Interval Training for FAST Weight Loss

So, are you warmed up and ready? As you can see I am just catching up on my blogs for everyone as I have been slacking lately. Well its getting close to summer and many if you are asking me how and when they should start getting in shapy for the beach. Well, nows a great time to start and what better way to lose weight fast than to incorporate intervals. This is something that is consistent in all of my workouts as well as mu clients. Heres the scoop!

Interval training, as you may have heard, requires short bursts of "very intense" exercise, followed by "recovery" periods. (These "recovery" periods do not, however, require supportive meetings in church basements, bad coffee, or turning anything over to a higher power. Just gasping for air and cursing).

Here's how it works:

After you've warmed up a bit, you go for it: you haul ass and go all out for a short period of time. How long? From about 30 seconds to several minutes, depending on whom you ask. Crabby recommends you start with 30 seconds, because, hell, if some experts say that's enough, then that's good enough for Crabby.

So if you generally do brisk walking for exercise, then during this 30 seconds you would run. Or ascend a steep nasty hill at a fast pace. Or at least waddle with much more velocity than usual and swing your arms in a more frantic fashion.

If you normally run, you sprint. You get the idea.

Heres and example cardio session for you: Take notes

5 Minutes Warm up: Start with a moderate pace to gradually warm up 3-4
2 Minutes Baseline: Increase incline/resistance and speed to slightly higher than comfortable pace. 5
2 Minutes Pyramid Up: Increase the incline/resistance 2% every 15 seconds 7
2 Minutes Pyramid Down: Decrease incline/resistance 2% every 15 seconds 7
1 Minute Sprint: Move as fast as you can 8 2 Minutes Baseline 5
2 Minutes Pyramid Up: Increase the incline/resistance 2% every 15 seconds 7
2 Minutes Pyramid Down: Decrease incline/resistance 2% every 15 seconds 7
1 Minute Hill Sprint: Increase incline/resistance by 8-10%, keeping speed moderate until you reach Level 8 RPE 8-9
2 Minutes Baseline: Decrease incline/resistance to baseline 5
2 Minutes Sprint: Move as fast as you can 8
2 Minutes Baseline: Decrease speed to recover back to baseline 5
5 minutes Cool down 3-4
Total Workout Time: 30 minutes

How many of you do interval training now?

Interval Training for Fast Weight Loss

Full Body Workout with a Medicine Ball

One simple piece of equipment (Medicine Ball), in the gym, at home, outside, wherever. Weighted medicine ball workouts can be a highly effective way to train your body. You can target almost every muscle in your body, producing gains in strength and flexibility. The range of motion allowed by the medicine ball makes it superior to many forms of resistance exercise, and with the added benefit of throwing, it is very effective.
Medicine ball workouts can be one of most efficient ways to improve your body when you have limited space and resources. They take up almost no room and the investment in buying a quality ball is very low.

Here are a few exercises you can do with a medicine ball to improve your body. I suggest using no more thank 6 lbs especially if you are a beginner. But like I say, for women there is no need to go any higher in weight than about 5-6 lbs. In this case size with be utalized throughout the whole body, so your fine. Id arther you go up in repettions thank weight.

The Woodchopper – Start with your feet spread approximately shoulder width apart. Hold the ball high over head with both hands. Bring the ball down swinging it like an axe, coming between your legs. Maintain control all through the swing, not allowing yourself to get wildly out of control. Go back to the top position and repeat until you have done 20 reps.

The Squat Press – Hold the ball in front of you at chest level with both hands. Bend deeply at the knees. Now quickly stand to an upright position while extending both arms high about your head. The movement looks very similar to shooting a basketball. Do 20 reps.

Weighted Ab Crunches – Using the medicine ball for weight on your chest, do abdominal crunches lifting your head and shoulders. Do a minimum of 30 reps.

Seated Twist – Sit down on the floor with your legs in front of you. Holding the ball extended directly in front of you twist your body slowly side to side. Go as far as your range of motion allows. Do 30 reps to each side.

Toe Touches – Lying on your back bring your legs up to a 90 degree angle. With the ball held straight out behind you on the floor, lift with your arms and shoulders bringing the ball up to touch your toes. This one will give you a great burn. Do 20 reps.

Push-Up-  On the ground in a push up position, place one hand on the ball and the other on the floor (start on your knees instead of feet if you are a beginner). Slowly lower yourself to the floor and bring yourself back up, roll the ball onto the opposite hand and complete the push-up. Do 10-15 reps total.

Circles Swings – One of the most basic of the medicine ball workouts movements is the circle. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold the ball in both hands, down in front of your. Now with complete control bring the ball in a full circle going to the left. Once you are at the bottom reverse and go to the right. Complete 20 reps in both directions.

Back Lunge with a Front Raise- In a standing position step back with your right leg and as you complete the back lunge raise the medicine ball straight up in front of you over your head. When coming back to a standing position bring the ball back down and repeat with the same leg. Do 20 reps each side.

Medicine Ball Plank-  Place the ball on the ground and put both hands on top of the ball legs straight out in a plank position and hold for one minute.

Repeat this circuit 3 times through.

Medicine ball workouts are not difficult or complex. They are simple movements using the weight of the ball for added resistance. Due to the ease of movement, full range of motion, and resistance they are a favorite method of training for many trainers and sports fitness experts. They are easy on the joints and easy to handle. You can develop great physical condition with just a simple medicine ball. Give it a try, it is fun and challenging at the same time.

Victoria’s Secret Diet & Workout: Miranda Kerr, Marisa Miller, and Candice Swanepoel

Summer is finally coming and its time to get ready for the beach.  The Victoria’s Secret swimsuit models are certainly ready to show off their bodies.

Here are some of their celebrity diet and workout tips for looking your best at the beach this summer as revealed by Miranda Kerr, Marisa Miller, and Candice Swanepoel.

Miranda Kerr

Her diet…
“As for diet, Miranda Kerr’s trainer encourages her to eat a lot of healthy carbohydrates and lean protein for breakfast – foods like old-fashioned oatmeal, egg whites, veggies, cottage cheese, muesli, yogurt and fruit. Then it’s salads and chicken or fish for lunch, and a combination of fish, turkey, vegetables and chicken for dinner.”

“For breakfast — yogurt with blueberries, raspberries, apple, lemon after that. Sometimes some wheat-free toast with avocado on top. And then for lunch — some salad, vegetables, grilled fish, steamed vegetables. Almonds or almond butter,” Miranda Kerr revealed at the 15th-anniversary swim catalog party.

Her weakness…
“[Mine] is probably chocolate lindt balls,” Miranda admitted.

Her celebrity workout…
Miranda Kerr workouts of 3 to 4 times per week for 75 minutes at a time with trainer Justin Gelband.  Kerr tells StyleList she keeps her exercise regime fairly consistent, explaining that it “always involves a mix of yoga, low-impact cardio, resistance and functional exercise, combined with highenergy training such as boxing or running.”
“I love yoga,” Miranda also said. “I’ve been practicing it now for about 10 years and I love it!”

Her playlist…
“I always love a bit of Kings of Leon, Alexi Murdoch, Muzik City, Phoenix,” she says. “And you can never go wrong with Dr. Dre!” says Kerr.

Her advice for swimsuit shopping…
“Everyone has different body shapes so it’s best to find a swimsuit that flatters your individual shape, ” she advises. “For example, if you have a small bust, a halter bikini top with slight padding will look best. Most importantly, with the right attitude and confidence any swimsuit will look good.”

Marisa Miller

Her diet…
“It’s really good to cut out soda, carbs, and alcohol, and anything that would make you puffy,” she says of her pre-shoot preparation. If you have to slim down fast, Miller says, “Eat clean and have a lot of water 48 hours before,” Marisa Miller told StyleList.

Her celebrity workout…
“I like resistance bands because I can travel with them, and it’s easy to watch TV and do it.” What, no cardio? Sigh. While Marisa Miller is naturally thin, she still struggles to maintain some shape and muscle tone just like everybody else. “Toning exercises, that’s kind of a big thing for me,” the supermodel told StyleList. “I like to keep some of my curves and be a little soft and feminine.”
Marisa Miller, who has appeared on the pages of both the Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated swimsuit magazines, also does paddle-boarding as part of her workout routine.

Candice Swanepoel

Her celebrity workout…
“I love waking up; I box; I do a lot of resistance…three or four times a week,” Candice Swanepoel told Hollywood Life.

Her diet…
“I love a good breakfast. I love croissants. Eggs, bacon. I love vegetables, I like omelets. Raisins,” says Candice Swanepoel about her diet.

Her weakness…
“Brazilian bread!”

Miranda Kerr, Marisa Miller, and Candice Swanepoel aren’t the only Victoria’s Secret models with diet and workout tips for the beach.  Check back tomorrow for more advice as I get you all prepped for SUMMER!!

7 SECRETS FOR BREAKING A Fat LOSS PLATEAU

In this post I’m going to give you my 7 secrets for breaking a fat loss plateau so you can get back to dropping fat fast! This is one of the biggest problems that mostly every individual will encounter at some point or another.

Even if I give my clients and all my Boot Camp members a great fat burning workout and a diet plan there are still some small parts of the fat loss system that they’re not doing that’ll give them big results.

The whole weight loss thing can be a pain in the butt at first because there are so many small things that you should be doing or else the wheel of success won’t be complete.

Now these 7 tips are not going to cover everything under the sun but it’s fair to say that 80%-90% of the reason why you’re not losing weight is because of them.  Forgetting to do these will probably cause you to fail with weight loss sooner or later so it’ll be a super wise idea to take a couple minutes and read this thoroughly so you can implement them immediately.

Secret #1 Not Eating Breakfast

 Everybody’s busy in the morning and most people either don’t have the time or they don’t have the motivation to prepare a breakfast.  Not only is your body in a fasted state in the morning but your fat burning metabolism is shut down.

The best thing you can do is eat within 30 minutes of waking up and eat a full meal with lots of protein in it. Even if you’re on the run I suggest to hard boil 2 to 4 eggs the night before and eat them the next morning or even the oatmeal pancake I RAVE about. If you can’t do eggs then get a bunch of protein-loaded foods in your mouth such as turkey bacon, a protein shake with at least 20g of protein in it, organic bacon, organic sausages and a natural rice cake with natural peanut butter on it my fav is “Better than Butter” mmm…

Not only eating a big breakfast will jump start your metabolism but it’ll also stave off your appetite later in the day.

Secret #2 Not Getting Enough Protein

This is another one that seems to be way hard for my clients because most people don’t have a clue of what has protein in it.  But for every meal you should ideally be getting at least 20g of protein.

Also a lot of people also are not getting enough calories overall into their diets, which is causing them to go into a weight loss plateau.  I wouldn’t recommend restricting calories and portions to the point where you’re starving all the time.  I recommend to eat until they are 80% full and then wait 15 minutes before eating more if they’re still hungry.

Secret #3 Not Drinking Enough Water

Even if my clients are sticking to the diet plan and workouts to a T, they’ll still hold onto weight if they’re not drinking enough water.  I’ve noticed this more commonly amongst women who for some reason just don’t like to drink water.

A good rule of thumb to stay hydrated is to drink at LEAST half your bodyweight in fluid ounces daily.  And that’s the absolute minimum, if you’re working out, eating too much sodium, drinking caffeine and/or drinking alcohol you should drink more.

Especially try to drink more water on your cheat days, because most people will load up on carbs they’ll naturally lose water because it’ll be drawn into the digestive system. Add some water to spunk up the taste, plus it helps cleanse. I take 4 lemons pls.

Secret #4 Cheat Your Way Thin

A little trick that I picked up along the way for breaking a weight loss plateau is to cheat your way thin.  Yes, I said cheat.  If you are eating perfectly on a fat loss meal plan for 3 days, then on the 4th day, cheat by adding an extra 500 or so calories for the day of anything you want….including pizza!  Then, get back on the plan for another 3 days and on the 4th day, cheat again, and so on.  Make sure that you workout hard though on that cheat day…..don't skip your workout.

By doing this you’re pretty much telling your body that you’re not calorie broke and you still have food coming in.  When this happens you’re body is going to quickly go right back into fat burning mode and it’ll be the ideal time to start working out to burn some more fat.

 Secret #5  Working Out Too Much

I’ve seen people and even some of my clients working out in the gym or going for super long runs 10-12+ hours a week.  This is quickly going to lead to overtraining and overeating as you try to make up for all the calories your burning in the gym. Hence why a lot of marathon runners start to gain weight and not lose.

Overtraining will shut down your metabolism and actually cause you to lose muscle.  For the majority of people I wouldn’t recommend more than 3-5 hours tops of intense exercise per week, unless you know what you’re doing and you’ve built up to it.  Otherwise you’re just going to end back up in a weight loss plateau.

Secret #6  Weighing Yourself Too Often & Before Menstruation

This one might sound a little strange but it’s the truth. God, I have friends and clients they weigh themselves pretty much everyday!! Up to 10 days before a woman’s period she’ll retain a lot more water than normal and it’ll completely skew their weighings.

I’ve seen women beat themselves over not losing weight even though they’re sticking to diet and workouts and it’s all because they’re just holding more water.

Next time try waiting until the day after your period before you weigh yourself.

Secret #7 Stop Eating So Much Sweeteners

It’s no secret that I’m completely against consuming too many sweeteners and if you’re trying to lose weight you shouldn’t be eating them at all.  Eating natural or artificial sweeteners will both cause an increase in your insulin and put your body in fat storing mode.

The worse is high fructose corn syrup which is almost everything at the grocery store, even ketchup (get the organic brand instead).  This also includes Splenda, aspartame and even lately they’ve found that some “natural” sweeteners such as agave nectar is bad too.

Also a lot of food companies are getting tricky by claiming their product is “sugar-free” but they’ll load it up with fruit juices, which is basically another form of sugar.  If you absolutely have to have some sugar, try to regulate it or else you’ll just keeping on plateauing.

Which one is top on your list?

10 easy tips to help weight loss

Never Skip your Breakfast - This is the most important meal of the day, and try to incorporate fresh fruit, unsweetened fruit juice, cereal with rice milk, oat and whole wheat breads in your breakfast. Cut your intake of syrups, whip cream and butter to half if possible.

Order Smaller Portions - It's not forbidden to eat out, but try to go for smaller portions or share dishes with friends, even eat a big salad before your real meal. Also limit high-fat, high-calorie toppings and condiments, such as bacon, cheese, mayonnaise, sauces and dressings.

Space out Your Meals - Its very important to eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in over-eating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Have at least 4-5 meals a day and divide your calorie intake between them.

Enjoy Your Food - Sounds silly, but this is really important. Science has proved that it takes at least 20 minutes for the brain to register that you have eaten enough and it sends out "I am full" messages. So chew your food instead of gulping it down; relax and enjoy your meal as it can even psychologically elevate your moods.

Choose Broiled or Grilled over Fried - This option cuts out so much fat and calories with just a little compromise on the taste. And with proper seasonings and sauces, you might not even know the difference!

Choose Lean Meat and Green Salads - Salads are healthy, but they can become high-calorie because of the dressings and other additions. Load your plate with fresh fruits and vegetables, or healthy lean meats like turkey or chicken. Choose low-fat or fat-free dressings and limit cheese, eggs and croutons.

Beware of Sauces and Condiments - You'd be surprised at how many calories are loaded in mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sauces and condiments, and they have a very high sodium content!. Avoid these or go for lighter options when possible.

Choose Lighter Desserts - It's perfectly ok to celebrate an occasion with chocolate and cheesecake, but for most of your sweet-tooth cravings, settle for fresh fruits drizzled with honey or light whip cream.

Switch to Olive Oil - Even when you are sauteeing your veggies, use wine or olive oil or canola oil instead of regular vegetable oil. Use nonstick cookware or cooking sprays to eliminate the need for oil or butter.

Create Variety in Food - The last, but not the least, its imperative that you include different types of nutrient-rich food in your meals. Eating the same thing everyday is boring and unhealthy; Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products, fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. Also fill up on fiber as that helps control your cravings. I like freezing fruit like bananas and grapes.

What weight loss tips do you use everyday?

What Motivates You?

Hey everybody! Hope you’re doing well. I had a hard time motivating myself to go to the gym today. That’s what gave me the idea for this blog post.

The hardest part about getting back in shape isn’t the workout or the nutrition (although resisting these absolutely delicious chocolate can be tough!). It’s motivation. You can have the best workouts in place and the best recipes for a clean diet, if you are not motivated enough you will never have the endurance to achieve your goals. So here are a few things that keep ME motivated:

1. I always break down my long term goals to achievable short term goals. You want to lose 25 pounds? Instead of focusing on these 25 pounds make it your goal to lose 1-2 pounds per week! This way you get a sense of achievement every week!

2. I have a workout partner. She keeps me accountable and makes me feel guilty if I cancel a session with her. Find somebody who has similar goals or get a personal trainer (even I use a personal trainer from time to time) join fitness or boot camp classes. Workout is more fun when you have somebody who suffers with you ;)

3. As mentioned before I am a real chocolate junkie and I can get pretty cranky if I can’t have it. So make sure that you have a cheat meal (or even a whole cheat day if you follow a strict nutritional program the rest of the week) once a week. You have something to look forward to and it’ll make it a lot easier to eat clean for the rest of the week.

4. Music is a BIG part of my life. While I horribly failed learning to play an instrument (tried the piano and that didn't last long. Anyways, I loooove to listen to music. The great thing about have a gym in my basement is I can blast the music so loud and that really get me and my clients motivated. Also, thats whats so great about taking a class. Music has the power to bring you in a totally different mindset from one second to the other. You don’t feel like working out? Plug your IPod in and listen to your favorite genre of music. A great program is pandora you can mix it up and get all your music for free, its just like a radio. I guarantee you got a pair of dumbbells in your hands before you even realize it!

5. I ALWAYS have a plan. Okay, I have to admit that I am pretty OCD when it comes to making to-do-lists. I’ve always been that way. But in small doses plans are good to keep you accountable. Make a schedule for the week and write down when you will do your workouts and what you will eat.
I would love to hear what your tricks are to stay motivated. Leave a comment below with your favorite motivation technique.

BTW: I used trick number 4 today ;)

A Few of My Favorite Recipies to Kick Start your New Year Weight Loss Goals !!

Lemon Lime Smoothie
1/2 avocado
1/2 cucumber (unwaxed)
1 Meyer lemon (peeled)
1 lime (peeled)
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 cup romaine lettuce
1/2 green apple (to sweeten)
handful of ice cubes
place all ingredients in blender, blend on high.

Vegetable Soup
1 cup organic vegetable both
1 zuchinni chopped
1 yellow squash chopped
1/4 red cabbage shredded
1/4 yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
Place veggies in pot and cover with vegetable broth. low temp and simmer for approx 30 minutes or until veggie desired softness achieved. serve warm

Salad
1/2 head, romaine lettuce , chopped
2, nori sheets,  shredded
handful, sunflower seeds
1/2 avocado, diced
1 tomato, chopped
place in bowel, drizzle with cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil (preferably from a dark bottle), and sea salt to taste.

Protein Pate Entrée
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked(12 hrs, rinsed)
1/2 cup almonds, soaked (12 hrs, rinsed)
1/2 cup celery, chopped finely
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup parsley
2 T lemon juice
1-2 t kelp powder
Sea Salt to taste
Use food processor, all ingredients, blend until pate consistency.
place on flax crackers or eat along with salad.

Sweet Treat – Brazil Nut Shake
1 cup brazil nuts (soaked 12 hrs)
1-1/2 cup water (preferably alkaline)
1/4 cup dates (remove pits)  (or sweetener of choice)
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
handful ice cubes
blend brazil with 1 1/2 cup of alkaline water, strain through a straining bag or sieve, discard nut pulp.
put brazil nut milk in blender along with other ingredients and blend.
1 1/2 cup of alkaline water, strain through a nutmylk bag or sieve, discard nut pulp.
put brazil nut milk in blender along with other ingredients and blend.
Enjoy.

Dish on Kourtney Kardashians Body Transformation

As you all may have seen in last weeks OK magazine, Kourtney Kardashians transformation looks unbelievable! She is one of my favorite reality celebs and she is definitely a motivated one. As, losing weight for her may not be so hard compared to many of us, she was small to begin with and always seemed to have a great body. A lot of celebrity diets are complete trash and for the average person would never be able to stick to it more than a day or two. I tried the Master Cleanse that Beyonce was claimed to have lost 21 lbs on. I was determined to do it for one whole week and possibly 2. Well after just 5 hours I was craving a friggen hamburger! I DO NOT EAT HAMBURGERS. It was awful! Not only that, most people that do such drastic diets end up losing weight, but when they go back to eating regularly (like they think they can) they gain all the weight back plus some. So I wanted to talk about this because this is a REAL plan she actually implemented.

After a kid it is not the easiest thing to get your body back. Breast feeding can burn up to 500 calories a day. But there is a down side. Because your body is producing so much milk it starts to crave food more than usual. So some may end up gaining instead of losing. So make sure you are still monitoring what you are eating in a portion controlled environment. On top of that, maintaining a healthy meal plan of up to 6 small meals a day will absolutely help the weight melt off. Remember calories in and calories out. Having your favorite junk food is okay! Just remember 2 is enough! You do not need the whole thing. And I promise you, you will eat again. So stop acting like its gonna be the end of the world if you don't eat the whole thing today.

As far as working out, this is HUGE! I repeat HUGE, people don't understand the benefits of working out. Cardio if great for your heart and some sort of strength training is good for your good cholesterol as well as your bad. We all have it! On top of all this as we get older out skin stretches and does not stay firm like it used to, which is how we get cellulite (many more reasons as well). All of this helps to it, so I am sure she is getting a good amount of working out and has a trainer (DUH!!)

Here is the actual article from the magazine, thought you all would enjoy and learn something!

BAM!

Dessert replacement GUM !!!

As I was strolling towards the check out line at Target the other day I came across the GUM section. I am always looking for new exciting flavors. I go and grab my regular gum (which always helps subside my sugar cravings) and right next to it I see Extra's "New" Desser Delights. Now, being a huge fan of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream I see this new flavor they created and new I had to try it.

These gums are inspired by real desserts, Extra Dessert Delights comes in mouth-watering Mint Chocolate Chip, Strawberry Shortcake and Key Lime Pie flavors, to help satisfy sweet cravings for only 5 calories per stick. I cannot rave enough about this gum, it was beyond and orgasm in my mouth. Not only am I OBSESSED but I got all three flavors and stick it in my mouth to help my cravings after each meal. Tell me what you think about them?? What other flavors should they come out with next. I'd say Blueberry....how about you?

Visit www.facebook.com/extragum and "like" Extra gum to learn how to request and receive a free pack.
New Extra Dessert Delights gum is available at retailers nationwide for a suggested retail price of $1.19 (single, 15-stick Slim Pack®) and $2.49 (multi-pack with three, 15-stick Slim Packs).