Do you have four minutes for exercise? Of course you do! Check out my video for a quick, full body workout you can do basically anywhere in less time than it will take you to find a parking spot at the gym!
What’s your favorite exercise to Tabata?
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One of the most common reasons my boot campers and personal training clients say they have difficulty sticking to their nutrition plans that they don’t have time to cook. With just a little bit of planning, taking advantage of the evening or weekend afternoon when you do have some time spend in the kitchen, you can make several meals at once. I’m not talking about eating the same leftovers for days, either. In the video below, I’ll show you can get a main dish salad, a soup, and a quiche out of a couple trays of roasted beets and carrots. Please leave a comment if you have any big batch cooking tips to share!
Oat Flour Pie Crust 1 1/2 c oat flour, plus additional for work surface 1/4 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/3 c low-fat milk 1 egg yolk 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1. Preheat over to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. 2. In a spouted bowl, whisk together milk, egg yolk, oil, and vinegar. Slowly pour ½ of the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly and repeat with the remaining liquid. The mixture will be partially crumbly, but will stick together when squeezed. 3. Dump dough out onto a well-floured surface. Squeeze dough together into a singular mound and pat it down together into a disc.. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out until 12 inches in diameter. Transfer dough to 9 inch pie dish. Gently press dough into the edges of the dish and up the sides. Fold excess dough under and pinch, creating a roughly 1/2 inch rim. Using your fingers, or with the tines of a fork, crimp entire rim. Poke Dough all over with fork to create stream holes. 4) Transfer to over and bake 20 minutes, until edges and center are just golder. Remove dish from over and cool completely before using.
VARIATIONS: Substitute 1/4 cup of oat flour with 1/4 cup unsalted nuts of your choice, finely chopped or ground.
Stability balls are great for core training: they require your muscles to work much harder than they would on a stable surface, and in turn you get a better workout in a shorter amount of time. I also like them for my personal training clients who have lower back issues because the ball does not put the same type of pressure on the spine that mat work on the floor can. Stability balls come in several sizes, and you’ll want to choose which on to use based on your height. If you are under 5’7 you’ll generally want to use a 55cm ball. If you are over 6’2 you’ll want the 75cm ball. In between those heights a 65cm is usually best. Check out this video for a short, but effective ab circuit: Complete the circuit 2-4 times Many, many people wish they could figure out a way to get in a good workout AND spend quality time with their young children. Apparently you can do both!
Most women, no matter their weight, have cellulite and most men do not. Another one of life’s cruel twists. And as promised, the cellulite scrub! The caffeine in the coffee grounds temporarily plumps up your skin, making it appear smoother. A word of caution: make sure you have a good drain catch in your tub or shower; this can get a bit messy and will stain your tub if you don’t clean up the grounds right after you’re done. You’ll need used coffee grounds and either grape seed or olive oil. Place the coffee grounds in a resealable container and cover with oil. Mix it up, and then apply to your butt and thighs in the shower. Rinse it off, and that’s it! The scrub will keep at room temperature for a few days. Do you have any good DIY tips to share? The New York Times published an article about a study about breakfast this week that left me scratching my head. In the study, subjects were instructed to track what they ate for two weeks. Researchers then determined that contrary to popular belief, the subjects that ate a bigger breakfast did not see any subsequent reduction in total calorie intake over the rest of the day.Therefore, the study concludes, having breakfast must NOT be a helpful weigh management strategy. One of the scientists is even quoted saying, “Eating breakfast is just added calories. You’ll never compensate for them at subsequent meals.” Umm…what!? Maybe the problem is not the fact that the subjects ate breakfast, but the fact that many breakfast options are not high quality. If you are eating donuts, pastries, candy disguised as cereal, white sugar masquerading as white bread, then yes, you may have a issue keeping your total calorie intake in check. Eating mostly carbohydrates (and refined carbohydrates at that) WILL leave you feeling hungry few hours later and can lead to overeating throughout the day. Also, consuming a huge 1200 calorie breakfast of bacon, pancakes, and a three egg omelet with cheese in the hopes that you won’t eat the rest of the day is not a very good strategy either. Just like with many other things in life, too much of a good thing (in this case breakfast) CAN be bad for you. Numerous other studies over the course of the last decades have proven time and time again that people who consume breakfast not only maintain a healthier weight than those who don’t, but the also have improved cognitive function as well. Plus, eating in the morning kickstarts your metabolism and gets your body out of the conserve mode it goes into while you sleep at night. I think the key here is to have a QUALITY, SATISFYING meal. Breakfast, just like any other meal, is going to be most beneficial to you if it is a low sugar, high fiber mix of whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. This combination will keep you full and give you the energy you need to make it through your morning. Most American breakfast options as I said before are nothing but sugar, especially the most popular and convenient item of all: cold cereal. If you want to find you what you should look for when you purchase cereal, please check out my video below. Jumping rope is one of the most effective cardiovascular conditioning exercises there is, and it can be performed by people of all ages and abilities. It is also a particularly good activity for families to do together: kids love it, and adults will definitely get in a good workout, even by spending just a few minutes with the rope. Jumping rope improves balance, agility, coordination, muscle strength, and endurance. It is also a fat scorcher! Depending on your weight and how vigorously you jump, you can burn anywhere from 10-20 calories PER MINUTE! But, perhaps most importantly, it is fun! Exercise doesn’t just occur in a gym or through an organized sports team, and it doesn’t have to happen in a 1-2 hour block of time that is completely separate from your everyday life. The Center for Disease Control recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate activity a week and that children ages 6-17 get 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Those numbers may sound daunting, but remember that this time can be broken up into 10 minute intervals throughout the day and be just as effective as a single session. If you’re curious as to how you might add a quick jump roping session into your family’s routine, please check out this video for ideas! Considering that over 20,000 people will be participating in the Kaiser Permanente Great Aloha Run on President’s Day this February, I’d be willing to bet that many of you who come to my site are currently training or considering registering. While you could just wake up on race day and do this 8 mile run, it will be a lot more fun for you (and your body) if you train in advance. There is an official (free!) training taking place in Kapiolani Park Sunday mornings at 6:45am to take care of some of your mileage, but if you really want to train for and complete the race with the smallest risk of injury and least amount of aches and pains, not to mention the best time you can muster, you’ll need to do a little more than run. You’ll be able to complete this strength training workout with equipment and time, but if you commit to it 2-4 times a week, you’ll definitely notice a big difference in your runs, especially as you increase your mileage. As an added bonus, strength training will also increase your metabolism, strengthen your bones, improve your balances, raise your HDL cholesterol levels (the good kind), improve your posture, and elevate your mood! Oh yeah, and it will help you look good too! I tried a new format with the videos here, so please leave me a comment if you have any feedback!
You can also print this workout and have a handy reference sheet when you perform your exercises. To download this image, simply right click on the photo below and click save image as.
Well, my family in Detroit might need sleeves; it’s a FREEZING 29 degrees! I, however am much luckier and am sweating right now in my apartment, enjoying the balmy 80 degree afternoon. Even if you aren’t baring you arms in tank tops and swimsuits all year long, toned, shapely arms are something we’d all like to have, especially when you think about the fact that cute holiday cocktail dresses usually do not come with sleeves to the elbow. Plus, it’s nice to be strong enough to actually lift things like your groceries, kids, or or overstuffed suitcase into the overhead bin! Women especially do not tend to store fat in their upper bodies (biology prefers to keep it around our hips, thighs, and waist), so you can really start to see some visible results in relatively short period of time when you start to work on your arms. Check out the video below for a circuit-style (surprise!) workout you can try that targets your triceps while also working your shoulders, chest, biceps, and core! Local, organic produce is certainly the nutritional gold standard, but don’t be defeated if you can’t eat that way all the time! As I’ve stated here previously, Americans are not eating enough vegetables, and our collective health is suffering as a result. Supplementing fresh produce with frozen can be an time-saving, economical, and PRACTICAL way to get more veggies into your diet, and depending on certain conditions, the frozen produce you buy may be fresher than the “fresh” stuff from the supermarket! During my Las Vegas trip last week, I did a little gambling, had some delicious cocktails, and saw the Nevada Ballet perform, but I also made sure I stayed moving. I only did one structured workout while I was away, but I also spent two days hiking in beautiful Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire. I really enjoy hiking and although my heart may be pounding and I’m sweating profusely, I’m usually to busy enjoying to scenery to notice. I shot a workout video about Tabata intervals for you while I was out there in the desert. These types of workouts are great when you are short on time, but still want to get a good sweat in. I also like this style of training becuase you can be at any fitness level and use this technique to achieve results. Just remember to use an exercise that works multiple muscle groups and to really push the intensity! What are some other exercises you like to do Tabata-style? I just got home from my Las Vegas trip, and I’m super excited to be back on the island. Lucky for you I shot a couple videos for you while I was gone that I will be posting this week. This first one is about how to make reasonable food choices while you travel, especially during the actual journey part of your trip. Airports are full of fat trap landmines, but a teeny bit of planning can help you avoid falling into one of them. I would much rather indulge in something special when I arrive at my destination that tastes amazing and is something I really want than blow through a day’s worth of calories eating a stale over sized sandwich in an airport terminal. How do you handle meals when you travel? The sad truth of the matter is that you CANNOT spot train for fat loss in specific areas. But you CAN target certain muscle groups to tone and strengthen! The circuit: 20 squats, jump squats, or tuck jumps Circuit training is a quick, effective way to get a full body, fat burning, muscle building workout. During a circuit training workout, you perform three or more exercises back to back with little to no rest, then repeat the sequence a set number of times. Circuits are often done in threes, but you can do more or fewer depending on how much time you have and your current fitness level. This type of training is so efficient because you are doing resistance training exercises to build muscle, and your heart rate stays elevated due to the fact that you are not resting in between exercises, similar to the cardio effect you get when you go for a jog. Try out the circuit in my video below! It requires no equipment, a very small amount of space, and I have included variations for all fitness levels from beginner to advanced. Remember to push yourself! 20 lunges Repeat the circuit 2-6 times. Just because something sounds healthy, doesn’t mean it is! Fast food and processed convenience foods can be jammed with sometimes shocking amounts of sugar, salt, and fat, even in places you wouldn’t expect. Crunches are certainly not the only exercise for abs training, but they are the default option for many people. Not only can doing endless crunch repetitions be boring, but this lack of variety in your routine can stall your progress and even cause or aggravate lower back problems. Check out some core strengthening exercises you can add to your next ab workout this video I shot in Kapiolani Park this past weekend. What are some of your favorite ab moves? Have you ever wondered why whole grains are better for you than white flours? Or what the difference between wheat and whole wheat bread was, and whether or not the latter was worth the extra cost? Check out these two videos in which I answer both of these questions. If you have questions about nutrition, fitness, or health, please post a comment! I will do my best to answer! |
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This video is hilarious, but some of those moves look tough. Enjoy!