Getting the Most Out of Your Workout

It's hard to not notice certain habits at the gym. If any of the following situations sound familiar, no need to be ashamed!  The faster you recognize it, the faster you can truly kick your butt in the gym!

The Grunter 
You've all seen them (or been them), the boys (generally) who pick up incredibly heavy weights and make loud noises as they throw the dumbbell up for a bicep curl. First and foremost, noise does not equal a better workout. Unless you are an Olympic lifter, you should not be screaming at the top of your lungs. However, it is important that you breathe while you lift or perform an exercise. A good word of thumb for most people is to breathe in when you are at the "eccentric contraction" and breathing out when you are on the "concentric contraction". For example: Bicep burl - breathe in as your arms are extending (getting straight), breathe out when you are curling the barbells up.

The Knee or Back Bender
Close behind The Grunter (or they are one in the same) is The Knee or Back Bender. This is the person whose knees are way over their toes on squats, up on their toes for a shoulder press, and their back practically looks like a C when they do a push press. None of these forms are correct, never have and never will be. This is a sure fire way to blow out your back or knees. Exercise is great, it's methodical and meticulous. Rules to live by:
- 90 degree angles. Whether it's squats or chest press, your knees or elbows should always be at 90 degrees. Show me a person who can do a squat where your knees are at a 90 degree angle and over your toes at the same time and I'll retract my statement.
- Maintain center of gravity. Our bodies are great, they know how to stand on two feet and remain upright! If you are ever putting weights above your waist (presses, bicep curls, upright rows, triceps extensions) your feet should always be shoulder width apart, center of gravity over the middle of your body and never ever ever should you be using your back (in a throwing motion) to get those weights up.

The Ab Cruncher
"Abs are made in the kitchen". I can't claim this phrase, but it's the best one out there. How many of you ladies want to get rid of that abdominal fat? Everyone right? How many of you do at least 100 crunches each week? Let me let you in on a little secret. (This won't work). Diet is the #1 best way to find those abs! I promise you have abs, and it's not a question of getting those muscles to pop! It's scraping away those fat layers! Better ways to go:
- cut out the crap. All of it, sugar, white breads/pastas, and processed crap and YES diet soda too.
- add in the veggies. Lots of them, greener the better!
- add in lean proteins and
- add in pretty colored starches (sweet potatoes) in small 1/4 cup amounts
Still having trouble?
- cut the fruit out - - we all react and metabolize fruit differently, some can eat tons of it. Unfortunately some of us like me can't eat too much.
- No carbs 3 hours before bed time

The Cardio Machine
No, not the literal machine. The person plugging away for hours on end each week. You want to lean out? You gotta pick up those weights! (see earlier posts for helpful tips to start off!)

The Wanderer
You know those people, they walk in to the gym, pick up a weight, do a set, walk around, fiddle with their ipod, try another machine? Just because you are physically at the gym, does not mean you are getting anything out of it. If you are truly confused with the equipment and don't which machines work which muscles or are afraid to try for fear of poor form - investing in an hour intro session to your gym is the best money you could spend. Ask at the front desk if a staff member could help you out, or see if you could pay for 1 training session to get to know the gym. Most places will offer a discounted rate for these types of "intros".
If you know what you are doing but still laze around, writing a plan before you walk into the gym keeps you accountable and keeps a record of your workout and progression.

All right! Now we are ready to really work out! Good luck!

Picking Yourself Back Up Again

If your exercise habits are anything like mine, you find yourself in an awesome spot for about 3-4 weeks, then you start getting tired, frustrated, and just plain old annoyed that you can't have that bowl of ice cream. And chances are, you cave, decide you need a day off from the gym (which turns into three or four days off) and you buy yourself that pint of ice cream and devour it. Ok, so that's my horrible habit - but isn't denial the first stage of making a change?

What to do when you find yourself in this horrible rut? You have to grab yourself by your boot straps, put on that workout outfit, and step out the door and get to that gym. Your gut reaction might be to kick your butt all the way up and down the gym - believe me, I've done that. But let's be honest. Kicking your butt will just make you tired, sore and frustrated all over again.

Here's a great "getting back in the game" workout:

Treadmill
5 min warm up - 6.5 mph
*set incline to 15*
5:00 - 5:30 - 2.0 mph
5:30 - 6:00 - 6.0 mph
6:00 - 6:30 - 2.0 mph
6:30 - 7:00 - 6.1 mph
7:00 - 7:30 - 2.0 mph
7:30 - 8:00 - 6.2 mph
8:00 - 8:30 - 2.0 mph
8:30 - 9:00 - 6.3 mph
9:00 - 9:30 - 2.0 mph
9:30 - 10:00 - 6.4 mph
10:00 - 10:30 - 2.0 mph
10:30 - 11:00 - 6.5 mph
11:00 - 12:00 - 2.0 mph
12:00 - 14:00 - 1.2 mph *walking lunges*
14:00 - 15:00 - 3.0 mph
15:00 - 17:00 - 1.2 mph *walking lunges*
17:00 - 18:00 - 3.0 mph
18:00 - 20:00 - 1.2 mph *walking lunges*
Cool Down - lower the treadmill and walk it out

Grab a weight plate (I took a 25lb), pair of dumbbells (I took 20lbs), and a mat

Walking Lunges - 20 steps *hold the plate above your head*
Crunches - 25
Push Up / Row - 10 *grab the dumbbells, do push up on the dumbbell and then row one arm after each push up*
Standing Rows - 10
REPEAT 3x

Now? Stretch out, go home, eat an awesome meal of lean protein and lots of veggies, go to bed early and remember - tomorrow is a new day!

Perfect Summer Throw Together

Life is usually a little bit easier when I cook for the week. So today I created this throw together and it's totally yummy!

Ingredients You Will Need:

• 4 to 5 bell peppers (any color)  
• 3/4 cup Quinoa 
• 1 can of low sodium chickpeas 
• 3 chicken breasts 

Dressing: 

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
• 3 tablespoons mayo
• 2 teaspoons sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 chopped or grated clove garlic (optional)   

How To: 

• Cook everything! 
• Roast the peppers
• Grill/Bake the chicken (I put some olive oil, salt, pepper on them before grilling)  
• Stick that quinoa in a rice cooker or pot 
• Mix all together in a bowl w/ the chickpeas (drain the juices) 

Dressing: 

• Put all the ingredients together in a container you can seal (ideally a twist top Tupperware) 
• SHAKE! 
• The ingredients will emulsify 
• Add dressing to the ingredients in the bowl and mix!  

See? Super simple! 1 cup of this is the perfect combo of grains, protein, veggies! I'm considering adding some roasted broccoli to up the veggie count. You could easily adjust this recipe to add tons of different vegetables! 

Enjoy! 

Yummy Little Protein Packed Snack!

Make a big batch of this, package it up and tote it along for snacks at work, school, whatever you need!

3 cans of chunk light tuna in water
broccoli (i added it raw, but if you can't stand raw broccoli, than blanch or steam it) (this has no limit!)
3/4 of a pesto package

Mix it all together and EAT!

Could not be simpler and it's a great mix of veggies and protein all together

Enjoy!

Attacking Veggies!

Thanks to the hard work of Mrs. Obama and wonderful food advocates Americans can now follow an easy to read, easy to comprehend food plate!

Currently most Americans eat about 1/4 of the total fruit and vegetables that this plate shows.

Here's the deal, veggies are not as terrible as everyone perceives them to be! The problem lies in the preparation. Most people do not know what to do with fresh, frozen or even canned veggies other than microwave, steam, and maybe saute them.

Try this the next time you go out to buy produce:

Items Needed:
1 head of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Make sure it's first cold press or from Europe)
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
Garlic Cloves (optional)
Lemon or Lemon Juice (optional)

Oven @ 375
1. Rinse the broccoli and cauliflower. Chop the florets off the main stalk (so they look like little trees!) Chuck the  giant stalks.
2. Throw all the broccoli and cauliflower on a baking tray
3. Drizzle liberally with the olive oil. Using your hands mix the broccoli/cauliflower around with the olive oil to coat everything.
4. Sprinkle a bit of salt (only a little! keep the sodium low!)
5. Add the pepper and any other toppings you see fit. I love lemon and garlic chunks (or powder)
6. Pop it in the oven for roughly 20 - 25 minutes.

Yummy!

Try adding your own fun flavors! Feel free to share!

The Hazards of Late Night Snacks

Oh, the life of a college or graduate student. Late to bed, early to rise makes a student grumpy, hungry and tired.

Unfortunately, the normal go-to cure to a late night of studying (or errr, dare I say it, drinking) is snacking. While this MAY create a short term positive benefit, in the long run late night snacking screws up your metabolism and more often than not is the cause of weight gain.

Best ways to prevent late night snacking:
1) Eat more lean protein with each meal during the day. Protein keeps you nice and full without dragging you down.
2) Still hungry? Munch on veggies and fruits! Especially those green leafy ones! (No, potatoes don't count)
3) Craving sweets? Grab some unsweetened cocoa powder, heat up some water, add some no calorie sweetener (Truvia), and even a dash of unsweetened almond milk (or even a small bit of milk). Too hot outside? Add some ice cubes!
4) Still bug eyed? As a constant worrier and restless sleeper, I have recently found Yogi Bedtime to be awesome at helping me sleep.  

If you have to eat something:
- fruits/veggies
- handful of almonds or other nuts (NO SALT!)
- small protein shake
- apples & 2 tbsp of peanut butter

If you have GOT to have carbs or dairy:
- grab a few (no more than 5-10) whole wheat** crackers and pair it with a Baby Bell cheese (but you have got to make sure you limit yourself - I can definitely continue to snack once I break out the carbs)  
- whole wheat** piece of toast with 2 tbsp of peanut butter

**Note on whole wheat - do not go by the front of box/package labeling that states "Whole Grain" or something similar. Find the nutrition facts and look at the list of ingredients -- the first ingredient MUST say "whole wheat".

Hope this helps!

PS, I don't have a lot of advice on late night drunken munchies, other than to tell you to drink less ;-)

Choosing the Right Weights

Nothing drives me crazier than women who pick up the 1lb or 5lb weights when I KNOW they would do something much heavier. I'm not encouraging jumping from 5lbs to 30lbs for arm curls overnight, but ladies, if you are aren't breaking a sweat or even FEELING the weights after 10 reps, you aren't lifting enough!

For most of my workouts provided here's a good rule of thumb. Before starting a workout but after warming up (ie - before your muscles are tired) test some weights. Find your 3 rep max on arm curls (aka, you can't lift the weight one more time). Take that weight and divide by 2. This is your ideal weight for most workouts (unless you are looking to build massive muscle).

Now! For a workout! (With the right weights this time!)

Round 1 
Squats w/ dumbbell - heavy weight (add 5-10lbs to the calculated above) - set of 10
Bulgarian split squats w/ dumbbell - moderate weight (weight calculated above) - set of 10
Hamstring curl - use exercise ball - set of 15
Wall Ball Squats - 10lb ball - set of 10
Kettle Bell Swings - moderate weight - set of 10
Repeat 2x


Round 2
Leg Extension Machine - moderate to heavy weight - set of 10
Walking Lunges - heavy weight - set of 10
Bench Jumps - no weights - set of 15
Wall Sit / Curl - light weights (subtract 5-10 from calculated weight) - hold 30-45 seconds
Squat Jumps - set of 10
Repeat 2x

As with any of my workouts, they are done in Metabolic Effect style - so push hard until you need to rest, rest until you are ready to start again. You should feel like the weights are really heavy by the third round of each, this is great!

Remember to stretch out after and drink lots of water!

Let me know how it goes!