Tuesday, Thursday and Friday Fitness Program

Okay ladies! Several people have been asking me to share my workout programs, so here's one of them for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the next 2-3 weeks. I try to commit to 1-2 hours of intense muscle training since my goal is to gain adequate muscle while losing fat at the same time. My workouts seem to be getting me leaner and more toned in a short period of time.

For the next two weeks, I am committing to this program with HIIT training at the end of my routine. 

The weight I use for upper body fluctuates from 17.5lbs to 55lbs depending on the exercise. For lower body, the weight ranges from 80-280lbs.

So here you go:

Triceps On Fire 

Bicep curls into overhead push up

Cable one arm extension

Bench press

Closed grip barbell chest press

Reverse grip pull down extensions

Tate press

Bench dips

Arms & Back-At It

Overhead shoulder press

Lateral pull down 

Seated back row

Backrow extensions

Seated chest press

Dumbbell overhead shoulder press Wide

Dumbbell overhead shoulder press narrow 

Hammer Incline dumbbell press

Ts & Ys

Standing bent over row

Laterall pull down with cable bar

Cable back row

Cable crossover (all sides)

Them Thangs: Legs & Hamstrings 

Hamstring machine 

Cable standing leg curl

Donkey kickbacks

Laying hamstring machine 

Ballet squats

200 narrow deep squats 

200 wide deep squats 

Weighted plate standing back extension 

Reverse crunches 

(40) 90lb hack squats 

Seated leg extensions 

Seated calf raises 

How to Build Lean Muscle: The Elements of Size

How to Build Lean Muscle: The Elements of Size

A Little Extra Doesn't Hurt or Does It?

Of course you need to take days off from the gym, but having a simple plan is key to staying consistent with your fitness program. Walking into the gym and asking yourself what shall you workout today isn't going to cut it. 

I like to workout as much as I possibly can, depending on my schedule with my children. Sundays are always optional for me but I like to know what I'm getting into before I pile all my kids and their belongings with me to my fitness center. So here you go:'an optional Sunday, Wedneday and Friday list of exercises to add to your regimen or start fresh. 


Upper Body Exercises:

Shoulder press 

Overhead lateral pull down

Tri cep push ups

Biceps curls

Medicine ball squats 

Bosu ball push ups

Torso twists 

Back row machine 

90 degree back row with weights 

Barbell Chest press 

Lateral pull ups with barbell

Lower Body Exercises: 

Axle dead lift

Cross over reverse lunge

Hip circles 

Donkey kickbacks

Stiff leg barbell good morning 

Weighted ball hyper extension 

10 - 30 second planks (all sides)

Standing cross over crunches

High knees 

Burpees 

Hanging leg raises 

Bar pull ups 

Hit 'Em With A Flex: 2 Week Arm Blasting Fitness Program

As a woman, our main fitness goals fluctuate as our bodies change. We want to be lean one moment and then another, our goal is to be thicker than a snicker. Whatever your goal is, we have to remember not to neglect certain exercises in our routines in order to be overall fit and toned. 

Cardio is the easiest way to lose weight to some of us but once we start getting into routine performing cardio 4-5 days a week, many of us neglect our upper bodies. We think that if we use moderate to heavy weights, then we are going to get ripped or look like a man. This statement is completely false! 

I have the body type where I can get lean pretty fast and muscle training used to be a challenge to me until one of my past trainers showed me how to work out and switch up my fitness programs. One area that's the easiest to tone in my opinion is the upper body. Our upper body is made up of smaller muscle groups and if we incorporate a variety of toning exercises, you can tone those flabby batwing and diminish bra fat in as little as two weeks. Below, you will find a two week program designed to get those guns firing!

ARM-BLASTING ROUTINE

BICEPS

EXERCISE/SETS/REPS

Chin-Ups 3 AMAP*

Barbell Curl/4/12

Superset with 

Incline Dumbbell Curl/3/12

Alternating Dumbbell Curl/3/12 per arm

Superset with 

Barbell Preacher Reverse Curl 3 8

Barbell Curl 21s 2/7-7-7**

Superset with 

Hammer Curl (for speed) 2 AMAP*

Super-Slow Machine Curl 1 6

TRICEPS

EXERCISE/SETS/REPS

Narrow Push-Up/3/AMAP*

Skullcrusher/3/12

Lying Dumbbell Alternating Extension/3/8 per arm

Cable Reverse-Grip Pushdown/4/12

Superset with

Cable Pushdown 21s/2***/7-7-7**

Overhead One-Arm Dumbbell Extension/4/10 per arm

Dips/3/12

Super-Slow Machine Pushdown/1/6

*As many reps as possible. On hammer curls, pick a moderate weight that allows you to get at least 15 reps.

**Do 7 reps in the first half of range of motion, 7 reps in the second half, and 7 full range of motion reps.

***Superset cable pushdown 21s after sets 2 and 4 of reverse-grip pushdowns only

CHIN-UPS

Grab a chin-up bar with an underhand (palms facing you) grip just inside shoulder-width. Start in a dead-hang position with your arms fully extended. Bend your elbows to pull yourself straight up. When your chin clears the bar, lower yourself back down under control to the dead-hang position.

BARBELL CURL

Stand holding a barbell in front of your thighs with your arms fully extended toward the floor.

Without letting your elbows flare out to the sides, curl the bar up as far as possible then lower it under control to the start position.

INCLINE DUMBBELL CURL

Lie back on an incline bench while holding a pair of dumbbells. Start with both arms

hanging straight down toward the floor and your palms facing in. Keeping your upper arm stationary, curl one dumbbell up, rotating your wrist so that by the top of movement your

palm faces your shoulder. Lower the dumbbell back down then repeat with the opposite arm. Alternate arms every other rep.

ALTERNATING DUMBBELL CURL

Stand holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing in. Curl one dumbbell up

while turning your wrist so that your palm faces your shoulder at the top. Lower the dumbbell

back down then repeat with the opposite arm. Alternate arms every other rep.

BARBELL PREACHER REVERSE CURL

Sit on the seat of a preacher bench, holding a barbell with a reverse (palms down) grip. Start with the backs of your upper arms flush with the pad and your elbows extended. Keeping your upper arms in contact with the pad throughout, curl the bar up as far as you can then lower it back down to the start position.

HAMMER CURL

Stand holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides with your palms facing in. Keeping your elbows in tight at your sides, curl the dumbbells up, maintaining the palms-in (hammer) wrist position. Then lower them back to the start position. In this workout, perform hammer curls for speed, doing as many fast reps as you can per set until reaching failure.

BARBELL CURL 21S

Stand holding a barbell in front of your thighs with your arms fully extended. Curl the bar halfway up (to where the forearms are parallel with the floor) and back down seven times. Then do seven reps from halfway to all the way up. Finish the set with seven reps of the full range of motion.

NARROW PUSH-UP

Assume a push-up position with your hands directly below your shoulders on the floor. Start with your arms extended and your body in a straight line from head to feet. Bend your arms, keeping your elbows pointed back (not flared out to the sides), to lower yourself toward the floor. When your chest reaches the floor, extend your elbows to press yourself back up.

SKULLCRUSHER

Lie back on a flat bench while holding a barbell over your face with your hands about shoulder-width apart and your arms extended. Bend your elbows to lower the bar down and slightly back to the crown of your head. (For safety, don’t lower the bar to your face.) Touch down lightly, and then extend your elbows to return to the arms-extended position.

LYING DUMBBELL ALTERNATING EXTENSION

Lie back on a flat bench holding a pair of dumbbells at arm’s length above you with your palms facing each other. Bend one elbow to lower the dumbbell to the side of your head, keeping the other arm straight. Extend your elbow to press the dumbbell back up, and then repeat with the opposite arm. Alternate arms every other rep.

CABLE REVERSE-GRIP PUSHDOWN

Stand facing a cable stack with an EZ-bar attachment coming from the highest pulley setting.  Hold the bar at around shoulder-width with your palms facing up (reverse-grip), and start with your elbows in tight at your sides and your forearms just above parallel with the floor. Contract your triceps to extend your arms until your elbows are locked out at the bottom then slowly return to the start position.

OVERHEAD ONE-ARM DUMBBELL EXTENSION

Stand holding a dumbbell straight overhead with your palm facing forward. Rest your non-working hand on your hip. Keeping your upper arm perpendicular with the floor, lower the dumbbell behind your head, then extend your elbow to press the weight back up to the overhead position. Complete all reps with that arm, then switch arms.

DIPS

Grab near the ends of two parallel dipping bars and start with your arms fully extended, your body suspended vertically, and knees slightly bent. Bend your arms to lower yourself, leaning slightly forward and not letting your elbows flare out to the sides. When your upper arms reach at least parallel with the floor, extend your elbows to press yourself back up to the start position.

CABLE PUSHDOWN 21S

Stand facing a cable stack with an EZ-bar attachment coming from the highest pulley setting. Hold the bar at around shoulder-width with your palms facing up (reverse-grip), and start with your elbows in tight at your sides and your forearms just above parallel with the floor. Contract your triceps to extend your arms until your elbows are locked out at the bottom then slowly return to the start position.

SLOW PLAY

Both portions of the arms workout finish with super-slow-rep sets—one set each of six 20-second reps that take a long and painful two minutes to complete. Using whichever types of seated curl and triceps extension machines your gym has available, perform each rep with a 10 seconds up and 10 seconds down pace. If at any point during the set your muscles begin to fail, quickly switch to a lighter weight and continue.

The benefits of super-slow reps are numerous; mostly notably, the technique is useful for increasing muscular endurance and size, in addition to minimizing injury risk and acting as a cool-down exercise 

A version of this routine  originally appeared in UFC 360. 

Recipe Obsession: Baked Talapia with Coconut Cilantro Lime Sauce

Fish is delicious and nutritious but can taste bland if you don't know how to spice it up. This recipe I found on the Food Network about a year ago that I have fell in love with. 

Ingredients:

Coconut oil spray

Four 6-ounce pieces tilapia fillet

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 cup light reduced-fat coconut milk

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

1 teaspoon peeled chopped fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

2 garlic cloves

1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

3 cups cooked brown rice, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with coconut oil spray. Sprinkle the fish with the salt and place it in the pan.Combine the coconut milk, cilantro, ginger, garam masala, garlic and jalapeno in a blender and pulse until fairly smooth. Pour the mixture over the fish. Bake until the fish is just opaque in the center, about 15 minutes. Garnish with more cilantro and serve with the rice.Per Serving (analysis does not include brown rice):

Calories: 170

Fat: 3 grams

Saturated Fat: 1 gram

Protein: 34 grams

Carbohydrates: 1 gram

Sugar: 0 grams

Fiber: 0 grams

Cholesterol: 85 milligrams

Sodium: 210 milligrams

Lets Get It Started! The Paleo Way

The Paleo Diet is based upon everyday, modern foods that mimic the food groups of our pre-agricultural, hunter-gatherer ancestors. The following seven fundamental characteristics of hunter-gatherer diets will help to optimize your health, minimize your risk of chronic disease, and lose weight.

Higher protein intake – Protein comprises 15 % of the calories in the average western diet, which is considerably lower than the average values of 19-35 % found in hunter-gatherer diets. Meat, seafood, and other animal products represent the staple foods of modern day Paleo diets.

Lower carbohydrate intake and lower glycemic index – Non-starchy fresh fruits and vegetables represent the main carbohydrate source and will provide for 35-45 % of your daily calories. Almost all of these foods have low glycemic indices that are slowly digested and absorbed, and won’t spike blood sugar levels.

Higher fiber intake – Dietary fiber is essential for good health, and despite what we’re told, whole grains aren’t the place to find it. Non-starchy vegetables contain eight times more fiber than whole grains and 31 times more than refined grains. Even fruits contain twice as much fiber as whole grains and seven times more than refined grains.

Moderate to higher fat intake dominated by monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with balanced Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats – It is not the total amount of fat in your diet that raises your blood cholesterol levels and increases your risk for heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, but rather the type of fat. Cut the trans fats and the Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats in your diet and increase the healthful monounsaturated and Omega-3 fats that were the mainstays of Stone Age diets. Recent large population studies known as meta analyses show that saturated fats have little or no adverse effects upon cardiovascular disease risk.

Higher potassium and lower sodium intake – Unprocessed, fresh foods naturally contain 5 to 10 times more potassium than sodium, and Stone Age bodies were adapted to this ratio. Potassium is necessary for the heart, kidneys, and other organs to work properly. Low potassium is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke – the same problems linked to excessive dietary sodium. Today, the average American consumes about twice as much sodium as potassium.

Net dietary alkaline load that balances dietary acid – After digestion, all foods present either a net acid or alkaline load to the kidneys. Acid producers are meats, fish, grains, legumes, cheese, and salt. Alkaline-yielding foods are fruits and veggies. A lifetime of excessive dietary acid may promote bone and muscle loss, high blood pressure, and increased risk for kidney stones, and may aggravate asthma and exercise-induced asthma.

Higher intake of, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and plant phytochemicals – Whole grains are not a good substitute for lean meats, fruits, and veggies, as they contain no vitamin C, vitamin A, or vitamin B12. Many of the minerals and some of the B vitamins whole grains do contain are not well absorbed by the body.

Foods You Can Eat:

Grass-produced meats

Fish/seafood

Fresh fruits and veggies

Eggs

Nuts and seeds

Healthful oils (Olive, walnut, flaxseed, macadamia, avocado, coconut)

Foods You Shouldn't Eat: 

Cereal grains

Legumes (including peanuts)

Dairy

Refined sugar

Potatoes

Processed foods

Salt

Refined vegetable oils (listed in The Paleo Diet Cookbook and The Paleo Diet for Athletes)

Sample Meal Plan On Paleo Diet:

For breakfast, make an easy omelet. Sauté onion, peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli in olive oil; add omega-3-enriched or free-range eggs and diced turkey or chicken breast.

Paleo lunches are easy. At the beginning of the week, make a huge salad with anything you like. A good starting point can be mixed greens, spinach, radishes, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, avocadoes, walnuts, almonds and sliced apples or pears. Store the salad in a large sealable container. Each morning prepare a single serving from the large batch and then mix in meat (ground beef, beef slices, chicken, turkey, ground bison, pork chunks, etc.) or seafood of choice (salmon, shrimp, tuna, or any fresh fish or seafood). Toss with olive oil and lemon juice and you are set.

For dinner, try spaghetti squash as a substitute for any pasta recipe. Top with pesto, marinara and meatballs.

Roasted beets and their greens make a great side dish for pork. Asparagus, broccoli, and spinach can be steamed quickly. Salmon, halibut, or other fresh fish filets grill well with accompanying foil packs full of cut veggies with olive oil and garlic.

Berries and other succulent fruits make a great dessert. Pre-cut carrot and celery sticks, sliced fruit, and pre-portioned raw nut/dried fruit mixes are easy snacks.

Additional Sample Meal Plan:

Breakfast: Omega-3 or free ranging eggs scrambled in olive oil with chopped parsley. Grapefruit, or any fresh fruit in season, herbal tea

Snack: Sliced lean beef, fresh apricots or seasonal fruit

Lunch: Caesar salad with chicken (olive oil and lemon dressing), herbal tea

Snack: Apple slices, raw walnuts

Dinner: Tomato and avocado slices; grilled skinless turkey breast; steamed broccoli, carrots, and artichoke; bowl of fresh blueberries, raisins, and almonds; one glass white wine or mineral water. (Clearly, wine would never have been available to our ancestors, but the 85:15 rule allows you to consume three non-Paleo meals per week.)

Information provided from ThePaleoDiet.Com

She Must Be A Model, She Shaped Like a Coke Bottle: Waist Training

Waist training is a gradual process of waist reduction using a steel boned corset. Also known as waist cinching or tight-lacing the practice came to prominence in Victorian times but has made something of a comeback in recent years. Wearing a tight-lacing corset, exercise and eating a healthy diet can radically reduce the waist of men and women. Furthermore, the wearing of a corset whilst undertaking a healthy diet helps reduce food volume intake by constricting the internal organs thus helping promote the healthier practice of smaller meals, more often, rather than three large meals a day.

Tight-lacing and waist cinching as a means of permanent waist-reduction and re-shaping is a practice requiring discipline and is best achieved when the following 3 components work in harmony.

Waist Cinching Utilizes:

1. A traditional steel bone corset or a latex/rubber waist cincher is more cost effective 

2. Clean diet

3. Regular fitness program

A new corset and cincher must be broken in otherwise you can damage the garment. The first few weeks of wearing the corset you must not over-cinch. Tighten the garment evenly until it is snug but not tight. Corset panels are stiff when new and along with the flexible steel bones, must be allowed to mould themselves and change shape according to where your ribs and hips are. This takes time and if you rush the process you will either hurt yourself or pop a steel bone or panel seam. Once the garment is worn-in you can then begin to tighten a little more each time you wear the corset until you have reached your comfort level.

To begin with, try to wear the corset or waist cincher for 3 to 6 hours a day where possible. If you choose to wear it longer make sure you drink lots of water.

MAINTENANCE: If you are serious about waist-training then it is very important to look after your corset or waist cincher; over time they take a lot of punishment from regular cinching but if you take some simple precautions you can extend the life of the garment:

Always wear with a liner or tight camisole/t-shirt. Even the most genteel lady will perspire in a corset  wearing a liner will protect the corset lining from much of the moisture and body oils in particular

Air Dry your corset at the end of the day. Corsets must be dried out by turning the lining to the upper side and hanging over the back of a chair. Never hang on or near a heat source as over time this will cause shrinkage and eventual damage to the stitching

Alternate Corsets. Rather than buy one very fancy corset, purchase 2 moderately priced, strong corsets and alternate them so that each corset gets to rest between each wearing

Consider protecting the outside of the corset by spraying a protective coat of Scotch Guard Cleaning. From time to time you may need to wipe clean the outside or the liner with a damp cloth. If the corset needs a thorough cleaning then it must be done at a dry cleaners ensure they have experience of cleaning such articles. NEVER wash your corset.

I am in the process of using a size small latex waist cincher. I've noticed that my lower abdominal muscles are starting to get flatter and my lower lumbar is feeling more supported. After having four children, my waist size isn't necessarily a problem, more over gaining strength in my stomach and back is what's important to me. But I will attempt to stay consistent for the next 30 days and if my combination of clean eating, exercise and waist training appear to be giving me good results, I will continue forth with it.