Category Archives: Product Reviews

in LOVE with FALL

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fall image

Hoodies YES

Bonfires YES

Cuddling YES

… throw my snuggly UGG boots in the mix and we’ve got us a perfect situation.

BUT OH THE ALLERGIES… aka INFLAMMATION

3/4 of the people who live in under my roof suffer from seasonal allergies→ asthma.  It’s really only a problem during spring and fall.  We will experience inflammation in our lungs which make it hard to breathe – NOT COOL.  But what IS COOL … we can keep the inflammation under control through our nutrition.

SORRY ALLERGIES… WE’RE BREAKING UP

PositiveHealthandWellness.com published a great article called THE BEST FOODS FOR ANTI-INFLAMMITORY DIET and I used this as my refresher/ brush-up on FALL food/ shopping list as I change things up a bit for my family.  Here are the foods listed to help combat inflammation.

  • Omega-3 – I don’t eat fish so I get mine through Omega-3 supplements.
  • Avocado – I eat 1/2 every morning with my eggs… avocado toast is trending these days and I know why… BECAUSE IT’S GOOD!  Try it.
  • Dark green, leafy vegetables – I eat a simple spinach salad almost every day, and when I can’t/don’t want to eat my veggies, I drink them.  Check out this post for different green smoothie recipes.  If I’m being lazy or don’t have fresh greens at the house, my favorite local solution is the Juice Bar!  Check out iLOVEJuiceBar.com for locations.
  • Walnuts/Olive oil
  • Onions
  • Watermelon and Berries
  • Ginger, turmeric, oregano … I make ginger tea … simple just blend up ginger and fresh squeezed lemon, pour in ice cube tray, freeze and then add a ginger cube to hot water.
  • Whole grain foods – gluten seems to really irritate our inflammation so we cut way back in our house during high allergy seasons, but to get our grains we choose sprouted grain options (once sprouted, the gluten is released).

Head over to PositiveHealthandWellness.com  for more details on these foods.  Also read up on

  • Why inflammation occurs
  • Problems inflammation can lead to
  • How insulin is involved
  • How to combat inflammation
  • What you should avoid

 

Thanks for reading and I hope you have the HEALTHIEST HAPPIEST FALL ever!

SHOP FOR PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS POST!

omega-3OmegaPlex 

 

 

 

 

 

ALOE GLOE Organic Aloe Vera Water

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In a recent post, I showed you how I make our AFTER SUN LOTION with Aloe vera and essential oils.  It’s been fun getting feedback from you guys who have made it!  It really DOES work so well!

Topical Aloe application, however, is just the tip of the Aloe vera iceberg in terms of health potential.  So I thought it would be fun to stay with the Aloe theme but this time talk about drinking Aloe vera!

aloe vera water

 

I bought this one (of course it includes coconut water which feeds my coconut obsession)  but there are other kinds too.  I choose to drink this brand – ALOE GLOE – because I trust the company.  I think this tastes good and is very refreshing. It’s got a mild taste and is lightly sweetened with organic cane sugar and organic stevia and has only 18 calories per serving.  If you don’t like drinking it, you can add it to smoothie or something.  It’s packed with vitamins and is clinically proven to improve skin and cardiovascular health (for all you nerds out there, I have more details on the benefits below)

Do you drink it?  What’s you favorite?  I’d love to know!

Click the link below for 12 pack (15 oz) of Aloe Gloe Organic Aloe Water

   

Some of you are like me and want to know why in the world we would buy this and then drink it. The answer ‘It’s good for you”  isn’t good enough.  Tell me why!  I don’t like to do things blindly.  So if you’re in my camp I included some benefits discovered from research below.

For the others, this is all TMI… and that’s ok too!   You guys should definitely just trust me that it’s GOOD FOR YOU, be done reading this post and now click the link above to buy your Aloe Gloe!  THE END and thanks for reading!

WHY SUPPLEMENT ALOE VERA 

ANTIOXIDANTS >>> Phase II enzymes are known to reduce oxidative stress (… aging process…), and Aloe vera has been shown to stimulate the production of natural Phase II antioxidants. Daily dosing of Aloe vera can stimulate a person’s natural, inherent antioxidant system to help fight oxidative stress.  source

INSIDE BEAUTY >>> Thirty healthy female subjects over the age of 45 were orally supplemented with either a low or a high dose (low dose=1,200 mg/day; high dose=3,600 mg/day) of Aloe vera gel for 90 days. After completion of the 90-day period, the KFDA concluded that ingested Aloe vera gel resulted in a significant reduction in facial wrinkles and a significant increase in skin elasticity. There were no adverse events reported. There was also an increase in collagen production and a decrease in collagen-degrading MMP-1 gene expression.  source <<<  DONE.  NUF SAID.  I’M IN.

CARDIOVASCULAR BENEFITS >>> Cardiovascular disease is the number-one killer in the United States. Lowering cholesterol is a key prevention in mitigating the risk of heart disease. A number of studies done in the United States and abroad have shown Aloe vera taken as a supplement can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. One human clinical study showed that the group taking aloe experienced a 10% drop in total cholesterol. This same study showed a drop in LDL and triglyceride levels to near optimum levels.

Cardiovascular health, as well as metabolic syndrome and related issues like diabetes, is also linked to oxidative stress. A recent placebo-controlled human clinical trial showed that the group taking Aloe vera had a significant reduction in risk factors associated with oxidative stress, including C-reactive protein, a marker of oxidative stress and inflammation. In the Aloe vera group, C-reactive protein dropped by 38%, and isoprostanes, compounds formed by the peroxidation of essential fatty acids, dropped by 32%.  source

IMMUNE HEALTH >>> Science has shown us ways to enhance our innate immune systems through supplementation, with tests now able to determine if an ingredient is increasing Peripheral Blood Monocyte (PBM) CD56 and the cell-killing capability of natural killer cells.

A study sanctioned by the Korean Food and Drug Administration indicated that the group taking an Aloe vera supplement saw increased PBM CD56 and the cell-killing capability of natural killer cells, indicating immune enhancement. As a result of this study, the KFDA has allowed immune-health claims to be made for products containing Aloe vera.  source

There are other benefits being discovered, but I’m sold from just this.

   

OUR STORY —> aloegloe.com
For us, Aloe Gloe is so much more than just a beverage.

While surfing in Manhattan Beach, co-founder Danny Stepper had an accident that gashed open his forehead. After getting stitches, his doctor prescribed not only applying Aloe Vera to the scar but also recommended drinking it. The problem was he couldn’t find any healthy options that weren’t full of sugar, organic or local. Luckily for Stepper, he and his friends are in the beverage business.

Aloe Gloe is part of L.A. Libations, an emerging beverage incubator that was founded by Stepper, Pat Bolden and Dino Sarti. The three first met while working as merchandisers for Coca-Cola Enterprises and after many successful years in the beverage industry they reunited to create L.A. Libations and in turn their own passion project, Aloe Gloe.

Don’t forget to check out my ALOE VERA AFTER SUN LOTION! 

DIY After Sun Lotion

CHEERS TO BETTER HEALTH!

BEETS BLU PagerTag KEY FINDER

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When Beets BLU asked if I’d review the Bluetooth PagerTag Key Finder,

I was like

OH YES I WILL

Beets BLU PagerTag

Keys do tend to get lost on occasion

  • left in particular handbag/computer bag/gym bag & forgotten
  • left in the car
  • dropped in the grass
  • left in the door lock outside the house after it was unlocked & we were all settled happily inside

lost keys Beets BLU Pager Tag

Arial meme

*these are all hypothetical situations

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PRODUCT REVIEW: BLUETOOTH HEART RATE MONITOR

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Beets BLU asked me to review their bluetooth heart rate monitor.  It was a fun week of watching my heart rate!  Check out the video below for full review…

 

PILATES with TYE4®

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I love this new TYE4®! Here are a few clips of me playing around in it as I design a new class sequence. TYE4 allows us to stretch deeper, push further and really challenge the stabilizing muscles. I love it!

Learn more at PhysicalMind Institute, NYC – TheMethod Pilates and purchase your TYE4 here

GYM GUY + PILATES + TYE4® TESTIMONY

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Check out this testimony from a friend of mine

↓ ‘GYM GUY’ John Moorhead ↓

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John became curious about TYE4 this summer and decided to give it a try.  He’s following Jim Stoppage’s Shortcut To Shred program and discovered how a little bit of TYE4 conditioning makes a big difference…

“For the longest time, I thought Pilates was a Greek mathematician. I finally learned that it was something you did with your body to increase mobility and flexibility, preferably while wearing aqua-colored tights and listening to Enya. Therefore, as a man, I used to think of a few other “p-words” when I heard the word Pilates: pumpkin spice lattes, and pretentiousness.

Okay, so maybe that’s painting with a broad brush — but seriously, Pilates was never a form of exercise that I embraced, or even took seriously. I consider myself to be fairly health-conscious, but I’ve never been keen on the concept of group fitness classes, yoga, and other seemingly “graceful” methods of burning calories. I’ve spent the last ten years doing a mixture of weightlifting, mixed martial arts, and occasional bouts of rock climbing. Most of those involved blood, all involved pain, and pain was a right of passage.

Fast-forward a few years… pain had transitioned from a right of passage to a “way of life”. I had noticed friends of mine (mostly female) at my church mentioning this odd-looking bungee cord called “Tye4”. They wore it, did a bunch of Pilates-looking stuff, and usually followed it up with an Instagram post of a coffee, aimed to make Yuppies in the area salivate with envy. “I’ll pass” I thought. But I kept seeing it… kept hearing about the “burn” that it would give. I continued hearing about the flexibility, and the mobility, and the “strength” (yes, strength from a bungee cord). So, when I connected the dots that two of my favorite people from church — Ashley and Jeremy Benson — were distributing it, I let my curiosity get the better of me, and started asking them some questions. Those questions turned into “maybe it can help with MY pain, MY flexibility”.

Ashley and Jeremy were gracious enough to meet with me and my wife to show us some basic moves and stretches. Within minutes, I could tell that Tye4 was the real deal. Not only was I squaring-up my shoulders to wear it more comfortably, but I was pushing myself to stretch further to “feel” the Tye4’s resistance. It’s a psychological thing for me — the resistance sent a tactile cue to my brain to “push” into the stretch. This is good, because I have the flexibility of an anvil. The other thing that became immediately apparent after working with Jeremy was the symmetry it introduced to my body. Without the Tye4, it’s quite easy to stretch one arm a bit further, one leg a little less. But with the Tye4 forming a bridge across the axis of your body, if one side dominates, you feel the resistance respectively increase. Subconsciously, you make the adjustment. All muscles get worked evenly. It’s brilliant.

My wife also took notice of the effects… for at least a year, her shoulder was extremely sore during exercise, something akin to an impingement. After two days with the Tye4, the pain was negligible and she had full range of motion. A few days later, Ashley showed us some HIIT (high intensity interval training) techniques and put us through a quick ten-minute session… by the end of it, I was drenched. The resistance of each cable is very light… maybe between five and ten pounds, depending on the orientation of the cables. But what destroys you (in a good way) is that five/ten pounds being pushed in *every* direction. Coupled with HIIT, you will definitely exhaust the affected muscle groups.

We both loved it so much that we purchased one for each of us to use, and we have used it every day since. Most days, we use it as a warm-up routine to wake up our muscle groups and get the blood flowing. But a few days each week, we wear it throughout the workout. I especially love it on chest day — the Tye4 acts like an invisible spotter when you’re doing dumbbell chest press, the resistance keeping your form in check throughout the full range. Between sets, we do cardio-acceleration, miniature HIIT bursts for 60 seconds while the resistance taxes our muscle groups. You’ll be the wettest person in the gym, but that IS why you’re there, right?

Since we’ve been wearing the Tye4 in the gym for a few weeks, we have received a few stares. But just as I was skeptical at first, those stares have turned into “Hey bro, what is that?” and “What does it do?”, and that’s precisely when we share our Tye4 story with them. Special thanks to Ashley and Jeremy for the coaching, and helping us learn about Tye4. They truly have a passion for helping their clients become the very best version of themselves, and it’s exciting to help them spread the word about this unique device that is changing lives.
— John Moorehead

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FITMARK BAGS GUEST POST: TYE4

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[This is from a guest post I wrote for Fitmark September 2013 – see it here.  Now, over a year later, I’ve continued using  Tye4 personally,  with test groups and with my clients.  If I had to rewrite this post, I would not change a word.  More on Tye4 here ]

There is a new fitness love in my life, and it’s called Tye4®. I attended the Official Tye4 Launch and Training Workshop in New York this summer and am now teaching five Tye4 classes a week and can’t stop talking about it! This new fitness tool has my creative exercise juices flowing and has given me a fresh excitement and hope for the health, strength, and the repair of our bodies.

The Tye4 is a wearable resistance. It’s a harness that can be worn higher or lower on the chest, depending on preference, with easy adjusting straps. It has a bungee that attaches to both feet separately, and one that attaches to both hands.

tye4collage.jpgIt was invented by Joan Breibart, Founder and President of the PhysicalMind Institute. She introduced the first Pilates certification program, the first Mat Work Pilates Video in 1991, ‘Working Out The Pilates Way‘ and other books, articles, and inventions that have helped the Pilates Method evolve and benefit our generation.

I teach two different classes: 1. Tye4 Fusion and Tye4 Pilates. The Tye4 Fusion class is a combination of aerobic, barre, strength training, Pilates and stretch. I start with a dynamic warm up that loosens our spine and hips and awakens the body to move. Using Tye4 gives us something to push or reach through (a closed kinetic chain) and enables greater stretch and lengthening. We move from warm up to full on sweaty, aerobic exercise. I give high impact options for some of the moves, but it is optional. The beat of the music is fast and we have fun feeling a full body burn.

Next, the music slows down and relaxes our minds so we can put full focus and concentration into the Barre moves. Here I use the Tye4 to assist in leg lifts and balancing. We don’t over work the hip flexors and because we are able to hold balance so much better and longer with Tye4, we feel a beautiful burn from our glutes all the way down into our calves in the stabilizing leg! I LOVE THAT! Honestly, this is where I start sweating! Hard work.

After Barre, I take my class through a series of strength moves, including pushups and plank. Again, using the Tye4 is changing the game! We use a front cross leg bungee variation when doing a modified pushup. The leg bungee cross “reminds” the body to keep the core engaged during the movement, and the crossed hand bungees provide resistance! I no longer have to nit pick on form. It just happens with Tye4! And modified or “girly pushups” create such a surprising burn!

I wrap up our class with Pilates down on the mat using Tye4 in each exercise. We now can move with more control, stabilize with more awareness, and stretch deeper. As I’ve heard from a few of my clients, “I can really feel my muscles now.”.

I agree with what About.com had to say about the Tye4, “What is so great about the Tye4 is that the lines of resistance feedback to the core of your body. This is very Pilates approach to fitness. It’s an effect we get from much of the larger Pilates equipment like the reformer, but getting that direct feedback with something as portable as the Tye4 is unusual.”.

Tye4 was invented in the Pilates world, but it is a creative, effective tool that can be used with many other types of fitness.

For more information, visit TheMethodPilates.com and ‘Like’ my my FaceBook page Nashville Fitness for the latest updates on classes, workshops, and Tye4 talk.

So far, I’m getting great feedback from every one of my clients who have tried it out. It seems to be quite addicting! If you can’t tell, I’m really excited about Tye4 and I hope you take some time to look into it. Maybe it’s something you can incorporate into your exercise routine or use to bring your clients to a new level of health!

Stay fit,
Ashley Benson
Fitmark Ambassador 2013

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RUNNING & PILATES ARE BFFs

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For all my running friends… I’m pulling this out of my archives.  
Take a look at my guest post HERE on the FitMark blog.  
See how even just one Pilates session can improve your overall run!


And for even more flexibility, mobility and strength, add the new Tye4® wearable resistance system from TheMethod Pilates to your Pilates workout.  It’s like a Pilates reformer that you wear!  Totally rocks!  Check out more on Tye4 here.

 

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ADVOCARE

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TESTIMONIES

 

FOR MORE INFO and A FREE EVALUATION, EMAIL

ashley@ashleybensonfitness.com

Visit Advocare.com for full list of products.

If you want to be a part of our 24 Day Challenge group, shoot me an email and we’ll connect and get you set up on a customized 24 DC package perfect for reaching your goals!

NIKE FREE SHOES: REVIEW WITH TYE4®

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As you know, I’m kinda obsessed with the NEW TYE4® wearable system from TheMethod Pilates.  It is amazing for spine, hip & shoulder mobility, strengthening stabilizers, improving balance & coordination, and building overall strength and tone.  It can be used while doing lots and lots of different types of exercise.  

 

Today I’m talking about TYE4 and FEET!
SOCKS and SHOES
 

SOCK FEET… While practicing Pilates, for example, you will want to kick off your shoes. Choose a non-slip sock like ToeSox or something similar.  Tye4 should NOT be done barefooted for a few reasons.  During certain movements, the foot strap will slip and distract from the movement.  It can also irritate the foot, so find a cute pair of sock and wear them proud! 

 

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