So you have aspirations to get fit this year. Maybe you have written down some new year’s resolutions to go back to the gym. You may have been a regular gym-goer in the not-to-distant past or maybe you were even an athlete at one point. But you aren’t exercising now and you can’t seem to get started. You know you should because you constantly hear your friends mentioning how they run 10K every morning; or

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4 days in Whistler, Canada, 100 ambassadors from around the globe, 2 long-haul flights, 1 snowboard adventure and tons of amazing people were just some of the highlights of lululemon’s global ambassador summit that took place last week. What an honour it was for me to represent the China region and attend this phenomenal event that holds such an awe-inspiring reputation to those who know about it. Whistler, B.C., Canada, home of the most famous

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Less than a week remains as Olive Branchers make final preparations before this Saturday morning’s Spartan Race! Some of us may be feeling super excited, especially those who have done long distance sports or obstacle courses before, but others with much less experience in these settings may be feeling a bit nervous - anxious even! For a lot of us who are trying a new event for the first time, it can feel daunting and

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This answer from Quora is one of the better pieces I've read online for a while. Although, the piece veers slightly away from fitness and nutrition, the advice is all about improving oneself - and that is the fundamental mission of Olive Branch. It is a bit lengthy, but it’s completely filled with nuggets of wisdom that will benefit you. Read it - and let’s discuss!  Comments welcomed! Read Matt Bodnar's What does the 1%

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Are you’re feeling just a bit slow and sluggish these days? Do you find that you crave sugar and refined carbohydrates a lot more than before? Has your workout schedule fallen by the wayside? Perhaps, even your waistline has increased a bit. Inevitably, you feel a bit guilty for letting yourself go - maybe even a bit self-loathing at the extreme. While it’s not ideal that you gained fat and lost a bit of muscle,

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It’s not easy kicking ass in Shanghai. There are so many challenges to overcome in this megalopolis like dealing with the heavy traffic, food safety, pollution, the highly competitive environment, the transient nature of the city, the temptations of all the indulgences that has made Shanghai infamous! That’s why we all need a social support network to back us up and to keep us going! I’ve written about how powerful a community can be for

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It’s everyone’s favourite time of the year when people finally have an excuse to role-play their superheroes and dress as revealing as their heart’s content! Halloween has always been a season of festivities and parties as autumn comes to an end and we have much bounty to celebrate for from the late harvests. Now, I’m not here to tell you not to go out and enjoy yourselves on this most debauchery time of the year,

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We all want to have the six-pack abs or the round firm butt.  We all want to feel healthy and have more energy and be more focused at work. If only intention alone, was enough to get the the results we wanted, life would be so much easier. Unfortunately, we don’t do what is good for us; we do what is easy. So even if you know what to do in the gym, or you

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We all know how traveling can wreak havoc on your health routine, but the havoc it wreaks on your back is probably the worst; especially, the long-haul flights where you’re confined to a cabin seat that is poorly designed for lumbar support and for long durations at a time. Even for me, someone who has a fairly active daytime job, one long-haul return-trip is enough to make my back seize up; enough to make me

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Entering China, lululemon style You may be surprised to hear that lululemon’s Unroll China event is their main event to showcase to the world that they’ve officially entered the China market.  That’s because they’ve been very slowly, but deliberately planting the seeds of their core values in Shanghai and Beijing for the last four years! I remember that early beginning very distinctly because they reached out to me before they even had a store, a

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