Feb 212012 Whether you like it or not, going to the gym can sometimes feel like going to the club. It has become a social establishment, a place to spend time with friends or even meet that special someone.

The gym isn’t just a place for hardcore fitness enthusiasts anymore. People go to the gym to chat, they go to read the paper while riding the stationary bike, and couples go on gym dates (yes, this is a thing). So if Elliptical Girl wants to flirt with Andy Abdominals, don’t judge. What does it matter; as long as they’re not doing it in front of the machine you’re trying to use....Read More


Tagged with: Lifestyle • Tips • Women
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Feb 142012 Eggs are not just for breakfast; from egg salad to eggnog - eggs have found their way from the clutches of our bagels and on to our dinner plates.

Eggs are one of the healthiest foods you can eat, loaded with protein and packed with nutrients why would you want to limit this to just breakfast? Plus eggs take two seconds to make. This entire meal takes under 30 minutes, from prep to first bite. Next thing you know they're going to start putting eggs in desserts! Oh wait...



Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 cups frozen shredded hash browns
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin (or taco seasoning)
1/2 15-ounce can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup prepared salsa
4 large eggs
1/3 cup of low fat shredded colby-jack cheese
4 6-inch flour tortillas
1/2 avocado, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Do It!
1. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add hash browns and cook, stirring occasionally until brown. About 10 minutes.
2. While hash browns - brown, heat the other 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, cilantro and cumin, stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the beans and salsa to the onions, reduce heat to low and cook for about 2 minutes.
4. Beat the eggs in a bowl like they stole something. Pour the eggs into the skillet with the hash browns and cook, stirring until the hash browns are evenly distributed among the eggs. Allow the eggs to set.
5. Add the onion, beans and salsa mixture to the eggs and stir until the eggs are nice and scrambled, about 1 minute.
6. Divide egg mixture among the 4 tortillas and top with avocado and cheese. (Feel free to broil for 5 minutes to melt the cheese and harden the shell)

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Per Taco: Calories 270; Carbs 22.25g; Fat 15g; Protein 14g; Cholesterol 225mg

 

Tagged with: 30 Minutes or Less • Food and Diet • Recipes
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Feb 72012 A stale exercise routine will do nothing for you. Your body gets used to repetitive movements, you stop seeing gains, and your body looks the same week in week out.

This workout is far from stale. Get the blood flowing with a quick warm up, then get your heart rate pounding with some Metabolic Conditioning. After that we move on to multi-plane lunges and finishing it off with an Upper Body Superset. You will see gains.

*My lunges and bench press weight is 85% of my 1RM.

40 minutes is all you need. This workout is not easy and it involves several advanced movements. If you are unfamiliar with the proper technique of any of these exercises, please consult a trainer/coach before attempting.

Click below for a printout to track your progress.

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The meat of this workout involves PUSH exercises (lunge, bench press). An accompanying workout should be done in the same week involving PULL exercises (row, deadlift, etc) for routine balance.

Tagged with: Training • Video • Workout
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Jan 312012 When embarking on a diet designed to lose weight, many people commit the same common mistake: they try to eliminate all fats from their meal plan. To many, fat = excess weight. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fats are essential to one’s health and well-being, and many body functions depend on having the right kinds of fats readily available. So let’s clear up some misconceptions by educating ourselves on the different types of fats, and how they’re used by the body....Read More


Tagged with: Food and Diet
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Jan 242012 When my long-term girlfriend and I broke up I thought the pain would never go away; it sat in the pit of my stomach, kept me up at night, killed my appetite and crushed my motivation to go to the gym.

I was paralyzed by depression and anxiety, literally just going through the motions. I spent a lot of time eating crap, drinking, and not putting any real effort into life. It felt easier to sink deeper into my depression rather than try to move on with my life.

On my way to the gym one morning, something snapped inside of me....Read More


Tagged with: Heart • Lifestyle • Workout
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Jan 192012 This is a big training month for me. Having essentially taken the last two months off, I am feening for a nice long streak of kick ass workouts.

Here are a few songs that will be on heavy rotation these next few months.

Let's crush the rest of January and kick February in the ass! We'll be beach ready by March! Why procrastinate?

Warmup

Metric - Collect Call (Adventure Club Remix) >

 

Workout

Hyper Crush - Werk Me

  Jay-Z - Breathe Easy

  Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole

  Korn - Narcissistic Cannibal (Feat-Skrillex)

  Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out for a Hero

  Pusha-T - I STILL WANNA (feat. RICK ROSS & AB LIVA)

  Queens of the Stone Age - Go With The Flow

  Tiesto - (feat Kay) Work Hard Play Hard

  Gramatik - Knights of Cydonia (Muse Remix)

 

Cooldown/Stretch

Bon Iver - Holocene (Deadwood Floats Cover)

What are your go-to songs that are going to help power you through the cold-winter workouts???

Tagged with: Music • Training • Video • Workout
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Jan 172012 I make a hell of a panini. In all honesty, everyone does because they are that easy to make.

In reality a panini is a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. This grilled cheese is so fancy it should be wearing glass slippers and a tiara. The best part is it's not high maintenance and is done in about 20 minutes....Read More


Tagged with: 30 Minutes or Less • Food and Diet • Recipes
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Jan 102012 Each time you perform a pushup with proper form you are lifting 66% of your bodyweight. Not only are you activating your chest, shoulders, back, arms, and legs; your core muscles are also working extra hard to help maintain proper posture.

Even though this is one of the best total body exercises, we neglect it because it's boring or we use it as a warmup exercise to prepare for the bench press or shoulder press. Been there done that you say? Well you haven't been here and you haven't done this.

The Hammer-T Pushup is not a warmup it's an exercise. A pushup, with a dumbbell row, to a tricep pushback, to a T side plank. Forget the added back, tricep and shoulder activation you're getting out of this; this is going to hammer your abs and obliques!

3 variations are demonstrated in the video below. The first is the dumbbell variation; second, a modified pushup position; and last, without dumbbells. Don't forget to brace your core (squeeze like someone is going to punch you in the gut) and squeeze your butt when doing pushups, this locks your hips into place and neutralizes your spine.

Drop and give me 20!

Tagged with: Personal Training • Training • Video
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Jan 32012

Our distorted perceptions of what the opposite sex finds appealing has led us to live in the extremes—we’re all trying to be too thin, too boobed or too muscular, and it’s all too much.

Whether it’s promising better sex, a slimmer waist or bigger biceps, magazines cast our trouble spots onto their covers as a lure to hook us into reading them. Undoubtedly, lifestyle and fitness mags exploit our insecurities to sell more copies, but what effect does constantly being bombarded with these images and euphemisms have on our perceptions of ourselves?...Read More


Tagged with: Laughs • Lifestyle • Women
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Dec 272011 My love for soup is also why I probably love Winter so much, besides my passion for flannel shirts.  Once the temperature dips below 50 degrees (okay, 60), I whip out my biggest cauldron-style pot and start cooking up a batch of heart-warming deliciousness.

For an easy weeknight comfort meal, I love Minestrone.  It’s a no-fail recipe and it’s packed with vegetables.  If you’re short on time, start with a pre-chopped mirepoix, the standard soup base of diced carrots, onions and celery.  I’m not a big fan of pre-diced veggies because they usually aren’t as fresh (i.e., as flavorful) as whole ones, but if it means means that you’re 30 minutes closer to eating soup, it might be worth the sacrifice.

Tagged with: Food and Diet • Holidays • Recipes
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