A Clean Day of food

Myself and a few others are on a mission, to eat the "cleanest" we can for 100 days. Hopefully you have decided to do this along with me or with a friend or even your whole family, they could probably use it too! Today is day 4 and being the weekend, (toughest time) I have to have my plan in place. There is always something happening that we might have to be prepared for. Tonight I'll be going out, but I will eat something (protein) before I go, limit my alcohol to 1-4oz. drink and be mindful of my goal when I get there, so I don't just pig out on everything I see. I'll take a small portion of good foods and not go back for seconds. Here are a few things I eat on a regular basis that are super quick to make, packed with nutrition and yummy. Let me know what you think! If you have a quick, nutritious meal you'd like to share, bring it on :)

For Breakfast- under 5 mins
Protein Smoothie
-1 1/2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder (EAS at Costco)
-6 oz water
-handful of frozen berries
-large tablsp greek yogurt
-cinnamon
- 1/3 equal packet (stevia is better for you)
*be careful w/ smoothies, all ingrediants can add up. think 15-20 grams of protein per meal and about 2-400 calories

Lunch -under 5 mins
Lettuce Wraps (photo)
2-3Romaine Leafs
3-4 oz. sliced turkey breast
1 oz slice of white cheese in thirds
1/2 cup taboule (Yorgo's at Shoprite real ingrediants)
2 tablsp hummus (Yorgo's at Shoprite real ingrediants)

This meal above, although simple, is delicious, crunchy and packed with nutrition.

Dinner- 10 min. prep
Chicken Marsala
3tbsp whole wheat flour
3 tbsp white flour
1/4 tsp white pepper
1-1/2 lbs chicken cutlets
3 c. mushrooms
2 tbsp sliced shallots
1/2 c. marsala wine
1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaf

Combine flours & pepper. Dredge chicken, set aside.
Coat large non-stick pan with cooking spray, heat on med. Add chicken and saute until light brown, 2-3 mins per side. Remove and keep warm on plate.
Add mushrooms and shallots to pan, stir for 1 -2 mins. Add wine, reduce to glaze, scrape loose bits from pan. Reduce heat, add broth parsley, thyme. Stir, until broth reduces by half.. Return chicken to pan ans simmer 5 mins.

4 servings (pay attention here to portions)
224 cal, 2 g fat, 20 g carb, 400 sodium, 1 g fiber, 27 protein

*Bake a sweet potato for a side or just have steamed veggies

Love & Health,
Kyle

100 Days from now...

100 Days from now it'll be July 1st! Can you believe it? After going to the shore this past weekend and feeling that delicious sun and enjoying the sound of the ocean, I started to feel.. just for a second.. that this was the start of the summer season. I actually started to panic a bit, Yes, I panic too, the thought of baring your legs or even your toes can be a bit daunting, let alone having to put on a sleeveless blouse or a bathing suit. But then I realized we all have 100 DAYS!!! One Hundred Days to accomplish some great results with our bodies.

So if you started today..Picture your body after working out and eating right after ONE HUNDRED DAYS! WOW..What do you see? A flatter tummy, a stronger body,a rounder tush, better arms, thinner thighs, better flexibility? You CAN achieve any or ALL of these goals by July 1st. It's time to make a decision on what you would like to accomplish with your body and how your going to get there. You have plenty of time to make changes, but you MUST START NOW and have a plan. Here are a few ways to get started:

1) Hire a trainer, with a friend or two! (plug here:) from $35-$45, you'll be held accountable, stay consistent, challenged and taught how to put the "bang for your buck" exercises to work for you and not waste a precious minute!
2) Spring clean that junk food OUT of your house!
3) Start strength training! 3x per week, MUSCLE IS your metabolism..(your fat burning power)
4) Do intervals, fast walk, run, bike, swim, spin, find something you like and DO IT!
5) Get some good recipes to follow and pack the fridge with all the good stuff every week!
6) Have healthy snacks (fruit,nuts,veggies) handy in your car and handbag so your never without food.
7) Get a friend, make a pact, and do your workouts together, more fun that way.
8) Start drinking more water, your energy, skin, health will improve greatly
9) Cut out the sugar and replace with fruit.
10) Greatly reduce your breads, crackers, cakes cookies and candy for 100 days..(toughest one for me)

I have 2 openings for training..Your results can happen in 100 days...
*Check out below what we do in our semi-private training sessions

I'd love to hear what YOU want to accomplish and how you plan on getting there!

Happy Training,
Kyle

Dumbell Swings SB Pushup w/ pike

Holiday Strategies & Bodyweight Workout

Holiday Strategies (always try and get a good quick workout in early on these special days)

Parties-
1) Eat regularly throughout the day and eat a good protein BEFORE you go. Don't go there hungry.
2) Don't "save" your appetite by thinking you'll just eat all you can later. You'll over eat for sure
3) Walk in, greet people, have some water First.
4) Check out buffet, take a few samples, and be done.
5) If you don't really like it, don't finish it
6) Limit alcohol to 1-2 cocktails, aka LOTS of useless calories (you'll feel so much better the next morning :)

Dinners
1) Again, eat regularly throughout the day!
2) Eat some protein before you go. I know your thinking why would i spoil my meal, truth is, you won't. You'll have smaller servings of everything you like, without being a glutton.
3) If your out to dinner, split your favorite dish with someone or eat half and take the rest home
4) If you don't love it, DON'T finish it. (except your veggies of course :)
5) If your going to someones home, offer to bring a dish, and make it a tasty nutritious one.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are 2 days out of the year. Don't make it an eating frenzy for the next 6 weeks, thinking you'll start January 1st, you'll only feel guilty and probably heavier than when you started.

Here's a quick workout you can do at home with NO equipment!

20 Bodyweight Squats
10 Pushups
10 Single leg bridges or 20-2 leg bridges
20 T's
20 Mountain climbers
20 Jumping Jacks

Happy Training & Happy Thanksgiving :)

A Flat Tummy and Mushroom Soup

Kind of a funny combo, but I constantly get asked about losing "tummy fat" or sometimes referred to as the "pooch"...Basically, to reduce the size of your tummy, you need to have a stricter eating program if your not genetically blessed. A good looking stomach has nothing to do with how many sit-ups or crunches you do or can do, it's really "All about the food". (check blog below) Latest research has shown that spinal flexion (low back bending forward) is not healthy for the spine and doesn't develop the muscles needed to support your low back and give you torso strength.

So here are two videos to get you a stronger core. which is much more important than just training your ab muscles.




When the weather turns cool again, you'll be glad to have this healthy soup recipe and you'll want to be sure to make a double batch... cause it's delicious :) This is from a great book by Cassandra Forsythe called Perfect Body Diet.
Now honestly, this is pretty much a fail-proof recipe. I've never measured accurately for this, simply because I'm always substituting and improvising one thing for another. I'll explain as I go.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

1 cup milk (any kind, recipe calls for half/half...you don't need it )
1 cup water
1/2 teasp. salt
1 large Yukon gold potato peeled and sliced thin (i used whatever kind i had)
1 tablsp. butter
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds assorted mushrooms chopped
3 cups fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth (i used whatever i had)

1) In large sauce pan, combine milk, water salt and potato. Bring to boil.
2)Reduce heat to medium, cook for 18 minutes until potato slices are tender.
3)In large pan or stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook,
stirring frequently, about 3-5 minutes. Add broth. Bring to boil.
4)Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 6 minutes.
5) Add potato mixture to mushroom mixture. In food processor or blender, puree the soup in batches.

Garnish with fresh thyme

Serves 6
Per 1 1/4 serving
159 calories (less because she used half and half
6 g protein
18 carbs
3 g fiber
7 g fat
4 g sat. fat

Let me know how you like the exercises and/or recipe. Leave a comment below!

Enjoy,
Kyle

Time to Roll

It's been a while since I've written, and well... here's the truth.

Come summer, work slows a bit, I spend lots of time at the beach, play some tennis, bbq's, parties..your getting the idea, it's my playtime... I also tend to relax a bit too much on my eating habits for quite a few weeks as well (yes, i'm totally human) My regular training routine also goes a bit un-regular as summer rolls in, as it is definitely, my favorite time of year...

The good news is that I've enjoyed my summer immensely! The bad news is,
I'm a few pounds heavier and my body and joints seem much more stiff and tighter than
usual. (hmm, could it be that since I turned 50 it's all in my head??? naaahhh, it's real,
i'm gettin older :)

So, as I ease back into my workout program, I'm going to be foam rolling
A LOT.
Foam rolling is a type of self massage on a cylinder shaped piece of foam. My clients and myself foam roll on a regular basis and always before every workout. This helps get the "kinks out" and release tight muscles. It doesn't always feel good initially, that just means you need it more, it'll lessen the more you do it. It's amazing what it can do for the body. Foam rolling has helped my hips, low back and overall mobility of my body enormously. By releasing trigger points, and then stretching and strengthening, it is hands down the best tool under $30 you can buy for your body. I highly recommend you give it a try! Get the 36'' inch roller!

My video will follow soon!

Here's a direct link: It comes with a CD & the site has easy printout of instruction.


Happy Rolling :)

Fit in Six Minutes

I love how every once in awhile, just when you need it, you get a confirmation your doing something right...especially when it's written in the NY Times. So after receiving this article from a lovely friend, it just about says it all in regards to the time you really need to exercise. I've always tried to teach as I train, that after a foundation of proper form in strength training is built, you can up the intensity, and lessen the time it takes for the workouts....
Read on how to: Get Fit in Six
;)

What's an Interval?

So in my last blog I mentioned Interval Training to burn fat. Even though many of you know what it is, there are some people who still do not have a clue how to save time, get a great workout and still burn some fat . So here's a simple explanation..A work period and then a rest period. Now, depending on your fitness level, a quick walk for a minute and a slower walk for a minute or two, would be one interval. For a more advanced person, a 100meter sprint and a walk or jog back, would be an interval. There are many variations you could use, exercise bike, kettlebells, body weight exercises etc. It all depends on your knowledge and fitness level. It can get a bit more complicated but the idea is to work up to a pretty good heart pumping pace, hold it for anywhere from 15-60 seconds and then see if your heart rate can come back to a semi-resting state in under a minute or two. The work to rest ratio can change as you progress, and should, so your not always repeating the same exact thing for too long. Once the body adapts, it's time for change.

My interval program might look something like this:
Winter- warm up on treadmill for 3-5 mins
Incline 8-14%, sprint for 20-30 seconds
Rest for 1-2 mins
Repeat 6-8 times.
That's around 20 minutes for a total fat blasting workout
Summer (Outside on a track)
Warm up using some dynamic warm up drills
then sprint for 75-100meters, walk/jog back
Repeat 6-10 times.
Done.
Again, done in under 25 minutes.

Now, the idea behind intervals is that you burn more calories throughout the day, build both energy systems and raise your metabolic rate. Whereas steady state cardio, burns a certain number of calories while your doing it, but when your done, your done burning any more calories. Intervals might burn less for the time spent doing them, but the metabolic disturbance lasts much longer and helps raise the metabolism. Intervals are certainly not something you would do everyday, but 2-3x per week in between your strength training days, would be ideal. It's always good to start slowly and safely, considering your fitness level. I would not recommend someone to sprint, who is a beginner or is not fit enough to run. As Mike Boyle puts it, "You don't run to get fit, you get fit to run". Train smart, train safe.