All Body Building

Thanks to a group I joined on Facebook, I found an excellent website!

http://www.all-bodybuilding.com/

The workout charts they provide are amazing. Not only do they show how to do the workout, it also shows what muscles are being used. There's nutrition tips as well.

Eat Popcorn

Even when you eat healthy, you have cravings for things like chocolate and junk food. I have a few different foods that help with the cravings. One of them is popcorn. If popped in a hot air popper, or on the stove, it's a healthy snack. Here's 7 Reasons to Eat Popcorn:

http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/healthy-eating/7-healthy-reasons-to-eat-popcorn/

I'll add, recently my hot air popper stopped working, so I made popcorn on the stove. I think it tastes better when made on the stove, and will continue to make it that way.

Eggs

I'm a big fan of eggs! They are easy to make, can be made many different ways, and can be enjoyed any time! Here's 7 Reasons You Need to Eat More Eggs:

http://www.bicycling.com/food/nutrition/7-reasons-you-need-to-eat-more-eggs?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=Social&utm_term=550985608&utm_campaign=-----------Internalonly:BI

The Best Time to Have a Protein Shake?

Lately I've been wondering, when is the best time to have a Protein Shake. I'm sure the majority of us, myself included, would assume it's after a workout. I've been wondering, if having a Protein Shake before bed is the best. There probably isn't a right or wrong answer, but I found this article about it.

http://www.newhealthadvisor.com/Protein-Shake-Before-Bed.html

I am going to try having my Protein Shake before bed, instead of after my workout for a while. I can report back in a few weeks.

Update: I've tried having my Protein Shake at different times during the day, not just before bed. If you're like me, and you're hungry all the time, I've found the best time for a Protein Shake is about 10:30am. Having a Protein Shake at that time, it keeps me from eating my entire lunch at noon, and getting hungry again at 3:00pm.

Chest Flys, Dumbbells vs. Cable

I'll stick with an injury theme.

When you exercise regularly, you'll deal with injuries or pain due to over use, that's just how it goes. It's a good trade off from dealing with being sick, and/or over weight. I mentioned in May, I was dealing with a sore left shoulder. I have a gut feeling, it's due to doing Dumbbell Chest Flys.

Reading about Dumbbell Chest Flys, yes they can irritate your shoulders, because they put too much pressure on your shoulders when your arms are at the bottom of the movement, at our sides. I enjoy Dumbbell Chest Flys, and didn't want to stop including them in my chest exercises. After thinking about it, I was wondering if Cable Chest Flys were better for our shoulders. According to this article, they are! Performing them while standing, is better for our shoulders then lying down. Plus the tension is constant during the entire movement when using Cables, compared to Dumbbells, when there's no tension when the Dumbbells are at the top of the movement, above our heads.

I don't have a Cable Gym, but I do have a lot of workout bands and a door anchor, which works the same as a Cable Gym.

You can read more about the difference between Dumbbell Flys and Cable Flys here:

http://seannal.com/articles/training/best-fly-exercise.php

Injuries

Last month I tore my left calf running to First Base in a Slow Pitch Softball game. I couldn't play for 2 weeks, and I've had to cutback on jogging outside. I'm almost back to 100%, but I've done some indoor jogging on the spot, and online spinning class, while I wait to jog outside again.

I've had an exercise bike for a couple years, but other then using it to warm up my legs, before I did a leg workout, I didn't use it much. If you're similar to me, and rehabbing a leg injury, or just looking to use your exercise bike more, I found 2 great 20 minute Spinning Class workouts on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hl1WAGKjMc&spfreload=5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd9VxqWxPuw&spfreload=5

One wasn't enough, so I did them back to back, and could really feel I worked hard after I was done. The next day is always the key, and my legs were sore, in a good way, so it was a great replacement for jogging.

I'll go ahead and address what we all are thinking in the first workout. Funny, how they always have to put the woman with the biggest chest right in front of the camera. I'll just leave it at that, but doing the workout, you're focused on cycling, so it isn't a distraction.

Shorts or No Shorts over Tights

If you're Canadian, like I am, Happy Canada Day. Our country is 149 years old today. Next year is the big 1-5-0! If you ask me, I don't think Canada looks a day over 125.

One of the fun things about being active is buying all the gear that goes along with it, like clothes, accessories, and equipment. As mentioned, I play Flag Football in the Fall. A lot of the guys, myself included, wear tights under their shorts while we're playing. I find they're easier to play in then sweat pants. They're also great for jogging when it's cold outside.

I personally think guys should wear shorts over their tights, but I see some guys jogging who don't. I guess it's a debate on some websites.

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-debates/should-guys-wear-shorts-over-their-tights?cid=OB-_-RW-_-ABP

To each their own I guess. I'll just say, I'm happy all the guys in my Flag Football League wear shorts over their tights.

Muscle Confusion

Our bodies are amazing, they adjust quickly to our workouts, which is why programs like P90X has "Muscle Confusion". Muscle Confusion keeps our bodies from getting to used to our workouts by changing our routines once a month, so we don't plateau, and we see results.

I recently found out another way to confuse our bodies, when using dumbbells. It's simple, just balance on one foot while performing an exercise. For example, if you're doing Bicep Curls, just raise one foot. Balancing on one foot makes the dumbbells feel heavier, and it also engages your core, so you're working your abs at the same time.

Be careful though, safety first, because you don't want to injure your back. Drop your weight few pounds if you need to.

Pull Ups and Chin Ups

Pull ups and chin ups are a great body weight exercise, and is a great way to workout your back, biceps, triceps, and chest. However, they are an intimidating and take a lot of energy to do them, I know from experience. I've thrown up twice exercising (gross!), and both times the routine that day included pull/chin ups.

If you can't do many pull/chin ups, or none at all, don't worry. I did a google search about pull/chin ups, the military says male recruits need to do only 3, and females are not required to do them.

If you want to include pull/chin ups in your routine, or already have them in your routine, and are having problems doing them, here's a great tip. If you have workout bands, they can be used to help perform pull/chin ups. Just hang the band on the bar, put your foot in the handles, and perform your pull/chin ups. It helps with full range of motion, you can straighten your arms at the bottom of the pull/chin up, and pull yourself back to the top easier.

Once you master pull/chin ups with bands, you can stop using the band and perform a full pull/chin up without them.

Walking

One of my first posts had to do with jogging. If you aren't a jogger, no worries, walking is a great form of exercise too! Here's 10 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Walk.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/wellness/10-things-that-happen-to-your-body-when-you-walk/ss-BBrZpaf#image=1

Keep Drinking Coffee

As mentioned, I drink coffee. There's been a lot of research done on coffee lately, and it's good news for those of us that drink it! However, bad news if you like "Double, Double", "Triple, Triple", or those fancy lattes. Coffee on it's own, or with milk/light cream is good for you! If you need something sweet to add to it, try unpasteurized honey, or Pure Canadian Maple Syrup.

Here's 7 reasons why you should keep drinking coffee. Just ease up on the 18% cream and sugar to get the full benefits.

https://ca.style.yahoo.com/post/142791474760/7-totally-surprising-benefits-of-your-daily-coffee

What Happens When We Stop Exercising

In a few days I'm leaving for a week's vacation in Florida. I have decided to take the week off from exercising, and relax. I feel a little pain in my left shoulder sometimes when I exercise, so a break may be good for me.

With that in mind, I found an article about what happens to our bodies when we stop exercising. According to this, a week off, I'll feel a little softer then usual, because my muscle fibers are starting to dwindle and my body is retaining some extra fluids.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/when-you-stop-working-out

Eating Healthy

Eating healthy may seem like a chore. Yes, it takes extra time to make your own healthy meals, and it's much easier to grab fast food. If you're looking to eat healthy, don't know how to start, or what to make, here's a great article that has 24 diagrams and tips.

http://pulptastic.com/24-must-see-diagrams-will-make-eating-healthy-super-easy/

Free Workouts

If you're looking to start exercising, but you aren't sure what to do, or which program to buy, youtube is an excellent place to try workouts for free. Most of my workouts are from P90X, Supreme 90 Day, and Body Beast, but if I need something new, I check out youtube.

Abs is an area everyone is looking to workout. Here's a couple great abs workouts that only take 10 minutes:

Crunchless Abs Workout
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKFVZu_4Lq4

10 Minute Trainer Abs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-NKhBarAcc

Sugar Intake

A couple years ago I cut out added sugar in my diet. I heard sugar has the same effect on our brains as cocaine. Also, too much sugar, is one of the main causes of Alzheimer. Scary stuff! Alzheimer's runs in my family, so once I heard that, I cut back on added sugar immediately!

Here's a great 0:53 second video titled, "Sugar Intake Has Become A Public Health Crisis":
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/medical/sugar-intake-has-become-a-public-health-crisis/vi-BBmQ746

I drink a fair amount of coffee and green tea, so if I don't add sugar to what I eat or drink, what do I use as a sweetener? Unpasteurized/Raw honey and pure maple syrup. Both are natural sweeteners and have a lot of health benefits.

Unpasteurized/Raw honey is hard to find. Most honey sold in grocery stores is pasteurized. Where I live, I've only found two grocery stores that sell honey unpasteurized. Unlike pure maple syrup (which I'll talk about as well), there's no difference in price between the two. Here's a article explaining what unpasteurized is:
http://unpasteurizedhoney.com/what-is-unpasteurized-honey/

Being Canadian, we have Pure Canadian Maple Syrup. As mentioned, it's more expensive then an Aunt Jemima's Syrup, but for only a few dollar more, you'll have all these amazing health benefits, so it's worth it:
http://www.purecanadamaple.com/benefits-of-maple-syrup

Workout Warm Up

To stay with a "Before a Workout" theme, I'll mention the best way, I've heard, to warm up before a workout. Naturally, you'd think stretching is the best way to warm up. I thought so too, until I took the Personal Training course in 2012. My instructor said, the best way to warm up, is to do a few exercises you're going to do that workout with lighter weights.

For example, if I'm going to do a Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout, first, to get the blood flowing, I'll jog on the spot for about 20 seconds, followed with 15 jumping jacks. Then I'll grab some light weights, do 10 Chest Presses and 10 Chest Flys to warm up my Chest, 10 Shoulder Presses and 10 Upright Rows to warm up my Shoulders, and 10 Overhead Triceps Extensions and 10 Triceps Kickbacks to warm up my Triceps. After that, I'm good to go.

If I'm working out my Back and Biceps, after the jogging and jumping jacks, I'll warm up with 10 Back Rows and 10 Back Flys, and 10 Biceps Curls and 10 Hammer Curls.

You get the idea for Legs, I do some Lunges and Calf Raises too warm up. If I'm going for a jog, I'll just walk for a couple minutes to loosen up my legs, and start jogging.

Stretching, I've heard, is for after the workout.

Food Before a Workout

This may sound crazy, but one thing I enjoy about having a Personal Training Certificate, is earning 4 CE Credits every year to keep it updated and valid. One way I can earn them, is by reading articles in the CanFitPro Magazine, and passing an online multiple choice test about what I read. The test are easy to pass, because it's open book, but I learn a lot.


One article I really enjoyed was called Whole Food Endurance Fueling. It talks about eating simple carbs, like fruit, before a workout. Something light, easy to digest, it will stay down, and won't make a comeback.


 

As suggested by the article, here's what I usually have before a workout, a banana, apple, and a cup of coffee. So far, the only times what I had before a work out made a comeback, was when I drank too much water, or over did it with Pull Ups.

Jogging

I played pick up Ultimate Frisbee on Wednesday night's last summer. It was the first time I played the sport on a regular basis, I played ok, but one thing I really noticed was how my cardio improved. If you haven't played Ultimate Frisbee, it's like a mix between Football and Basketball with a Frisbee. There's no stoppage in play until a point is scored, so it's constant running. When the pick up games ended in late August, I didn't want to lose my cardio gains, so I decided to start jogging. As of now, I jog once every 5 days. My workout routine includes 3 days of weight training and a cardio/core day, so jogging once every 5 days is good enough for me.

I've been reading about jogging, and I found a great article about the 10 Health Benefits of Jogging.
http://homeremedyshop.com/10-health-benefits-of-jogging/

New Fitness and Nutrition Blog

I'm a Certified Personal Trainer with CanFitPro. Fitness and Nutrition is a hobby of mine. I started this blog to post links to articles I've read, and talk about my work outs. I make a lot of my own meals, so I can post them as well. When it comes to food, I still eat things like pizza, burgers, and chicken wings (my favorite), but I make them myself, so I know what's going in them.

Learning never stops, I'm always looking to try new workouts and meals. Any tips or suggestions are always welcome and encouraged.