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How can Olive Oil help your 2022 fitness goals?

How can Olive Oil help your 2022 fitness goals?

2021-12-30

If fitness is one of your resolutions for 2022, this article will give you the keys to achieve them, with a secret ingredient: olive oil.

A New Year has dawned and you know the drill. It’s time for the Resolutions to come out and play!

For many of us, the New Year marks the perfect mental milestone for us to reflect on our lives and reinvent ourselves, enthusiastically reviving all those things we had might have let slip in ‘the run up to Christmas’ – which for some of us means last February!

So, New Year Resolutions, what will it be this time?

Health? Wealth?

Mind? Body? Soul?

You only need to look at the statistics surrounding January gym memberships to see that a huge part of our New Year activity is dedicated to fitness – whether to work off those Christmas pounds or to leap into the new year, starting off on the right foot.

If fixing your fitness is your game plan for 2022, have you considered the important role that olive oil can play in achieving your goals?

Before you answer, let us take a look at why we bring it up…

OLIVE OIL & FITNESS

High quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil has been one of the ‘best kept secrets’ of serious athletes and bodybuilders for many years now. In the beginning, olive oil was perceived as a means of gaining ‘clean’ calories that were both high in content and very easy to digest.

More recently, the scientific community has come to support the value of olive oil, acknowledging its high concentration of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds – both of which bring health benefits on their own.

In a typical diet for adults, fats should represent between 25% and 30% of the total energy intake. No other food type can replace this since fatty acids are vital to maintain good health. This is why we must seek out the very best fats to support our fitness efforts – and olive oil is indeed a very good fat!

CARDIO: HEALTHY HEARTS

For anyone pursuing any level of fitness, you know that support from your stamina and your circulatory system is key. During intensive sporting activity, the cardiovascular system is put under a lot of pressure – our heart rate increases, and more blood is pumped through the aortas, which must be healthy enough to handle the increased blood flow and provide the endurance you require.

It’s been widely reported that Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of the most impactful foods in preventing cardiovascular diseases. It’s what makes Mediterranean diets so popular. In fact, a moderate daily dose of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in your diet can reduce the chance developing of myocardial infarction, stroke or cerebral infarction by up to 30%.

Beyond that, Olive Oil assists with keeping cholesterol under control too. It helps prevent the formation of clots and atherosclerotic plaque leaving your heart in peak condition, capable of withstanding more of what your fitness routine will throw at it!

STRENGTH: BUILDING MUSCLE

Bulking season? Diet is just as important as exercise when it comes to building muscle mass. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a great and proven source of Omega 3, giving you more of what you need to train and maintain your muscles. This is especially important for anyone who is exercising regularly, is new to exercise, or is pushing themselves to do more and more. This is due to the nature of how muscles are town and regrown when we exercise and rest. All the goodness packed into olive oil helps build muscles, prevent or repair an injury and speed up recovery from muscle strain.

JOINTS: SMOOTH MOTION

The anti-inflammatory properties of olive oil are practically famous now. Widely discussed and widely appreciated, the anti-inflammatory agents in olive oil are even good for those who aren’t exercising a lot. But the full benefits are reaped by anyone hitting the gym or pounding the pavements in an attempt to keep fit. Certainly the latter – running on paved streets and hard ground – can put undue strain and stress on your joints. In part, this is another characteristic derived from the aforementioned Omega 3, which makes Extra Virgin Olive Oil an excellent natural anti-inflammatory.

If you're living with arthritis or an inflammatory condition, especially one that causes pain, olive oil can be a true blessing. It's rich in antioxidant polyphenols, the micronutrients found in colourful fruits and vegetables, which help fight back against inflammation. Plus, some studies show that olive oil may affect your body in a similar way to aspirin or ibuprofen, which accounts for the slight peppery tingling in your throat.

STRESS: RECOVER & RELAX

Another amazing benefit of olive oil is the way it helps your body cope with the aftermath of intense physical activity. When it comes to exercise, olive oil can help you avoids oxidative stress.

As the intensity of the exercise increases, our bodies require more and more oxygen and, as a result, they produce something know as free radicals. These radicals are responsible for fatigue, but ultimately they’re also to blame for aging and certain cardiovascular diseases.

The vitamin E abundantly present in olive oil makes it one of the best sources of antioxidants, which in turn are responsible for lessening the damage caused by free radicals to our cells. We’re not going to say it can stop you from aging, but the science seems to suggest that a little amount of high quality olive oil every day can prevent you from aging faster than is needed.

WHAT OIL IS BEST?

Hot or cold, light or pure, there’s a perfect olive oil for all your requirements waiting for you right here in our range. From hearty dips and healthy dressings, the highest-grade olive oils in our range are the Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOO).

Here are three olive oils you should know about:

Discover our flagship Extra Virgin Olive Oil --->

Discover our Gourmet Extra Virgin Olive Oil --->

Discover our Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil --->

HOW BEST TO USE OLIVE OIL?

When it comes to olive oil, the uses are almost as many as the health benefits! Explore our website and blog to uncover more ways that you can introduce olive oil into your life, from the vast and varied (and delicious!) recipes, to DIY hair masks and facial scrubs.

Suggested reading:

A delicious guide to dips and dressings

Does Olive Oil work in ANY meal?

Colourful Foods = Healthy diet?

Physical Health vs. Mental Health

Oliography: Where does your olive oil come from?

Olive Oil Myths: Four naked truths behind the fake news