Monthly Archives: December 2013

Vacation workouts

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Vacation workouts

We made it to Florida! It took us around 28 hours to drive here. We stopped in Philly and had dinner with my cousin then we drove all night. By the time we got here my whole body was sore!  We brought a foam roller and that was the first thing I did when we got in the room. After a good night sleep in a bed I hit the condo gym. The gym has everything I needed and the view of the ocean is great. I plan to use it everyday. Working out while away can be hard but if you make time you will feel great when you get home. I hate when I don’t workout while I’m away then I get home and go to the gym and I feel like I lost all my muscles. So I’m going to stick to my plan to hit the gym while I’m here .

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Todays workout :

  • Lat pull downs
  • cable row
  • walking lunges with 25 lbs in each hand
  • wide and close stance squats with 25 lbs
  • leg raises
  • decline sit ups
  • incline reverse crunch
  • biceps curls – drop set
  • tri extension- drop set
  • renegade row with 20 lbs
  • dip still failure

I did each move for 10-12 reps twice through. I did all the ab moves for 25 reps three to four times through.

Holiday Balance

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Holiday Balance :
Balance

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! The holidays can be very stressful , make sure you find some balance . It’s easy to forget about your workouts and eat all that candy. Definitely treat yourself but don’t over indulge. Try to add in some quick workouts at home. Doing any form of exercise can help you reduce your stress level. Add some planks or other ab moves when your watching tv. Do some squats or lunges while your food is cooking.  Get creative and get your workouts in! Remember to get 7-8 hours of sleep, drink lots of water, prepare healthy snacks for convenience and make sure you enjoy your time with family and friends! If you do over indulge just use those extra calories to fuel your workouts after the holidays. I hope everyone has a great Christmas . Happy holidays!!

Chocolate Protein French Toast

Chocolate Protein French Toast:  French toast

Best french toast ever! This recipe is super easy to make and can be topped with fruit, chocolate, jam ect. I topped mine with a chocolate protein spread and a small cut up piece of dark chocolate. I made the chocolate topping with muscle milk, chocolate hazelnut nut powder and almond milk. It was delicious. This is definitely a meal I will be making again.

Ingredients:

  • egg whites
  • bread: I used when pigs fly sourdough
  • protein powder

Topping:

  • almond milk
  • protein powder
  • hazelnut powder

For the french toast I added a half a scoop of vanilla protein powder to my egg whites. I let the bread soak it all up and then cooked it like regular french toast. While it was cooking I made the topping. I used half a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a table-spoon of hazelnut powder and enough almond milk to make the topping spreadable. When the toast was done I put the topping in between every layer and then poured the rest on top. I hope you enjoy!!

Giveaway

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Giveaway: 5 Olympic Bottles

I am having a giveaway! All you have to do to enter is like my photo on instagram- @swell_fitness. You will win a Core Power Fit kit.  Check out their website for recipes and to learn more about this awesome protein!

CP Brochure-1

Weightlifting & Women

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Lift Heavy

Weightlifting & Women :

Most women spend most of their time in the gym doing cardio. What you should be doing is getting stronger by lifting weights. I’m not talking about doing biceps curls and squats with a 5 pound weight, you need to lift heavy! You will NOT look like a man. Women do not have enough testosterone to build muscles like men. Instead you will get stronger and look more toned. When I lift I’m using heavy weights, 165 pound deadlifts, 135 pound squats, 100 pound push presses and I do not look like a man! Don’t be afraid to add some weight. Lifting weights has many benefits including  boosting your metabolism, increasing your bone density, hormonal regulation improves ( helps with cramps) just to name a few. Start by adding a strength training program two days a week. Once you start lifting you are going love it, don’t be afraid to try.

Benefits:

  • gain strength without bulking
  • lose body fat
  • decrease risk for diseases like diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease
  • increase bone density
  • improve balance
  • help fight depression
  • helps with cramps
  • improve activities of daily living
  • helps fight obesity
  • beat back pain

Here are a few really good compound movements to add to your strength training  workouts.  Lift heavy! You are stronger then you think.

Lower body:

  1. barbell/ dumbell squats
  2. deadlift
  3. lunges

Upper body:

  1. barbell bench press
  2. push ups
  3. pull ups- chin ups
  4. bent over row

Core:

  1. plank
  2. hanging leg raises
  3. L-sits

 

Healthy pancakes

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Healthy PancakesHealthy pancakes

Who doesn’t love pancakes? Try this protein packed healthy version of pancakes. It’s very easy to make and even your kids will love them. The chocolate topping is so good! I will be adding it to other recipes. You can also add fruits or yogurt as a topping instead of maple syrup.

ingredients:

  • 1scoop protein powder
  • 3 tbl coconut flower
  • 2egg whites
  • 2 tbl apple sauce
  • 1tbl cacao powder
  • a dash of baking powder
  • milk- add enough till you get the right consistency. Batter should be a little thicker then regular pancake mix

combined all ingredients and cook like you would regular pancakes. Make sure you spray the pan so these don’t stick.

chocolate topping:

  • fat free , sugar free jello pudding mix
  • milk or water

mix 3-5 tbl of pudding mix with milk or water till you get a good consistency . Mine was like peanut butter But a little less thick.

Plank it Out

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Plank it Out

Planks are one of my favorite moves. You can do them anywhere and you don’t need any equipment. Here are eight moves to add to your workouts. I like to do this routine at the end of my workout for an ab bonus. You can follow along to my video or grab your timers and do it on your own.

Do each move for 30 seconds with no rest in between. Repeat two to four times. For an even more advanced workout do each move for 60 seconds. Hope you like it!!

plankitout

 

Follow along:

Apple cinnamon oats

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Apple cinnamon oats:Overnight oats

Do you skip breakfast because you don’t have time? Here is a quick and easy recipe you make  the night before. Over night oats are so simple yet so delicious! I made this dish with milk but you can make it with water or any form of nut milk.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2-1 cup old fashion oats
  • 1/2-1 cup milk
  • 1/2 scoop of protein

mix ingredients in a sealable jar, I use a mason jar. Shake well then put in fridge over night. In morning add fruit or nut butter of choice. I added apples and cinnamon and it was soo good!

Benefits of deadlifting

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Benefits of Deadlifting :  Deadlift

If you haven’t added the deadlift to you workout routine yet, you should! The deadlift, if done correctly, will help strengthen all the major muscles groups. The deadlift helps build muscle in the lower and upper body at the same time.  Deadlifting will also strengthen the entire back and the muscles around your back. This move can be used for rehabilitative and preventative purposes if done correctly. The deadlift is a great exercise for building core strength and strength in all other major muscle groups. Minimal equipment is needed to deadlift, you can use a bar, dumbells, or sandbag. There are different types of deadlifts such as sumo stance, stiff leg and bent leg to name a few.

Benefits:

  • core strength
  • improve posture
  • total body workout
  • practical, used in everyday situations
  • awesome butt workout
  • grip strength
  • raise heart rate- blasts fat

 

How to deadlift:

start with light weight till you master the movement.

 

  • start with your feet shoulder width apart, grip barbell so your arms are right outside your legs. Your shins should be touching the bar.
  • make sure you are in a neutral spin position. Meaning your back is flat, neck/head is not looking up or down but straight ahead.
  • keep your chest up and your shoulders slightly over the bar. Never round your shoulders
  • before lifting, tighten abs, shoulders and glutes
  • lift through your feet, hips and shoulders should move at the same time.
  • at the top of the movement you should be standing straight, shoulders back. The weight will end around your mid thigh
  • start the downward phase by pushing through your heels while you slowly lower the bar. Keep bar as close to/touching your body throughout the whole movement
  • Lower in a controlled motion. Make sure you keep your chest up and your abs tight while lowering

Tips:

  1. make sure you are breathing.
  2. never round back
  3. no jerking of the weight

Check out my quick how to video:

Protein Pomegranate Bark

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Protein bark

Protein Pomegranate Bark

The holidays are here so I have been making protein packed treats! This dark chocolate bark is very delicious. It is also super easy to make.

What you need:

  • wax paper
  • dark chocolate
  • protein powder
  • pomegranate seeds
    poms

How to make:

  • melt dark chocolate, make sure it doesn’t burn. I did mine in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it was melted.
  • slowly mix a scoop of protein into melted chocolate
  • add a little more than half of the seeds into the chocolate. mix well
  • spread chocolate mix onto was paper
  • add the remaining seeds to the spread out chocolate
  • place in freezer till it is hard. I left mine in for about an hour
  • break apart
  • ENJOY