5K training - running for beginners

5K training - running for beginners

Introducing Team BeachBody

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Shakeology

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The Beachbody Solution

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Dinner in 20: Easy, Healthy Dinner Recipes

Dinner in 20: Easy, Healthy Dinner Recipes

Running Routes - WalkJogRun

Running Routes - WalkJogRun

5 Things You Need To Do Right Now For Six-Pack Abs

Shannon Clark

Whether you're currently working on building lean muscle mass or you're aiming to lose body fat, along the way one of your priorities is likely to get six pack abs. Six pack abs tend to be the 'gold standard' for being classified as 'fit' for most people.

Unfortunately, getting six pack abs is something that tends to take a great deal of work, and unless you're using the right methods, it's going to be a long and uphill battle. Here are five things you can start doing right now to take a big step forward towards accomplishing these goals.

1. Watch your sodium intake

The first thing you can do immediately that will have a big impact on your abs is make sure your sodium intake is low. Sodium will quickly add water retention to the abdominal region, so if you have a high salt meal one night, expect to notice a difference the next night.

It won't take long at all for the effects to be known, but on the bright side, when you reduce your sodium intake, the same principle follows - you'll see results almost immediately. Because of this, reducing your sodium intake is a very effective way to look leaner almost overnight for when you have some type of special function coming up.

Reducing Your Sodium Intake Is A Very Effective Way
To Look Leaner Almost Overnight.

2. Add Instability To Your Workout Program

The second thing you should be doing is adding some element of instability to your workout program. Whenever you reduce how stable you are, you will cause the abdominal muscles to contract that much harder to maintain balance.

You can do this by moving your ab exercises to an exercise ball, performing some of the typical weight lifting exercises you do on an exercise ball (bicep curls or chest press for example), or doing some exercises while standing on top of a bosu ball which also helps to reduce stability.

Note that you shouldn't place all your primary weight lifting exercises on an exercise ball since you do want to be lifting as heavy as possible most of the time, but doing one or two per session can be beneficial.

3. Drop Your Cards

Third, consider dropping your carbohydrate intake. This will work in much the same was as reducing your sodium intake will, as when carbs are reduced it will cause the body to start losing water weight.

You have to watch when dramatically cutting carbs in the first few days because you will typically experience higher levels of fatigue in the workout sessions and may feel slightly 'fuzzy' in the mind as the body adapts to the lower carbohydrate level. Within a week or so you should feel better provided you are still getting sufficient protein and some dietary fat.

Be aware when using this technique that the weight you're losing is mostly water though, not pure body fat. Eventually it will be body fat, but right off the bat, you're mostly shedding water weight.

When Carbs Are Reduced It Will Cause The Body To Start Losing Water Weight.

4. Reduce Your Rest Periods to 30 Seconds

In terms of your weight lifting workout, one thing you can do that will help to boost the metabolic rate and help you shed fat faster is shortening up the rest periods. Keep in mind that you're not aiming to make the workout a circuit training program because that will severely limit the total amount of weight you're able to lift, but rather prevent yourself from taking lengthy breaks between lifts.

Keep it short and snappy, so you're maintaining intensity throughout the workout. Rest periods of about 30 seconds - possibly 45 seconds on the larger lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench, and rows are the goal here.

5. Take One Week Off Cardio

Finally, the last thing you should sometimes do, which is contrary to what you probably think you should be doing, is taking one week off cardio training.

If you're someone who has really upped their cardio training and is doing four or more hours a week, the body may actually be retaining water from all this training. In many situations, once that cardio training is dropped the muscles actually begin looking leaner, despite the lower total daily calorie expenditure.

Another thing that could be going on with this is that since you are creating such a large deficit between all the cardio plus the diet, your body could be really running slowly, with a metabolic rate that won't do much for fat loss. By stopping the cardio, you reduce the deficit and the metabolic rate speeds up again, which then sparks weight loss to take place. This will not always work to make you look leaner, but if you feel like you never get away from the cardio machines, it may be worth a try.

For ab exercises, see the link below:

Get Six Pack Abs Here

Click here to download and print the workout!

10 Healthy Snacks for Couch Time

10 Healthy Snacks for Couch Time
By Joe Wilkes

Fall is upon us, which means that the new TV season has begun, baseball is heading into the postseason, and football is starting up. The weather's getting cooler, and the couch will soon call for you to lie down on it with a warm blanket. Now, keep in mind we're not encouraging any couch potato behavior. We'd prefer you pop in a P90X video and use the couch as a towel rack. But we're all human, and it's almost impossible to resist the siren song of a playoff game or the return of Glee or Dancing with the Stars. Just because you're taking a couple of hours off to flatten both your gluteal muscles and your sofa cushions doesn't mean you have to stuff yourself with chips, cookies, or other bagged diet-killers. Here are 10 tasty and healthy snacks that are great for TV downtime.

Popcorn, Edamame, and Pistachios

1. Popcorn. It's not just for the movie theater anymore. In fact, you're better off skipping it at the movie theater, because a bucket of oil-popped movie theater popcorn can contain as much fat as three to five double cheeseburgers. But air-popped popcorn is a pretty benign treat. Three cups of popcorn have just 93 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. Air-popped popcorn doesn't have much nutritive value outside of the energy you may get from the calories and some dietary fiber, but it can satisfy your munchies without getting you too far off the diet path. The best popcorn comes from your own hot-air popper—and with no additional fat or salt, unless you add it later. If you're going for microwave convenience, make sure you read the label carefully. Even some of the "healthy" brands contain a fair amount of fat and salt. And many microwave brands contain perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been linked to cancer. You might be better off making your own microwave popcorn. Just put 1/4 cup of popcorn into a brown lunch bag, fold the top over tightly, and microwave at your usual popcorn setting. Try to avoid salt and butter. Instead, enjoy your favorite herbs or a squeeze of lemon juice with some garlic powder or cayenne pepper.

2. Bean dip. Beans are a great source of protein and fiber, and they don't have tons of calories. One cup of canned pintos only has 206 calories; it also has 12 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber—almost half of your recommended daily allowance. And beans are incredibly filling. Even prepackaged bean dips are pretty decent (of course, always check the label for the fat and sodium contents). You can make your own dips, hot or cold, by food-processing canned black or pinto beans (my favorites are the ones canned with jalapeños) and adding water to create your desired consistency. You can also use fat-free refried beans. You could add some chopped bell or jalapeño peppers, green onions, or canned corn to add a crunchy texture, or some chopped tomatoes for a little extra flavor and vitamins. Instead of fatty fried tortilla chips, use baked chips or, better yet some crunchy raw veggies like carrots, celery, sliced bell peppers, broccoli, or cauliflower.

3. Salsa and ChipsSalsa. This is the perfect mix of tomatoes, onions, and peppers—all members of the top tier of Michi's Ladder. And the great thing is that salsa is so low in calories and so high in fiber, you can basically eat it by the cupful and not gain weight. If you buy it at the store though, watch out for the salt content—that's the secret ingredient in most canned and jarred salsas. You're much better off making your own pico de gallo: Just dice tomatoes and onions and mix with as much minced jalapeño and/or garlic as you can stand. Add fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste and toss the veggies in the juice of two limes. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. You can eat it with baked chips or the crunchy veggies that also go great with the bean dip. The salsa and the bean dip also complement each other well, for the double dippers among us.

4. Crispbread crackers. These crunchy treats (including Wasa® and Rykrisp® brands) have around 30 calories a cracker (depending on the brand, flavor, and style) and a couple of grams of fiber in each one. For the Top Chef in you, they make great bases for some healthy ingredients from your refrigerator. Try a dollop of fat-free cottage cheese with a dash of hot sauce; a slice of turkey breast and roasted red pepper; a "schmear" of hummus and a couple of pitted olives; or a slice of tomato and a fresh basil leaf with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Even the pico de gallo recipe above with some shredded nonfat cheddar will make a tasty cracker-topping treat. By being creative with some wholesome ingredients, you'll forget all about the halcyon days of eating Ritz® crackers washed down with aerosol cheese right from the can (sigh).

5. Pistachios. Pistachios are a great heart-healthy snack full of antioxidants, fiber, and unsaturated fats (the good kind). A 1/2-cup serving (with the shells, assuming you don't eat them) only has 170 calories, with 6 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber; however, that serving also has 14 grams of fat, so don't go nuts chowing down on a whole bag. Walnuts, peanuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, and other nuts all have their nutritional upsides, too, but the reason I think pistachios make great snacks is the shells. The shells are difficult to open, so rather than shoveling handfuls of pre-shelled nuts down your throat, eat in-the-shell pistachios so you're forced to slow down. Keep an eye on the sodium content when you buy the nuts. Either buy unsalted or low-salt versions. And forget those disgusting pink ones that taste like lipstick. Who needs to leave hot-pink fingerprints all over the couch? A lot of stores also sell flavored versions that aren't too salty—chili-lime is one of my favorites.

6. Edamame. The Japanese have one of the healthiest diets in the world, and soybeans are a great staple of that diet. Edamame—steamed or boiled soybean pods—contain all the essential amino acids, many essential fatty acids, and soy isoflavones. And a half-cup of beans only has 100 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 9 grams of carbs, with 8 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. Truly one of nature's perfect foods. And like pistachios, you can serve them in their shells, which slows down your face-stuffing process, giving you time to feel full before you've overeaten.

7. Mini-pizzas. Forget the frozen food section. Anyone with a toaster oven or a broiler pan can be his or her own Mama Celeste or Chef Boyardee®. Just take half of a whole wheat English muffin (67 calories; 2 grams of fiber), add a little low-sodium tomato-based spaghetti or pizza sauce and a sprinkle of shredded low-fat or nonfat mozzarella cheese, and voilà—tasty and healthy pizza! As with the crispbread crackers, your imagination's the only limit for toppings. Fresh herbs like basil and oregano are delicious. Peppers, mushrooms, and low-sodium anchovies are popular and fairly healthy. Just stay away from processed meats like pepperoni, which are often loaded with saturated fat, carcinogenic nitrates, and sodium.

8. Pita Chips, Hummus, and LemonPita chips and hummus. Now you can open a Greek taverna in your living room. While some stores sell premade pita chips, you can easily make your own with very little fuss and muss (and usually with much less fat and salt). A large whole wheat pita has 170 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and less than 2 grams of fat. To make chips, cut around the edge of the pita with a small paring knife, so you have two discs. Then with a knife or pizza cutter, cut the discs into eighths or smaller chip-size pieces. Arrange the pieces on an aluminum-foil-covered cookie sheet, lightly spray with some olive oil cooking spray, and sprinkle with a little salt, low-fat Parmesan cheese, or your favorite dried herbs. Cook in oven or toaster oven until lightly browned and crispy, then serve with your favorite hummus or dip recipe.

9. Relish tray. Some of my favorite snacks are pickled or brined anything—cucumbers, cauliflower, peppers, artichoke hearts, carrots, okra, baby corn, cornichons, cocktail onions, olives, sauerkraut, kimchi . . . even herring and hard-boiled eggs! Extremely low in calories, a plate full of pickled veggies on the coffee table is great for snacking. But watch out for the sodium! Certain store brands have more than others. The more ambitious might try marinating their fresh veggies in vinegar and a little heart-healthy olive oil to control the amount of salt involved. If you use salty brands, you might consider rinsing them to get rid of some of the salt, or mixing them on a plate with some fresh, unpickled vegetables to mitigate your salt intake.

10. Deviled eggs. Eggs, once considered a scourge of the heart-healthy diet, are now getting a better rap. What's indisputable is the health value of the whites. If you take the yolks out of the equation, the egg whites prove to be small, healthy, high-protein delivery systems suitable for all kinds of nutritious creamy fillings. Cut a bunch of hard-boiled eggs in half, lengthwise, and scoop out and discard the yolks. (See the Yolkless Deviled Eggs recipe elsewhere in this newsletter!) Try mixing some nonfat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or nonfat cream cheese with your favorite flavorings and spices, then blending or food-processing until creamy. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the egg whites where the yolks used to be, and you'll have a high-protein snack without all the fat and cholesterol. You can also use the empty egg whites as scoops for your favorite healthy dip or salsa.

Of course, you can enjoy even more snack food if you can work some exercise into your TV watching. During playoff season, don't just save the stretching for the seventh inning. Try some exercises like P90X X Stretch throughout the game. Or if you're settling in for a night in front of the tube, make a deal with yourself—you can veg out and watch The Office and 30 Rock if you turn off Jay Leno. If you watch a show like Hawaii Five-O that motivates you to kick some butt, schedule some INSANITY time immediately after the show while your adrenaline's still pumping. Or if, like me, you've become enslaved to your DVR or TiVo®, use it to your advantage and do a cooldown stretch to your favorite show as a reward for a well-done workout.

Facebook | Videos of Cindy Whitmarsh: Flat Abs + Toned Glutes Exercise with Medicine Ball: ExerciseTV [HD]

Facebook | Videos of Cindy Whitmarsh: Flat Abs + Toned Glutes Exercise with Medicine Ball: ExerciseTV [HD]