Category Archives: Life

Swimming

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Swimming  :                         Swimming     

Swimming is not just for little kids! Anyone at any age can benefit from a swimming workout. Swimming gives your body a great workout without the  impacts of running. Swimming should not take the place of weight-bearing activities but it is a great thing to add to your routines.  Recent research has proven that swimming can help you live longer, who doesn’t want that?!. Water exercise can be great for people who are over weight or have arthritis.  Swimming is an awesome way to burn calories while you’re having fun .  Swimming works all the major muscle groups in your body, including your heart and lungs. Swimming workouts are not just about swimming laps. Most pools offer water aerobics, underwater spinning and much more.  Check out your local gyms that have pools, most of them will allow you to just have a pool membership. For some workouts check out beginner swimmer

Benefits:

  • weight loss
  • full body workout
  • helps with flexibility
  • great for people with arthritis
  • its fun
  • helps with recovery from certain injuries
  • stress relief
  • cardiovascular workout
  • fights disease

 

 

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!!

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

Reebok Crossfit product review

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reebok-crossfit

 

 

Reebok crossfit is one of my favorite brands. This past weekend was my birthday and I got a gift card and I spent it on all reebok gear! I decided since the holidays are right around the corner I would do a product review. Reebok does not pay me or give me anything for free or even discounted.  I’ll start with the shoes. The nanos are the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn! I love them, I’m on my second pair. I do all my workouts in them including running. I know some people at my gym change into different shoes to run, but not me. As for fit, I think they fit true to size. I highly recommend them. Next up are the sports bras. Im usually a small but I tried a small on at the store and it was too big. So the pink one is an extra small. The same day I bought it was cruising the web and I found the gray one on sale, so I bought it. It is also an extra small and it doesn’t fit me at all. It is way too small. I was bummed. I love my pink one, its very comfortable and I can wear it all day without it bugging me. So now I cant buy them online because I have to try them on first. I don’t know why two extra smalls are completely different sizes. Other then the size issue I would totally recommend it. Next I’ll talk about the pants. They are very comfortable. The size is small which is normal for me. They are not very thin or too thick. Don’t you hate when you buy pants and you bend over to squat or deadlift and you realize they are see-through, well these are thick enough where that does not happen!  They are comfortable enough to wear even when your not working out. The shorts are also a small and are very comfortable. They are very short and tight! I would defiantly buy more of the pants and the shorts. Lastly is the shirt. Its very light weight and comfy. Its a little on the long side but its still a great shirt. The last thing I wanted to mention was price. All of the reebok crossfit stuff is very expensive in my opinion. Other then the shoes I usually wait for sales, unfortunately they don’t go on sale very often. All and all I love reebok crossfit and I will continue to wait for sales and buy more stuff!

Bikini ready for the holidays!

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 Bikini-ready

Are you planning on traveling somewhere tropical for the holidays? Staying bikini ready through the holidays can be tough. I just booked a trip to Florida for New Years. We leave by car right after Christmas. I plan on bringing  plenty of water, protein shakes and healthy treats for the ride down. I’m already planning on doing some yoga move/stretches when we arrive . Sitting in the car for long periods cam make you sore.  Once we get there I’ll stay pretty active and luckily we are flying home. Here are some great tips to get you through the holidays and ready for your trip.

Tips:

  • make health/fitness a priority . Have a plan in place and stick to it. Plan your workouts for the week, pack your gym bag and have your shoes ready so you can workout whenever you have time. Stay active at least 4 days a week. Add some at home yoga for something a little extra.
  • bring healthy treats to your parties. Not sure if the parties you are going to will have healthy options? Bring one! Make a healthy appetizer that you can bring and if there’s nothing else healthy snack on your treat.
  • don’t skip meals. Skipping meals is never a good idea. Don’t miss a meal and then pig out later  because your so hungry. Plan ahead and make sure you have time to eat. Also remember to drink plenty of water
  • get lots of sleep.
  • plan your snacks. When traveling or on busy days plans your snacks the night before. That way when your hungry you already have a great healthy snack to keep you on track.
  • drink water with your alcohol. When you drink alcohol remember to drink lots of water. I like to have one alcohol drink followed by a glass of water. Having a glass of water in my hand makes it easier to not fill up on bad food and empty caloric drinks.

 

Jump start your holiday training with this killer workout.  You can add these moves to your routines or do them on their own. I like to do each move for 10-20 reps twice through.

Killer Butt:

  • squat- close stance
  • front lunge
  • glute bridge leg raise
  • squat- wide stance
  • side lunge
  • calf raises
  • jump squat
  • donkey kicks

Awesome Arms:

  • push ups
  • bent over row
  • dips
  • flys
  • triceps extension
  • plank
  • biceps curl
  • kettlebell swings
  • straight arm raises
  • burpess

Rockin’ Abs:

  • vertical leg raise crunch
  • deadlift
  • reverse crunch
  • bike abs
  • mason twist
  • side plank
  • plank rows
  • v-ups
  • plank knee to elbow
  • flutter kicks

 

 

 

 

Happy thanksgiving

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Hey all! Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving . Did you get your workouts in? We had a family boot camp class Friday morning , it was a ton of fun. I’m hoping once the weather gets warmer we will do it all the time. I’d love to do a class for everyone who lives in the area! Now that it’s holiday season it’s tough to keep up with your workouts, I’ll be posting short videos you can do anywhere to help you stay on track.

 

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my cousins and I did a 45 min workout consisting of intervals, lunges,squats, and abs.  We even got my niece and nephew involved.

Protein coffee

Protein Coffee

ingredients :

  • Coffee
  • 1/2 milk
  • 1/2-1 scoop protein powder
  • 1tsp hazel nut spread

add all ingredients into blender. You can drink it hot or cold If you let the coffee chill and add ice to the blender

 

Handstand

On of my favorite things to practice are handstand. I love to do all the variations . One day I’m hoping I won’t need the wall for help!

 

Food shopping

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I love food shopping! I don’t know why, I spend too much money everytime and when I get home I still feel like I have nothing to eat. I try and think of what I’ll want to eat all week and buy the things I can cook ahead of time. I normally buy the same things every week.  I mainly stay around the perimeter in hopes to avoid processed foods. I also buy almond and coconut flour , but not every week.  Here is my typical list:

Grocery list

 

What’s in your gym bag?

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Do you  bring a bag to the gym? I love my gym bag. I leave mine in my car so it is always ready for my workout. I keep a bunch of stuff in it. I have my reebok nanos and my addidas oly lifting shoes.  My favorite wrist wraps ever are always in there. I got my wraps at www.prwraps.com, they are the best! My rx smart gear jump rope, great for double unders , and my gymboss.  I also keep some high socks, a bunch of tape, a nail file ( not sure why) , hair ties, a lacrosse ball ( to get knots out of my back) and my weight belt. There’s always a bunch of empty protein and preworkout shakers in there too! What do you keep in your bag? Anything unusual ?

Gym bag.

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