Choose Your Hard

Full Body Weighted Bar Workout

This is a great workout to address every body part and use minimal equipment.  If you don't have a bar, use dumbbells.    Enjoy

12 Walking Lunges (R and L = 1 count)
12 Push Presses
12 Bicep Curls
12 Straight Leg Dead Lifts
12 Bent Over Rows
12 Single Leg Dead Lifts (Do 12 on both legs)
12 Over Head Tricep Extensions or Skull Crushers
12 Front Squats
12 Chest Presses
12 Hip Lifts

REPEAT AND SEE HOW MANY TIMES YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS SEQUENCE IN AN HOUR

Every Step

You Might Be Surprised How Much Sugar Is In Your Healthy Choices

I loved this article and it is a great reminder to read your labels when making food choices.  Enjoy

9 Surprising Foods With More Sugar Than a Krispy Kreme Doughnut

A new report finds that some supposedly healthy foods are actually laden with sugar.

—By Dana Liebelson

| Fri Sep. 13, 2013 8:41 AM PDT

        

·         It's Friday! After a long week of work, you're probably ready to curl up on the couch with a big box of doughnuts. But having read Gary Taubes' expose in Mother Jones on the sugar industry's terrifying campaign to convince the American public that sugar won't kill you, maybe you'll reach for a "healthier" option instead—like a green Odwalla "Super Food" smoothie.

Not so fast. According to a new report by Credit Suisse, you might be better off eating a doughnut than some of the stuff marketed as healthy. Here are nine surprising foods that have more sugar than a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which, at 10 grams, seems saintly in comparison:

1. LUNA BAR: 11 GRAMS

2. GRANDE STARBUCKS LATTE: 17 GRAMS

3. SUBWAY 6" SWEET ONION TERIYAKI CHICKEN SANDWICH: 17 GRAMS

4. 8 OZ TROPICANA 100% ORANGE JUICE: 22 GRAMS

 

5. YOPLAIT ORIGINAL YOGURT: 27 GRAMS

6. 20 OZ VITAMIN WATER: 33 GRAMS

7. SPRINKLES RED VELVET CUPCAKE: 45 GRAMS

8. CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN THAI CHICKEN SALAD: 45 GRAMS

9. ODWALLA SUPER FOOD SMOOTHIE (12 OZ): 50 GRAMS

Dana Liebelson is a reporter in Mother Jones' Washington bureau. Her work has also appeared inThe Week, TIME's Battleland, Truthout, OtherWords and Yahoo! News. 

Pumpkin Season Is Here

It’s that time of year again! We grew up with pumpkins as Halloween icons, and of course, pumpkin pie. But this autumnal squash, the symbol of the harvest, has so much more to offer our bodies.

Pumpkin's resplendent bright orange color -- on the edible inside, as well as its skin -- lets you know it’s very high in beta-carotene (vitamin A). Beta-carotene supports healthy vision and skin, among other benefits. In fact, a serving of pumpkin can provide approximately 240-250% RDA of vitamin A.

No tricks with pumpkin, but a bevy of treats that help your body function optimally: vitamins C and E; carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin; B vitamins niacin, pyridoxine, folate, thiamin and pantothenic acid; and minerals copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. Pumpkins are low in calories, but high in good fiber, and they offer a healthy dose of good carbs.

But wait… there’s certainly more, as far as treats go. Those seeds are useful for more than just kids' craft projects. They’re delicious in a wide variety of ways, and also very nutritious, especially for men. They are concentrated sources of protein and provide very high amounts of iron, niacin, zinc and selenium. The latter two have been shown in research to nourish and support a healthy prostate. Oh, and eating pumpkin seeds can make you feel good… they’re a great source of tryptophan, the precursor to GABA, a "happy" neurochemical.

Thanks LiveSeWell.com 

Build A Better Backside

Here a just a few exercises to help shape your Gluteal muscles.

Starting Position:  Plank Position with all muscles engaged

Alternate Leg Lifts holding body in a firm plank position

Starting Position: Curtsie squat with hips square

Lunge same leg outside, keep weight on inside leg and hips reaching back

Starting Position:  Heels together, hips elevated and open, elbow plank position

Engage glutes and raise legs upwards, core stays still and solid

Perform 3 sets each of these exercises with 12 reps slow followed by 12 reps fast.

Exercise motivation is different in men and women

 Just finding the will, desire and time to exercise can be hard.  It is scientifically proven that exercise can prolong our lives but many are obese.  We all know what we have to do to stay healthy and yet we just can’t make ourselves.  Motivation is the key to consistently exercising and ultimately improving our health.  Understanding that men and women are usually motivated in different ways may help us overcome some of the road blocks that keep us from working out. 

• Women are generally pushed to stay active so that they feel good about themselves.
• They want to have a better body image and exercise to fix a certain body part. 
• They are more in touch with their bodies and use the mind-body connection to find good health. 
• They exercise to maintain the energy they need to face the day-to-day demands. 
• They don’t mind exercising in groups or classes and love the camaraderie and friendships
• Tend to work their lower bodies to lean down
•  
• Men generally focus on strength training and muscle gain.
• They are motivated by measuring strength increases.   
• Love to compete whether it is with themselves and their weights or with others
• Tend to avoid group or choreography based classes
• Tend to work their upper bodies to bulk up

The lists above are just general gender tendencies and may not exactly fit into what personally motivates you.  The more we learn about what makes us tick the more success we will have. Try new things that will keep your workouts fresh.  Staying excited about the same thing over and over doesn't work.  Change up your workout routine every 4-6 weeks.  You have to mix things up.  Your body adapts to the same stimuli so you need to challenge your body in different ways. 

 Also an educated exerciser will be empowered and motivated to keep exercising.  Know that your physiology doesn't change from the waist up or the waist down.  Women need to work their upper body and definitely add strength training to their workout routines. Women don’t have to bulk up when using weights.  Men don’t avoid your lower body.  Be adventurous and try some group classes.  

Find what makes you tick and then grow from there.  Never stop finding reasons to exercise.  Your longevity depends on it.