30 Minutes a Day

I said in my mind, 'Keep fighting.' - Kim Clijsters

Exercising for 30 minutes a day to fight cancer!

Moderate exercise can reduce your risk of cancer, that means 30-60 minutes per day and probably includes activities your already doing regularly. Cancer runs in my family, and this is a big motivator for me in my workouts. When I'm getting to my limit, I remind myself that I'm doing this for someone I love who is fighting cancer. It makes running for 5 more minutes suddenly feel doable compared to the fight for your life.

 

Cross Training Sets

"Adopt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own." -Bruce Lee

I think one of the biggest benefits to taking workout classes and trying new workouts is that you can take even just one piece of it you love, and adapt it to change the way you work out at home or on your own. If you were a runner, use those workout you love even if you don't run anymore. If you were a gymnast, you can still use pieces of that workout in your gym routine. Our workouts are unique to who we are and where we have been. Cross training in your workout not only gives you a great workout, it lets you express that, and shapes your body to reflect our varying life experiences! Think about that, that's a wonderful thing! So, I just thought I'd share a couple home cross training workout sets I love to do outside my regular circuit training workout. These are three exercise sets of 10 reps each 3 times... I just do these every once in a while. They are a combination of things I've learned from gymnastics as well as boxing, ballet workout, and various fitness classes which I have put together to target my own biggest problem areas with exercises I love.

Push up set: 

Military push ups-my fav!- these are a push up with a body roll up, followed by a push up with a a body roll down.

http://www.athletebychoice.com/totalcircuits/total-circuit-015/

 

 

Sumo push ups-Push up touch each of you shoulders, push up again 

Tricep push ups- push ups with your elbows in to your sides, not out.

Ab set:

Tuck ups-my fav!- lay flat arms up and legs out, tuck legs in and roll up to shoulder stand or as close as you can get) and then roll back down. 

V ups- lay flat arms up keeps arms by ears and lift arms and legs to sky and touch together ( this is more of a lift up than a v)

 

Bicycle- military kicks and hold your head is regular push up position, alternate knees to elbows. 

Butt set:

Frog leg lifts-my fav!- knees bent laying on your side, lift one leg up and alternate just your foot up and down keeping legs open.

 

Donkey kicks- on all fours lift leg at 90 degree angle and pulse (flex your foot, and make sure to keep a flat back).

Straight leg pulse- same as donkey kicks, but straight leg (flex your foot, and make sure to keep a flat back).

I love these little sets and do them every so often as supplemental to my workout. They really give you a boost in those areas like lower belly, fat part of your arm, and that spot right between your butt an thigh, while also strengthening your core! 

You really could do these as a circuit once in a while too, but I'd pick two from each group for that.

My Fitness Pal

"If Everyday Were Like Today, You'd Weigh 102 lbs in 5 Weeks." - My Fitness Pal

God, I love when my fitness pal tells me how fast I'll be fit and thin if I stay on track like I did today! And for that reason, the instant gratification I get even though I can't see my results yet, I find this app totally addicting! It's the easiest way I've found to track my calories and my exercise to get to a weight and fitness level where I want to be.

It's so easy to use. You put in your weight, your goal, your activity level, and set a calorie goal per day. Then, you enter the foods you eat and the exercise you do each day. Fitness pal tells you if your on track and your progress each day.

What's better is you can find your friends on facebook, or from your phones contacts, and share your food and exercise diary. Or, you can chose to keep your diary private. I like to share mine, and I enjoy getting snack ideas from my friends.

Before I started using fitness pal I would sometimes not eat enough before going to the gym, and get dizzy or tired. Which can be dangerous. On fitness pal, I can literally see if the breakfast I ate is going to be enough to get me through my gym workout. If my breakfast was 300 calories and my gym workout burns 500, that's a good thing to know.

I used to also think I was eating healthy, without understanding how many calories are in things or the breakdown of how much fat, protein, sugar, sodium I was getting each day, and what I still needed. Now I can see all of that on my fitness pal. I can actually look at the nutrition in my food and see if I need to eat more protein for dinner, or if I have extra calories to have that piece of cake for desert.

Whatever your using to track your progress, it needs to work for you. There are a lot of other aps and websites out there that work in ways similar to the fitness pal, and you should find the one that is a good fit for you. By tracking your progress in every meal, and every workout, its easy to stay inspired and on track. It's also impossible to lie to yourself when you see your not!

Cleansing

Seriously, Have you ever seen a fat hippy? That's enough to convince me that cleansing and detoxifying are legitimately important.

When you're body is full of junk and stress you just can't lose weight and workout is hopeless. Keeping your mind and soul healthy, are important factors for maintaining a healthy body. I honestly don't know why but it's definitely true for me. I've done juice cleanses from time to time, and used epsome salts, and acupunture, as well as had some cupping done to remove toxins and stress from my body. All of which I love and believe keeps my body working smoothly. Also, btw, you can't overlook the importance of getting regular or semi regular massages! It's a good detoxifier, but it is seriously dehyrating, and time consuming. :-/

 The most important things with detox are that you make sure you are not over doing it, and that you are staying hydrated!!!

Anyways, I was searching the internet for a detoxifying bath recipe (since I've been serously stressed out, and I haven't been able to workout all week since I was in a car accident last week where I'm pretty sure I suffered some form of whip lash because I've been achy all over! Ugh!) when I stumbled on this little gem I just HAD to share...

DETOX:
Holy Moly... I generally don't believe in quick fixes, but I stumbled on this and I just had to share it. Disclaimer: I've never tried it. But I just had to post it, because I just know I'm gonna want to find this one again in a pinch!

"wrap recipe from the Six Senses Spa at the Evanson Hua Hun:"

INGREDIENTS (Adjust quantities according to your body size)

• 1 oz (20 gms) ginger
• 3 oz (80 gms) turmeric
• Handful of rice
• Warm water as required

METHOD

1. Grind together the ginger and turmeric.

2. Powder the rice to a coarse, grainy texture.

3. Add everything to the warm water and mix till it makes a thick paste.

4. Massage the paste all over your body in circular motions, paying special attention to areas with fatty deposits such as thighs, stomach, hips and upper arms.

5. Leave the paste on for 20 minutes* and then rinse off with warm water. Follow with a moisturiser of your choice.

 * You can increase the recipe’s potency by wrapping your body (or at least the problem areas) in plastic sheet or strips of cloth.

How she says it works?
By stimulating circulation and reducing water retention. Kinda the same way that accupuncture for weightloss works I guess (which, by the way, is awesome if you have problem areas, and the results will likely be much more long lasting than any body wrap)!

 view the full article at http://thebeautygypsy.com/how-to-drop-a-dress-size-in-20-minutes/

BE CAREFUL! I believe in the power of detox, but I also think it can be dangerous if not used properly. If you do this, please make sure you stay hydrated!!!

Pinterest

Let's be honest, based on what you pin on pinterest, are you more a deep fried cheese bread kind of person or the light tabouli chicken salad type?

It seems that it's so much easier to eat poorly these days and leave it up to your workout to burn it off. But eating healthy doesn't have to be a chore, and working out doesn't have to be a solution to your poor eating habits. Similarly, there will always be a great excuse to skip the gym, or to open up a box of mac and cheese for dinner. It’s the kids favorite meal anyways, right? But the harsh reality that you must remember is that someone out there IS busier than you and they ARE making the time to eat healthy and work out! In law school, I would spend crazy hours in the school library and work long hours late into every night of the week, but I managed to make time to stay healthy! I made the time because I couldn't afford not to be healthy and neither can you!

Here are some tips to get you started on the right track:

• sweet tooth? I love dipping berries in greek yogurt and freezing them. Hello low cal fab pre-gym time snack! :) 
• No time to work out? On study breaks, or even during commercial breaks from a tv show, try doing various workouts durring each commercial. I like to hold a body plank for the duration of one commercial, then switch it up! Do sit ups for the next, and jumping jacks for the next!  Everyone has time for this one! It only takes 3 minutes or so.