Keep Your Hands to Yourself

The best way to exercise on a cardio machine is to move in the same way you would if you were off the machine and in the park. So when I’m at the gym and see someone leaning over with their body weight over the handles of an elliptical or a treadmill, I want to run over and give their hands a smack. Don’t worry, I will control this impulse (if I can do it on the L train, I can do it anywhere), plus, I think it would get my gym membership revoked.

Hey girl, didn’t your mother tell you to stand up straight?

While gently holding on is a good idea for first timers who need help with balance, bending over and holding up your weight with your arms is a big no-no. I see this all the time because working out this way makes the exercise easier. But it also decreases the intensity of the exercise, which lessens your calorie burn. Further, you are robbing your body of the chance to develop functional core strength, which comes with improved posture. You are also putting yourself at greater risk of injury. Exercise should mimic the way we move in real life. So hey–if you want to move with the assistance of a waIker one day, then keep holding on. Otherwise, get the most out of your cardio and go hands free. If you can’t handle the Stairmaster without utilizing a death grip, slow down or decrease the resistance.

If you belong to a gym, then by now you have seen the TRX straps hanging around. You may also notice that the TRX station is almost always being utilized by the trainers and their clients. Simply put, the TRX suspension straps are one of the most effective and functional fitness tools to be developed in years. It allows the entire body to be trained without having to move from machine to machine. The TRX uses gravity and your body weight as resistance. Since you must control movement from an unstable position, you are building your core, flexibility, balance and, of course, strengthening the muscles you are focusing on.

Below are my top three, easy to master, TRX moves. However, if you are curious about the TRX and plan on adding it to your routine, I highly suggest you get at least one personal training session to really perfect the form. While the TRX is extremely safe, you should make sure you are doing it correctly to avoid injury.

The Squat and Wide Grip Row

What it works: Legs, Upper back, biceps and shoulders

Stand at angle to the anchor point, with your arms straight and your palms facing down. Your weight should be on your heels. In this picture, my legs are far apart, making it easier. Position your feet closer together if you are more advanced. Lower your butt towards your calves, then push through the heels while you row your arms back . Your elbows should be away from your body. Give your shoulder blades a light squeeze at the top of the motion.

The Single Leg Balance Lunge

What it works: Core stability and legs

Start by gripping the handles in a neutral grip (palms faced in). Before you try balancing, just perform a regular reverse lunge while holding onto the straps. Practice keeping your body centered and your knee over your ankle. If you are brand new to exercise and don’t have lower body strength, then this is where you should stay for the time being. Otherwise, perform a reverse lunge, but don’t allow your back foot to make contact with the floor.

Suspended Chest Press

What it works: Shoulders, chest, triceps and core

Get in a standing push up position with your hands holding onto the straps at chest height. Beginners should have their feet close to where the hands are holding on to the handles, while more advanced people can walk their feet back. As if you were doing a push up, lower your chest towards your hands. Press back up to start. Make sure your core is engaged. If the straps are rubbing against your arms, you can position your hands a bit higher.

For each exercise, perform anywhere from 10-20 reps, depending on your fitness level. Once you master these basic moves, I suggest moving through them quickly to get your heart rate up. Why not burn a few calories while you work on strength?

You can check out the entire TRX flow by going here: TRX Workout

As if we needed more options in the yogurt section of the supermarket, there have been a few new products added to the shelves. Yogurt is such a great snack for either pre or post workout. It has carbohydrates to fuel your body before you exercise and protein to build muscles afterward. Are these new products worthy of being added to the snack rotation? Here’s the rundown:

Siggi’s Yogurt

I really wanted to try this stuff after it came highly recommended by one of my clients. Siggi’s is Icelandic strained non-fat yogurt that you can find in organic markets, since the milk they use is hormone free. I’ve also seen it at Gristedes and Fairway. But at $2.50 for a five ounce container, I was hesitant to buy it. What if I loved the stuff? Then I’m stuck buying pricey yogurt for the rest of my life. Well unfortunately for my wallet (but fortunately for my taste buds!) this yogurt rocks. It’s super thick and creamy, has 110 calories and just 11 grams of sugar. It also packs 14 grams of protein so it is really filling. The good news is that it’s often on sale at Fairway. Also, the company sweetly sent me coupons after I raved about them on Twitter. Now if I can just build up the nerve to use them in an NYC supermarket. It’s intimidating to use coupons here. I don’t know why.

Chia Pod

Gross. Don’t get me wrong, I love chia seeds and chia pudding. I make it myself with almond milk (simple recipe below) and I’ve gotten it at Organic Avenue to the tune of $8.00 a jar. So I was excited to see that Chia pudding had hit the main stream and was making an appearance at the grocery store. Nowadays, everyone is touting chia seeds as a “super food” because they are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids and because of their high fiber content. I could (and probably will) write an entire blog about the wonderful chia seed. Alas, the Chia Pod is pretty vile. I like the texture, but the flavor is off-putting. I tried mango. Maybe if you try a different flavor, you will have a better experience. Anything’s possible. If you want to give it a try, it’s about $2.60 for a six ounce container and comes in a few flavors. A serving is 149 calories, 9 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein and 11 grams of sugar. Good luck with that.

Powerful Yogurt

The yogurt for men. The label has a bull on one side and a picture of a man’s abs on the other, so you know it’s serious and for DUDES ONLY. After studying the label, the main difference between this and any other yogurt is that there are 20 grams of protein instead of 17 grams in Greek yogurt, or 14 grams in the aforementioned Siggi’s. There are also 21 grams of sugar in this bad boy! To put that in perspective, there are only 11 grams of sugar in a serving of Entemann’s cookies (don’t ask me how I know this, I just do, OK??) Powerful Yogurt tastes similar to Dannons, so there is nothing special taste-wise. I guess all that sugar must be expensive, because it’s a dollar more than Fage Greek yogurt. If I were a man, I’d save my money and just eat the “girly” stuff.

If you’ve got any special grocery store snack finds, please let me know!

Chia Pudding

1/4 cup chia seeds

2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or water)

1 tsp vanilla extract.

1 tsp or to taste of maple syrup or any sweetener you like

Don’t listen to the interwebs when they tell you not to use a blender when making your chia pudding. You absolutely should blend this mixture in a blender (gently and just for a few seconds) and place mixture in a mason jar. Put in fridge. After about 10 minutes, give the jar a vigorous shake. Otherwise your chia seeds will clump. Still edible, but weird. Let it sit overnight for an awesome breakfast or snack. Add a small amount of granola or slivered almonds for texture.

As the summer winds down, you may be thinking of ways to cleanse yourself of all the vacation food, happy hours and spontaneous ice cream runs that you enjoyed this season. As a trainer, I am always asked about the merits of cleanse diets and detoxes for weight loss and health.

The BluePrint cleanse is hot right now, with it’s options of what type of detox you want.

Hmmm, do I want to Renovate or Excavate? Decisions, decisions.  

After 3 days of this, your wallet will weigh about $200 less

Unbelievably, the Master Cleanse is still out there, despite the fact that it’s just lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Beyonce famously did this one to get in shape for Dream Girls. 

Makes my mouth water just thinking about it

Here’s the deal: a liquid diet will only slow your metabolism, and make you lose muscle and water. So yes, the pounds on the scale will drop, but not because of any great fat loss. Your liver (the organ responsible for really detoxing your body) actually needs protein to do its job. So a week of only drinking juices will only make your body MORE TOXIC as the liver will not be able to do its job properly. Finally ask yourself, have you ever met anyone, EVER, who has kept off the weight they lost during a cleanse? In fact, most people within a few months of being off the cleanse gain back more fat than they had before the cleanse.

I get it, you need structure, a plan, a “jump start” to your healthy new lifestyle. I think that cleanses do help people psychologically get amped up to get healthy. But instead of the cleanse, make your own 10 day detox plan: stay out of the bars and restaurants. Cook your own meals that consist of good protein, veggies, and whole grains. Eat a little bit of fruit and drink a ton of water with lemon. Stay away from processed stuff. After the 10 days, assess how you feel and ask yourself if you can go another 10. Unless you are Beyonce and need to be a size 0 in 3 days, there is no reason to starve yourself.

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I love changing up my workout by incorporating the Smith machine once in a while.The Smith is a popular machine at the gym that most people use to work the chest and shoulders. It has a barbell fixed to a rack with a counter balance cable system. That cable system allows you to increase weight on certain exercises safely without a spotter. But Mr. Smith is a popular guy, so if you like to work out circuit-style (which I most certainly do) then you can easily loose your place while you jump over to a different exercise. So, I created a three exercise sequence that uses the Smith machine, so that you can work in a circuit (hello, calorie burn!), and not lose your place.

The Circuit

8-12 reps of each for at least 3 sets. Or if you really want to be a machine-hog, go for AMSAP, As Many Sets As Possible

Smith machine inverted pull up

Chest press

Reverse crunch of bench

Make sure you warm up and that the warm up includes push ups!

1.  The Inverted Pull up

This is my favorite because it strengthens the muscles of the back and can be easily modified for any fitness level. You’re going to have to push the bench over to the side. Set the bar to about hip height. Position your body under the bar, with your hands positioned slightly wider than shoulder distance. Your hands can either face you, or face away. Either way, it’s all go

od. You should do both if you can. If you are intermediate or advanced, get into an inverted plank position with only your heels touching the floor.  Beginners will reap the

benefit of the exercise by having their feet flat on the floor with knees bent. From that start position, pull yourself toward the bar until it touches your chest (or as close as you can get). Lower down with control and repeat.

2. The “bench press”

Please note: I prefer push ups and dumb bell presses to work the chest. Those exercises utilize more stabilizing muscles and are a lot more functional. BUT this IS the Smith machine workout so…

The Smith “Bench”  is not a true bench press, but is a pretty good substitution. Get the bench back into position in the center of the bar. Put the bar in a place so that when you lay on the bench, you can easily pop it out of the safety. Load the bar with your desired weight. Laying on the bench, position your body so that the bar is over your chest, and place your hands a bit wider than shoulder width apart. Unlock the bar and hold it in place with your arms extended. As you inhale, slowly lower the bar to your chest. Pause, then exhale as you press up to the first position (arms fully extended). The pause is important, as it ensures you are not using momentum.

3. Reverse Crunch on the Bench

You’ll have to lift the bar high for this so that it doesn’t get in your way. Or you can just push the bench back a bit. With your back flat against the bench, grasp the top of it with both hands. Bend your knees to 90 degrees and lift your feet and hips to your chest. With control, and without letting your spine lift off the bench, lower  the hips back down towards the bench. Start the next rep right before your hips touch the bench.

Beginners, you can bend your knees to make this easier

Take a brief rest between sets. Don’t forget to let me know how it goes!