Fitness Tip of the Day: Saturday's Stretch and Flexibility -- Stretches for Tense Shoulders and Back

When asked, "Are your shoulders tense?", most of us would answer, "Yes".

Here's a video that focuses on stretching tense shoulders as well as the upper back and chest.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings -- Wrist Health

Many of us suffer from wrist pain.  It can be from too much computer use, arthritis, due to a sprain or strain, or any type of repetitive movement to that joint.  I get it when I do a lot of planks and push ups.

I found a couple of videos that address this pain.  The first shows 3 alternatives to do when doing a push up or plank.

There are two modifications I give that aren't mentioned in the video.  First, you can always come down to your forearms when doing a plank, this also includes plank jacks, mountain climbers etc.

Second, for both plank position exercises and push ups, you can use some kind of box--like an aerobics step or a coffee table.  If you place your hands on either side of the short end letting your fingers point toward the floor, your wrists will stay in  line.

Next, I found a stretch video from Tara Stiles that focuses on the wrist.  These are really great stretches.  They are also good for tennis or golf elbow which start from the wrist and go up to the elbow.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Thursday's Total Body/Cardio -- Bodyweight Workout

I found a new channel on YouTube called LiveExercise.  There are over 700 videos posted from this channel.

This is a total body workout that uses bodyweight only.  The great thing about doing these types of exercises is that your heart rate goes up.  When you use the big muscles in your body, you use more energy and it becomes a cardio workout as well.  It is broken into 3 segments.  Each segment is repeated 3 times.

I have a couple of form tips while doing this workout; when doing lunges, keep your shoulders back and in line with your hips, dropping that back knee straight towards the floor.  You don't have to go as fast or as low as she does--go as fast and as deep as you can with good form.

When doing push-ups, whether they are on your toes or knees, keep your head in line with your neck.  As you get tired, you're going to want to let your head drop--keep it level--she drops her head a lot.  The same goes for when you are doing the mountain climbers, plank push-ups and plank jacks.  You want alignment from the back of your head all the way to your heels.

When doing the side planks, one modification she didn't mention is to put your knee down while keeping your hips up.

You can go to your knees on the plank push-ups if they start to get too hard.

For the V-ups, only take your legs down as far as your back will allow--as soon as you feel your back arching off the mat--stop--taking your legs further can lead to back pain. Try to clear your shoulder blades as you reach for the toes.

There isn't much of a warm-up--I'd do more.  Also, walk around a bit before going into the stretch to let your heart rate come down a bit.  She only stretches lower body--you need to stretch your upper body as well--chest, upper back, shoulders, biceps and triceps.

I like the fact that the workout is challenging for her as well--she's human.   Although she does say that she just had a baby 8 weeks ago--YIKES!  I remember my first days back after having Jeff--it was hard!!!

Fitness Tip of the Day: Wednesday's Wild/Warrior Workout -- 1,000 Calorie Workout

Today's workout is a new 1,000 calorie workout from FitnessBlender.  I post a lot of workouts from this channel because they are done so well.  If you prefer to workout to music, feel free to play some in the background.

This is an intense workout, go at your own pace and modify when needed.

You will begin with a warm-up which is included.  From there you will be taken through a tabata style section doing exercises for 20 and resting for 10 seconds.  Each round will consist of 2 exercises and you will repeat each round 3 times.  There are 10 exercises in total in this section.  No additional equipment is needed.

The next segment is strength training.  You will need a set of dumbbells for these exercises. If you don't have any, use something from around the house that can easily fit into your hand, an optional bench is also used.  This section consists of 3 groups of 2 exercises doing 2 sets of 10 each.  Again, lift at your own pace.  Breathe out as you lift.

The next part consists of a kickboxing routine.  It includes 6 groups of cardio combos doing 10 reps on each side.  Remember when punching that you don't snap out your elbow, make the power come from your back and shoulder.

The last part is a core and cardio segment.  This consists of alternating core exercises with cardio intervals, doing 45 seconds of activity followed by 15 seconds of rest.

Finally, a stretch and cool down are included as well.

Are you ready???!!!

Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday's Trunk and Core -- Fat Burning Abs

As I've stated before, the way to flatter abs is much more than doing crunches.  If you want a toned midsection you need to do three things.

First, you need to do some fat burning cardio--whether it is done as a HIIT (high intensity, interval training) workout like this one, or as a 10 mile run, you need to MOVE to burn calories.  You should try to move everyday.  Change things up, one day do a more intense shorter cardio workout, another day take a long walk--but walk fast enough to get your heart rate up a bit.  It's actually better on your joints to alternate between high and low impact workouts.

Second, you need to do strength training exercises; you can choose to do crunches (not the best exercise you can pick though), Pilates, planks, or some other kind of core work (don't forget to work your back muscles too), doing enough to bring the muscles to full fatigue. These exercises need to be done at least 3 to 4 times a week (with a day of rest in between) to see any results.  Other muscle work is also important--you really want to do strength training for your entire body. Remember, the more active muscle tissue you have on your body, the more calories (and fat) your body burns just to maintain.

Thirdly, and most importantly, your flatter abs and leaner body both come from what you eat.  You can be working out regularly like you're supposed to, but if you are eating nothing but processed junk food (refined sugars and flours, hydrogenated fats--all in pre-packaged food), deep fried, and fast food you will have a much more difficult time getting lean and losing fat.  Eat more high fiber vegetables and fruits and less junk.  I'm not saying to give treats up completely, but make them just that--treats that are consumed once in a while, not daily.

We've been taught it's all about calories in versus calories burned, and yes, you can lose weight that way--weight, not necessarily fat.  You could decrease your calories and eat nothing but 1,200 calories worth of candy bars and lose weight, but would you be "healthier"?  I think not.

So, do your cardio and strength training and ditch the junk food, drink more water and find your leaner body.

Today's workout comes from JessicaSmithTV on YouTube.  It is a 30 minute HIIT fat burning, abs routine that alternates between high intensity cardio exercises and exercises that focus on the core.  There is some jumping involved, but she offers modifications for those of you who shouldn't be jumping.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Monday's Muscle Work -- Arms on Fire

Even though tank top season is coming to a close, that doesn't mean that you stop working those arms.

I found another video from Cassey Ho from the blogilates channel on YouTube.  She taught the Pilates arms workout that I posted a couple of weeks ago.  This workout is part of an "On Fire" series.  This one is called "Arms on Fire."  Oh yeah, you're muscles will be burning!!!

There is no warm up--please do one.  Take time to stretch afterward as well--stretch your arms, your upper and lower back, your chest and your wrists.  This workout can be done alone, or along with some cardio or legwork.

Here's a printout of the exercises (I found it by Googling "arms on fire")

Here's an "On Fire" workout calendar that she has posted on the blogilates website.

Here's a link to the website to see a larger view and print if desired:  http://www.blogilates.com/calendar/juneonfire

This is a beginner's workout calendar that is also available on the website:

Here's a link to the website with the calendar for a larger view and printable option:
http://www.blogilates.com/calendar/beginners-calendar

Fitness Tip of the Day: Sunday's Recipe Share -- Homemade Italian Sausage with Zucchini Pasta

Last Tuesday I was home waiting for workers to come and seal the concrete work that we had done to our front stoop and patio.

I've been trying more and more to eat "clean"--less processed foods; little to no sugar, or refined flours.  So, I decided to do some cooking.  First off I made some spaghetti sauce--I always try to make my own that I then freeze.  Here's what I do:

I usually start off with sauteed onions and garlic and a really big can of crushed tomatoes (I make sure that is the only ingredient--no salt or other spices).  Then I get creative.  This time I added some chopped green peppers to the onions.  After adding in the canned tomatoes I cut up some plum tomatoes (also from our garden) that I had roasted earlier.  I also found some roasted green peppers that I had in the freezer, cut them up and added them in.  Then I always add in a cube of my homemade pesto--I love basil--(I freeze it in cubes).  I added some water--it was a little thick, then about a cup of red wine.  Finally, I added some Parmesan rind, some fresh rosemary, thyme, oregano (also from the garden) salt, pepper and let it simmer away.

Since I was in Italian mode, I decided to make some turkey italian sausage and peppers.  It's really pretty simple.  I do this with breakfast sausage as well--the difference is the spices.

Here's the recipe:

I used 1 pound of ground turkey.  To this I added some finely chopped onion and garlic--probably about 1/3 cup onions and 2 cloves of garlic (I do use preminced garlic--I put in a heaping spoonful--I LIKE garlic!).  Then I added in some spices (all dried)--thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, sage salt and pepper--all to taste.  I mixed this up and formed the meat into links--I think I got 6 or 7.  I set these aside.

To a large frying pan I added some olive oil.  I sauteed onions and peppers until they were soft.  I removed them, added a bit more oil to the pan and then the sausage links.  I cooked them until they were almost done and then I added the onions, peppers and some of the tomato sauce into the pan.  I covered it and let it simmer until the meat was cooked through.  I didn't think to take any pictures then, but here's one of some of the leftovers:

Now, normally I would have made pasta to go with this, but since I was trying to avoid refined flour, I decided to do something with the zucchini I just bought.  I searched pinterest and found that you can cut the zucchini into ribbons (using a vegetable peeler), boil it--it only takes about 3 mins-- and serve it just like pasta.  So that's what I did.  I made an easy Alfredo sauce--I melted some cream cheese--about 1/2 a block, added some garlic and Italian seasoning to it along with almond milk (I'm trying to limit dairy too and the cheese was enough) and of course salt and pepper to taste.  Finally some shredded Parm to finish it off.  It was delish!  It kind of looked like this:

I rounded out the meal with some sauteed kale with olive oil and yes MORE garlic!  

On another note, since I've been on this kick, I actually bought some TOFU!!!  I saw this recipe on Chocolate Covered Katie and had to try it.

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Mousse

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I will never make chocolate mousse with milk or cream again!!!  I did alter the recipe a bit.  I used about half the amount of melted chocolate (yeah, I know--there's sugar--it was dark chocolate, so there's less--I did say little to no sugar).  It wasn't until I made the recipe that I saw the link to a lighter version that only uses cocoa powder and agave nectar and no melted chocolate.  I'm going to try that next to see if I can cut out the refined sugar.  I'll report back on the results.

This all just proves that eating healthy can be VERY tasty!