LEG DAY

LEG DAY

Complete each set 1 time through and rest for 1 minute then move onto set 2 and so forth.  You are done with the workout when each set has been done 3 times.  This workout can be done with no weight at all, using just your body weight.  But you know me, I LOVE LOVE adding weights.  So in this workout I would squat at the rack, hold Dumbbells at my side on step ups, and put a bar up on my back and lunge.  Adding weights to any workout will change the shape of your body a lot faster.

AVOCADO ME~

Ever since a friend of mine @xposedbeauty -this is her IG name, she also has a blog: xposedbeauty.blogspot.com ( you will love her info!) introduced me to this little piece of heaven it is hard to do without!  Adding 1/2 an avocado to your protein shake will not only give you the much needed healthy fat that we all need but it totally changes the consistency of the shake too.  So thick and yummy!  In my shake I go with Cellucor whey protein powder any flavor, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, mixed berries, small banana, and just about 2 handfuls of spinach.  Depending on what thickness I am in the mood for I will add water as I go.  

But let's get to the health benefits of AVOCADOS:

*Glowing skin

*Adds hair shine

*Clear white eyes

*Keeps you feeling full

*Essential B vitamins

* Cell repair

* Energizes the metabolism

*Folate

* High in Vitamins C, K, E, and Potassium

* Aids in heart health

* Aids in weight loss

* Also works as an age spot reducer and collagen boost

* most importantly it's an amazing source of healthy fat- We NEED healthy fats everyday.  We should not fear healthy fats.  Yes you should fear the fat in french fries but never the fats of a healthy food source!  Our bodies need fat to properly function and survive a healthy eating lifestyle.  It's just separating the good from the bad and finding the right balance!

CYBEX ARC TRAINER

The Arc Trainer is a great little cardio machine.  I love it because you can make it any kind of workout you want.  Take advantage of the incline and resistance.  Switch it up every few minutes.  One awesome tip I can suggest from this machine is to always push in your heels.  Pushing in your heels will really engage your glutes for a little extra booty work!!! 

A swing lunge is a repetitive front to back lunge over and over before switching to the other leg.  In other words, lunge front and the same leg that lunged front now lunges back, AKA reverse lunge....but do not switch legs!  The same leg will lunge again, front back front back for a total of 20 reps and then you would switch to the other leg.  

5 workouts and meal plan 10/28-11/2

I have typed up an all new 5-day workout plan that you can purchase for $5.  That is one dollar per workout.  You will have new exercises and moves to challenge yourself with.  The week looks something like this and I have shared an exercise from each workout:

Monday-Quads (Walking Dumbbell lunges)

Tuesday- Chest/Triceps/Abs (Plank 1-minute)

Wednesday-Back/Biceps (Incline Dumbbell Curl)

Thursday-Shoulders/Abs (Front Plate Raise)

Friday-Hamstrings/Glutes (Barbell Side Lunges)

  Legs get two days of coverage to hit all those major muscles of the lower body.  You will hit your quads, inner and outer thighs, hamstrings, and the booty.  Each workout has specific reps and sets listed.  You will also find supersets and my favorite thing to incorporate in your weight session, Active Rest!  HIIT cardio or Steady State cardio and the duration for each is suggested following each workout depending on what muscle group you trained for the day.  If you are uncertain of an exercise, google is a great for providing pictures/descriptions.  I also suggest www.bodybuilding.com for another source to explain and show you certain exercises.

A new 1,730-ish calorie one day meal plan that consists of 6 meals that you would repeat for seven days (one includes a post workout shake) and the calorie, protein, carb, and fat breakdown of each meal.  I like to space the meals by 2-3 hours throughout the day to help promote a healthy metabolism and keeps you burning fat.  This one day meal plan allows you to buy what you need for the entire week and use what you buy.  This way food usually doesn't go to waste and end up in the trash.  The meal plan I provide is simply a suggestion or to give you an idea.  It is nothing fancy.  If you know me at all, I am NOT a cook.  When I come across a recipe that starts calling for all these fancy spices, ingredients, cooking methods etc., I lose interest real fast.  I like SIMPLE!  I season most things with Mrs. Dash (salt free) and thats about as fancy as it gets.  So that being said, if gourmet and fancy is your cooking style, this meal plan is not for you.  I am throwing this meal plan in with the 5-day workout for $2.  Instead of one trip this week for fast food, replace that money spent for a weeks worth of workouts and a healthy meal plan for $7. 

*In the meal plan this week you will find a simple recipe for Pumpkin Oatmeal- tis the season :), Healthy Pizza, and as always.....a bedtime snack and more!  

So for $5.00 you can have 5 workouts and for $2.00 a meal plan that covers six meals you can use for a week!  The BUY NOW button is linked directly to PayPal (you do not have to have a PayPal account to purchase) and the 5-day workout and meal plan will be available for immediate download and/or it will also be emailed to you.  This way you can print it off from your computer or pull it up right on your phone.
5 Workouts and Meal Plan
buy
5 Workouts Only
buy
Meal Plan Only
buy

Stop watching and Start doing!

If you told me you didn't want to live a fit healthy life, I would not believe you!  Everyone has a desire deep down to be healthier and to get in shape.  Getting in "shape" has so many meanings and so many different levels.  You decide what level you want to take it to,  just take it somewhere.  There are endless positive reasons why we should all strive to be healthy and fit.  So stop talking about it and just do it.  Stop being scared and just do it.  Stop saying you don't know where to start and just do it.
Stop making excuses and JUST DO IT!!!  

Fitness Tip!

 There are many times especially this time of year that my alarm goes off at 5:30 and I want to just keep sleeping and stay WARM!!!  I have done this many times in the past.  But I tell you what, nothing gets your butt out of bed faster when you find you have hit snooze and that 2nd alert goes off and you know someone is counting on you.  You all know what I am talking about.  Or you fall back asleep after turning your alarm off and thank goodness you somehow wake back up and you fly out of bed more awake than you have ever been....?  And you magically manage to be ready and out the door in 3 minutes.  Yes, those mornings are the worst! 

If I could give you one of my top 5 fitness tips/advice it would be,

FIND YOURSELF A WORKOUT BUDDY!

You will find yourself not hitting snooze.  You might lay there for just a sec but I guarantee knowing that someone is counting on you to show up for a workout FORCES you out of bed even when you don't want to go!! However, EVERY SINGLE TIME you finish a workout you are happy you made the decision to do it!  EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!  Workouts for me are a complete mood changer.  Best way to start the day.  They can also be the best way to end the day but putting all that stress you piled up throughout the day and let it all out with a good workout.  You decide when and where.

JUST GET IT DONE!

5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR WORKOUTS MORE CHALLENGING

1. SWITCH UP THE ORDER OF EXERCISES:
 -Our bodies can adjust quickly to make it more comfortable for it to hang in there when it is being challenged.  So if you have a routine of exercises that you like to do it is best to switch the order to keep your body guessing.  It is crazy how we can reverse the order of exercises and it will totally throw your body off and make it guess what the heck is going on.  Your body was expecting you to throw squats at it first and you trick it by doing leg extensions first and squats last will do the trick!!  Weird I know, but it works.  Our bodies are amazing machines that like to be in control but you really can make it do what you tell it to.  I will give an example of what I mean.  Say you were doing the below workout for a few weeks and find it is not really challenging you like it did in the beginning.......it's because your body is prepared for it and knows what to expect:

Squats 3x12

Leg Press 3x12

Deadlifts 3x12

Walking Lunges 3x15 each side

Leg Extensions 3x12

Throw your body off and reverse the order of your exercises.  So you would do Leg extensions first, then move to walking lunges, then deadlifts, and so forth.

2. INCORPORATE SUPERSETS AND/OR DROPSETS:

-A superset is when you do two exercises back to back with no rest in between.  For example you could do Squats 3x12 and with no rest SUPERSET with Leg extensions 3x12 and then you would rest.

-A dropset is when you are doing an exercise and you finish the set reps you are doing, and then immediately drop the weight and perform more reps.  You can continue to drop the weight as many times as you would like until the muscle is burnt out.  For example you could do Leg extensions 3x12 at 60lbs.  When your 3 sets are done you would immediately DROPSET at 50lbs.  If you wanted to keep going you would move down to 40lbs, 30lbs, etc.

3.  SHORTEN THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU REST BETWEEN SETS:

- By shortening the amount of time you rest between your sets, keeps your heart rate up and leaves you out of breath for longer.  This technique simply means: let's say you rest on average 1 minute between your sets.  Try shortening this time to only 30 seconds.  Just keep your eye on the nearest clock or use a timer on a stopwatch/phone. For example: you are doing leg extensions after one set of 12 reps, instead of sitting there on the machine for 1 minute to rest only rest for 30 seconds and start set 2 and so forth.

4.  INCREASE THE WEIGHT AND DECREASE THE REPS:

- You do this challenge by increasing the weight from what you are use to.  By doing this you might not be able to finish all you set number of reps but that's ok....that is kind of the point of this challenge.  For example, say you were doing sets of bicep curls with 12 reps using a 10lb dumbbell.  Next time around increase the weight and use a 15lb dumbbell.  This should be challenging and you might only be able to complete a set of 8-10 reps with that increased weight.  But that is good, that's what you want.  You don't want to try and hit you normal rep range of 12 reps with bad form because it is too heavy.  And if you do increase the weight and still bust out 12 reps no problem, you need to increase the weight even more.

5.  INCLUDE ACTIVE REST BETWEEN YOUR SETS:

-As opposed to doing a set of exercises and waiting that 1 minute to start your next set, you can do what is called ACTIVE REST for that minute and then catch your breath.  For example, you just got done doing a set of 10 squats and you re-rack the bar.  Instead of standing there to catch your breath for 1 minute you can do one of these.... jump squats, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, jump rope, etc., for 45-60 seconds and then catch your breath before doing your next set.  I love this challenge.  It might add an extra 5-10 minutes onto your workout but it is a great way to sneak in cardio and a little extra calorie burn.

Just because you sweat........

Just because a workout leaves you dripping sweat doesn't mean you got a killer workout.  This comparison of weight training and an insanity class proves just that.  My friend @tizzy81 worked out with me yesterday and wore her heart monitor watch and got the results on the left.  Then the next morning she went to an insanity class and got the results on the right.  Her calorie burn was a difference of 200+.  She says she sweats more when she in an insanity class versus a weight training workout but the there is the proof of what did her body good.  As always, any and all exercise is better than none.  And everyone has their preferences.  It just comes down to whatever floats your boat.  Just get your body moving and sweat!

WEEKEND WEIGHT GAIN

IS IT REALLY A WEIGHT GAIN?

Can you really gain 5 pounds over the weekend?  YES, you can!  BUT, is it 5 pounds of FAT or just 5 pounds of weight?

The weekends.  We all have them.  We all are in charge of how we choose to spend our own weekends.  It could be a very casual relaxed stay at home most of the weekend and things don't get too crazy.  Some weekends we may venture out a little more.  And we all need to have those kind of weekends in my own personal opinion because it is healthy for our bodies both physically and mentally!  Wether it is going out to dinner, date night, girls night, movies with a diet coke, popcorn add butter in addition to the dinner you just had 45 minutes ago.  Or for some a weekend involves a vacation.  We all splurge a bit more on the weekends.  It's fun and it's good for us to have fun!  But how many step on the scale Sunday night or Monday morning and see that you GAINED 5 POUNDS!?!  S%&@......and then the guilt hits and you beat yourself up, WWHHYYYY?????

Before you start making diet plans for Monday to not eat, or all liquids diet, 3 day detox, or I can not touch one carb or any bread for 3 days, or nothing to eat after 6pm.  Please understand, you may have put on 5 pounds of WEIGHT and this is not the same as 5 pounds of FAT!!!

It takes 3500 calories to gain 1 pound of fat.  So, for you to gain 5 pounds of fat, that is: 

3500 X 5 = 17,500 calories
 in addition to your normal calorie intake.

So, now you must realize that didn't happen.  That is a heck of a lot of food.  The 5 pound weight gain you are seeing on the scale is that you ate junk food or more food that contains a lot of simple carbs AKA sugars which are stored in your body as water.  Think soda, cakes, pastries, biscuits, chocolate, pizza, prepared food, sauces, sweets, potatoes, pasta, and candy.  Sound like one of those weekends we all have sometimes?!  So you probably feel bloated, bulky, and maybe your pants are even a little tighter than normal.  This is all excess water weight from simple carb overload.

  Simple carbs/sugars lack vitamins, fiber, and minerals and really only give us immediate energy.  They  cause a spike in our blood sugar and then you crash and it takes your mood right along with you.  Ever notice when you eat a bigger than normal meal, example: Thanksgiving Dinner....lots of carbs in that meal always.  Breads, stuffing, rolls, pies, potatoes, sauces, gravy etc., and then all you want to do is take a big nap?  Yep, been there.  That is when your body has been flooded with too much sugar all at once and it uses what it needs and then the rest gets stored away.  You are awake and eating feeling great and then 30-60 minutes later you are ready to go to sleep for the rest of the day and you never want to look at food again.  Eating like this too often will easily put your calories up there over the 3500 range and thats when it gets converted to fat!  Especially if you eat too many simple carbs too often without doing any sort of exercise to help burn off some of those extra calories.

So more than likely you had a weekend with a little extra treats and step on the scale to see 5 pounds of extra weight, NOT fat!  The simple solution to this 5 pound weight gain is just get right back on your plan of healthy eating and drink LOTS of water.  Within a few days you will drop the extra water and you will be right back where you are supposed to be.  So next time you fluctuate 3-5 pounds in one or two days you know that it can't possibly be fat pounds.  Don't get discouraged and stay calm.  Fluctuations are a normal part of a fitness lifestyle and you should not let it affect your determination to continue making healthy choices no matter what the scale says. And for the love, ditch the damn scale!  It is your enemy not your friend.  The scale is the most irrelevant statistic of your health. It will never give you honest and fair results!  The scale CANNOT differentiate what's muscle, what's fat, or what's water!!!  If you can, put the scale out of sight and don't touch it for one month.  If you can't do that then you are letting that number control you too much.  Weighing yourself once a month is good enough.  To be honest with you, I have not weighed myself for almost one year.  All it takes is for me to slip into some pants and if they feel a little off then that tells me I need to step up my game.

                   

DEADMILL SPRINTS

DEADMILL SPRINTS

These are a great way to do a quick burnout with HIIT.

I incorporated this exercise after my lifting workout for the day....last thing for the day and called it good!  A deadmill sprint is where YOU are making the treadmill move.  The power of the treadmill is left off.  Place your hands on the front bar or sides and use your legs as fast as you can to make that treadmill belt move.  The workout above is one way to do this exercise.  15 seconds of pushing/running with 30 seconds of rest and repeat this cycle 5x through.  

Trust me!  It's not as easy as it sounds.  Your first push you will think.....oh this isn't so bad.  Then when it comes time to rest, you are gasping for air out of no where!  It creeps up on ya.  This is a killer workout for under 5 minutes.  Like I said, I threw this in for the last part of my workout after weight training.  I'm sure you could make more of a cardio routine out of this and make it longer if you needed.

Good Luck!!!

What You Do Affects How You Feel

DON'T LET HOW YOU FEEL AFFECT WHAT YOU DO.

INSTEAD, LET WHAT YOU DO AFFECT HOW YOU FEEL.

This time of year I am sure is a challenge for everyone.  Halloween, treats, Thanksgiving, parties, Christmas etc.....and we should all enjoy these times for sure!  It's called a healthy LIFEstyle.  You do need to have a LIFE and enjoy every moment.  I do believe that workouts can change your mood.  Starting the day off with a fabulous workout just makes me feel awesome and I feel better.  Especially during this time of year where we have parties, festive foods and yummy treats around us more often.  Knowing that I busted my ass in the morning helps me be happy and not feel so sluggish had I not worked out and enjoyed all those little extras.  

The picture above is just me enjoying a healthy LIFEstyle and not as lean as I would like to be. And to top it off, I have lost my summer tan.  Let's be honest, you just look better with a tan right?!  I know I feel better when I have a tan anyway.

Just keep pushing and keep going.  Workout as often as you can during the week.  Do what you can.  You will be glad you did! 

Let's Workout!

If you want to give weight training a try but just can't find the time (kids, school, work, hubby works late......) Guess what?!  Most gyms open at 5am and early morning workouts are THE BEST!!  Even just a few times with me I can teach you a lot and correct form.  Also, give you ideas for fast and effective cardio routines.

DIAGONAL LUNGES

What are DIAGONAL LUNGES?  These are your basic forward lunges except you step out diagonally instead of straight forward.  As with any type of lunge you are working that quad and glute but the benefits of this type of lunge is that hard to reach outer thigh area.  Doing this lunge also engages your core as you have to have balance while doing them.  

These can be done on all levels.  As you learn and feel comfortable doing them then you can make it more challenging by adding weight (holding dumbbells at your sides) and maybe even start walking as you stride.  

How do you do this exercise? 

1- stand with your feel slightly apart
2- instead of stepping forward in a forward lunge, step forward but diagonally to the right so your right leg forms a 45-degree angle to your STRAIGHT left leg which stays straight and stable.
3- bring the lunging leg back to the starting position.
OR 4- if you are walking and diagonal lunging, bring the stable leg to meet your lunging leg and now it's the stable legs turn to lunge.

***and to keep our knees safe and correct form, as always with any lunge, try and not let your knees go over your toes when you are down in a lunge position.

5 WORKOUTS AND A MEAL PLAN 10/14-10/19

I have typed up an all new 5-day workout plan that you can purchase for $5.  That is one dollar per workout.  You will have new exercises and moves to challenge yourself with.  The week looks something like this and I have shared an exercise from each workout:

Monday-Legs (dumbbell reverse lunges)

Tuesday- Bicep/Abs (cross body hammer curl)

Wednesday-Chest/Triceps/Shoulders (dumbbell fly)

Thursday-Back/Abs (bent over barbell row)

Friday-Legs (glute bridge-one of my FAVORITES for the booty)

  Legs get two days of coverage to hit all those major muscles of the lower body.  You will hit your quads, inner and outer thighs, hamstrings, and the booty.  Each workout has specific reps and sets listed.  HIIT cardio or Steady State cardio and the duration for each is suggested following each workout depending on what muscle group you trained for the day.  If you are uncertain of an exercise, google is a great for providing pictures/descriptions.  I also suggest www.bodybuilding.com for another source to explain and show you certain exercises.

A new 1,780-ish calorie one day meal plan that consists of 6 meals that you would repeat for seven days (one includes a post workout shake) and the calorie, protein, carb, and fat breakdown of each meal.  I like to space the meals by 2-3 hours throughout the day to help promote a healthy metabolism and keeps you burning fat.  This one day meal plan allows you to buy what you need for the entire week and use what you buy.  This way food usually doesn't go to waste and end up in the trash.  The meal plan I provide is simply a suggestion or to give you an idea.  It is nothing fancy.  If you know me at all, I am NOT a cook.  When I come across a recipe that starts calling for all these fancy spices, ingredients, cooking methods etc., I lose interest real fast.  I like SIMPLE!  I season most things with Mrs. Dash (salt free) and thats about as fancy as it gets.  So that being said, if gourmet and fancy is your cooking style, this meal plan is not for you.  I am throwing this meal plan in with the 5-day workout for $2.  Instead of one trip this week for fast food, replace that money spent for a weeks worth of workouts and a healthy meal plan for $7. 

In the meal plan this week you will get a simple recipe for Breakfast Burritos, Easy Chicken Tacos and one of my favorite bedtime snacks!  

So for $5.00 you can have 5 workouts and for $2.00 a meal plan that covers six meals you can use for a week!  The BUY NOW button is linked directly to PayPal (you do not have to have a PayPal account to purchase) and the 5-day workout and meal plan will be available for immediate download and/or it will also be emailed to you.  This way you can print it off from your computer or pull it up right on your phone.

5 Workouts and Meal Plan

buy

Meal Plan Only
buy

Get Rid of the Pancake Booty!

I love when I get text messages like this!

and speaking of Leg Day.......

My workout buddy took this picture of me mid set....She is pretty sneaky.  But this is one of my favorite exercises for the booty.  It is called a Smith Machine Kickback.  Some of you may know it as a donkey kick.  That is what it is but you are using the weight bar of the smith machine to kick up as opposed to just air.  Doing this exercise consistently in your workout routine for 3 sets of 10 reps will do your booty good.  Round and lifted butts is "in" the last time I checked!  Get rid of the pancake booty ladies!

Sweat It Out On The Treadmill

If you ever just feel like a good ol' sweaty cardio run on a treadmill, this routine is just for that!  Hill sprints or incline sprints are great for the legs and they are super challenging!  They get you uncomfortable real quick.  But that's what you want!  Get out of your comfort zone and challenge your body and changes will happen.  

The inclines are what matters:  Keep them at these levels and adjust your speed where needed.  These are the speeds that challenge me at these inclines.  You can adjust the speed to fit your fitness levels, but keep the inclines as it says!

Trade FAT for MUSCLE!

Trade FAT for MUSCLE and burn more calories throughout the day!

1 pound of muscle burns approx. 5.67 calories a day.  

1 pound of fat burns approx. 1.98 calories a day.
It doesn't sound like much but any little bit is better than none.  So you gain 5 lbs of muscle and that turns into an extra 25-30 calories a day.  10 lbs of muscle is 50-60 extra calories.  You are thinking, ummmmmm, that doesn't sound too motivating.....But every little bit helps.  If you could burn 25-60 extra calories a day or not, wouldn't you choose to burn it?  I would.  You have to keep in mind the long run.  It all adds up.  That's 450-900 calories a month, or 10,000+ more calories a year.  Sounds good to me!  You have all seen that picture of the big glob of fat with the little sign that says, "this is what 5 lbs of fat looks like" compared to what 5 lbs of muscle looks like.  The 5 lbs of muscle takes up less than half the space of that 5 lbs of fat.  I would trade in the 5 lbs of fat for 5 lbs of muscle any day.  

Muscle is responsible for many of the calories you burn each day.  This is something that many of us overlook.  We take our muscles for granted and don't give them enough credit for ALWAYS working hard for us.  Muscles do our bodies so much goodness yet some people are still so nervous about muscles.  Afraid of getting bulky, too big?  Some just want to "tone" but like I have said before being toned means having muscle and being lean.  

Building muscle takes a lot of hard work.  You can't get a nice defined bicep by doing one killer bicep workout.  It takes consistently working that bicep week after week to get that muscle to grow and show all the hard work.  And just an FYI, if you are nervous about being bulky...whether or not you get bulky or lean it all stems from your diet.  If you start a weight lifting program but continue to eat junk you WILL get bulky.  You WILL get bigger.  Your muscles will get larger but your fat percentage will stay the same or get greater if you continue to not eat proper foods.  Which means bigger muscles under too much body fat just makes you bigger.  So, you need to commit to a healthier eating plan to start shedding body fat so your muscles become more visible and you appear more lean.

I hear this all the time.....People start working out and eating healthy but the scale is not moving.  So frustrating I know!  Remember that muscle weighs more than fat does. If you are consistently working on building muscle, I guarantee you are losing body fat.  JUST KEEP GOING and TRUST IT!  Which your goal SHOULD be to lose body fat first and don't worry about the number on the scale! You just need to trust the process of weight lifting and healthy eating because it all comes together very nicely when done correctly.

How does muscle burn so many calories?  When you lift weights and work your muscles you are tearing them down and then the muscles have to build themselves up.  That takes a lot of work.  When you are at rest your muscle gets its fuel source to do all that repairing from your fat.  So the more muscle you have the more fat that gets used and burned for fuel.  If your exercise routine does not include any form of resistance training, PLEASE add it in.  A few times a week of an intense exercise will really give your body some changes all around.  And whatever is intense exercise, is what is considered intense for you.  If that means walking, then start there.  You will get the hang of it!  But you need to stick to a program long enough for your body to grasp the concept of what you are doing and let your body change and then you can move up and adjust new challenges where needed.  Don't give up.  When you feel like giving up, that is usually when change is just around the corner.

5 WORKOUTS AND A MEAL PLAN FOR 10/7-10/12

Here you have it again.  I have typed up a 5-day workout plan that you can purchase for $5.  That is one dollar per workout.  You will have new exercises and moves to challenge yourself with.  You will get two days of lower body to cover quads, inner and outer thighs, hamstrings, and the booty.  One day for back and abs.  One day for Chest/Shoulders/Triceps. And one day for Biceps and more abs.  Each workout has reps and sets listed.  HIIT cardio or Steady State cardio and the duration for each is suggested following each workout depending on what muscle group you trained for the day.  If you are uncertain of an exercise, google is a great for providing pictures/descriptions.  I also suggest www.bodybuilding.com for another source to explain and show you certain exercises.


A new 1,750-ish calorie one day meal plan that consists of 6 meals that you would repeat for seven days (one includes a post workout shake) and the calorie, protein, carb, and fat breakdown of each meal.  Spacing the meals throughout the day promotes a healthy metabolism and keeps you burning fat.  This one day meal plan allows you to buy what you need for the entire week and use what you buy.  This way food usually doesn't go to waste and end up in the trash.  This allows you to cook things in bulk or freeze for ready to go meals. The meal plan I provide is simply a suggestion or to give you an idea.  It is nothing fancy.  If you know me at all, I am NOT a cook.  When I come across a recipe that starts calling for all these fancy spices, ingredients, cooking methods etc., I lose interest real fast.  I like SIMPLE!  I season most things with Mrs. Dash (salt free) and thats about as fancy as it gets.  So that being said, if gourmet and fancy is your cooking style, this meal plan is not for you.  I am throwing this meal plan in with the workout for $2.

In the meal plan this week you will see my simple Protein Pancakes and Chicken Enchilada soup to warm you up as it is starting to get chilly out there.

So for $5.00 you can have 5 workouts and for $2.00 a day meal plan that covers six meals you can use for a week!  The BUY NOW button is linked directly to PayPal (you do not have to have a PayPal account to purchase) and the 5-day workout and meal plan will be available for immediate download and/or it will also be emailed to you.  This way you can print it off from your computer or pull it up right on your phone.

5 Workouts and meal plan
buy
Meal plan only
buy

HOW DO YOU ROLL?

I know I don't use these babies as much as I should!  But I tell you what, when I am super sore in my hamstrings/glutes usually and occasionally my shins if I do some longer running these are the best inventions ever!  It's like a miracle the minute you get up from rolling and you can walk pain free, seriously.  The soreness comes back but you know that little bit of rolling you did to relieve the pain like that briefly is doing your muscles so much good.  When you roll you are using your own body weight to break up scar tissue and helping your muscles to relax to absorb all that blood circulation which speeds up recovery.  That's why when you stand up from rolling you can usually just walk pain free and feel so good. 

Stretching alone is great but really not enough.  No matter how much you stretch, you still can't get to those muscle knots that are deep down in from the build up of facia......facia is a connective tissue that surrounds all our muscles, bones, nerves, veins, arteries, and more.  Massaging away fascia build up by foam rolling will help prevent injuries from happening.  Like that dang IT band for runners.  You know that IT band injury is caused mostly because your muscles are too tight.  Keep them long, flexible, and don't let them become too tight.  And we would all love to be a little more flexible too.  I know I would.  Foam rolling definitely helps you become more flexible and keep you flexible. 

The foam roller, the stick, and myself for sure have a love/hate relationship.  It hurts and its painful but we just go at it for 5 to 10 minutes and I can't believe how much better they make me feel.  What is so crazy.....whenever I am super sore and I go to get down with my foam roller, before I even start I immediately start perspiring.  Like the nervous sweats, it's so weird!  LOL.  So I have learned that when you are rolling and come across a sore spot, hold it there for 15 to 30 seconds.  That is a tight area that needs that pressure and a little more attention.  Best time to roll is right after a workout.  It helps your muscles return to proper length and start recovering and not let scar tissue build up.

Although I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a deep tissue massage from a masseuse after every week of working out (I wish!) but that could get costly.  The foam roller and the stick do the job just as good if not better.  There are several different  types of rollers.  Each roller effectively stretches the muscles about the same.  However, the deeper the ridges on the roller like the one I own in the picture the more intense the stretch will be.  I really want to start being more faithful to my foam roller and see if I notice less soreness and tightness.

I bought my rollers from a local running store.  And I know some of you will love this, but you can pick one up at TARGET too!  I love Target.  You can find them at a sporting good stores or amazon as well.  I have heard of people using PVC pipe or even pool noodles if you really wanted to be cheap but that might be a little too hard and too soft.         

Super Slimming Tea

I'm pretty sure they wanted to name this something besides 'Super Slimming Tea' but had to be more appropriate and professional because I shit you not (no pun intended, LOL!) you definitely end up feeling a little slimmer after its use.

What is this tea all about?  Just read the little circle there in the middle of the  picture....*CLEANSING & DETOXIFICATION*  Basically, this makes you regular and then some!  It is all natural and caffeine free which is great for the no caffeine because you will WANT to and SHOULD drink this stuff as you are doing your nightly routine.  It's better to let it work its magic while you are sleeping and hopefully its over with the minute you open your eyes and make that first trip to the bathroom.  You drink this in the morning or afternoon I'm pretty sure you will spend your day/afternoon/evening in the bathroom. 

Some people like to add a sweetener to their cup of tea but I think it is just fine by itself.  I like to drink one serving at night whenever I just feel yucky, had a big meal for dinner, or Sunday night because my diet is a little too lenient on the weekends and I just feel bloated.  My husband also gets into this stuff.  I have never met someone who is so paranoid about not going #2 and if he doesn't at least 847,589,934 times in a day he gets all butt hurt ( LOL!!! I'm laughing at my own jokes) about it and will also drink this stuff (good thing he doesn't read any of my stuff, pretty sure he would kill me right now).  He is also a hunter and you know how your bowels can get shy when you are vacationing and I couldn't imagine being in the mountains for a week at a time and have to use the bushes, trees, and leaves for toilet paper, I'm sure I would be backed up too.  This stuff saves his life when he gets home.  

I have had all different kinds of experiences with it.  Most of the time I wake up and just have a peaceful visit to the John J. Crapper-did you know that this is truly the name of the guy who helped improve the flushing toilet as it was being invented?  Well, his first name was Thomas but mistakenly got called John.  Anyways, I have had mornings where I feel like Harry from Dumb and Dumber, you know the scene..... And sometimes it just lingers in my guts for part of the morning and my belly just doesn't feel the best because it is literally cleansing and detoxifying.  It really just depends on what I ate the day before. But I will say you feel less bloated and your tummy is flatter after it is all said and done (this whole post is so awkward talking about, FYI) Many people like to use it that have a hard time going to the bathroom or can not get on a regular schedule.  For some people they use it to maintain their weight in a healthy way.  You have to follow the directions thoroughly.  Alright, enough of that crap! HA HA...

I purchase my Super Slimming Tea at Good Earth anywhere between $3.00-$5.00.  You can find this at any health food store I'm sure.  Triple Leaf Tea makes a variety of Ancient Chinese Medicinal teas all with great health benefits besides this one too.  This is great stuff if you need it for its purpose, IT WORKS!  And that is also your warning label too because it doesn't come with one.  

Supplement with Cellucor

Most may know that I am an affiliate with Cellucor which means they provided me with a code (HALEYA)  for family/friends/followers to use at checkout  that will allow them to receive 20% off their total purchase and free shipping.  May I just say FAST free shipping, 2 days at most.....usually!  Cellucor is a supplement company that has many amazing products to add to your training.  I am especially fond of their BCAAs, I absolutely love them! Before a workout and after, they just do wonders for your muscles and recovery.  They taste amazing too.  To be honest, Cellucor has the best flavors of every product they sale.  For their pre-workouts, BCAAs, and now the new SuperHD in powder....its like drinking a jolly rancher!    

Cellucor just got done with a very successful weekend at the Olympia in Las Vegas.  The Olympia is like the Super Bowl in the fitness industry.  Men and Women train their guts out all year long to step on that stage!  They also award supplement companies for their products.  Cellucor took home the win for their pre-workout C4 for Supplement of the year!  That is a pretty big deal considering how many supplement companies out there offer pre-workouts!!

Cellucor also took the win for Breakout supplement of the year with their COR-Performance Whey Protein.  Their protein powder comes in 6 flavors and I have LOVED every one I have tried.  Cinnamon Swirl (probably my favorite) 

Peanut Butter Marshmallow

Whipped Vanilla (so great for cooking with)

Molten Chocolate

Strawberry Milkshake

Cookies and Cream

Anyone can take advantage of the 20% off and free shipping anytime, just use my code at checkout: HALEYA

Visit WWW.Cellucor.Com

or call in for easy order:

866-927-9686

They have many products, so go to their site and check it all out.

Cow's Milk vs. Unsweetened Almond Milk

     This would be one healthy swap you should consider making if changing your eating is part of your fitness journey.  I would bet you will see a difference in just one week.  Less bloating, digestive system should be nicer to you, and you may even see the scale budge!  If you are already on a fitness journey and at a stand still and using regular milk, try switching to unsweetened almond milk.  

     First off, Unsweetened almond milk is very low in calories and fat; it has only 30-45 calories per serving and 3.5g of fat (depending on the brand) but they are all healthy omega-3 fats that help protect your heart.  Unlike, cow's milk, almond milk contains no cholesterol and no saturated fats.  Here is another great reason to swap.  Unsweetened almond milk has 0-1g of sugar!  That's pretty amazing.  While skim milk contains 12g of sugar.  Almond milk also has only 1g of carb as opposed to 13g in skim milk.  That is awesome news because it leaves you to eat your yummy carbs rather than have to waist them on a drink.  And believe it or not almond milk contains more Calcium which is so important for our bones and preventing osteoporosis.  It is very high in antioxidants and a good source of vitamin E which also help slow signs of aging.

     Almond milk is also high in other vitamins and minerals, and to name just a few: Copper, Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Potassium.  While cow's milk, rice milk, and soy milk are often fortified with minerals and vitamins, all of these nutrients occur NATURALLY in almond milk.  It is made only from almonds and water, give or take some sugar or vanilla for flavoring if you prefer the sweetened kinds.  I use unsweetened almond milk in all my protein shakes, pancakes, cereal, french toast, and more.  I mix it in my PB2 instead of water to make it tastier and thicker.  Give it a try and let me know if you like the results!