Round out your fitness routine with Stretching

Every well rounded fitness routine consists of: cardio, strength training, balance, and flexibility. Stretching helps you become more flexible. Many participants in group exercises classes leave before the end of class and miss stretching. I hope they do some on their own, but in reality I know that's not the case. The people wonder why their muscles are so tight all the time. As we age, we're less likely to be as flexible as we once were. Stretching is key to keeping your body comfortable, flexible, and nearly muscle tightness free. For great stretching ideas, contact me, let me know what you need, and i'll email you some.

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Form Shmorm

When strength training, form is really important for results. A few simple tips to keep in mind are: 1) keep feet approximately hip distance apart whether standing, seated, prone, or supine; 2) keep your abs tucked in; 3) keep your chest lifted and shoulders back. If you would like me to elaborate on this, please leave a comment or visit my website. LC Fitness is here to help!sloLCfitness.com

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Traffic + Bob Harper + Yoga = zero stress

Wednesday, September 23^rd, 2009 I was graciously invited to a yoga session with Bob Harper, trainer on the Biggest Loser, by Go With the Grain. The nearly 5 hour drive was grueling and I arrived late.

Okay, so I know you know who Bob Harper is, and let me say that it was amazing to meet him and have him teach us a yoga class, but do you know about Go With The Grain? Speaking from a woman who loves her carbs, me... let me give you a little insight: Grain Foods Foundation is a nonprofit organization. They have dedicated themselves to advancing the public's understanding of the important role grain-based foods play in a healthful diet. Check out their website: http://www.gowiththegrain.org/ filled with nutritional information, tips, and recipes and... oh, how could i forget... a chance to win a personal training session with Bob Harper in Los Angeles!!

Back to Bob and yoga… First, I suck at yoga, so I was extremely nervous to take a lesson from Bob. He schooled me! No joke! I was shaking like a leaf holding the poses and hanging on for dear life with my toes and core. Bob walked around the room and made sure our body alignment was proper and reminded us not to be perfectionists but to learn form through listening to our bodies rather than looking at mirrors (there were no mirrors, by the way).Once we were finished with the tough work, we got to relax. Between the music that Bob chose to play, the sound of his voice, the way he cares about the people he’s teaching, it made the drive back home in the 100 degree heat seem fabulous.

Are you flexible with your fitness regime?

Every well rounded fitness routine consists of: cardio, strength training, balance, and flexibility. Stretching helps you become more flexible. Many participants in group exercises classes leave before the end of class and miss stretching. I hope they do some on their own, but in reality I know that's not the case. Then people wonder why their muscles are so tight all the time. As we age, we're less likely to be as flexible as we once were. Stretching is key to keeping your body comfortable, flexible, and nearly muscle tightness free. For great stretching ideas, contact me through my website, let me know that's what you're interested in, and i'll email you some.

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Online Training? How does that work?

As an online personal trainer, i set up a program that you and i would review periodically. From there, you can keep track of your workouts on a calendar online so that i can check in on your progress. I hold you accountable for getting your workouts done. You could lie to me, but why? It's your health and fitness at stake!

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Motivation and Sticktoitiveness

Fitness motivation is not a "one size fits all". There is one thing to be included in EVERYONE's fitness program and that is that it suits your needs, not anyone elses. A program with sticktoitiveness is one that is filled with exercises you will do and are interested in doing. Some use in gym personal trainers, some utilize on location personal trainers, and in this economy many are going to no trainer at all or visiting an online personal trainer. Think about what you are looking for in a fitness program with sticktoitiveness, research your options, and go.. whether it be on your own or with a trainer. Also, switch up your program whenever you feel the need, particularly if you are always saying to yourself "I don't feel like doing this." Best of luck in your journey!

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Cream of Celery Soup

Here's a great Cream of Celery Soup recipe i just came up with! YaY!

1.5 cup water

1.5 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

bring water to a boil. Lower heat. Add above ingredients and heat over medium heat approximately 15 minutes or until celery is tender. remove from heat.

add...

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups milk (1%, 2%, or whole... i use 2%)

let cool a little bit then take 1/2 of recipe and put in blender, blend well add back to other 1/2 of cooled soup.

Next...

add...

1 teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

heat again over medium heat for 10 minutes or until warm enough to serve. Serve up as a side dish OR... add to a recipe calling for cream of celery soup or let cool then freeze for later use. Enjoy!!!!

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Warm up!

Getting at least 5 minutes of a warm up in before your cardio or strength training workouts is imparative. More is better, but if you're in a time crunch, dedicate some time to your warm up. Example: going on a run? 1st 5 minutes or more should progress from a walk to a jog to a run. For more information contact me through my website for a free consultation.

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Cooling Down is a key part of any Cardio Routine

Saving some time at the end of your workout for cooling down is excellent to round out your fitness routine. You may have read an earlier post about warming up, cooling down is just as important. If you come to a complete stop from a tough session of cardio you risk passing out (among other things). Sure, many of you may have passed out from drinking to much alcohol before, but just as that can be prevented by not drinking so much it can be prevented by cooling down after a workout as well! Any questions? Hit me up on my web page or comment on my blog.

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ground turkey and spinach enchiladas

5 carb balance mission tortillas
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup salsa
1 cup trader joe's spinach dip
1/2 bag fresh spinach (like 1/2 a produce plastic bag) ;)
cumin to taste

1 cup salsa (i used garlic lovers by safeway/vons/pavillions)
2 fresh tomatoes diced
1 green chile diced
1 cup mexican shredded cheese

brown ground turkey in pan, add spinach, salsa, spinach and cumin. keep over medium heat on stove 5 more min. remove from heat. stir in spinach dip.

spray a baking dish with non stick spray. preheat oven to 350. use 1/5 of ground turkey mix for each tortilla. roll tortilla with mix in it, place in pan with fold down. bake for 20 minutes. after 20 minutes cover with 1 cup salsa, diced tomato and green chile and shredded cheese. put back in oven for 5 to 10 more minutes. serve with black beans and guacamole.

Enjoy!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/nikesf09/lcampbegdt

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Don't have time to work out?

With busy schedules and the stress of the economy these days, I bet it seems overwhelming to work in a work out. Being involved in online personal training doesn't always mean I have much time to get in a workout! Granted, teaching group exercise classes helps me tremendously, but that's not the case for everyone. Truth is, you don't need to devote a lot of time to fitness. A little at a time, and you'll be hooked and make the time to do a little more. Don't bite off more than you can chew, begin with short walks, swims, bike rides, whatever you like to do. Look for hints online about strength training exercises you might want to incorporate, or hit me up with questions.

Please share your thoughts. I'd like to know how you work in workouts... any comments and suggestions would be fabulous, you will be helping those who read (and write) ;) this blog!

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Feel Good: Combine Fitness and Fundraising

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/nikesf09/lcampbegdt

Team in Training is an incredible part of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society which blends together to two best Fs: Fitness and Fundraising. Obviously, this is my first choice of a way to increase your level of fitness while raising money for a worthy cause, but there are many other ways and you can get creative. Publicize that you are going to do a walk/run of whatever distance and ask your friends for donations, link up with a non-profit online and make your own fitness fundraiser out of it for fun and donate the money to your favorite cause. I know, i'm being very general here because the possibilities are endless! Try this one on for size: donate $25.00 or more through my website (http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/nikesf09/lcampbegdt) to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, share the link with your friends via email, Facebook, and/or Twitter, leave me a comment that you've done this and receive a free personalized program from LC Fitness! Fitness & Fundraising combined, let me know what you think and how it makes you feel!

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How do I Get Started?

If you want to run, but you've never done it, you begin with walking, right? Same idea goes for beginning a fitness regime. Start slow and build on it. If 10 minutes a day three days a week is all you have, schedule it and do a program that works for you. Once you find you can put more time into it or feel more comfortable with continuing for longer periods of time, do so... Take it easy and enjoy... you'll be glad you did!
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9/9/9 9 exercises, 9 times, 999 seconds

further description of 9/9/9 exercise suggestion found here at the LC Fitness blog...

9/9/9... try this on for size, 9 squats, 9 seconds rest, 9 wall push-ups, 9 seconds rest, (fill in the sequence with right leg lunges, left leg lunges, tricep dips, bicep curls, crunches, reverse crunches, oblique crunch right, oblique crunch left, swim move, until approximately 999 seconds, any questions let me know!

squats

stand with feet hip distance apart, chest lifted, shoulders back, abs tucked. Sit tailbone back as if reaching for a chair behind you or hovering over a public toilet seat. push through your heels to rise. repeat.

wall push-ups

same stance as squats, but stand in front of a wall. place hands wide on the wall & perform a push up like you would on the floor. if you feel it a lot in your shoulders, stop, widen your hands further, and resume.

lunges

begin with same stance as squats. step one foot out, dip back knee straight down towards the floor (no need to touch the floor, keep some space) with good posture. Check front knee to be sure it does not track forwards, should remain behind your toes. At bottom of the movement, both knees should be at approximately 90 degree angles. rise, repeat. (remember right leg, then left leg for 2nd set.)

tricep dips

sit on a dining room chair, feet hip distance apart. keep your hands right next to your butt. leave the hands where you placed them, slide your tailbone down the front of the chair, rise, repeat.

bicep curls

with or without hand weights, utilize your brain to focus on the work in the biceps. same starting stance as squats. let your arms hang by your sides, palms facing out. squeeze your biceps to lift hands towards your shoulders, lower, repeat.

crunches

lie on your back on the floor or mat, knees bent, feet hip distance apart. pull your belly button towards your spine. Fingertips behind your head, contract abdominals to lift your upper body slightly off the floor, lower, repeat.

reverse crunches

same start position as crunches. lift your feet off the floor until legs are at a 90 degree angle. relax your upper body. contract your lower abdominals to barely lift your tailbone up off the floor, lower, repeat.

oblique crunches

same start position as crunches. lift your upper body like you did with crunches then add a twist bringing your shoulder towards your knee. lower and repeat then switch to the other side.

swim

lie face down on the floor or mat arms and legs out. lift right arm and left leg, switch, repeat.

do a bit of stretching when you finish, and enjoy the feeling of 9/9/9! :)

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Recovering from a Three Day Weekend

Being the owner of LC Fitness and a personal trainer means i should be a good example. Sometimes i am a better example of being human than being healthy. This weekend i ate poorly, was lazy, and so on and so on... However, I know that i can start over again, ignore the bad behavior and start anew. I'm asking if you do the same, at anytime, just refocus and rebegin. We all have slip ups in life and especially health and fitness, but that doesn't mean it negates all of our previous work. It means erase the chalkboard, right a new plan for the day, and GO!

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What Does "Toning" Really Mean?

"All of us want to "tone" our muscles to achieve a cut, fit look. But what exactly is "toning"? Let me clarify a little: The word "toning" has nothing to do with the size of a particular muscle; it refers rather to making a muscle lean by burning intramuscular fat, and conditioning the muscle for better performance.

You can't actually build muscle mass unless you're eating more calories than you're burning, but you can tone a muscle to make it leaner."

i snagged this information from part of an article posted: http://www.jillianmichaels.com/ you know, jillian michaels, one of the trainers on the biggest loser... she has an online training program too, and provides great info. I went to her site and receive the free emails... Go check it out... if you sign up for her training program instead of mine, i'm cool with that! In fact, I'd love it if you tell me how it goes for you! Thanks. :)

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Soreness vs. Injury

I'm a newbie runner. Been involved in fitness for many years, running not so long. After a long training run last Saturday, which i cut short due to pain, i realized, "oh, crap... i'm injured." IT band. Taking the right precautions, i'm doing better but not great.

Sorness = not so bad. Injury = Bad. What's the simplest explaination for telling the difference? Pain, i mean REAL pain, usually means injury. Listen to what your body tells you through every step of every workout. If you are experiencing pain, it's time to rest, ice, possibly compress, and elevate that area (RICE). If you are sore from working out hard, that's okay, some rest is in order, but you should recover quickly and be able to get on with your workout regime within a day or so. For tips on injury prevention, contact me at my website requesting information and i'll email it to you. or check out helpful tips from Runners World: http://www.runnersworld.com/channel/0,,s6-241-0-0-0,00.html

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How to begin a fitness program fit-for-you

Want to get fit and stay fit? Wondering where to begin? LC Fitness provides many fit tips and ideas for free through our website, blog, and Facebook page. Online fitness at your fingertips is also available averaging just $15.00 per month to hook you up with all the fit tips you desire, answers to frequently asked questions, a fit-for-you fitness program, as well as accountability to help you achieve your fitness goals. For a free online consultation, click "Contact Me" on my website .

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The Ultimate Fitness Formula | Active.com

Active.com always has such terrific articles and ideas for health and fitness.
The Ultimate Fitness Formula | Active.com

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Strength Train without Weights

Want to strength train but don't have any equipment? Use your mind to tell your muscles what they're lifting. Try this one on for size, do a bicep curl. Okay, try it again, but focus on the muscle your working, your bicep in the front of your arm... tell yourself you have a heavy weight in each hand... Did that feel like work? :)
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