Super “Foods” Bowl

Happy Wellness Wednesday!

The Super Bowl is right around the corner; since my team isn’t in it, I’m really watching it because it’s a sport on TV, for the commercials, and the half-time show. Oh..and the food too.

Just because it’s a SUPER bowl, doesn’t mean you can SUPER size your eats! Here are some tips and a few recipes to enjoy while you’re watching the game..Mini Bowl style.

• don’t go to a party hungry! we often think if we don’t eat beforehand, we can “save” some room and indulge when we get there. keep eating throughout the morning so you arrive to the party content rather than famished.
• taste everything. a little dip, 1-2 wings, dixie-size cup of chili, sprinkle of cheese, veggies, and a dessert; because you didn’t come famished, allowing yourself a little taste of everything should satisfy you.

Sweet & Spicy Nuts:

• 1 1/2 cup nuts (any!)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1T. butter
• 1T. ground cinnamon
• 1T. chili powder
• salt to taste (optional)

1. preheat oven to 350degrees. line a baking sheet with spray and bake nuts for ~10 minutes.
2. heat 1/2 cup maple syrup in a saucepan, stirring constantly. bring to a low boil.
3. remove from heat and add 1T. of butter, stir.
4. add nuts. let cool.
5. combine cinnamon and chili powder in a bowl.
6. remove nuts from maple syrup mixture with a slotted spoon into the cinnamon mixture.
7. spread coated nuts out on a baking sheet. store in an airtight container.

• pre-game warm-up. exercise before the party! you won’t feel as guilty about indulging in the party foods if you move a little more. try this:

(source)

Is your team in the Super Bowl? What are you fave eats for a Super Bowl party?

You Want Me To Do HOW Many Burpees?!

True statement from a BLAST participant!

The BLAST program picked right back up last Monday and I finally got around to doing the workout. I’m a BIG believer in never putting a client/participant/friend through a workout that I’ve never done before, but the other trainer designed the workout so I knew it was doable.

We incorporated AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) last session and the participants actually liked it (gasp)! It was challenging enough for their respective fitness levels; they didn’t have to worry about staying on beat or keeping up with the others. And trust me, when they say they like something, we do our best to incorporate it differently ever session!

But..this session..they (AND ME) have to do 30 burpees! 30 BURPEES? HAVE YOU EVER DONE 30 BURPEES? Consecutively. Not 5 here, another exercise, 5 more, another exercise, and so-on.

One after the other after the other after the other..until you hit 30. That’s tough. Hard. But believe it or not, doable! Now I’m not saying no one can rest (quickly) then get right back to it, but it’s such a huge accomplishment when you reach 30!

So I challenge you..

30 burpees. Consecutively. In under 2 minutes.

Ready? Go!

A Workout Fit for a Dorm Room

I’m usually disciplined when it comes to early morning workouts; there’s rarely a time when I skip because I’m being lazy. Other than listening to my body or taking a rest day, morning workouts are a routine-thing. There’s only one circumstance when I make all the excuses in the world not to go to the gym..rain.

The sound of rain hitting the pavement, the sloshing-around from cars’ tires, and the mere thought of walking in it gives me the chills. Over dramatic? Probably. Hey, that’s me. But instead of foregoing my workout all together, I turned my frown upside-down and decided to do my planned workout right in my room!

I live on campus at Oakland, in one of the apartments, so I have my own room and a pretty legit space.

While pinning last night, I came across a workout from You+Me=Fit that combined my two fave things, strength and cardio! I adapted it to fit the space I was working with and here’s what it looked like:

If you live in an actual dorm room, switch the stair running for sprints down the hallway (you’re prob. the only crazy up!) or high knees if your building doesn’t have stairs. Good thing my roommate wasn’t home, I think I live in the squeakiest apartment known-to-man.

CI did a presentation yesterday for an Honors Society group about the Benefits of Exercising and Eating Healthy on Campus; if you’re interested, check it out!

Have a great weekend!

Let’s Play a Game

Happy weekend!

After teaching 2 group fitness classes back to back..

A girl’s gotta have a little fun with it! I purposely used all blue equipment; BOSU, the resistance tube that’s equivalent of using 7 pounds of force, and an  (un-pictured) pair of 7lb. dumbbells that were obvi blue. Up first-Abs, Glutes, and Thighs..and the LAST one of the semester! We went through a circuit for the first half of the class:

• BOSU lateral hopovers
• dumbbell wood choppers
• resistance tube lateral walks
• BOSU glute bridges (double and single legs)
• BOSU decline planks

After, we played what I call a “game”*. I had each participant flip a coin; whether it landed on heads or tails, it corresponded to an exercise. We only got through 1 round of it, but it was a change-up from my norm group fitness class of me doing all of the work! I always try to do something “fun“* on the last class and involve the participants when deciding what workouts/exercises to do. It gives the participants a chance to run the class (so to speak) and show-off what they learned throughout the semester. MY group fitness classes aren’t just about getting a workout in, but taking what we do in the class and using it in your OWN workouts, with amazing form and variations so no workout is the same.

*I put these choice words in quotations because apparently what I think is a game and fun, the participants think otherwise! (cough-Stephanie-cough) ;).

Next up-cycle! I was subbing for another instructor because usually, I do not do back to back classes. It’s too much! I give those who do it regularly lots of credit. For me, I must have balance when it comes to teaching; too much burns me out and I start to dread it. ALL fitness is a PASSION of mine, not an everyday thing..moderation :).

Three people plus me for an hour-long class. I’m used to teaching my lunchtime  40-minute class; an extra 20 minutes allowed me to add in more climbs, sprints, and jumps! FYI-Kelly Clarkson’s new song, Catch My Breath, is the perfect song for jumps!

To finish..my blue crops.

Oh yes I did.

All Planks

Clear 10 give or take minutes out of your study time, work day, running errands-whatever excuse you use to get out of exercising! This workout focuses on your core but you’ll definitely be feeling it throughout your arms and legs.

10-minute give or take Planks:

• 30-second straight-arm plank
• 20 up/down planks (alternate arms)
• 20 side plank leg lifts (hold side plank, lift top leg)
• 30-second elbow plank
• 20 side plank leg lifts (opposite leg)
• 30-second elbow plank
• 20 side plank hip drops (right)
• 30-second elbow plank
• 20 side plank hip drops (left)
• 30-second elbow plank
• 20 oblique plank crunches (knee outside to elbow) (alternate)
• 30-second elbow plank
• 20 across-body plank crunches (knee underneath to opposite elbow) (alternate)
• 30-second elbow plank
• 20 plank crunches (knee to center) (alternate)

Happy Workout Wednesday and 12-12-12!!

WOD Asana

What happens when you combine Crossfit and yoga?

WOD Asana!

Sunday morning started bright and early with an hour and a half combination workout; half Crossfit, half yoga. Rochester, Auburn Hills, Royal Oak and the surrounding communities have a large-ish Crossfit population with boxes everywhere. We headed to New Species Crossfit in Royal Oak; one of the assistant managers and educators trains there and both were leading us through the Crossfit portion.

We started with a timed-5 minute warm up of 15 seconds each:

• jumping jacks
• “air” squats
• mountain climbers
• hollow rock

After that..duh-duh-duh.

12-minutes:

7 burpees

14 tuck jumps

7 candlesticks

The burpees were different from the ones I usually do; they had us come all the way to the ground, then almost peel ourselves off to come to standing, clapping overhead. When I do them, I either perform a push-up or hold a plank, then jump my feet back in and jump up. The Crossfit burpees were more challenging since pushing up from the ground is the hardest part-NO MOMENTUM.

Burpees have 6 movements:

1. hands to the ground
2. walking or jumping feet back to plank
3. push-up, hold plank, or drop completely on the floor
4. pushing up from the ground to a full extension
5. walking or jumping feet back in to a squat
6. standing/jumping up or clapping arms overhead

Another reason they’re so challenging? Think about the amount of mass (your entire body weight) you move over a distance (your full height plus the height of your vertical jump); transitioning from a squat to plank to squat to a vertical jump requires tons of muscles and lots of energy. Breaking a burpee down makes us quickly realize why burpees are a functional exercise and calorie/fat burner! Please add them to your workouts; yes, they’re hard and test every aspect of you but there are SO many variations to make them easier/harder!

How do you burpee?

Strength Circuits

A couple of Thursday’s ago, another instructor and I switched classes; I got to teach both her Core & More and Strength Circuits, while she taught my Abs, Glutes, and Thighs class later in the afternoon. That’s one of the perks about being able to teach it all; having the opportunity to teach another format to new participants! They say variety is the spice of life..no? 🙂

Because it’s a 40 minute class, I wanted to give them the biggest bang for their buck…SUPERSETS! The idea behind supersets is to move from exercise to exercise, with little to NO rest in between. It allows one muscle group to rest while another muscle group works, thus constantly working throughout the entire set.

Supersets are a great way to push through a plateau; our bodies are smart machines, they recognize when we’re doing the same workout(s) over and over again. This not only stops producing results, but also takes a toll on our motivation.

This way of working out can work with cardio exercises too; performing back to back bursts of cardio exercises takes little to no room, equipment, and can be done in under 10-15-20 minutes; perfect for travelers!

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I got the BEST news today..

Presenting at NIRSA Student Lead-on in Chicago in January!! Cannot wait!

250 Reps..and some

Happy day after hump day!

And Workout Wednesday Thursday..of course :).

Yesterday morning started bright and early with BLAST. We’re in the home-stretch now, so the workout is T.O.U.G.H. Walking lunges along the straightaways, side squats around the corners on the track, BOSU push-ups, upper body work ON the BOSU, and tons of core in the mix. I know the participants secretly love it.. 😉

Afterwards, I decided to get my workout in but I only had ~35 mintues. HIIT! Thanks to “pin”spiration from Danica, her December workout challenge seemed the fit the bill. I wanted to up the ante by adding more plyometrics to the workout, so jump sumo squats and jump squats did the trick!

Advanced-stay with the plyometrics throughout the entire 5 rounds! WITH good form please.

Intermediate/beginners

• try as many push-ups on your toes as possible
• if you’re completely new to the exercises, don’t add the jumps (yet!)
• walk your feet back and in and don’t jump at the top with the burpees
• hold a stationary plank (toes or knees) for the plank jack

Enjoy!

Halloween Core and Cycle Class

First things first, everyone please be safe!

Secondly..

It’s Halloween week!

This is like a fitness instructors’ dream come true..do you realize how many exercises can be morphed into a Halloween-name?! Amaze.

I taught Core & More and named all of the exercises after Halloween; descriptions of the actual exercises are below: 

1. Supine Frankenstein leg drops
2. Eerie Plank (up, up, down, down)
3. Creeping Spider (plank w/ knees to the side)
4. Scared Cat (Down down to plank)
5. About to Pounce (Down dog to plank)
6. Dead Cat (Spine Bridge lifts)
7. Witches Brew (butt on knees, lift and torso twist right and left)
8. Hexes (star crunch)

Right after was Cycle! Of course I had to include songs like Thriller, Ghostbusters, and Werewolves of London-only appropriate ;-).

Are you going Trick or Treating tomorrow night? If so, here are the healthiest candies to nosh on:

• 3 musketeers mini-24 calories
• fun-sized lemonheads- 50 calories for 10 pieces
• full-sized york peppermint pattie (fave!)- 140 calories
• peeps pumpkins- <100 calories for 6 peeps
• Tootsie caramel apple pop- 60 calories

Notice how the first 3 candies are bold? It’s all about portion size! Obviously the mini versions of our favorite candies are going to have fewer calories than the full-sized versions, but we tend to overlook those intricate details and only read “3 musketeers” and “24 calories”. Pay attention to portions and I have no doubt that you can celebrate Halloween like it’s supposed to be celebrated:

with family/friends, tons of spooky fun, and candy!

ROCKtober Review & Workout

Happy Wednesday! Did you try any of the pumpkin-full recipes yet?

It’s about halfway through the fall semester-where does time go..seriously!!? I can always tell when it’s midterms week; the gym is empty. Once that week is over though..mark your spot cause it’s packed!

Exercise is a GREAT stress reliever; taking your mind off of school work and putting some of that effort in your workout will leave you feeling rejuvenated, relaxed, and those endorphins will pump you up to ace that exam! It doesn’t even have to be a long, drawn-out workout; even a quick 20 minute circuit, strength training, cardio workout, or yoga/Pilates session will do the trick. It’s about finding “you” in the workout; you’ll put more effort into the workout and get more out of it. #sweatandforget

Speaking of a good stress reliever..

I completed Katie’s ROCKtober workout yesterday and got rid of lots of stress! I’m always up for using someone elses workout; it adds variety to my routine and takes the guess-work out of creating one for myself. I thought it was a well-designed workout and structured appropriately but was way too long for me, personally (it was ~75 minutes); I don’t think I’ve completed an hour+ workout since my high school days-who has the time anymore? Also, for as many push exercises as we did (chest press, shoulder press, triceps dips, push-ups), they’re weren’t an equal amount of pull exercises (biceps curl). I’m extremely OCD about balancing the front AND back out in every workout.

All-in-all though, awesome workout! It constantly kept me moving becauseIwantedtobedone and switched between strength training to cardio utilizing different equipment-thanks Katie!

My challenge for you Workout Wednesday-er’s..give this ENTIRE workout a try! You’ll complete each set, 3 times through, for the recommended repetitions.

• if you’re a beginner and new to workout Wednesday’s, I challenge you to complete the workout 1 time through each set. Use light weights and/or body weight where applicable.
• if you’re intermediate/advanced, no excuses! I know you can do this workout. It’s definitely more challenging, but if you’ve been active for the entire semester, you can handle this.

*don’t have a treadmill nearby? No worries-jump rope, high knees, mountain climbers, stairs, jumping jacks, speed skaters, and/or burpees will substitute!