Change It up. Running with quick bursts of energy throughout your run will leave your boring treadmill routine seem like it flew by, help beat the wall and start to get you ready for potential 5k’s this spring. You can adjust he speeds that suits your needs best but make sure the easy minute is letting you recover. The minute you increase the sped leaves you feeling like you have to pick it up a notch. Happy Milling it:)
Blessings, Michelle
ABS CHALLENGE! Consistency is the key. If you are just starting out I would suggest slowly working your way into this challenge. Starting off with abs 2-3 times a week with light reps (10-12). Each week add in an extra day of abs and a few more reps as your abdominal muscles begin to get stronger. It is also crucial to rest your body, so your muscles can repair.Listen to your body and if you are feeling sore take a day or two to recover. Doing endless amounts of crunches is not going to help tone and sculpt your abs if you aren’t adding in a variety of exercises that also target other body parts. example: mountain climbers, planks,courtsey or single squats with weights and don’t forget the cardio! It burns the fat and engages the abs. Our body adapts to exercise, incorporating new exercises and at some point adding in weights will help continue to challenge the body. You may have heard me mention this before abs are made in the kitchen. Eating healthy will help aid in the development of your abdominal muscles. Ditch the garbage and eat protein, veggies, and fruits. Stay hydrated! Make sure you have properly warmed-up before doing these exercises. Do this challenge to your comfort level depending on your level of fitness.
Week 1: The basic Series
basic crunch x25
pull your left leg to glutes while your right is straight out x25
pull your right leg to glutes while your left leg is straight out x25
Leg lift combined with a crunch x25
bring both legs up with feet flat on the floor, palms facing down and tap each opposing side on the outside of your hips with your fingertips (called the Turtle) x25
*perform these exercises for week 1
Week 2: Plank Series
The plank is a simple move that trains the abs and spinal extensors as they work to maintain the raised position. you benefit from improved core strength, tighter abdominal, and a stronger back which create better posture. The full plank is an advanced exercise but you can build up to it in stages. Concentrate on tightening the muscles of your abdomen, back, buttocks, and legs and remember to breathe!
(Reference-Strength Training for Women)
If you are new to plank start off just holding them for 10 secs and work your way up to 30 secs
1. plank position 10-30 seconds
2. Plank position while maintaining this position lift and lower your knees for 10-30 seconds
3. side plank- 10-30 seconds (keep each side equal and don’t forget opposing side)
4. side plank while maintaining this position lift and lower your side to touch floor and press up for 10-30 seconds
Plank Tips-lift those abdominal to prevent low back from sagging, keep head, neck, and spine aligned, anchor shoulder blades to avoid from hunching
*Perform these exercises for week 2
Blessings Ladies, Enjoy the Challenge!
Hey Live Fit
About a month ago we were blessed to work with Certified Personal Trainer Sonia Maranville. Sonia gave us a booty kicking kickboxing workout and shared some astonishing information on America’s sugar intake. We are going to be meeting with Sonia again on March 13th and 27th if you missed our last meeting and want to join! Check our Meeting Times tab or message me for more information.
I thought this information really correlated with our eliminating 1 bad habit and adding a good habit in its place post: https://livefitwomensfitness.com/tag/eliminate-the-bad-add-the-good/ How is that going for you ladies? For me it’s still been a struggle. I was having energy highs and lows during the day and realized it was due to consuming too much sugar. I have cut out a good deal of sugar and am feeling a lot better. I substituted packaged oatmeal for homemade, sugary snacks for triscutts and in the evening have been giving up eating after 8pm which at first seemed hard but know I’m realizing it was pure boredom that I was eating out of. I am craving fruits and vegetables much more than sweats these days and am loving it! Please reply all let us know what you cut out and added in its place. Maybe for you it was turning negative thoughts into a more optimistic attitude, Let us know!
This article was written by Sonia, Owner of Sonia’s Fitness Training. She is a Group Fitness Instructor and Certified personal Trainer through National Exercise Trainers Association (NETA). She has been in the fitness industry since 2005. You can find her at: www.soniasfitnesstraining.com
Sugar, How Sweet it is…Or is it?
Do you ever have a hunkering for something sweet? Do you think about it all day until you satisfy it? After you find something sweet do you feel a rush from the sugar, almost euphoric? Research shows that a high intake of carbohydrates, including sugar, releases feel food chemical in the brain called serotonin. Then within an hour of eating the sugar you start to crash and feel tired, fatigued, and lethargic and grab another piece of candy or something.
Maybe you’re sitting there thinking “who cares, what harm can a little sugar really do to me? Cravings, binge eating, weight gain, and heart disease are just a few problems that sugar can cause when eaten in excess. It also causes an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, elevated triglycerides, and low HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It has also been linked to depression, migraines, poor eyesight, autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis, gout, and osteoporosis.
Twenty Years ago the average person consumed about 25 pounds of sugar per year. According to the USDA, today the average American consumes over 135 pounds of sugar a year. That’s about 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily, the equivalent of 350 calories which means over 8,000 teaspoons a year. That’s double the recommended amount. The American Heart Association recommends that we limit our daily sugar consumption to 7% or less of our daily calorie intake. That’s about 6 teaspoons (100 calories) for women and 9 teaspoons (150 calories) for men. One 12 ounce can of regular soda contains 8-10 teaspoons of sugar, and a glazed donut contains 6 teaspoons. At least half of the sugar we consume comes from high-fructose corn syrup found in fat-free foods like ketchup, teriyaki sauce, chocolate milk, cookies, cake, ice cream and cereals. And even when you think you’re eating healthy foods, like yogurt and instant oatmeal can pack as much as 20-30 grams (5-7 teaspoons). Wow looks like we have some work to do!
4 Ways to reduce your sugar intake:
1. Only drink water and milk. No sugary liquids, including juice.
2. only eat sugars that have fiber (ie fruits). This will slow down he breakdown of sugars and cut out the unhealthy sugary treats.
3. wait 20 minutes for a second portion. A second portion only doubles the sugars you ate for that meal. You might not even want it!
4. Exercise. It improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. And if exercise is done after you eat sugar it makes fructose less toxic therefore improving liver insulin sensitivity.
Taken from the UCSF Watch Clinic Lifestyle Intervention.
The attached picture is from an exercise we did with Sonia. We measured out the sugar consumption for all the meals listed next to the glass mugs. The first day is the American Typical day of Sugar, The second day is the Healthy day of sugar and the last day is the Ideal day of sugar.
Thanks Sonia, What a great visual exercise that helps us grasp how mush extra sugar we are consuming and not even realizing it.
Blessings Ladies, Michelle
Oh monday right! This is a 20 minute treadmill workout. I was sweating pretty fierce after I completed this workout. I think next week I’ll post a 20 minute ab routine that you can do to gear up for swim suit season which isn’t far around the corner:0
If your schedule is tight during the week try 20 minutes of vigorously intense cardio three days a week. These sessions can even be broken down into 10 minute blocks throughout the day if necessary in order to fit them in, as long as they are done in with the standard daily physical activities. If you are looking to lose weight and improve fitness, 30-60 minutes moderate to intense physical activity five times a week is more likely to be necessary.
-Reference: The Women’s Fitness Book
Blessings Ladies,
Michelle
(Remember it’s always crucial to warm-up your body prior to working out and cool down the body, stretch once you have completed your workout. I am not liable to any injuries/health issues that result from exercises from this site. Consult with your healthcare provider before beginning any workout regimen. If you feel pain or any discomfort while exercising stop immediately).
When asked what is my favorite exercise I would have to say any variation of plank. I love anything in the plank position. It works so many muscles at once and you can do so many exercises from this position For some reason sometimes I enjoy wacky exercises that have names like inchworm and grasshopper! Enjoy ladies! If you have an exercise or workout you would like to post please comment or message me and I’ll get them up on the site. We are in this journey together! Sharing and trying new exercises helps us beat what is called a plateau. This is when we stick to the same routines every week and stay within our comfort zone. It is important to add variety to your exercise program. This helps keep you from getting bored and throwing in the towel. It ensures that you are challenging yourself in different ways. Plateau is when your body begins to adapt to the physiological demands of a repetitive workout and you begin to no longer see results. Varying workouts also reduces the chances of over-use and injury!
Inchworm to grasshopper:
This is going to target: Shoulders, back, chest, arms and abs
1: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then hinge forward at hips, back flat and place palms on the floor
2: Walk hands out into full plank position(modification here would be to bend knees slightly on the walk-out) (keep belly button pulled in don’t let those hips sag, shoulders over your hands!)
3: Bring left leg diagonally beneath body toward right hip. Return to plank, switch legs, repeat.
4: Alternate sides once more, then walk hands back to meet feet to return to start.
5: Start with 5-10 reps
Reference-Fitness magazine, The Women’s Fitness Book
“Remember it’s always crucial to warm-up your body prior to working out and cool down the body, stretch once you have completed your workout. I am not liable to any injuries/health issues that result from exercises from this site. Consult with your healthcare provider before beginning any workout regimen. If you feel pain or any discomfort while exercising stop immediately.”
As this month is coming to an end so quickly. I thought I would throw up a quick recap of what we talked about this month! If you have an exercise routine, post idea or question please feel free to comment. I want this blog to be a place were you can come and learn how to live both a physically and spiritually fit life. If you are making that choice to live a fit life both in the physically and spiritual I think it’s important to seek knowledge in both departments and a lot of times they work hand in hand and that’s what I love about fitness for our body and spiritual fitness for our hearts!
This concept of Love your body is so broad. It could boil down to so many different area’s in your life both physically and emotionally. Whatever your struggle I hope that your were really able to work on these area’s and when I mean work I mean gradual change.One day at a time. I think sometimes when we try to change area’s in our life we try to change too much to fast. It’s not something that is going to happen over night but over time if you really focus on Loving yourself as God loves you will be radiating a love for not only yourself but those around you. (We will revisit one topic in March about last weeks post (eliminating one bad habit and adding a good one in its place). Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten keep up the hard work ladies! We are in this journey together to help each other live both physically and spiritually fit lives!
Matthew 5:5 ” you’re blessed when you’re content with who you are-no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”
The bible affirms self-acceptance by exhorting believers to love others as themselves. Matthew 22;37-40 “Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind. This is the first and great commandment. and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
The bible teaches that when we genuinely open our hearts to him, God accepts us just as we are. And, if he accepts us-faults and all-then who are we to believe otherwise? God Loves us and wants the best for us, He wants us to live a healthy lifestyle. We can start this journey today, remind yourselves daily of the benefits you will earn when you start loving your body and establishing healthier habits and thoughts.
Reference-Food, Fitness and Faith for Women
Week 1: Being content where you are physically, building confidence and tapping into Christ strength your goals won’t seem too far off. You will begin to build the confidence you need to become stronger not only physically but spiritually.
Week 2: This week we are beating perfectionism. Perfectionism is our enemy and Christ wants us to know that he didn’t create us to be perfect but holy and blameless, and wonderfully made in his image.
Week 3:Step 1: identify what is draining you,Step 2: come up with a plan of how you are going to eliminate this habit,Step 3: adding in a good habit
Blessings Ladies,
We will revisit Week three in two weeks! Keep working on eliminating the bad and adding one good habit in its place.
I was driving just this last week and this song came on the radio. It caught me at a moment were I was feeling a low and imperfect on so many levels. It was one of those God moments were the lyrics just set my soul at ease.
At twenty years of age I’m still looking for a dream
A war’s already waged for my destiny
But You’ve already won the battle
And You’ve got great plans for me
Though I can’t always see
Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I’m so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I’m free to be me
When I was just a girl I thought I had it figured out
See my life would turn out right, and I’d make it here somehow
But things don’t always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt, oh…
Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I’m so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I’m free to be me
And you’re free to be you
Sometimes I believe that I can do anything
Yet other times I think I’ve got nothing good to bring
But You look at my heart and You tell me
That I’ve got all You seek, oh
And it’s easy to believe
Even though
Oh, I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I’m so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I’m so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I’m free to be me
And you’re free to be you
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/f/francesca_battistelli/
We all have dents in our fenders and rips in our jeans. God is helping us put the pieces together and he wants us to be the best version of ourselves, spiritually and physically.
You heard me right last week it is elimination time! Are you feeling drained, wore out, like you can barely make it through the day?
Take a look at your current life circumstances. Just take this week to evaluate exactly where and what this drainage is a result from? Maybe it’s the foods you are eating, maybe you aren’t drinking enough water, maybe you haven’t made it to the gym for a while, too much coffee, too much time on facebook or watching tv.
Whatever it is for you be aware of your daily routine and keep a lookout for these draining habits. Write a few down or type them in your notes in your ipad or kindle (a place that you frequent often).
Once you have identified the one that is the most physically and mentally draining. Take a few steps to eliminate it from your life.
I’m not saying this will be easy but if you just first focus on eliminating one bad habit and adding a good one in its place overtime this concept of taking away unhealthy habits and replacing them with healthy habits won’t seem like such a huge unachievable task.
From experience when I would try to add new healthy habits and eliminate bad ones I would set myself up for disaster and a feeling of unattainable goals. I was trying to change too much at one time and it was unrealistic. This is honestly were I would just give up and slip right back into my unhealthy habits. Don’t set yourself up for failure with these huge expectations of yourself. I told myself one day at a time. One small change at a time and as time moves on I was beginning to feel healthier and living much healthier. (This concept really could be applied to all different areas of your life whatever you may be struggling with).
Step 1: identify what is draining you:
For me it’s eating after 8pm specifically sweets, I know that I’m not even hungry but eating out of boardroom and should be grabbing a glass of water instead.
Step 2: come up with a plan of how you are going to eliminate this habit:
Find an accountability partner, a friend that you can call or even your husband when you are feeling those weak moments that you can depend on that will tell you the tough stuff but totally out of love and wanting you to be successful in eliminating the bad and bringing in the good.
Usually in the past when I have tried to eliminate late night eating it was my husband. He tells me no you know you don’t want to do that and usually just leaves it at that. It reminds me that ya, I did ask him to help me be accountable and told him to stop me so I can’t really get mad at him for something I asked him to hold me accountable for:)
Step 3: adding in a good habit:
For me it’s drinking a glass of water
Trying to establish this repetition for three weeks straight to create a norm in your life and establish the new healthy habit. would love to hear your success stories 🙂
I came across this verse and it reminded me that what I take in can affect my outpouring of what comes out on the outside, which reminded me of the whole love your body theme this month: ” what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Happy elimination time!
Blessings, Michelle
Hey ladies! I wanted to start sharing with you a new exercise each week. I love learning and I feel like I have so much more to learn when it comes to exercise and nutrition. I’d love for you to join us on this journey to improving your health. Feel free to comment on this exercise or suggest ones we can use in the future.
This is a intermediate exercise, focusing on the core muscle tissues and stability. You also will feel this in your shoulders and chest.
Have your exercise ball under your feet, shoulders over your hands, make sure to pull your belly button in and keep your gaze forward. Roll the ball in the direction of your chest, using your abs to really help pull and raise your hips in the air (middle picture) then reverse the movement back into plank which would be considered 1 rep. If you have never done these I would start off with 1 to 2 sets of 5-8 reps.
(Remember it’s always crutial to warm-up your body prior to working out and cool down the body, stretch once you have completed your workout. I am not liable to any injuries/health issues that result from exercises from this site. Consult with your healthcare provider before beginning any workout regimine. If you feel pain or any discomfort while exercising stop immediately).
Live Fit Women's Fitness 