Your Pregnancy Fitness Plan

I can’t say enough times how important your fitness is before during and after pregnancy to make your journey healthy, happy and comfortable.  A lot of women however don’t know what to do or where to start.  So here is a fitness guide for those looking to get on to a plan if you are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant and looking to implement a safe and effective exercise routine for you and your little one.  I have developed a total package pregnancy fitness plan that can be downloaded on the Pear Sports Fitness App.  My voice literally comes right into your headphones and trains you through each and every pregnancy workout.  I monitor your heart rate for you, offer you modifications as well as provide motivation and education along the way. Learn more about the plan below!

PRE-PREGNANCY FITNESS

First things first, if you are thinking about pregnancy or trying to get pregnant, now it the time to start your pregnancy plan.  It’s NOT too early.  For women who are planning a pregnancy, establishing a fitness routine is an important part of the process. Nancy considered herself “Pre-Natal” for about 6 months before conceiving and she has her clients do the same. When her clients are planning to get pregnant, she begins implementing pregnancy training techniques into their programming. Learning how to properly breathe, engage the core, and improve the level of their strength and conditioning is going to set them up for a successful pregnancy. If you are looking to get pregnant this plan is a great place for you to start working on these techniques and building your pregnancy fitness baseline before conception. Going into your pregnancy with this baseline of fitness and core strength will set you up for success, support your body throughout the pregnancy, while also helping your body to bounce back quickly post-pregnancy.

FIRST TRIMESTER

Setting the foundation for your pregnancy by learning how to breathe and strengthening your core is most important during this time. All workouts on Nancy’s pregnancy plan are safe and effective to use during all trimesters, but it is recommended that the Labor Training Cardio workouts, Core Strength and Leg & Butt routines be done every week this trimester- that is if nausea will allow you to! Keep in mind that daily exercise in general is going to help during this period as it will assist in alleviating morning sickness, fatigue and weight fluctuation – common issues experienced in the first three months.

Taking time to go through the skill sessions on Nancy’s pregnancy plan (Core/TVA 101, Baby Breathing 101 and Pelvic Floor 101) on her pregnancy plan will allow you to become familiar with these important concepts and help you be able to successfully implement them during your pregnancy workouts. Nancy will remind you throughout all of her workouts how to do all of these things, but the 101 skill sessions are going to give you a foundation of knowledge on these concepts, explaining why they are so important to master during the upcoming months.

SECOND TRIMESTER

All workouts on Nancy’s pregnancy plan are safe and effective to use during all trimesters, but it is recommended that the focus this trimester be a blend of a few things.  She suggests expecting Mama’s work on total body toning, core strength, and labor training cardio at this time. It’s important to make sure we are completing our upper body strength workouts, bringing some increased attention to your posture muscles, which by strengthening will reap benefits post-delivery, as women often hunch their backs while holding their babies or during breastfeeding.

Keep in mind that using Nancy’s labor training workouts will assist in preparing both you and baby for the demand that contractions will place on both of you during labor. Remember practice makes perfect! Labor training will help to ensure you and baby are prepared for the big day and will assist in making your labor shorter, easier and your pushing during delivery more effective!

THIRD TRIMESTER

As you belly continues to grow and you start to really feeling the difference from the pregnancy weight you have gained, you might notice that you feel a bit more fatigued during your workouts. Keep in mind that there are modifications for all trimesters and fitness levels in all of the workouts in Nancy’s pregnancy plan and she recommends you listen to your body and take those modifications when needed. It’s also important to consider that some days you might need to take longer rests periods during your workouts. Nancy encourages you to hit the ‘pause’ button when you need to, take a breather, then join back in when you’re ready.

In the home stretch of your pregnancy, it is important to keep up with your Labor Training Cardio and all core strength and toning routines. Even if your workouts are scaled back and your dumbbells are lighter, you have already built such a strong foundation of fitness from the first two trimesters, that you will still get all the benefits for you and baby. Just remember to try to keep moving! Working out will bring you energy, health benefits for you and baby, plus will help to alleviate the aches and pains that come towards the end of pregnancy.

LETS GET STARTED:

Download the free Pear Sports Fitness App on your smartphone and search under my name, “Nancy Anderson” and you will find the full pregnancy you can download and get started ASAP.  Not sure what workout to do on the plan and when? Here is a 4 week starter workout schedule to get your started.  Keep in mind that I also customized online training programs for pregnancy and post pregnancy Mama’s as well. To contact me about customized plans please email me: NancyAndersonFit@gmail.com

To print out your 4 week starter schedule click here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/mktg-assets.pearsports.com/prenatal_sample_starter_plan.pdf

For more information on Pregnancy Fitness and this plan check out our homepage: http://pearsports.com/pregnancy

37 Weeks BumpDate

3 more weeks (hopefully but it really could be 5 weeks) until I push this little monkey earth bound!

I am ready to not be pregnant anymore!  I hear women say how much they LOVE/D being pregnant. Lol. I’m gonna be honest, that woman is not me.  It’s been an amazing experience and I feel connected and in love with this little person instead of me that I haven’t even seen yet, but I really dis like the feeling of having a bowling ball in my belly.

I think what I have learned the most during the past 9+ months is how amazing and capable our bodies are (as women).  I’ve learned that as long as I am healthy and give my body and baby’s body what it needs (proper nutrition, movement, and hydration) that I can trust my body without any fear to grow and birth a healthy baby.

I have unfortunately been dealing with some symphysis pubic dysfunction the past few months.  I ran/sprinted pretty hard up until 8 months then the SPD really started to kick in and running became not-so-possible for me anymore.  For those who don’t know SPD is one of those weird pregnancy conditions that basically means the ligaments that usually keep your pelvic bone aligned during pregnancy becomes quite relaxed- too relaxed and stretchy. This makes your pubic joint unstable and causes some discomfort. When I do side lunges, runner lunges (extended lunge) or ANY band work for hami’s/glutes it also causes discomfort to the point that it feels like I am on the verge of pulling a muscle down there.  Once this discomfort got to a certain level, I just decided with help of my P/T and doctors that it would probably be a good idea to avoid running hard anymore for the risk of pulling a muscle.  I can’t imagine trying to have a natural birth and having a pulled muscle in my vagina area- EEK. No thanks.

Instead of running, I’ve been walking. BORING. Ugh.  However, this is exactly why my mindset in the beginning of pregnancy to go “as hard as possible” for “as long as possible” bc you never know when something is going to come up later in your pregnancy that is going to limit your fitness/movement. I’m still able to lift weights, and now I do that even more often now that I can’t run- about 5 days a week.

I am at 37 weeks and I’ve gained about 21 lbs right now through my pregnancy… although it goes up or down by a lbs or so depending on the day 🙂 To be honest this is more than I thought I would gain the whole pregnancy.  I have heard of women gaining only like 17 lbs during their whole pregnancy and I just assumed that would be me too, but not so much.  I have never dieted throughout the pregnancy and really just listened to my body- when I’m hungry, I eat, and 80% of the time I eat healthy options (although not monitoring carb intake- i don’t recommend doing this during preg anyway unless you have preeclampsia and/or your doctor has told you to) then the other 20% I cheat (clean) but still, I cheat 🙂

Overall the pregnancy has been pretty easy breezy and comfortable.  My discomfort down under is annoying but manageable and the tiredness of the third trimester has kicked in.  I take a nap when I can and get 8 hours of sleep at night.  This helps a lot!

Here is a pic of the nursery… just about all done and ready for his arrival.

Baby Bumpdate 27 Weeks!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a little bumpdate.  I am officially in my final week of the 2nd trimester at 27 weeks pregnant. The longer I am pregnant the more excited I get for baby to get here- and I am relieved about that.  I was nervous I was going to get more and more terrified the closer we got to our due date, but it’s actually the opposite.  I feel really calm about becoming a Mother and a getting more and more excited to meet our little one.

I start training for my natural birth at the end of February.  I’ve decided to go with Hypnobabies, which has come very highly recommended from friends, clients, doctors and my doula.  I am so excited to get started.  You attend a 3 hour class every week for 6 weeks then have independent study to do every night up until delivery.  I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

WORKOUTS:

I am still working out 4-6 days a week, still teaching and training my one-on-one clients.  My workouts still consist of strength training and conditioning as well as labor training and high intensity intervals. I am still lifting the same weights I did pre-pregnancy (15-30 LBS DBS depending on the muscle group and format of my workout).  Lifting weights is def easier for me than interval training on the treadmill at this point.  Running is still fine- some days are awesome and some days the baby is a weird position and its just uncomfortable so I scale it back a little bit.  When baby is in a good position though- I am able to go hard. Being able to get after it on the tread doesn’t happen every workout anymore due to the baby’s positioning, so when he is cooperating I take advantage of it!

For example this morning, he was in  a good position so I was able to do sprint intervals at 12.0 MPH, no problem. Some days he is in a weird position and my sprints are more like 9.0-10.0MPH.  It just depends.  Long intervals on the tread (more than 2 minutes) are tough- I still do them, I just have to be a little less aggressive with my speeds.  It’s just fatiguing. It’s not that my heart rate is getting too high even, it’s just a lot harder/more exhausting than I remember pre-pregnancy.  If you speak Barry’s lingo, long intervals my jog pace is 5.0MPH and intervals that are 2 minutes or less I can usually hang at 6.0MPH.  It also depends on the instructor and what they have planned for the day.

I have started to notice that my hips do get sore from running, so that’s also part of it.  I read this is common on some runner blogs so I wasn’t too shocked when it started happening.  I space my treadmill/running workouts out a little more strategically to make sure I’m not running hard back to back days, to help avoid any injuries during pregnancy.  My heart rate still EASILY gets into the 170’s and up into 180’s during my high intensity treadmill intervals.  That doesn’t mean I think everyone should do this- I’m simply sharing this info because I know some women are scared to raise their heart rate when pregnant, so I just like to show women that I go WAY up and beyond what some doctors recommend and baby and I are perfectly healthy. In fact, every single time we have had an ultrasound or the doctor listens to the baby’s heart beat, they ALWAYS comment on how loud and strong his heart is.  Studies have now proven that working out during pregnancy makes your babies heart healthier.  It’s empowering when my doctors reinforce my fitness plan and how it is already showing to positively effect my babies health.  It’s a very rewarding feeling!

WEIGHT GAIN/BODY CHANGES:

So far, 27 weeks in, I have gained  about 12 pounds.  They say I’ll probably average 1/2 pound a week from here on out.  This would put my total pregnancy weight gain around 18.5 LBS.  Anywhere from 20-25 LBS for me is what my doctor said she is happy with, so I’ll end up right around there which is great.  Of course, the closer to 20 the better (from my point of view), but either way it doesn’t really matter.  As long as I stay within her recommended weight gain for me, I’ll be happy.  I know I’ll get it all off. It’s actually my muscle mass I’m worried about.  Looking back, I wish I would have measured my arms and quads before getting pregs cause I swear I’m losing muscle mass, which makes me SO SAD.  LOL. If I could pick, I’d rather gain more weight during pregs and not lose any muscle mass.  It just takes SO long to put muscle mass on, it’s kind of depressing thinking about having to back track and build it up again.

BABY STUFF:

Wow- so much to think about.  Do I want to eat my placenta? Should we bank the baby’s cord? Should we space out vaccinations? Man. Been doing lots of reading articles and trying to figure out whats the best way for our family. I probably will eat my placenta though.  It’s hard to argue with the studies on this. Yummy 🙂

Xo

How & Why We Need to Train CORE During Pregnancy

If you have a strong, engaged, activated core unit (I’m talking transverse abdominus, diaphram and pelvic floor) you most likely will NOT show easily or quickly (unless you have a special condition happening like a tilted uterus for example).  Your core is strong enough to hold the baby in tight and your tummy will resist being pushed out by your uterus for longer into your pregnancy and you are much less likely to get “Big Belly Syndrome” later in your pregnancy. Which is huge!! I was hell-bent on making SURE my core was super strong to avoid Big Belly Syndrome and diastasis as well.

Check this excerpt from Fit For Birth (who I became pre and post natal certified with) about belly size during pregnancy.

Activated Core VS De-activated Core:

“Quite amazingly in Fit For Birth’s experience has been the witnessing of “big belly syndrome” literally disappearing once a pregnant woman learns how to belly pump effectively. Take a look at Figure 4 below. The left shows Gabriela during her second pregnancy at 6 months before she has been taught to use her belly pump. This was taken before training with Fit For Birth. The photo on the right shows Gabriela during her third pregnancy at nearly nine months, but with a smaller tummy! She spent her third pregnancy learning how to use her belly pump effectively.

Figure 4 shows the usual big belly at 6 months (left), but then a much more manageable belly at nearly full term when strengthening the core through belly training (right).”

Big Belly Syndrome is exactly what it sounds like.  Your stomach gets big, really big and stretched, and the bigger it gets the more uncomfortable you are (hello back pain) and harder it is to bounce back post baby and the easier it becomes for your abs to split (diastasis). This is motivation for me to not be caught up with wanting my belly to pop out so soon into my pregnancy.  I focused very specifically on strengthening my core for the past year or so before getting pregnant because through researching and learning more and more about pre natal training I realized just how insanely important this is and how much better off you will be if you go INTO your pregnancy with a strong and activated core.

This doesn’t mean doing 1000 crunches a day either.  It’s about strengthening your back, legs, core, abs, pelvic floor and diaphram.  There are a few amazing ways to do this that don’t consist of laying on your back and crunching up (so little value comes out of this pregnant or not).  Here are some of the BEST exercises to work on your core and getting your TVA working and engaged.

#1 LIFT LEGS!! 

Lifting legs with medium to heavy weight is one of the BEST ways to work your core and get your transverse abdominis working and TVA strength is SOOOOOO important!!  The TVA or transverse abdomminis is the deepest ab muscle that we have.  The TVA is the innermost layer of all abdominal muscles located behind the quote, unquote ‘6 pack abs’. Think of this muscle as your body’s natural corset and support system. If your TVA is not engaged, not activated and not working on the regular basis you are at risk of injury, you are setting yourself up to potentially have big belly syndrome when pregnant and you will NEVER be able to achieve flat tight abs without having a frustrating pouch that sticks out under your belly button… so many women have come to me saying that their stomach is coming together but they just can’t get rid of the lower pouch, well this is exactly what is causing it.

This is where the legs come in! You are FORCED to engage your core and TVA while squatting and lunging for example.  If you didn’t engage your core throughout these exercises you would properly fall over! Your core balances you and you MUST balance to properly perform these exercises. Building and strengthening your TVA is ESSENTIAL to do before, during and after pregnancy.  This is the muscle that will prevent you from getting big belly syndrome and will help you be so much more comfortable for so much longer into your pregnancy, not to mention this muscle will help out BIG time during your labor and helping your core shrink back quickly after your deliver.  This muscle is also to thank for keeping you from showing early in your pregnancy.

Your legs are the biggest and strongest muscles in your body, so don’t be afraid to pick up challenging dumbbells during your leg workout! If you are pregnant and usually use 8 pound dumbbells this doesn’t mean to go into the gym and grab 25 lbs dumbbells, but there is nothing wrong with bumping up to the next size dumbbells if you are still able to maintain proper form and feel comfortable.  When I do a HIIT style leg workout, I use 25-35 LBS dumbbells.  This equals half to a little more than half of my body weight, and for me that’s my normal and there is nothing wrong with maintaining your normal throughout pregnancy.  Don’t be scared to pick up weights that continue to challenge you, don’t be scared to complete a workout that FEELS like a workout, not a warm up!  Let’s take the FEAR out of working out during pregnancy.  “Exercise does not cause miscarriages. Exercise does not cause pre-term labor.” That is a direct quote from my OBGYN doctor and of studies that are published on PUBMED. This is not my opinion, these are proven facts studied by researchers and doctors.

#2 BREATHING!

Ahhhhh seems so simple, yet most of the population, women and men, pregnant or not don’t know how to breath properly anymore. Let’s start by taking a big deep breath in.  Lets do this now.  Ok- take notice what just happened with your upper body when you took that breath.  Did your chest expanded and your shoulder rise up? If this the case then you actually aren’t breathing correctly… and you’re not alone.  Most people actually do not breathe correctly these days. The issue is that people aren’t using our diaphragms to breathe.

Lets put both hands on your belly now. While you read on about this very important muscle go ahead and practice taking big deep breaths in and out using that diaphragm to do so.  When you inhale try to fill your belly into your hands as you expand your diaphragm with oxygen, we want to fill your belly, your sides and your lower back with air.  When you exhale try to draw your belly button into your spine, thinking about hugging your baby with your belly as you do this… we want to rid all the stale air out of your body during your exhale. 

The diaphragm is the primary respiratory muscle which attaches to the lungs and when used properly will pull the lungs open and increase the space in the chest cavity. Proper movement of the diaphragm will effect simulation of every function in the entire musculoskeletal system (which helps provide form, support, stability, and movement to the body), hormonal system, central nervous system and gastrointestinal system. 

Unfortunately, any kind of mental, emotional or physical stress can inhibit the diaphragm from functioning in its fluid rhythmic ways. This is another reason to add exercise into your routine during pregnancy, to help reduce stress and increase those feel good hormones we get from working out, because remember, ANY emotion or hormone that we feel, the baby will also feel. Really!

Start implementing diaphramtic breathing into your daily routine and throughout every single exercise in your workouts.  The more you practice the more your body will get back into natural routine and your body will start doing this without you even having to think about it!

#3 PELVIC FLOOR ACTIVATION & STRENGTH 

This is a super important and a lot of times forgotten muscle that acts as a sling, holding and supporting your bladder, uterus or womb, and bowel.  Your Pelvic floor stretches from your pubic bone to the base of your spine.  It is so important to know what this muscle is and to exercise it before, during, and after pregnancy.

Lets contract your Pelvic Floor now by imagining that you are trying to hold in urine.  Some women will feel this contraction more in the front and some in the back, you just want to make sure you are not just contracting your glutes but actually under your glutes,  where your lady parts are.  I always say if when you contract these muscles and it starts to feel kinda good, than you are doing it correctly. You want to make sure that you are continuing to breathe as you contract these muscles and you don’t hold your breathe. So as I go over some Pelvic Floor basics I want you to continue to contract your pevlic floor, hold for a count of 5 then release and repeat. 

Your pelic floor goes under a lot of stress during pregnancy which is one of the reasons we need to acknowledge and strengthen it along the way. You PF can become stretched out and start losing function just 12 weeks into your pregnancy, so doing these exercises from the start is super important.

So how often should we be doing these types of exercises? To be honest, if you have a weak pevlic floor such as you have trouble holding your urine when you workout, sneeze, cough ect would say implement them more until you see an improvement. Generally speaking I would recommend these every single day, if possible twice a day. Ugh i know so annoying. But if you can just implement the exercises we went over and you are doing right now maybe in the car on the way to work and on the way home from work, or on the way to the gym, or while you’re running errands this can seriously improve your pelvic floor strength which is going to help you during pregnancy, during delivery and post pregnancy.  Pelvis floor exercises are SOOOO boring! Ugh, I hate doing it! So I started implemented these exercised into my workouts.  I add them into my squats (when I get to the bottom of top of range of motion I squeeze and hold my PF).  I also do this with plank variations or during my walking or jogging recoveries during my HIIT cardio training. 

These three things will help you have a more comfortable pregnancy, will help make your delivery faster and easier and will help your body bounce back faster post labor. It sounds like a WIN WIN to me 🙂

For those who want to work core during pregnancy, but aren’t sure how, or what is safe, check out my new Pre-natal Core Workout that is safe to do through all trimesters! The full workout can be downloaded from the FREE Pear Sports Training App, which you can find in your App Store or Google Play Store.  Enjoy!

Workout Wednesday! Anywhere, anytime!

NO excuses! Everyone has at least 15 Minutes!

Indulge in Healthy Halloween Candy!

I just love Halloween candy! It’s the start of fall and the beginning of all my favorite Holidays. It also seems to be the start of everyone putting on some extra winter weight as well. We not only start indulging in eating high fat high calorie high sugar foods make you pack on the pounds, we are also consuming a lot of foods filled with unhealthy ‘ish that is putting straight junk in our bodies. The FDA has declared that these ingredients are “safe” to eat in limited amounts but either way, but to me, that isn’t saying much considering the source.

Check out these below ingredients that can be found in our favorite Halloween treats 😦

1. Tertiary Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) (found in lighter fluid)
2. Gelatin (Abstracted from animal bones or skin)
3. Castoreum (Beaver Urine) Yup. For reals.
4. Shellac (Bug secretions)
5. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
6. Carnauba wax (Found in Car Polish, Nail Polish)

These ingredients can be found in Butterfingers, candy corn, gummy candys, m&m’s to name a few…

We ALL know are going to indulge a little bit during the holidays. It’s part of our culture and its ok to indulge (in moderation). But why not indulge in some cleaner alternatives that will still leave your sweet tooth satisfied without leaving you feeling guilty and bloated with a side of brain fog from these crap ingredients.

You can grab a bag of “UNREAL” chocolate candy bars (these in particular taste like snickers- nom nom) at your local Target. I LOVE these!!

These chocolate caramel peanut nougat bars have:
-No Chemicals
-No Hydrogenateds
-No Preservatives
-No Corn Syrup
-No Artificials
-No GMO’s

At 100 Calories a bar, these are a WIN in my book.

Newman’s does a great job of making a product that tastes great without all the bad ingredients. Their peanut butter cups are one of my faves. Check the all natural ingredient list:

•Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: Organic Milk Chocolate (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cocoa Butter*, Organic Whole Milk Powder, Organic Chocolate Liquor*, Organic Soy Lecithin [an emulsifier], Organic Vanilla), Organic Peanut Butter, Organic Yogurt Coating (Organic Sugar, Organic Whole Milk Powder, Organic Palm Kernel Oil, Organic Soy Lecithin[an emulsifier], Salt and Organic Vanilla), Palm Kernel Oil, Peanut Flour, Salt.

I’m liking what I am seeing! They also have the USDA Organic Seal, which assures us that at least 95% of the ingredients are organically certified.

Newman’s offers a lot of different delicious all natch products: Peppermint cups, cookies, mints, licorice, coffee and pretzels just to name a few. Check out more at their website: http://www.newmansownorganics.com/index.php

XoXo

N

The Diet that WORKS!

Weight training is KEY to developing long, lean toned muscles.  There is nothing new there, but we often overlook (by choice) how important it is to pair proper nutrition with all of your hard work in the gym.

In order to get those lean muscles to show, proper nutrition and portions are a MUST.  I wanted to share with you all what a typical day looks like for me and how I am able to maintain my physique without gaining fat and while still maintaining my energy, my workout intensity and my lean mass. I use my “BIBLE DIET” 5-6 days a week.  For those 5-6 days I “bible” just about 100%.  This allows me to eat (within reason) what I want for a couple meals (or a couple drinks!) during my weekends. This eating plan is full proof. I have used it for years and it has helps me achieve the physique I wanted as well as helped me maintain it while still having energy and enjoying the foods I love in moderation.

HERE IS A SAMPLE MENU OF A TYPICAL DAY OF NUTRITION FOR ME:

5:00 AM Meal 1: 3 Egg Whites, 1 Piece of Ezekiel Bread Sprinkle Cinnamon on top!

I eat this within 30 minutes of waking up. This gets my metabolism up and running right away!

8:00 AM Meal 2: Vegan Protein Shake with Spinach and 1/2 Cup Fruit on the side.  The only thing that is in the shake is ice, water, 20 grams of protein powder, 1/2 cup of fresh spinach leaves and a pinch of cinnamon.  Fun Fact: Adding spinach to your shake is a great way to get in your veggies. You can not even taste it in your shake! And yes, only a 1/2 cup of fruit, total! Fruit will spike you insulin. Therefore, fruit should take place of your carb option in your meal.  Or you can do half and half. 1/4 of a carb 1/4 of a fruit. Make sense?

11:00 AM Meal 3: All Natural Steak Tips (3 Ounces) with 1/2 cup or onions and Mushrooms

2:00 PM Meal 4: Quest Protein Bar (This bar will take care of your protein portion of the meal as well as your carb portion) So this bar should replace an entire meal. The great thing about Quest bars is they are all NATURAL and taste DELISH! Super filling for a bar.

5:00 PM Meal 5: 3-4 Ounces of Grilled Chix and 1/2 Cup of Fresh Salsa!

As far as how many carbs I eat or recommend eating. I cycle my carbs!

Day 1: 4 Carbs (20 Grams each)
Day 2: 3 Carbs (20 Grams each)
Day 3: 2 Carbs (20 Grams each)
Day 4: 1 Carb (20 Grams each)

Then Repeat! I get the BEST results using this carb cycle. Still include a protein and if possible, a veggie with each of these meals. For a full menu, recipes, directions, and portion sizes for your size and gender you can email me directly. Xo

**Keep in mind that this is a SAMPLE MENU and these portions are based on my individual size/goals/activity.**

Get a Balanced CORE workout for Sleek & Slender ABS!

In order to tone and tighten your core to give you the sexy lean mid section you are looking for, there are 4 muscle groups you MUST hit.  Often I see ‘core’ workouts that only hit the rectus abdominis muscle AKA the front of your abs.

To get a tight, sculpted, balance core we need to make sure working each of these muscles during your AB workout:

1. Rectus Abdominis (front of your core)

2. Interior and Exterior Oblique’s (sides of your core)

3. Transverse Abdominis (innermost of the flat muscles of the abdomen)

4. Lower Back

It is important to have a well balanced core workout implemented in your training program. Out of all the core muscles the transverse abdominis muscle probably the most forgotten muscle during AB workouts, but really is the most important. This muscle is critical to exercise to strengthen the core and minimize back injury.

Here is a AB circuit that includes exercises that will hit all of these 4 key muscles in your CORE:

1. Toe Touches or Bicycle Crunch (Rectus Abdominis) 45 Seconds/15 Seconds off
2. Side Plank Dips (Internal and External Oblique’s) 45 Seconds/15 Seconds to switch sides
3. Low Plank Hold (Transverse Abdominis) 1 Minute Hold
4. Back Extensions (TA and Low Back) 45 Seconds/15 Seconds off

Repeat 3-4 Rounds.

During this workout, think about the muscles you are working for each exercise. Make the ‘mind/muscle’ connection. Visualize the muscles working, squeeze the muscle through the movement and through your set. Draw your belly button into your spine during each rep. Think of your Abs as a wet towel. With each rep you are trying to ‘wring out’ the towel.

Be The Influence!

My Workout of the Day 2/27/13

Ok People, Major League Baseball Spring Training is under way. It’s staying light past 5pm and the smell of Spring is creeping its way into our noses. Yup, it’s official, Summertime is fast approaching and most of us need to start turning up our workout intensity to get slimmed down and feeling right to put that bikini on in a few months!

Here is a great workout that will burn a ton of calories that is LOW impact. For those of you who can’t run or jump or just hate to do it, this workout is for you! This working focuses on hitting all the problem areas us women have (core, glutes, and hami strings) along with focusing on shaping and toning your shoulders. Shaping your shoulders is a MUST for getting your arms to look toned and shaped. Most women think it’s biceps and triceps. Wrong. The ‘shoulder cap’ is what is going to shape the arm and give you the sexy Kelly Ripa arms we all love!

DIRECTIONS: Complete all of the circuits below. Allow yourself 1 minute (or more if needed) to recover in between circuits. This workout, including recovery between circuits, should take just 30 minutes. Since it is a short workout, keep your butt moving!

CIRCUIT 1: 4 Minutes (Get as many rounds as possible in 4 minutes) Goal: 6-8 Rounds completed.
EQUIPMENT: MEDIUM SIZED DUMBBELLS (Women 10-15 lb dbs, MEN 15-25 lb dbs)

1. DB Burpee x 4 reps
2. DB Squat and Press x 4 reps

CIRCUIT 2: 7 Minutes (Get as many rounds as possible in 6 minutes) Goal: 2-4 Rounds Completed.

1. DB RDL x 8 Reps
2. DB PLank Row x 8 Reps
3. DB Lateral Raise x 8 Reps

CIRCUIT 3: 7 Minutes (Get as many rounds in 6 Minutes as possible) Goal 2-4 Rounds Completed.

1. DB Pullover x 8 Reps
2. DB Sumo Squat to Upright Row x 8 Reps
3. 1 Db Front Raise & Twist 8 Reps

Circuit 4: 7 Minutes (Get as many rounds in 7 Minutes as possible) Goal 2-3 Rounds

1. DB Oblique Twist to Press x 8 Reps
2. DB Back Lunge to RDL x 8 (Each Side)
3. Plank Kickbacks (side to side) x 8

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THE EXERCISES, YOU CAN WATCH ME DEMO THIS WORKOUT IN THIS VIDEO:

BE THE INFLUENCE!

Tread the Holiday Calories Away!

Tis the Season of over-eating! Get a head start on burning those Christmas party calories with this treading workout.

Directions: Choose your jog pace!

5.0 MPH = Beginner 6.0 MPH = Intermediate 7.0 MPH = Advanced

Whatever YOUR jog pace, the rest of the speeds of this workout will go off of your jog pace. So if it says “+2 mph” and your jog pace is 6.0mph, then you will increase your speed to 8.0 mph. Make sense? OK- get after this workout, then get back here and let me know how you did!

Jog 3 Min

+1 30 seconds

+2 30 seconds

+3 30 seconds

Jog Pace 1 minute

2% Incline, +1.5 mph 30 seconds

4% Incline, +1 mph 30 seconds

6% Incline, +.5 mph 30 seconds

Jog Pace 1 minute

3% Incline, +1.5 mph 30 seconds

6% Incline, +1 mph 30 seconds

9% Incline, +.5 mph 30 seconds

Jog Pace 2 minutes

+2.5 mph 1 minute

5% Incline Jog Pace 1 minute

+3 mph 1 minute

5% Incline Jog pace 1 minute

+3.5 mph 1 minute

5% Incline Jog Pace 1 minute

+4 mph 1 minute

5% Jog Pace 1 minute

+4.5 mph 1 minute

Jog Pace 2 minutes

Walk 2 minutes

Done!

Total Time: 24.5 Minutes

Be the Influence!

Nancy