Cardio for endurance and torching calories!

35 minute program, work up to 2-3 x week:

warm up 3 minutes walk/jog easy

1 min all out sprint
4 min jog
1 min sprint
3 min jog
1 min sprint
2 min jog
1 sprint
1 min jog
1 sprint
2 min jog
1 min sprint
3 min jog
1 min sprint
4 min jog
1 min sprint

5 min cool down easy jog

*Consult your doctor before starting any new fitness program, especially if you have any known heart problems. This is intense interval training.

PROTEIN PANCAKES!

This is the perfect energy breakfast! Hearty and filling with great protein, good complex carbs, and low fat! Try them the way I do them, quick and easy, or add your own variations like the suggestions I’ve used below! Please let me know what you like in yours! I’m always willing to try new things!

I like to use 6 egg whites (20g protein/give or take):

1/2c old-fashioned oats
4-6 egg whites

Optional add-ins:
-dash of cinnamon
-splenda/stevia
-blueberries (add after step 1 below)
-slivered or crushed almonds
-agave nectar

1) Use a fork to combine ingredients and shape into pancake on a non stick or greased frying pan.
2) Turn over when edges are golden or when bottom is solid enough to flip. (i just continually check it)

P.s. I usually just do the first two ingredients with blueberries…then drizzle it with agave nectar/honey/100% maple syrup

ENJOY!

Exercise for Weight Loss

“Exercise and fitness are an effective part of any weight loss program.

It’s a simple equation – to lose fat, you must burn more calories than you take in from food. The reality is – most of us hate it! Not enough time, too hard, and… so we go back to sitting on the couch. Finding the motivation, time, and right weight loss exercises cause us to stumble. Yet exercise is important for so many areas of our health (mental well-being, metabolism, fat loss, heart condition, and longer life). We don’t spend any money on exercise or fitness, and we don’t invest anything into it. Its not surprising we give up so easily.

Exercise + right eating = weight loss

What Exercises and How Much?

Regular exercise can speed up your metabolism, thus burning more energy – and fat. What is aerobic exercise? For many of us, it conjures up those images of sweaty gyms, wearing a large T-shirt, and watching all those others wearing their tight leotards moving so well to the music. But it does not have to be this way. Aerobic exercise can be any cardiovascular exercise that is sustained for a long period of time. This could be 25 minutes of walking, running, in-line skating, even time on the rowing machine.

There are many different ideas as to “how long is enough?”. Some recommend shorter bursts (20 minutes), while others recommend an hour of cardiovascular activity. The fact is, for many of us – it is very hard to find the time – a lifestyle change is needed.

Start small and work up – aim for some exercise 3 times a week. It doesn’t mean you need to sign up with a gym – and if its hard to get outside, you can look at getting some of your own fitness equipment (such as a rowing machine, or exercise bike).

When is the best time? Despite there being a lot of diet plans, supplements, and pills that assist in weight loss (some will work for you and some won’t). The healthiest way is to include some kind of exercise program into the mix – the benefits are many. Most people find that exercise first thing in the morning works best. It leaves you with a feeling of well-being all day – and also kicks your fat-burning metabolism into gear for the WHOLE DAY. If exercise is done at night, you generally go to sleep soon after (where your metabolism goes way down). Some recommend not eating anything before the morning exercise, while others recommend eating breakfast. Find out what works for you – if you can happily exercise on an empty stomach, then do so. But don’t forget to eat breakfast afterwards!”

Read, copied/pasted, and trainer approved from http://www.freedieting.com/exercise_weight_loss.htm

What is Eating Clean?

by eating clean works on December 27, 2007

photo credit: thebittenword.com

There is no fitness goal which you can achieve without first cleaning up your diet.  Changing your diet is one of the biggest challenges when faced with improving ones health.  A majority of people are used to eating highly processed foods on a regular basis and breaking away from that can be difficult.  The good news is, it isn’t impossible and once you make it a habit to eat clean, it becomes a part of your life.

In a nutshell, eating clean is the practice of eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. It also means staying away from the junk that typically makes up the Standard American Diet (S.A.D) These types of food include man-made sugar, bad fats (hydrogenated, trans-fat), preservatives, white bread, and any other ingredients that are unnecessary. An easy way to remember if a food is clean is: “if man made it, don’t eat it.”

A person that eats clean generally practices the following:

• Eliminates refined sugar
• Cooks healthy meals
• Packs healthy meals
• Makes healthy choices when dining out
• Drinks a lot of water
• Eats 5-6 small meals per day
• Eliminates alcoholic beverages (or significantly limits it)
• Always eats breakfast

Eating clean can be a major transition for a majority of people due to addictions to sugar, white bread, and fast food. It takes discipline in order to make eating clean a habit but it is possible and has so many long-term health benefits.

Road to NPC Ironman, Oct. 3, 2009!

Less than 11 weeks out, and I’m on track! 2nd measurements today and I’ve lost 1% Body Fat while maintaining all my Lean Body Mass in 2 weeks! Now if I can keep my LBM and stay on track with my fat loss, I’ll ROCK THIS STAGE come October! Train with me! www.ifitpesonaltraining.com. Follow my progress on twitter and facebook. Twitter: iFitPT, Facebook: Become a fan of “iFit: Independent Fitness”!

Road to IRONMAN

I’m blogging with progress pics and measurements on bodyspace.com from now until my October 3rd NPC Ironman Figure competition debut! Since it’s my first, I’m lost in some areas and I’ll be seeking advice from IFBB pro Tanji Johnson, and pro competitor Adrianna Medina, owner of Fuerte Fitness. If you have any advice or resources for me I’d love to hear from you! Otherwise, wish me luck!!! Bring on the PAIN!!! …and God bless!

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/Rachelizabethm/

Is Diet Coke Bad for You???

A study done by the Framington Heart Center (the Mecca of cardiac research), which was conducted 16 months ago, compared diet coke, coke, and alcohol. The study showed that the patients that consumed diet coke had the largest increase in insulin resistance, blood pressure, and weight gain.

The specific ingredient in the diet soft drinks responsible for changes has not been proven yet (but is presumed to be aspartame).

Reliable info from a friend. Just for your consideration. Drink everything and eat everything responsibly and with discernment

ECC and iFit

iFit and Eastlake Community Church have teamed together for some outrageous bootykicking bootcamps this summer. Be sure to check out the group catalog at service or online at eastlakecc.com, or check out iFit a little more at www.ifitpersonaltraining.com and follow iFit on Twitter: iFitPT.

Happy Training!

Big News:

I’m incredibly honored. God is so good!

Last Thursday I spent the day in Portland for an audition callback I couldn’t believe I had landed: Bowflex! Friday night I got a call from my agent asking if I was driving and that I should sit down. “Yes…I just got in the door from the gym, why?” She lowered her voice and quickly spit out, “YOU BOOKED BOWFLEX!”

Needless to say I’m still in shock, but I’m sooo excited! The fitting is the 29th and the shoot is the 30th of this month. Wish me luck! This of course negates my contest prep, but I can compete for a trophy in fitness any day…this? This is such a blessing!

Solo Deo Gloria, and friends….keep my humble! See you in the gym!

Training and Pregnancy (for my mommies and soon-to-be-mommies!) :)

Body Sculpting & Weight Training During Pregnancy

Benefits of Body Sculpting Training During Pregnancy and Rules of Safety

By Hugo Rivera, About.com

Research has determined that remaining active during pregnancy offers several benefits to the mother and to the future newborn as well. The key to reaping out such benefits is to adjust your exercise program in order to make it safe for yourself and your baby during this period and to keep in mind that the goal of exercising during this period is to maintain your present level of fitness, not to improve.

The benefits that exercise offers to expecting mothers include:

1. Speedier recovery after delivery.
2. Increased sense of well being and self esteem during and after pregnancy.
3. Less leg cramps.
4. Larger placenta which in turn provides an increased nutrient base for the baby.
5. Decrease the risk of excessive weight gain caused by an increase of fat storage.
6. Stronger lower back which in turn reduces the risk of lower back pains.
7. Boost in energy levels.
8. Decrease the likelihood of varicose veins.
9. Reduced chances of having a Caesarean birth.
10. Higher chances of achieving labor either a few days earlier or on time.
11. Exercise helps prepare the body for the stresses imposed by labor and delivery.

How Much Exercise is Okay?

The amount of exercise that mothers to be will be able to tolerate during these 9 months is directly related to how active they were before becoming pregnant. If a woman has never exercised before in her life, this is not the time to start a full blown weight training and intense aerobics program. Starting a weight training program is very traumatic on the body. This is not the kind of stress that we want to put the body under at this time.

Just a Beginner? A sensible approach for someone who has never exercised before is to start a mild daily 20 to 30 minute aerobics program consisting of walking at a normal pace. Why walking? Because walking is one of the most natural and safest forms of exercise. At this time, it is crucial to choose exercises that do not result in a loss of balance since a fall during this period could prove to be fatal for both the mother and the baby. Therefore, aerobic activities such as aerobic dance, bench step classes, kickboxing aerobics, & roller blading are out of the question.

Precautions There are certain precautions that you will need to incorporate in your walking program in order to make it safe. Remembering that the goal during this period is to maintain, not to improve, your workout intensity should be mild to moderate. In other words, you should walk at a normal pace and should not attempt to push yourself. Pushing yourself will put undue stress in your body and will increase the chances of reaching two conditions that should be avoided at all times during pregnancy:

1. Your heart rate should never exceed 140 beats per minute. Therefore, be especially careful to monitor your heart rate during exercise. That can be easily done by counting the amount of times your heart beats in ten seconds while you are performing the activity and then multiplying that number by 6. This will give you the amount of beats per minute. In order to avoid your heart rate from going this high, walk at a normal pace.
2. Your body temperature should never exceed 100 degrees Farenheit (or 38 degrees Celsius). In order to avoid this, walk at a normal pace and choose a time and place where it is neither hot nor humid. Walking either early in the morning or in the late afternoons is the best time. Also, avoid wearing clothing that is too warm. If you rather walk indoors, do not use a motorized treadmill since it is easy to trip and fall while using these device, as it is the machine and not you the one that sets the pace. Instead, use the non-motorized models where you are the one that sets the pace. Other good forms of indoor exercises for expectant mothers are swimming and water walking.

If you have been weight training prior to becoming pregnant, then you may continue your weight training activities during pregnany as long as they are not activities that could result in a loss of balance and you lower your intensity to prevent an increased body temperature and heart rate. Again, the goal during this period is maintenance and not improvement. Therefore, don’t push yourself.

Women who weight training while pregnant should adhere to the following rules:

1. Increase your rest periods in between sets to two minutes in order to maintain a normal body temperature and a low pulse (below 140 beats).
2. Perform only 2 exercises per body part of 3 sets each.
3. In order to stay away from reaching muscular failure (point at which it becomes impossible to perform another repetition in good form) choose a weight that you can perform for 12-15 repetitions and perform 8-10 repetitions per set instead.
4. Eliminate exercises where you have to lay down flat in your back (such as flat dumbbell bench press) since this position can decrease blood flow to the uterus and therefore the baby.
5. Eliminate exercises that may cause a loss of balance such as lunges and squats. Instead, substitute them for exercises like seated leg curls and leg extensions. As a matter of fact, if you have access to machines, this is the perfect time to use them. Remember our previous discussions on the fact that we prefer to recommend free weights since our body is designed to operate on a three dimensional universe and machines lock us in a two dimensional one? During pregnancy, being locked in a two dimensional universe is a good thing since that would make the exercises safer and would eliminate the possibility of losing balance. Also, by using machines, secondary stabilizer muscles, such as abdominal and pelvic muscles, are not activated. This is a good thing as we don’t want to create any undue stress in these areas at this time. Another reason why machines are more desirable at this time is to prevent joint injuries. During pregnancy, a loosening of the joints occurs. This loosening allows ligaments and tendons to stretch in preparation for delivery. Because of this, there is a higher risk of incurring a soft tissue injury if free weights are used. If you choose to continue using free weights during this period, then remember to pay close attention to your exercise form and to choose your exercises carefully.
6. Eliminate the Abdominal exercise portion of your workout as we must avoid any exercise that may risk even mild abdominal trauma. In addition, avoid exercises where you have to lay down flat in your stomach. For instance, substitute lying leg curls, by either standing or seated leg curls.
7. Don’t hold your breath while exercising since by doing so, you can cut the oxygen supply to your baby.

About The Author

Hugo Rivera, About.com’s Bodybuilding Guide and ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer, is a nationally-known best-selling author of over 8 books on bodybuilding, weight loss and fitness, including “The Body Sculpting Bible for Men”, “The Body Sculpting Bible for Women”, “The Hardgainer’s Bodybuilding Handbook”, and his successful, self published e-book, “Body Re-Engineering”. Hugo is also a national level NPC natural bodybuilding champion. Learn more about Hugo Rivera.