Since November is Abs Month...

I'm staying in theme!

I said in my earlier post Abs are

FIRST made in the Kitchen (*clean diet, proper water intake)
SECOND Made during Sleep (6 - 8 hours, restful sleep, nightly)
and THIRD with Abs WORK (varied planes of focus; with resistance)

FACT: It takes 250,000 crunches to burn 1 lb of fat. (Thats 100 crunches/day for 7 years!!)
I consistently *Preach* about water intake & post yummy, healthy & clean recipes. I can't force you to sleep, But to help you work the muscles...

Here's an Abs Cypher that I find REALLY gets that deep belly-burn!

***
Do each exercise for 30sec, with 10sec rest between exercises.
Do 1-3 rounds. 1minute rest between rounds.

• Elbow Plank
• Plank Hip Dips (*dips the hips side to side, without bending at the waist)
• Plank Hip Tucks (*plank position, tuck tailbone under and release, holding core tight)
• Plank Up & Downs (*raise from elbows to palms, alternate sides)
• Banana Rolls (*on stomach, raise chest using rear-core, flip onto back in banana shape using front-core)
• Jack Knife (*on back, arms overhead, draw the body up to a balanced position with legs drawn into chest)
• V-sit hold (*Final position of Jackknife, seated balance position)
• 1/2 V-sit Kick-out (*seated balance position, 1 foot on ground, straighten opposite leg, kicking up&down)
• 1/2 V sit Scissors (*same position, both legs up moving in & out simultaneously)
• Seated Core Twist (*Feet up or down, full twist side to side, fist to ground)

It's a TORCHER (*get it, Torture/Torcher)
and it gets the people GOING!

Mia

Music Monday

What MOVES you?

There have been quite a few studies on music during exercise.  There is no "ONE BEST" genre of music to work out to. Who says that everyone is motivated by 168bpm during cardio? I had a client who listens to pieces like Vangelis' Chariots of Fire, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Quintero's 300 Violins (*she's a music teacher at a local high school)

The key to finding great Motivational Music, is deciding your mood, your goals, and what MOVES YOU!

Here's what is moving ME, this week!

YMCMB Tour Mixtape by DJ 4our5ive >>> DOWNLOAD IT HERE

(via @dj4our5ive)

Motivation Monday!

One of my favorite quotes of all-time...

"Ask ye not for a lighter load, but for a stronger back"

Here is some visual motivation!
Don't EVER say, that something is IMPOSSIBLE --»


http://youtu.be/M7yE07rJ_54
 (via @derekpoundstone)

Ladies... dont be SCURRED to be AMAZING!
http://youtu.be/sTbkNRxQhYE

Now... Not everyone will have the "urge" to move a Truck or a Train, in the physical sense...
but what about those daily endeavours that feel JUST AS HEAVY a load to bare, in your every day life.

The same tips for one can be applied to the other ::
1. Focus, concentrate on the task at hand
- Set your mind RIGHT, and the rest gets LEFT

2. Brace yourself!
- Strap in, find your balance & get ready to MOVE.

3. Overcome Inertia (standstill) with little steps, low to the ground
- Take the LARGE problem/load, and handle it step by step, starting from the ground up

4. Push Forward, Don't stop your FEET
- Even though it's a challenge, the burden is staggering, KEEP PUSHING THRU!

5. BREATHE!
- pretty self-explanitory...

What seemingly immovable objects are in your path, today? This week?
Focus, Break it down, GET MOVING & Don't forget to BREATHE!

Mia

Some tips for Lifts

A few quick tips for effective strength training

1. Warm up - doing some easy dynamic movements, or a short (5-10min) cardio session will raise the heart rate slowly giving the muscles time to warm and be ready for the load to be implied. A light stretch prior to lifting is fine, but do it AFTER your brief warm up.
2. Maintain a neutral spine during all strength-training and use your core for stability. Pull the tail bone into a neutral position, and thinking of drawing the belly button back & upward into the spine.
3. Lift with CONTROL. Don't Yank and drop. Keep a smooth track of movement through the range of motion.
4. Start with a light weight. This helps with #3. Focus on proper form, and then increase the difficulty with additional load.
5. Do not hold your breath. Inhale between repetitions, exhale during the concentric phase (active/hard part) of the lift. *For extremely heavy lifts, you can perform the Valsalva manoeuver BUT again, this involves controlled breathing release, through core tightening for stability, not Breath HOLDING.
6. Do not lift a joint beyond it's maximum range of motion. This is different for everyone. Flexibility is important, and comes from challenging the ROM, but if it hurt's, stop. Period.
7. Train from Biggest to Smallest. Larger Muscles/muscles take more energy to work. Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Pecs, Lats should but first and move into smaller groups like Biceps, Triceps, Delts.
8. Save the Abs/ Core training for the end of your workout. They are used in the stability of most of your other exercises, so you need them fresh if you plan to go heavy.
9. Rest between hitting the same muscle groups again. 24-48hours is typically recommended.
10. Lift with focus & purpose. Why go heavy if it doesn't suit your goals? Why lift at all, if you refuse to challenge yourself? Set goals & WORK to achieve them! #TrainDilligently #WorkPurposefully
11. Eat Intelligently! Load up on lean protein along with your healthy fats & quality, fibrous, complex carbohydrates. If you're under-eating, your body will feed off muscle tissue first.

Use these guidelines, and make AMAZING happen!

Mia