How to Eat On the Move

Everyone has a busy life. We either are working for 40 hours a week, going to school full time, trying to handle our daily lives or simply finding ways to stay busy. Fitness and Wellness should not come last on our list of things to take care of, and yes I know that sometimes it can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet or lifestyle while we are on the move. So here is a good sample of what a busy day's diet could look like.

• Breakfast= 2 pieces of wheat toast with peanut butter and a banana. You cant go wrong with egg whites or oatmeal if you have the time.


• Mid-morning snack= 1 string cheese or piece of fruit like an apple or orange


• Lunch= 1 turkey breast sandwich with little to no mayo, 1 serving of crackers (wheat thins etc.)


• Midday snack= Carrot sticks or serving of fruit. 1 granola bar


• Dinner= 8 oz. Chicken breast with 1 cup of chopped broccoli and 1/2 cup of brown rice. If you're craving salad, go ahead, simply limit the amount of dressing you put on it.


• Nighttime Snack= 8 oz. cottage cheese/serving of fruit. Slice of bread with peanut butter. Or a fruit smoothie.

So there you go, a busy days menu. A couple of tips are avoid foods with high amounts of salt, if you are having fast food order grilled chicken or and limit the amount of cheese you order, drink plenty of water, not soda pop, water. We all know the basics of proper nutrition so use your knowledge and make smart decisions. Pack ahead of time and exercise discipline. Good luck today.

9 Ways to Burn Fat FAST

If you have been a follower or simply glanced over this blog you know that I am a huge fan of Bodybuilding.com. They offer the largest range of fitness, weight training and nutrition articles and supplements out there. This is the latest article that I found that will help or at least get you pumped up to start burning off those calories. This article reveals 9 simple ways to start burning fat fast. Here is the article link:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/9-ways-to-burn-fat-fast.html

Good Luck Today. From where I am sitting, the sky is blue and the sun is out. It is truly a great day.

Worst Late Night Snacks/Meals

Earlier today on Yahoo.com I read a very interesting article that I think everyone should read. We all tend to get hungry as the clock keeps ticking. The problem is not that we eat late night snack but it is what we are snacking on that is the problem. I advise you to read this article and really take it in. Here is the Link:

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/best-and-worst-late-night-snacks

Good Luck today and simply keep on working hard. I promise it will pay off.

Week 2 to a Better Chest

So by now any of you who have tried week one to a better chest are probably anxious to move on to Week Two. Well you are in luck. I am about to show you week 2 of this 4 week program. Two words of advice, first off be sure to warm-up before you put your chest through this workout. It is intense and your muscles will thank you for stretching and a proper warm-up. Last piece of advice, only do what your body can handle. Proper form is more important than throwing around a bunch of weight. Are you ready? Here it is:

Middle Chest is the Focus

Bench Press 2-3 Sets of 12-15 reps
Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press 3 sets 8-10 reps
Bent-Over Cable Crossover 3 sets 6-8 reps
Dumbbell Pullover 3 sets 8-10 reps
Decline Dumbbell Press 3 8-12 reps
Push-Ups 2 sets to failure

Good Luck today! Remember following this workout it would be wise to drink a protein shake to stimulate muscle growth and start the rebuilding process. Have a great day.

Cardio/Weight Training Routine for Women

I recently came across a very intense, or what I consider intense, workout session for a Woman. If you are scared of the weight room or you simply do not want to be around all the screaming guys in the weight room here is a great cardio/weight training session for you. The weight training part will be done using the machines that they gym has. Are you ready? Grab your note pad or a pen and paper because this workout is worth remembering.

Warm up= 3 minutes on treadmill/bike at 3.0 speed
3 sets of 12-15 reps on the leg press machine (25 seconds in between each set)
3 sets of 8-12 reps on shoulder press machine
3 minutes of cardio run on treadmill at a 2.0 incline (make sure you are running/jogging)
3 sets of 10-15 reps on lying or sitting leg curl machine (Hamstrings or back of thigh)
3 sets of 8-12 reps on chest press machine
4 minutes on stair master or running up and down stairs
2-3 sets of leg extension machine (quads or front of thigh)
3 sets of 8-12 reps on preacher curl machine (biceps)
1 minute jog followed by 1 minute fast pace run followed by 1 minute jog
sets of 8-12 reps of standing or sitting calf machine
2 sets of 8-10 reps of cable pull downs (back)
3 sets of body weight dips
2 minute cool down jog

Sounds like a lot of stuff for one workout but if you do all of these exercises you will have hit each major muscle groups on your body. This workout focuses on strength and cardio. Good luck with this routine and if you feel like it post a comment on the bottom of this post and let me know what you thought of the workout.

Interval Training

For as long as fitness has been around people have used the treadmill or stair master to get in a good cardio workout. These two machines are great but here is a much better way of training that will help anyone increase the amount of calories burned in LESSER amounts of time. It is called Interval Training. Interval Training combines both short and high intensity bursts of speed with slow phases to let your heart rate drop and your body recover all repeated in one session of cardio. The goal in this type of workout is to put your body into an anaerobic state rather than an aerobic state. An Anaerobic state is when your heart rate goes from high to low back to high. This makes the body work harder resulting in more calories burned in lesser amounts of time. Here is a quick and simple example of an Interval Training Session:

• 3 minute warm-up
• 2 minutes of an intense jog or run (you determine the speed)
• 1 minute walk to slow down your heart rate
• Repeat this cycle for 20 minutes

This is a very simple example however; I found a great article that goes into much more detail about Interval Training. Check it out at

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/Intervals.htm

Good Luck today and push your body to burn the most calories you can in this Interval Training Session.

Healthy Snacks Between Meals

Everyone has heard that snacking is what kills diets and no matter how hard we fight it, snacking is just human nature. I personally feel that if we can't beat human urge to snack than we just have to beat it using our brains. If we are going to snack lets make it things of value, things packed with nutrition and protein rather than things filled with junk. Here are some pointers for just about every type of snacker out there.

• Veggies and Fruits make for low calorie healthy snacks that fit in perfect between the bigger meals of the day.
• For the people with a sweet tooth; snack on your favorite in-season fruits.
• For the people wanting a crunch; chew on some celery with peanut butter or carrot sticks with light ranch dressing
• Come prepared for the day with snacks from home. It saves money and saves calories if you snack on something from home rather than running to the vending machines daily.

I have some people say that they workout so they can eat more of what they want. While this is a good way of looking at things lets not forget that fitness goals and dreams cannot be reached if poor nutrition is in the picture. Here is the last thing Ill say on this; Give yourselves a day that you can be a little laxed on your diet. Eat some ice cream or a cheeseburger, IT'S OK I PROMISE. Good luck today and hopefully this little message helped out.

Not only for Guys

Believe it or not, lifting weights is not only for men. Women who lift weights see results faster and even surpass expectations. Here is something to think about. You can burn 8-10 calories every minute you lift weights as compared to 10-12 calories when running or jogging. Not to big of a difference right? But here is the cool thing. Lifting weights generates what is known as a metabolic spike which has been seen to last up to an hour after you're done working out. What this means is that due to this metabolic spike your body continues to burn off calories because it is trying to help your muscles recover. Simply put in one half hour of weight training your body could burn up to 300 calories plus another 100-150 after you're done. So ladies, don't be afraid of the weight room. Lifting weights is an essential part of shaping your muscles. Here is a killer workout for you to try just simply to test whether or not you feel those calories burning off.

BACK
Machine Pulldown 3 sets/20,15,15 reps
Machine Sitting Row 3 sets/20, 15,15 reps
Lower Back Extension 3 sets/20,15,15 reps

Triceps
One arm cable pushdown 3sets/15 reps
One arm Dumbbell kick back 3 sets/15,12,12 reps
Rope Extension 3 sets/12,12,12 reps

Biceps
Straight Bar Curl 3 sets/10,12,15 reps
Hammer Curl 3 sets/ 10,12,15 reps
Machine preacher curl 3 sets/15,12,12 reps

Good luck today and make sure to follow this workout up with 20-30 minutes of cardio to feel maximum results.

Four Weeks to a better CHEST

Most beginning weight lifters are after two things; big guns and huge Pecs. In this post I will talk about simple keys to follow while building up your chest and at the end I will give you week one's routine. The following three weeks will be released starting next week, March 13, 2011. These keys, when followed will help your chest gain the maximum results possible. Here they are;

1. Check your EGO at the door. If you can't bench 300 pounds cleanly don't try it. Do what your body can take and muscle WILL grow.
2. Use Proper form. Using proper form will keep all the resistance and strain focused on your chest and not your delts or triceps.
3. Don't bounce the bar off your chest. This is not only dangerous but it releases tension of your pectorals and puts it on other muscles, this is not good
4. Use a spotter. Using a spotter can help you get stronger and more defined because you will be able to do more reps. I didn't say more weight because doing more reps will help you develop muscle.

I know these Keys may sound simple but they are the basic fundamentals of learning to build a stronger and bigger chest. So, are you ready for Week One's routine? Here it is:

Exercise Sets Reps

Bench Press 2-3 15-20

Dumbbell Bench Press 3 6-8

Incline Bench Press 3 8-10

Incline Dumbbell Flye 3 10-12

Smith Machine Decline Press 3 12-15

Push-Ups 3 to failure

Good Luck today and remember that this routine is only first. There are three more to come that intensify as the weeks go on. Check out the advertisments at the bottom of this page in the cream colored box to get hooked up with deals, latest products and articles.

Eating Before Bedtime???

It is 10:17 p.m. and I just had a light snack, well light in my book. I drank two scoops of casein protein with 1 Tbsp. of peanut butter all mixed in low-fat milk. This might seem odd to some of you, eating before bed but I am here to tell you that eating a small snack before bedtime is very important.
Our bodies burn up a lot of muscle mass as energy while we are counting sheep at night. When we are asleep we aren't consuming or putting protein or calories into our systems which means that we are running out of fuel as we sleep. Putting quality calories into our bodies before we hit the pillow helps to cut down on muscle catabolsim, or the break down of muscles during prolonged periods of exertion. So the question is simple; What SHOULD I eat before bedtime?

Mass-Gain= Before going to bed, eat a snack that equals about 350-400 calories that is high in proteins and slow-digesting fibers and fats. Examples are cottage cheese, casein powder, deli meats, peanut butter, nuts, seeds and the almighty EGG.

Getting Lean= Before going to bed, eat a snack that equals around 100-150 calories. I know you just worked those calories off but trust me when I tell you that your body needs to keep fuel inside its tank to continue to cut calories while you sleep. Examples are cottage cheese, peanut butter, slow-burning carbs or sugar-free yogurts.

Good Luck tonight and Never, I mean Never underestimate the power of a good nights rest.