Gorgeous "tank-top worthy" toned arms!

We all long to have been born with those toned and beautiful arms like Jennifer Aniston, and Shay Mitchell but even they had to work hard to achieve them! I want to share with you a few simple arm workouts that you can do from your home or in the gym to really tone those arms. I use resistance bands and a medicine ball for a few of these, if you don't have them they are not too pricey. You can buy them at any sports or fitness store. I paid about $13 for the handles and $8 each for my 10lb and 20lb resistance bands and about $20 for the 6lb medicine ball. If you have small weights that work better for you, feel free to use them! I'll include the link to where I bought mine at the bottom of the post! Its really good to interchange the equipment that you use when working out because each one will target your muscles differently! I also use a kitchen chair for one of my workouts, but I'm sure you all have one handy :) I have included Six different sequences for arms, and I will explain how to do each one!

Sequence One: Start from position one (The center of the resistance band is under your feet, and you hold the handles with equal amounts of the band on each side), and curl one arm at a time, always returning to the first position before curling the next arm. I am using a 20lb resistance band, but you can use whatever works for you. Curl about 10-15 times each arm (or more if you can). Then proceed to Sequence Two.

Sequence Two: Start from position one again, and cross your arm over your chest to the opposite shoulder. Return back to position one and switch arms. Repeat this about 10-15 times on each arm (or more if you can), then proceed to sequence three.

Sequence Three: Start from position one again, and curl both arms at the same time 10-15 times (or more if you can), then proceed to sequence four.

                                            These first three sequences will target your biceps.

Sequence four: Lay on the ground, like in position one, with your knees bent and your arms raised above your head with the weight in your hands. While keeping your triceps straight, just bend at your elbows, bringing the weight behind your head and slowly straighten it back up to position one. Repeat this 10-15 times (or more if you can). Then proceed to sequence five.

Sequence five: Start at position one holding the kettle bell, (or weights if you prefer), by your side. Then curl it, like in position two, and fully extend it above your head, while turning your fist outward. Then bring it back down to position two, and back to position one. Repeat this 10-15 times (or more if you can). Then proceed to sequence six. 

Sequence six: Start at position one, with your legs extended and your arms bent behind you on the edge of a chair. (I have secured my chair on the yoga mat and against the wall so that it doesn't slide) Then extend your arms, and dip down again with your elbows at a 90 degree angle and repeat about 10-15 times (or more if you can). 

Repeat from sequence one through six approximately 3-5 times. 

 Sequence's four and six are targeting your triceps, and sequence five is targeting your biceps and shoulders.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4417784&sr=1&origkw=kettlebell

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=fitness%20gear%20medicine%20ball&origkw=fitness+gear+medicine+ball&sr=1


http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=sklz%20chrome%20resistance%20cable&origkw=SKLZ+chrome+resistance+cable&sr=1

My favorite super healthy and guilt-free way to eat yogurt!

I really wanted to be able to talk about my favorite way to eat yogurt! Anyone who knows me, knows that for years I have been trying to find ways to be able to fit yogurt into my diet. I am very pro yogurt, but have never been able to choke it down, or justify eating the yogurt brands with tons of added sugars! It was a lose, lose either way for me. The reason I have tried so hard to incorporate it into my diet is because of the tons of nutritional benefits it has, not to mention its preventative tendencies against bacteria! Yogurt has a ton of healthy bacteria, which can help aid in digestion and it is packed with vitamins, and high in protein! I am very aware of labels when I buy products, and you should make yourself aware as well. Always check the ingredients list before buying anything you put into your body. Always steer away from yogurt that has sugar in the ingredients list. I will make a post on why sugar is our enemy on another day but for now, just try to find yogurt that has no more than 7 ingredients. This would be an ideal label, and this is is Danone yogurt labeled here. Ingredients include: Skim milk, cream, active bacterial cultures. That is it!

Now, as I stated above. I hate yogurt! haha, I just cannot stomach the flavor at all! That it why I wanted to share my favorite way to incorporate it into my diet: Smoothies! for starters smoothies are a great way to incorporate yogurt because you can mask the flavor with any fruit you would like! That is only part of the secret though, I love to make a large batch of my favorite smoothie, then I will pour it into small 8 oz tupperware containers and freeze them! My very own little frozen yogurts with tons of flavor and I know exactly what each one contains! My typical Smoothie would be: 

1 large banana

A handful of frozen strawberries

A handful of frozen mango chunks

1 cup of Danano yogurt

a few ice cubes

1/2 cup skim milk

2 scoops of total lean protein (completely optional)

Add all of the ingredients to the blender, blend it up, pour in containers and enjoy now or later! The purpose of putting them in small containers is to have several little snack sized portions of the frozen yogurt for after workout or just when your craving something sweet without all of the guilt! For anyone else who just dreads the taste of yogurt, but would like a clean way to eat it without adding tons of sugar to get it into your system, I definitely am recommending trying this! I hope this was helpful ;)

Burn several muscles at once with this squat!

This squat is so much fun and you will feel the burning in your thighs days after! It is a simple squat with a lateral leg raise to the left, another squat and a lateral leg raise to the right! I repeat this sequence as many times as I can until the burn is too much. I have added ankle weights for optimum muscle strength in the lateral leg raises and a 6lb medicine ball for some resistance in the squat! You can do it without the weights if its too much for you, but as it becomes easier I definitely recommend adding the weight and resistance! The squats are great for your glutes and quads of course, but this leg raise is really going to target those inner and outer thigh areas that are really hard to reach! TRY not to do this too quickly, feel the burn as you go in and out of each movement. I definitely worked up a good sweat at home with this one! Trying several different variations of squats are great because you don't want your muscle to get used to the same things. Changing it up will help target different areas, and push your muscle harder.

Tone your legs with this awesome treadmill workout!

I absolutely love the incline on the treadmill. It triggers muscles in your legs and butt that you don't use on a daily basis, and this is definitely what you need in order to tone those legs. When you walk, your using the muscles that you use every single day, but when your on an incline, your muscles have to work twice as hard to get you going. I love this workout, it is very intense and you will feel it for a week after your first time! Don't be afraid, work at your own pace and just have fun with it! There are so many things that you can do on a treadmill aside from just running!  Share with a friend that will motivate you, and get to the gym together!

Simple Breakfast Options for a Healthy Lifestyle

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, and I guarantee you that you've heard that a million times in your lifetime. It is a very true statement. When it comes to your health and either losing weight, or maintaining weight, it all starts with breakfast. We naturally tend to feel very hungry in the day if our breakfast wasn't sufficient enough to sustain us. The trick is to eat food that will make you feel full, and I don't mean a breakfast buffet, to maintain a healthy lifestyle! I mean food that your body will take time to digest. This will allow you to feel fuller longer, and will keep you from grabbing at unhealthy snacks until lunchtime! I definitely recommend eggs, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, whole wheat bread, etc. These few things are very simple to make. I tend to prefer food that is sweeter in the morning, so I will probably eat a sweeter breakfast 4 days a week and the other three days I will try something more savory, like egg whites with peppers. Oatmeal has always been a struggle for me to eat but I finally came up with a way where I can enjoy it and still keep out the sugar! Below I will post the recipe for the oatmeal, along with an image and two links that I think are great for ideas on simple breakfast options for a healthier lifestyle!

Additional Resources!
http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/fast-and-healthy-breakfast-ideas?s=1

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/top-20-foods-eat-breakfast/story?id=19295525#

Sweat it out with this Intense Stairmaster Workout!

I love this Stair master routine! It always gets me sweating, and I ALWAYS feel the burn the next day! Its time to tone up, Summer is upon us! The 45 minutes routine is generally my favorite because your really working your body, and getting the most out of the workout! This can be super intense and fun, and you won't miss the sweat! I have modified it in two other options, one thats 30 minutes and the other 20 minutes for those of you who don't have time, or maybe just aren't capable of 45 minutes yet! Don't get discouraged, and make sure to keep hydrated! I hope you enjoy!

Incline Treadmill: Leg and Booty Cardio Workout!

I know I haven't been on in a while, but I hope that I can get back into the swing of things and continue to add great tips and workouts on this blog! I actually did this treadmill circuit yesterday and my butt and my legs were feeling it this morning. It definitely gets your heart racing, your blood pumping, and calories burning. Try to make it through the 25 minutes. I know it can be tough, so it can be modified. Lower the speed if your having trouble, but try to maintain the inclines. Also, a quick tip, when your doing incline workouts as such, do not hold onto the top of the treadmill. The workout is meant for your legs and butt to do the work and when you hold on your allowing the rest of your body to pick up the slack. Its better to go at your pace than to use your arms to hold on. When your in 3.5-4.0 you should be at a trot, you won't be walking anymore at this point. You may also pick up the intensity by increasing your speed if you feel up to it! Get your booty moving! I hope you enjoy!