Tag: health and fitness

Band Challenge: Day 4

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Move 1: Squat with a side bend

Start with your feet shoulder width apart on your band and your hands holding the band at your hips. You will squat down slowly, come back up to a standing position, and then crunch your body as far as you can to the right. Try not to lean sideways when you do this, but instead feel the crunch of your obliques so that only your upper body is bent. You will alternate back and forth with the side bend after every squat for 1 full minute. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try holding the band in both hands in front of your chest and just doing the side bend crunches side to side for an extra 10 seconds.

Move 2: Lunge with a tricep extension

This move will require you to wrap the band around your back foot once, and then you will lunge forward with your other leg. Hold the handles of the band up high by your chest, and then extend your arms back as far as you can. Your elbows shouldn’t move around, they should stay right by your side. Only your forearm should be moving forward and backward as you extend the arm out. You will stay in the lunge position on one leg for 30 seconds, and then switch to the other leg for 30 seconds. You start by lunging down low, coming back up, and then doing your extension. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try doing an extra 10 seconds with just the tricep extension. For this move you just stand on the band in the center, hold the band by the handles behind your head, and extend your arms up straight toward the ceiling.

Move 3: Sumo squat with a bicep curl

You should be familiar with the sumo squat by now, but basically you’re in a squat with your feet planted on top of the band a little further apart than your typical squat and your toes facing outward. You are going to squat down, come back up, and then do a bicep curl with one arm. Alternate arms for the first 30 seconds, and then for the final 30 seconds you can do both arms at the same time. Repeat the squat in between every curl. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try doing half range bicep curls in a standing position for an extra 10 seconds.

Move 4: Deadlift with a row

With this move you will be standing on top of your band with your feet shoulder width apart. You will hold the band at your hips, and then bend your body forward with your back straight as low as you can go. Come back up slowly, and you should feel this in your hamstrings and the backs of your legs. When you get to the top and are back in your standing position, you are going to raise your band up toward your chest in a row. Repeat this for 1 full minute. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try creating extra resistance with the band by making that small circle and do an extra 10 seconds with just the rows.

Band Challenge: Day 3

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Move 1: Deadlift with a posterior fly

You will start this move by standing on your band with your feet shoulder width apart. You will hold the handles or make the circles and hold the band to your hips. Slowly bend down toward the floor and lower your arms down as low as you can go while maintaining a flat back. Slowly come all the way up, and then you will bend back down ¾ of the way, and do a posterior fly in that bent position. You’ve seen the posterior fly before, but if you need to see it you can google the images. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try holding the band a little lower and doing 10 extra seconds of just the deadlift.

Move 2: Lateral raises

You will start this move with your feet shoulder width apart on the band below your feet. You can choose whether to hold the handles or to make it harder by creating a circle and holding the band below the handle as well. For the first 30 seconds you will alternate arms by bringing your arm up and out to the side. For the final 30 seconds you will bring both arms up and out to the sides simultaneously. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try holding the arms straight out to the sides for an extra 10 seconds. You’ve seen this kind of move before, so it should be familiar to you. If not you can search google for images.

Move 3: Lunge with a core rotation

You will need to wrap your band around your forward foot for this move, while making sure that the band is even on each side. This time you will be holding both of the handles in your hands at the same time. Lunge forward, and then reach your arms to the right, then to the left, and then lunge down a little more, and step back. When you reach your arms to each side, you should try to crunch your body in that direction as well to work your core and your oblique’s. Repeat on the first leg for 30 seconds, and then switch to the other leg for 30 seconds. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try standing on the band with your feet shoulder width apart, and then do just the core rotations for an extra 10 seconds.

Move 4: Back kicks

With this move, you will need to wrap your band around one foot and hold the handles or make the circles and hold the band to your hips. You will need to balance on the foot without the band, and then kick straight out behind you with the leg that the band is wrapped around. Try to look back in the direction that you are kicking as you do it. Do one leg for 30 seconds, and then wrap your band around the other leg and repeat on the other leg for the last 30 seconds.

Band Challenge: Day 2

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Move 1: Post delt fly hold

For this move you will start by holding the band straight out in front of you, with your grip in the middle of the band. You’ll have to make that circle again so that you’re holding the band and the handles. Then you will pull both arms out away from one another and to the sides simultaneously, and then when they are straight out to the sides, you slowly bring them back to center. Repeat this pattern for 30 seconds, and then for the last 30 seconds hold the band with your arms straight out to the sides for 30 seconds. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try taking a 15 second break to shake out your arms, and then hold your arms out to the sides with your band for an extra 10 seconds.

Move 2: Sumo squats with a hip lift

With this move you will be working your legs, hips, butt, and core. You will start by stepping on the band in the center and holding the handles to your hips. Spread your feet further apart, and point your toes out to the sides, and then get down into a sumo squat. Come back up slowly, and then inch your feet back shoulder width apart, then balance on one leg while raising the other out to the side. Try to crunch your body toward the leg lift as you do it, and that will work your core and your oblique’s. Alternate legs each time you come up, and repeat the pattern for 1 full minute. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try an extra 10 seconds just doing the sumo squat.

Move 3: Lunge with posterior fly

For this move you will need to wrap the band around your forward foot, making sure that the band is even on each side. You will lunge forward, with your forward leg at a 90 degree angle, and then you will raise your arms up and out to the sides. Your arms should be bent at a 90 degree angle, and it will feel like you’re trying to press your shoulder blades together. Imagine you’re squeezing a pencil between those muscles when you do that fly. If you need to see how it looks, you can search posterior fly on google for a picture. You will do one leg for 30 seconds, and then switch the band over to the other leg for the final 30 seconds. As an extra little bonus if you’re up for it, try standing on your band with feet shoulder width apart and doing just the fly for an extra 10 seconds.

Move 4: Bench press with a leg lower

You will need to be lying down for this move, so if you have a mat you can bring that out. Otherwise, you can use carpet, or put a towel or a blanket down. Just position the band across the mat, and then lie down on your back on top of the band. You may want to make the circle again for more resistance, but I will leave that to you. You will start with your arms straight up in the air in front of your face, and your legs also raised straight up into the air. Slowly lower your legs toward the floor as you bring your arms down to the sides. The arms will bend at 90 degrees when you get to the bottom, but do not allow your elbows to rest on the floor at the bottom. Don’t let your legs hit the floor on the way down either, just hover and then slowly bring both the arms and the legs back up. Repeat this for 1 full minute. As an extra little bonus if you’re up for it, take a 15 second break and then continue for another 10 seconds.

Band Challenge: Day 1

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Move 1: Band LAT pull

With this move you will hold the band a bit more than shoulder width apart in the middle, and make a circle with the end of the band so that you’re holding both the band and the handle. This will protect you from getting hit with the handle as you go. Raise your arms straight up over your head, with an incline slightly in front of your face to keep you from getting hit with the band. Now you will slowly lower one arm down toward your leg, and raise it back up. Repeat the same thing on the other side, and keep alternating like this for 30 seconds. Next you will go back to your start position, and bring both arms down simultaneously for 30 seconds. If you find that it is too hard to keep your arms straight as you do this, you may just need to widen your grip on the band to give you more room to move. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try holding the band with your arms straight out to the sides for 10 extra seconds.

Move 2: Squats

With this move you will hold the band by your hips, and step on the center of the band. If you don’t get any resistance by holding the handles, which is probably going to happen, all you need to do is make a small circle like you did on the last move so that you’re gripping the handle and the band below it to increase your resistance on the move. With squats I want you to alternate a bit. Start with 4 regular squats, then do 2 really slow squats, and then do 2 half squats (this is when you only squat down half of your normal range). Repeat that pattern for 1 minute. As a bonus if you’re up for you, try doing the half range squats for 10 extra seconds.

Move 3: Bicep curls

This has a similar stance as the squats, and again you may need to make that circle to give you more resistance. You start with your elbows by your side, and they stay by your side throughout the whole exercise. You should always feel your elbow by your side. Now you start by curling one arm all the way up and dropping it back down slowly, then switch to the other arm, and so on. Alternate arms for 30 seconds, then do both arms simultaneously for 30 seconds. As a little bonus if you’re up for it, try doing half range curls for 10 extra seconds. Just like the squats, this is simply going only half of your normal curl range, so you would stop when you’re arms reach a 90 degree angle and come back up instead of letting the arms go down all the way.

Move 4: X Band walk

Start in a similar stance as the last two moves, with your feet standing in the middle of the band shoulder width apart. Start by holding the handles this time because this is a challenging move, and then do your circle 30 seconds in if you need more resistance or want a bigger challenge. With this move you need to cross the band in front of you so that it makes an X, then hold the handles at your hips. Now you get down into a squat position, watch your shoulders and make sure you’re standing straight and not bending too far forward, and walk over two to the right. Alternate going 2 to the right and to the left for 1 full minute. No bonus with this one because it is a doozy lol.

Killer leg/butt exercise (Band required)

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If you follow my blog, you are probably aware that I am currently doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme home fitness program. Well, sometimes I like to take the toughest moves and use them as a little challenge for my health and fitness group participants. Share the love I always say, or in this case, pain! lol

During my workout yesterday, I came across this move. It had my legs and butt on FIRE.

If you watched that video, and you have access to a band, I triple dog dare you to attempt this move! Go until your legs can’t take it anymore, and then comment on this thread and let me know how long you made it.

Enjoy ;)

Never feel bad for making yourself a priority!

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If you have family and friends that aren’t into health and fitness, but you are, you will probably understand this struggle.

People just don’t seem to grasp this reality, but putting yourself first sometimes and deciding to make your health a top priority is NOT selfish. Nor does it mean that you have your priorities all wrong! It simply means that your priorities differ from theirs, and in their opinion, that is wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and their points of views, and it is never okay for people to try to bully you into their way of thinking.

People shouldn’t expect you to give up something that you love and that makes you happy. Instead, they should respect your choice to lead a healthier life, and work with you to accommodate your new lifestyle. It is totally unfair for people to try and force you to change your routine to fit their life, and you should not have to feel guilty for standing your ground!!

Don’t allow others to wear you down. You DESERVE to be happy and healthy. Exercise makes me a much more happy and positive person, which allows me to be in a better mood throughout the day. It allows me to have more energy to get through my day, and it builds my confidence and self-esteem, because I know that with each workout, I am getting leaner and stronger. It truly sets the mood for your day!

You deserve to have that too.

Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

Banana Split Shake – AKA – buh-bye ice cream craving!

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Summer is officially here, and one of my biggest downfalls – especially during the summer – happens to be ice cream. I love ice cream, and I practically lived off of gelato when I was in Europe last summer lol. I suffer from ice cream cravings pretty frequently during the summer months when it is hot. Sound familiar?

This is your solution! I normally make the same shake every day because I just love it, but I had recommended a banana split shake to someone the other day, and it stuck in my mind until I finally decided to make it today. This is super easy to make, and it seriously tastes AMAZING. If you have a craving for ice cream on a hot summer day, this will totally do the trick to get rid of that craving. PLUS – it will likely be the healthiest meal that you will have all day long.

What you’ll need:

  • Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
  • 1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
  • 1 scoop Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
  • 1/2 cup Frozen Strawberries
  • 1/2 of a Banana
  • 3 or 4 ice cubes

How to make it:

  1. Start by putting in 1 cup of your almond milk, and I usually add a little bit of water so that the shake doesn’t wind up being too thick.
  2. Add your powders.
  3. Add your fruit, and I recommend cutting the banana half in smaller pieces for easier blending.
  4. Add ice
  5. Blend until smooth
  6. ENJOY!!

All of this takes less than 5 minutes to prepare, and it is seriously awesome. You might not want to share this with your kids or significant other, because they just might try and steal it from you! Click Here to learn all about the benefits of Shakeology, or to purchase your risk-free bag now.

I have a limited amount of Shakeology samples!! If you’re local and you’d like to try this out, shoot me a message and I can arrange for you to get a sample.

Stop waiting & just start doing!

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People tend to wait for events or after holidays or New years’ to make positive life changes. Stop waiting and JUST DO IT! If you wait, there is a much higher probability that you will either start and quit, or you won’t start at all.

Start as soon as you make the choice, because waiting only makes you lose the excitement and motivation that you had when you decided to do it in the first place. I’ve seen this happen time and time again with people I know, and I’ve also experienced it myself. The struggle is real ladies and gentlemen!

We tell ourselves “oh I’ll start Monday” or “I’ll start after the holidays”, and then that time comes and we don’t change our behaviour. All we end up doing is going on what I like to call “the pre-diet binge”, put on a few extra pounds, and end up giving up before we even begin. Sound familiar?

BREAK THE TREND. If you get motivated and encouraged somehow to switch to a healthier lifestyle, act on it NOW. Don’t wait, just DO. Honestly that is the best way to ensure that you actually follow through! Once you get going, it will be easier to stay going. Getting started can be the toughest part, at least in my opinion. Once you make it through the first three weeks, things get easier as long as you keep yourself on track and don’t stray too far from your nutrition or skimp out on workouts.

If you haven’t started your journey yet, but you’d like to, visit us in my FREE Health and Fitness group to join a group of people learning how to lead a healthier lifestyle and incorporate activity into their lives. We’re voting now for the July Challenge, so you definitely want to get in the group ASAP!

Is it worth it?

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If you allow yourself to cheat on your nutrition, you’re cheating yourself out of your results. Don’t sabotage yourself before you achieve your goals! I know that it is possible to still live your life, and enjoy the occasional cheat from time to time, but not in the beginning of your journey.

Trust me, I have been there, so I know what that feels like. One little cheat can easily turn into two, which again tends to snowball until you’re fully off the wagon. Avoid putting yourself through that! Allow yourself to become accustomed to your new and healthy lifestyle before you start adding in the occasional treat.

Once you have made clean eating and exercise a daily routine, then you can try to incorporate treats from time to time. Try not to think about it as a chore, or as though you “have” to avoid junk food. If you tell yourself that you CAN’T have something, of course you’re going to want it more. Instead, tell yourself that you won’t have it until you have reached a point in your journey where you know that it is not going to destroy everything you’ve been working towards.

If you would like to be a part of a group where you can learn more about healthy eating and nutrition overall, you are more than welcome to join us in my FREE Health and Fitness group. We’re also voting right now for the July Challenge, so you definitely want to get in the group ASAP!

Be proud of small steps forward

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Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged and fall off the wagon simply because things aren’t progressing as quickly as you had hoped. Results will come over time and effort. Even if you don’t see the changes as drastically in the beginning, they are happening within you regardless. Over time, you will start to really notice those changes, but you won’t if you allow yourself to give up before you reach that point in your journey.

If you set a goal to reach a certain point in 3 months, and you don’t quite hit that by the end of the three months, should you give up? Absolutely not, because if you stayed on track for three months then you would have made progress to varying degrees. That progress is something to be proud of, regardless of whether or not you hit your intended goal.

If you wait until you hit your long term goal to be proud of yourself, you are less likely to be successful. You should be proud of yourself every time you do something you previously couldn’t do, or up your weight in exercises, or even just for forcing yourself to do a workout on a day when you really didn’t feel like doing it! Being proud of yourself and what you have accomplished helps you stay motivated to keep going. Always remember to be proud of the small steps forward, because even though they are small, they are still steps moving forward.

If you haven’t started your journey yet, but you’d like to, visit us in my FREE Health and Fitness group to join a group of people learning how to lead a healthier lifestyle and incorporate activity into their lives. We’re voting now for the July Challenge, so you definitely want to get in the group ASAP!