Re:Model Yourself

It doesn’t matter if your job is to walk down the fashion runways or not, in today’s world appearances do matter, so it’s better to be prepared and to try to look at your best every day.
In fact, looking sharper will give you that extra confidence that will eventually help you succeed. So here are few tips that will help you look better and, also, feel better.
Of course, we can’t guarantee that if you follow them religiously poster campaigns will follow or that you’re going to be booked for a runway show at next Milan’s Fashion Week, but it will enhance your style, boost your confidence, get fitter and, at the end of the day, help you become more successful in your life!

The Truth About Sunscreen

Three days ago with the summer solstice, the summer has officially begun. We’re all ready to hit the beaches and get a good tan. I’m not a big fan of roasting myself under the sun but I know there is a good amount of sun lovers out there so here’s few recommendation to take in order to prevent irreversible damage to your skin. I mean, I believe it’s better if everyone knows what to do in order to prevent painful sunburns, deadly skin cancers and premature skin aging.
Provided that you should always put sunscreen, how high an SPF should one choose? What is the difference between SPF 50 and SPF 30? What does “broad spectrum” mean? Are all sunscreens equally effective?
No better time to get the answers to these questions than now, during the week of the summer
solstice.
And hear this out, even if it is not sunny where you are, the UV rays hitting your skin will be
their most intense.

Flaxseed Granola Bars

I’m a big fan of flaxseeds, I sprinkle them over my yogurt and sometimes on my salad but I haven’t learned to use them in any other way until I found this recipe on the New York Times by Martha Rose Shulman for making delicious granola bars with flaxseeds and chocolate.
I tried it, made few slight changes from the original recipe and now I make my own granola bars: healthy and with a great taste. Give them a try!

Become A SuperHero: Chris Evans Captain America Workout and Diet

Among comic books adapted to movies there’s one, coming out this summer, that I really look forward to: “Captain America: The First Avenger”.
Captain America has always been one of my favorite Marvel superheroes, and you wanna know why? Because it has no superhuman powers. Although as a result of the Super-Soldier Serum and "Vita-Ray" treatment, he is transformed from a frail young man into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning.
Captain America's strength, endurance, agility, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing are at the highest limits of natural human potential.
Yes, Captain America is the embodiment of TheIronYou, there’s no doubt about that. Plus, he has a bad ass nigh-indestructible disc-shaped shield made from an experimental alloy of steel and the fictional vibranium that protects him from bullets and other weapons.
His costume is also pretty rad even if it’s nothing to extreme.
The fact that Captain America isn’t immortal, can’t fly or can’t make enemies bursts into flames makes him more relatable to “us” (aka normal people).
Real science has not yet been able to create the Super-Soldier Serum (too bad, uh...) so the only way to become Captain America is to train and hit the gym hard.
Exactly like actor Chris Evans had to do in order to portray Steve Rogers (Captain America alter ego) in the upcoming summer blockbuster. Let’s discover more how did he “transformed” himself into the superhero.

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Captain America workout

Through his movie career, Chris Evans has maintained a lean, defined look. He has done this despite a challenging work schedule and a limited focus on dieting.
Also Chris Evans is not new to the superhero: he played the Human Torch in the "Fantastic Four" series.
In an interview released back in 2006 he said that “the key is dedication” and even though he professed to be unscientific about exercise and dieting, he has been pushing iron with regularity since high school. He hates the treadmill and prefers instead playing  basketball, tennis, and even football whenever possible.
Even if he wasn’t following meticulously a working out plan, he has been doing cardio and weights almost everyday since he was a teenager. This is already enough to be in good shape!
Taking a look at his physical body, Chris Evans has always maintained a lean muscular look, one which he had to improve on for this film.

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox

In order to become Captain America Chris Evans trained two hours a day for four months without days off: "It was brutal, really brutal" the actor confessed recently in an interview. "I usually like working out. Going in sucks, but walking out, you're like, 'I'm glad I did that!'" Evans told PopSugar. "This was different. I'd walk out and I'd be like, 'I need to vomit. I hate this trainer. I hate this movie. I want to go to sleep for a week.' It was just relentless."

In another interview he explained to Britain's Men's Health magazine "It was grueling, and I'd find any excuse possible not to go. But I had to do it. I wasn't trying to lose or tone - I was just looking to gain. The rule of thumb was: if you're not eating, go get something."

The routine

Chris Evans’ workout was mainly based on bodyweight exercises. This was because being always on the road bodyweight exercises were the only thing he could stay consistent with and claims that they helped him achieve the “Hollywood look“.
The bodyweight exercises allowed Chris to move quick and maintain his balance so that he doesn’t get hurt during the filming of the movie.
However, he did suffer for minor injuries "I don't think my body is supposed to be as big as it got for Captain America. There was a strain on some joints. After a month and a half of training I found my right shoulder would click and my left pec would hurt. There are certain things that hurt more than others. But that seems to be pretty universal. Every guy I know has some sort of freak injury in their body.”
The standard bodyweight exercise are so pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups and those made up a majority of his workout.

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

But you cant’ become Captain America just with bodyweight exercises, and in fact Chris’ workout consisted also of plyometrics and also strength training.
Let’s also remember that Chris’ goal was to look as much as possible as Captain America, that is to say he was working the muscles that will actually show-up on camera.
Chris must have therefore done a lot of: deadlifts, bench presses, shoulders presses and squats. These movements build the most muscle but also increase your metabolism so you burn more fat.
Captain America in the comics had wide shoulders and muscular abs so Chris’ trainer also made him do compound exercises where the core is activated in any movement, helping therefore defining the abs.
“It was an ever-evolving workout, in which we always found ways to work around the parts of me that were sore” the American actor explained in an interview. 

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Captain America Diet

Chris Evans diet for the movie was, according to him the hardest part: “The workout was one thing but the eating was the tuff part. You go to the gym and it’s exhausting but then you go home and I since I had to gain mass and I had to gain size, this is only gonna happen if you eat proteins. So it was just a matter of going home and just constantly eat those bland pieces of chicken”
Chris diet was probable based on the  so-called carb cycling, which is very popular among celebrity diets. An example of it goes as follows:
1. Protein and carbs up until workout for the day
2. Post-workout and until bed time, keep carbs low and focus on protein.
3. Off days should be kept quite balanced, possibly lower in carbohydrate, but not too strict
4. Binge once in a while, but don’t exaggerate and completely throw the diet out the window.
Protein shakes should have also made part of its eating regimen, this because of the limited amount of time given to him to bulk up, let’s say three (maybe four) months maximum. In such case you have to resort at least to whey and glutamine to achieve results!

Considerations

One of the most important things we can take from Chris Evans and his workout and diet and, in general to his approach to health is to be consistent and patient.
This is the point that I would like to emphasize as far as celebrity workout and diets are concerned.
Finally, just remember that actors/models weren’t given any more special talent than you or Super-Soldier Serum and "Vita-Ray" treatment when it comes to health.
If they achieve a body that you appreciate, it’s because they put in the hard work every day. If you have the same passion and want for the body you’re trying to achieve, you can have it.

Chia Seeds, The Aztec Superfood

I discovered Chia seeds through my friend Alex. He became a vegan almost two years ago, and since then he's always on the hunt for new foods that can help him maintain a balanced diet. He told me a lot about chia seeds (the so-called “Aztec superfood”) as being a good source of protein, fiber and an array of precious nutrients.
I got curious, went to Whole Foods, bought a pack, got back home and throw a handful in my green protein smoothie. And guess what: I loveeeed it. It thickens up nicely and adds a certain je ne sais quoi!
I wanted to know more about it, so I did my fair share of research and discovered the following...

Robbie Williams, Lady Gaga and Ashton Kutcher: Three Bikram Yoga Devotees!

What Robbie Williams, Lady Gaga and Ashton Kutcher have in common?
Ok, yes, they’re famous people, we know that, but they also share one passion: Bikram yoga!
I just picked three VIPs but there are a lot of other personalities that are devotees of this practice; for instance Carmen Electra, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy are also raving about it.
But wait, the aim of this post is not to do name dropping. I mean, if I can convince you to give Bikram yoga a shot just by mentioning the like of Gaga I’m more than happy.
But actually what’s interesting is how practicing Bikram yoga has helped those three personalities in different ways.
Let’s explore a little bit more about it...

Is There Anything Like Too Much Green Tea?

I’m big time addicted to green tea. I drink at least two “Venti” green tea first thing with my breakfast; then one during the morning, one after lunch, another one at mid-afternoon and after dinner I usually have decaffeinated green tea.
"Pouring" all this green tea into my body (besides forcing me to make numerous stops at the restrooms during the day) got me thinking: “Is it possible that I'm abusing it?"

The Best Protein Brownies

When you train/workout a lot, in order to get the necessary daily protein intake we have sometimes to resort to protein bars. There’s nothing wrong with it. Your body needs readily available amino-acids and these snacks do the trick.
However, most of the protein bars you can buy at the health store contain a bunch of stuff with unpronounceable names. In addition, the taste is often off-putting (personally, I still have to find one that I really like).
The solution? Make your own, simple as that. Maybe even in the form of brownies.
What about that?
I tried several recipes over the last couple years and perfected this one, which is has become a staple of my diet.
These are truly amazing brownies, loaded with protein!

Is Whole Milk Really Fattening?

You’re at the supermarket about to grab the milk’s carton for the week or at Starbucks looking at the pitchers deciding what kind of milk to put in your coffee. What's going on in your mind? Probably this: should I choose the skim milk and keep the pounds off or go for the taste and have reduced-fat milk?
If you were to follow the USDA recommendations (and probably your trainer) you should go for skim. Actually the idea that skim is better has become so popular that in some coffee houses you can't even find reduced-fat milk not to mention whole.
But is it really true? Let’s dig into this question a little bit more.

The Goodness Of Cayenne Pepper

Writing this article is for me somehow challenging, at least as challenging as it has been to integrate cayenne pepper in my eating regimen.
Why? Because I’m not a big fan of hot/spicy food. I know, my taste buds have some limitations. I tried to overcome them but it proved to be a very difficult task.
Still, I now make use of cayenne pepper because its health benefits are almost unbelievable.
It can do almost everything from kill cancer cells in the prostate, lungs, and pancreas to immediately stop a heart attack within 30 seconds. Amazing right?
Cayenne’s reputation keeps growing among medical researchers as well as alternative health afficionados.
So let’s explore a little bit more what this is all about...