Fitness Tip of the Day: Saturday's Stretch and Flexibility --Yoga Infused Stretch

Today's video is another workout from FitnessBlender.  It is called "Goodbye Stress Calming Stretch Workout--Yoga-Infused Stretching Routine."

I chose this video because, unlike other yoga videos that I've posted, this one is more for the beginner.  It is described as a fluid type routine, but it really isn't.  One pose does not flow into the next within one breath like other yoga workouts.  She moves from one pose to the next holding each pose for 20 seconds, taking deep breaths as she holds each.

A couple of form issues:  She is very flexible--during Downward Facing Dog, she is able to get both of her heels down--this is your aim.  Most of us won't be able to get our heels down.  During the extension, you may be able to get the heel down.

During Cobra, do not lock out your elbows.  You want your arms straight, but not locked.  You NEVER want to lock out a joint, and don't take your head so far back--you don't want to hurt your neck.

If Pigeon bothers your knee or you hip, you can slide a pillow or cushion under your bottom (on the side with the leg bent to the front)--if you were following, we did this pose last week.

In Pigeon Twist, push the foot into your hand rather than pulling that foot into your bottom.  As stated before, don't want to lock (hyperextend) a joint, and you don't want to overbend (hyperflex) a joint either.  Keep the knee at more of a 90 degree angle.

In Child's Pose, you can add a cushion under your bottom if this pose bothers your knees.

In the Single Leg Hamstring Stretch, keep your chest lifted and your shoulders back and down.  Rounding over like she does makes it more of a lower back stretch.  If it's too much stretch, bend your knee slightly--otherwise keep the knee straight, but not locked.  The other leg doesn't have to be tucked in too closely, just bend the knee.

For the Glute Stretch, once again, if this bothers your knee or hip, add the cushion underneath--adjust until it feels good.

Knee Hugs--hug behind the knees at the thighs--again protecting your knees from hyperflexion.

Do NOT do the backbend--the risks outweigh the benefits for a beginner.

Torso Twist--turn your head in the opposite direction of the leg/s going over--this will help you keep your shoulders down.

Full body stretch--inhale as you stretch, exhale as you relax.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings -- Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load

There have been lots of articles and diets regarding the use of the glycemic index or glycemic load for food consumption.  So, what exactly is the glycemic index?

From Wikipedia:  "The glycemic index, or glycaemic index, (GI) provides a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels (i.e., levels of glucose in the blood) rise after eating a particular type of food. The effects that different foods have on blood sugar levels vary considerably. The glycemic index estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises a person's blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of pure glucose.^[1] Glucose has a glycemic index of 100.

A practical limitation of the glycemic index is that it does not take into account the amount of carbohydrate actually consumed. A related measure, the glycemic load, factors this in by multiplying the glycemic index of the food in question by the carbohydrate content of the actual serving."

And what then is the glycemic load?

Also from Wikipedia:  "The glycemic load (GL) of food is a number that estimates how much the food will raise a person's blood glucose level after eating it. One unit of glycemic load approximates the effect of consuming one gram of glucose.^[1] Glycemic load accounts for how much carbohydrate is in the food and how much each gram of carbohydrate in the food raises blood glucose levels. Glycemic load is based on the glycemic index (GI), and is defined as the grams of available carbohydrate in the food times the food's GI and divided by 100."

So, how do these two things relate to each other?  Rather than read a long description, I found a video that explains it really well.  It is from RealFitTV:

To see more videos, like this--click the link in the lower right side bar.

If you'd rather read, here's some of  it  in writing: 

Again, from Wikipedia:  "Glycemic load estimates the impact of carbohydrate consumption using the glycemic index while taking into account the amount of carbohydrate that is consumed. GL is a GI-weighted measure of carbohydrate content.

For instance, watermelon has a high GI, but a typical serving of watermelon does not contain much carbohydrate, so the glycemic load of eating it is low. Whereas glycemic index is defined for each type of food, glycemic load can be calculated for any size serving of a food, an entire meal, or an entire day's meals.

For one serving of a food, a GL greater than 20 is considered high, a GL of 11-19 is considered medium, and a GL of 10 or less is considered low. Foods that have a low GL in a typical serving size almost always have a low GI. Foods with an intermediate or high GL in a typical serving size range from a very low to very high GI."

Therefore, all foods with a high GI, aren't necessary bad.  You have to look at serving sizes.  I found this food chart on PopSugar.com that might help:

"Looking at some food's values may help you understand the two better. So read more.

Food	GI	GL
1 medium apple	38	6
1 small banana	47	8
10 baby carrots	35	2
1 medium baked potato with skin	76	23
1 medium orange	42	5
1 medium pear	38	4
1 cup white rice	64	23
1 cup brown rice	55	18
1 cup regular pasta	44	18
1 cup whole wheat pasta	37	14
1 cup skim milk	32	4
1 oz. cashews	22	2
1 oz. peanuts	14	1
1 oz. jelly beans	78	22
2 tsp sugar	68	7
1 cup lentils	29	5
1 cup kidney beans	28	7
1 cup barley	25	11

If you don't see a specific food on this chart, then go to nutriondata.com, enter the name of a food, and it'll tell you the GL."

Fitness Tip of the Day: Thursday's Total Body/Cardio - Denise Austin Sports Boot Camp

Today's workout comes from BeFit.  It is a 20 minute low impact, kettlebell inspired total body workout from Denise Austin.

The warm up is fairly short--I'd recommend doing the 5 minute warm up video first.

I'd also recommend a bit heavier dumbbell for the exercises that use momentum like the swings and the passing through the legs and lighter ones for the exercises she does with two weights.

Keep your back flat and chest up when you do the one arm row with dead lift.

Do NOT lean forward on the alternating lunges, as you pass through, keep your chest up bending at the knees.

If the kneeling position bothers your knees, you can do the kayak move in the same position as the exercise prior letting your heels touch the floor, or keep them elevated for more work.  Go slower if she's moving too fast for you to control.

Please do the full body stretch after.  Her stretch segment is not enough.

I wasn't able to load the video here, so here's the link:  Sports Boot Camp

Fitness Tip of the Day: Wednesday's Wild/Warrior Workout -- Hotel Room Workout

Today's workout is a no excuses workout.  Many people use a vacation or travel as an excuse to skip their workouts.  Many hotel "fitness" rooms are pretty dumpy, so here's a workout that you can do in your room.  All you need is a resistance band and a towel.  This workout can be done at home too!!!

This is a 15 minute interval workout  (after the 3 minute warm up) consisting of 5 exercises that are done for 45 seconds with a 15 second rest in between and repeated 3 times.  She does include a stretch at the end.  The entire video is about 26 minutes.

For the Push Ups--if you need to modify, go to your knees and step one foot in at a time.

For the Low Back Lunge--keep your chest up and your back flat.  You want to look forward, not down as you do this.  If you can't touch the ground, don't worry about it, go as far as you can.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday's Trunk and Core -- 30 Day 6 Pack Abs

Yes!  It's another 30 day workout from BeFit!!!

This one is called 30 Day 6 Pack Abs.  I posted a workout from this program way back in April entitled, "Ab Power Workout  1:  Ripped".

The first video I'm posting is the Introduction to the Program:

**Now, even though this is called "30 Day 6 Pack Abs,"  I really recommend that you do these workouts every other day.  As I've stated before, the abdominals are muscles, and all muscles need that day of rest and recovery.  So I'd recommend looking at it as the "60 Day 6 Pack Abs".  Use the alternating days to do upper and lower body workouts, and don't forget about flexibility training!

Today I'm featuring the workout entitled, "Ab Strength Workout 1:  Shred."

This workout consists of 5 exercises done for 30 seconds each done with no rest in between.  This is then repeated 2 more times for a total of 3 rounds.

Again, working out like this will make the workout a cardiovascular one as well, and that will increase your calorie and fat burn.  As I've said before, you need to burn off that layer of fat before you can see the muscles underneath.  With this workout, you are burning the fat and strengthening the muscles at the same time, which is the better way to do it.

Some modifications and form cues:  For the Plank Push Up, you can go to your knees if needed.

For the Oblique Roll Crunch, make sure to keep your lower back and hips still, don't lift your opposite hip off the floor as you rotate--just the upper body is moving.

There is no warm up included, he does do some stretching at the end.  Please do a warm up on your own.

I'm also posting a "Cardio Fit Challenge."  This challenge is an intense 4 minute workout that consists of  5 rounds of 5 exercises doing 3 reps each.  You will time yourself to see how fast you do it.  This is meant to be used as a tool to measure how much strength you gain over time.  You could repeat this challenge weekly to keep track of your progression.  As you get stronger, you can add extra reps to each exercise and see if you can complete it in your original time and then progress again from there, or you can add on extra rounds.

This link will take you all 15 workouts in the 30 day workout:  30 Day 6 Pack Abs

**Here's a link to the calendar if you would like to follow the program: 30 Day 6 Pack Abs Calendar

Fitness Tip of the Day: Monday's Muscle Work -- Lower Body--Skinny Jeans Workout

Whether you wear skinny jeans or not, you'll love doing this great lower body workout from popsugartvfit when you don't have a lot of time--it's only 10 minutes long.

It moves continually from one exercise to another making it a cardio workout as well as a great leg workout.  There is some plyometric work, but remember you can modify if you have joint issues.

The warm up is pretty short, you might want to watch it first and determine if you want to do a little more prep work.  There is no final stretch provided, so please do the lower body stretch video posted below in the right side bar.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Sunday's Recipe Share -- Best Banana Breads

I love banana bread!!!

So when I saw a post from Cooking Light on the Best Banana Breads, I had to check it out!!!  I make a pretty mean Chocolate Chip Banana loaf--it's not a bread really because it starts with a yellow cake mix.

Anyway, when I saw some of the breads listed, I knew I had to share them.  Here's a couple that caught my eye:

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread

This one sounds like a tropical drink:

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

Here's a link to all the recipes:  Best Banana Breads

If you're not a fan of banana bread, here's a link to some others:  30 Best Quick Breads

Some of these look quite yummy too!  Let me know if you try any of them, I'd love to hear how they are!