I know whenever I finish a good workout, the last thing I want to do is hang around the gym for another 10-20 minutes for stretching. But not properly stretching after an intense workout can cause a buildup of lactic acid, injury, and can lead to improperly worked muscle. Even just five minutes of stretching can help keep your body limber, healthy, and injury free. So don't forget to grab your favorite yoga mat and stretch it out for at least 5 minutes.
Eating after a workout, especially a hard weight lifting session, is important to not only refuel, but to help in the rebuild of your muscles. According to Men's Fitness, "If you’re main goal is to build muscle, eat at least 30 grams of protein and 30 to 35 grams of carbs within 15 minutes of your workout. If you’re just trying to stay in shape or shed a few pounds, you can take your time and eat within 45 minutes or an hour after your workout." Of course you can adjust the grams of protein and carbs to your own goals. The best foods to eat are hummus, greek yogurt, sandwich wraps, fruit salads, or wholegrain breakfast cereal.
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Sweatflix℠ is a brand-new option from BodyRock.tv for everyone out there who wants to get fit, toned, and sculpted. The world’s largest platform of Fitness Videos, all at your finger-tips, just waiting for you to set aside 15 minutes and a small space in your home. A lot of people write to us to ask …
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When you’re a Victoria’s Secret model and you’re about to have millions of people stare at your half naked body gliding down a runway, it’s safe to say you probably have a trick or two up your sleeve when it comes to getting your body in tip-top shape. So to take a cue from the professionally good-looking, we’ve put together a roundup of the fail-safe, go-to workouts that our favorite Victoria Secret models rely on to get themselves looking their absolute best. Get ready to sweat!
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This flat-belly workout will tone your abs from all directions, making for a tighter, stronger core. We mix ab toning moves with cardio bursts and full-body core exercises to tone your midsection. Press play and get ready to feel the burn.
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When you combine Pilates, hand weights, and cardio, you get one wicked workout. And by wicked, we mean really fun and really effective. Lisa Corsello, the founder of Burn SF, leads you through 30 minutes of her signature fitness routine, weaving Pilates core exercise with classic lifting moves and cardio bursts. This workout is so varied that you will never get bored. If you want more of Lisa, check out the Burn DVD.
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Beyond hitting all your scheduled workouts, there are other components of your running plan that are every bit as crucial, including stretching, strength training and nutrition. To improve both your race times and fitness level, it's important to realize that what you eat (and when!) matters.
Your critical refuel window is up to 30 minutes after you sweat it out. It's best to reach for fluids to restore what was lost in sweat as well as a mix of both carbohydrates and protein. When choosing snacks, aim for a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein to best aid recovery.
1. Banana Boat
Simply grabbing a piece of fruit is a smart way to get started with your recovery. Fruits are loaded with vitamins and minerals, natural enzymes, anthocyanins (powerful chemicals providing anti-inflammatory support) and easily digestible carbohydrates. Bananas are an effortless choice that can help replace lost potassium. Make a banana boat by slicing open a banana lengthwise, then fill with almond butter and raisins or chopped nuts to make it a quick, complete recovery snack.
2. Watermelon
Hydration is key post-workout, but skip the highly processed, sugary sports drinks and choose a natural juice that will provide electrolytes, replenish glycogen and reduce inflammation. WTRMLN WTR is a good option: Research shows its ability to relieve post-exercise muscle soreness due to the amino acid L-citrulline present in the fruit.
3. Homemade Granola Bites
Raw nuts, such as walnuts or almonds, have high doses of both protein and satiating omega-3 healthy fats. Try making a batch of homemade granola bites:
Ingredients
* 1 cup of pitted dates
* 1/4 cup of almond butter
* 1/4 cup of honey
* 1 cup of chopped walnuts or almonds
* 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats.
Process dates and combine in a bowl with oats and nuts. Pour warm honey and almond butter over the oat mixture. Combine and roll into balls or press into a pan. Refrigerate 15 minutes to harden. Yields 10 bars or 20 bites. Store in airtight container refrigerated or at room temperature.
4. Avocado Toast
Avocados contain more than 20 key nutrients, including B vitamins, choline, copper, zinc and healthy fats. The nutrients in avocado can support everything from cardiovascular health to weight management and inflammation. Include half an avocado in your post-run snack, either blended into a recovery smoothie or smashed on a piece of whole-grain toast.
Whole grains offer carbohydrates and fiber, and consuming them will help replenish your fatigued muscles. Oatmeal is a great option as is whole-grain bread, but quinoa is an even better choice, thanks to the high amount of protein it offers per serving. Store a large batch of cooked quinoa in your refrigerator and add half-cup servings to salads or eat as a side dish or for breakfast. To make quinoa cereal, top cold, cooked quinoa with chopped fresh and/or dried fruit, chopped nuts and a drizzle of honey. Top with organic yogurt or nondairy milk.
--Kim
Readers -- Do you fuel up after you go for a run? What kinds of foods do you eat? Can you notice a difference in your recovery when you don’t eat something post-workout? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Kim McDevitt, M.P.H., RD, is a Vega National Educator, runner, cooking enthusiast and plant-focused flexitarian. She has passionately built her career in nutrition. After noticing that her running performances were closely tied to what she was eating, Kim decided to study nutrition and pursue advanced degrees in dietetics and public health to better understand the power of food in performance. Today, Kim specializes in sports nutrition to enhance athletic performance and focuses on realistic and approachable ways for improving health through educated dietary choices within an active lifestyle.
Original article and pictures take www.livestrong.com site
Even if you follow a fitness routine and you often choose healthier foods, you may not be seeing the weight come off the way you hope. While there are plenty of other healthy accomplishments to celebrate on this journey, it can be frustrating to not see results when you step on the scale. Sound familiar? Chances are, one of these reasons is all that's standing in the way of your weight-loss goals.
— Additional reporting by Jenny Sugar, Michele Foley, and Leta Shy
You Overeat Healthy Foods You Only Do Cardio You Exercise With an Empty Stomach Original article and pictures take media1.popsugar-assets.com site
The Stretching Routine You NEED After a Killer Workout!
Slow it down, girl. It’s time to stretch!
This week’s Tone It Up Challenge workouts have us feelin’ SORE! Those slider pikes, tho! Your bod could use a lil’ TLC after all that work you’ve been putting in with your Daily Workouts! Today, we’re bringing you just what ya need. Total body stretching – oh yeah!! This is the perfect routine after a hard workout, run, or just when you’re feeling a little tight. You can do this everyday if you want! Plus, zero equipment required. ;)
Want even more info on how to keep your body feelin’ great?! Join the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan! We give you all the deets on what types of foods give you the most benefits and when to eat ’em! Plus, you gain access to thousands of delish recipes, all designed to help you reach your #fitgoals!
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The Science Behind Skipping Your Post-Workout Stretch
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There was a day, not long ago, when we didn’t dare exercise without stretching first.
Then, we found out our typical static, bend-and-hold stretches, at least when performed pre-workout, sapped our muscles of the strength and stability needed for a good sweat session. So we started performing dynamic stretches such as bodyweight squats and lunges before our workouts. Meanwhile, we reserved trying to touch our toes for after our workouts, when our muscles were nice and warm and stretchy.
However, a recent review published in The Strength and Conditioning Journal shows post-workout stretching may not be beneficial at aiding in recovery at all — and may actually impede recovery.
“By stretching a worked muscle, you make it more difficult for blood to get in and out of the tissue,” explains lead author William A. Sands, PhD, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and sport technologist with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. By limiting blood flow to and from your muscles, you limit the muscles’ ability to rid themselves of inflammatory byproducts and get their pH levels back to where they need to be to recover. Most notably, you also deprive the muscles of oxygen, Sands explains. Basically, you do everything you shouldn’t.
Meanwhile, post-workout stretching doesn’t reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (the ache that strikes 24–72 hours following new or particularly stressful workouts) to any significant degree, according to one Cochrane review of previous research.
END YOUR WORKOUT THIS WAY
If you’re vying for improved exercise recovery, Sands recommends ending your workouts with what he calls a “warm-down” of light aerobic or bodyweight activities. He notes that these activities cause the worked muscles to contract at low levels, which help pump byproducts out of the muscles and into the lymphatic system then ultimately out of your body. “The more you can assist in that process, the better,” he says. Research in the American Journal of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation agrees, showing aerobic exercise is more effective than stretching at helping people recover their muscular strength following hard workouts.
Before beginning your warm-down, give yourself a few minutes for your heart rate to lower (take this as an opportunity to drink some water and towel off). Once you’re no longer panting, hop on the exercise bike or treadmill or perform light, slow, gentle bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges or modified pushups. The key is to keep things light, ensuring your warm-down activity doesn’t stress your body to the point it adds to your exercise-induced inflammation. Sands recommends engaging in light activity for 5–10 minutes at the end of your workout before leaving the gym.
As far as your static stretching goes, it can help increase flexibility by boosting your muscles’ stretch tolerance. But you’ll want to keep that as far away from your hit-it-hard workouts as possible, he says. Stretching makes for a good “rest day” activity.
Some fitness fads come and go (we see you, Shake Weight), but others, like yoga or Pilates, aren't going away anytime soon. Another trend that's definitely here to stay? High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, which involves short bouts of extreme effort alternated with periods of rest. "HIIT workouts are quick and dirty, never lasting more than 30 minutes including a warm-up and short cool-down," explains Gina Harney, certified personal trainer and creator of Fitnessista.com. "You're working as hard as possible for a short amount of time and then reaping the rewards throughout the day."
This High-Intensity Workout Leaves No Muscle Untouched
While there's no such thing as a fitness miracle, HIIT workouts come pretty darn close. Research suggests that HIIT can super-charge fat burning , boost metabolism , and improve cardiovascular fitness . Plus, the vigorous nature of HIIT ensures you'll continue to torch even more calories for hours after your workout ends. Bottom line: HIIT is quick, effective, and the perfect way to train for anyone who's short on time and wants to see results stat. (And who isn't and doesn't?)
Intrigued? Get started with this exclusive upper-body workout for women from Harney's new book HIIT It! In less than 30 minutes, these highly effective circuits will target and strengthen every muscle above your waist. All you need is a set of medium-weight dumbbells and your own bodyweight.
To warm up, perform 5 minutes of moderate cardio (such as jogging, jumping rope, or cycling). Complete 3 rounds of circuit 1, then rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Boost your heart rate again by running or walking 1/4 mile. Then complete 3 rounds of circuit 2, followed by a cool-down stretch—and you're done.
Upper-Body Workout: Circuit 1
Hold a set of dumbbells and create 90-degree angles with each arm so upper arms are parallel to the ground and dumbbells are at about head height. As you exhale, press the weights overhead (without clanking the weights together). Return to the starting position, not letting elbows droop below shoulder height to keep some resistance.
Hinge forward from your hips, keeping core tight and flat back. Bending elbows, glue your upper arms to your sides. On an exhale, straighten your arms as much as possible. Inhale to bend elbows back to starting position. Be sure to maintain a neutral spine and neck position.
Lie faceup on a mat. Bring elbows out in line with shoulders to create a 90-degree angle. Press the weights up without clanking them together, focusing on engaging the muscles in your chest. Lower weights back to the starting position.
Upper-Body Workout: Circuit 2
Start in a side plank (either full or modified by keeping your bottom knee on the floor) and hold a light dumbbell in your top hand. Bring weight in front of the center of your core. Keeping your arm slightly bent, lift weight up to shoulder height. Return to starting position. For even more of a challenge, you can lift your top leg and touch it to the weight between each rep.
Start in plank position with hands planted directly under shoulders (slightly wider than shoulder-width apart). Ground your toes into the floor to stabilize the bottom half of your body. Keeping your spine straight (don't lift hips, and keep neck in line with your spine instead of dropping it forward) and knuckles pressing into the floor, lower your body until your chest almost grazes the floor. Exhale as you press back up.
You can perform these on a bench (hands on the bench, feet on the floor) or on the floor. Point your fingertips toward your toes and bend your elbows, making sure to keep your hips lifted. Straighten your arms by engaging your triceps. For an added challenge, straighten your legs, balance on only one leg, or place a flat weight on your lap.
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