Think you don't have time to exercise? Guess again! In just 10 to 20 minutes, you can get an excellent full body workout. Its called the Express Workout, and you can do it wherever you are, whenever you want!
For a quick workout at home, on vacation, or even in the office, try this circuit (repetitions in parenthesis are for beginner, intermediate and advanced, respectively:
Pushups - box-style, on your knees or on your toes (20, 25, 30)
Dips (20,25,30)
Butt Bumps (20, 25, 30)
Wall Sit (60 seconds for all levels)
Flutter Kick Hold 10 kick, 10 hold (3 sets, 3 sets, 4 sets)
Repeat entire circuit 3 or 4 times.
Need a refresher on some of the moves? Here's Lorri Ann to show you how to do it!
Your challenge this week: Do your express workout at least three times this week. Your body will love you for it!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
2012 Weekly Challenge #16: An APPLE a Day
You know that old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" Turns out it might be more true than you thought!
Apples are the perfect snack food. They are crunchy, sweet (but not too sweet) and delicious and also chock full of nutrition. Apples are low on the glycemic index which helps stabilize your blood sugar. They are also high in fiber which is not only good for your digestive system, but also helps you feel satisfied. As an extra bonus, apples don't need to be refrigerated and come in their own "wrapping" making them the epitome of a "grab and go" snack.
Your challenge: Eat an apple a day. When you do your grocery shopping, branch otu and try more than one variety of apple. Pay attention to what your favorites are, and make this challenge a part of your regular eating routine throughout the year. Be sure to come back to the blog and post a comment letting us all know what your favorites are so we can all try them too!
Have a great week, and remember: An apple a day DOES keep the doctor away, and so much more.
Apples are the perfect snack food. They are crunchy, sweet (but not too sweet) and delicious and also chock full of nutrition. Apples are low on the glycemic index which helps stabilize your blood sugar. They are also high in fiber which is not only good for your digestive system, but also helps you feel satisfied. As an extra bonus, apples don't need to be refrigerated and come in their own "wrapping" making them the epitome of a "grab and go" snack.
Your challenge: Eat an apple a day. When you do your grocery shopping, branch otu and try more than one variety of apple. Pay attention to what your favorites are, and make this challenge a part of your regular eating routine throughout the year. Be sure to come back to the blog and post a comment letting us all know what your favorites are so we can all try them too!
Have a great week, and remember: An apple a day DOES keep the doctor away, and so much more.
Friday, April 13, 2012
2012 Weekly Challenge #15: STRETCH!
Taking care of your body is an essential part of any exercise program. And yet it is one of the things we are most likely to skip. Everyone knows they should stretch before and/or after exercise, and that it is a good habit to have just as a part of daily living. But really...how often do YOU do it?
Stretching keeps you flexible, prepares your muscles for exercise and helps your body heal after a tough workout. Besides being good for you, it has the extra benefit of feeling GOOD (usually).
Don't know how to start? Start by taking a look at the stretch chart in your Mama Bootcamp binder, and look for the ones that stretch the areas on your body that are tight or sore.
Your challenge this week: Spend 5 minutes at the end of your day stretching.
Pick a few stretches that target your "problem" spots (sore, tight, etc.) and do them. Hold each stretch to your comfort level, but shoot for about 30 seconds. If you're up for even more of a challenge, try to incorporate some body care into your entire day by taking a couple of minutes every hour or so to stretch. Your body will love you for it!
Have a GREAT week!
Stretching keeps you flexible, prepares your muscles for exercise and helps your body heal after a tough workout. Besides being good for you, it has the extra benefit of feeling GOOD (usually).
Don't know how to start? Start by taking a look at the stretch chart in your Mama Bootcamp binder, and look for the ones that stretch the areas on your body that are tight or sore.
Your challenge this week: Spend 5 minutes at the end of your day stretching.
Pick a few stretches that target your "problem" spots (sore, tight, etc.) and do them. Hold each stretch to your comfort level, but shoot for about 30 seconds. If you're up for even more of a challenge, try to incorporate some body care into your entire day by taking a couple of minutes every hour or so to stretch. Your body will love you for it!
Have a GREAT week!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
2012 Weekly Challenge #14: Veggie Bags!
(I apologize for the lapse in weekly challenges - a computer glitch on my end. We're picking up right where we left off with challenge #14!)
Even if you only just started Mama Bootcamp, you know that one of the cornerstones in our nutrition training is eating veggies. Lots and lots and lots of veggies.
You'd have to have been living under a rock to NOT know that a healthy diet must include lots of vegetables. But let's get real - even though we all KNOW it, we don't all DO it every day. For me, a big factor is the time - those veggies have to be washed, and dried, and cut before I can eat them!
The small time investment is more than made up by the benefit. By eating your veggies, you are not only loading yourself up with vitamins and minerals that are essential to healthy living, you are giving yourself so much more. Veggies not only help your body function better, but they can help you lose weight, look younger and even help prevent cancer. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Your challenge this week looks (and sounds familiar): Eat your veggies! But this week, let's work on making it part of your regular routine and making it EASY (and fast, too!). You should be eating 7-9 servings of veggies every single day. With one serving the equivalent of .5 cups, you can fit a whole day's worth of these health-making beauties into one quart-size plastic bag.
Your challenge: Make your Grab-n-Go Veggie bags. By 7pm on Sunday, have your veggie bags for the week ready to go. Pick out several different veggies, and try to be sure to cover as many "colors" as you can. Dark green, light green and red are my favorites, with a little white thrown in, too. Chop them up into the size you like best, and fill up your quart-sized bags. Put them in the fridge so they're ready to go (maybe pair them up with your favorite dip - hummus is mine).
With just a small time investment, the "work" is done for the whole week! On your way out door every morning this week you can grab a bag full of yum! Snack on it all day long, and enjoy the awesome results.
One of my favorite quotes is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Veggies bags are a perfect example of planning to meet your goal of eating 7 to 9 servings of veggies a day. Have a fantastic week!
You'd have to have been living under a rock to NOT know that a healthy diet must include lots of vegetables. But let's get real - even though we all KNOW it, we don't all DO it every day. For me, a big factor is the time - those veggies have to be washed, and dried, and cut before I can eat them!
The small time investment is more than made up by the benefit. By eating your veggies, you are not only loading yourself up with vitamins and minerals that are essential to healthy living, you are giving yourself so much more. Veggies not only help your body function better, but they can help you lose weight, look younger and even help prevent cancer. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Your challenge this week looks (and sounds familiar): Eat your veggies! But this week, let's work on making it part of your regular routine and making it EASY (and fast, too!). You should be eating 7-9 servings of veggies every single day. With one serving the equivalent of .5 cups, you can fit a whole day's worth of these health-making beauties into one quart-size plastic bag.
Your challenge: Make your Grab-n-Go Veggie bags. By 7pm on Sunday, have your veggie bags for the week ready to go. Pick out several different veggies, and try to be sure to cover as many "colors" as you can. Dark green, light green and red are my favorites, with a little white thrown in, too. Chop them up into the size you like best, and fill up your quart-sized bags. Put them in the fridge so they're ready to go (maybe pair them up with your favorite dip - hummus is mine).
With just a small time investment, the "work" is done for the whole week! On your way out door every morning this week you can grab a bag full of yum! Snack on it all day long, and enjoy the awesome results.
One of my favorite quotes is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Veggies bags are a perfect example of planning to meet your goal of eating 7 to 9 servings of veggies a day. Have a fantastic week!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
April Recipe- Spring Salad
Salad is such a great way to get in your veggies, especially those dark, nutrient-rich greens like spinach. I love a good salad, but sometimes I struggle at home to fix salad because I want it to have a lot of parts, but it can be a pain to prep it all when it's just myself or two of us. It helps if I just create my own at-home salad bar. Using containers to store all the elements, you take the time once to get it all prepped and then throughout the week, just pull it out and fix a salad. In my house, it's far easier to do that then to toss it all together, only to not have it all eaten at once and then risk getting spoiled.
The other thing I like about salad, is "special" salads, the not your usual green salad with typical ingredients, but ones with seasonal ingredients or dynamic flavor combinations. So when I came across a spring salad with mixed greens and blood oranges, I just had to share it here.
Blood Orange Salad with Gorgonzola, Pecans and Baby Greens
If you don't find blood oranges, naval oranges work fine, or even strawberries. This would make a great addition to your Easter meal. It's an easy salad to keep the elements stored separately and then assemble one just for yourself.
Need other salad ideas? Don't forget this previous post- A Salad A Day.
The other thing I like about salad, is "special" salads, the not your usual green salad with typical ingredients, but ones with seasonal ingredients or dynamic flavor combinations. So when I came across a spring salad with mixed greens and blood oranges, I just had to share it here.
Blood Orange Salad with Gorgonzola, Pecans and Baby Greens
If you don't find blood oranges, naval oranges work fine, or even strawberries. This would make a great addition to your Easter meal. It's an easy salad to keep the elements stored separately and then assemble one just for yourself.
Need other salad ideas? Don't forget this previous post- A Salad A Day.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
March Recipe- Asparagus
Although we are finally getting the rain we needed, spring is around the corner and asparagus has begun to be sold in markets at lower prices. So this month I want to share with you some information about asparagus as well as a couple of recipes.
Asparagus is one of the best vegetable sources of folic acid as a 5.3 oz serving provides 60% of the recommended daily allowance. There is also 3 grams of protein in a serving. It's a great source of fiber, it's low in sodium and it's a good source of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin. It contains an abundance of an amino acid called asparagine, that helps to cleanse the body of waste material. The high alkalinity of the juice in asparagus is effective in reducing the acidity of the blood and helps cleanses the tissues and muscles of waste. So, now that we know what a great veggie it is, let's get down to the business of eating it.
Asparagus Artichoke Salad- This is a delicious little salad of grilled or roasted asparagus tossed together with marinated artichokes, grape tomatoes and onion.
On the same page as this recipe, she provides some links to several other recipes as well as methods for simple roasting and grilling.
Asparagus is one of the best vegetable sources of folic acid as a 5.3 oz serving provides 60% of the recommended daily allowance. There is also 3 grams of protein in a serving. It's a great source of fiber, it's low in sodium and it's a good source of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin. It contains an abundance of an amino acid called asparagine, that helps to cleanse the body of waste material. The high alkalinity of the juice in asparagus is effective in reducing the acidity of the blood and helps cleanses the tissues and muscles of waste. So, now that we know what a great veggie it is, let's get down to the business of eating it.
Asparagus Artichoke Salad- This is a delicious little salad of grilled or roasted asparagus tossed together with marinated artichokes, grape tomatoes and onion.
On the same page as this recipe, she provides some links to several other recipes as well as methods for simple roasting and grilling.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Weekly Challenge #12: Appreciate your Body (aka Positive Self-Talk)
This week's challenge builds on that idea.
How many times in a day do you engage in negative self-talk about your BODY? I know I do it ALL.THE.TIME. "I can't wear those, my thighs are too fat." "I hate my arms." "My back is killing me." "I'm just not strong enough." Honestly, I've probably said each of these things to myself, in my head, just in the last 3 hours.
But what about the GOOD things about my body and all of the amazingly positive and wonderful things it has done for me? My legs are strong and get me where I want to go, and I can move around and play with my daughter whenever I want to. I may have stretch marks, but they came from having a baby - a wonderful gift my body gave me. My body may not be perfect, but it sure has served me well so far, and it is getting stronger every day!
Your challenge this week: Positive Self Talk!
Your Bootcamp coach will give you an index card. Give yourself a minute to think about the beauty of your body and then write down some positive things your body has done for you. As the week goes on, listen to yourself (speech and thoughts) and squash that negative body-talk. Use your card to write down something you love about your body, or something wonderful your body has done for you. Anytime you start having those negative thoughts, pull out your card and remind yourself how strong, beautiful and lucky you really are!
Have a great week!
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