Ready? Set? Weights!

That's right! It's time to pick up those weights! Here's three exercises that you can add to your workout regiment! Good luck! Keep an eye out for more weight exercises and workouts that piece all of these together!

Dumbbell Row 

Step 1: Start feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent and butt out with a flat back. (Yes this is super awkward but the best position to maximize the exercise). Let the dumbbells hang right around your knees. Keep your head looking out/forward.

Step 2: Drag your elbows backwards and slightly together at the top. The idea is to "pinch" your scapula bones (I tell my clients to create chicken wings). 

Note: despite popular belief, this exercise is NOT a primary arm exercise. This is a back exercise aimed at targeting your upper back muscles (trapezius and deeper muscles)

Step 1

Step 2

Lunge/Curl

*Hybrid Movement*

Step 1: Start in the normal lunge position (remember, wider than usual step forward)

Step 2: As you drop your back knee towards the floor for a lunge, curl your arms up for a dumbbell curl. 

Note: This can be done as walking lunges (taking a giant step forward each time) and do a curl at the bottom of each one. This is a great hybrid movement that is a fantastic leg AND arm workout! 

Step 1

Step 2

Squat/Shoulder Press

*Hybrid Movement* 

Step 1: The real first position is feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, with the dumbbells resting on your shoulders (see photo). Sit down in a squat (see earlier post), make sure the weight is in the back of your heels. 

Note: Keeping the weight in the back of your heels is especially important when you start adding weights to your squat. Be aware that because you are extending weights up over your head, your balance might be thrown off a bit. Either, do the squat with a bench underneath you (just in case you get off balance) OR do not squat as low as you would on a body weight squat. 

Step 2: At the bottom of the squat, extend your arms up towards the ceiling for a shoulder press. 

Note: You should only shoulder press to the normal range of motion of your arm. The way you know this is - extend your arm up without weights. You should feel resistance at some point (roughly around 160 degrees). This is how you know where your personal range of motion is. Then - during the shoulder press, only press to your personal range of motion. 

Step 1

Step 2

How To Choose Weights: 

The general rule of thumb is to find a set of weights you can do 3 standing arm curls with - but not 4. Once you find that amount (be sure you warm up before you try this!) divide that weight number in half. That is the weight amount you should use. For example: I can do a set of 3 curls at 30# so I would chose 15# for these exercises. If you find that you are having trouble with this number, go down a little bit - but don't be afraid of heavier weights than your used to! I have confidence that you can lift more than you perceive yourself able to!

Workout: 

20 Minute Circuit Workout

1: Lunge/Curl - set of 10 

2: Squats - set of 12 See: The Arsenal

3: Push Up - set of 12 See: The Arsenal

4: Dumbbell Row - set of 10 

Repeat this circuit as many times as you can in a 20 minute period. Try and push yourself to get as many rounds in as possible, and REST when your body needs to during the time period. You will feel breathless during this workout if you do it right and it will force your body to rest. This is based on the Metabolic Effect philosophy of rest based workouts. Metabolic Effect

GOOD LUCK! :-) 

Bored Eating (how to recognize it and how to avoid it)

I have a confession to make. I'm a bored eater. Yes, you heard me correctly, a bored eater. Not a boring eater (believe me I love every cuisine as much as the next person), but I eat when I'm bored. Take today for instance. My school has a terrible habit of leaving extra food lying around for hungry, broke graduate students to nibble up. Fantastic right? Not for bored eaters like me, it is our worst nightmare. I had just finished a fabulously healthy salad filled with tomatoes, avocado, chicken, chickpeas, carrots, spinach and felt fantastic (and full). Yet, I walked downstairs and saw these COOKIES just starring at me, begging to be eaten. Of course the ravenous grad students were swarming like flies gobbling up the food and like a sheep, I followed. Next thing I know I'm sitting in class with a half eaten cookie. WHAT?!? Then I start to feel guilty about the half I had eaten, yet throughout the class, bit by bit that entire cookie (which was probably the size of my face) is gone. As you can tell, I'm a bored eater and chances are many of you are to some degree as well. I figure in sharing my experience today, along with some helpful hints on how to avoid future situations like this may help all of us stay accountable.

First, recognize your weaknesses. You can never solve a problem unless you are acutely aware of what triggers you to "bored eat". For me, it's sweets - every time. Probably the only thing I'll ever turn down is carrot cake (go figure, the healthy one). Whether it's salty, crunchy, savory or sweet foods, you know exactly what you can't keep your hands off of.

Have prepared go-to snacks. The best way to avoid bored eating? Eat good, filling food instead! I try my best to never leave the house without at least 3 different snacks on me. Fiber or protein packed items are the best because they keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer. Some of my favorite go to's:
-Apples (fyi - it's best if you cut them up before hand, it's really awkward to crunch on the apple in the middle of class)
-Carrots/Celery (add a tablespoon or two of natural peanut butter)
-Handful of Almonds (I admit, I'm starting to force myself to like these)
-Protein Bars (The key here is looking for bars with high protein & fiber and low sugar. For example: ThinkThin bars have 0 sugar, but I'll warn you they are pricey. I generally don't opt for protein bars, but if they are within your budget or are the easiest to grab and go - then this is a great option)
- Hardboiled eggs (without the yolks!)
I'm sure with a little work you can find your favorite go-to snacks. Keep to the basics, unprocessed is always better, fruits/veggies are high in fiber and nuts (in handful amounts) are perfect for protein.

Eat on a schedule. Eating smaller meals throughout the day is more beneficial than trying to eat 3 square meals a day. A schedule helps me avoid the "bored eating" and cravings. Plan your day out, set a watch with a timer, do whatever you need to do. Count out a meal every 2-3 hours. Obviously plan the "big meals" around the appropriate times (ie, eat your healthy lunch around noon time - or whenever lunch is) but make sure you eat a "go-to" snack every 2-3 hours.

Water. Always have a water bottle on hand. (Preferably a reusable - that's the eco-friendly in me). Drink water when you feel hungry or see that giant face-size cookie. Water always curbs my appetite and immediately makes me feel full. Water should not replace your go-to snacks, but should be used throughout the day and especially when you feel those urges to cave to your weaknesses. (Small bladders beware) :-)

Lastly, do not get down on yourself. I admit, I did today - I got disappointed and frustrated at myself for slipping up yet again. But really, what does feeling bad achieve? Nothing - I ate the cookie, it's part way through my digestive system by the time I try to get over my guilt. There's no need to freak out, or run to the nearest treadmill to "work off the calories". Use your slip ups (which hopefully decrease with practice) as self-recognition points. Write it down if you have to - note the exact time, place and how you were feeling when you ate that delicious treat. Then, move on. Get back on the healthy-eating horse with your next meal, prepare a wholesome dinner of lean protein, TONS of veggies and a bit of sweet potato (That was my recovery meal, btw) and MOVE ON.

While none of this information is innovative or new, a little reminder and self-recognition never hurts. Next time I'll definitely be avoiding the monster cookies!  
Good luck!

Snow Day Workout

Who doesn't love a snow day? It's a perfect excuse to not get out of bed until 10am, to not change out of your pj's all day, eat junk food and to not workout, right? Wrong! Well, at least wrong on the last two parts. I have not left my house today but I successfully eaten several healthy meals, got my heart rate above resting and even broke a sweat! Rather than being completely lazy, use your day off to try out a new recipe, cook that chicken for the rest of the week and practice your arsenal exercises!

Let's start with a meal. So you slept in, your kind of in brunch mode - rather than reaching for the normal cereal or worse, just going back to sleep for another 5 hours, try this meal. It's protein packed and is guaranteed to keep you full for several hours.

Egg Scramble: An essential to have in the fridge is a big container of egg white (high in protein without the extra cholesterol from yolks). I dove into my fridge and pulled out some veggies (tomato and arugula) and left over chicken. Chopped it all up and threw it in a pan. After it was warm in went the egg whites. I treated it like a scrambled egg (mostly because I'm terrible at omelets, but either works)

Oat Bran with Mixed Berries: Oat bran is fantastic because it's high in fiber and has more protein. Cook up a 1/4 cup of dry oat bran in a pot and when it's basically done throw in some frozen berries and cover the pot. The steam will help thaw out the berries. Stir in a packet or two of no calorie sweetener. I have recently converted to Truvia although Splenda is a cheaper option. 1/4 cup of dry oat bran is the perfect amount to get about 10 bites of carbohydrate - which is the perfect balance of carbs without overdoing it.

*By all means use fresh fruit if you have it - but it's unrealistic for me to keep fruit around when I only go grocery shopping once a week. Frozen mixed berries are my favorite because they last and you get all the nutrients as you would from fresh berries (they just might be a bit mushier)

The finished product! (I swear it tastes better than it looks!) 

The Workout

Remember the arsenal exercises? Here's another way you can utilize them at home. When I'm discouraged and need a workout I consult my mentors/former bosses at Metabolic Effect. Even though this video is described as a hotel workout it is easily applied to snow days as well. Notice he uses only the arsenal exercises I discussed earlier!
Here's the link to the YouTube: Snow Day Workout

Here's an explanation of the basis of this video: Pick 1 exercise out of the 4 to "add on to" (This is called a compact chain). In the instance of the video he adds on to push ups. So on the first round he will do 1 lunge, 1 squat jump, 1 push up, 1 burpee (see below for explanation). Round 2: 1 lunge (other leg), 1 squat jump, 2 push ups, 1 burpee. Roud 3: 1 lunge, 1 squat jump, 3 push ups, 1 burpee. Get the picture? Once you get to 10 push ups start back at 1.
Beauty of this exercise chain is you can pick ANY of these exercises. So want a leg workout day? Add on to squat jumps or lunges. Want a core day? Add on to burpees. Out of this one video you can get 3-4 solid workouts in.
Next - pick your time limit. 10, 15, 20 minutes and get an online stopwatch. See how many rounds (1-10 push ups) you can get through in your alloted time. This workout will make you breathless, to the point where you will have to stop. That's fine. Stop when you need to, and start again when you can and know you can push out some more. Continue that start/stop cycle until the time runs out. Push hard, make yourself rest - you'll get a better workout out of it.

Burpee Explanation: real quick so you are caught up. A burpee consists of squatting low to the ground and placing your hands on the floor. Your feet shoot out from under you so that you are in a push up position. In the video he then does a push up. After the push up, jump your feet back towards your hands so that you land on your heels and explode up into a squat jump (again see video)

Happy Snow Day!

The Arsenal

Every good gym-goer has an arsenal. Go-to basic moves that provide a full body workout and are necessary to perfect before moving on to more complex exercises. 

*Disclaimer: Please ignore the less-than-professional photos*

Squat 

Squats are one of THE BEST and MOST AVOIDED pieces of a workout ever. More often than not I make my clients do a ton of squats, simply because they tell me if I didn't tell them to, they would never do them. 

Basic rules to a squat: 

1) stand slightly wider than feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed outward slightly (no need to be a ballerina - that comes later). 

2) Sit back as if all your weight was in your butt. You should feel the weight in the back of your heels, rather than on the ball of your foot. Chest should stay nice and high, don't let it drop just because the rest of your lower body is dropping

3) Your goal is to get your knees to reach a 90 degree angle (see photo). In order to remind yourself to keep the weight in the back of your heels, try to wiggle your toes. This is possible if you are keeping the weight in the right place, if it isn't stand up and try again. 

Rule of Thumb: Do not let your knees go over your toes - this will cause unnecessary knee injury. 

As I said, the goal is 90 degrees, but this is not achieved instantly. Practice getting the proper form down first, then work on getting lower. For all intents and purposes right now, it is not necessary to try and go lower than 90 degrees, although people do.   

Feet shoulder width apart, chest up high

Weight in the back of your heels, chest up high

Lunge 

Lunges, the second most avoided body-weight exercise. Lunges are surprising beneficial for both your legs and your core when done correctly. I personally love lunges and could do them all day (or at least until my legs fall off). They require more balance than a squat and can be done in several different ways. 

Basic steps: 

1) Stand feet together 

2) Take a wider than normal step forward with one leg. Keep your chest high! (see photo) 

3) Drop your back knee towards the ground. Keep your chest high!

4) Make sure your front knee bends with you (to form a 90 degree angle) 

5) For walking lunge: push off the ground with your back leg to get to a standing position again

6) For regular one leg lunge: push off the ground with front leg to get to a standing position 

Rule of Thumb: Front knee does not go over the toes (same as squat) 

Also - due to various levels of flexibility in the hip flexors some might find they can't get their back knee that low. That's ok, with practice and stretching you will be able to get the back knee towards the ground. 

Step 2: Taking a wider than usual step forward 

Step 3 & 4: Back knee drops towards the ground, front knee is at a 90 degree angle and not going over the toes 

Push up 

Probably the third most avoided body weight exercise. (Noticing a trend?) Push-ups are fantastic and a great way to build upper body strength (something many females lack). Let me clear any sentiment towards the so-called "girly-push up" (a push-up done on knees rather than toes). There is NOTHING wrong with this push-up. It is better to start on the knees and achieve a perfect push up, rather than struggle to stay on your toes and get no where. The photos below show both types of push up. 

Basic Steps: 

1) Start in a good, flat body position (see photo) on knees or toes. Hands should be at shoulder width or slightly wider. 

2) Close Body Push ups: (see photo) elbows bend to a 90 degree angle with the elbow brushing up the side of the body. This works more of the upper arms. 

3) Chest Push ups: (see web photo) This requires a wider hand position. Elbows bend to a 90 degree angle but out to the side of your body. This focuses more on chest muscles. 

Rule of Thumb: Body should always stay in a flat, tight position. No butts in the air, no butts sagging. One straight line the whole time.  

If you can not achieve a good elbow bend while on your knees, it's better to start against a wall. Same flat body angled away from the wall, hands wider than shoulder width apart. 

Starting on Toes

Bottom 90 degree close arm position on toes

Starting on Knees 

Bottom 90 degree close arm position (on knees)

Wide Arm Stance: 

http://yourlifementor.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/push-up-woman.jpg

 

Crunch

Probably the most favorite, but poorly executed exercise females like to do. First allow me to clear up some myths. 1) Doing crunches will give me a 6 pack of abs. False 2) Doing crunches will strength my core. True

Everyone should be doing crunches (in conjunction with back strengthening exercises - will be addressed later) in order to strength your core, not to get abs. We will discuss the art of abdominal acquiring in a later post. 

For now...the basic crunch: 

1) Lie flat on your back, knees bent (see photo) or knees in the air at a 90 degree angle (see photo) 

2) Arms should be lightly "holding" your ears, elbows wide (your arms are not your leverage up, that's what your ab muscles are for) 

3) Direct your elbows towards the ceiling, not towards your knees as you lift your shoulder blades off the ground. A crunch is not the same thing as a sit up - crunches focus on lower abdominal muscles while sit-ups are most generally useless. 

Knees on ground, lying flat on back (this is the beginner position)

Elbows directed towards the ceiling, shoulders off the ground

Feet in air (more advanced) 

Elbows directed towards ceiling, maintaining 90 degree angle in knees

The Workout: 

For a week practice these exercises, these can be done at home (as done in these photos). These can be done once in the morning and once at night.  

Day 1-3: 3 sets of 10 of each exercise 

Day 4: A more intense workout with just these 4 exercises, you will need a stop watch. 

30 seconds - as many squats as possible 

15 seconds - rest 

30 seconds - as many single leg (stay on the same leg) lunges 

15 seconds - rest 

30 seconds - as many lunges (on the other leg) 

15 seconds - rest 

30 seconds - as many push ups as possible 

15 seconds - rest 

30 seconds - as many crunches as possible 

1 minute rest 

Repeat 2 more times. Record your numbers with each set and try to beat it the next time around. The goal is to push as hard as possible, but rest when you need to in those 30 second "sprints". (This type of exercise is based on the rest-based workouts similar to those created by Metabolic Effect- - more to come on this later)  

Let me know how it goes!! 

The State of the Gym Today

These days when I walk into the gym I notice an odd phenomenon. It doesn't matter the gym location, the demographic of the gym, or even the size of the gym. The phenomenon is the same. There is a clear and definitive line between the "girls" side and the "boys" side. The cardio equipment is overrun by ladies of all ages and the free weights are dominated by the men. At times, there are those who make the epic journey across the line. Being one of those few who spends more time around the free weights than the cardio equipment, I'll let you in on a little secret. Most people in the gym don't know what they are doing. And yes, this includes both sides. Ladies (and gents who avoid weights), it is time to move. Get your butt off the elliptical, leave the magazines at home and start sweating! Free weights and even your own body weight should be embraced in the gym, not feared. Adding a little muscle to your repertoire will only benefit you (and no it will NOT make you look like the mighty hulk - pinky promise) especially in terms of burning calories. Best thing about lean muscle? Burning extra calories compared to fat!

My goal, through this blog, is to share my knowledge, as a four year Metabolic Effect certified personal trainer to help improve the time spent in the gym and produce better results.  (Check out: Metabolic Effect) Many people have asked me to provide tips, write workouts and show them around the gym. Being one person, my ability to provide individualized attention is difficult. Here, I can share exercise techniques, workout tips, and recipes I have found and created.

In addition to your own journey, I will be continuing mine. My approach to exercise and living a healthy lifestyle is realistic. As a student, I know how difficult it is to add exercise to an already hectic schedule. Each day is a battle, trying to make healthy food choices over my sweet tooth, forcing myself into the gym when all I want to do is sleep. Together, I hope to improve everyone success at living their best life!

Things you can look forward to: starting at the beginning and the basics, the tools to create personalized workouts, nutrition tips, and much more!

I hope you too can start moving to the boy's side of the gym! :-)