Virtual Reality is the Future of Fitness

Virtual reality is the future of fitness; you’re hearing it here, although this probably isn’t the first or last time you’ll hear it. Recently, we attended a special VIP influencer event for the kinda grand opening of a new VR spot in LA… Dreamscape. While we couldn’t stand a lot of the other influencers that were there (they thought they were really important, and were referring to themselves as influencers), we are very excited to return. They had three different options and we decided to be a part of a mission to save a baby whale. The experience was immersive and although it was less interactive than The Void (we did a Star Wars VR there), it was an amazing experience.

Oct092018

5 Self-Defense Tactics That Everyone Should Learn

Please enjoy a guest post from Albert Guardado Jr. from Combat Brands. We believe self-defense is vital for each and every person.

No one likes to think about the idea of being attacked, but the reality is that, according to the FBI, a violent crime is committed every 26.3 seconds in America, with one aggravated assault every 41.3 seconds. These numbers aren’t intended to scare you — though they are indeed alarming — but should instead help you understand why preparation and vigilance are vital in our sometimes threatening world.

One of the simplest ways to conquer a frightening situation is to learn some key self-defense tactics that you can file away in your mental rolodex if a situation should arise.

Jul232018

Should You Use Sleeping Pills?

It depends! That is one of the most common answers in the health, wellness and fitness industries. Why? Every single person is unique and reacts differently to various stimuli. That is why there is not a universal training program that works for everyone. That is why there is not a certain diet that works for everyone. In this situation, it really depends first and foremost on whether you’re having trouble sleeping or not. There are countless sleep-based research studies that have been conducted. Private companies trying to promote their revolutionary, or not so revolutionary, products often conduct their own studies. Universities and wellness institutes do the same since sleep is often considered the most crucial way to recover, and recovery is seen as one of the three core competencies when it comes to your general health. (The other two are physical activity and what you consume.)

In college, I operated at an extremely high level while sleeping four hours or so a night. At the time, I did take a mid-day nap for about an hour. I was training nearly six hours a day and consuming well over 12,000 calories a day. While I was completely drug free, I would take a multi-vitamin everyday and also took some supplements, including fish oils, glucosamine and even melatonin. Melatonin is the most common sleep aid on the market. It is made by many companies and its single ingredient nature makes it less intimidating to most consumers. First, will melatonin make a difference in your sleep and second, how much do you personally need to take?

Even after you find the right amount, any supplement to your health routine might not necessarily maintain its effectiveness over time. You can often build tolerances and find that you need a higher dosage to feel the same outcome. Even if you find it to make a positive difference, the cost over time might outweigh how much better you’re sleeping. It becomes a question of whether you’re willing to make a small investment at first, in order to see if you can sleep better. Those investments can come in many forms, other than pills or tablets. I’ve tried buying expensive pillows, fancy sheets, using a fan at night to stay cool, sleeping with ice packs under my lower back and shoulders, playing sleep music throughout the room, using blackout curtains and more. I’ve tried Neuro’s sleep drink and also Ronnie Coleman’s Resurrection supplement. Why? Because I understand the importance of optimizing recovery.

Most people aim for 6-8 hours of sleep a night. Those are the recommended numbers, according to most sleep research studies. I don’t care as much about the number of hours that I lay in bed at night. My focus is getting in bed, immediately falling asleep, not waking up in the middle of the night and waking up fresh enough that I can instantly roll out of bed at 5:30 in the morning and get right to work. My goal, with my current life schedule, is to be in bed from 10:30 pm-5:30 am and do nothing other than get quality recovery time. Right now, in an effort to do so, with the blistering temperatures and lack of air conditioning in our LA apartment, as well as my insanely, unimaginably impossible schedule, I’ve started using a new product called Sleep Complex by ORB. They reached out to us to see if we would like to try out their product. For honesty purposes, we were paid for this post, but that won’t stop us from giving our honest opinion.

Jun082018

Remembering Anthony Bourdain

There truly are only a handful of individuals in the culinary world that truly brought something new to the table. One of those individuals, Anthony Bourdain, has left the table, and with that, a seat that will be extremely hard to fill.

While I enjoyed cartoons and sports growing up like every other kid, I watched more food television than most kids my age. For Christmas, I’d ask my mom for microplanes, honey dippers, and other obscure cooking utensils to feel more like the chefs that I idolized on television. She’d let me help with food prep in the kitchen and might even let me make my own dish from time to time, knowing full well that it’d end up being inedible. (Note, I was VERY young when this started.) My fixation for in-the-kitchen cooking shows like Emeril Live, Good Eats, Two Fat Ladies and many others, over different channels, never completely faded, but after watching these for years and years, I need new inspiration.

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Jun022018

The Best Food in Ireland

Wow, what a way to highlight the seafood available in Ireland. It is an island, after all.

Americans have a less than favorable perception of food from Northern and Eastern Europe. That includes Ireland, England, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Norway and every other nation in between. Greece, France, Spain and Italy are given much more love when it comes to highlighting their cuisine in the US, but is that a fair assumption for us to make.

During our recent trip to Iceland, Ireland and Northern Ireland (the UK, technically) we finally had the opportunity to more fairly judge the quality of their food. As a whole, it wasn’t anywhere near as flavorful as Chinese or Mexican food, but it wasn’t terribly bland and it certainly wasn’t lacking in freshness.

May312018

Moy River Bed & Breakfast

We recently went on a grand adventure to and through Ireland. We went all about the country and stayed at all different kind of places: hotel chains, B&Bs, fancy hotels, and hostels. We got a great taste of it all, but one place that we stayed at stood out above and beyond: Moy River Bed & Breakfast. It’s in County Sligo, nestled up against the Ox Mountains and Moy River. We would recommend this Bed & Breakfast to any person traveling Ireland (except perhaps a big family with lots of little ones). It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

It’s charming, beautiful, and very Irish, but most importantly, it has the best hosts. Pat McCarrick and Rita Normanly own this lovely bed & breakfast and I say it’s lovely because they are lovely. We arrived quite late to the B&B due to some car issues, but both of them were awake to greet us and show us our room. More than that, they insisted on giving us tea and some treats after a long drive despite how late it was. We sat around their fireplace and got to know each other. We learned more about Ireland, about the local area, and about them. It was such a nice time and it still stands out in my mind.

Feb282018

Master of Modification: Adaptive Athlete and CrossFit Sensation Lindsay Hilton

This is a guest post from Carole Klein. She is the manager of social media and content for Unique Fitness Concepts located at their headquarters in Vernon Hills, IL. She has a B.S. in exercise physiology and is a fitness industry expert with more than 20 years of experience as a competitor and personal trainer.

It might be tempting to think that being born without arms or legs would pretty much make it impossible to become a fitness inspiration to the entire world. However, that’s exactly what incredible adaptive athlete Lindsay Hilton has done. Hilton first grabbed people’s attention when a video of her working out went positively viral in 2016. Since then, she’s become a CrossFit sensation and a serious inspiration to people all over the world.

She continues to influence athletes and fitness enthusiasts all over the world as she sets (and accomplishes) new goals, and we personally can’t wait to see what she does next. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Lindsay Hilton and her amazing journey as an athlete. We’ll touch on some of her most noteworthy achievements. We’ll go over a few useful lessons we can all learn by watching Lindsay set the fitness world on fire, as well.

Dec152017

Non-Spoiler Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Wow. What a night. I’ll (try to) keep this short and sweet. Have no fear–there will be no spoilers here. First of all, we are lucky enough to live in Hollywood and we were able to walk to the “strip” where the premiere was happening. We saw the movie at Disney’s El Capitan theatre–an intricate, marvelous set up. There were people everywhere, the streets were blocked off, there was a 20 foot AT-AT and other amazing props. The hype and energy were tangible. I dressed up as Rey for the premiere and I’m so glad I did–I got lots of comments on my costume and some people even wanted photos with me! Anyhow, there is nothing like seeing a Star Wars movie on opening night–the energy is fantastic, palpable, and contagious. You know everyone is a huge Star Wars fan and dressing up like Rey does not make you a nerd in this crowd.

Anyhow, let’s get to the good stuff. Here is my review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Jul022017

#6 Greatest Movie of All Time

Here we are for another round of our top 10 movies of all time! What number are we at today? #6! If you missed the others, here are #7, #8, #9, and #10. Want to know who is behind this zany list? Check this post out to see our incredible braintrust for these movies. I look forward to this every week to find out what movies are going to grace the list. It also tells you a little something about each person. Alright, let’s check out #6 of our Top 10 Movies of all Time list!

Kai – “Pulp Fiction”

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Jun182017

#8 Greatest Movie of All Time

We’re one more down in our incredible Top 10 Movies of All Time list with our superstar cast! This list may not be full of the most critically acclaimed movies, but it’s definitely full of loved movies. We all have different takes on what we like and that’s what keeps it interesting. Check out #9 and #10 if you missed them the previous weeks. Sit down and watch what we have in store for you this week!

Kai – “The Social Network”