Best Things to Eat Before a Workout

I'm asked all the time what people should eat before a workout. I know that I will crash at the half hour mark if I haven't had something before a workout. Experiment! Some people wouldn't feel well eating beans prior to the workout, but would feel great eating chicken and asparagus. Listen to your body and give it what it needs. Super hungry? Then reach for something more filling like brown rice or oats.

Late Night Stretch

 This stretch is meant to lengthen the hip joint and the hamstring.

 This is meant to stretch out the glutes and lower back.

If you only have time for one stretch in your day, this is the one to do. Look how many points are being targeted. The front deltoid in your shoulder and chest is opening up. The lower back and the obliques are stretching, so is the butt, the hip and even the groin.

Becki's Warm up

O verhead jumps
C limbers
T ouchdowns
O bliques
B ack squats
E lbow touches
R unning on the spot

Becki is so clever! What a great teacher.

Look at you climbing that mountain Grace!

 Look at you touching down Lara and Erin!

 Becki and her fab cross stick poem for October.

 She's sticking out her chest for the camera.

She's saying, "My bra is padded!"

Colour the Muthas Rad!

 Lara at the finish line. We prepared for a hard 5k and the race was only a little over 4k. Lara was happy about that.

 Mission complete! Way to go team! Another tick off the bucket list for Michelle and Erika.

 You are all so dirty, I love it, especially Christina! Nice bicep Hanna!

 Richa and I had terrible gas that morning.

 Yes! Carolyn's first running race ever!

 We were clean and shiny at my house. Marcy's hair looks amazing!

Why I should never teach Zumba... or wear sausage casings.

6 Post Workout Snacks

I know it's easy to eat anything you can get your hands on after a workout, but let's think about what our body needs. "You want to make sure you feed your body to help repair muscle tissues and replenish glycogen stores [which are depleted after a strenuous workout]," says Kristin Reisinger, MS, RD, a sports nutritionist and competitive figure athlete based in New Jersey. Here, six top snacks to fuel your body post workout (Reisinger recommends chasing each of these snacks with 8-12 ounces of water).

Protein Shake with Banana

"After a workout, you want ample protein combined with a carbohydrate," says Reisinger. A protein shake made from whey protein, water, and half a banana is a great choice, since your body quickly turns it into energy.

Recommended Serving Size: 2 scoops of whey protein powder combined with water and 1/2 banana, 250 calories

Peanut Butter & Banana on Rice Cakes

If you're craving something more substantial after a workout, a healthy peanut butter and banana sandwich will fit the bill. Instead of bread, smooth your peanut butter onto two brown rice cakes for extra fiber (without empty carbs). And while you may usually avoid bananas because they're too full of sugar, eating one after a workout is just fine. "This is one of the only times I recommend a high-glycemic carbohydrate source such as banana, because the uptake will be rapid," says Reisinger. Translation: It'll replenish your energy quickly.

Recommended Serving Size: 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp. peanut butter, and 2 brown rice cakes, 215 calories

Hummus and Pita

Another great carb/protein combo: Hummus and whole wheat pita. Hummus, a dip made from pureed chickpeas, gives you both carbs and protein. Coupled with the slow-release energy from the whole wheat pita, it makes for a snack that'll keep you fueled for hours.

Recommended Serving Size: 1/4 cup hummus with 1 whole wheat pita, 275 calories

Yogurt and Fresh Berries

Protein makes sense after a workout, since it contains amino acids that help build muscle. "Your muscles are depleted of amino acids after a workout, so you need an adequate supply of protein to help build them up," says Reisinger. Low-fat yogurt can pack nearly 15 grams of protein; add some berries for carbohydrate-driven energy.

Recommended Serving Size: 1 8-ounce container of plain, low-fat yogurt with 1/2 cup berries, 180 calories

Tuna on Whole Wheat

What could be more filling after a workout than half a sandwich? And when you choose its filling wisely, you'll be building muscle while you eat, too! "Research shows that carbs and protein together have a better response to post-workout recovery," says Reisinger. Tuna drizzled with a little lemon juice and olive oil spread over a slice of whole wheat bread is an ideal protein/carb mini-meal.

Recommended Serving Size: 4 ounces water-packed tuna and 1 slice whole wheat bread, 220 calories

Turkey and Cheese with Apple Slices

If you're not in the mood for a sandwich, skip the bread and eat the fillings on their own! Spread a soft-cheese wedge over two or three slices of lean deli turkey, then roll up for a quick, high-protein, eat-on-the-go snack. Add a sliced apple for some energy-boosting (and glycogen-replenishing) carbs.

Recommended Serving Size: 4 ounces deli turkey, 1 soft cheese wedge, and 1 apple, 240 calories 

Diastasis Recti

This weekend I went to a fitness conference. One of the workshops that I attended was about diastasis recti, presented by Sarah Zahab. As you can see above it is the seperation of the rectus abdomens at the linea alba (some of you may have had this line turn black during pregnancy). When this line separates the integrity and functional strength of the abdominal wall is reduced. Lower back pain and pelvic instability can be aggravated by this condition. You may also see a protrusion of your abdomen and internal organs. Maybe you can see a cone shape in the centre of your belly when you are laying down and get up out of bed. Most women have this happen during pregnancy and experience no pain from it. Others experience low back pain, pelvic discomfort and/or a pulling sensation at the linea alba.

Prevention during pregnancy and Correction post partum:
1. Rise properly from the supine position. When you lay down and need to get up, rather than crunching to a seated position, gently roll over onto your side and using your hand for support lift your body up with your arms.
2. Stop and rectus abdominus and oblique exercises. (crunches or sit up and their variations)
3. Strengthen the tranverse abs.
4. Strengthen the pelvic floor.

If you think you have a large gap separating your rectus abdonimus I have now been taught how to check it for you. If you prefer to see a professional here are some local contacts.

www.continuumfitness.ca ( Sarah Zahab is at this clinic and specializes in post partum physiotherapy)
see www.sarahzahab.ca

Also there are pelvic floor physiotherapists here in Toronto, I met one! They can do wonders for weak pelvic floors and remedy the leakages.
www.coreexpectations.ca

I kept hearing all weekend how ineffective crunches were. For the post partum women this movement can even be damaging. You can expect that we will cease and desist all crunches from now on.

Erika and Lara's Zip Line Adventure!

Erika and Lara went to Treetoptrekking.com 's Brampton Location at Heart Lake Conversation area.  It was less than 30 mins away.

This would be a FANTASTIC outing for all the Mimico Muthas!  The Dad's could come (or not) as there's also an amazing splash pad, a pool, fishing, boating and hiking trails at Heart Lake.
The weather was perfect.  Lots of shoulder & arm muscles used.  Glad we brought gloves and I took some picts and videos to document the day.
I have posted the BIG zip line video on the blog, but here are links to 2 other videos of the day.

Erika's first Zip Line:
http://youtu.be/KQHiWg4-7rI

Crossing the "Indiana Jones" bridge:
http://youtu.be/gcLa4IEiWlA

Great job Erika and Lara! You girls got out there this weekend! I'm so proud of you! Let me know if you would like to do this as a group in the fall and we'll organize a date.

J

BIG zip line

Fitness - Hard Body Workout

bv

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• NINJA JUMP
  5 reps
• ELEVATED BRIDGE LEG LIFT
  10 reps on each legs
• DYNAMIC PUSH UPS
  5 reps
• ONE ARM ONE LEG BRIDGE
  20 reps total
• ONE LEG BURPEE
  5 reps on each leg

5 times as fast as you can!

Christina sent me this video. I have seen this lady on BodyRock TV before and she's totally ripped and quite porn-y...this is an amazing full body workout you can do with no equipment. The challenge is to run through it without stopping.

Color Me Rad 5K Race

Somewhere among the pink dust is our very own Ashley!  She ran the Color Me Rad 5K Saturday morning at Downsview (after our High Park hill run!). It's a fun run that is in 75 cities this summer. www.colormerad.com
Great job Ashley! I'm so doing this with you next year!

2 Hip Flexor Stretches: We'll practice these at workout so you can do them at home

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   Do frog pullovers. In addition to stretching your hip flexors, this exercise will lengthen and strengthen your arm and shoulder muscles. You will also feel a nice stretch down the sides of your torso as you raise and lower your arms above your head. To increase the stretch in your hips, start in the beginning position for the frog pullover. Then, sit up and slowly lower your chest down over your feet to stretch the groin.

   

   Do the garland pose in yoga. The garland pose opens up the hips and improves balance. This pose will also increase flexibility in your thighs and ankles while toning your core. If the squatting maneuver is too difficult, then you can sit on a chair and lean your torso forward between your thighs. Make sure that your feet are on the ground and that your thighs form a 90-degree angle with your calves if you are using the chair for support.
   

Sunset Stretch

 After a 5k run we stretched in the park across from the church. Sandra, Michelle, Shannon and Lara are not doing any Canadian Fitness Professionally approved stretch.

 However, Michelle's cleavage from the above photo inspired me to take one of my own massive jugs.

 OK, they are laughing because I asked them to squat and press open their knees with their elbows and Sandra said it was the poo in the grass stretch. It was a super mature group out on Thursday.

 Carolyn in the warrior pose. She's a warrior for sure. She only had to stop 3 times during that 5k. Such an improvement! Sweaty pits are earned baby!

The Mimico Presbyterian Church at sunset 9:02 Thursday June 20th.

Dinners under 300 calories: Easy Chicken Cacciatore recipe

Easy Chicken Cacciatore recipe - Canadian Living

For 19 more recipes under 30 minutes and under 300 calories go to:

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/20_meals_under_300_calories__ready_in_30_minutes.php

Thursday June 13 Circuit

 Here's Arwen in a ball plank. Her feet and shins are resting on the resistance ball and her abs are tucked in tight as she pulls her knees up to her chest ad then pushes them back out straight. The balancing is a result of all the little muscles in her core. Arwen has suffered from lots of back pain and exercises like this will keep her low back healthy.

 Tara R is on the stepper. She is planting her left foot and hurdling her right foot back and forth over the step. She switched legs after 30 seconds. By the end of the interval the planted leg starts to burn. She's using her glutes and quads here. These are big muscles that burn tons of calories.

 Here's Christina doing a medicine ball crunch. Notice that she is pushing her low back into the mat and  lifting her shoulder blades off the mat. This is perfect form because her pelvis is tilted up and she's using  all of her abs rather than her neck.

 Oh yeah! Carrie is double leg jumping on the trampoline. I love the trampoline because it mimics jumping in sand. The momentum is absorbed down into the springs forcing Carrie jump squat more deeply than if she were jumping on the ground. Look at that leg definition!

Becki is slamming the rope. These are called rope whips. This is a great compound movement that combines cardio with back and shoulder muscle conditioning. Becki is engaging her tummy muscles and pulling her lats to slap the floor with the heavy rope.

Saturday June 8th at High Park

 Laura stretching her hamstrings and calves after the hill repeats.

 Lara, Ashley, Laura and Sandra reaching down for that toe. Happy Birthday Sandra! What a trooper coming with us to run hills on her bday! They're stretching out their heels. Never do this until you've warmed up. I made the mistake of hanging my heel off the side of a step and tore the ligament in my heel.

 Laura wanted me to take a photo of her sweaty face. She looks pretty freakin' amazing considering she just raced up a steep hill 6 times!

 Lara's shoes. New Balance are great for running distance. I prefer my Asics Gel Cumulus for running and my Nike slippers for interval training.

 Stretching our hamstrings and lower back out.

 Lara told me that her husband told her she looked hot as she left the house last week in her form fitting dress. Great job Lara! She's worked so hard for the past year to lose the weight.

 Someone didn't run hard enough...too happy.

Me and Lara. Great way to start the weekend. I love taking you ladies out for the hill runs. Except when there are road closures and it takes up 40 minutes to get home from High Park.

Light Post Run

Laura, Steph, Becki and Sandra ran from my house towards Humber Bridge and back two Thursdays ago. We ran surges. Using the lamp posts as markers, we increased our speed to 80% effort between one light post and then easy between the next post. We did about 10 east and then 6 on the way home. Coming back we would run hard for 2 lamp posts and 1 lamp post easy. These ladies are strong runners and pushed themselves to the point of discomfort. Laura said she would never think of it on her own, but enjoyed the intensity. The girls all agreed it was very challenging, red faces and suppressed barfing occurred. The intensity meant that we could spend less time doing cardio and more time stretching.