Tag Archives: Exercise

POST WORKOUT RECOVERY SHAKE

2 Replies
It is super important to feed your body after a workout!  You must give it the fuel it needs to repair.  To keep your metabolism kicking after you exercise, you need to eat a proper post-workout “meal” within 45 min of that workout.  That can be hard to do, and that’s why I love a good supplement shake.  This is one of my favorites!
Chocolate Almond Protein Shake
Blend:
1/2 of a banana
High quality chocolate protein powder- BUY NOW
1 cup Almond milk
1 TBS Almond Butter
Perfect for the body and yummy to your tummy!

SAND WORKOUTS

1 Reply
Now that winter is coming to an end this year  🙂 – we need to ditch those winter blues and get outside!  Being creative with your workouts and changing up your location is rewarding both mentally and physically.
Let’s talk about SAND.  
The benefits from working out in the sand are HUGE!!!  
        During a sand workout, your…
 
 
The unstable surface…
  • burns more calories
  • makes exercises more challenging
  • creates less impact on joints
  • works the stabilizer muscles

 

If you aren’t convinced yet, let me put it this way:
Sand training will improve cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, strength, balance, ability, reaction time and coordination!

 

So go find a beach, a lake (with a sandy beach), or a sand volleyball court and get moving!!!
Yup- I get my kids moving with me. 

Taylor’s face!!!  She must be loving the burn!
Exercises to do in the sand:
  • squats
  • lunges
  • plyometric jumps
  • walking
  • jogging
  • pushups
These are just a few ideas!

Caution:  
Because of the unstable surface, the ankles, achilles, and knees are susceptible to injury-
so a good warm-up and stretch is essential!

THE TYE4® FOR PILATES

Leave a reply

THE PILATES Tye4

I am loving this Tye4®! It gives the same type of resistance and assistance as the Pilates equipment, but can actually be taken anywhere. These bungees can add up to 20 lbs of resistance! We will be able to burn more calories in each workout and tone faster using the Tye4®. 
THIS ROCKS!

Finding your “ENGAGED CORE” before Weight Lifting

1 Reply
Being a pilates instructor, my favorite thing to say is, 
“ENGAGE YOUR CORE!” 
 I say it all the time, and I have people saying it to themselves throughout their day.


Let’s talk about the CORE:  
It’s made up of both deep and superficial muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body.  We are talking our abdominal muscles, our bootylicious muscles (the gluteus), the lower back muscles, along with with the psoas of the hips and the multifidus of the spine.  The multifidus muscles are small, but very powerful in giving support to the spine.  Their function is to take pressure off of the discs in between each vertebra.  Strengthened, they can actually make you a little taller!  They are essential in keeping the spine stable and straight.


A good core workout will hit all of these areas.  It is a good idea to understand and strengthen your core before lifting weights.  Your CORE should ALWAYS be engaged before you lift any weight to protect your back.  This can protect you from back injury.

With my clients, I lead them through a Pilates routine to warm up, stretch out, and activate the CORE before they ever lift a weight.  Then, before they lift the weight above their head for a military press, for example, I say “ENGAGE YOUR CORE!” — and they are easily able to master the perfect form!


How to find your “ENGAGED CORE“
Lay on the floor with your knees bent. 
 Relax.  
Stick your hand under your back.  
If there is space between your lower back and the floor, your CORE is relaxed.
 Now, flatten out that space by pressing your abs down toward your spine.
Now the back is flat.
Relax the CORE and engage it a few times noticing how your hips move.  Now get up and try to do that same movement standing.  Remember to keep your chest up.


Practicing the “ENGAGED CORE” position when lifting weights will create muscle memory for that posture and will roll over into everyday activities.


HAPPY ENGAGING! 

Muscle Confusion = Build Lean, Strong, Healthy Muscle

Leave a reply

Why would I want to confuse my muscle?


I try hard all the time to NOT be confused!


Well, when it comes to muscle, it’s a really good thing!  The idea behind muscle confusion is to make the tissue constantly change and adapt to different exercises.  Keep it guessing.  By doing the same strength training workout a few times a week, the muscle learns the routine and begins to work efficiently to execute the load being demanded.  It will begin to require less energy to preform the exercise.  

This can work to our advantage in life, but when it comes to shedding pounds and building strong lean muscle, it is not helpful.  It can cause progress to stop and measurements to hit a plateau.


Muscle confusion exercise is about performing a mixture of different exercises so that the muscle fiber has a hard time adapting. 
 This will require them to work harder to preform and repair.


RESULTS:

* burning more energy for fuel

  *producing better results in a shorter amount of time!



GOAL:   Keep the muscle guessing by using different weight/rep combinations and choosing a variety of movements.  
CHANGE IT UP!  
KEEP YOUR MUSCLES GUESSING!


Example:  
When doing pushups, choose different hand position.


Military Push-Up
                                              

Diamond Push-Up

Example: 
For legs, add as much variety as you can think of to your workout.  Here are a few examples…


Wall Squats

Bridge on the Ball

Lunges
Muscle confusion routines will build strong, 
health muscle fiber
… NOT BULK!


 so MIX IT UP!