Archives for November 2015

5 Workout Mistakes to Fix for Better Results

November 12, 2015 Leave a Comment

Working out is arguably one of my favorite things to do! Don’t roll your eyes, it’s true. But working out can be frustrating when you aren’t getting the results that you want. Gym goers commonly make a few workout mistakes that could be tweaked and completely speed up desired results. Think of it as “workout etiquette.”

Follow a few tips and enjoy your workout more and see results faster!

Doing core at the end of a workout
Working your core is EXTREMELY important. You use your core 24/7 and need to build its strength. However, after you have sweated and nearly reached fatigue, you don’t typically decide holding a plank for 2 minutes sounds like a reasonable thing to do. You are depleted of energy and just plain tired. Change it up and do the core workout before!

Not lifting weights
You can’t gain that definition and lose weight fast by only doing cardio. You need to build up your muscles and lift those weights. Don’t be one of those women scared to lift. You won’t become a body builder, that’s a whole other ball game.

Working only one body part
If you want toned abs, you can’t get them by solely adding crunches to your workout. If you want toned arms, you can’t get them by solely adding biceps curls and tricep dips. Your body is a machine, it works together and typically changes as a whole! You can add more care and focus into an area but will see faster results if you work more muscles at the same time. The more muscles you are working in a move, the better. Think burpee with a pushup.

Not stretching
You must stretch. I repeat, you must stretch. The repeat was for myself. I absolutely hate stretching but it’s so important. It keeps you mobile and helps your range of motion in all your moves. My sister has always been aggravatingly super flexible and I’ve been stiff as a board. However with regular stretching, you can fix it! Don’t cheat your future self out of a limber healthy bod by not taking the time to stretch every day.

Not giving yourself a break
You are an animal, superman, crazy fitness guru, all star weight trainer, blah blah good job. You still need to rest! Giving your body that time to recuperate is imperative! Let it relax and come back even stronger.

So continue to train hard and remember that fitness lovers rock at life!

What tips would you add to the workout results driven list? Were any of these workout mistakes that you make?

Should you try oil pulling? I did for one week.

November 11, 2015 2 Comments

Do you know about Kavala? Nope, didn’t think so. Kavala, aka oil pulling, has interested thousands of women the past couple years.

If you are like me and arriving late to the trend, let me explain. Oil pulling is when you swish a plant based oil in your mouth for around 10-20 minutes. Sounds about as appetizing as cramming a whole jalapeño in your mouth. But hey! You never know what might be worth it and change your life. It is supposed to improve dental hygiene, cure headaches, and remove toxins from your body. Me being the “tester” type gal, decided I might as well see for myself and then report to the less crazy people.

I was late to the game with overnight oats and am definitely late when it comes to oil pulling, but I did finally experiment with it and want to share my experience.

Oil Pulling Instructions:

Put about a tablespoon of oil into your mouth. Gently swish around your mouth for around 20 minutes, don’t need to get aggressive just a gentle swish. Whatever you do, don’t swallow any of it! Once completed, don’t spit out the oil in your sink. It could eventually clog the drain, so choose the trash. Swish and spit with warm water afterward.

My account of oil pulling

First, Second Day –
Ick! EWWW! Oooey. Gross. Those were my first experiences of dipping a large spoon into a huge jar of coconut oil and willingly sending it to my mouth. First thought – why am I doing this?! It is waxy and weird and I have to do this for how long? I managed to swish it in my mouth for 10 minutes. I think the worst part may have been how my mouth felt after it. I immediately brushed my teeth.

Third Day, Fourth Day –
A little better. I know what to expect this time. I still wouldn’t describe it as pleasant but that weird oil waxy feeling wasn’t quite as alarming. How weird is it that you can try something as little as one or two times and feel like a pro the third go around?

Fifth, Sixth Day –
Wow this is getting much easier! I could oil pull in my sleep, oh wait I’m basically still asleep. I have found that it’s easiest to do this when I’m still slowly awaking. Doesn’t give my brain much time to process and exclaim it doesn’t want to participate in oil pulling.

Seventh, Eighth Day –
Nailed it. A whole week oil pulling down.

So would I recommend it? Nope, not at all. Perhaps it has made all the difference to someone but to me, all I got out of it was a nearly half empty huge jar of fairly pricey coconut oil. Quite upsetting! I didn’t notice any changes in how my teeth felt or looked and didn’t feel any type of cleansing. Still a huge fan of coconut oil, but will only continue to use it on the external part of my body.

Have you done oil pulling? Am I missing out on the benefit? Do you suggest trying it longer before seeing results?

20 Minute Full Body Kettlebell Workout

November 1, 2015 Leave a Comment

Kettlebells have to be one of the best ways to increase that heart rate and work your entire body! I love doing kettlebell workouts because it doesn’t take too much time to get a great workout in. You can be sweating and dying in as little as 5 minutes! How inviting does that sound – sweating and dying – I’m really encouraging this workout aren’t I?

I’m using a 20 pounder in this workout but it is a little too heavy for me right now. I will definitely be stealing/swapping out my 20-er for a 15-er from my parent’s house next visit. Always good to have something to work up too!

These are definitely not the best lighting or beautiful photos – hi there black cord sticking in the wall – and no makeup self. But they do serve their purpose to give you a good visual of the moves discussed below for this 20 minute kettlebell workout!

Wearing my new Zobha leggings! I just love them! They are super soft and comfortable to wear working out. Love the details on the inner side – near the ankles up to mid calve is a mesh bright orange fabric.

Kettlebell Workout Moves

Standing Pull Up –

Abs engaged, shoulders up back and down. Lift the kettlebell to your lower chest and back down. Lead with your elbows.

Kettlebell Swings –

Make sure to keep your chest up and powerfully lift that kettleball squeezing your glutes and hamstrings, it’s an explosive movement. You shouldn’t lift or use your arms at all. No worries, you will feel if you are doing it right the next day with those sore inner thighs.

Goblet Squats –

Squat back with the kettlebell, making sure weight is in your heels. Option to lift kettlebell overhead when rising up. Squeeze those glutes!

Kettlebell Slingshot –

This is a great move to create balance and get those obliques working hard. You are basically bringing the kettlebell around your body in a circular motion. Starting with kettlebell in right hand move behind your back and grab with left hand, then grab from the front with right hand. Do both sides.

Going through those moves takes around 3-4 minutes. Try to do as many sets as you can in 20 minutes. This workout will work your glutes, quads, hamstrings, core, shoulders, and back. Whew! I like to pair my kettle bell work with a nice jog or walk before or after.