Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Upper Body and core Workout

3 to 4 sets of each exercise...if you take a break...it should be long enough to catch your breath and get a sip of water. The goal is to keep your heart rate up and keep moving! These workouts include supersets which are perfect for endurance...exactly what every aerobic instructor needs (so we can talk and exercise at the same times)
A superset = 2 exercises are performed without stopping


The Workout:
1a. SkullCrusher w/ Hip Raises
1b. Reverse Lunge w/ DB Bicep Curls

2a. Bicycle Crunch w/ DB Tricep extentions
2b. Weighted Bicep Curl

3a. Situps with Jab/Cross
3b. A couple rounds punching the mits

4a. Tricep kickback w/ Stepover
4b. DB Uppercut

5a. Stir the Pot...on the stability ball
5b. Core challenge (plank on a stability ball while someone knocks it around)

BONUS: kneeling on the stability ball...have help if you have never done this before!

6a. Cable overhead Extension
6b. Cable Bicep Curl

7a. Sit up with DB straight arm thrust
7b. Hip Thrust with a plate on stability ball

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Can't get to the gym? Here is a workout that anyone can do at home!


1.       One-arm lat row
2.       Push-up with leg raise
3.       Single-leg squat with reach
4.       Precision bicycle

 4 sets of each exercise for 15 – 20 reps. Try not to take any breaks in between exercises…just enough to grab some water

EXPLANATION:
·         One-arm lat row
    * Body Parts: Back, Biceps, Shoulders
    * Equipment: Free weights

SETUP Holding a dumbbell in left hand, stand facing back of a chair, feet hip-width apart. Bend knees and hinge forward from hips until torso is parallel to floor. Place right forearm on chair back and let left arm hang in line with left shoulder, palm facing in.
ACTION Contract back muscles, bending left elbow up and back toward waist. Slowly return to starting position. Repeat rows on one side, then switch arms to complete set. Weight: 5- to 10-pound dumbbell. Strengthens middle back, rear shoulders and biceps.
push-up with leg raise

    * Body Parts: Back, Butt, Core, Forearms, Shoulders, Triceps

·         push-up with leg raise
SETUP Kneel on all fours with arms straight, hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Contract abs so body forms one straight line from head to hips, then lift and extend right leg to hip height.

ACTION Keeping leg aligned with hip, bend elbows to lower chest toward floor, until elbows are even with shoulders. Keeping leg raised, push back up and repeat.

·         side lunge to balance
    * Body Parts: Abs, Back, Biceps, Butt, Shoulders, Triceps
SETUP Holding end of a dumbbell in each hand in front of upper chest, palms in, raise right knee to hip height. Contract abs, chest lifted and shoulders relaxed.

ACTION Keeping left leg straight, step sideways with right foot, bending right knee and turning right foot out slightly so knee and foot are aligned. Sit into right hip, back straight, and extend dumbbell toward outside of right ankle. Push off with right foot and lift right knee back to hip height, bringing dumbbell to starting position. Repeat side lunges on one side, then switch legs to complete set. Weight: 5- to 8-pound dumbbell

·         single-leg squat with reach
    * Body Parts: Butt, Hamstrings, Legs

SETUP Place a dumbbell or a full 1-liter water bottle vertically on the floor, about an arm's length in front of your feet. Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands on hips, left foot behind right. Bend right knee and lower body into a one-legged squat, keeping right knee aligned with right ankle, left heel lifted.


ACTION Next, hinge forward from your hips, extending and raising left leg behind you, torso parallel to floor. Reach toward dumbbell or bottle with right hand. Touch it lightly, then return to upright position, contracting abs as you lower left foot to the floor. Repeat squats and reaches on one side, then switch sides to complete set.

·         precision bicycle

    * Body Parts: Abs, Legs, Triceps

SETUP Lie faceup on the floor with both knees bent and aligned with hips, calves parallel to floor. Place hands over and behind head, elbows bent and pointing at knees. Contract abs, drawing ribs and hips toward each other, bringing spine into a neutral position.

ACTION Maintaining position of right knee, extend and raise left leg, simultaneously reaching arms overhead, then toward left leg, and lifting head and shoulder blades up in a crunch. Return to starting position, bending left knee, reaching hands back behind head and lowering torso to floor. Repeat, keeping left knee bent and extending right leg, reaching arms to right leg. Continue alternating sides (both sides equal 1 rep). 

...BUT WHAT CAN I EAT???

Plain or Greek Yogurt...
Yogurt is good because it helps us maintain flat abs...nutritionists preach that the probiotics in yogurt aids in a healthy digestive system. Basically helps prevent gas, bloating, and constipation!  This will help your stomach look flat.
But notice...I said PLAIN Yogurt...All the yogurts with dessert flavors, granola,  and fruit at the bottom can trick you into being FAT!

Say yes to yogurt, as long as it's plain. Nearly 75% of yogurt eaters opt for fruity flavors, which can contain several packets of sugar in a 4 oz container. To get your fill of protein, probiotics, vitamin D, and calcium--without the additives and sugar--choose unflavored yogurt and mix in fresh fruit. Another option is to add the Visalus Shake mix to plain yogurt and dip your apples in them!! You have a flavorful meal that will satisfy you and get you ready for your workout!





Friday, January 13, 2012

HOT Yoga...Literally!



Due to the intensity of our workouts and the craziness of our schedule...we need to wind down and do some injury prevention. Fortunately, not every workout has to be high intensity suicide. Today was a morning to try something new! A local Yoga studio offers HOT YOGA...Yes, I said hot yoga.

Hot yoga refers to yoga exercises performed under hot and humid conditions. Often associated with the style devised by Bikram Choudhury, hot yoga is now used to describe any number of yoga styles that use heat to increase an individual's flexibility in the poses. In colder climates, hot yoga often seeks to replicate the heat and humidity of southern India from where many styles of yoga originate. Hot Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (≈ 40.6°C) with a humidity of 40%!
 The heated studio helps for deeper stretching and injury prevention, while reducing stress and tension. Hot Yoga stimulates and restores health to every muscle, joint, and organ of the body.

The class was very relaxing...an amazing experience that we are excited about trying again!!

Meals were pretty steady today...
I ended up drinking 3 Visalus shakes today...when my body gets really hot, its hard to eat because you can lose your appetite. But, you have to keep the body fueled...its important to keep the metabolism up!! If not, I won't have the energy to make it through the day. One of the shakes was a tropical shake!!

2 scoops of Body by Vi Meal shake mix
1/2 banana
1/2 fat free plain yogurt
1 cup of frozen fruit...pineapple, strawberries
1/2 cup of water
Blended til creamy...quick, easy, and delicious!!

The last workout of the day....
 one hour of one of us teaching Zumba Toning and the other one of us teaching  Ballroom class...Head to Lagrange for a Ballroom Social party!

Last meal of the evening...
chicken cut up in cubes and cooked in the WOK...mixed with light teriyaki sauce, garlic, green onions, and chopped yellow peppers and mixed Japanese vegetables!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

MMA workout with Team Fletch...My Meals for today

Today is a day that I am so exhausted that I'm literally dozing off at each red light on my way to my first client!! Even though...No Excuses!

Workout 1:
Treadmill workout...30 minutes starting at a 5% incline at 3.5mph - every few minutes I would raise the incline until I was at 10%. This type of steady state cardio is a really good workout for the glutes and legs...I suggest doing this or the Stair master at least 2 to 3 times per week. You will be amazed how great you butt starts to look. But!! You cannot hold onto the rails! Lean forward and push through as if you are walking up a mountain...you burn more calories and really burn into your butt dimples!!


Katrina and I got the chance to workout with our Team out in Fort Benning! We call ourselves team Fletch...after our Coach! He is the guru of trainers! We play together almost everyday...We push each other, we support each other..
We are 'crackhead Gymrats'

Thursday is our leg day...Since Fletch teaches combatives and MMA..this is a great chance to learn techniques that professional fighters use when training...

Workout 2: MMA Explosive Leg Day
  1. Jump Squats on V (Feet in shape of 'V' with toes pointed outward)
  2. DB single leg deadlift with Thai Knees
  3. Explosive Lateral Hops
  4. Squats with Elevated Heels
  5. Calf Raise with Elevated Heels
  6. Explosive Elevated Split Squats
  7. 1 leg lateral Hop to platform with dumbbell
  8. Hamstring Curl with DB
  9. Squat to Both Knees and Stand
  10. Explode to Feet from Both Knees and Sprint
  11. Back lunges Knee up with Bar off 45lb plate
  12. Explode to Fee from Knees - Tuck Jump - Tuck 180 degrees and sprint



    Workout 3:
    Teaching Evening Zumba Class (I did some choreography throughout the day..but I don't consider it a full workout)




    WHAT I ATE...OR PLAN TO EAT
    Breakfast 
    I started the Body By Vi Shakes this week...some of you know this so you are going to assume that this was my first meal of the day! However, I was in the mood for eggs!
    (instead of having the Vi Shake mix for breakfast, I like to have it as my post workout meals...you'll see)

    4 egg whites
       **Added mushrooms, green onion, fat free mozzarella cheese, and roasted sun dried tomatoes
    1 Cup of Black Coffee
    *Vitamin C, Chromium Picolonate, Keto 7, B-12 tablet*


    Post Workout Meal: 
    2 scoops of Body by Vi Shake mix with a BBV energy flavor mix

    about 2 hours after I drank my shake, I had Lunch meal...
    one pan seared chicken breast with sauteed green beans

    Snack: I got the munchies and stopped in at the vitamin shoppe for a Power Crunch Bar...My favorite is the Vanilla Wafer bar...Protein, and only 100 calories...its the perfect snack for when I'm being a 'Woman' and have a serious sweet tooth!!



    After Zumba Class, I plan to have my second Body By Vi shake...this time, with some frozen fruit and half a banana...I don't want anything heavy..this is a wonderful, light yet filling drink that will keep me over til morning!

    Unfortunately, I only got in 5 meals today...I need to do better...also my water intake is low. I've gotten in a half a gallon and that is way too little for as much jumping around I'm doing! Tomorrow will be a new day!