial because the "superfoods industry" is often trying to push exotic plants that cost a lot more. However you don't need to be buying exotic foods to find superfoods, there are superfoods which are right under your nose and don't cost a bundle.

This includes apples, eggs, berries and other common foods found in your local run-of-the-mill grocery store. They come highly recommended for individuals who are looking to burn belly fat. Also, they provide various other health benefits to boost the functionality of your body. The following are some recommended foods for weight loss.

Apples

As a fruit, apples are good for general body health. Apples suppress hunger thanks to their soluble fiber. They also contain pectin as well as regulate your glucose levels. This will help to make you feel full longer and in turn reduce your food intake. In addition, due to the fact that you have to chew them longer (enjoy the crunchiness), you will feel fuller as your body registers that you have eaten more. This is not to say that other fruits are not good for you but apples stand out as a super food. You can include them in your salads or juices.

Berries

Berries of all types including blackberries, raspberries, as well as strawberries are recommended for their ability to boost metabolism as well as regulate blood sugar.

Eggs

Eggs are rich in protein while at the same time have low-calorie count. They are also filling making them ideal for weight loss. They also suppress appetite, so you do not always have to try to meet your cravings.

However, it is best recommended that you do not consume eggs in large quantities. In this, the portion quantities matter a great deal. A few times in a week is excellent.

Nuts

Nuts are not only healthy to eat but also crunchy. They can be added to different foods to add their nutritional value and find better results. They have a high content of protein, and they are rich in healthy fats making it fit for everyone. Even better, they are low in simple carbohydrates thus making it ideal for use even for individual who are looking to lose weight. When consumed, they stimulate your body, provide energy, and in turn, they burn excess fat. Consider cashew nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, and almonds.

Salmon

While fish is recommended as a source of protein, salmon is realty recommended. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids which in turn increases the hormone leptin in the human body. Leptin in turn suppresses hunger. Eat this with a food that is low in carbohydrate to complete your meal. Avoid overcooking this dish for better nutrient value. You can substitute this with tuna and herring for similar benefits.

Spinach

Spinach is an excellent source of vitamins as minerals. This green leafy vegetable offers energy boosting properties. The iron content is also ideal for use with individuals who want to work out and athletes. You can eat it raw in salads as well as when cooked. However, it is best recommended that you take it when it is natural. This is in the same family line as cauliflower as well as broccoli so you can switch between these. Kales are also an excellent substitute.

Five Things to Consider when Buying Extra Archery Equipment

Today one of my archery students contacted me wanting my opinion about the Astra Shot Trainer (see video below from Lancaster Archery) and he surmised that he could just sew an equivalent.

I agreed, spending $60 USD on what is essentially a sock with some paracord attached seems rather overpriced for a gadget people might easily get bored of.

But thinking about this got me thinking about various questions people should ask themselves when buying new archery equipment (and can be used for buying anything really, not just archery equipment). eg. Do I really need a canoe?

Five Things to Consider when Buying Extra Archery Equipment

#1. Do I really NEED this or do I really WANT this?

eg. Do I really need a quiver, or do I really want a quiver?

#2. Can I just make this myself? And if so, how easy is it to make?

eg. There many different ways to make a quiver, and oddly enough they are quite easy to make.

#3. How often will I use this thing?

eg. I might not use a quiver all the time even if I had one. Or I might use it constantly.

#4. Will I get bored of this or want a better one?

eg. This quiver is boring. I want a nicer / more interesting quiver.

#5. Would my money or time be better spent on something else?

eg. Should I spend money to buy this quiver / waste time making my own quiver? Or would that money/time be better spent on something else that would be more useful?

And like I mentioned above you could use these questions when considering whether to buy other things:

Do I need this canoe? Nope.
Can I build a canoe? Probably not a good one.
How often will I use this canoe? Not often.
Will I get bored of this canoe and want a better one? Yes.
Should I spend my money elsewhere? Yes.

So for example, the Astra Shot Trainer...

1. Definitely not a need in my opinion. Some people might think they need it, but they might be confusing want with need. You don't need this gadget.

2. It is easy to make and wouldn't take much time. Just make it yourself. Paracord + Old Sock = Shot Trainer.

3. Myself personally, I cannot see using this gadget. I have a garage. If I want to do archery, I go shoot at cardboard boxes in the garage any time I want to. Failing that, I am typically at the Toronto Archery Range 3 to 4 days per week.

Other people who don't have a garage or similar space to practice however might find it useful.

4. I would get bored of this gadget very quickly. But other people might find it useful... and get bored eventually.

5. Definitely a waste of money to purchase. Some people might benefit from making their own. And whenever they do get bored of it, cut the paracord off the old sock, toss the old sock away, and you still have paracord you could use for other things.

:)

Archery Photos on Instagram

For my personal practice of archery (and fishing and other things) I regularly stop and take photos of the things I particularly enjoy.

I then share those images with friends on Facebook, which is kept private thanks to privacy settings. That and not everyone wants to see all the baby photos I post of my son.

But for the things that are more strictly archery, and open to the general public, I also post on Instagram.

instagram.com/charles.moffat/

Below is a few samples of some of my archery photography from September and October 2018. But there is way more to check out if you visit my Instagram page.