More for Your Abs!

This is an excerpt I took from SELF. It was featured on Yahoo's website. These exercises are amazing and you can really feel your abs working!!! Enjoy!



"We rounded up five of the most effective tummy toners around. Work three or four of these exercises into your routine (easing them in will minimize soreness). Do the number of reps indicated, resting one minute between moves. The only equipment you will need is a hand towel. Washboard abs, here you come!

Pike 90
Lie face up; raise legs until perpendicular to floor, feet flexed. Lower right leg so it hovers 1 or 2 inches off floor and place hands lightly behind head. In this position, do 15 crunches, lifting chest toward ceiling and lowering. Switch legs and repeat.

Crunchy frog
Sit with knees bent, feet flat. Keeping legs together, raise feet several inches and bring knees toward chest. Wrap arms around knees without touching legs. Extend legs and stretch arms to sides, palms forward. Return to wrapped-arm position; repeat. Do 15 reps.

Tornado
Stand with feet hip-width apart, right leg in front of left, right foot turned out. Bend elbows and raise arms out to sides at shoulder level (like goalposts). In one motion, raise right knee to lowered right elbow. Return to start; switch sides and repeat to complete one rep. Do 15 reps.

Corkscrew
Lie face up. Press legs together and raise them toward ceiling until they're at a 90-degree angle, with knees slightly bent and toes pointed. Raise butt and legs off floor using ab muscles; twist legs slightly to left. Repeat, twisting to right, for one rep. Do 15 reps.

Side arm balance
Start on floor on knees. Lean to left and place left hand on floor under shoulder; extend right arm up and to left, palm down. Straighten right legs out to right with foot on floor, resting on left knee. Hold for 5 breaths. Return to start; switch sides. Repeat twice per side. "

Quote of the Day

"It's all about PROGRESS, not perfection."

Kim Lyons ~Personal Trainer

Arms and Abs

As requested, here are some tips on toning your arms and abs:

ABS- The good, old fashioned crunch works great on your abs. Just make sure that as you come up, you stop once your shoulder blades leave the ground. Otherwise, you are working your hip flexors rather than your abs.

The bicycle crunch is especially good because it targets the rectus abdominus (middle abs), as well as the obliques (side abs).

Tightening your ab muscles while doing any workout, as well as throughout your day, helps to tone them.

Doing crunches on a stability ball or Bosu ball forces the abs to work extra because you are not just doing a crunch, but also maintaining balance. A stability ball can be purchased at Target or Wal-mart for $15-$20. A Bosu ball looks like a ball cut in half and mounted to a board. They run about $99. While they are a good investment because you can do so many exercises with them, they are a little pricey! Most fitness clubs should have one available for use.

Any balancing exercise will work your ab muscles. Many yoga routines will engage the abs.

ARMS- My favorite way to tone the arms is to do kickboxing while holding 3-5lb hand weights. This will tone arms, shoulders, and upper back.

Push-ups are another great way to tone this area. It is important that you protect your lower back by holding in your core strength. If you feel any stress in your lower back, drop to your knees and do push-ups from that position.

To target your triceps, I love doing nose breakers. Lay on your back (on a bench or stability ball) with hand weights. hold weights straight up, palms facing each other, and then bend your arms so your elbows are in a 90 degree angle. The weights will be right above your face, hence the name nose breakers! Straighten arms and repeat. When I am done with a set I like to go into a nose breaker position and see how long I can hold it.

Good old fashioned bicep curls are great. Hold hand weights, keep your elbows tucked in to your sides, and curl those weights up. It is important that you do not rock your body to thrust the weights up. your arms should be the only thing moving, otherwise they are not getting the full workout. If you need help with this, put your back against a wall to keep your body from rocking.

I hope this is helpful. I will post more as I think of them! Have fun, but be careful!

Quote of the Day

"If you quit when you want to quit, your body has no reason to change. You have got to push it so it HAS to get stronger!"

~Kim Lyons, Personal Trainer

Biggest Loser Vol 2

I have a new favorite Biggest Loser workout DVD. I am loving Vol 2. This one allows you to customize your workout. You can build how little or how much you want to do, in any order, and you can choose weather or not you want to include their warm-up and cool-down. This DVD provides many options. It even includes workout segments that are designed especially for men or especially for women. As I mentioned in a previous post, I love that the Biggest Loser workouts are not some over-rehearsed, robotic routine. They make mistakes, but it doesn't matter. The tag line for the DVDs is "real workouts for real people" and that is what they give you.

Mix It Up!

Sometimes our bodies get in a workout slump. If our goal is weight-loss, we may hit a plateau. When this happens, just mix it up! Try different workouts. If you mainly do cardio, try some resistance training. Try a different routine. You can even just put on your favorite CD and dance around your house! Our bodies tend to get used to workouts once we have done them several times. This results in the body using less energy to complete the workout, and thus fewer calories burned. The body is almost on "auto pilot". Keep your body guessing what it needs to do. This should help you avoid those slumps, plus it will keep it more exciting for you!

Super Easy Honey Mustard Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts
4 Tbsp Honey Mustard
1 Tbsp Milk
Handful Mini Pretzels

Mix honey mustard and milk. Spread on top of chicken. Crush pretzels and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 min. Serves 2.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin

Mix the cake mix and pumpkin until well-blended. Spoon into lined muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-23 min. Makes 12 muffins.

Nutrition Breakdown:
Serving- 1 muffin
Calories- 182
Fat- 3g
Protein- 4.5g
Fiber- 1.5g

These muffins are healthy for you. The only fat in them comes from the cake mix. My friend, Rachelle, told me about these muffins about 5 years ago and they have been a favorite of mine ever since. They are even a suggested recipe from Weight Watchers. They make a great breakfast, especially in the fall/winter when pumpkin and spice is all around!. They can be frozen, but I reccoment removing the paper liner before heating. It peels off much easier when they are still frozen.

Hearty Veggie Pasta Sauce

This is a recipe that is never exact. It is one of those things that I just start adding things until it tastes good. The key to this sauce is lots of veggies. Veggies have a lot of vitamins and nutrients in them. They also contain a lot of fiber which makes you feel fuller, takes more calories than other nutrients to digest, and helps to keep your digestive tract healthy!

I start by chopping up whatever veggies I want to use. I like to use a combination of carrots, celery, onion, and zucchini. I saute the veggies in a drop of olive oil and some minced garlic. Once the veggies are tender, I add them to 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, and 1 can tomato paste. The next part is where you get to be creative. Just start adding ingredients to season until you like the taste! I usually add some oregano, basil, seasonal or Tony's, black pepper, paprika, and chili powder.

Simmer the sauce and serve over pasta (I usually use whole wheat pasta). Be generous with the sauce. This is how you can load up on veggies!

Tone Your Shoulders, Arms, and Back

I have found that a really great way to tone your shoulders, arms, and back is kickboxing. Not only is it effective, but it is fun too! For best results, make sure you have proper form. Your elbows should be tucked to your side with your fist up in front of your face when that arm is not doing a punch.

Want to spice it up?? Hold 3-5lb hand-weights as you do your kickboxing workout. This will burn more calories and tone the muscles more quickly.

The Biggest Loser

If you are looking for a good at-home workout, I highly recommend "The Biggest Loser" workout DVDs. All of them are good, but if you just want one, my favorite is Vol. 1. They feature workouts done by real people. These are not the over-rehearsed workouts you see on most DVDs. These are filmed live, and even have mistakes, which makes it more like an actual training session. Bob, the trainer, is really good. He really knows his stuff and makes the workouts enjoyable (not to mention, he's cute too!).

The Good and Bad of Yoga

I have never really been into yoga. It just seemed boring and strange. This past summer I was a leader for my ward at girls' camp. The stake knew that I had an Exercise Science degree, assumed I must know all about yoga, and asked me to teach it at girls' camp. I laughed to myself as I accepted the assignment, and I spent the next 3 months teaching myself yoga. I read articles online about yoga, I checked out books from the library, I even rented a few yoga videos. I discovered that on Saturdays at the same time that I go to the gym, there is a yoga class. As I did my resistance training, I could see right into the classroom. I picked up a few moves by watching the yoga class.

Needless to say, after learning and then teaching yoga, my opinions about it have changed. While it still can sometimes be boring, and many of the moves really are strange, I also learned how beneficial it can be. Yoga greatly improves balance and core strength. It also improves flexibility and the body's circulation, both of which make the body healthier overall. However, I would caution everyone to be careful when doing yoga. Some of the moves can cause more harm than good. These are moves that place strain on the neck or knees. You don't want to stretch your ligaments in your knees by placing too much strain on them, or you will be prone to further injury. Strain on the neck is much more serious, as too much strain can potentially cause a stroke. This is the reason I would never do the famous "plow" position (on your back, kicking your legs up and over your head so your toes touch the ground behind your head).

Stacia's Apple Raisin Spice Muffins

1 C Applesauce
1 C Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Tbsp Milk
1 C Raisins
2 C Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Allspice
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cloves

Combine applesauce, sugar, milk, egg, and raisins. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Fold into applesauce mixture until blended. Spoon into greased or lined muffin tin.

Topping:
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Mix and sprinkle on top of muffins.

Bake at 400 for 15 min. Makes 12 Muffins

Nutrition Breakdown:
Sarving size- 1 muffin
Calories- 201
Fat- less than 1g

New Blog

This is my very first time blogging. Many of my friends have blogs and I thought I would give it a shot. I am very into nutrition and fitness, so I thought I would share some things to help others become more healthy