Good Morning Yoga Sequence

I wake up almost every morning feeling stiff and sore from the previous days workout.  I recently found this quick and easy Good Morning Yoga Sequence to help get my blood flowing, and stretch those sore stiff muscles.
The benefits of Yoga are incredible! From muscle toning, to lengthening, Yoga can help you to look and feel better.

  I do not recommend attempting to do complicated yoga poses without the instruction of a certified Yoga instructor.

Photo Credit

Baked Banana Protein Donuts or Mini Muffins

I am always looking for a healthy, and delicious way to add a bit of extra protein to my diet, and these amazing donuts were a perfect fit.





Ingredients1 3/4 cup oats1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce1 scoop protein powder2 bananas1 tsp baking soda1 tsp baking powder3/4 tsp salt1/2 tsp cinnamon3 tsp lemon juice1 1/2 tsp vanilla1/4 cup agave sweetner
 Directions1.  Preheat oven at 375 degrees and spray doughnut pan with non stick spray. 2. Blend all ingredients well and fill pan with batter. 3. Bake  for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  Stick with toothpick before removing from oven to ensure the donuts are cooked thoroughly.

 Source

Usually when I make these I just use a vanilla protein powder, and a mini muffin tin pan, lining it first with some coconut oil. These turned out to be the perfect post-workout snack. 

Are your sleep habits making you fat?

We all know how important sleep is, especially when we don't get enough. I am willing to bet, however, that the majority of us don't actually realize all that's at risk when we don't get enough of it.

Everything from our energy through the day, our mood, and even our weight loss can be negatively effected from lack of sleep. Much like food, getting too much, or too little sleep can be extremely detrimental to our overall health.

How mush sleep do we actually need each night in order to function properly? Studies have been done suggesting that the minimum is 7 hours, but that it's better to get between 8-10 hours per night!  I don't know if I have ever managed to get 10 hours of sleep (in one night) in my adult life! Lucky for me taking an afternoon nap (legitimate sleep, not just watching a movie while relaxing) can count as those extra hour(s) that I missed out on during the night.

What's the big deal with sleep, and body weight anyway?

A study conducted in 2005 on 10,000  adults, suggested that the United States obesity epidemic might, in part, be caused by a corresponding decrease in the average number of sleep hours. This study found that people between the ages of 32 and 49 who sleep fewer than 7 hours each night are significantly more likely to be obese.  Also, staying awake beyond midnight seemed to increase the likelihood of obesity.  These associations have a “dose-response” relationship, with later bedtimes and shorter sleeping hours resulting in greater levels of body fat gain.  Wake-up time was not significantly related to obesity.  Similarly, a study that followed the growth of more than 9,000 children from birth onwards showed that children who slept the least when they were 30 months old were more likely to be obese at age 7 than children who slept more.

While there are many reasons that lack of sleep could influence body fat, one of them may be the decreased growth hormone (GH), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and increased cortisol, most notably in the evening.  Moreover, chronic sleep restriction results in elevated sympathetic nerve activity and a slow insulin response.  This is the perfect storm of peripheral effects to accentuate obesity:

• Lowered glucose tolerance (GT)
• Increased sympathovagal balance
• Increased evening and nocturnal cortisol levels
• Lowered leptin
• Insufficient thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)

Pragmatically speaking, lack of sleep may lead to more body fat simply because more time spent not sleeping means more time to eat. And those junk food commercials start looking pretty appealing at 1 a.m.

So, less sleep potentially results in more body fat, big deal.  Well, that’s not it.  Getting less than 7.5 hours of sleep each night also means that you’re at greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and sudden cardiac death than your pals who get plenty of snooze time.  Also, with the weight gain that could come with minimal sleep, you’d likely see insulin resistance (IR), glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes.

Check this out: Eleven healthy men in their 20s were only allowed 4 hours of sleep for six straight nights. At the end of this, the young men had the insulin sensitivity of a 70 year old pre-diabetic! Despite the small sample size in this study, the results are suggestive.

A few interesting facts about sleep:

*Sleep debt is cumulative, meaning the more nights you go with less sleep the greater likelihood of negative effects taking place.  Experts hypothesize that each hour of sleep debt needs to be repaid, eventually.

*High concentrations of cortisol –- a stress hormone -– can negatively affect sleep quality.  This is a double edged sword, as poor sleep can effect the concentration on cortisol in your body.

*Sleep may improve memory formation and recall

*Knowing you’ll get to nap during the day can help to lower blood pressure. Maybe this is why we were all so happy in pre-school.

Make good sleep a priority, just like the rest of your healthy habits. Here are several factors to consider when generating a sleeping pattern:

• Consistency:  Keep a relatively consistent bedtime and wake time. Staying up late and sleeping in on weekends can disrupt your routine during the week.
• Light: Keep the bedroom extremely dark, to tell the body’s light-sensitive clock that it’s time to sleep.
• Noise: Keep the bedroom extremely quiet or use a white noise generator (such as a fan).
• Relaxation/routine: Develop a pre-bed routine that is relaxing and familiar.  Television, work, computer use, movies and deep/stressful discussions late at night can disrupt sleep.
• Temperature: Keep a slightly cool temperature in the room, between 66-72 F or 18-22 C.
• Stimulants: Eliminate stimulants like caffeine/nicotine, especially later in the day.
• Exercise: It’s not only good for a tight butt and big guns, it can help improve sleep.
• Fullness: Eating a dinner that makes you overly full can disturb sleep.

Source: Precision Nutrition




  

The 7 Rules of Exercise During Injury, and Injury Recovery

*Listen To Your Doctor:

When  I'm hurt and my doctor tells me that I can start being active again. I get a very specific list of do's and don'ts. Can I run? Can I do calisthenics? Can I weight train? The things s/he says "no" to I stay far away from. The last thing you need to do is re-injure what ever was hurt, and/or hurt something else!

*Listen to your body:
Just because the doctor may have given you the thumbs up on a certain exercise does not always mean that your body is ready to do it full out. Start with just going through the basic range of motion of the exercise with no added resistance, if that feels okay start to gradually increase the resistance. Pay attention to the signals that your body is sending. It will let you know that something is wrong (usually) long before you injure or re injure yourself.

*Don't take your pain killers right before you work out:
You need to be in tune with your body while you are recovering. If you are all doped up on medicine you will not be able to hear the sometimes subtle messages that your body is trying to send you. Not to mention the fact that if you are not even supposed to drive while on prescription pain killers, the weight room is probably not the safest place for you to be hanging out.

*R.I.C.E (Rest Ice Compression Elevation):
This magical formula works like a charm for most (if not all) injuries. Try to apply at least one aspect of  R.I.C.E. as soon as possible after working out, all the extra blood pumping will no doubt inflame the injured area, R.I.C.E. will return it to normal faster than almost any other method. Not to mention speeding up recovery.

*Watch your diet
I know this is not actually exercise related, but while you are injured it is more important than ever to eat right. Eating lots of veggies, lean protein, and tons of water will help you keep your fit physique while also helping your body to better regenerate cells, get rid of toxins, and heal faster.

*Take it Slow
Believe me, nobody wants to hit the ground running (so to speak) more than I do, but when it comes to recovery, you really need to take it slow. This will help your body better adjust to the new stresses of working out while in a weakened state, while also allowing you to be able to really listen, and watch for the warning signs that you are pushing it too hard.

*Work Range Of Motion and Stability Before Strength:
Do excercises with little to no resistance until you can work, pain free, through the range of motion. If you've had a hurt foot, or leg, practice standing on the one foot to help regain the tiny stabalizing muscles that are so crucial in day to day activities.


*Workout
Maybe for some of you this goes without saying, but unless your doctor has given you explicit orders to do absolutely nothing, you need to get out and, at least, move around a bit. Obviously I am not recommending you go from couch potato to marathoner on a broken leg, but go for a walk, do some push ups, anything to help get your blood pumping. Increased circulation will help you heal faster than almost any other single thing.  That is why it's so important to get, even just a little bit, of activity in each day. Plus you will have the added benefits of fat loss and muscle gain so that when your injury is healed you will not have to start from scratch.

The 7 rules of exercise that everybody should know

1-Stick with multi joint movement (MJM) exercises.

     *This means exercises that require you to move more than one part of your body. For example, doing a push up requires you to move the elbow and  shoulder joints, whereas a bicep curl only requires you to use the elbow joint.
     I call single joint movement (SJM) exercises, such as bicep curls, triceps extensions, and hip ad/abductor exercises cosmetic exercises. They are, quiet frankly, a huge waste of time (unless you are in a figure competition and have to flex each muscle in your body individually).  Scrap the bicep curls and do push ups and pulls ups instead. Stop wasting your time doing sitting hip abductions and do single leg squats and lateral lunges instead.  You will cut your workout time in half AND see much better results!

2-Work each side of your body individually and equally
     *A few simple changes in your workout will expose weaknesses you did not even know that you had, and help you to have better overall balance and strength. Instead of doing your bench press with a bar, try switching to dumbbells, do alternating reps, switch from the leg press machine to doing single leg squats (you will have to go a bit lighter, but your left leg will no longer get a free ride)
      This rule also applies to injuries. If one shoulder is hurt and can only shoulder press 10lbs stick with the 10lbs on the other side as well. This will help keep you in balance. Your healthy side is going to be bigger/strong than your injured side anyway, don't make it worse by over stressing the healthy side, and under stressing the injured side. Obviously if you are in a cast your normal daily activities are going to stress your healthy side way more than the injured, again, try not to compound it in the gym.

3-NEVER do crunches/sit ups
    *Chiropractors everywhere are thanking me for telling you this vital rule. I know you think that crunches are the basis of a strong stomach and the highly coveted 6 pack.  It's a lie. Sorry to have to break it to you so bluntly. Here is a list of reasons to cut crunches/sit ups (even with those fancy machines) completely out of your workout, and your life.

Strong, sleek abs no crunches.

        A-To best exercise a muscle you have to make it do it's job, then add stress. The job of your stomach/back muscles is to hold your body upright. A sit up trains your muscles to be hunched over and sticking out. It's the truth, lots of crunches and sit ups will make your muscles protrude out. Ladies, I don't know about you, but the last thing I need is for my muscles to make me look fat!
   
     B-Studies have been done on pig spines, these spines were placed in a machine that put them repeatedly through the basic motion of a crunch. Guess what happened to these spines... they broke, in half. The spine was not made to be stressed in this way. I know that you are thinking, "There is no way I could ever do enough sit ups to break my spine in half!"  That may be true, but think of all the damage you are doing with the sit ups, slouchy posture, cracking your back and neck every five minutes, and just general stresses. You can control the amount of sit ups in your life 100%, so just don't do them. Trust me, you will thank me later.

     C-Your head should always be supported. I know that you put your hands behind your head, or use a machine, and call that enough support, but it's not. Let me tell you a story...
   I used to do somewhere around 500 crunches everyday, no joke. (and no, my abs did not look amazing) Anyway, I started to have problems with my voice. I'm a singer and I was teaching large groups of 4th-12th graders at the time. Losing my voice was not an option. After visiting an ENT and a vocal specialist I was told that my neck muscles had gotten so big that they were squeezing my vocal folds. SICK, right? There is no need for me to have that strong, or that big of a neck ever! I understand why football players and MMA fighters need a strong neck (it probably saves their lives in some cases) but for the general population, it's just an unhealthy choice.

     I know you are all panicking because you now have no idea how you are going to exercise your core. Check out my YouTube page there is play list of 29 exercises that safely exercise your core.  If you don't want to click through just remember planks, cable stability chops/lifts, and heel extensions are your new best friends.

4-If an exercise is too easy, you probably just need to add more resistance
     *Adding more weight is not the only way to add more  (though it is still an option), you can add instability. *Light bulb* Single leg squats too easy? Try standing on an elevated, or uneven surface. Push ups too easy? Do them on only one foot, or with hands on a bosu ball. It will rock your world. Your workout and your fitness should always be evolving and progressing. There are almost endless ways of making an exercise harder. You just need a coach who knows how to do it.



5-LSD is not all it's cracked up to be
    *Long Slow Distance (LSD) cardio has swept the nation as the best, and perhaps only way, to lose weight and not get "huge."  Sorry to say it, but you've been lied to once more. Not only is running, or biking, or even swimming all that distance hard on your body, but it is one of the least effective ways to burn fat. This is where interval and H.I.T. (high intensity training) come into play. This is where you combine high bursts of speed/intensity with slower "cool down" phases. Not only will this type of training boost your metabolism (for up to two days after you workout), but it also translates better to real life activities such as sports. When was the last time you played soccer and ran 6 miles at an easy controlled pace?

6-Every exercise should be done with good posture
    *When you work out, you are really training your muscles on what you want them to do. This is why before basically every exercise I take just a second, roll my shoulders back and down, make sure my neck is straight, and that my lower back is not rounded or curved. Along with good posture proper form is a must for all exercises. If you can not do an exercise with proper form and good posture, then you need slow down, lighten the resistance, or find a slightly easier exercise. This not only protects you from injury, but it trains the muscles in your back, neck, and shoulders how to hold your torso upright and maintain good posture. This will make you look thinner, a bit taller, and just overall more healthy and confident. Not to mention prolong the healthy life of your spine!

7--(Ladies) lifting weights, even heavy ones, is not going to make you huge, or manly
        *Do you have any idea how hard guys have to work to get huge? Really hard, and they have to eat tons and tons of food.. Trust me when I say that bench pressing is not going to turn your chest into pure slabs of muscle and make your shoulders bigger than your husband's. What will actually happen is that you will burn fat faster, and have a leaner, stronger frame. This will help you look and feel better now, as well as, in 40 years when your non-weightlifting friends have osteoporosis, hunched backs, diabetes, and are fighting a losing battle with gravity. Resistance training will improve your quality of life faster than almost any other method, and the results are incredibly long lasting.

Healthy & Delicouse Peanut Butter Cookies

I found this recipe for extremely healthy peanut butter cookies on this website.  I decided to try them out for a small party I was having. They were a HUGE hit, and super easy to make!

Here is the recipe; It says it only makes 6 cookies, but I made a dozen pretty good sized cookies.

I used a vanilla flavored Soy based protein powder (Soy protein cooks better than Whey) I think I will try it next time with chocolate, since chocolate and peanut butter are so good together.



1 cup organic peanut butter  (I got the kind you grind yourself at WinCo)
2 omega-3 eggs
½ cup unsalted peanuts, crushed (I left these out since my peanut butter was kind of chunky)
5 scoops chocolate or vanilla
protein powder
¾ cup Splenda
3 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, add the organic
peanut butter and omega-3 eggs and mix well. Add crushed
unsalted peanuts. Now, one scoop at a time, add 5 scoops of
protein powder, mixing in thoroughly. The mixture will begin
to get dry, so add 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp at a time, to moisten.
On a baking sheet, form 6 equal portions and flatten with a
fork to form a cookie. Place into the oven and bake for a total
time of 20 minutes. When done the cookies should feel
slightly firm and dry to the touch.
Remove cookies from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
(per serving)
Calories 484 kcal
Protein 34 g
Carbohydrate 15 g
Fat 32 g
Saturated 6 g
Monounsaturated 16 g
Polyunsaturated 10 g

Cravings

: an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing

I know we have all felt this at least once in our lives. There are studies saying, "Cravings are your bodies way of telling you what it needs"  I think this is a dangerous idea. When was the last time a body needed chocolate cake? Also how can we tell the difference between what our body needs and what it is just used to having?

For example; Lets say that everyday after work you come home and eat two slices of toast with peanut butter and honey. Your body get habituated to this behavior, to the point that every time you come home you "need" to have two slices of toast with peanut butter, even if you just ate.

 Is this a physolocial (your body actually needs it) need, or a psychological (your mind thinks you need it) need?

So how do you know?

The next time a craving hits ask yourself a few simple questions;

*Is this food (or drink) good, healthy, fuel for my body?

               If you want chocolate cake and Diet Coke the answer is NO

*Do I want this out of habit?

             See the toast example above

*Is it time to eat?

              If you just had a full meal 20 minutes ago, you probably don't need a second helping of food, try some water in this instance.

Now that you have established what kind of craving you are having, what do you do next?

If it's time to actually eat, and you are craving something healthy (fresh veggies, and fruits and lean protien) then go ahead and follow through on that craving. Otherwise, we probably need to do a bit more evaluation.

Most of the time when you think you are hungry you can just grab some water and by time you have ahd a glass or so your mind will realize that you were just thirsty in the first place. 

Otherwise let's look at some good replacements for those things we so often crave;

Next time instead of reaching for the rich, creamy, sweet, salty, or fattening snack try drinking some water, and if that does not work try one of these other healthy replacement foods.

Watch your waist shrink and your health improve!

If

The Ultimate Green Smoothie

Green Smoothies are very trendy right now in fitness circles. Even people who know next to nothing about health and fitness are hopping on the green smoothie band wagon, so I thought I would put my two cents in with my "salad" smoothie that I make from time to time.

Your smoothie should be 3 parts greens (veggies) and 1 part fruits. This, in my opinion, is where most people seem to go wrong. Two spinach leaves does not equal a serving of veggies!
Basically I just go to my fridge and see what salad things I have. I try to use the lettuce and spinach that is starting to look a bit... yucky, then I throw in a few cucumbers, kale, maybe even some carrot juice (warning, this will turn your green smoothie... kind of brown)

Just using what I had in the fridge, Romain lettuce, baby spinach, cucumbers, and broccoli. I only used the stalk of the broccoli, and steamed the heads for dinner that night.  Like I said you can use any greens you have in your fridge. 

Chop things up then toss them in the blender (they should fill the blender nearly to the top) adding a cup or so of water. You can always add more later if you need to.

Blend it all up and you will have some green juice. I think it smells fresh and healthy. As you can see this is a pretty small smoothie I made. 

Next we have our fruits. If you want your smoothie to be a pretty lighter green color stick with light fruits like, peaches, pineapples, mango, and bananas. I only actually put about half of the fruit pictured here in the smoothie. 

Before blending the fruit in I like to add a couple of super healthy bonus ingredients. Two tablespoons full of ground flack seed. If you prefer to add liquid fish oil, another healthy source of Omega 3s feel free. 

I then add one to two scoops of vanilla protein powder. No meal is complete without protein! 

Blend it all together until smooth. Check the constancy and taste to see if you need more water, or something to make it taste less like banana. 

Drink for breakfast, or a post workout recovery drink!

Did you know?

Here are just a few of what I call "duh" rules of not only fat loss/muscle gain, but just general health.

*If it's sweet, and not a vegetable or fruit, it is NOT for breakfast.

            Seriously, who is the marketing genius who all of the sudden thought, "I know, let's add fake fruit to this cake and call it a muffin, people will LOVE it". Jim Gaffigan does a great bit on this concept.
This also covers your cereals, and sugar infused "natural" fruit juices. Just say no.  You will feel so much better throughout the day, now that you are not having a sugar crash at 11 every morning.

*If you can't pronounce the ingredients, it was not meant to be eaten.

         Have you ever read the ingredients of what you are eating? I mean seriously! Generally speaking the less ingredients the better, or if you are buying produce and there are NO labels then you know it's going to be good. This goes for your food, and your drinks.  

*For fat loss, eat off a smaller plate, for muscle gain, eat off a larger plate.

                 This also means if you are small (i.e.5' nothing), eat off of a smaller plate, and if you are bigger (i.e. 6'8'') eat off of a larger plate. The concept is simple, if you have less room for food, you will put less on your plate, and in the end eat less, same thing for if you  are trying to bulk up.... We do it for toddlers.

*You don't always have to clean your plate

                 Your mom was wrong, and so was your grandma. Unlike them we are not growing up during a depression where it's a miracle if we have a full plate to start off with. And those starving children in Africa won't mind if you eat the rest of your dinner for lunch tomorrow. I promise.  Also if your food has gone bad, toss it! The cheese cake from a week ago that smells iffy... NOT WORTH IT. I promise, there will be other cheesecakes and throwing up for two days is not worth it, for any food.

*If you can't keep your eyes open, you probably need sleep, not caffeine!

                 Sleep really is THE best medicine. I am talking about sleep at NIGHT, not lazy cat naps during the day while you watch TV and nosh down cheetos. 

Did you know?

 Sleep is restorative for the brain.

Your immune system works DOUBLE time while you are sleeping.

Too little sleep can lead to weight gain by altering levels of the hormones that regulate satiety and hunger, leading to overeating, overweight, and obesity. (Can't seem to lose any weight? Try sleeping at least 6-8 hours a night)

Insufficient sleep is associated with a higher incidence of behavioral problems, especially attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Memory consolidation occurs during slow wave sleep, meaning that the different pieces of what we've learned during the day come together coherently so that the knowledge can be accessed when needed.

Source

*A potato does NOT count as your vegetable for the meal. 

                      Hate to break it to you, but French fries and ketchup are not veggies, and they never will be. Also a potato (especially your basic white) is mostly starch, this means you might as well be eating a slice of Wonder bread, and calling that a vegetable. 

              PS: Something that I have always found funny is that in order for a potato to be edible it has to be deep fried, or covered in gravy and sour cream... who are we kidding? Just eat a spoonful of gravy mixed with sour cream and you will be better off. (Sick, I know)

Don't eat me...seriously

I hope this has been fun and informative. 

Remember you can email or message me anytime with questions. 

All About warming up

Warming up is fun, right?

Stand up touch your toes, swing your arms around a few times and you are ready to run your marathon, or max out on bench press, right?  

Warming up is important for improved workouts, strength, and flexibility. Warming up can also help to prevent stiffness and injuries. 

"While age-related connective tissue changes and water loss can contribute to inflexibility, most of it comes down to “use it or lose it.” A proper warm-up helps to counteract negative effects of aging while enhancing performance. 

Not warming up can lead to poor mobility/flexibility, injuries and stiffness. These are the people at the senior center, on a basketball court or at the family reunion who can't move, pick up kids, play sports, exercise to their full capacity, or clean up spilled hemp seeds."

-PN-

We now understand that warming up is important, but how do we do it properly?

A proper warm-up consists of movements that: 

• Move joints through their ranges of motion (ROM) — and enhance this ROM
• Enhance mobility
• Release connective tissue bonds
• Distribute fluid in the joint space
• Boost speed/force of muscle contractions
• Amplify nerve impulse transmission
• Promote oxygen uptake

Here are some basic movements:

• Movements intended to get the core temperature up and the whole body moving, e.g. brisk walking or light jogging while swinging the arms
• Static movements (moving into a position and briefly holding it) — the classic “stretch and hold”, e.g. touching your toes for 30 seconds.
• Dynamic movements such as:                                                                                                                           *stretching while moving (e.g. walking lunges for hip flexibility, or tipping your head side to side for neck mobility)                                                                                                                                      *moving against light resistance (e.g. a few single-legged Romanian dead lifts with light or no weight, or jumping)

     More Details:   

• Static Exercises                                                                                                                                      These are your classic "stretch and hold" types, toe touches and what not. These have gotten a bad rap lately in the fitness community. There are both advantages as well as disadvantages to warming up with static stretches.                                                                                                                                       * Static stretching can improve flexibility at a given range of motion. It can also improve balance — a bonus for yogis and gymnasts.                                                                                                          *However, static stretching can create a temporary strength deficit, diminish jump performance and decrease running economy for up to 1 hour, since the sensitivity of tension receptors in muscle is decreased.  (Think of stretching a rubber band to its max then trying to load it... won't hold very much)                                                                                                                 This can be used as an advantage by a trainer, or coach by stretching a muscle group that is normally too tight in order to "coach" the body into using the proper muscle group. (ie: hip flexor stretch before running or squatting to "turn off" the hip flexors and "turn on" the glutes. Pretty cool hu?                                                                                                                    

• Dynamic Exercises                                                                                                                                  These, as their name suggests, are exercises that require movement. (Walking lunges, mountain climbers, etc...)                                                                                                                                                          *A dynamic warm-up can improve nervous system activation, power, and range of motion at the joint. Dynamic exercises performed before exercise/sport that requires high muscular forces can increase blood flow, metabolic activity, temperature, oxygen uptake, muscle compliance, nerve impulses, decrease resistance of connective tissues and reduce muscle tension. This type of warm-up creates minimal (to no) muscle damage, so it’s fine to do on a regular basis.  When you have mobile soft tissue and a rapid response nervous system, you’ll be able to move better and perform exercises that challenge your body. This means more productive workouts and a healthier physique.
• Foam Rolling                                                                                                                                            Basically just sit or lie with a specific muscle group on the roller (ie glutes, quads, back) roll slowly back and forth focusing on sore areas.                                                                                                             *Foam rolling can be included as part of a warm-up since it helps with mobility and breaks down scar tissue/adhesions. This relaxes the fascia and makes muscle more pliable. Foam rolling feels like deep tissue massage, so it can be a bit painful, but you walk away feeling lose and ready to work.

                                     

In all this information I have not given you a good basic warm up... so here are a few warm ups that I love and use on a regular basis.

Planks:2 sets

• Front (30 Seconds)
• Both Sides (30 seconds each side)

Medicine Ball Throws (2 sets)

There is something therapeutic about throwing a ball as hard as you can off a wall, and knowing that if you don't catch it it's going to bounce back at your face...

• Chest Pass
• Over Head Slam
• Side Throw (off each hip)

• Side Facing Throw (off each hip) 

Dynamic Exercises (there are too many to list...)

• Mountain Climbers
• Clean and Press

• Box Jumps
• Walking Lunges
• Push Ups
• Low Jump Backs
• Light Jog

In review:
         *Warming up is important. It improves the quality of your workout, by getting muscles ready to work.
         *There are several different types of warm ups (I have listed only a few)
         *Stretching (toe touches) lengthens muscle making them less ready to bear heavy loads
         *Dynamic warm ups, literally warm the muscles (by getting blood pumping) and thus help to increase                  the value of your workout.
         *Foam rolling is amazing

Being Healthy Isn't Rocket Science

-Being healthy isn't rocket science. Eat healthy and try to do something that makes you sweat each day. -Lift weights (heavy ones) at least three times a week. You won't get big, I promise. -Eat as many fruits and veggies as possible. -Elliptical machines will not get you a supermodel body. -Pull-ups will single handedly get your arms ripped and help with your surfing. -Yoga rocks! -Cooking your own food does wonders for your waistline and bank account. -Finding an active hobby like surfing or hiking is a must. -Healthy, fit, awesome bodies come in all different shapes, sizes and heights.


-Rebekah

I found this quote on a fellow fitness pro's blog. I did not really love the rest of her blog... but this quote I do love.