Sales of protein powder in the USA will reach $7.55 billion dollars by 2020, which is a substantial increase from $47 million dollars in 2016. And with the number of gyms and health clubs continuing to rise, the demand for protein supplements is also expected to continue to grow.
While the demand for protein supplements remains high, there is an increasingly diverse range of products available in the protein supplement range.
What is the Best Starting Position for Squats?
Do you enjoy learning new ways to exercise? If so, you’re going to love learning about the squat. This is an exciting way to lose weight while strengthening your lower body. Of course, it also helps you lose weight, which certainly lends strength to your upper body as well. But many people have been wondering about where the best starting position for squats may be. As it turns out, it’s exactly where common sense implies that it would be. All you need to do to get started is adopt a standard standing position.
What foodie in LA hasn’t heard of Jitlada? Whether you read Jonathan Gold’s 101 best restaurant list every year or watched his movie City of Gold, watched Chef Jazz compete on Food Network, or have taken a tour of Thai Town with Jet Tila himself, you’re sure to know about Jitlada! When we were making the list, it was one of the first we mentioned… a top priority for all of the reasons above and then some!
The short answer to that “how did I build muscle in high school?” is… I didn’t, but allow me to expand on that. As an athlete who played almost exclusively team sports, I was used to focusing most of my time working with my team. Whether it was tennis, baseball, basketball or soccer, you were constantly practicing with your teammates, and even though you can work on skills independently, there are only so many hours in the day. Before the age of social media, you had far fewer influencers in your life (for better or for worse) so you were heavily dependent on your coaches and parents.
Fortunately for me, I was lifting weights at an extremely early age with my mother. She would take me to the gym and we would perform aerobics at home, but I’d never touch anything heavy or load up barbells with plates. I wouldn’t use selectorized strength equipment either, not until my high school soccer coach brought us into the school’s modest weight room to use the leg press machine. My father, who was a very competitive athlete himself, focused more on spending time “on the court.” That could mean hundreds of lay-ups and free-throws every day, lots of batting practice and volleying on the tennis court.
Hungry on the far right
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We’ve always loved Hawaiian food; from the fresh acidity and presence of tons of fish in poke to the carb-heavy and gravy laden comfort dishes like loco moco, Hawaiian food is diverse and delicious. While we have tasted Hawaiian cuisine throughout the US, we knew our familiarity was lacking without a trip to Hawaii, so we went on an adventure to the big island.
Hungry’s homemade loco moco and poke were always good, but after learning a few secrets in Hawaii, the recipes are complete. If you know us, you know we love sharing food, so here is Hungry’s recipe for poke. Actually, here is a real-life video of Chris preparing poke at home. It doesn’t get much realer than that, other than being there with him!
Not everything goes according to plan, and when you go to restaurants “on your list” for dinner one night and lunch the next day, it can really throw you for a loop… and this did! I was planning on a romantic (and expensive) dinner at Gwen, but what we never expected was to discover that Gwen is one of LA’s hidden LUNCH gems! Some of the highest quality meats in the city at reasonable prices?! Yea, actually.
Even though the restaurant’s tall ceilings, accented by incredible design and elaborate chandeliers, are still present, this is actually a very casual lunch spot. You order at the counter, take a number (I’m not sure if we actually took one) and the wait staff brings your food to the table when it’s ready. It wasn’t immediate, since they clearly cook from scratch, but it was relatively empty in there and didn’t take long at all.
This is going to be a very bloggy blog… if that makes any sense. Sorry for the few days off; it has been a crazier-than-normal past week or so.
As you can see from the picture below, last week, I was “forced” into action when we were taking Noke for her morning walk. A genius couple decided to “tie” their 120+ lb Great Pyrenees to a ~15lb garden table that wasn’t anchored to anything, while they went inside together to get their morning coffee. The dog must’ve planned on greeting Noke, even though we tried to avoid her, and everything went downhill quickly from there. When the table hit the ground, Daisy (the huge white cloud of fur) ran and, thinking that the table was chasing her, wouldn’t stop. The male owner ran outside the coffee shop, freaked out and started chasing her.
Please consider that this is happening on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood (Los Angeles, California) so the chance that Daisy ran into the street and got hit (by a car) was extremely high. They had a 3-5 second head start before Fit gave me that look and told me I had to help. With my torn calf and handful of other injuries (I’ve only been doing PT and rehab exercises the past three months) I chased after Daisy and the table she was pulling down the sidewalk. It took about two seconds to pass her owner and caught up to her a few seconds after she turned onto a side street that leads up to the Hollywood Hills… phew! Unfortunately, the table provided a barrier between us and when I reached to grab her, I fell THROUGH THE TABLE and onto the concrete.
Animals are the joys of our lives and our constant companions. Whether they’re a cat, dog, or a snake, they’re usually by our side and present daily in our lives. However, when it comes to things like meditation, they can be a bit of a pest. Either they’re meowing in your ear, nudging your hand for pets, or jumping in your lap, pets can be darned distracting during meditation! You’re trying to find your breath and oomph there goes the cat jumping on your lap or the dog barking. Yeah, we love ’em, but pets can be annoying in situations like these. This meditation is to challenge that. The other day, I did a short meditation early in the morning before Hungry was awake. The animals were either on the couch next to me or somewhere close, hoping it was close to breakfast time. And somewhere between their pining and my peace-seeking, I found a balance and it was really great.
I focused on companionship. The unconditional love you can get from your animals is a powerful thing. When it feels like the whole world is against you and nobody really likes you, you can still get plenty of face licks from your dog. She will sit with you forever and never get tired of you. To me, animals exhibit and teach us true love and also how to love. We can learn a lot from observing them and reflecting on them. So that’s just what I did for this meditation. Even if you don’t have your own pet, think of an animal you love–that will still work for this meditation. This can be a short meditation if you wish it to, but don’t rush it if you can. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: This was NOT on our original list, but it should’ve been! Why? When I first arrived in LA to visit Fit’s family, on the way home from the airport, I remember her mum pointing this place out and saying, “they have the best tortillas ever.” I’ve heard that dozens of times over the years and we finally had the chance to try them out! (Fit went here from time to time while growing up.)
Next up in our Must-Visit LA Restaurants of 2018 project is Casablanca! So, a little more background before we talk food at Casablanca… our friends were in town and were nice enough to let us know! When we asked where they wanted to eat, one said that her brother recommended this spot since they were staying in Venice. I was thrilled to finally have the chance to test out Casablanca’s tortillas and I was NOT disappointed.
Even though we strolled in right around the start of peak dinner hours, they were already nearly full, but we were seated immediately. It is a very interesting spot: imagine a Hollywood-inspired building from a past century that transported you to Morocco and served you Mexican food. While it probably belongs closer to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it fits in Venice very well. It’s been around forever. Warmth builds in the tight dining room with what feels like a low ceiling, especially when you notice the tortillas being made a few feet away and realize that the piano is behind played behind your back. This place has a lot of character.
