Get Outside Boston!

Spring day in the Arboretum

We scoped out some of our favorite workout spots in Boston!  So get outside and enjoy Boston!

The Fens:  With just about every sporting facility available, enjoy the warm weather with basketball courts and soccer, football and lacrosse fields.  There also is full track, fancy to walk, jog or run. Prepare yourself for 1.8 miles of lush green canopies entering Boston, leading you into one of the greatest cities on earth, Boston.  

Arnold Arboretum:  Where Planet Earth meets perfectly paved tracks—creating an exquisitely refined, yet challenging, walk, jog or run.  ‘Tis the season for blossoming trees, flowering gardens and blanketing green grass. Perfect for yoga, a picnic or losing track of how long you’ve run due to the beautiful landscape.  Check this place out!

The Esplanade on Charles River:  Easy to get to and full of energy, the Esplanade has just about everything you need to immerse yourself in a sunny day’s outdoor activities.  Run, Bike, Blade, Skate, or Sail.  Travel as you’d like on a paved path to a full baseball field, body-weight workout oasis and lush fields.  In between the cascading city buildings and sparkling Charles, this place is unique to say the least!

Castle Island:  This South Boston peninsula, filled with sweeping grass hills and a beautiful view of the Boston skyline, has all the outdoor necessities for one spectacular outdoor workout.  Exert yourself on historic grounds and cross more than one thing off of your bucket list!

Sunny afternoon at the Blue Hills Reservation

Blue Hills Reservation: Calling all hikers and nature enthusiasts.  Venture to the Blue Hills Reservation for a slice of the Adirondacks.  Challenge yourself by hiking up one of the 22 peaks, peering over Boston and enjoying the sunshine.  With trail varieties to fit any workout, it’s a great daytrip getaway.

Top Five Reasons Why You Should Love Working Out

1. A Good Night’s Sleep.

Working out tires you out. This means that when bedtime comes around you won’t be able to wait to close your eyes and let your body recharge. When you don’t work out, life’s inconveniences can get in the way and a wondering mind can keep you awake. If you’re tired and your body is begging for rest, there are no thoughts that will keep you awake. It will be the best sleep you’ll ever have.

To enhance that sleep, try putting on a little bit of Recover wherever you feel tight, the soothing scent and warming consistency will make your slumber that much deeper.

2. Increase Energy Levels.

Working out wakes you up. Yes, you will be tired and a bit sore—that’s a given. But while you work out your heart rate wakes up, and your muscles begin to swell. Your adrenaline begins to spread through your body. In essence, you Prepare your body for the rest of the day. It’s amazing. 

3. Relieve Unwanted Stress.

Working out releases endorphins. Endorphins get rid of all those pesky annoyances that weigh you down. When you exercise, you’re taking a mental feeling—stress—and projecting it onto a physical activity. Exercise allows you to take the intangible and turn it physical. Exercise gives you back self-autonomy. Now, when you look back at all the things ailing you with a fresh set of eyes, you gain a new perspective. The stress becomes nothing more than a puddle you need to step over.

4. Improve Longevity.

The human body is a well-oiled machine. We need to make sure every single part of our body works in conjunction with one another. Think about it this way, if you don’t start a car in over a year, the battery juice will drain and won’t start. It’s the same with your body. If you don’t let the blood pump throughout your body, it will become stagnant. Exercise allows blood to flow throughout your system replenishing cells and distributing oxygen. Plain and simple, exercise will make sure you breathe better, recover faster and live a longer and healthier life.

5. It’s fun!

There are many of you, who would disagree. However, it is true, exercise is actually really enjoyable once you get into a cycle. It’s about the challenge, the overcoming and the never-say-never attitude. I can tell you right now if you start walking today and jogging tomorrow, soon enough you’ll be running the same distance. It’s about empowering yourself to do what you thought was impossible. That’s what makes exercise fun. 

So get out today and give a shot! Yeah, it may be hard to get started at first, but that’s why there is Prepare. Yes, exercise may leave you sore, but that’s why you have Recover. And finally, there may be every excuse in the book to get back into bed, but there’s always time to start with a new day and begin a wonderful journey of living a healthy and active lifestyle. 

You Can't Win Without Trying

Ever wish you had someone elses body or stamina?  Then think to yourself about what that person did to be able to lift that weight or run that far.  More often than not it’s an effect of hard work, a positive cause YOU can make. So make that cause this spring, and the effects will last a lifetime.

When we limit ourselves with low expectations, our growth and happiness declines.  The power of growth, of improvement, the power to overcome all stagnation and break through every obstacle to transform a barren wasteland into a verdant field – that unstoppable power of hope resides right there in your own heart and ability to persevere. 

Be creative, and be you!  Working out should be a joy; don’t limit yourself to a gym if that doesn’t make you happy.  Progression takes passion.  Strive to achieve happiness through feeling great about what you have accomplished.  So join your local basketball, softball or football league if that it makes you happy. Whatever it is, do it. 

What’s important is your own ability, not the abilities of others.  Strength and stamina are woven into the practice, the workout and the achievement is the effect.  So start by walking, swimming or jogging to your hearts (and body’s) content and forget about comparing yourself to anyone. Focus on being the best you can be and you will succeed. 

The Best Road to Recovery

My name is David Torres, and I am an Account Executive here at HelioPro. As I write this blog entry, I was preparing for a local Muay Thai fight. I won’t lie, I’m pretty nervous. However, I keep visualizing the fight and then I feel confident again. To be honest, what makes me feel ready-to-go is the confidence I’ve built up due to my 5 weeks of training as well as my successful recovery after each practice. I know what I have to do; I’ve prepared myself for every scenario possible, replaying each situation in my head over and over again. For me, fighting is all mental and preparing myself is easy. However, recovery is key. Therefore, I need proper muscle recovery.

In recovery, everything you do matters. I was eating the right foods such as, lean chicken, lots of turkey, steamed veggies and fish, and getting a good night’s sleep of at least 7.5 hours a night with a 30-minute mid-day nap. During practice I was pushing myself harder and harder, and after every workout I’d stretch, have my protein shake and re-hydrate. However, my ace: HelioPro Recover. I know it may sound super cheesy but I honestly believe that Recover has made a difference in my training camp.

Training for an MMA fight is brutal. You’re in constant pain from leg kicks, punches and the never-ending grind. Meanwhile you’re also lifting to stay strong, and sprinting to develop good cardio. At the end of every practice, I felt like being carried home. HelioPro Recover gave me the soothing sensation I needed to get rid of tight knots built up in my muscles and prepare myself for the next day of ruthless training. Further, unlike chemically derived products that make your room smell like menthol for three hours, HelioPro Recover has a pleasant cinnamon scent that sanctioned a soothing relaxation.

Well my work is done. I’ve put in the hours on the mats and in the cage. I am happy to say that I left the ring as pretty as I was when I walked in!

You Are What You Put On Your Skin

Remember the childhood warning phrase, “You are what you eat?”  At HelioPro, it’s not what you eat, but what you put on your skin. 

The skin, which is also the body’s largest organ, directly absorbs 60% of topical products into the bloodstream. With this in mind, it is ever so important to know what you put on your skin.

Skin is made up of three layers: the outer epidermis or stratum corneum (which is the skin's main defense), the middle dermis and the hypodermis. The rate and extent of absorption are determined by one's skin integrity, location of exposure and the chemical properties/concentration of the substance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). 

Have no fear; we stand by “all natural performance.” That means, no chemical shortcuts. Through the determination of ten Bruce Lee’s, we have crafted Prepare and Recover from herbs to soothe soreness, massage soft-tissue and help ReLeaf your body from strenuous workouts.

While ingestion may be the most commonly known form of taking in nutrients, people often overlook the potential harm found in topical products. Unfortunately, it is the harmful ingredients such as benzophenone-3 (found in sunscreen) that penetrate the skin with greater efficiency (National Center for Biotechnology Information).

At HelioPro, our Prepare and Recover formulas are made from food grade herbs pure enough to eat (although not very tasty!), not chemical compounds. So become what you put on your skin with Prepare and Recover–healthy, all-natural workout warriors!   

Prepare to Succeed

When you love a sport or activity, you want to perform at your peak and you never want to take time off.
However, few athletes and weekend warriors take the time to properly Prepare before workouts.

Image you’re a piece of gum. When you unwrap a piece of gum and try to stretch it, what happens? It rips. You need to take the time, metaphorically speaking, to chew your piece of gum. In other words, taking the time to stretch before any activity can help you create a journey; on the other hand, not preparing properly can end the journey before it begins.

If you’re a runner, you need to Prepare properly before you run. Not only will preparing make your run worthwhile, but you will be able to go farther distances and achieve new peaks.

The same goes for cycling. If you enjoy cycling, then stretching will give your legs stamina and prevent the accumulation of lactic acid.

Body builders need to properly stretch as well or you will notice your shoulders getting tighter and tighter. While this might not seem like a big deal, your rotator cuffs are beginning to tighten up; the tighter they get, the more injury prone you become. Daily stretching is key and will keep your rotator cuffs in check.

Boxers, wrestlers, and MMA-ers, you’re not exempt either. Punching is very high impact activity on your shoulders, hips, and knees. Any good coach should have told you, power comes from the legs and hips. That means you need to take care of every muscle in your body. If you stretch, you Prepare your body with elasticity.

You don’t need to be a body builder or training for a marathon to know how important it is to properly Prepare. Few weekend warriors take the time to Prepare as well. If you’re not getting the chance to workout as much as you’d like, it is imperative that you Prepare before every workout.

The bottom line is simple, the more time you take to properly Prepare pre-workout, the more responsive your body will be to the stress you put on it.  So remember to Prepare, no matter what sport or activity you do, your body will respond and break through the wall that is holding you back. 

Mariza Prince's Tips to Staying Motivated During the Winter

Ok, so its winter time and you are not feeling up to working out. It’s cold

    outside; you feel tired, and working out is the last thing you want to do. 

Here are some of my personal tips to stay motivated during the winter months.

 1. Do your workout first thing in the morning. By doing your workout right when

     you get up, this will give you more energy throughout the day and it frees you

     from the excuse “I am too tired”.

  2. Lay out your workout clothes the night before. By laying out your clothes, this

     is a visual clue to remind yourself to work out right when you wake up.

  3. Set your alarm clock to music. Most of us use our phones as alarm clocks.

      Instead of setting your phone to an annoying buzz, set it to a fun workout

      song that will lift your spirits to motivate you right out of bed.

  4. Create heat. Set the thermostat to warm your bedroom an hour before your

      alarm goes off. That way your room will be nice and cozy you won’t want to 

      stay in bed.

  5. Do your workout at home. Too cold to drive to and from the gym? No

      worries, just pop in a DVD, move some furniture and workout right in the

      comfort of your own home.

Ok guys, that’s my 5 top tips to staying motivated this winter. Stay warm!

Marzia Prince