đ Do some curls for the girls.
Bicep curls are a great way to build upper body strength in your arms. Even women can do them to build a balanced physique. Just because a woman may not train them as much as men there are still exercises we should all do.
You never want to neglect training any area of your body due to whatever silly things society may lead you to believe when it comes to stereotypes.
đŞđ˝ Letâs curl.
Plate Front Raises for the Win đ
This is great for building up shoulder and core strength.
Grab a plate one that isnât too heavy for you but just challenging enough. Lift on the way up however donât lock out your elbows. You should maintain be a slight 15° bend and bring the plate out straight in front of you at shoulder height, then bring them back down. Remember to exhale as you raise the plate up, and inhale on the way down.
Ready, set, lift.
10k steps a day keeps the doctor away.
Letâs take a long walk near the beach.
Getting those steps in matters. Whether itâs a stroll around the park, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or walking around town youâre going to be glad you made time for your health.
Your goal should be to get in 10,000 steps daily as this will help your focus be more on point, deliver you more energy, and help boost your heart health.
Iâm doing this you can strengthen your immune system to ward off unwanted illnesses. It will make your lungs and muscles stronger.
As the volume of oxygen and rate at which you inhale goes up, so does your bodyâs ability to use it more efficiently.
Basically speaking the fitter you become the higher your VO2 max will be.
So letâs walk it out because we know whatâs good for us.
Sundays are the best for rest days in my opinion. Itâs a fact that a rest day or days are crucial for optimizing muscle growth. Without it you would never give yourself enough time to recover. So enjoy the time to relax and let your muscle tissues repair themselves like they were meant to.
Today I walked around outside with a friend instead, to get those steps in without doing anything hardcore.
Thereâs nothing wrong with physical activity on your rest days as long as itâs LISS meaning, a low intensity steady state type of activity.
Hope youâre having a wonderful & relaxing Sunday!
How to stay healthy when on the go.
Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated.
Take a healthy snack in your bag or backpack so youâre not tempted to stop for unhealthy choices such as fast food.
Wear comfortable shoes when running errands. Or at least have a backup pair to ensure your feet stay comfy while on the go for an extended period of time.
Take a tennis ball to practice better posture while driving by, simply placing it on your back in between your seat and keeping it in place.
Check the restaurant menu ahead of time, so you know youâre more likely to make better food choices when dining out with friends or family.
Get your daily dose of healthy and your daily routine in order to fuel your day and workouts better. Do you take vitamins everyday? Some will say it doesnât matter however, I notice a real difference the days I donât take my vitamins I donât feel as energized or healthy internally. I truly believe they do what they say when it comes to making up the difference in consuming vitamins from what your body doesnât get through food. Make sure to check the labels to see if itâs a good quality vitamin product. If itâs stuffed with a bunch of fillers, then itâs onto the next. Try to find products in its most basic form without all the extra additives and fillers in it to get the most health benefits.
Spent all day shooting content for you guys. About to release a little more of everything especially more fitness. Hope you enjoy all of the hard work that goes into the photos, videos & daily coaching I do to help guide you to live a healthier and fitter life. You deserve to experience life at its very finest.
You know the saying reach for the stars? Well, weâre going to apply that to reach for your toes. You will stretch if you know whatâs good for you. This stretch can help improve your back and hamstring strength. So stop and stretch. By the way, you can literally do this at work while standing up as well. Engage with whatâs good for you.
If you ever find yourself on your fitness journey, experiencing doubts, self consciousness, feeling like youâll never fit back into those jeans. Do you find yourself constantly checking the scale, purposely buying clothes that donât fit putting pressure on yourself to magically lose the weight, starving yourself just to look more lean?
If youâre doing any of these things, I encourage you to release the idea that you have to control every little thing. I want you to focus on the fulfillment you experience from letting go of the control and worry over the outcome.
When you trust the process and enjoy it, it rewards you for believing in yourself and staying intentional about what youâre trying to accomplish. So this year letâs let go of the feelings not serving us along our fitness journey, and believe that our goals will happen for us as long as we stay the course no matter how hard it gets.
How To Tricep Rope Extension:
Set the pulley to the highest height setting on the machine.
Keep an overhand grip on the rope.
Take a step backwards.
Your shoulders should be over your hips, with a neutral neck and head position with your chin tucked.
Your upper arm should be against your rib cage.
Maintain neutral shoulders.
While maintaining your alignment, squeeze your triceps to begin straightening your elbows.
Finish the movement by squeezing your triceps, while maintaining a slight bend in your elbows. Movement should only occur at your elbows.
Slowly bend your elbows and repeat once youâve gone back to the starting position.
𼳠Happy New Year! Wishing you all of the very best this life has to offer along with loads of happiness. May you make this year even more amazing.
đ§ P.S. If you woke up a little hungover today get you some electrolytes, and indulge in lots of high quality H2O. Youâll be back to feeling incredible in no time, ya just need to rehydrate.
đĽ Cheers to a new chapter, 2023.
From me to you, 10 Lessons Learned from 2022:
1. Intention is everything. When you actually act on what you want donât be surprised when you actually start getting what you desire.
2. Goals are meant to be both big and small and taken seriously. Consistency wins the race in the end not wishy washy excuses.
3. If you can see it in your mind, chances are in your favor that you can hold it in your hand.
4. Write down goals that kinda scare you in a good way. Then when you achieve them within short time frames (less than 30 days like I did) you wonât be scared to think big anymore. Youâll realize everything first starts in the mind. Your thoughts & beliefs are extremely powerful.
5. Personal development is your secret weapon to karate chop kick your excuses and limiting beliefs to the curb where they belong.
6. If youâre worried about the others opinions, get out of your head and into your bag.
7. Trust your gut, your second noggin is pretty wise.
Be real, speak your truth even when it might not be easy for others to hear.
8. Forgiveness is the gateway to healing. Letting go is essential for healthy inner growth.
9. Lead with love â¤ď¸ even if itâs tough love.
10. When you speak things out loud, donât be surprised when it manifests in reality. The universe was listening (so was Siri đ).
How will you carry yourself into the New Year? Hopefully like the baddie you are, whether you realize it yet or not.
Ways to become more confident in the new year.
â˘Write out all of your goals
â˘Practice better posture
â˘Hit the gym minimum 3-4 times a week
â˘Do a physical activity 30 mins daily
â˘Drink water 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces
â˘Eat mostly healthy foods to function your best
With just a few more days in 2022, letâs make every moment count.
Have some time to crunch outside? If you want to get some physical activity going jump squats are perfect to get that heart rate and metabolism fired up.
Jump squats target your quads, hips, hamstrings, and glutes. So letâs start working those muscles for a perky booty shall we. đ
For the love of stimulants. Anyone that knows me knows I enjoy feeling good. Should you indulge in some before your training session or not?
The answer depends on your preferences. Itâs not for everyone, some people canât handle the energy boost it gives. Personally I never take one that has more than 200mg of caffeine because my system canât tolerate it. A lot of days 1/2 a scoop does the trick.
You can also get incredible energy from food alone. However if youâre wanting an extra pick me up, you can enjoy some stimulation before you drain yourself and muscles at the gym. This will help you perform to the best of your ability at the gym. It will simply help you burn more, move quicker, lift stronger. It wonât do the work for you, but it will encourage you to go the extra mile.
The energy you put into your training matters. If you donât have enough energy to fuel your body you canât perform to the best of your ability, this includes during exercise too. So how do you get more fuel you may ask to perform better daily?
Your muscles will use glucose from carbohydrates for fuel. Glycogen is the way the body processes and stores glucose. If youâre about to embark in some high intensity exercise then your glycogen stores are your muscles' main source of energy. So with that said itâs healthy to load up on some carbs to help you power through your workout.
A key suggestion when eating a meal before a workout is if itâs a full meal have it 2â3 hours before your workout. For meals eaten closer to your workout, opt for more simple carbs and some protein so itâs easier on the digestive system.
So for those that make carbs out to be the bad guy, I promise theyâre not. You should just choose to consume them wisely.
Got back pain? Sometimes random things will happen and thatâs okay. Thereâs a solution to every problem. Today while spending time catching up over coffee with a friend my back out of nowhere suddenly started hurting and I felt discomfort when breathing. It felt as if a disc had slipped in my back.
When this happened I naturally went to the chiropractor as I do personally feel like they help me a lot with relief even if it is initially temporary. I understand people have opposing perspectives on this which is totally ok. There are other solutions. I also recommend seeing a good physical therapist who can help teach you stretches and proper form when doing things such as exercising and stretching. If you find yourself in this kind of pain you can use an inversion stretching table to hang upside down to stretch your entire body. You can also use an ice pack for about 10 to 20 minutes at a time to reduce nerve activity, swelling and pain.
Refer back to this if youâre ever in a pinch for tips when it comes to spinal care.
Merry Christmas đ I hope you are having the most magical holiday! Make sure to fully enjoy yourself and be present with loved ones or friends, enjoy delicious food, and stay jolly. â¤ď¸
Merry Christmas đ A little something for you from my last Christmas photoshoot.
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas đ Iâm so thankful for all of you, and hope everyone gets to enjoy the incredible holiday each one of you deserves!
Letâs go with the flow. Stretching will have you feeling relaxed, as it has been proven to actually calm your central nervous system.
Feeling anxious? Especially around this time of year with everything going on when it comes to holiday plans, parties, cooking, etc. Take a couple minutes to let go of everything and just focus on the movement you are currently doing. Focus on the present. Your mind and body will thank you afterwards.
When you reach a state of relaxation, youâre welcome. đ Now letâs stretch in peace. âđ˝
Wishing you all the best and good vibes on your fitness journey. No matter what it looks like or where youâre starting from the possibilities are endless to get you to your goal big or small.
You CAN do it. Even if you gained 10-15 lbs over the holidays, we can reverse that. Thereâs always a way. So once the self pity party is over (if thatâs the case) for you not feeling your best in your holiday clothes, itâs time to get to work.
Little habits over time add up to grander changes over time. These can look like swapping the elevator for the stairs at home or work, eating predominately whole foods versus snacking all day long on unhealthy packaged foods, and opting to get in 30 minutes minimum of a physical activity daily. So stay optimistic itâs all going to be better than ever, all you have to do is choose that for yourself.
Fitness is a lifestyle.
You can design your life anyway you would like. The same applies to when it comes to the way you choose to stay physically fit.
You can get schedule your workout around your day, you can choose to include workout partners such as a friend or spouse to make it more fun, change up your music playlist to stay inspired, include outdoor activities to prevent plateaus, the list literally goes on and on like a Christmas list.
How are you going to design your lifestyle when it comes to the world of fitness. Fit it in your day. I promise it will be worth it when youâre feeling on top of the world.
Go with your Gut.
You ever wonder why your intuition speaks to you through your gut? Itâs because your gut is known as your second brain.đ§
The gutâbrain axis is one of the most powerful relationships in our body. Our enteric nervous system is made up of 100 million neurons, the network of nerve cells lining the digestive tract is so extensive that it has earned the nickname the second brain.
Between the base of the brain and our gut there is a thick cable of neurons that form called the vagus nerve. This serves as a way for information to pass through between the brain and gut sending messages to one another within milliseconds.
In order to keep your mind and body in shape and sharp when it comes to maintaining mental clarity and having an overall good mood. Youâre going to want to feed your body right. Because we literally become what we consume.
The hardest lift of all is lifting your bum off the couch. Although it can be simple to fall into complacent routines, choosing the one thatâs more challenging, will be more rewarding in the long run.
Once you stop training for a lengthier period of time itâs so much easier to keep the momentum going because it feels second nature to naturally accomplish your workout within the 24 hours that we get blessed with each day.
If you stop exercising for too long it gets harder to get back into the groove of things. Personally I donât like to take more then 2 days off in a row, once it hits 3 you start feeling more sluggish or not as energized.
Keep the momentum going, youâve got this!
Today weâre lifting heavy shopping đď¸ bags. You can actually burn way more calories throughout your day while doing regular things such as holiday shopping.
Never underestimate how many calories you can burn in situations like this for whatâs known as your TDEE which is your total daily energy expenditure. These are the calories you burn throughout your day doing tasks like running errands, going on a walk, walking your dog, shopping, food shopping, the list goes on.
Park further away from the stores to get those extra steps in.
In light of todays travel đ§ I wanted to share with you that it is actually super easy to get a solid suitcase workout in.
Whether itâs a 15lb backpack carry on or a 50lbs maxed out filled suitcase there are so many different types of lifts you can do with this.
Suitcase Squats
Single Arm Back Rows
Elevated Push-Ups
Overhead Shoulder Press
Try some of these out next time youâre headed to your next destination if you donât have time to hit the weights, and let me know what you think.
Leg stretches are such a nice release of muscle tension. Here are different kinds of leg stretches you can do to feel extra flexible. This is going to help improve both short-term and long-term range of motion.
Toe Touches
Pigeon Pose
Piriformis Stretch
Lunge with Spinal Twist
Standing Hamstring Stretches
Quad Stretch
Inner Thigh Stretch
Supine Leg Stretch
Letâs get flexible!
Canât wait for you all to see whatâs in store because today is photoshoot day. Lots more fitness and other shenanigans coming your way. Stay tuned for workout videos galore. Have a great day fit fam!
Be like a Butterfly đŚ
Letâs stretch it out.
Benefits of the butterfly stretch are that it helps to loosen up your hips, back and also inner thighs.
It may ease any discomfort you feel overall.
It also provides a calming effect which may help you manage and let go of stress.
Try it out and be free like a butterfly.
Let me do you a favor and boost your dopamine levels aka help you become happier naturally.
Dopamine is known as a neurotransmitter. Dopamine is responsible for allowing you to feel motivated, pleasure and satisfaction.
What allows you to get your fix of more dopamine? Engaging in exercise, getting enough sleep, listening to music, meditating, and spending time in the sun can all boost dopamine levels. Overall, a balanced diet and lifestyle can help you achieve your natural happy high.
