Most people separate their cardio workout from strength training by adding cardio before or after. I’m usually in this category but sometimes I like to switch things up and add another dimension. Today, I was back to splicing quick cardio blocks between my leg training.
The beauty of mixing cardio in between sets is you’re keeping your leg muscles on alert the whole time, but changing their function back and forth. My workout lasted only 1:15 but I was exhausted afterwords. I had another 20 minutes of gym time left, but I was running on empty so …read more

Resistance training is not only limited to dumbells and iron plates.  You can also use bands, your body weight, or a medicine ball to grow stronger.  In today’s workout I integrated every form of resistance training except for bands to create an exceptional workout.
As you know, I’ve been focusing on building better balance in my legs lately.  This is paying off.  Just by putting shorts on, I can already tell my balance is much better than before.  Now that I’ve moved up a few notches with my balance, I’m adding to that foundation and working to increase my coordination as …read more

The healing ways of Ayurveda are so plentiful, they can even make getting up in the morning a pleasure.
Try some of these rituals for a lovely, relaxing way to start your day tomorrow. Give them a try and see for yourself. You might even want to make them a part of your daily routine.
As part of its approach, Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of developing morning rituals that help balance your body with nature, and work your doshas. It’s true-building just one of these practices into your daily routine can change the way you experience your day.
-Get up before the sun …read more

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a lot of time to read labels when I shop. But I also don’t want to grab something I just know I won’t eat later, either. Well, hopefully the dash through the grocery aisle will become a lot simpler after today’s announcement that new front-of-pack nutrition labeling (although voluntary) called “Smart Choices” will soon be available on products in grocery stores across the U.S.
The criteria that will determine which products will and will not qualify for the new labeling system were set by a group of scientists, nutritionists and manufacturers, and were built on science-based nutrition data, in hopes of helping Americans make better …read more

My sister is a nutritionist who is so meticulous about food that sometimes I need to take a nap before going to a family dinner at her home. 
She asks so many questions about what I’m eating, I feel like I need to be read my rights :-). But this weekend’s “serving” of  nutritional knowledge may just alter my shopping habits a bit.  Just a bit…
She told me I am at an age (thanks a lot–and no, I am NOT–and to all her friends out there, she’s only a year younger than me) where I need to be stocking up on “functional foods.”  Sounded kind of painful to …read more

It’s a common belief that many of my friends share–if you follow a vegetarian diet, you won’t be able to get as far with strength training and athletic pursuits.
Wrong. True, it is going to be a bit more complex to attain the level of protein in your diet that your body looks for when you’re undertaking a strength traning regimen. But it isn’t impossible.
Many experts recommend 1.6 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.73 grams per pound). There are ways for you to get enough protein to reach this recommended amount with low-fat dairy products and …read more

I got this question from Danielle yesterday:
so I was wondering if you need to increase or decrease calories when trying to turn fat to muscle and how often/how much should you lift to tone and turn fat to muscle? And since I’m impatient how long should I wait to expect results?
This is one of those try-and-explain-evertyhing-about-working-out-in-one post questions, but I’ll give it a go.
 First of all, you can’t turn fat into muscle.

toothpastefordinner.com
Your body is designed to protect itself. If you don’t eat, your body slows down all of its function to conserve energy and help you live longer.
You’ve got eyebrows and eyelashes to keep stuff from getting into your eyes.
You feel pain so that you are aware that you are injured in some way and to avoid injuring yourself further.
Self preservation- its where it’s at.

SarahF sent me this question: 
I’ve been working out regularly for 7 months (I swim 2-3 times a week for an hour, run twice a week, sometimes for 30 minutes, sometimes for an hour, do a Cardio Core class once a week-which is 30 minutes of strength using your body weight and 30 minutes of different cardio workouts, and do strength twice a week, once with just arms, once with just legs) and eating healthy (I eat about 2000 calories a day) and although I’m in better shape (I can run further, do more push ups, etc) there’s no physical difference in …read more

Wow, look at all that alliteration in that title.
Alex sent me this question: 
I have a question that is completely unrelated! (This somehow deserves an exclamation point.) What is the difference, if any, between doing exercises that work only one side of your body at a time (for example, lunges) in consecutive reps for each side versus alternating one side with the other? That may or may not any make sense. What I mean is, is there a benefit to doing lunges all on one side and then all on the other – so one set 10 reps for left leg, followed …read more