Jamie Simmonds, 2019, the Third Fittest Woman on Earth, is an international CrossFit Games champion and ambassador for plant-based nutrition company Nuzest.
Formerly a gymnast and rugby player, Jamie made her name in the CrossFit competition scene in 2016 when she became a podium finisher with team CrossFit Yas.
Read From Being a Mom to the Podium at the CrossFit Games at its original source Breaking Muscle:
https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/from-being-a-mom-to-the-podium-at-the-crossfit-games
The Fight Camp smart boxing fitness system.
Fight Camp
Connected fitness startup FightCamp just bulked up bigtime for the increasingly competitive smart fitness battles. The startup raised a massive $90 million from fighting luminaries like heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson, the undefeated light middleweight boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., legendary UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, and current UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou.
I tested the FightCamp smart boxing system for Forbes just a few months ago and interviewed co-founder and former U.S. national team boxer Tommy Duquette:
While the celebrity fight champion investor list is impressive — and hugely important for marketing — the bulk of the $90 million investment likely came, however, from venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Connect Ventures.
“[FightCamp] was a cool way to introduce boxing to my kids and now I can’t keep them off it,” Mike Tyson said in a statement.
The FightCamp system uses smart boxing gloves and a punching bag along with core and aerobic fitness movements to give users a full-body workout, a means to improve their self-defense capability, and possibly even work off some aggression and tension.
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Sensors in the gloves track your workout, punches, and intensity.
A new mode in the app, Versus, allows you to compete with others virtually — in a sense “fighting” them while hitting your own punching bag. That’s going to be addictive and fun, making a game out of getting fit, especially with friends. It makes home workouts social, which is important.
And it could add virality to the product.
Most of us like to work out at home even as the COVID pandemic is fading in some countries — 81% of people under the age of 40 in a study FightCamp cites — and buying smart equipment is one way to keep people motivated and involved. The FightCamp app offers “more than 1,000 classes, drills, and trainings,” and there are leaderboards to compare your results with others.
Talking to co-founder Tommy Duquette:
Other notable investors include the startup factory Y Combinator, mobile gaming heavyweight Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, and Fritz Lanman, CEO of fitness class finder app ClassPass.
Boxing is one of the top 7 most popular fitness classes taken on ClassPass in the U.S., and mixed martial arts is the top fitness class on that platform when people work out with friends.
“In 2019, Boxing and Kickboxing classes had 33 percent more participation than cycling classes in the USA,” Harley Miller, Founder and Managing Partner at Left Lane Capital said in a statement. “We spent time with nearly every relevant player in the connected fitness market and found the market to be filled with expensive products and copycats selling into the same affluent audience. In FightCamp, we saw a truly unique product format and experience, which both captured the spirit of the fighter, while providing an authentic entry point to all levels.”
The Fight Camp smart boxing fitness system.
Fight Camp
With celebrity investors who are on-brand for the product, the $90 million is likely targeted at taking the basically complete FightCamp product to a much larger audience.
“The at-home fitness category was accelerated last year,” Khalil Zahar, Founder and CEO of FightCamp, said in a statement. “Now, as more consumers adopt the trend as their permanent routine, we have an even greater opportunity to give people a taste of Boxing and Martial Arts culture in their own home.”
Ever wondered if you’re doing well for your age? You know, more of a Benjamin Button type than the 30-year-old who’s already complaining of a sore back and creaky knees on the stairs?
Well, thanks to a new free-to-use health and wellbeing age calculator, launched by AIA Vitality, you can gain powerful insight into how you’re really faring.
So far, the calculator has revealed a concerning insight into the real health age of Aussies, finding that some health ages are up to nine years older than their chronological ages.
It has also shown that Millennials (18-39) have the healthiest Body Mass Index (BMI), while Baby Boomers (55-74) have the least healthy BMI.
Gen X (40-54) reportedly drinks the most alcohol; and while Millennials are doing the most exercise, they also show the highest distress score when it comes to mental health.
All of these lifestyle factors contribute to your health age – so, if you’re after some simple ways to reduce your AIA Vitality Age, read on.
Not into weights? According to Elliott Upton, NASM-certified personal trainer at Ultimate Performance, you should be.
“A plethora of studies have demonstrated that resistance training is crucial if you want to stay feeling younger, vibrant and healthy for longer,” says Upton.
He explains that if you’re not flexing your muscles enough, this can potentially cause loss of muscle mass and strength, mobility issues, frailty, poor posture, weak bones, reduced daily physical function and lifespan.
The World Health Organization recommends adults aged 18-64 aim for at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity every week – adding some weights and resistance training into your cardio is a great tip.
As we get older, our bodies begin to produce less collagen – and over time, this results in skin changes, including fine lines, wrinkles and declining elasticity.
One way to boost our collagen levels by upping our fruit intake. For instance, you could try eating more oranges – research in Indian Dermatology Online Journal suggests that Vitamin C-containing foods can boost collagen production.
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Ginseng Research found that levels of collagen in the bloodstream also rise when ginseng is consumed.
Although ginseng probably isn’t something you’d find on most shopping lists, thanks to its collagen-producing properties, cooking up a soup with the root of this plant may actually be an underrated (and potent) way to beat ageing.
You already know you should be ditching the fries for fruit and veg – but did you know the humble mushie can play a part in keeping you young and spritely?
According to Faye James, accredited nutritionist and author of longevity and anti-ageing bestseller The Long Life Plan, “good nutrition is absolutely necessary in slowing the ageing process.”
James says mushrooms, in particular, are a key food you can eat to preserve longevity.
“A recent study by Pennsylvania State University found that mushrooms contain high amounts of the antioxidants ergothioneine and glutathione, compounds known to help prevent the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s,” she explains.
Feel like your skin isn’t exactly getting any younger? It may be time to add a daily cup of green tea to your life.
As well as containing a little hit of caffeine (but typically less than coffee) for your morning or arvo boost, green tea leaves are packed with plant polyphenols, which help protect the skin from ageing.
Studies have shown that green tea has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (aka very good news for your skin health) and can even protect the skin from sun damage.
Hands up who has gained an extra frown line or two in 2020?
Dr Karen Phillip, counselling psychotherapist and naturopathic nutritionist, says that in addition to things like good skincare, taking care of our minds is oh-so powerful when it comes to beating the ageing process.
“Less stress, a happy life and healthy relationships are all needed. It has been proven that when we feel, think and act young, we look younger and have far more energy,” she says.
Now, there’s just the excuse we were looking for to round up the crew for a girls’ night out.
AIA, with AIA Vitality, is on a mission to get Australians making the small changes they need to live healthier, longer, better lives. To find out your health and wellbeing age visit aiavitalityage.com.au.
When it comes to the skateboard industry, few have done more to support and promote female inclusion than Amelia Brodka.
Originally from Poland, she became captivated by skateboarding after watching a women’s vert demo at the 2001 X-Games in Philadelphia. After first taking up skating while living in New Jersey, she took her skills to the next level once she moved out west to California. Brodka quickly developed a love for vert ramps and soon became a standout in Southern California’s vert scene.
While this Polish powerhouse is a fierce competitor––she has won two Vans Park Series European Championships and a Bronze in the World Vert Championships––what she’s accomplished behind-the-scenes has made a significant impact for both women and the skate industry as a whole.
After noticing a significant lack of industry support for female skaters, Brodka created the documentary, UNDEREXPOSED, to shed light on the root causes of this issue. The film explored how a lack of competitive outlets and sponsorship dollars was stifling professional female skaters.
Addressing the need to develop an inclusive space, Brodka co-founded EXPOSURE Skate––a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women and girls through skateboarding. In addition to bringing educational programs and skate demos to schools around the globe, EXPOSURE launched the world’s largest female-only skate contest––which featured a record $60,000 purse prize and over 180 entries from 15 different countries in 2018.
This summer, Brodka earned the opportunity to inspire women around the globe on skateboarding’s biggest stage yet––the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She will be representing her native country of Poland and is thrilled for the opportunity to compete on the global scale.
Our friends at Stomp Sessions recently caught up with Amelia Brodka to learn more about her road to the Olympics and what it will mean for her to compete in this historic contest. Check out the full interview here.
To learn your next skateboard trick from an Olympian, check out Amelia’s Trick Tip Videos on Stomp.
You’d think a greater array of choices would make us happier, but studies have found just the opposite. Walk into a deli with 57 sandwiches on the menu or a cafe with thousands of drink combinations, and you’re likely to flounder and order what’s familiar. The same goes for entertainment. How many times have you scrolled through Netflix only to put on the sitcom you’ve watched ad nauseam? Probably more than you care to admit. An unwieldy amount of options overwhelms. That’s why mountain athlete Mike Chambers launched Moonbeam, a new podcast discovery app he co-founded with Paul English, the mastermind behind flight search engine Kayak.
The app helps users discover new podcasts using a combination of machine-learning technology and a team of curators (yes, real humans). Rather than thumbing through directories, the app surfaces the best curated snippets from podcasts and plays them on the app’s main feed, known as “Beam.”
If you don’t like the content, you can simply swipe up. But if you do, you can listen to the episode all the way through, save it, then share with their friends and subscribe. Moonbeam logs all these actions, which influence its algorithm, letting it curate content that’s more pertinent and interesting to your personal taste.
What’s more, the platform also gets show creators in on the action. The Moonbeam Console provides a pedestal for podcast hosts to create content (think short episode clips) that can be shared on social media.
Moonbeam is currently available on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android).
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
Navigating the fresh food aisles at your local supermarket can seem overwhelming when trying to feed your fussy family well-balanced meals throughout the day.
But it really doesn’t have to be.
Nutrient-rich foods are simple to add to your diet on a regular basis, for the most part they’re affordable and chances are you already have them in your crisper.
Here we’ve rounded up the top 10 foods packed full of all the nutrients your family needs, so the next time you head out for your grocery shop the hard work is already done for you.
Author Susie Burrell is a leading Australian dietitian and nutritionist, founder of Shape Me, co-host of The Nutrition Couch podcast and prominent media spokesperson, with regular appearances in both print and television media commenting on all areas of diet, weight loss and nutrition.
Your favourite vegetables ranked by their carb content
For better or worse, the closure of gyms and fitness centres as a result of the latest lockdowns has unsurprisingly lead to most Aussies giving home workouts a go.
RELATED: Workouts you can do at home during lockdown — no equipment necessary
For gym buffs whose workout schedule, until recently, consisted exclusively of group fitness classes, the realm of solo home exercising may be a little daunting — particularly where technique is concerned.
But for those of us just jumping on the iso-workout bandwagon, there are two moves we should be particularly wary of, according to National Group Fitness Manager at Goodlife Health Clubs Luke Marino: squats and planks.
In many ways these common exercises are perfect for an at-home workout — after all, both can be done without any equipment, and in a confined space. However, when not performed correctly, injury isn’t just a possibility, but very likely.
To show just how wrong things can go, Luke shared with 9Honey Coach the four pressure points to watch out for, where squats and planks are concerned. Watch him demonstrate in the footage above, and continue reading for his tips.
Most common mistakes: Knees tracking too far inwards towards each other, putting pressure on your knees and lower back. Also, knees extending over the front of your toes.
How to fix it: Keep your feet at a comfortable shoulder-distance apart, with your feet facing straight ahead, and focus on tracking your knees directly over your toes.
Make sure you bend your knees with your first movement so your rear moves backwards and down (as if sitting on a chair). Keep your back straight throughout the entire movement.
Your knees should generally only go to 90-degrees (for beginners), and once you get some strength and range of motion in the knee and hip joints, you may then squat a little lower, which will increase the strength of your legs and glutes.
Most common mistakes: Dipping your hips too low, causing pain in the lower back, and dropping down through your shoulders.
How to fix it: In a correct plank position, your shoulders, hips and knees should create a straight/neutral spine position, with your weight mainly sitting through your elbows, forearms and feet.
Try to brace your core tightly by drawing your belly button up towards your spine, and keep your back straight as if you have a glass of water balancing in the middle of your back.
Luke Marino is the National Group Fitness Manager at Goodlife Health Clubs. Visit Goodlife at Home for more online home workouts, recipes, fitness tips and expert Q&As.
How to stay motivated to exercise in winter
Physical punishment does not appear to improve a child’s positive behaviour or social competence over time, according to a review of 69 studies from the US, Canada, China, Colombia, Greece, Japan, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
The review, published Monday in the journal Lancet, found physical punishment such as spanking is “harmful to children’s development and well-being,” said senior author Elizabeth Gershoff, a professor in human development and family sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.
“Parents hit their children because they think doing so will improve their behaviour,” Gershoff said. “Unfortunately for parents who hit, our research found clear and compelling evidence that physical punishment does not improve children’s behaviour and instead makes it worse.”
To measure the impact of spanking and other physical punishments that parents might typically choose to discipline a child, the review excluded verbal and “severe” types of physical punishment that would be characterised as child abuse.
That included such actions as “hitting a child with an object; hitting or slapping on the face, head or ears; throwing an object at a child; beating; hitting with a fist; punching; kicking; washing a child’s mouth out with soap; throwing down; choking; burning; scalding; and threatening with a knife or gun,” Gershoff said.
Some studies in the review found mixed results, seeing some positive and negative effects associated with physical punishment. But the majority of the studies showed a significant negative impact in a number of ways.
The most “consistent support,” in 13 of 19 independent studies, was that spanking and other forms of child punishment created more external problem behaviours over time, Gershoff said, such as “increased aggression, increased antisocial behaviour, and increased disruptive behaviour in school.”
Acting out by children who were physically punished occurred no matter the child’s sex, race or ethnicity, the review found.
One study, done in Colombia in South America, found that young children who were physically punished gained “fewer cognitive skills” than did those who were not physically punished, the review found.
Seven of the studies Gershoff and her team reviewed examined the association between the frequency of physical punishment and a child’s negative behavior over time. Five of the seven found a “dose-response effect,” she said.
“In other words, as physical punishment increased in frequency, so did its likelihood of predicting worse outcomes over time,” she said.
Some studies in the review found physical punishment increased conduct problems and signs of oppositional defiant disorder, which is characterised by temper tantrums, argumentative and defiant behaviour, active defiance and refusal to follow rules, spitefulness and vindictiveness.
Another outcome was that physical punishment increased the risk that children would experience severe violence or neglect that might trigger involvement by child protective services.
Finally, the review found that any negative outcomes of corporal punishment were not eased by parenting style. Four out of five studies found that an overall warm and positive parenting style “did not buffer the effect of physical punishment on an increase in behaviour problems.”
As of 2017, some 63 per cent of children between the ages of 2 and 4 — or some 250 million children — live in countries that allow spanking and are regularly subjected to physical punishment by their caregivers, according to UNICEF.
In the US, all 50 states say it’s legal for parents to use physical punishment on their children. Nineteen states still have laws on the books that allow schools to use corporal punishment during the school day, although some school districts in those states have banned the practice.
Some change is underway. A study published in April found spanking declined in the US between 1993 and 2017, partly due to changing attitudes among millennials and Gen X parents, who appear to be spanking their kids less than previous generations.
Some 50 per cent of parents reported spanking a child in 1993, but by 2017 that number was down to 35 per cent, the study found. However, that number is still too high by 2018 standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Dr. Robert Sege, who specialises in the study of child abuse, in a prior interview.
The pediatricians’ group suggests adults caring for children use “healthy forms of discipline” — such as positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviours, setting limits and setting expectations — and not use spanking, hitting, slapping, threatening, insulting, humiliating or shaming.
“Parents should never hit their child and never use verbal insults that would humiliate or shame the child,” said Sege, lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy statement on corporal punishment.
Globally, 62 countries have prohibited physical punishment of children in all settings and a further 27 countries commit to doing so, according to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. Despite this advance, “only 13%per cent of the world’s children are fully protected in law from all corporal punishment,” the agency says, and 31 countries still allow whipping, flogging and caning as a sentence for crimes committed by juveniles.
Children have the right to freedom and protection from “corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, states the United Nations 2006 Convention on the Right of the Child, and the UN General Assembly has included the protection of children from all forms of violence as a “sustainable development goal.”
“Given the high prevalence of physical punishment around the world, there is no time to waste — all countries should heed the UN’s call to uphold children’s human rights and promote their wellbeing by prohibiting physical punishment in all forms and all settings,” Gershoff and her team wrote.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a number of alternatives to spanking, including taking toys and privileges away and the age-old technique of time-out.
Sege said the techniques depend on the child’s age.
“During the first year what infants need to learn is love,” Sege said in a prior interview, “while they discover their new abilities such as crying and making messes. So parents should distract, by giving them other things to do that are less disruptive or picking them up and moving them to a different place. That’s all they can do.”
As kids grow to toddlers and persist in doing things you don’t want, he said, the best technique is to tap into their need for attention.
“Toddlers crave their parent’s attention, so use that to your advantage,” Sege said. “Pay attention to the things your children do that are wonderful; reward them for those with praise. Then when they do something you don’t like, put them in time-out and take the attention away. Use that. That’s how time-outs work.”
As children get older, he suggests letting them learn the natural consequences of their behaviours.
“Instead of shielding, help them learn the lesson, as long as they are not in danger,” Sege said. “Things like, ‘You didn’t put your toys away, so instead of playing, you have to clean them up before we can play.’ It takes parents out of the loop.”
Teenagers, he said, also need to learn to take responsibility for their actions.
“And you do that by calling them out on their behavior and its consequences and then help them figure out how to resolve those consequences.
“It’s hard, because it requires, at least at first, a level of mindfulness and thought on what you are doing as a parent,” Sege said. “Parenting isn’t easy. The good thing is that our children excuse us for the mistakes we make.”
How to stay motivated to exercise in winter
Stepz Fitness is on a roll, with two new gyms set to open in July. When the gyms open their doors in Eastwood and Shellharbour in New South Wales, slightly delayed because of the current lockdown, there will be 16 outlets in the Stepz Fitness network.
Stepz Fitness Eastwood is taking over the space of a former Plus Fitness gym which has relocated, and will have a mezzanine added to increase the gym’s footprint to 400sqm.
The Shellharbour gym is the second outlet for franchisee Daniel Hotchkis, something franchisor Sam Waller is keen to see and encourage.
“I am heavily focused on multi-site ownerships as this indicates the franchisee has achieved great success in their first gym. Daniel has fully subscribed to the new Stepz Fitness model and is a true believer in the business model and what the brand represents.”
Former franchisee Sam Waller bought out the franchisor in 2018, shifting the business with a brand refresh and the addition of a functional group fitness studio to the existing 24/7 gym setup to help it stand out from the competition.
Sam is ingrained in the business, starting as a personal trainer before buying his own gym, and taking on the top job seven years later.
The unique insight he garnered from working at all levels in the franchise allowed him to transition successfully.
Group training was added not just to improve the business profitability but to achieve the fitness goals of Stepz Fitness members with a value-driven program of classes ideal for the more budget-conscious gym users who can access up to 26 classes a week, says Sam.
Check out some fitness franchise options here.
The 2021 Stanley Cup Final is filled with contrasts. On the one hand, the Montreal Canadiens are the most storied franchise in hockey history, with 23 Cups on the club’s resume. But they haven’t appeared in the Final since winning the last of those in 1993. On the other hand, the Tampa Bay Lightning had just become a team when the Habs last lifted Lord Stanley. Despite the franchise’s youth, the Lightning have become one of the league’s best teams this century. They won their second Cup last year and have established themselves as a mainstay in the playoffs.
Now the two will meet with everything on the line. The Canadiens emerged from the league’s pandemic-created North Division, a collection of the NHL’s six Canadian franchises (all grouped together because of COVID travel protocols and restrictions), and then beat the Vegas Golden Knights in the semifinal round to claim their spot in the Final. The Lightning took the Central Division and beat the prickly New York Islanders in a seven-game series to earn their shot at a repeat championship. The games start Monday night and run every other night until there’s a winner, with American broadcasts on NBC Sports Network for the first two games and NBC after that. Each game starts at 8 p.m. (EDT), except Game 7, which will start at 7 p.m. (EDT) if needed.
Here are four storylines that will define the series.
On paper and in reality, Tampa Bay has the better players. Center Brayden Point has 14 goals in this year’s playoffs; no other player has more than eight. Winger Nikita Kucherov, who missed the entire regular season with an injury, has 27 points. Nobody else has more than 20, and nobody outside Tampa Bay has more than 16. (Kucherov and Point, along with teammates Alex Killorn, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman, lead the league in playoff points.) Montreal has two players, winger Tyler Toffoli and center Nick Suzuki, with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The teams haven’t faced each other yet this season because the NHL limited teams to playing within their divisions. It’s not entirely clear how the Habs will try to neutralize the Lightning’s big guns. It’s also not clear how involved head coach Dominique Ducharme will be for the first two games: Due to a positive COVID test, he can’t get behind the bench until Game 3.
26-year-old Lightning backstop Andrei Vasilevskiy is the best goaltender in the world right now. In 18 playoff games, he has allowed 36 goals, despite facing enough high-quality scoring chances that the analytics say he should’ve given up an additional 23 goals.
Vasilevskiy’s 22.8 goals saved above expectation in the playoffs are 11 more than the next-best goalie, who happens to be Montreal veteran Carey Price. The 33-year-old is a former league MVP and Vezina Trophy winner (awarded to the league’s top goalie), and he remains one of the best in the world. The likeliest outcome is that both netminders play well. If one of them surprisingly does not, that’ll change the entire dynamic of this Stanley Cup Final.
It’s obvious enough who will do the scoring for Tampa Bay. The Lightning have the best collection of forward talent in the world, and they’ll continue to get goals from those players. Their ace line of Ondrej Palat, Point, and Kucherov has been entirely unstoppable this spring. Their second line of Killorn, Stamkos, and Anthony Cirelli has been only slightly less superhuman.
Montreal doesn’t have scorers of that caliber, but the Habs do have some notable talent. They’ll need a lot from leading scorers Toffoli and Suzuki, certainly, but they’ll also need secondary scoring. One candidate who could provide it: Tiny rookie Cole Caufield. The 5-foot-7, 20-year-old winger didn’t make his NHL debut until April 26, but he has emerged as an important player for Montreal. After not scoring in his first nine playoff games, he’s scored four in his last six.
Home-ice advantage belongs to the Lightning, who will host the first two games, as well as Game 5 and Game 7 if necessary. When the Lightning are at home, they’ll enjoy the backing of a crowd of around 14,800 people—about 80 percent capacity for Amalie Arena. On the other hand, when the Canadiens host Games 3, 4, and (if necessary) 6, they’ll likely only have some 3,500 fans in attendance due to COVID regulations in Quebec. While those 3,500 people might make enough noise that they sound like 20,000, the varying crowds could affect how much of a boost the teams get at home.
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