***Shakeology Contest!***

   The results are in: Shakeology + Exercise WIN! In the top pictures, I was working out a bit everyday, but coming down from being sick AND eating junk food like it was the end of the world. Gave up that life and now I drink my Shakeology everyday (I also watch what I eat).

   The bottom row of pictures was taken today and I'm a pretty happy lady. (Progress, not perfection!) 

   

   Now I want to help YOU. I am going to give away two FULL week's worth of Shakeology. But don't get too excited- I'm not pulling an Oprah here. This isn't "Shakeology for YOU and YOU and YOU". Only ONE person will win. 

   Here's how ya play: firstly, if I'm going to help you, we gotta be friends. Go to my facebook page and  "like" it. Then write me a message about why you think you should get the Shakeo. 

   The winner will recieve 14 scoops of Shakeology and a workout plan to follow (we'll talk about your schedule what's available to you so it's realistic). Two rules: 1) Winner MUST live in the United States 2) Winner must be willing to show some before and after pictures. I'm confident that you will see a change in two week's time if you follow the workout and drink your Shakeology. **Winner will be announced Saturday, May 4**

   I'm not doing this to push sales. I'm doing this because a lot of you have asked me about Shakeology and while some end up taking the life-changing leap, others make excuses. Now you have no excuse. I'm GIVING it to you. If there is anything I hate, it's sharing my stuff. Maybe because I'm the baby of the family, I don't know. But I'm willing to put that aside to help you make a positive change in your life! 

   Ready, set, GO!

Fat Burning Zone vs Cardio Zone (And How a HR Monitor Can Help You!)

   As a personal trainer, I spend kind of a lot of money on fitness clothes. But I don't mind because I wear them so often and it SO beats having to wear real pants everyday. Just sayin'. But as a modern man or woman of today working at a desk or someplace where real pants are required, you may not want to shell out tons of cash at Lululemon. And that's fine! But the one thing I suggest you pony up for if you are, or want to be, consistent in your workouts, is a heart rate monitor.

  The first reason I think you need a heart rate monitor is because they make you look super intense! Think Mega Man or Iron Man or Batman or even Inspector Gadget... you have a tool you can use to make your BODY your super power! You can get one for as cheap as $50 and you'll use it all the time, so I'd say it's money well spent.
    It lets you know when you're in your "fat burning zone" as well. But keep in mind, staying in your fat-burning zone may not be ideal for your goals. Just because the treadmill says "fat burning zone" doesn't mean it will make you lose weight faster. When your heart rate increases above that zone, your body starts using its carbohydrates as its primary source of fuel, thus lessening the percentage of calories from fat being burned. So let's say you walked a half hour and burned 200 calories (and you may or may not burn that many- everyone is different. This is hypothetical). Of those 200 calories, 50% would be burned from fat. So 100 calories of fat = gone. Now, if you ran for a half hour and burned, say, 500 calories, you may have only burned 40% of fat. BUT, 40% of 500 is 200 so that's 200 calories of fat burned! The key to weight loss is creating a caloric deficit- taking in less calories than you burn. More work = less calories in you!

   Anyway, the heart rate monitor is waaaay better at judging the amount of calories you burn in a workout than the treadmill. I've noticed that the machines often say you're burning about 20 more calories than you actually are, because it is guessing. Just putting your hands on the metal bars isn't enough for it to know what's going on in your body throughout the whole workout. A monitor let's you know exactly what you're doing. It also tells you in its data section where your heart rate was throughout. This is a pretty cool feature. It's fun to see how much more I can push myself as my fitness improves and which workouts burn more calories in a given amount of time. I usually try to burn roughly 300 when I train with weights and I reach that way faster on leg days.
  
   For people with heart problems, it's great to have. If you know where your heart rate is at, it's easier to keep it at the healthy level that your doctor recommends for you.

   So to sum up, push yourselves a healthy amount and if you need an extra kick in the pants/something to keep track of your success, get a heart rate monitor!

 

Stretch!

  People ask me all the time why they’re stiff, why they have so many knots, why they’re hunched over.

   “Do you stretch ever?” They shift their eyes.

   “Sometimes…”

    Yeah... do it more, please! I’m often met with the excuse, “I hate yoga”. Well, you don’t have to take a yoga class to stretch, silly! But I recommend it because a) yoga stretches pop up in so many other fitness classes and in at-home DVDs as a cool-down and b) If you take one class, you can learn the correct posture so you don’t hurt yourself. I’m sure you can find a few poses for each muscle group that you don’t hate. Plus, you don’t have to be a contortionist to take a yoga class, contrary to popular belief. Any GOOD yoga instructor will tell you to do what YOU can do and over time, you’ll see your stretches getting deeper. I have experienced a boot-camp type yoga instructor who told people that their stretching wasn’t good enough and even laughed at people! If you find yourself in a class like that, I encourage you to leave and find a more compassionate yogi who inspires you. Also if you don't want to take a class, I recommend DVDs by Gaiam featuring Rodney Yee. The man is a genius.

   Increasing your flexibilty is important because your body will function better in your day-to-day life- not just when you’re working out. When you reach back in your car to get your seatbelt, when you squat down to pick something up properly, when you reach up to grab a mug from your cabinet. If you don’t stretch, the likelihood of knots building up in your muscles increases and so does the opportunity to become injured. Soon you could start feeling pain when you move a certain way and you’ll stop moving that way to avoid the pain. Your body will try to compensate for the lack of doing that particular motion, which can throw off your balance and lead to other injuries over time. Then you get old, you need hip and shoulder replacements and you think to yourself, “Dang, I wish I listened to Niki Webber”.

   Do keep in mind that over-stretching can be a bad thing and if you have a serious muscle injury, don’t make it worse- see a doctor. You may just need a few massages to work out what you have going on, or you may need something more. Either way, talking to a doctor that you trust is imperative in these situations. Also, stretching will NOT prevent the soreness you may feel the days following a tough workout. It WILL help prevent knots and muscle injuries so you can keep up with your beastmode workouts. 

  To conclude, workout + water + stretching = winning! Have a fantastic-elastic day!