Killer Arms

Here's a great arm workout, guaranteed you will feel it for a few days! 

Round 1: 

Squat / Upright Pull - set of 10 

Lunge Hold / Side Raise - 30 sec each leg 

Squat / Curl (curl at the bottom of the squat and the top) - set of 10 

Mountain Climbers - 30 sec 

Repeat 2 more times 

Round 2:  

Squat / Press - set of 10 

Tricep Dips on a bench - set of 10 

Walking Lunge / Curl - set of 15 

Push up Squat Thrust - 30 sec  

Repeat 2 more times 

Enjoy! 

Ps - if you don't know what any of these exercises are google them, there's tons of YouTube videos! Or post a question below! 

Starting Summer Off Right

As the heat starts to sweep in and the bathing suits are broken out, here are a few helpful tips to keep yourself on track :-)

#1 Find a Gym
Whether you are living at home, on your internship, or you are exactly where you have been, no more excuses - - you need a gym. As it gets hotter, and stays hotter later in the day, your chances of exercising outside decrease exponentially. Look for a gym close by, ask for summer discounts, ask for monthly rates, and if all else fails, ask to speak to the manager. Explain your situation (especially if you are only residing in your location for a few months) and see if they can work out some kind of deal with you.

#1a If #1 Is Impossible
Start researching local running trails/hiking trails or even state parks close by. There are great websites like run.com  that list various routes that people have come up with in your area. Even if you don't run, getting out on a trail for a hike or a walk is great!

#2 Purge the Fridge
Now if you are anything like my family, summer ALWAYS means ice cream for dessert. Don't fall into bad habits this summer, whether its ice cream, hot dogs, cookies, fudgesicles - PURGE THAT FRIDGE. Start off fresh at the grocery store, but only what you need and nothing that will tempt you. Focus on lean proteins, green leafy veggies, sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc.

#3 Put a Cap on that Happy Hour
Who doesn't love a nice cold beer outdoors on a patio in the middle of the summer? I certainly do! But its those every Thursday night happy hours that inhibit your ability to keep your work-in-progress summer body from moving forward. Beer is effectively liquid calories and when added to the necessary half-off appetizers, you can eat 1/3 of your daily calories before you even hit dinner! This certainly doesn't mean don't go to Happy Hour, just limit yourself to one beer, glass of wine (preferably red), or drink and make sure you ask for water with that drink, so you stay hydrated and keep yourself full.

#4 Sleep!
Just because it's summer, doesn't mean you get to stay up until 3am and wake up at 12 in the afternoon. Stick to a schedule (preferably a normal one) of 8 hours of sleep, at least during the week and go a little bit easier on yourself on the weekend.

#5 Stick to the Sunblock 
We all know a sweet, toned body looks even better with a kiss of sunshine. Do not by any means make it your mission to get your "base tan" by burning the crap out of your body the first sunny day of the summer. Not only will working out be excruciating (believe me, I've been there), but your skin cells will thank you for not subjecting them to more UV rays than necessary. Every sunburn increases your chances significantly of cancer. Use a moisturizer that has sunblock during the week, and find yourself a nice 30 SPF sunblock for the weekends. Even if you are going out for a run early in the morning, put it on! Check out self-tanners and spray tanning if you are desperate for that unusually deep tan - - though chances are, you'll look fabulous with the natural tan you get with sunblock!

Now.....Bring it on Summer!

Cardio Secrets...

Someone recently asked me if I had any "secrets" to give them based on my experiences in the gym.

Here's some of what I divulged:

Interval Training
An absolute necessary in the gym and on any of the cardio equipment. Running on on the treadmill or using an elliptical for 40 minutes is probably one of the most useless ways to spend your time in the gym. If you want to spend LESS time in the gym and get MORE out of your work out, start replacing one old gym workout with some intervals.

Magic Formula
1. Pick a cardio machine
2. Warm up for 5 minutes at your own pace, make sure you at least start sweating
3. Pick an "active rest" pace and interval length (between 45 seconds and 1 minute)
    a. Elliptical = lower the resistance
    b. Treadmill = lower the speed to a walk
    c. Bike = lower the resistance
4. Pick a "sprint" pace and interval length (between 15-30 seconds)
    a. Elliptical = increase resistance, you should feel like you are struggling a bit (but that's the idea)
    b. Treadmill = pick up that speed, you should be running (if you can't run, then at least jogging)
    c. Bike = increase that resistance
5. Alternate between "active rest" and "sprint" for 15 - 30 minutes
6. GO! Try your best to stay accountable in terms of really sprinting for your chosen amount of time. If need be, write down the time interval break down on a piece of paper and bring it with you. It should start looking like this...

0-5 Warm Up
5:00-6:00 "active rest"
6:00-6:30 "sprint"
etc

There are ways to make this fancier - keep an eye out, I'll start adding little tips!

GOOD LUCK!

The Essential Shopping List

If you are like me, a grocery list is essential. Without it I am completely lost in the store. I'll wander up and down the aisles looking at the best deals and tend to walk out of the store with about 10 extra items that magically appeared in my basket (and I really didn't need). And if you are even MORE like me - you'll convince yourself that you really needed those items or that you deserved a small treat.

Let's be real. 99% of the time the items "sneaking" into your basket aren't chicken breasts and bananas and raw almonds. It's mostly sugar/carbohydrate based processed foods. And if those items are in the house, chances are you will eat through the junk before hitting the good stuff. Believe me, I know.

In order to avoid such purchases I now take a list with me and don't venture down the middle aisles of the store. Take a look at your grocery store sometime. The "good stuff" lines the outer walls (fresh produce, meats, dairy, eggs, etc) and the "junk" is everywhere in between.

Here's the essential on my shopping list (a very broke-graduate-student friendly list): 
Chicken breasts
Ground turkey
Tilapia (I get mine frozen) 

Cans of Tuna Fish Egg whites
Whey protein powder (GNC for the bulk and Wal-Mart Jillian Michaels for the smaller/cheaper version) 
Turkey bacon
Unsweetened almond milk
Spinach or Mixed greens 
Kale (generally frozen for me) 
Asparagus
Bell peppers

Onions

Carrots Broccoli/cauliflower (I eat pounds of this stuff - so I get it frozen) Green beans (frozen) 
Brussel sprouts
Garlic
Sweet potatoes
Oat bran (NOT oatmeal - oat BRAN - there is a difference)
Brown rice
Blueberries

Strawberries Apples

Bananas (I buy them ripe and freeze them = good for smoothies or making ice cream!) Grapefruit
Salsa (look for salsa with less than 200mg of sodium) 
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Green tea
Think Thin bars (order on Amazon, much cheaper and a FANTASTIC bar) 
Raw almondsCinnamon 
Cumin 
Salt-Free Spice Mixes 
Truvia 
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
Balsamic Vinegar 
Natural Peanut Butter 


Some tips on buying cheaper: 
- for meats/fish always go shopping when it's on sale. buy in bulk if it's SUPER cheap. Open up the packages and freeze a few chicken breasts together in a freezer bag. My freezer is almost always full. 
- if you can stand frozen vegetables - it makes life easier in terms of survival rate of your produce
- if fruit is on sale, buy it and freeze that too (you can use it for smoothies!) 


*Note: I don't necessarily buy all of this at the same time, it depends on what I'm out of/what's in season and what I plan on cooking for the week. 


Happy Grocery Shopping! 

Let's Talk Protein

A few friends have recently asked me to look at their diet and try to find out why they weren't losing the weight they wanted. While all were varied diets, there was one common theme - - a huge lack of protein. I would generalize to say most people don't have enough protein in their diet.

Protein is one of the 3 macronutrient necessary for our diet. The other two - carbohydrates and fat unfortunately tend to dominate the "now normal" American diet. While all three are necessary nutrients, protein has some added benefits that fat and carbs don't. Protein rebuilds muscle post-workout and keeps you full during the day. Now most people who don't envision themselves as the mighty hulk in terms of muscle might shy away from protein. I'm here to tell you not to! Even the leanest of men and women with defined muscles eat a ton of protein on a daily basis! Protein does not equal muscle bulking!

Questions to ask yourself:
- Do you eat breakfast? If no - I'll insist you start. If yes, are you hungry by 10 or 11am?
- Do you have eat major meals that are entirely based on carbohydrates (ie - pasta, bread, etc)
- What is your first instinct when you want a snack? A quick carb (cereal bar, snack bags, etc) or a can of tuna fish?
- And very simply, do you feel sluggish during the day, even after eating?

If your answers to any or most of these is - yes, then chances are, you aren't getting enough protein.

Here's some basic rules to start implementing into your diet regime:
1. Add protein to each of the 3 major meals during the day. This can include but is not limited to: egg whites, chicken breast, turkey (ground or breast), white fish, and protein powder. Protein should take up 1/3 of a plate (so a full chicken breast or about 4 egg whites)
2. Start adding protein and fiber to your snacks rather than carbohydrates that are a quick fix and don't fill you up as long.

Don't be afraid of protein powder! A protein shake is a great post-workout meal or even an instant fix for protein during a main meal! My favorite:
- ice
- 8oz almond milk
- 1 spoonful peanut butter
- 2 scoops vanilla 100% whey protein
- 1 spoonful unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 frozen banana

Good luck!

Taking Workouts on the Road

In honor of the upcoming spring break....here are a few workouts that only require a chair and your own motivation!

From Jillfit.com: (former boss and awesome workout writer!)

Workout#1

Do this 3-minute circuit 6 times:

30 seconds split squat on R leg*
30 seconds split squat on L leg*
30 seconds squat jumps
30 seconds push-ups
30 seconds high knees
30 seconds rest

Repeat above circuit for a total of 6 times (18 minutes)
Finish off with 2 minutes of Burpees
20 minutes DONE!

*Split Squat = get a chair and put your foot up on it - face forward. Make sure as you lower your knee (the one with your foot on the chair) ensure that your front knee (with the foot on the ground) does NOT go over your knees! We don't need injuries!

Workout #2

Fast squats – 15 reps

Half-squats from the bottom to the middle – 15 reps

Pulse the squat at the mid-point for 15 inch-reps

Squat jumps – 15 reps

Pause all the way at the bottom, count to 10

Move up 1 inch, count to 10

Move up 1 more inch, count to 10

REPEAT FOR A TOTAL OF 5 ROUNDS COMPLETED

Workout #3

For 10 minutes, complete 5 rounds:

30 seconds Squat Jumps

30 seconds Mountain Climbers

30 seconds Burpees

30 seconds Rest

For 10 minutes, complete 5 rounds:

30 seconds crunches

30 seconds push ups 

30 seconds plank hold

30 seconds rest  

For 10 minutes, complete 5 rounds:

30 seconds Squat Jumps

30 seconds High Knees

30 seconds Burpees

30 seconds Rest 

Workout #4

Squat/ Squat Jump /1 Pushup/Burpee

Squat/ Squat Jump / 2 pushups / Burpee

Continue to 10 on the push ups and then start over at 1 push up again

See how many rounds you can do in 20 minutes  

Do one of these every other day and throw in some walking every day. Good luck and enjoy your vacation! 

Making March Count

My apologies for absolutely slacking on the updates, I was shocked when I found out it has been almost a month since my last one!

In other news, March is speeding up, which means spring breaks are quickly approaching and summer is just around the corner! Every year I see dozens of fitness magazines proclaiming that they can help you "get your beach body in a week". Even better are the weight loss advertisements, "lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks" (yeah ok). Let's be realistic, starving yourself is never the way to go. Working out like a fiend will just make you overly tired and frustrated.

Here's my proposal: The March Month Challenge
Ripped right from my experience as a coxswain for a rowing team, people can only handle one task at a time. Rather than trying to workout extra hard AND eat well AND get 8 hours of sleep AND stop eating all sweets, which will probably result in giving up on all goals, frustration, and almost definitely a binge day of Oreos w/ peanut butter, ice cream, guacamole & chips (ok fine, those are my pitfalls). Instead, for the next month, I challenge you to follow the assignment I give you. Try and stick to it for a week. Then add on the next task, work on focusing just on those two tasks. Ultimately, the sum of all of your new found practices will end in better results than trying to start them all at once. In crew, we called these "Power 10s" - with the idea being that for those 10 strokes you focused your hardest on the one technique that was called.

So let us begin.


Week 1: For the next week your focus is going to be on water. Water has this magical counterintuitive property. The more water you drink, the more water weight you will drop. Cool right? Not only that, but water flushes out your system of toxins, keeps you feeling full and hydrates your skin! Try to add three more glasses of water to your day, specifically before your meal. Studies have shown that consuming water before meals leads to eating less and ultimately weight loss. Additionally, think about every beverage you drink in the day (be it soda, wine, beer, vitamin water, etc) - - now replace 2 of these drinks during the day with water instead. Straight from the tap (or water filter or bottled) WATER. No "vitamin water", "replenish water", "Insertfancynamehere water" None. Just water. Easy right? See being healthy isn't a giant pain in the butt!

Good luck and check back next week for the next challenge! :-)