Recipe: Healthy Ice Cream

I just recently found this recipe on bodyrockerstv.com (great website!). I honestly haven't tried this recipe yet, but I thought it looked good enough to just post, especially this time of year! Good God it is hot out there!


Healthy Ice Cream


frozen non-fat plain yogurt, 
almond milk, 
1/4 cup of raw pecans,
1 Tbls of ground flax seeds, 
about 1tblsp of vanilla extract, 
about 2tsp of stevia, and 
1 scoop of my whey protein


Freeze and enjoy!

Recipe: Pumkin Pie Smoothie

I am a sucker for Pumpkin Pie, this recipe is great!! It is healthy and tastes just like Thanksgiving.

Pumkin Pie Smoothie

1/2 to 1/4 can of pumpkin (more if you love pumpkin)
2 cups vanilla soy milk or almond milk
(or 2 cups of nonfat milk)
1tsp of vanilla extract
1T cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup non fat plain yogurt (regular or greek)

Blend all together, with some ice if you like it super cold and thick. I fix this for a quick breakfast before an early morning at work. You can also use pumpkin spice as well if you have some on hand. If you made this ahead of time and froze it, it makes a delicous lowfat ice cream like treat on a hot day (as with pretty much any smoothie by the way)
Got a great smoothie? Leave a comment and share!

Exercise: Another Leg Routine

Here is another Leg Routine for you guys. Scotty came home from work the other night wanting a quick leg workout, so I made one for him and he did it in 10min!! The next day I intended on at least matching that but I ended up with a time of 16:30, nice job Scotty! So the first half of the workout is a time challenge, it was inspired by a workout another co-worker, Erin, made a few months ago that kicked my butt.  Thanks Erin! Make sure you watch your form and really get low with your squats, do the best lunges possible for you, get those leg kicks up there. Do your best, this workout is for you and your lovely legs. Whats nice about this workout is it can be modified into a beginner routine by simply using your own body weight. For you advanced people hold a couple pair of dumbbells during some sets. Also I would like to add after this routine Scotty could barely talk to me and I was sweating like crazy. Ok enough said, now get to work ;)

Time Challenge

1.  20 Squats: with or without dumbbells (Scotty and I both used 20lb bells)
send your hips back until your thighs come parallel to the ground, knees should NOT go past your     toes, try to keep knees right above ankles with 80% of your weight in your heels, make sure chest stays up, as you come up squeeze your butt and push through your heels

2.  40 Jump Squats: no weights, land softly and stay low throughout set

3.  20 Reverse Lunges Alternating: with or without weights, note this is 20 EACH leg
take a wide step back with your left leg and start to bend both knees, right knee should stay right above your right ankle, come as low to the ground as you can without letting your left knee touch the ground, as you come up, squeeze your butt and push through your right heel, then switch legs

4.  40 Jump Lunges: without weights, make sure you are jumping very wide and landing softly, at the end you are going to hold the last lunge and move into step 5

5.  40 (Immediate) Mountain Climbers: from the last lunge put your hands on the ground and jump and switch legs 40 times

6.  20 Side Plank Side Leg Knee In and Kick: 20 on EACH leg, if you have ankle weights go for it
in a modified side plank: lay on your right side, right knee bend and right elbow under right shoulder, lift right hip from floor, pull left knee in towards you slightly dropping your right hip down (but dont touch floor) then kick out left leg straight and raise it up high as you also lift right hip high off floor

7.  20 Curtsey Lunges: with or without weights, 20 EACH leg
standing tall cross the left leg behind you (far back and wide) and bend both knees like you are curtseying to the queen, the weight should all be in your right leg (the leg in front), come down low as you can and push up through your right heel and hip/butt. Switch

8.  40 Frog Hops: without weights
with wide legs, toes pointing outward, bend knees out to the sides until your finger tips can touch the floor, STAYING LOW jump forward and up softly and land so hands touch floor again, then jump up and back-these are KILLER!
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1. Single Leg Squat with Back Kick: 25
with this one your may use a chair or counter, hold the right leg up in front of you, with the left leg squat down as low as you can sending the butt way back and not letting your knees go past your toes, then come up and kick the right leg behind you like a karate kick

2. Squatting Side Walk with Tube: 25 each way
step on a tube, holding the band handles either on your hips or up by your shoulders, send your hips back low and hold a mini squat, with toes pointing directly forward the whole time step out to the side as wide as you can pushing the resistance of the tube, step out as many steps as you can then go back, keep going till you hit 25 steps each way (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Repeat:  these last 2 steps another time
My second run doing this one I burned 360 calories, but my time was bad!! I went up almost 3 whole minutes. It took me 29min to complete the entire workout (second set included phew!)


Yet again Jack makes an appearance in the video and Ted too....if you look close Jack is busted for trying to break into his food ottoman! Sorry about my head being cut off too, one day I'll get the hang of it.

On a side note, I apologize I STILL have not gotten a new heart rate monitor!! Ugh! Things have been a little crazy lately-Im getting married soon! Yay!! So as you can imagine its been pretty hard to keep up with everything. I am trying really hard to get as many blogs in with workouts as I can during my off season at work. When winter comes into gear around here, I will not have as much time to do this. So I hope I get a variety of routines on here. If there is ANY routine you guys want more of let me know. The next routine will be an all over body one. Thanks guys!

Recipe: Sneaky Veggie & Turkey Lasagna

People that make their families lasagna must love them...a lot!!! I hate making lasagna, not only is it that typical high calorie dinner but it is such a pain in the butt to make!! However my soon to be hubby's favorite dish is lasagna. He bought me a new stove/oven today (our old one went kaput) so how can I NOT make his all time favorite. This is not a quick, mix it together and bake kind of a dish, just to warn you, but it is a special dish that shows a special person how much you love them. Being on this blog you KNOW I am going to have a healthier version. I know Scotty's favorite lasagna is from his mom, which is to die for by the way! However I tried a few tweaks to lower the calories and make it full of healthy nutrients. And for moms/dads with picky kids (or maybe even picky adults) this recipe is a sneaky way of getting them to eat at least 2-3 servings of veggies per piece. Also remember watch your potion size, some people see "low calorie" and eat a massive piece. Well that defeats the purpose, so get a smallish medium piece and eat it with a big fresh salad. So here you go....


Sneaky Veggie & Turkey Lasagna

(first preheat oven to 450)
Sauce
 2 cartons of POM tomatoes strained
 2-3T of the following fresh or dried
    oregano
    basil
    parsley
    garlic chopped
1 bay leaf
1 dash of  the following
    red pepper
    salt and pepper
1lb ground turkey breast (make sure it is breast)- this is optional, if you are a vegetarian skip this ingredient and your lasagna will still be delicious

Mix all together (except turkey) and simmer, reduce heat to low and let cook for at least an hour (tip from my mom-in-law). When this is on low, start a pot of lightly salted water boiling.  Start cooking the ground turkey in a separate pan with another dash of salt, pepper, parsely, oregano until cooked then add to sauce. Keep sauce on low.

Veggies
as you are waiting for water to boil and sauce is simmering, your oven should be close to 450 degrees by now, start chopping up the following into thin strips:

1 small yellow onion
1 small red onion
1 large zuccini
6-8 mushrooms
1/2 sweet red pepper
1/4 sweet yellow pepper
1/4 sweet orange pepper
1 1/2 c small broccoli florets
2T olive oil
1T garlic salt
pepper

put in a roasting pan with 2T of olive oil, garlic salt and pepper, mix well and roast for 20-30min depending on how thin you cut your veggies, just keep checking on them. After they are done turn oven down to 350 degrees

Noodles

Do this step after you put your veggies in.....

1lb box of whole wheat lasagna pasta

If you can find dreamfields pasta-get it, this pasta is really great for you, my store didnt have it so I just got the whole wheat kind. Drop the pasta in and boil till its al dente (kind of in between soft and hard). Then drain, rinse with cool water and set aside. 

Filling

you can do this step as your noodles are boiling

1lb low fat ricotta cheese

2 eggs

4oz part skim parmesan cheese

1c chopped spinach

1c chopped fresh parsley or 3T dried 

salt and pepper

8oz part skim low fat mozzarella (set aside) 

Mix all together except mozzarella and set aside

Putting it Together.....

Oven should be at 350 degrees

1. In your lasagna pan first put a thin layer of sauce

2. Lay 3-4 noodles ontop

3. Spread your filling mixture on noodles

4. Sprinkle 1-1 1/2 handfulls of mozzarella on filling (watch the portion!)

5. Lay 3-4 noodles

6. Spread a thicker layer of sauce

7. Lay a thin layer of veggies

8. then repeat till all is gone

The top should be one last layer of noodles with a thin layer of sauce and a thin layer of mozzarella

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45min to an hour, the last 10-15min take the foil off and get the top cheese layer all melty and bubbly.

Eat with a salad and enjoy!!!
I estimate the calories around 300-ish with loads of healthy veggies, whole grains and protein!! Yummy and smart.

Shopping list

2 cartons of POM tomatoes strained 

oregano

basil

garlic

bay leaf

red pepper

1lb ground turkey breast (make sure it is breast)

whole wheat lasagna pasta

low fat ricotta cheese

2 eggs

part skim parmesan cheese

spinach

fresh or dried parsley

salt and pepper

part skim low fat mozzarella

yellow onion

red onion

zucchini

mushrooms

sweet red, yellow and orange peppers

small broccoli florets

olive oil

Exercise: Attack of the Core

Today I have for you a core workout. Before doing this one make sure you warm up, especially those of you with touchy backs. A lot of the exercises have to do with holding a pelvic tilt (keeping your belly button pulled into the spine) and planks. If planks are hard for you, you can modify by coming down to your knees and staying in a straight line from knees to head; but be sure to always hold your belly button in either way!! 

One thing I have to mention about abs: you need to lose weight overall to have them!! You can do 500 crunches a day and you will not see your abs unless you get rid of the fat ONTOP of those abdominal muscles, so needless to say diet and cardio is very important. That is why I added intervals of high knees and encourage you to push yourself hard during time challenges. Good luck everyone!

WARM UP!! read the instructions first then look at the video for a demo

PLANK ATTACK- do not rest throughout unless needed, you should stay in plank from steps 1-9

1) Elbow plank 10 seconds hold

on elbows and forearms hold your body in a perfectly straight line from heels to top of head, navel to spine and hold still; if you feel your back your pelvis may have dropped and you are arching your back too much, you do not want your back to arch or your butt to be up too high, you should feel your whole core engage- you should look like a plank of wood, hence the name :)

2) Low to High Plank

Still holding elbow plank, slowly push your arms one at a time into a full plank, where your arms are straight and you are in a push up position, do not drop knees down

3) Reptile 30 reps

In your full plank, pull your right knee into your right elbow, inner thigh should be parallel to the floor then switch, one knee in is one rep, at the end drop down into elbow plank without putting your knees down or butt up

4) Elbow plank 10 seconds hold 

5) Low to High Plank

6) Alternate Knee Ins 30 reps

Up in full plank again bring your right knee under you towards your left elbow and switch, one knee in is one rep, at the end again flow into elbow plank

7) Elbow plank 10 seconds hold

8) Low to High Plank

9) Mountain Climbers 30 switches

Up in full plank for the last time bring your right toe in under you and tap floor, then switch, one knee in is one rep

100 High Knees or Jump Rope Skips-FAST!

Side Plank 40 reps each side

1) Lie on your side with right arm under shoulder and feet stacked, left hand behind head

2) Lift your body off the floor using your obliques

3) Come up as high as you can and "pinch" your waist, this should feel like a crunch in your side (rib cage to hip bone)

4) Come almost down to the floor (don't let that hip touch the floor), this is one rep

MODIFY: if this is hard on your shoulder do it on your elbow and forearm, if it is still hard bend the bottom knee and keep that on the floor

Plank Jumps Wide legged 100 reps

1) In a full plank (push up position) take legs wider than hip width

2) Keeping your shoulders above your wrists, jump both legs in wide towards the hands landing softly on toes (your butt should be up in the air, body forming an upside down "V" squeezing your abs tight)

3) Quickly jump back to plank (make sure you get all the way back to a plank, don't short yourself), stay light on your toes and move fast as possible

stay strong this is a tough one on the shoulders and legs too

***if this is too hard for you, just do mountain climbers

In and Outs 50 reps

1) In a seated position, hugging bent knees, angle your upper body back so core is engage, shoulders back (if you feel your back do not lean back so far) and feet off the floor

2) Straighten legs out as far as you can maintaining good form (knees can stay slightly bent if needed), as you do this lean your upper body back a little more and take your arms out to the sides

3) Pull the knees back into the hugging position

Some people call these knee hugs too

100 High Knees or Jump Rope Skips

Full Sit Ups 50 reps or Crunches 75 reps

If you have any back issues, do 75 crunches with your lower back staying on the floor maintaining navel to spine

1) hands behind head, raise both shoulders and head off floor, hold for a count of 2 (as in 1 mississippi, 2 mississippi) then lower

If you are ok with the back (and neck) do a full sit up:

1) on back with knees bent, legs wide, lock thumbs together with arms over the chest (if you feel neck put hands behind head)

2) contract your abs coming into a full seated position, feet grounded on the floor, as you do this raise arms up over head

3) lower SLOWLY! do NOT plop down, the way down uses the core just as much as the way up, this is also safer for you and your back

Bicycle Crunches 100

1) on your back, navel to spine, hands behind head, feet up, knees bent

2) lift head and shoulders from the floor, twist your right elbow to left knee as you straighten the right leg out (the higher you straighten the leg, the easier if you feel any back tightness)

3) then switch

4) the hips should NOT be moving from the floor, the movement comes from your torso/core

As a trainer I cant stand to see people doing this one at the gym, they flop all over the place! It should be a steady movement, each knee in counts as one rep and it should be timed like this: 1 mississippi, 2 mississippi. There should be no jerking around, we want to use our muscles not momentum right- otherwise why bother. Ok Im off my soap box about that one :)

100 High Knees or Jump Rope Skips

So I finished this in 18min 28 sec. The plank jumps really did suck and I needed breaks, as well as the in and outs. Remember to please feel free to switch an exercise if you feel your form is suffering or if you feel any pain. All these movements should be core, core, core!! Even during the cardio parts you should feel that core engage. Be sure to cool down, stretch and hydrate! Good luck everyone and kick some core ass!

Recipe: Protein Peanut Butter Balls

2T organic natural peanut butter or almond butter
2T sliced almonds
1/2c vanilla protein powder
2T plain greek yogurt
1T dried fruit (if you like, although I don't think you need it, the powder is sweet enough)
2T organic un-sweet coconut flakes, or 2T flax seeds as seen above

Directions
   1. Mix all the ingredients except the coconut flakes
   2. Roll into a small sized golf ball
   3. Roll ball in coconut or flax seeds
   4. Refrigerate or eat right away

This makes one serving, I usually multiply this by 10 and store in fridge for the week. Be careful with this though, these are some good balls and do not over eat!! They have quite a bit of calories- about 300 depending on the protein powder you use, but it is a healthy protein-packed, healthy fat snack. If you wanted to reduce the calories make smaller balls or cut the protein in half. Enjoy your balls! ;)

Recipe: Balsamic Chicken Breast Dinner

• 
  
• 
  
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I used 2)
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, chicken broth, garlic, and Italian seasoning in a bowl, place the chicken breasts in the marinade, and marinate for 10 minutes on each side.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve the marinade. Place the chicken in the heated pan and cook until they start to brown and are no longer pink inside, about 7 minutes per side. Pour the marinade into the skillet, and cook until it thickens slightly, turning the chicken breasts over once or twice, about 5 minutes. (make sure you really cook the marinade, I cooked mine in a separate pot until it boiled)

Serve it with a baked sweet potato and some grilled veggies...Yum!!!

Next time I make this, Im going to make extra sauce, it was delicious! For recipes like this try allrecipes.com. It is a great website with lots of different cooking suggestions on making recipes healthier, just be sure to read the comments below each recipe. Bon Appetite!

Diet Watch: Sugar Really IS the devil!!

So we have all heard it before: Sugar is bad for you. I know it, you know it, we have all heard it a million times. Thing is, it always sneaks its way into my diet! Lil devil you! I have tried many times to greatly reduce my sugar intake, and I have for the most part succeeded in lowering sugar from my diet substantially. However, was I really paying attention to what I ate, was I really understanding labels, and most importantly did I REALLY know WHY sugar was so bad for me?

Well one night I was researching online some new exercises and came across this fascinating little youtube lecture. It was by Robert H Lustig, and its called Sugar, the Bitter Truth. Over the past years I do try to limit processed foods, and I do stay around the perimeter of the grocery store (thats where all the healthier choices are), but processed foods do come into my diet-I admit it. After this lecture (it is long, I watched a little over half so far) I now will make sure I read my labels carefully, and I will damn sure not let my kids drink soda or concentrated juice or fill themselves with sugar....and all the other scientific names for sugar they put on our labels. So here is the link, the video should be on here, but if you didnt have the time or patience to watch (which I do suggest) there is a basic outline for the lecture.

http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2011/03/sugar.html

And here is another briefer article on sugar with some healthy suggestions and tips:

http://nutritionontherun.blogspot.com/2011/01/sugarthe-devil.html

Although it is unrealistic to completely eliminate all processed foods and sugar (a dessert is nice every once in awhile), limiting them and eating more fresh foods is realistic. Always be sure to read your labels for those foods you do buy that are processed. If you have a sweet tooth like me (I swear I inherited it from BOTH my parents-thanks guys!) I suggest fresh fruits (not dried). Oranges, red grapefruits, berries and peaches really help me. I have a least 2 of these everyday.

Diet Watch: My Favorite Type of "diet"....it has cheat meals!

Diets... we have all heard of the strangest diets from shots of grapefruit juice before eating fattening  foods to eating an all fat diet with low carbs. They all sound pretty stupid to me, yet I have to admit I have tried some stupid things in my life, diets being one of them. Some of them sound good in theory, they also sound too good to be true-which they are!

The key to me about the "diet" is a lifestyle, a nutritional and healthy way of living. It should not be an 8 week thing or even a year of being mindful. Diets should be a life long commitment to your body and your health. I have to admit that aesthetics was the main reason for me to both watch my diet and exercise. Now, things are a little different. I am inevitably getting older, and although I have hopefully a very very long way to go, I cant help thinking, am I treating my body in a way that it is going to last for decades and decades to come? With all the threats of heart disease, cancers and all types of scary diseases, we ALL need to eat better. I have to say that working with the elderly population has also opened my eyes to body and health changes and challenges as we age. If I can take care of myself the best way I can to prolong the effects aging has on us, why the heck wouldn't I do it?

So I have started a new way of eating (notice I did NOT say the "d" word). I hope that some of you try this with me. It is pretty simple in theory. I am allowing myself to be a human being. I have no intention on being perfect, I have no intention of never getting sick again or looking like Halle Berry. I am just going to be me and treat my body with honor and respect. Along with this comes an attitude. Respecting our bodies is immensely important if we want to change. If we don't respect ourselves, who will? Not being hard on myself is a big part of this change.

Here are just a few guidelines of my nutrition

-eating 10 servings of fruit and veggies a day (if I cant get all of that in, Im going to take a dose of powdered greens, but I will try hard to get the "real thing")


-eat breakfast within 20minutes of me getting up which includes a protein and a fruit or veggie; like a protein smoothie with fruit or greens, or an omelet with veggies


-NO sugar!!! (sooooo tough, if I have cravings I eat an orange or strawberries, and believe me I always have fruit on hand just for this reason)


-eating lean meats like fish, chicken, turkey breast and some lean red meats (in moderation) and also trying to add soy into my diet more for protein


-instead of white breads, using whole grains or quinoa (I love quinoa!)


-instead of white rice, using brown...or quinoa ;)


-exercising at least 20min a day 5-6 days a week; sometimes squeezing in exercise is tough but 20min is an acceptable time for me to aim for, if I do mess up and eat something unhealthy (which happens, I'm human) I will be sure to get my exercise in-no excuses!


-eating a snack of cottage cheese or plain yogurt in between breakfast and lunch


-eating a small handful of nuts, protein water or peanut butter in between lunch and dinner (this one is tough for me I always forget)


-drinking tons of water through the day; 8, 8oz glasses or more (this one is tough for me too especially at work)


-and the best one; having 3 cheat meals!!! YAY! I usually save these for the weekend, like eating a healthy dinner and an awesome dessert or some boneless chicken wings Scotty makes and watching what I ate for lunch that day. Some people like a whole cheat day, but I prefer to spread it over Fridays and Saturdays, going overboard one day gives me a stomach ache!

That is about it, I feel these are super simple tricks for anyone and anyone can do it with a little encouragement, will power and most importantly family/friends support. If you have a family not on board, this will be tough. Find a friend that will try it with you and make it work, get a neighbor, use emails or phone calls or find a supportive website.
The most important part is eat healthy for you out of respect for your health and your body-you only have one!!  If weight loss is your goal, let that be an added side effect. Saying "I am going to be healthier in my eating" is a lot less stressful than saying, "I am going to lose 30 pounds".

Good luck everyone! Cheers!!

Exercise: Mandatory 100's

Hi Again Guys,

Here is a workout that I have already emailed to most people. Its main focus is on the upper body with some hits of cardio (jump squats and mountain climbers). You will complete 100 reps of pushes, pulls, squats and mountain climbers. Each set is broken up into 4 sets of 25, but you can break them up into 10 sets of 10 if you like, whatever works best for you. Also feel free to modify any exercise that you think may be difficult for you. For instance pushups can be done on the knees, jump squats can be just regular squats, and pull ups can be pull downs with your elastic tube. 

I love this workout and a lot of my male clients like it too. It really pushes you to focus on your pecs, lats, triceps, biceps and delts. The first time I did it, I had trouble raising my arms. Please ladies give it a try and dont be intimidated, I know you can do it!! When I first started training I could not complete a single pushup, now I can do 42 (so far :). If you have already done this workout, try it again and see if you have improved your time or your form. 

As you do this workout (as with every workout) please keep your abs tight!!! Make every exercise an ab exercise by keeping your navel pulled into your spine and feeling like you are wearing a corset around your middle. This is a time challenge, do as much as you can as fast as you can with GOOD FORM! Have fun and good luck!!

MANDATORY 100's

Bomb diver push ups  25 (feet and hands very wide and butt up high, dip head and chest down like you are crawling under a fence, repeat opposite motion backwards)

Mountain climbers (in a push up position, abs tight pull a knee into chest and switch legs, one knee in is one rep) 25

Wide grip pull ups or tube pull downs, overhand 25 (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Jump squats (STAY LOW!) 25

Diamond push ups 25  (fingers make a diamond shape on floor, feet/knees wide, lower chest to hands)

Mountain climbers 25

Narrow grip pull ups or tube pull downs, overhand 25 (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Wide leg jump squats 25

Tricep push ups 25

Mountain climbers 25

Underhand pull ups or tube pull downs 25 (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Jump squats (STAY LOW!) 25

Walking push up 25 (with wide legs and hands push up, step feet and hands close, then step back apart and another push up)

Mountain climbers 25

Any pull ups or pull downs 25 (I did neutral grip-palms face each other) (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Wide leg jump squats 25

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hope you enjoy the flashes of The Chicago Bears Team Spirit in the video, also enjoy the part where I almost fell ;)

Beat my time!!! I did this in 24min 8 sec, the pull ups took the longest, tons of breaks and whining! 

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Then if you want a little ab work (you used your abs big time already) I did....

100 bicycle crunches (opposite knee to opposite elbow-counts as one rep, then switch)

100 seconds in a static plank 

100 bicycle

100 seconds in plank

Try not to rest at all until you are finished, keep good form in your plank-don't arch your back or raise your butt!

Have fun and kick some ass!! Don't be surprised if you can't raise your arms the next day :).

Exercise: You asked for it: Legs Galore!

Ok Ladies, (and Gentlemen who are man enough for this workout)

So many of you ladies have told me how much you love to work your legs....I have no idea why. I just hate it!! I literally have to force myself with a hot poker to do an entire leg workout, they just kick my butt. So ladies this one is for you, but men don't be shy. As women tend to neglect their upper bodies, men tend to neglect the lower (and boys I dont blame you). Cardio is excellent to train leg muscles, however you DO NEED to strength train them as well! Their are different types of muscle contractions and without getting too scientific on you: both strength training and cardio training is necessary for an all-round complete routine for those lil leggies. So in this routine I squeezed both in. There are also muscles you may not be using in your legs when you run for instance, so to get them all, please guys strength train. And who knows maybe you'll be faster on your next run!

I can honestly say I hated this workout in a good way and I think I may have woken Scotty up with all my moaning and gasping. Your supplies are you and a barbell (I used a horrid 40 pound one-it sucked) or just a set of dumbbells, or something that resembles either. Be smart and use a weight that suits you, but please try to push yourselves. Do this back to back to back, go as quickly as possible to really get your cardio in today. Believe me if you do this workout your heart rate should be sky high and sweat will be a pouring. PUSH YOURSELVES!!

The video will instruct you on form, and again lil Jack decided to get off his lazy butt and make a quick appearance. Hopefully you see my head in this video, bare with me Im still learning the ropes of film :) Please make sure you follow the steps below while doing the workout, but be sure to watch the form first.

1. Squat hold with Alternate Reverse Lunge: 20 lunges each leg, 40 squats (weights optional)
2. 100 High Knees
3. Reverse Lunge with Knee Up: 25 each (do all of right leg then left) (weights optional)
4. 100 High Knees
5. Side Plank hold with Knee In and Leg Lifts RIGHT 25
6. Plank hold with right, center, left jumps 60 jumps total
7. Side Plank hold with Knee In and Leg Lift LEFT 25
8. Squat hold with Alternate Side Leg Lifts 20 kicks each leg (weight across shoulders)
9. 100 High Knees
REPEAT!!! 1-9

10. Standing Back Kicks 20 RIGHT
11. Standing Side Kicks 20 RIGHT
12. 100 High Knees
13. Standing Back Kicks 20 LEFT
14. Standing Side Kicks 20 LEFT
15. Pendulum 100
16. Plank lift Kick 20, hold plank 20 RIGHT
17. Plank lift Kick 20, hold plank 20 LEFT
18. Pendulum 100

I finished in 29 minutes and 35 seconds, to be fair my stopwatch sucks and I maybe a minute off, but close enough. Good luck and please post your times and comments and always be safe!

Exercise: Terrible Tricep ATTACK!!

Hi All!
So it is not that often that a muscle completely gives out on me....today-triceps....COMPLETELY gave out on me. So this workout is a little more complicated. Hopefully the video (still amateurish Im afraid) will help but be sure to read the instructions carefully. I wanted to have you all do this as a time challenge, however I did mine at work and was a little distracted, so let me know what your times are please! I think this all took me 25min tops. Dont worry the whole routine isnt all triceps either, we have some legs, bi's and chest in there too.

As a goal I want you all to focus on your glutes during lunges in this routine. As you lunge down your glutes should be tight. You should not feel like the lunging leg's hip is swaying off to the side. Make those hips stay parallel to the wall in front of you by always squeezing the glutes. I feel like I say "squeeze your glutes" and "tighten your abs" in my sleep (which actually Scotty attested too by the way). I tell clients this all the time, not only for the efficiency of the exercise but for the safety of the back, hips and knees.

I highly recommend weights for this workout. If you dont have any, get creative. Hold some gallon bottles, grocery bags of water bottles or cans, search your house for something at least 5-8 pounds. I used 8 pound dumbbells.

Have a great time with this and be sure to push yourself with GOOD form, as always be responsible for the safety of your joints. We want muscle burn, not bone/joint pain!

1. Reverse lunge: hold at bottom and complete 1 bicep curl (seperate the moves, do not combine: lunge-pause-then curl) do this 5 times

2. Reverse lunge: hold at the bottom and complete 5 bicep curls

REPEAT #1 and #2 three times each all on the LEFT LEG

3. Mountain climbers: after the third set of lunges place the weights down and move straight into Mountain Climbers (the left leg should be in front), do 20 reps (one leg in counts as 1 rep) after you are done your left leg should be in front again

4. Jump Lunges: move directly from mountain climbers into 10 jump lunges

5. Pushups: 10 fast pushups with full range of motion (as far as you can go down), then do 1 more push up taking 5 seconds to go down and 5 seconds to go back up-this is killer!!

REPEAT #5 TWO MORE TIMES (for 30 fast pushups and 3 slow)

6. Go back to steps #1 and #2, the lunges, and do everything again with the right leg in front

7. Go back and do step #5 again, the pushups, yes I am sorry! I took some breaks during this one but I still stayed in a full pushup, if you need to go on your knees you of course can-but TRY to push yourself!

8. Dips: off of a chair or bench 20 Tricep Dips, make sure elbows stay narrow and pointed behind you, and you are fully straightening your elbows at the top of each rep

9. 100 High Knees

10. Skull Crushers: lay on your back with your weights, straigthen arms above chest, palms facing knees. Bend elbows so the dumbbells come towards your head (dont hit yourself in the head!) and straighten. Elbows should again stay narrow and keep them pointed towards the knees

11. Lateral Mountain Climbers: on toes and hands (hands close together fingers forming a diamond shape) bring the left leg out from the body towards the outside of the left elbow (your knee and toe should be pointing out on an angle), jump and switch legs in the air with the right leg landing towards the outside of the right elbow. Do this 20 times (one jump is one rep)

12. Floor Dips with Kicks: seated on floor, hands behind you, lift your hips and lift your right leg up to a bend, elbows straight, start to bend your elbows and simultaneously straighten your right leg up to the ceiling, your butt should not touch the floor. Then with your triceps straighten the arms again and bend the knee back to the starting positon. 10 Each leg
try not to let those hips shift forward with this one, hips should move straight down to the floor (this is where the triceps totally gave out on me!)

13. 100 High Knees

DO EVERYTHING AGAIN FOR ANOTHER ROUND!!!
Good luck and have fun!!

Exercise: DO THIS!! Interval Sweaty Train #1

make sure to read the description first, not all of the exercises are in order

Hello everyone, hope you are all doing well! 

I have a new workout for you all that requires an interval timer. I usually use Beach Fitness online timer. It is super simple to use. The site is www.beach-fitness.com/tabata/. For the rounds put the number 27, for the "on" put 50 seconds and for the "off" put 10 seconds. When you are ready just push start and go for it. You will hear a beep when the set is over, then you get the 10sec break, then another beep for the next exercise. So as you can guess you will be doing 9 different exercises for 50 seconds with 10 second breaks in between for you to rush to the next exercise. Do as many reps as humanly possible with GOOD form in the 50 seconds. Three sets of each exercise. If you need a longer break you can just push the "pause" button at the bottom of the screen. The workout takes 27 minutes.

So this workout was super tough for me, I had a really hard time. Be sure to push yourself, after I was all done and sweaty I was super proud I pushed through it. I did three sets of each exercise when I wanted so badly to stop at two sets, I strongly urge you to go for the three!!! Good luck and feel free to ask for any assistance, again if something does not feel right or you feel it may be more harmful than helpful-DONT DO IT! In other words exercise at your own risk :)

Also with this workout I attempted to add an 8min video explanation of the exercises, bare with me I did it on my own. Scotty was at work so I just winged it by myself (next time I will get a camera guy ;). I know how tough it is to do an exercise just on written description alone. First I did the exercise then I showed a modification.  I didnt think to do them in order, but they are close enough. Lil Jack also makes a special guest appearance. Hope it works, otherwise I typed the explanations down below.

Dive Bomber Pushups:

on hands and toes with wide arms and legs, butt up in the air (you should look like an upside down V) lower your head to the floor and glide the body up like you are crawling under a fence, at the end of the move you should have the chest up and the back arched, nothing should have touched the floor in the process besides the hands and toes. Then retrace your steps back to start. If this is too hard, start in beginning V position, bend elbows bringing your head to the floor then just push back up to upside down V, this would be a delt pushup

Body Row or Tube Row:

under a dip station, smith bar or treadmill handles hang down with body in a straight line, then pull yourself up to the bar and squeeze shoulder blades, if you do not have a bar use a elastic tube: sit on floor abs tight and back tall, legs extended with a tube wrapped around your feet (or couch) with your palms facing each other, pull tube in towards you brushing elbows past your rib cage, squeeze the shoulder blades (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Dynamic Squats:

start with feet together, chest up, simulatneously jump wide and squat, bringing hands to floor (chest still up!) then jump back together, make sure you get low

Yoga 1/2 Pushup:

start on hands and toes with hands directly under your shoulders and feet hip width, bend your elbows in so they brush your rib cage, pause at the bottom a few inches from the floor and slowly bring the chest up and arch the back, pull in the abs and come back into starting position. If this one is too tough, try just a narrow pushup on the knees: hands under shoulders bring chest down and push up.

Pull up or Lat Pull down:

in an overhand grip, grab onto pull up bar and pull yourself up, if you need to use a chair to make it easier, place one foot on the chair. If you dont have a pull up bar just attach your elastic tube to something high (like the top of a door hinge) and pull the tube into you, elbows passing the rib cage and squeezing the should blades, make sure the elbows come out wide with this one as you pull (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Skater Lunges:

on the left leg squat down towards the floor with the right leg behind you, try to reach for the floor with the right hand, then jump to the side landing on the other leg and repeat the squat, move back and forth like this so you look like an inline skater, the wider you jump the more you will feel the hips and butt

Stability Ball Crunch:

with lower back on ball hold one weight above chest, head and shoulders off the ball, lift the body higher as you squeeze your abs, reaching the weight straight up for the ceiling then lower. If this is too tough do without the weight or if you dont have a ball just crunch from the floor, you may also leave the weight out with this one until you are stronger (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Pendelum:

on hands and toes with the butt up (like an upside down V again) lift the left leg to the side, then switch, do this move fast gaining momentum along the way, make sure you keep those abs very tight, you should feel your hips, obliques, abs, and shoulders (this is a tough one) if it is too hard just move slower

Stability Ball Pike Up:

roll out on the ball off your belly so that your hands are on the floor and your shins are on the ball, your abs should be super tight and you are in a straight line, with your stomach pull your butt up high (again looking like an upside down V) pause and then lower to that straight line....do not arch your back!! If you dont have a ball just hold a plank (hands and toes on the floor with body in a straight line) then contract your abs and lift the butt up in the air, pause and lower to plank. (to get equipment see to the right and scroll through)

Good luck everyone this is a tough routine if you truly push yourself to the max doing as many as you can, remember do three sets!! They go by super fast!

Here are my reps if you want to compete!!

Dive Bomber: 14, 14, 12

Body row: 21, 21, 21

Dynamic squats: 30, 28, 26

Yoga pushup: 15, 13, 12

Pull ups (with 1 leg on a chair) 18, 17, 15

Skater lunges: 25, 25, 22

Crunch (with 8 pounds): 25, 22, 24

Pendelum: 70, 60, 60
Pike up: 14, 12, 12