Get A Leg Up on Cold Season
‘Tis the season for colds! As I type this, I am caring for one of my 6 year old twins who was sent home from school with a sore throat and fever. 
With 4 kids it seems we never escape cold and flu season unscathed. As a busy mom of 4, business owner and competitive athlete, it is not just important, but imperative that I stay healthy.
I have tried a variety of methods to fight the oncoming cold and have found that when I start drinking 2 Immune Fizz a day at the first sign of feeling like I could be getting sick I’m able to ward it off almost every time. I do take a regular multi-vitamin every day and I continue to take it in addition to the Immune Fizz. I typically find that when I’m getting sick the taste of plain water doesn’t really sound good to me, so having the Immune Fizz is a great way to keep me hydrated. If you experience this as well, one trick is to dilute the immune fizz in a gallon of water (2 Immune Fizz in 1 gallon) and drink the entire gallon over the course of the day. The extra fluids paired with the vitamins and anti-oxidants in the Immune Fizz are a winning combo to fighting off illness.
If you’re going to be traveling or hanging out in large groups of people (think 1st grade Halloween parties, holiday parties, etc…that’s the mom in me…kids are so dang germy!!) it’s a great idea to do your Immune Fizz gallon as a preventative measure to help your body fight off any “intruders” aka viruses.
Did you know that Immune Fizz is a complete multi-vitamin? It’s got 28 essential vitamins and nutrients, including 500% of the RDA of Vitamin C! Additionally, it’s loaded with amino acids and antioxidants, including acai fruit and KonaRed coffee berry. KonaRed™ has an extraordinarily high content of nutrients and bioavailable antioxidants that are absorbed at the cellular level and are known to help prevent disease, delay aging and provide a long-lasting mood boost. And the best part? It’s only 20 calories and zero sugars!
Right now you can get Immune Fizz for just 50 cents per packet on our website: www.zipfizz.com. This is a great way to keep the whole family healthy during cold and flu season. As a mom of 4, I know just how important it is to keep everyone in good health as germs spread through the family like wildfire! My kids totally dig the taste of Immune Fizz, which means I don’t have to fight them to take their vitamins. It’s a win-win!
Training with Zipfizz
Zipfizz sponsors Lisa Ribes, a pro triathlete.
Guest post by Lisa Ribes:
I discovered Zipfizz over a year ago and I haven’t looked back since. I immediately loved the flavor, the fact that it was loaded with vitamins and minerals and hardly any calories. It was just what I needed to keep me hydrated and moving fast, not only during my workouts, but before, after – just about any time!
I keep a pitcher full of Zipfizz in my fridge at all times, just to take a swig here and there throughout the day and its the first place I go when I come home from my workouts because its ice cold and just what I need to replace fluids and start recovering. I typically go through one, if not two of those pitchers a day – especially during the heat of the summer here in Tucson. Then, I have tubes stashed in my purse, commuter backpack, car and office to have on hand if I’m out and about. I’m always either running around to meetings, appointments, the office, the pool, the track/trail or wherever in my daily life as a pro triathlete and landscape architect. I find that Zipfizz keeps me going throughout the day so I can focus on each and every thing I need to get done.
I always have at least one water bottle of Zipfizz on my bike during workouts AND races. Plus, I carry another tube with me for refills on those loooooong rides out in the 100+ degree heat here. It’s the best way to keep me hydrated (because I simply can’t just do plain water all the time) and because it is so compact, it’s easy to bring with me to top up the hydration. I usually bring a couple extra tubes when I’m riding with friends because they inevitably need one too; I’m such a good friend! 
What can I say? I’m pretty much addicted (and I’ve gotten my brother and many friends addicted as well). I mix and match flavors for variety and to see if I can come up with anything really interesting. I have yet to mix all the flavors into one big container….I wonder what that would taste like? Hmmmm…
About Lisa:
I am a pro triathlete and I also run a small landscape architecture firm in Tucson. I employ another pro triathlete (Xterra mainly) and landscape architect, Christine Jeffrey, (she is also a Zipfizz sponsored athlete!). Together we figure out how to get our training in while growing the design business. We’ll soon hire another employee to help us with our designs too!
I have raced triathlon for almost 10 years and this is my 3rd year as a professional. I was a distance runner in college as well. My focus for triathlon racing this year is the Revolution 3 race series, which for me is primarily racing their half distance races and their only full distance race, which is in Ohio in September. The next race of the series that I am competing in is August 12 in Wisconsin Dells (I hear they have incorporated a waterslide into the finish line!). Next year my focus will likely be back to Ironman and vying for a spot at the Kona World Championship. I will continue to race the Rev 3 races as well, because I think they do a wonderful job in organizing their events.
Bring out the Olympian in you!
Kindra offers some tips on how you can train like an Olympian:
Train like an Olympian to prevent falls!
Think sports conditioning and athletic development are just for the London-bound? Think again. Balance exercises and drills to enhance reaction time not only improve athletic performance, but they also help prevent falls and injury in a non-athletic population. To improve balance, stand on one leg while you brush your teeth. Switch legs half way through, or alternate legs between morning and night-time brushing. When that gets too easy, try doing the same while closing your eyes. For reaction time, try bouncing a tennis ball off a wall at odd angles. Can you reach and catch the ball after one bounce? Before it bounces at all? As always, drinking a Zipfizz 15-30 minutes before training will enhance concentration, energy, and stamina. For additional information about athletic development, sports conditioning, or balance and reaction training, contact Kindra Reid, CSCS, at Alpine Integrated Medicine: 425.949.5961 or on the web at alpineintegratedmedicine.com.
Kindra M. Reid, CSCS, FMS
Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach, Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist
Ask Kindra any questions you have about health, fitness and training in comments below.
Lift to Lose: Using Resistance Training to Break Weight-Loss Plateaus
Are you afraid to try resistance training for fear that lifting weights will make you “bigger” or appear “bulky?” Don’t be. Training to add significant muscle and size is a specific process that requires hours in the gym, eight meals a day, a boat-load of supplements, and years to accomplish. In contrast, a well designed strength program can rapidly give you a smaller, more compact, less “jiggly” body, and work to promote fat loss in a number of ways. First, lifting a significant amount of weight causes the body to get out of breath — a condition that exercise scientists call “EPOC,” or Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. When EPOC is induced, your body responds in part by releasing a cascade of fat-burning hormones. The more often you get out of breath, the more hormonal benefit you receive. Second, replacing just a few pounds of body fat with lean muscle mass can dramatically increase your resting metabolism. In smaller people, adding just five pounds of muscle can increase metabolic rate by up to 10%. This means you burn more calories all day long, including at rest! Finally, replacing body fat with muscle results in a smaller body. While it is not true that muscle weighs more than fat, it is true that by volume, muscle takes up much less space. If you’ve hit a plateau, consider hitting the weights.
Questions about designing a safe and effective strength training program? Contact Kindra of Battle Ready Fitness at 425.890.0328 or kindra@battlereadyfitness.com.
Kindra M. Reid, CSCS, FMS
Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach, Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist
Ask Kindra any questions you have about health, fitness and training in comments below.
Question:
So I’ve given Zipfizz a couple of tries and am not so sure about the product yet. I’ve noticed that I get this build of of pressure and increased bloating to nearly wanted to vomit to release the pressure in my stomach. Any advice to alleviate the pressure feeling in my stomach? Am I taking on too full of a stomach? Should I consume on an empty stomach? Am I consuming too much H20 while enduring my athletics? My training mainly consists of long distance cycling and or swimming/running. My training mainly consists of triathlon training and can last anywhere between 1 and a half to 3 or more hours. Comments, suggestions, advice? Greatly appreciated. Still willing to give the product a try, but I’m just a little hesitant to finish what I’ve got and further purchase more.
Answer:
Thank you so much for your question. Ideally, I would like to know a little more information about what you are eating and drinking prior to working out, as well as when you are eating and drinking in relation to when you begin to exercise. I suspect that you may be putting too much into your stomach too close to training, resulting in some severe stomach discomfort. Without having all the facts, here are my thoughts and some suggestions about how to help solve your problem and maximize your workouts.
Time your pre-workout meals for optimum performance.
Pre-workout nutrition, like all nutrition, is highly athlete-specific. In the end, you will likely have to experiment with different food combinations and timing strategies in order to determine what works best for you personally. There are, however, some good general guidelines for fueling the body in preparation for exercise.
Eating too close to the start of a workout, either endurance or resistance training, can contribute to GI distress including the feelings of nausea and pressure you describe. The type of exercise you engage in may exacerbate this – as anything that causes the stomach to bounce or shake can itself produce nausea (think running or burpees as opposed to cycling or bench press). Experts from the National Strength Conditioning Association to prominent sports nutritionist Nancy Clark agree that for the most part, athletes should avoid food within an hour of training to avoid stomach symptoms. In the gym, I advise my clients to eat a minimum of 60-90 minutes before any type of training, longer before on race days when emotions are likely to run high or in clients who are prone to stomach upset.
A good strategy for you would be to select your pre-workout meals and snacks according to the type of workout you have planned for the day as well as the time of day you plan to train. On days you plan primarily to run, try eating a carbohydrate-rich meal 3 to 4 hours prior to the start of your workout. This should give your stomach time to empty prior to running, which should minimize nausea. If, however, you feel like a four-hour gap between food and exercise leaves you little to run on and compromises your performance, try either consuming a liquid meal 60-90 minutes before your run (a protein shake blended with a banana, for example, which would leave your stomach faster than solid food) or something small like half a bagel 60-90 minutes before (no fats or toppings added) which can help settle the stomach by soaking up gastric fluids. On days you plan to cycle, swim or do any workout first thing in the morning, experiment with small meals or the shake or bagel ideas above closer to the start of your workout time (never, however, within 60 minutes of start time).
Because your nutrition goal is specifically to support long-duration endurance athletics, another thing for you to keep in mind is getting sufficient carbohydrate on a daily basis. Keeping your body’s glycogen stores full will help fuel your runs, rides and swim workouts and make the need for precise pre-workout nutrition less critical. Endurance athletes need approximately 7 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight per day to protect glycogen stores. This is a unique nutrition need and is not appropriate for anyone following a fat-loss diet and potentially not for heavy resistance training athletes either.
Hydrate the right way.
In addition to eating too closely to the start of a workout, ill-timed fluid consumption can also cause nausea and other forms of GI distress. That said, please don’t quit drinking! Dehydration or body water loss as little as 1% can impair athletic performance, and more severe deficits contribute to a variety of health problems.
A good general guideline is to consume 6-8 ounces of fluids 2 hours prior to the start of a workout and 6-8 ounces of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes during a workout. Unlike consuming a bunch of water or fluid immediately prior to exercise, drinking enough fluid 2 hours prior to a workout will hydrate the body without causing you to feel bloated and over-full come time to exercise.
When it comes to Zipfizz specifically, again, experiment with what works for you. I like to take mine 15 – 30 minutes before exercising in order specifically to fuel my intense workouts. That said, I was blessed with an iron stomach so I’m fairly certain I could eat or drink just about anything and feel fine in the gym. If simply having anything at all before a workout causes you stomach upset, try having your Zipfizz as your pre-workout beverage 2 hours before the start of training. Because of its unique blend of electrolytes, B-Vitamins, caffeine, and green tea extract, Zipfizz provides hours of energy and will still give you plenty of benefit even if consumed this far in advance of exercise. Another good strategy for you might be to use Zipfizz as your fluid replacement beverage during exercise. My brother is preparing now for the STP bike race and has added a second water bottle holder to his bike frame specifically to carry Zipfizz during his long training rides. By sipping Zipfizz slowly throughout his rides, he tells me that he feels greater mental clarity as well as enhanced performance.
Get the endurance edge with Zipfizz.
While I am not a nutritionist (I don’t even play one on TV), as a nutrition coach and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist I do suggest Zipfizz to my clients in order to help them through tough workouts. The Vitamin B12 in Zipfizz is critical to both cell metabolism and fatty acid synthesis – which means its helps the body to run on fat as fuel during exercise. As an endurance athlete in particular, adequate B12 will help give you much-needed energy on training days. The Vitamins C and E in Zipfizz are both good anti-oxidants, which will help keep your immune system strong as training times increase. Additionally, the Alpha Lipoic Acid and grape seed extract in Zipfizz may help reduce inflammation in the body, which is key to post-workout recovery. Finally, the unique blend of green tea extract and caffeine in the product will keep you going strong, as it does for myself, my brother, and my clients.
I hope these suggestions help you to reach your exciting triathlon goal. Please keep us posted. I would be happy to help with pre-race nutrition strategies as the big day nears, and we look forward to hearing of your success!
Sincerely,
Kindra M. Reid, CSCS, FMS
Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach, Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist
Ask Kindra any questions you have about health, fitness and training in comments below.
Customer Testimonials: Julia from Colorado
“My sister and I tried a sample of Zipfizz at Sam’s club a week ago and thought we’d split a box and give it a try. We thought if it was lame, each of us wouldn’t be out that much money. She is an RN working the night shift and I commute two hours each way every day so we both need to be alert. In the hustle and bustle of the day, I accidentally got home with the entire box. I put a few tubes in my commuter bag for the next day and planned to give her her half the next time I saw her.
The next day I overslept and didn’t have the time to go to Starbucks like I do every day. I used a tube in water instead hoping to get the day going. I was surprised how quenching it was and even on an empty stomach, I didn’t get jittery after drinking it. At lunch I used another tube in water with food, then went to a meeting. Not just any meeting. The kind of meeting that makes you want slit your wrists from boredom and the only thing that keeps you from nodding off is chuckling at the others that do. I noticed I was not sleepy and, in fact, felt engaged in the topic (a total surprise to me). I started to use two per day and the results in one week have been remarkable.
I don’t need coffee in the morning anymore. I like it better than Diet Coke (another surprise). I can make it through all four hours of commuting without having to overstimulate myself so I don’t fall asleep. I compared it to EmergenC, but it’s not the same – not as good. I looked at the ingredients to make sure I couldn’t overdose, and the only fat soluble vitamin in it (E) is only 33%, so it is safe. I used the entire box (including my sister’s half) in a week and went back for more.
I am more alert, more productive, and not as tired at night, safer on the road – and I’ve only used it for a week! Not only that, but I have another health issue. I have about 100 pounds of weight to lose and keeping myself hydrated is so important. I could never keep myself interested in water, even though I know I needed it. Zipfizz changed that. It makes the water enjoyable. I am looking forward to using Zipfizz during my weight loss regime. Lets see where it takes us! I just really enjoy the product and am extremely thankful for the results in how I feel! Looking forward to trying the other favors!”- Julia from Colorado.
Tell us your Zipfizz story! Email to info@zipfizz.com
Personal efficacy is a natural outgrowth of fitness: take care of your body so that you can take care of everything else.
This isn’t always an easy philosophy for my clients to adopt, and truth be told, it wasn’t always easy for me. By the fall of 2005, I had mastered the art of putting everything and everyone before myself. Despite having two post-graduate degrees, I was using neither and failing desperately to convince myself that I was happy playing “little-league mom” and “corporate wife.” In reality, I was miserable. My diet included a lot of convenience food, chocolate, and wine. I was fat, carrying more than 180 pounds on my petite 5’ 2” frame. I was 60 pounds heavier than when I finished law school 15 months prior. I hated how I looked and felt, but I “didn’t have time” to do anything about it.
In January 2006, I started Weight Watchers. My diet remained highly processed, however, and despite counting points and endless cardio, my weight didn’t budge. Over the next nearly nine months of deprivation and two-hour daily workouts I succeeded in losing just over 10 pounds. At the end of August that year I bought a pair of the elastic-waist “mom jeans” that I swore I’d never wear and a suitcase full of “billowy” clothing for a cruise vacation. I told myself I looked good.
And then came the photos.
I sobbed when I saw them. We returned home and I added an extra 45-minute exercise video to my daily routine, convinced if I “tried harder” a restrictive diet and endless aerobics would make me thin. They didn’t. Finally, in the spring of 2007, a naturopath began talking to me about the hormonal impact of food. She speculated that I was insulin resistant, and she was right. She asked me to follow a low-glycemic index diet and in two weeks I lost more weight than I had in the entire previous year.
My weight dropped steadily for the next several months. That came to an abrupt halt when my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I was twice told he wouldn’t likely survive, and I became his full-time caregiver. Stress mounted, I wasn’t sleeping, and although my weight remained the same my clothes began to get tighter. I felt “squishy.”
I don’t recall exactly when, but at some point I wandered into our home gym and eschewed the treadmill in favor of a pair of dumbbells. I needed to lift. I needed the exertion of picking up something heavy, setting it back down, and doing it over and over again– until I was too tired to think about anything else. Resistance training became my new routine, and although I feared that lifting would make my body bulky, I couldn’t make myself get back on the treadmill. My body changed radically – despite the fact I’d long ago stopped policing the quantity of food I consumed. I was still eating low GI, but hungry from my workouts I was eating more. Imagine my surprise when I had to buy smaller jeans. None of this made sense to me. Controlling calories and aerobic workouts were the path to weight loss. Heavy lifting and eating all day should’ve made me look like an eastern-block shot putter. But that’s not what was happening.
My husband survived cancer, but our marriage did not. In the fall of 2009 I started over. Initially I went back to legal work, but I missed my daily workouts and hired a trainer to see me at 4:30 AM. It didn’t take long for me to realize what I really wanted wasn’t to have a trainer but to be one. I enrolled in the National Personal Training Institute in Seattle, where I now teach nutrition and program design. I completed the program, and passed the Certified Strength Conditioning Specialist exam – earning the most prestigious certification in the industry. I also became certified to perform the Functional Movement Screen, determined to do my job safely and to help people not only look better, but move better. By the time I began working as a trainer I had also returned to my law school graduation weight, but was almost three sizes smaller than the last time I’d seen that number on the scale.
During this process, I learned a number of valuable lessons. I learned the “dirty little secrets” of the fitness industry, including why my body responded to resistance training the way it had. I learned why calorie restriction and endless cardio are a recipe for metabolic disaster, sometimes leading to weight gain. I learned why lifting heavy makes the female body not only stronger but leaner, sexier, and more compact. I learned how to fuel the body for energy and for fat loss – and why no one diet will work for everyone or forever. I also learned that, for the most part, the fitness and nutrition “advice” in popular women’s magazines is, either by accident or by design, guaranteed to fail.
This is where my passion for working with overweight women was born, and why I have dedicated every day since to speaking truth to female fitness. During my career I have been privileged to train people of all ages and abilities, including amateur and professional athletes. Nothing, however, makes me happier than helping women who are struggling as I once did.
My clients will tell you that my advice is often “eat more, workout less, take time to relax.” They will also tell you, however, that my weight room is NOT where relaxation occurs. From the first week these women squat, deadlift, do chin-ups (with a little help), and real push-ups – assisted, but never from the knees. They learn, as I once did, to get out of breath, get out of their comfort zone, and trust the process.
I love my job. If I tripped over a bag of money tomorrow, I would do it for free. Every day is a great day to be a trainer.
