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Posts Tagged ‘health and wellness solutions-training’
The Proper Squat for a Great Butt (but safe for your knees and back)!
Many people are aware that squats can give you great glutes, wonderful toned legs, and an overall more beautiful physique. What most people don’t know is that squatting with inappropriate form can compromise your knees and back, making you prone to injuries. In my famous “Hundreds Workout,” squats are one of the main components. However, I would also like to share with people that they are not only important, but that it’s important to use proper form and technique. In addition, did you know that proper form can also help you get more toned abs? Read on…
There are five rules for the movement before, during and in completion of a proper squat.
- The proper squat is done while pressing through the heels (“toes up” is a good rule of thumb for beginners to associate the feeling of pressing all their weight through the heels).
- “Core Tight” before you start, after you start, all through the movement, and when you complete the set movement and are replacing the weight on the bar. Tightening the core is the foundation for this movement’s safety, because it reinforces all the mechanics in the body, as the core itself is the foundation (or it should be, anyhow, but most people don’t use their core, which is why they have back problems).
- “Chest up/Shoulders back” as you move! The proper squat starts with the core tight, torso tall, chest up, and shoulders back for proper form PRIOR TO BEGINNING THE MOVEMENT, and continuously through the movement.
- Make sure that your knees are not bent and leaned forward so much that your knees are NOT extended beyond parallel to your toes. A 90-degree angle, a right angle in other words, should be your target for your leg movement, dropping your butt back as you drop into the squat, with a goal of keeping your chest as high as possible.
- Inhale through your nose as you drop down into the squat and exhale through your mouth as you “explode up” out of the lowest point (the seated position) of the squat, returning to the standing up tall position.
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- Nita Marquez
The best way to begin learning proper form on most standing leg exercises is on the smith machine, which is a weight training machine that imitates a squat rack and a barbell, with the support that is needed to keep us from falling or putting undue stress on the joints. Remember to keep the core tight, chest up, shoulders back, as this combination supports the back. The smith machine is a very effective way to learn proper form of squats for beginners. Once you have learned the proper squat technique, it’s best to start off with very light weight (or even no weight at all), as you move forward by performing your own proper squat on the squat bar, free-weight style. It’s always great to have an experienced trainer or workout partner with you when you perform these exercises, so that they can be available to check your form, and support through spotting if necessary.
Nita Marquez
I have always struggled with keeping my legs and glutes firm, so I hope this article will help anyone out there with the same issues. Great tips are also available at siouxcountry.com for these and other great exercises. Be on the lookout- Workout videos will be returning to nitasworld.com! Meantime, you will see that I’ve linked this article to two other sites that share exercise videos for men & women. Be aware that there is always support available through chat threads online. You are never alone on the journey of fitness.
Be well, Be You, BE PHENOMENAL! You are Worth the Work!
-Nita Lee Marquez
The Foods We Eat- Fit Mom Knows Best!
I have been in the fitness industry since 1998, and in that time, I have taken baby steps at some points, and leaped strides in others. Knowing that I grew up with weight struggles and many addictive behaviors, many people have asked me what has been most difficult for me to change in living more fit over the years. To that, I always say that the food has been the biggest challenge to overcome, but overcome it, I have! If I can change from a processed and fast food lifestyle to living fit with my three beautiful children, I know anyone is capable of it.
There are steps, not always big steps, that can create big change. Here are some great tips for a quick change in both your physical appearance as well as your energy levels:
1) Drink at least a gallon of water daily
You don’t have to drink it all at once! Just carry around a liter bottle and drink & refill it 4 times, and that will be an easier way to manage your intake.
Start with 1-2 liters daily, and gradually increase from there. Trust me, you will crave more, the more you drink, if you drink water in these amounts consistently.
The more water you drink, the more you will pee, most definitely, but you will flush out toxic build-up, thereby increasing your energy levels!
Water- It does a body good!
2) Pull the high-sodium foods
Traditionally known amongst fitness experts and nutritionists, we say that one “cheat” day per week makes sense. You won’t cause much damage that one day, and eventually, you may not even want as much “junk” on your cheat day as you have starting out.
High sodium foods include:
- canned foods (unless noted as “no salt added” – even the “low-sodium” soups and canned foods still have a lot of sodium if you’re someone who is trying to manage their weight or blood pressure).
- processed foods, like frozen tv dinners, burritos, pizzas, even Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig and Nutri-System have TONS of sodium in their meal packets and frozen meals.
- packaged foods, like anything out of a bag or a box, tends to have a higher than desired sodium content.
- jarred foods, like pickles, salsas or anything else that is out of the jar, ready-to-eat
- condiments & sauces, like ketchup, bbq sauces, dressings, even mayonnaise has a lot of sodium most of the time!
- dairy, like milk, yogurt, some ice creams, butter, fake butter
I’m certainly not saying that you should completely cut these foods out of your diet, but if you are trying to manage weight or blood pressure, most often some of the excess weight can be dropped by pulling sodium and drinking more water. This is due to the fact that the first 8-20 pounds of weightloss on everyone tends to be water weight, and if you can just cut back on these foods that cause the water-retention, while drinking more water, you can usually lose that water weight quickly. The less junk you eat with sodium, the less water you’ll hold, and the less water you hold, the less lethargic you will feel.
These foods are simply something that you can, in baby steps, begin to cut back on and eventually eliminate, and the water is simply a rule of thumb that you can work up to, from the suggested 1-2 liters daily. The health tips can remedy blood pressure issues, weight management challenges, energy levels, skincare issues, and bloated stomachs. Try it, and feel free to post to this blog or email me at nitasworld.com.
That’s my tip for today! Remember to Be Well, Be You, BE PHENOMENAL! You are Worth the Work!
-Nita Lee Marquez
Cellulite- The Real Solutions
Believe it or not, cellulite is not a result of just being fat or flabby. Cellulite is a major stress to most women, because we are the only ones who really get cellulite. The dimply, loose, cottage cheese appearance of those areas of cellulite are not even caused just by age.
The reality is that cellulite is a result of the bands of connective tissue in a woman’s body running in a different direction than our skin. By nature that skin can stretch, disconnect and collect fat more readily than a man’s body. Some people think it’s a matter of the nature of things, and that maybe God himself made us to collect fat more easily for the purposes of carrying life within us. Whereas, a man’s connective tissue runs more along with the skin, allowing for better binding from the skin to the connective tissue, which in nature would directly affect their bodies support to muscularity, rather than fat storage. Some would say that it’s because by nature men were intended to be hunter gatherers. Who knows?? The bottom line is they don’t get cellulite.
In the fact that men are generally more muscular, and traditionally are hunter gatherers, I wonder if there may be some truth to the lifetime(s) of conditioning that you see in people whose bodies don’t typically carry cellulite. What I’ve noticed over the years for myself, as opposed to the women in my family, is that because I cross train (weight training combined with running, hiking, plyometrics, and dance/gymnastics) and eat a high protein diet, I have conditioned my body for a more muscular toned look. Whereas the women in my family are all very beautiful and soft-skinned, and they all retained their youth quite well through the aging process, they still struggle tremendously with cellulite. Since I’m genetically pre-disposed to cellulite (yes, the cellulite is going to happen, but how bad it can get is often contingent to our genetics), I still fight it, but the fact is because I weight train, I am constantly working the muscles for conditioning, so I appear to have very little cellulite in comparison to my genetic precedents.
a cellulite butt without weight training/ cross training
Cellulite is a result of the direction of connective tissue in a woman’s body. You cannot change the direction of your connective tissue, as it will always run opposite the skin. Nothing will ever change that we can get cellulite. Also, you cannot alter the genetic ancestry you possess within your family’s lines. If the women have tons of cellulite, you are inheriting that genetic code. However, there are things you can do to condition the genetic code you have toward cellulite, and I know because I have done it myself.
If you weight train, you increase connective tissue activity so that it does not worsen, but can get better with age through constant conditioning. In this case, it’s a lifestyle to workout daily, not an option. That’s the reality. In addition to weight training, you have to do other things to exercise so that you are stimulating collagen production (which also aids in skin health and the ability to visibly reduce cellulite). If you get your body used to doing the exact same things with the muscles all the time, then the lack of versatility causes complacency within our muscles and connective tissue. Thus you must always be changing activities, mixing and matching, along with your weight training (which should be your core focus if you want to reduce cellulite).
Cardio and interval training help your body in the fat burning and high-calorie burning department, and they enhance weight training on whatever level you do any of this. Thus, what I have learned for myself is that running, sprinting, dancing, plyometrics (jumping and explosive and agility training), hiking, step mill, stairmaster, elliptical, and hanging out walking at events with my kiddos, have all been really effective. Effectively, all of the aforementioned activities coinciding with weight training have helped me to condition my genetic code in such a way that I don’t struggle as much with cellulite as the women in my family, and I’ve struggled even less with the war on cellulite as I have gotten older (I’m now 39).
On top of the collagen and the connective tissue activity stimulation, some other ways that women can avoid cellulite with cross training is through the ongoing stimulation of better circulation. The better the bloodflow, the better your skin and muscles. Also, working the explosive fast-twitch fibers of the muscles creates a more conditioned appearance and can also support your efforts to reduce cellulite’s gross appearance. In addition, with good diet, you can decrease the amount of subcutaneous water retention. When you retain water from poor diet (too many processed foods or too much sodium or dehydration) or you’re too inactive, your body will retain water and fill those open cellulite pockets between the connective tissue and the muscle.
hydration helps metabolize fat and shed cellulite
a butt with weight training and interval training
The exercise cross-training is key, but also diet has a very hearty role in the reduction of cellulite. Higher protein diets rich in leafy greens and raw foods tend to stimulate all the same things mentioned above: circulation, collagen, less water retention, better digestion (so as not to retain excessive toxins), overall glow of the skin and muscular nourishment. It’s as important to eat healthy as it is to exercise when it comes to reducing cellulite. As well, it’s as important to drink lots of water as it is to eat healthy and cross-train. Too little water causes dehydration, and dehydration causes water retention, which causes more dimples in cellulite.
Weight training combined with cardio, interval training (you can find articles on interval training right here at nitasworld.com!), plyometrics, running, sprinting, elliptical, step mill, stair masters, dancing, and whatever other effective high-fat-burning exercises are the foundation for cellulite reduction. Couple this activity regimen with high protein and leafy greens and lots of water (a gallon a day is rule of thumb) and you will reduce cellulite!
Remember you can’t get rid of cellulite, but you can condition your body to have less of it with this lifestyle. That’s why you rarely see cellulite on competitive physique athletes. Those who live the lifestyle look sculpted and toned year round.
I believe that my lifestyle has altered this for me and I continue to smoothen the areas of my skin that seem to be camping areas for cellulite. Though I will continue to be at war with cellulite because of my body’s inherent predisposition to cellulite by virtue of the natural direction of my connective tissue, I see that my active lifestyle continues to change and improve the appearance of my body, and I love living fit because of it! Additionally, I feel better, happier with my appearance, and more confident and energized.
Now one last thing I tell everyone, BE HAPPY. Joy can help reduce the amount of cortisol (the body’s toxic product of stress) we manufacture. Cortisol manages to make us hold toxins, stifle digestion, retain excess water, and overall, it leads us into an easier cellular breakdown (which causes aging AND cellulite- yuk!). So the final key to cellulite reduction, and quite possibly more important than cellulite reduction- SMILE! Be Well, Be You, BE PHENOMENAL! You are Worth the Work!
-Nita Lee Marquez
Nita Marquez America's Hottest Fit Mom™ TV Personality/Trainer/Author/Speaker
Meet Empowering Fit Mom & Photographer for hire, Michele Neal Celentano
AmericasHottestFitMoms.com is where I originally met Michele, and that’s where all us Fit Moms and aspiring Fit Moms come together to exchange ideas, fitness routines, fitness recipes, and of course, Mom support (because Moms need it!). As a Fit Mom & a friend, Michele has been an absolute joy to have in the group. She has been an incredible inspiration and brings to us the constant uplifting of her good spirits. Michele exudes radiance, strength and fun in all her interactions with the group, and we are very happy to have her there. I’ve been so impressed with her spirit that I just had to feature her here. So, get to know her yourself, and meet her at the group to learn more (www.AmericasHottestFitMoms.com). Everyone, meet Michele…
Lentil Bean Tacos
Lentils are great because they have no sodium, high protein, no fat, and moderate carbs (low-glycemic) with high fiber content. I like them because being a pescatarian [someone who eats only fish for protein- although I enjoy my egg whites and whey shakes, too] 
They are definitely a great protein source for vegans, and really, lentils are great for anyone who is trying to be healthier and stronger. I recommend them as part of a high protein diet, as well as part of a diet that requires more fiber.
“Simple, fast and healthy meals are my only alternative.”
The best part about them is that they require little to no work for preparation. “3-minutes or less in prep time” is my rule, because as a single mother to three children who are all busy with their own careers and school and training, I simply don’t have time for anything more than this, whether I’m cooking for them or for myself. Simple, fast and healthy meals are my only alternative.
As far as the taste of lentils, they can vary based on the spices used, of course. My personal preference is the Indian combined with Mexican spices. I am posting that style of lentils in this recipe today. They taste so good, even my children like them! And the texture is so smooth, that you can even mash them into a paste and spread them like hummus. They are absolutely delicious! See me son here to get his feedback on them! In the meantime, feel free to post comments and join my facebook page or join our group at AmericasHottestFitMoms.com to interact with the rest of the Fit Moms in the group and maybe talk about lentils and other fitness recipes and the fitness lifestyle. In the mean time, enjoy the lentils and BE PHENOMENAL!
Makes 2 servings:
1 cup lentils
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil
in desired amounts:
onion powder
garlic powder
curry powder
cumin powder
red pepper (cayenne, or dried red chili peppers- whichever you prefer)
himalayan salt (mild amounts for those who are sodium-sensitive)
and finally,
4 corn tortillas (i prefer yellow due to the rich flavor and also higher nutrient content)
Directions:
1. pour all ingredients, minus the corn tortillas, into a soup pan.
2. boil at medium heat (i usually boil it all for about 30 minutes).
3. turn off heat, stir, and cool until water is nearly dissolved.
4. as you wish, you may also add a little fresh squeezed lemon juice
5. spread onto your corn tortillas and munch away!
Nita’s Favorite Fit Mom QUICKIE Fitness Recipes
There are a lot of fitness recipes available online, but the problem I have with most of them is that they take too long! Fit Moms don’t have the time to spend an hour in the kitchen preparing meals. I certainly have never been one who could cook, who enjoyed cooking, much less was I someone who could make the time to prepare anything extravagant or luxurious in the kitchen. I personally have always been the type of mom who, fit mom or not, I have been on the go! Like a lot of fit moms, I get out of bed super early every morning because that’s my only real personal time, when I can read, eat alone, work out, or just meditate.
EVEN IF YOU’VE BEEN UP SINCE 4a.m., WHEN THE KIDS GO TO SCHOOL, YOU ARE JUST BEGINNING!
A lot of fit moms do this, and it’s been proven time and again for every mom, these quiet peaceful mornings give us a chance to rev up the engine for the day’s events. Once any mom finishes the morning mommie routine though, it’s on! The children get up and start getting ready for school, Fit Mom makes breakfast, packs lunches, preps for the work day, and takes the children to school! After the kids get to school, people think a mom may be able to rest. Nope. Every mother knows that when mom time goes down, work time goes up. It’s all about packing in as much work and daily tasks and responsibilities as possible in the 6-8 hours that the kids are gone. That means, work, mail, filling out papers and making appointments for family affairs (medical, dental, school, recreational activities, etc), attending appointments, working at the office, keeping meetings, work events, and then being done with everything in time to go pick up the children from school.
After school, there’s homework time, dinner time, chores, (and often times, arguing with the children to get them to do chores), more responsibilities & organization, and then bedtime for the little ones. Then you get started on prepping for the next day. It doesn’t end here either. A lot of times there are things we’ve forgone to do other things throughout the day, so when the kids are in bed, all moms know that it’s time to finish up daily tasks that didn’t get done, fill out the next day’s check list, and then finally, we can go to bed!
AFTER SCHOOL, THE DAY IS STILL IN HIGH GEAR! YOU CAN’T REST. A MOTHER’S WORK IS NEVER DONE. SO HOW DO YOU FIT COOKING IN?
It can be tempting to get fast food with this type of schedule. For even the fit mom is exhausted and doesn’t want to cook. So what can you do? In this busy life we lead these days, Fit Moms are not the only ones on the go. Everyone is looking for fast meal solutions that are also healthy.
There are answers to our wishes for convenient, fast and healthy eating! If you like lean fish, you’ll love these recipes. Two out of my three children love fish. My third usually just eats chicken off of the foreman grill when we have fish for dinner. I started doing these 3-minute or less prep time recipes to ensure that everyone in my home is satisfied and healthy. And since I don’t like cooking, and like a lot of parents, I don’t have the time, I have a motto for this: ”If it takes me more than 3 minutes to prepare it, I won’t make it.”
Here are the recipes via my youtube channel. I’ve done them in video format because, well, typing isn’t fun, and videos are easier to follow. So here ya go! Enjoy!
Pan Fried Tilapia (breaded but lean!)
Tilapia Tacos (here’s the “after” video)
All of these can be made with veggies or yams and taste delightful without adding junk into the mix… Enjoy & Empower all you Phenomenal Fit Moms!
Don’t forget to visit the group on facebook, and you can join us at AmericasHottestFitMoms.com
And of course, always remind yourself to BE PHENOMENAL! You are Worth the Work!
Nita Marquez- Author, Fit Mom, Fitness Model, Speaker
Single Moms, Working Moms, Fit Moms! Eating Healthy is Easy!
Ever since I started having children, I was increasingly more intrigued by the idea of being a Fit Mom. I would run in the mornings around the man-made lake near our tiny apartment in Arizona. When my husband and I first had our oldest of three, I was not the most fit person you would see. You couldn’t actually tell that I worked out ever. I was on the other side of chubby, but not quite in shape yet. Being fit, especially after having children, has certainly come at a price. Many things were sacrificed along my way toward becoming the Nita Marquez that people see today. I am often asked if I was always athletic, or if I was always thin. No to both. I was athletic at eating when I was growing up, and I was made fun of for my weight, even by my own parents. Weight, food and diet were always either very foreign to me, or extremely unfriendly. I didn’t synergize well with this fitness lifestyle at first, so I learned to take baby steps, and for the amount of sacrifices, there are A LOT of baby steps involved. Likening this journey to that of a baby growing up, I will say this, you do have to learn to walk before you can start doing sprints, and that almost always starts out with a crawl.
As a mother who was married at one time, I had the luxury of a second adult in the household to ease the stress at moments of overwhelm. I had someone there at night telling me they love me, just like I do my children. The affections and praises of another adult make all the difference in the world when it comes to replenishing our energy stores. There is something to be said about being a mother in a two-parent household, even if it’s not picture-perfect, which mine wasn’t, it’s still an ease on the daily tasks of motherhood when someone else can take the kids to the amusement park or do something outside the house with the children so a mother can have peace, quiet and solitude, and of course, have another grown up say, “You’re doing great,” to make you feel appreciated and valued. It also gave me time to start focusing more on myself and my fitness goals for myself and my family.
After I became a single mom, I went through the jolting reality of how much that other adult’s presence in my life meant. Being a fit mom by then, yes, I certainly had an advantage in being already settled into some of my fitness habits, and it certainly helped my self-esteem to be getting into better shape even though I was a single mother of three. Most people expect that a woman falls apart physically in such scenarios. Still, I was by myself with these three, one of whom, is diabetic, my little infant son (now 9). It was harder than before to keep moving along so energetically on a daily basis, even though I had already built a lot of those fitness habits.
There was a point though, where I was finally able to make the correct adjustments that have come to be my hallmark as a fit mom today, the adjustments of efficiently living fit as a mother. There are many efficiency points in living the life of a fit mom, but all moms, especially fit moms, understand the value of making choices that help us capitalize on our most precious asset (aside from our kids, of course): TIME.
Integrating my family time with my fitness time was a great option for me, and evaluation of my life choices, helped me see how I could make more time available for both. Taking inventory of our personal choices is key. If you want to have the life of a fit mom, it’s about choices. Not that we won’t make mistakes, but taking inventory on ourselves helps us realize the places where perhaps our choices aren’t paying off. Being a fit mom isn’t as hard as it seems. Choices can make life efficient, and there are plenty of choices that help in streamlining our efforts for living the fit life and being a mom. I made the following adjustments in my life, and adapted to not only being a single mom, but also a mom who was more fit than ever!
1) Avoid nights out at the bars and happy hours. Why? Because for one, alcohol makes you fat, whether people want to admit it to themselves or not, and two, that time spent would cost me more time in the gym and it was already taking time away, so it’s a double-whammy.
2) Take the kids to the track or the park instead of to the movies and McFastFood. Being active at these places helps make life the fit mom more fit, the kids get more fit, and when they see you doing sprints or even racing with them, they are not only with witnessing that their mom totally rocks, but they are gaining a totally different type of bond with us if they grow up with that image instead of the images of sitting around a TV eating junk food. How do we fit moms really want our kids to remember their childhood? Let them go to the gym with you, if you have that ability, or go for walks or bike rides. Fit mom time made family time creates a completely different bond with us to our children.
3) Cook foods and meals that are fast and easy AND fit! It’s possible. I started coming up with these quirky little quickie recipes because I never liked cooking in the first place. I was more of a salad and sandwich mom when I was married. However, I did have a Foreman Grill. With that thing, I can cook meats from the frozen state , and have a meal in less than ten minutes, with only a couple of minutes of prep time. I have begun posting some of those recipes that my children like and I benefit from the healthiness of because everything I make in my 3-minute-or-less prep time recipes is low-sodium, low-fat, low-carb, and high-protein. This is great because all of these recipes are already tasty and the taste can be even more enhanced with your favorite spices, sauces, yet still stimulate your metabolism (your body’s ability to burn fat).
You can find some of my 3-minute-or-less prep time recipes on my YouTube channel, fitnita.
One sacrifice you do NOT have to make in living the fitness lifestyle is family. There are a lot of Fit Moms out there who have learned to maintain their fitness lifestyles while still managing to keep the family first. Learn more about family-first fitness here at www.NitasWorld.com and we now have a group of moms who have come together to support each other. Find out about joining the group at the America’s Hottest Fit Moms site page.
Here are some links to my yummie (but slightly cheesy) Fit Mom 3-Minutes-or-Less prep time recipes:
Tilapia Tacos Part 1 (you could use chicken in this process as well!)
Lentils (My son Quinn is in this video too! Funny!)
There you have it America’s Hottest Fit Moms and friends, fitness lifestyle made easy. Don’t forget to comment on this blog so I know how helpful it is for you! I will always adhere to the readers interests, so keep me updated on what YOU want!
Be well. Be You. Be PHENOMENAL! You are Worth the Work!
-Nita Lee Marquez
Eating Raw, Getting Healthy Mind, Body & Soul- Meet America’s Hottest Fit Moms Friend Aaron Raglin
Aaron is a friend on our group America’s Hottest Fit Moms on Facebook. He has graciously supported our group with healthy, tasty raw food recipes that have made his life stronger, easier and better. He has an amazing attitude and you can find out more about him and his Raw Experiences by going to his YouTube channel and watching his shows titled “Ghetto Rawness.” Aaron has used Raw Eating to live a more powerful life, to go from fat to fit, and to live with energy beyond aesthetic fitness which he also gained through the raw lifestyle. Thank you for sharing your story Aaron, and to the readers, thank you for your Energy. Be Fit, Be You, Be PHENOMENAL. You are worth the work!
-Nita Marquez
This is how my journey started. I always exercised, but when I started truck driving I was 24-years-old and weighing 180 pounds. I quickly fell into the customs of other drivers. And ultimately gained weight at a rapid pace. By age 26 I put on 50 pounds I felt terrible.
I had a physical, and the doctor said I was gaining weight too fast and I had to lose some weight. So I made my mind up, I was going to get more fit and that was that.
I was a big YouTube head (still am). I wanted to see ways to lose weight without exercise because of my schedule at the time. I stumbled across a video documentary called “simply raw”. In the show, about 5 type 2 and 1 type 1 diabetics that were sent to Arizona to eat an all raw diet to reverse their disease.
At that time I didn’t know anything about eating raw. As I watched the show, I saw how it was working for people. And they were losing weight! That struck my curiosity that people can let their bodies heal and go back to its natural state just through eating.
After that I learned more about raw food through books, web, Tv, and word of mouth. I stopped making excuses, got my butt out my truck when I stopped, and worked out in the parking lot at truck stops and rest areas.
Now at 28 I’m down to the weight I started with, but I have more energy and wisdom than I ever had before. I’m now a advocate for not only raw food but just good eating and strong fitness.
Here are some foods I enjoy regularly to stay fit:
Life is a series of goals when I reach one I set another one. So never look at me as a finished product but a work in progress. – Aaron “Rawfood” Raglin
The Will Power for Fitness
I just don’t have the will power is a commonly heard phrase in fitness. Whether it’s a client, a fitness newbie, or someone who just explains why they refuse to even try getting fit.
Long ago, when we finished writing our book, FIT FOR COMBAT, my fitness co-author JD and I started cataloging what makes fitness, figure and bodybuilding competitors different from everyone else. Will power was at the top of the list. Will Power leads to self-discipline. When you want something badly enough, you will for it. In fitness, it’s no different. When you have the will for something, you CREATE the discipline to get what you want. If you want to be leaner, if you want to get into better shape, if you want to compete, or if you just want to be more active and feel more fit, will power is the doorway that leads you into manifestation of that goal.
It makes sense that self-discipline and will power would play a role in being able to stick to the diet and training program required to get into competition shape. We initially thought it would be the real difference between those who succeed in mastering their bodies and everyone else. As we studied what self-discipline really is, we realized that we had fallen into a common trap that social scientists call fundamental attribution error.
Every person has a reservoir of will power to draw on, like a will power battery, but the amount in that reservoir is not fixed at a set level. Research, by Professor Roy Baumeister at Florida State University, shows that our will power battery can be depleted by repeated acts of self control and decision making. Newer research by professors at the University of Chicago shows that our reservoir of will power is affected by whether we think there is a set amount of it or that it is unlimited.
The classic experiment by Baumeister, which has been replicated in hundreds of variations, asked student test subjects to eat radishes while being tempted with a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Baumeister then asked the students to solve an impossible puzzle. The students did not know the puzzle was impossible to solve.
The real purpose of the experiment was to see how long the students who had to overcome the temptation of the cookies would work at solving the puzzle when compared to students who sat down, ate some cookies and then worked on the puzzle and a control group who just worked on the puzzle with no cookies or radishes involved. The results show that the students who had to overcome the cookie temptation gave up on the puzzle quickly. Their battery of will power and resolve was depleted by fighting the temptation to eat the cookies. The students who had to overcome the cookie temptation, used up their reservoir of will power, their reservoir of resolve, and gave up on the puzzle in less than half the time of the other two groups and made far fewer attempts to solve the puzzle. Baumister calls this effect ego depletion. The experiment shows that when we use will power for one thing, overcoming the temptation of a cookie, it drains a little of that energy from the battery making it harder to exercise the will in totally unrelated things like trying to solve a puzzle.
Baumeister showed the energy depletion of decision making in an experiment where students, prior to working on the impossible puzzle, were either forced to make a decision about a task or were assigned a task. The students who had to make the decision gave up on the puzzle faster and made fewer attempts to solve than the students who just carried out an assignment.
So, in fitness, we note that a general 9-5 lifestyle tends to lead to the attitude that “I just don’t have time” or “By the time I get home at night, I don’t want to eat a chicken breast and salad. I just want a quick snack, a TV and a bed.”
In our fitness data research, JD and I found that most people have a lot of power. However, most people’s will power is just all used up with the demands of their jobs, running a household and raising two young girls. Every act of will power, every decision, drains the battery a little bit more, but the battery is not fixed, it is rechargeable and we can have more will power if we want it, just by thinking we have it.
The point being that, Yes, You Do have the Will Power! You are just in need of a budget of your will power! It’s about management of your energy resources, and not about your lack of energy. For fitness, you do have the energy, yet, you have been lacking knowledge. Gaining more fitness knowledge, working out to gain awareness of your body, and learning to listen to your body’s language in terms of what to feed it to stimulate energy is the only real way to go. You can stop blaming your will power for your fitness disasters or your state of health and wellness. The key I have found as a mother, is that fit moms have just learned how to start managing the will power better.
When JD and I first thought will power was the difference between the physique competitors and everyone else, we were making a fundamental attribution error, an error that is endemic among humans. Fundamental attribution error is when we use a psychological or personality based explanation for a behavior instead of the situational explanation. We were too focused on the personality trait of will power and thought that the competitors must have larger reservoirs of mental energy—a bigger battery. When we went back and studied Baumeister in depth, we found a better, situational, explanation for the seemingly large reservoirs of will power of the competitors.
Fitness, figure and bodybuilding competitors are cooler toters, especially when preparing for a contest. Their meals are planned and timed and they carry them around with them. They know what they are going to eat and when they are going to eat it. It is all scheduled and becomes a routine. When something becomes a routine it no longer involves a decision. When it is no longer a decision, it does not require any mental energy.
The physique competitors did not have a larger battery of will power than everyone else, they just used less will power by making many decisions about eating a routine. It was easier for them to stick to the diet because the decisions that take mental energy were removed. The situation, the eating plan to get into contest shape, makes them just appear to have more will power.
When we started looking at the lives of successful physique competitors they nearly all had a structured daily or weekly routine. The diet and training demands precision, the only way to be that precise is with a pre-determined structure. Once the structure and routine is set, there were fewer decisions to be made leaving more in battery to handle temptations as the cropped up.
Most fit moms have figured out the secret. Women tend to be better planners, but that’s not limited to women only, just happens to be a general statistic. What I see in fitness and in the general population of fitness enthusiasts is that fitness minded individuals plan what they’ll eat and make it a routine. With those decisions removed, people are then expending less will power and found that they had more energy. Most of these fitness people and fit moms have ready-made forms of protein around their house, in their car and at their office. JD and I found that common possessions among the successful fitness enthusiasts included powdered whey protein, shaker bottles, water gallons, tuna packs, and pre-cooked skinless/boneless chicken, among the most common possessions. Even if routine is disrupted, there is always an automatic back-up that did not require a decision, like an apple and a can of tuna or a ready to drink protein shake. And of course, every one of them owns some kind of fat-loss grill for their chicken and fish
Removing will-power draining decisions is one way women figure competitors maintain their diet, another is the actual nutritional content of the diet.
A lot of people never even try to get into their best shape because they think they don’t have the will power to do it. They make the fundamental attribution error and think the competitors have more will power than they do. As the research shows, if you don’t think you have very much will power, then you will not have much will power.
The only true act of will power was taking the time up front to set the schedule and routine. After repeating the routine it becomes automatic. Women figure competitors don’t have a larger reservoir of will power than everyone else, they just expend less of it by having a structured routine and fuel their brain with ketones from fat.
For More Fit Tips and Great Articles on how to stay in shape, go to the Fit Tips Blog at NitasWorld.com
Burn Fat Naturally Fit Moms!
Hollywood’s Anti-Aging Secret: The Natural Way to Fat Loss, Youth, and Fitness Longevity for Everyone
Two years ago Dr. Patricia Wexler let one of Hollywood’s fat loss and anti-aging secrets out of the bag–Growth Hormone. “Actresses use it to slim abdominal fat and increase muscle tone and libido,” Wexler said.
http://shine.yahoo.com/
Actresses with insider connections to discreet doctors may inject their way to a youthful, fit and sexy body, but you can boost your own growth hormone naturally without any side effects by exercising smarter, Fit Moms and friends!
Human Growth Hormone is naturally secreted by the pituitary gland to regenerate cells, strengthen bones and make the immune system stronger. Its biggest effect, the ones the movie stars are after, is fat burning, which leads to a lean, fit, sculpted and beautiful physique, of course. Growth Hormone turns your body into a fat burning machine. Most women produce less than 10 nano grams of GH per milliliter of blood. A nano gram is one-billionth of gram, which means a little GH goes a long way.
The natural way for all you Fit Moms and Friends to boost your natural GH levels, and get the same effects as the starlets, is to ditch the pink dumbells and treadmill for sprints and real weights. Yes, weight training can lead to fat loss, Fit Moms, without leading you to a “bulky” physique (which is a common misconception that Fit Moms and most of our female friends have yodeled for years!). Weight training is the key to fat loss, anti-aging, and even well-maintained weight loss! Fit Moms and Friends, read more to learn the key to unlocking that potential in your body through weight training and sprints!
The results of an experiment on the effects of sprinting on women published in Oxford University’s journal Acta Physiologica found “Women elicited a greater response of serum GH to sprint exercise” than men. They always say men are the stronger gender physically, but it seems that in this trend, nature is possibly trying to bring ladies into a balance in this sense. Even the body’s nature is to bring balance between the sexes! The swedish scientists who conducted the experiment concluded, “this may contribute to explaining the earlier observed muscle hypertrophy in women in response to sprint training.” If you want toned, shapely legs, Fit Moms and Friends, well, even the doctors and scientists are suggesting that you run sprints. If you don’t run, then look at our other fat burning articles on interval training, which will yield similar results.
Yes, this is Empowerment for Everyone- Mother nature has in some ways leveled the playing field. We Fit Moms can get stronger with this work as we continue to do it, without gaining the muscle that a man will. Women cannot get big, bulky muscles from natural GH, but they get larger percentage increase from GH boosting exercises than men and a few extra nanograms will deliver a flat stomache and tight butt fast.
The quickest way to boost GH is to run sprints (as I stated earlier, check the fat burning category of articles at http://nitasworld.com/blogs for further articles on interval training, which will deliver similar results). The research shows that they key to effective sprints are the intensity, the speed you run, not how many you do or how far you sprint. When I use the word “effective” I am relating the “effective” results of sprinting or interval training to how well this exercise style will burn fat, helping the body look and feel sculpted and lean and beautiful, which is what every woman is striving for when we do any workout. Am I right, Fit Moms? I mean, seriously, which one of us wouldn’t kill (or sprint) to have Selma Hayek’s killer calves, and that Fit Mama’s fit and sexy thighs?
Do you think that it’s inconvenient to do sprints? Well, it takes less time than cardio to burn the calories you can burn in just a few minutes of sprinting, so time is not an issue, Fit Moms. And all you skeptic friends and fit moms are sure to realize that location is easier with sprints than going to the corner store. You already take your kids to half the places you can sprint, fit moms, and all the pet owners take their “kids” (pets) to the other places. None of this is rocket science. Not one of these places is an inconvenience Fit Moms and Friends, because you already go there!
Fat burning Sprints can be done anywhere: An empty parking lot, a low-traffic residential street, the play ground on the weekends at our kid’s school, the park while the kids play, or the sports field or running track at your teenager’s high school at night or on weekends. If you haven’t sprinted recently, don’t jump in head first running as hard as you can the first day, start by doing strides at a pace faster than a jog for four repetitions of 50 to 100 yards. Gradually increase the speed you sprint until you can do four of them all at all out racing speed. When you can do four at full speed, add an extra sprint every week. To make sure your intensity stays high, use a stop watch to time your sprint workout and push yourself to get them done in less time.
By running sprints three times a week and adding some negatives to your weight training, you can boost your natural Growth Hormone levels, burn more body-fat than you do with cardio, and save more time while you preserve your joints and bones, since sprinting is better for your bones and joints than jogging.
Here is a clip of my business partner and co-author JD Johannes running sprints:
http://www.youtube.com/
As good as sprints are, the scientific research shows the super GH booster is lifting heavy weights.
An experiment conducted at the University of Virginia found, “For each incremental increase in exercise intensity, the fractional stimulation of GH secretion is greater in women than in men.”
That means the heavier weights you lift, the more GH your body produces. The biggest boost in natural GH came when women used weights that were heavier than they could actually lift. When you use a weight that is heavier than you can lift up with good form, but that you can control on the way down, your GH levels skyrocket. These types of lifts are called negatives and
an experiement published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that heavy negatives boost natural GH more than anything else. Pull ups, curls, squats, lunges and other types of weight training are really effective for this type of effect, and all these exercises will help you get a sculpted, toned, beautiful physique.
Weight lifting makes us fit moms feel more Powerful!
beginners start here, but you can work your way up to military style, which is the goal
fit moms can get sculpted, fight cellulite and look more beautiful with squats! www.nitasworld.com
And Dr. Patricia Wexler does not approve:
“Human Growth Hormone is unsafe. I know dermatologists and actresses who use it to slim abdominal fat and increase muscle tone and libido. But it can accelerate also a hidden cancer to grow. It can cause funny bone spurs to grow and enlargement of the heart … just to name a few of the many reasons why I consider it unsafe.”
Women get more out of sprints than men. More GH, etc. “Women elicited a greater response of serum GH and insulin to sprint exercise. This may contribute to explaining the earlier observed muscle hypertrophy in women in response to sprint training.”
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
“The findings suggest that the acute metabolic and GH responses in the 90/70% condition were more favourable compared with the 70/70% condition, and a significant correlation between the optimal ECC load and 1RM per BM-ratio was observed.”
Heavy eccentric load produces best hormonal response…heavy negatives
University of Virginia, Journal of Applied Physiology
“For each incremental increase in exercise intensity, the fractional stimulation of GH secretion is greater in women than in men.”