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Rest Days, Cheat Meals And Chilling The F Out.
Too much of a good thing is bad. In health and fitness trying to do too much to achieve your goals faster has the opposite effect. Not only may it slow you down but it may just bring your progress to a...
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Trainer Tip: Train calves with two exercises
For the longest time, I ignored my calves, obsessed as I was about developing my upper legs. When my upper legs (hello glutes!) were where I wanted them I realised how petty my slim calves looked. All...
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The Fitness Model Diet Guide Ebook. Out Now!!
Finally, it's here! My baby, "The Fitness Model Diet Guide" has hit the electronic shelves. It's the culmination of 6 months of hard work and all my experience and expertise as a fitness model,...
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Spaghetti Squash Turkey Bolognese Recipe
So, if you've been following along on my Snapchat (traineredith) and Facebook you would have seen me having fun in the kitchen making spaghetti squash bolognese a few days ago. I said on the video I'd...
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My Return to the Stage (Why I’ve Decided to Compete Again)
In June of last year (2014) I took home first place at the SAF pro Fitness Model competition. It wasn't the first time I'd taken the top spot but it was one of the most meaningful moments; I had two...
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Trainer Tip: Do Unilateral Work to Even Out Muscular Imbalances
It's natural to have a dominant side that tends to do more work than the other when worked bilaterally. If you're right-handed it's likely the right side of your body is more powerful and more...
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Top 5 Tips I Learnt From World-Renown Coach Charles R Poliquin
I was recently fortunate enough to attend a 3-day BioPrint seminar with one of the world's most accomplished and respected strength coaches, Charles R Poliquin. Aside from coaching the elite athletes,...
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Trainer Tip: Take a Probiotic For Physical and Emotional Health
Overweight? Lethargic? Depressed? The problem could lie in the health (or lack of it) of your intestinal flora. Did you know that at least 50% of all neurotransmitters and as much as 95% of all...
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15 convincing reasons to supplement with fish oil
Fish oil has been all the rage for many years and most people I know in the fitness industry supplement with it. However, I myself stopped using it after reading some conflicting studies to its...
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A Very Personal Tale About This Contest Prep
Tomorrow, I'll be stepping on stage again to compete at SAF Toronto Spectacular in the Elite Fitness Model division. I'm surprised (I "retired" from competing last year!), excited (I don't know why I...
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What to Look for in a Fish Oil Supplement
In my last post, 15 convincing reasons to supplement with fish oil, I discussed exactly that. I hope you were convinced. Until recently, I was not using fish oil after being confused about conflicting...
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All About My Recent SAF Competition
The dust, excitement and celebrations have finally settled, and I'm ready to talk with a clear head about my latest competition experience. On Saturday September 12th, I competed at SAF's Toronto Fall...
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Trainer Tip: Choose New Zealand Whey
If consuming the cleanest and most natural dairy is important to you (and it should be!) choose whey protein powder from New Zealand. The dairy industry in the little country down under is subject to...
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Is Estrogen Making You Fat? (And Causing Cancer?)
We all know about the growing obesity problem. The United States is leading the way with an estimated 31% of the population considered obese. Yes, easy-access to a plethora of junk food is still the...
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How to Structure Your Workouts Like a Pro
I see it all the time; people walking into the gym and jumping on the first available machine, mindlessly doing their 12 to 15 reps, 3 sets, texting between, and on to the next one. This is a basic...
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Should You Be Taking a Digestive Enzyme?
Ever since I was a child, I've always had digestive issues. Well, just one issue -- irregularity. To put it boldly, constipation. All those close to me know I was the constantly constipated one. It was...
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Are You Wasting Money on Rubbish Supplements? What to Look For
I have to admit, it's taken me years and much wasted money to see the value of pharmaceutical supplements versus your typical store-bought stuff in the shiny packaging. Even as a fitness professional...
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Top 5 Fitness Mistakes Women Make
I am obsessed with women. Let me rephrase that. As a trainer to mostly women I concern myself with women's health and physiques. Is that better? And all too often I encounter women committing the same...
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Sweet Potato Protein Muffins
I used to make these all the time, much to the delight of everyone around me. Then I just kinda stopped making them and forgot about them. But today is one of my personal training client's birthdays...
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The One Supplement You Likely Need Most
When gym rats and supposed health freaks sit around and talk supplements one that rarely comes up is magnesium. But it should. In fact, just about everyone should be supplementing with it. You don't...
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The Importance of Rest Days, Cheat Meals and Chilling the F out.
Too much of a good thing is bad. In health and fitness, trying to do too much to achieve your goals faster often has the opposite effect. Not only may it slow you down it may just bring your progress...
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Should You Bother with Fasted Cardio?
For a few years now a certain section of the population have been dragging themselves out of bed, imbibing nothing more than some water and maybe a coffee and hitting the treadmill for some long,...
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Trainer Tip: Engage Your Hamstrings When Cycling With This Tip
A mistake many people make when cycling or spinning is only using their quads to push down. Ride more efficiently and target the back of your legs by learning to actively pull up on the upstroke with...
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Trainer Tip: Weights Before Cardio
If you're the kind of person who likes to do cardio on the same days you lift, I recommend you hit the weights before doing your cardio sesh. Working in a gym, I most often see folks do it the other...
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Trainer Tip: Don’t Skip Meals; Skip Rope.
I've always thought that skipping rope is an excellent exercise that is often under-rated and overlooked. It' wonderfully portable (I always bring mine on vacation), inexpensive, has...
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Lisa and Edith Take Banff. Behind the scenes.
It’s June 30 and Lisa-Marie and I are just about to board a flight in Edmonton headed back to Toronto after 7 days shooting for BodyRock throughout Canada’s most beautiful National Parks. What an...
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Lifting Weights, Bulking Up and CrossFit.
Ladies, we've come along way since Jane Fonda workouts, nothing but yoga and Barbie pink 5 lbs dumbbells. These days it's not unusual to see strong women dominating the weight racks. I, for one, love...
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Fitness Model Secret: How to Cycle Water and Sodium to Peak your Physique.
Ever wonder how fitness models look so unreal and shredded on stage and in shoots? Aside from leading fit and active lives and maintaining trim bodies, we peak our physiques for special occasions by...
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Trainer Tip: Do Pullups Easier With This Rethink
A lot of women struggle to do a single pull-up. But this simple little rethink may make things a bit easier. When attempting to do a pull-up or chin-up most people will focus on bringing their chin to...
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Summer Shooting Fashion Haul
One of the best things about my job is the "uniform". I get to wear fun and comfortable workout clothes all the time! Yes, I have an enviable workout closet but ask me to a fancy dinner and I will...
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Sustainable Protein Source for the Future: Insects. Will you?
With the world's ever growing population and limited resources it's clear we all can't continue to eat as most North Americans currently do: eating meat several times a week -- or, in some cases,...
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The Benefits of Bulking
I'm currently training someone who is already extremely fit and very lean but is wanting to gain a bit of muscle in some places -- mainly on her legs and butt. Said girl is a real cardio bunny and...
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Trainer Tip: Forget the Hip Abduction Machine
Far too often I see girls pounding away on the hip adduction machine in high hopes, I presume, of either "toning" or slimming down their inner thighs. This awkward machine does work and strengthen the...
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Trainer Tip: Play with Tempo; Lift Slower And Hold
Don't forget to play with tempo, static holds and muscle time under tension when you're lifting. It's boring and shortchanging to just lift up for 1 second and down for 1, mindlessly. But it's...
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Food Politics: What’s Safe and Ethical to Eat?
From the onset I want to make clear that this post is going to raise more questions than it is answers. Because I myself am confused. As someone who is not only very health-conscious but also...
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How Long Should You Workout?
One question I get asked a lot is how long my workouts are and people are often shocked by the answer. Folks think I must spend all day in the gym. Well, I actually do; as a personal trainer the gym is...
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So, You Wanna be a Personal Trainer? Some Words of Wisdom.
Five years ago I was stuck in a dead-end office job hating the daily grind. Chained to the computer for 6 hours a day just wasn't for me. I thought to myself, "what's the opposite of this shit? Ah ha!...
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What I Look For In Training Shoes
There used to be a time when my basis for choosing a pair of workout shoes was solely how fly they looked, and maybe price. I remember once trying to run in basketball shoes. Silliness. These days I'm...
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Trainer Tip: How To Use The Assisted Pull-up Machine
Many women and new gym goers are intimidated by this machine: the assisted pull-up. And rightly so. I know I was when I first started going to the gym and I didn't go near it for years. This machine is...
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Crunchless Tabata Core and Abs Workout [video]
I love doing abs in the tabata format. If you didn't know, tabata is a 4-minute interval training format in which there is a 20 second work interval followed by a 10 second rest, and so on for 4...
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You Need to Warm-Up Better: Foam Rolling
If there's one fitness mistake I see more than anything else it's people not adequately preparing their bodies for workouts. I'm sorry, but doing 5 minutes on the elliptical while reading a gossip rag...
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You Need to Warm Up Better: Mobilizations and Activations
In my last blog I wrote about the importance of good warm ups that should come before good workouts -- which I hardly ever see anyone doing. It's a big mistake to jump into a hardcore workout without...
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Cardio: I Don’t Do Any
We’ve come along way since Jane Fonda aerobics. But still, many women are far too attached to their cardio and over-sold to its benefits. I see the same robot women on the same robot machines, spinning...
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Trainer Tip: Do your Lunges in Reverse
Lunges are a fantastic lower body exercise (and the one I'm most likely to skip!). There are several ways to do them but it seems the most popular way is to is step forward into a lunge. However,...
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Be A Pro Fitness Model: How To Come Prepared To A Fitness Shoot
At first glance photo shoots seem rather glamorous and, well, easy -- like a chimp with lipstick on could do it. But let me tell you, as someone who's been modelling for almost 15 years and very...
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The Price Of Almond Butter Has Reached New Heights. And This Is Why.
I recently walked into my local health food store to grab a jar of my much beloved almond butter. As I reached for the jar I almost fell off my chair, though I was standing. $20 was the asking price....
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My #transformationtuesday Story. From Meek To Firm.
Across social media people love transformation Tuesday, before and afters and progress pics. And rightly so. It's the modern narrative of constant progress, of things continually getting better, in...
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Free weights vs. machines. What and when should you use which?
So there's long been a battle between which is better -- machines or free weights? There's passionate opinions on both sides of the fence, much differing approaches and even more confusion. Trainers of...
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How I Train And Approach Rest Days As Fitness Model And Trainer
So I asked you guys what you wanted me to blog about and many of you asked about my personal training program and how to incorporate light training days/ active recovery days. So here it is. My overall...
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Trainer Tip: When To Apply Heat Or Cold To Sore Muscles And Joints.
Sore and not sure if you should apply a cold or heat pack to that boo boo? Typically, if the injury is fresh (you sprained or pulled something) the muscle is inflamed. You want to reduce the...
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