(Photo Credit: .craig)

Don’t be afraid to snack, just be smart about it.  Healthy snacks can satisfy your diet cravings and fill the hunger gaps to avoid over-eating at meals. 

However, it is important to have the right snacks at the right time. The food you eat before a workout should be different to what you eat afterwards.

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With summer holidays on the horizon, it’s time to get moving. Why?

- to fit into that bikini
- because we have longer days to be active outside
- to train better for that marathon in September

Yes, these are all good reasons, but even more importantly we need to get moving to be a good example to our younger generation. With the overwhelming epidemic of child obesity reaching unmanageable proportions (obesity rates have tripled over the past three decades), we need to act now.

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I know what you’re thinking, not another fitness gadget….really??

Well, it is, but quite a funky one, because not only does it track your activity, it also tracks your sleep patterns, which can be just as important as exercise! (Read here for more info on sleep and exercise).

I’m talking about FitBit, a nifty tracker that gives you a lot of information in a little package. Not only does it measure the intensity and duration of your physical activities, it also counts steps taken, calories burned, and distance traveled. When it comes to sleeping it monitors how long it took you to fall asleep, how many times you woke up in the night, and your ‘real’ sleeping time as opposed to ‘resting’ time lying in bed.

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Nowadays, a lot of people don’t understand what podiatry and orthotics are really about, so throughout this article we are going to try and clarify certain ideas and stereotypes about this particular topic.

The main stereotype is: “Podiatrists only take care of feet.”

This assumption is wrong: podiatrists use the foot as a base for their work and it enables them to properly position the knee, hip or spine.

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(Photo Credit: ~FreeBirD®~ )

Buying new trainers can be as tricky as finding a needle in a haystack. With so many choices, where do you begin?

Here at Jiwok we’ve tried to simplify things for you. The key? Know your arch.

Is it normal (a normal pronator is the most common foot with the most efficient stride), flat (overpronator – ankles roll too far inward when foot hits the ground), or high (underpronator – least common foot type which results in extra stress on the legs due to the arch not being able to absorb all the impact).

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When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, health and fitness goals usually top the polls.

The most popular? Losing weight, according to website 43Things followed by ‘be happy’, ‘save money’, and ‘fall in love’.

‘Eat, drink , learn, or try something new’ is at number 8 while ‘run a marathon’ ranks at number 9. So, three out of the top 10 are fitness related, which is not surprising really, is it?

So what do you want to improve? Here are some fitness goals maybe you haven’t considered before;

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(Photo credit: oddsock)

Now that Christmas is over and the sales are on, it’s tempting to either shop til you drop or finish off the leftover turkey and Christmas pudding in front of bad Christmas TV. But if you have even a flicker of motivation to get moving, then it wouldn’t hurt to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions (honestly, it won’t hurt ).

If you didn’t get any motivational fitness gifts this year, who says you can’t treat (or motivate) yourself? Ok, ok, maybe you’re not ready to hear that yet, but it’s never too early to start sowing the seed, because we can only take so much indulgence, right??

So, want to lose a few extra pounds? Is running a half-marathon your goal for next year? Or maybe you’re just considering buying some trainers to start running for the first time.

Whatever your goal is, here are a few motivational tips to get you thinking, and maybe even doing;-);

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(Photo credit: martinlabar)

‘Tis the season to indulge, is it not? All those Christmas parties, baking for school, feast preparations; it is the most social time of the year, and the time we are all most likely to exercise less and eat more.

So, our Jiwok Nutritionists have stepped in with a few healthy reminders, to get us through this holiday season without looking as stuffed as the turkey we’ve eaten.

It’s all about balance. You can be forgiven for missing a few runs or deviating from your Jiwok training program at this crazy time of year, but if you’re going to eat more, try to eat healthily. Here’s some food you can indulge in, almost guilt-free:
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(Photo Credit: darkmatter)

During or after your run, do your knees ache? Do your calves feel tender? Do you have painful heels or lower back strain?

Many runners are afflicted with minor injuries that are ignored or are left untreated, leading to missed workouts, unnecessary pain, and possible longer-term injuries.

I want to share with you the experience of a Jiwoker who has been running this past year with his Jiwok coach (his new best friend:), and was then confronted with some physical pain which he couldn’t explain.

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(Photo credit: Gubatron)

Ok, apart from the hot chocolate or copious mugs of tea we’re all drinking to keep warm, the Jiwok team want to remind you how important it is to warm up before you run as well.

Why warm up?

Studies show a warm up prepares you mentally as well as physically for the work ahead. Whether you’re a beginner or trained marathon runner, warming up is essential. Here’s why:

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