Tight Hips Suck!

If you have tight hips, you probably know it. If you work out, your range of motion is limited and if you don’t work out, well, your range of motion is still limited. Don’t forget, the same movements we use during workouts (squats) we use in life (getting off the toilet). Hip tightness can also cause some serious discomfort and should be taken care of.

Here is one of the best stretches for tight hips. Put one leg all the way against the wall. If you can, bring your other leg out to about 90 degrees.  Squeeze your glutes (butt) and push your hip towards the ground. Keep your back as straight as possible. You should feel it! If it is too intense, put your hands on the ground on either side of you front leg. BREATH. Hold each side for 1 min each, working up to 3 min each.

This should be done EVERY day!!!

Enjoy Life – Workout!

Mandy

Modified

Challenge Yourself!

My challenge to you is that you start to challenge yourself. Here are a few things you can do to make every workout count.

Time Yourself – Try to finish a workout is a certain amount of time. The next time you do that workout, try to beat yourself.

As Many As Possible – Set a time and a rep amount. Try to get as many reps as possible in that time.

Example – As jump ropes as possible in 2 min.

Distance – Always push yourself to go a little bit further or add a little bit of time to you workout.

Keep Track – If you don’t know where you have been, how will you know where you are going?   Write every workout down. What you did, how much weight, what distance and how you felt.

It’s the small things that make a big difference.

Enjoy Life – Workout!

Mandy

I've Got Your Back!

I’ve got your back!

Here are a couple easy low back exercises you can do at home.

Bridge

Keeping your feet on the ground and your arms to your side, tighten the muscles of your lower abdomen and butt so your low back flattens. Slowly rise up, hold for 2-5 sec and relax. Repeat 15-20 times.

Superman

Lie on your belly and lift your legs, chest, and arms off the ground. Hold this arched for 2-5 seconds. Keep your head facing  down. Repeat 15-20 times.

Do each of these 3-4 times a week for the best results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7LKTj00R72o

Enjoy Life - Workout!

Mandy

Almond Flour

Almond Flour/Meal

Almond flour is made by grinding blanched almonds. Almond meal is made by grinding almonds with the skin on them. Both are an excellent replacement for wheat flour.

Pros= Lower in carbohydrates, gluten free, rich in Vitamin E, magnesium and potassium. They are also high in monounsaturated fats, which help fight heart disease.

This is a perfect Paleo option. I recently made Paleo Blueberry Muffins, and now I am addicted. Here is the recipe.

http://paleomg.com/simple-blueberry-muffins/

More recipes to come!

Enjoy Life – Workout!

Mandy

Why wheat and gluten are bad for you!

Check out this article!http://paleodietlifestyle.com/11-ways-gluten-and-wheat-can-damage-your-health/

Enjoy Life - Workout!

Mandy

Paleo Week 2

Paleo Week 2

Carol and I are starting week 2 of our Paleo journey. So far, we are doing well. I usually encourage my clients to take a cheat day during the week. It helps people feel like they don’t have to completely give up one certain food and usually keeps people on track. We decided to not have a cheat day and just have a few cheat meal/snacks during our weekend. We thought an over indulgence in food would cause us to have a food hangover. So Friday we eat had an Easter snack, Saturday we had tortillas with our fajitas and Sunday we had another Easter snack.  Pretty good we thought!

For the week, we make sure we had plenty of food prepared. Here is the list our or prepped foods.

Rotisserie chicken, turkey tenderloins, hard boiled eggs, tuna/chicken salad, strawberries, blackberries, paleo blueberry muffins, and random veggies.

We have found that the more prepared we are, the better we do. We are also noticing that we aren’t craving certain types of foods anymore. We feel better and have more energy. Oh and I lost 2 pounds in one week. Yay!!!

Enjoy Life – Workout!

Mandy

Our Paleo Journey

My partner and I have decided to try to bring a paleo style diet into our house. Meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and nut (healthy natural fats). No processed foods no grains, and definitely no sugar (accept the natural sugar in fruit).

To make it more manageable, we have decided to wiggle our way in, allowing for the occasional cheat. Mine will be Muscle Milk and Carol’s will be yogurt. These are both healthy non-paleo foods that will help us with our busy schedules.

We started this weekend with our purchases. At the farmers market we got spinach leaves, mushrooms, and eggs. At the store we bought bananas, strawberries, salmon, and lemons. And for my Chicken Cacciatora crock pot recipe, I got chicken, green, red and yellow peppers, onion, celery, and garlic. We had a few items at home already.

My plan is to make chicken or tuna salad today for the week and eat on our crock pot dish. The hardest thing for me will be not eating sugar. I will keep everyone updated on our journey. It won’t be perfect, but our hope is to be healthy and happy.

If you are interested in joining us on this journey, let me know. I love swapping recipes.

Enjoy Life – Workout!

Mandy