Fix Your Cardio Workout at home

Treadmill 

The Mistake - too much bouncing
The Fix - do a few leg swings to loosen the hips before you start
The Mistake - too many long steady runs
The Fix - add in intervals, vary 30 sec intensity with 1 min easy run repeat several times,  vary the length of interval and intensity.

Stationary Bike

The Mistake - seat too high or too low
The Fix - your leg should be fully extended at the lowest point of the pedal rotation
The Mistake - steady state rather than a quick pace
The Fix - vary intensity with 2- 3 minute intervals followed by a moderate cadence - repeat for 15-20 mins - stand on occasion to add variety of muscles worked.

Elliptical Trainer

The Mistake - too little resistance
The Fix - set resistance so you feel yourself pushing down the ramp
The Mistake - getting bored
The fix - try adding 90 sec interval blasts with recoveries twice as long over 20 minutes

Check out Women's Health for fixes on the rowing machine and stair stepper too

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/the-best-cardio-workouts

Fact or Fiction Fitness Questions

Which burns more Calories  - Cardio or Strength training??

New Studies show strength training superior to steady state cardio.  Weight training can boost metabolism long after you work out - for as much as 36 hours!!  Lift those weights baby!!

In my boot camp we work every muscle group to exhaustion with high reps and light weights.  I also layer in 30 seconds of interval cardio for maximum calorie burning!

Can you reduce cellulite through exercise??   YES!!!

Women lose approximately 5 pounds of muscle per decade, mostly from where the do not use their muscle - yeah, where you sit!  So when you lose muscle from you hips and thighs the layer of fat over top loses it's foundation so it can begin to look like an orange peel. Strength training (coupled with good nutrition) can help you get your foundation back and smooth out the look of your skin.

In my bootcamp we always work those big muscle so come lunge and squat with me!

Can exercise make you smarter??  YES!!!

Many studies have tied  physical activity to improved attention, memory and learning ability!  Exercise increases the production of Stem Cells that develop new brain cells.

Come check out the bootcamp class this January 2012 with your "student studying" teens.
Check out Women's Health for more questions

You got to MOVE IT ! MOVE IT!

What is the single best thing we can do for our health?  Worth the watch!!!!

Keep Fit at Home for the holidays

 


Here are four of my favourite workout videos you can do at home over the holidays and keep fit until classes resume in January.  I have seen these at Costco, Walmart, London Drugs, Superstore at various times over the past 6 months.  You can also order on line.....about $15 each.

Don't like DVD's try incorporating these exercise in your day for  a quick workout plan to keep fit at home

hold a plank for 1-2 minutes

hold a wall sit for 1-2 minutes at 90 degrees

3 sets of 10 walking lunges using a weight for extra challenge  (or perhaps a baby)

3 sets of full push ups (try it on your stairs to make it a little easier)

20 minutes of cardio with intervals 3 - 4 times per week

Eat More, Lose more Weight!

Make these you dietary rules or perhaps confessions.....

I will eat it if it grows on a tree  (Tip: Eat these first at every meal)

I will eat protein with every meal and snack (Tip: Eat 3 servings of dairy a day)

I will eat (30mins) before a workout and with in 30 minutes after a workout (tip:Carbs & protein before and protein rich after)

I will become a salad savant (Tip: Eat first and go with a home made dressing with lemon and Olive or flax seed oil base)

I will always have protein for breakfast (Tip: Can't handle eggs?, dairy rich smoothies or Protein shakes as a great option)

Thanks to Women's Health Magazine for your tips

The Best FAT BURNING FOODS!

Almonds and other nuts (with skins intact)
Build muscle, reduce cravings

Dairy products (fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese)
Build strong bones, fire up weight loss

Eggs
Build muscle, burn fat

Turkey and other lean meats
Build muscle, strengthen immune system

Berries
Improve satiety, prevent cravings

Enova oil (soy and canola oil)
Promotes fullness, not easily stored as fat

Peanut butter 
Boosts testosterone (a good thing even in women), builds muscle, burns fat

Fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, mackerel)
Trigger fullness, fire up fat burning

Grapefruit
Lowers insulin, regulates blood sugar and metabolism; be sure to eat the fleshy white membranes

Green tea
Fires up fat burning

Chili peppers
Spikes metabolism

Spinach and green vegetables
Fight free radicals and improve recovery for better muscle building

Whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, whole grain cereal)
Small doses prevent body from storing fat

Beans and legumes
Build muscle, help burn fat, regulate digestion

Whey
Builds muscle, burns fat

Thanks to Women's Health Magazine for the recap list!

Which candy bar is best to eat????

Best Chocolate Candy Bar

Eat This! Nestlé Crunch Bar
220 calories 
12 g fat (7 g saturated)
 24 g sugars
The Crunch bar has nearly half as much sugar as the 3 Musketeers.
Not That! 3 Musketeers
260 calories 
8 g fat (5 g saturated)
 40 g sugars
It's not the fat that does this bar in; it's the sugar. Forty grams is more than 2 Twinkies' worth - and it's nearly double the quantity you'll find in a Crunch Bar.

Best Breakable Candy Bar

Eat This! Kit Kat Bar
210 calories 
11 g fat (7 g saturated)
 22 g sugars
Spread the love. Just because there are 4 pieces in a package doesn't mean you need to eat them all yourself.

Not That! Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar
270 calories 
16 g fat (10 g saturated)
 31 g sugars
Bite-size piece might work for s'mores, but eat a whole bar as a snack and you just sacrificed half .

Here are some other great 100 calorie snacking options

Starbucks Tall Skinny Latte
Score your caffeine fix along with a hunger-crushing 10-gram shot of protein and about a third of your daily calcium needs.

Banana
Naturally prepackaged goodness you can take anywhere, with the added benefit of cramp-preventing potassium.

1/2 C Edamame (measured shelled)
Eating this protein-packed pick-me-up out of the shell will help make the snack last longer.

3 C Air-Popped Popcorn
Go ahead, nibble mindlessly as you zone out in front of Bravo. Even if you're watching trash, you won't be eating it.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal (regular flavor)
This speedy fiber- and protein-packed breakfast also makes for a warm, filling snack.

Yoplait Light Yogurt (fruit flavors)
This bone-building goodie provides 20 percent of your RDA for calcium and vitamin D.

9 Shrimp And 4 Tbsp Cocktail Sauce
The perfect appetizer--and no one at the table will know you're counting calories.

Sargento Light String Cheese Snacks
Any food you can play with is a great distraction; plus, the protein battles mid-afternoon hunger pangs.

Thanks to Women's Health Magazine for this information!!!!!!

Why should you STRETCH????

Don't run out at the end of your workout.  Take the time and stretch.  Studies show the best way to improve your sports performance and to avoid injury is to take the time and stretch!!!!  The best time to stretch is at the end of the day or after a workout when O2 and blood is flowing to the muscles.  Stretching also helps elevate muscle soreness after a workout.  The older we get the more important it is to stretch everyday!!

Target to stretch 5-10 mins a day and hold each Static Stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds.

Start any work out with a warm up that includes dynamic stretching (moving the muscles through a range of motion - like arm circles and trunk twists, calf raises and leg lifts).  Always do static (passive) stretches after the work out when the muscles are warm. Stretching after a hot bath works great too!

Here is a link demonstrating key stretches for flexibility.
 Stretches and Flexibility exercises

What does a 100 calories look like???

Check out this link form  Women's Health Magazine and see what 100 calories looks like.  Test your self you might just be surprised by how quickly those little "candies" add up!!

Women's Health

Try and keep a few health snacks on had to keep away the binging!

Rasberries, strawberries, apples
Greek Yogurt, dark chocolate (70%)
Dried Mangos, Dried tart cherries
Soya chips, rice cakes or popcorn
Kashi "chewy" granola bars
Gum and real licorice

motivation to burn calories!!!!!!!

The Abs DIET 12 super foods

* Incorporate two or three of these foods into each of your meals and at least one of them into each snack.
* Diversify your food at every meal to get a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
* Sneak a little protein into each snack.

A - Almonds and other nuts (with skins intact)
Superpowers Builds muscle, reduces cravings
Fights Obesity, heart disease, muscle loss, wrinkles, cancer, high blood pressure

B - Beans and legumes
Superpowers Builds muscle, helps burn fat, regulates digestion
Fights Obesity, colon cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure

S - Spinach and other green vegetables
Superpowers Neutralizes free radicals, molecules that accelerate the aging process
Fights Cancer, heart disease, stroke, obesity, osteoporosis

D - Dairy products (fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese)
Superpowers Builds strong bones, fires up weight loss
Fights Osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, cancer

I - Instant oatmeal (unsweetened, unflavored) (I prefer steel cut oats)
Superpowers Boosts energy, reduces cholesterol, maintains blood sugar levels
Fights Heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, obesity

E - Eggs (the whole egg)
Superpowers Builds muscle, burns fat
Fights Obesity

T - Turkey and other lean meats
Superpowers Builds muscle, strengthens immune system
Fights Obesity, various diseases

P - Peanut butter (all natural no sugar)
Superpowers Boosts testosterone, builds muscle, burns fat
Fights Obesity, muscle loss, wrinkles, cardiovascular disease

O - Olive oil
Superpowers Lowers cholesterol, boosts immune system
Fights Obesity, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure

W - Whole-grain breads and cereals
Superpowers Prevents body from storing fat
Fights Obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease

E - Extra-protein (whey) powder
Superpowers Builds muscle, burns fat
Fights Obesity

R - Raspberries and other berries
Superpowers Protects heart; enhances eyesight; improves balance, coordination, and short-term memory; prevents cravings
Fights Heart disease, cancer, obesity

Metabolism Boosters

 Eat a good Breakfast - The heartier the better!  Everyday!  Think protein and health carbs - egg, greek yogurt, steel cut oats, whole grain toast, peanut butter, berries.

Brew up some green tea - The ingredient ECGC promotes fat burning.  Steep it for 3 minutes, drink it hot and drink it often.  Try for 3-5 cups per day....over a year that could mean a 5 pound weight loss.

Grab some Metal - IRON  You need iron to carry O2 through your body and your monthly period can screw that up and then your energy tanks.  Stock up on iron fortified cereals, beans, leafy greens - spinach, kale, broccoli, bok choy.

Mix things up with exercise intervals - Bursts of speed in your cardio can stimulate fat burners.  20 mins of cardio with 10 "can't talk sprints" over that 20 mins is far more effective to melt fat than 40 minutes of cardio in the zone.  Hint - that is why we do 30 sec cardio intervals in my bootcamps!!!

GO TO BED EARLY - SLEEP!!!!!  Having 8-9 hours of sleep every night resets our hormone levels - cortisol, grehlin, Estrogen etc - that then makes our bodies "better butter burners".  Turn out the ligths, turn off the TV & computer.   Get some SLEEP!!!

See this link to Women's Health for the complete article   Women's Health

So called Naughty foods make a big come back!!

EGGS - a hard boiled egg packs only 70 calories.  It is considered a perfect protein.  The link between egg cholesterol and heart disease have been derailed by the 2011 issue of European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Egg yolks are high in zinc, iron, vitamins A & D, choline (breast cancer fighter) and the yoke contains half the protein for squashing hunger pangs (that beats just the egg white hands down).

BANANAS - once considered a high calorie fruit that packed on pounds.  They are rich in dietary fibre know as resistant starch - the same kind of starch that increases a post-meal fat burning.  If you choose a greener vs yellow banana you will get less carb absorption and more production off butyrate (a fatty acid that may inhibit the body's ability to burn carbs) thus forcing the body to incinerate fat instead.

COCONUT OIL - Once seen as a no no since it is so high in saturated fats.  However, coconut oil is very high in medium-chain triglycerides. These fats can be metabolized faster than long chain variety's found in other oils.  The body rarely stores these mid-chain as fat, as the body prefers to burn them for energy.  Try a tablespoon a day to reduce belly fat and elevate HDL (good) and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.  Just use sparingly as it is Calorie dense 120 calories per tablespoon.

RED MEET - Beef has had a bad rap for heart disease.   Recent studies show that  lean cuts of red meet are an excellent source of protein and grain fed cuts of beef are high in CLA (these help prevent belly storing fat).  Shoot for a 3-4 oz portion and grill, roast or BBQ!

PEANUT BUTTER - Once shunned as a high fat, high cal sandwich staple is now looked at as heart healthy mono saturated fat.  Stick with the natural kinds that do not have the extra sugar added.  Watch your portion control as 2 tablespoons offers 16 g of fat and about 200 calories.  Use as a spread on wholegrain bread for a more complete protein source or stir a little in with your steel cut oatmeal in the morning.

Check out Women's Health Oct 2011 edition for more details.

Easy ways to SNEAK in extra EXERCISE!!

Walk to your destination
Bicep curl those grocery bags as you carry them in from the car
Dance with your kids to your favourite tunes while making supper
Clench your butt muscles while climbing the stairs or sitting at a stop light
Hold a plank pose for 30 secs before you crawl into bed at night
Pump off a few crunches while the TV commercial is on
Take a family bike ride to do errands
Perform wall sits while talking on the phone
Cut your cardio time in half by using intervals in your cardio/running routine
(finish in 20 mins instead of 40 mins)
Perform Kegels while sitting at your computer
Sit on an exercise ball at the office to strengthen your core
Take the dog for a walk (or your hubby)
Spend a little time with your hubby "alone" in the bedroom
Get 8 hours of sleep nightly (best fat buster)

Watch out for Hidden SUGAR!!

The Average North American Woman eats almost 70% of her body weight in sugar each year!!!!

What are you eating and drinking??  BE AWARE

How about trying some good old water with lemon or orange wedges! If you need a sparkle try Pellagrino water or club soda.  Try black coffee over ice with a splash of milk.  There are lots of great teas to try Hot or Cold!!!! Try one!!  If you need a little sweet in your drink try natural Stevia!