Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday Trunk and Core

Who remembers Tae Bo?  Well, Billy Blanks--the founder of Tae Bo is still going strong.  I found an Ab Boot Camp workout from him on YouTube that really hones in on the abdominal muscles.  I could only find it divided into 4 separate segments.  I'm posting segments 1, 2 and 3.  Segment 4 is pretty advanced--there are some exercises there that can really hurt your lower back if not done properly (if you want to view it, it should show up in the side bar when you are doing the other segments).  Instead, I suggest doing some planks-- which again is one of if not the best core exercise you can do--holding each one for 15 seconds up to a minute each--doing as many as you can with good form.

I'm not a fan of all the counting done during the workout, but I understand his point--if you are counting, you are breathing--so once again--make sure you BREATHE!!!  If you don't want to count, make sure you are exhaling when they are counting out the number.  The counting also allows him to give more instruction during the video and  not have to worry about what rep you're on.  Note--he does this in all his videos.

I also don't like some of the stretches that he chose to do at the end--so I added a stretch video that focuses on stretching the lower body.

**Do the warm up video first**

Segments 1 and 2 are both done standing; this helps keep it cardio which equals fat burning.

Segment 3 is done on the floor

I couldn't get the video to load here, so click the link title and it will take you to the video

Billy Blanks Abs boot camp part 3

Here's a stretch video that focuses on  your lower body.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Monday Muscles --Cardio + Lower Body

Last Monday I posted a Cardio + Upper Body routine, so I thought I'd post one with lower body this week.

Your lower body already gets a lot of work during the cardio portion of a routine because it's the movement of the bigger muscles of your body--your legs--that gets your heart rate up.  This is more endurance work of the muscle--the ability to do something for a longer period of time.  I've said this before, when you train a muscle for strength, it's more about the ability to do something once or just a few times, like lifting something heavy--USE YOUR LEGS, NOT YOUR BACK!!!

There's no real warm up, so I posted one on the sidebar above the stretch routine that you can follow.  Remember, modify when you need to and breathe out on the exertion portion of the exercises, naval to your spine the whole time, chest up, shoulders back--no slouching!  Most important, have fun with it--you CAN do it!!!

Fitness Tip of the Day: Sunday Recipe Share

Happy Easter!!!

One of the great things about blogs, is that you can write posts ahead of time and then schedule them to publish whenever you want...so no, I'm not writing this post on Easter morning!

Today I decided to share a salad with you that I made for dinner last night.  It is written as a cold salad, but I served it warm and did a bit of substituting to fit what I had in my pantry/fridge.

Gemelli Salad with Green Beans, Pistachios, and Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

I used cavatappi pasta instead of gemelli--you could also use rotini--you want pasta with grooves or twists to hold the dressing.  I also subbed chopped walnuts for the pistachios and lemon juice for the vinegar, and I used frozen thin green beans.  I served it with burgers; it was delicious.  I can't wait to eat the leftovers!

Enjoy!!!