Exercise of the Day #7- Lateral Raises

Exercise: Lateral Raises

Target Muscles: Lateral Deltoids (shoulders)

This exercise can be done with dumbbells or exercise bands.

1- Begin with your arms down to your sides

2- With your elbows slightly bent begin raising your arms straight out to the sides until they are level with your shoulder. (reference picture above)

3- Now slowly return your arms to the starting position.

Tiff

Recipe #5 Brazillian Chicken Tacos

This one is made from the "Bodacious Brazilian Chicken" Recipe on page 145 of the Abs Diet book. I have added a few ingredients to make it a little more exciting. In case you don't have the Abs diet book yet I will include a revised Brazilian chicken recipe.

Ingredients (bold indicates a power food):
1 Lemon
2 Limes
1 Avocado
1 can black beans (Kroger sells great canned organic black beans cheap)
Monterrey Jack/Colby cheese (or a lowfat alternative of your choice would be good)
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
6 oz of frozen orange juice concentrate
2 cloves minced garlic (I buy minced garlic in the seasoning section of the grocery - saves time but you have to guesstimate proper amounts to use in recipe)
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 lb boneless chicken tenderloins
Salsa - choose your own heat (I use Pace Picante medium)
8 oz Pico de Gallo (I get the fresh made grocery store kind usually found in the produce section. It should have tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, cilantro, etc.)
Kosher salt
multigrain/whole wheat tortillas (look closely at the ingredients. The cheap ones usually have trans fat hidden in the ingredients list)

Preparation:
1. Grate the zest of lime and lemon into a large bowl. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and lime into the bowl. Do not add seeds or pulp.
2. In the same bowl, Mix in about 1 clove garlic, the tomato sauce, 6 oz of OJ concentrate, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and mix it all together.
3. Add the chicken, cover with saran (or any brand of polyvinylchloride wrap) and incubate in the refrigerator for 2hrs.
4. Meanwhile, make guacamole: cut the Avocado in half and remove the pit. Spoon out the meat of the avocado into a bowl and throw the skin away. smash and stir the Avocado into a paste.
5. Add in about 2-3 oz pico de gallo, about 1 clove garlic, juice of one lime, and stir. Salt the mixture to taste. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
6. Once the chicken has fully marinated, put it on the grill at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the center is no longer pink. Continue to baste the chicken with the marinade until the final 4-5 minutes of grilling.
7. Cut the chicken into chunks or shred the chicken.
8. Microwave the black beans (with water in can) for 1 minute or until hot.
9. spread a small amount of water across a tortilla and microwave for 30 seconds
10. Fill the tortilla with black beans (strain the water), chicken, cheese, guacamole, Salsa.
11. Eat like a taco or burrito depending on how much you put on the tortilla!


JRW

Exercise of the day #6- Inner/Outer Thigh Extensions

Exercise: Inner/Outer Thigh Extensions
Target Muscles: Inner and Outer Thighs

-Tie an exercise band around a pole or to a sturdy object.

(If you do not have great balance make sure there is something close by that you can place your hand on to help balance you)

Exercise 1 - Inner Thigh: (Picture #1 above)
-Tie the band around the leg closest to the band(the band should be on your side)

-Make sure you stand far enough away from the other end of the band to give you a challenging resistance.
-With your leg straight and slightly in front of you (just enough to move it past the other leg)

-Cross the leg with the band crossing in front of your standing leg until you can not go further and then return to the starting position.

Exercise 2 Outer Thigh: (Picture #2 above)

-Leaving the band tied to your ankle turn and face the opposite direction(the band should now cross in front of your standing leg with about the same resistance)

-Move your leg with the band straight out to the side until you can not go further (the band should cross in front of your standing leg) and then return to the starting position.

Tiff

Trans Fat: Watch out its everywhere!

Trans Fat is oil that is hydrogenated in an industrial process. This stuff is like poison for your heart and cardiovascular system. These fats raise your LDL (low density lipoprotein), or bad cholesterol levels, while lowering your HDL (high density lipoprotein), or good cholesterol levels.

HDL is called good cholesterol because it binds to cholesterol molecules and transports them to the liver for utilization or excretion. LDL is the bad type of cholesterol as it transports and deposits cholesterol to arteries which can lead to the formation of plaque, which in turn causes atherosclerosis (atherosclerosis usually leads to stroke or heart attack).

Watch out when buying your groceries. Just because the label says that there are 0 grams of trans fat in the product, doesn't mean it doesn't contain trans fat.

Examples - while shopping the other day I found that the Old El Paso taco and fajita seasoning packets contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil... i.e. Trans fat. I later found that many seasonings for Chinese food, Mexican food, etc. all contained trans fat even though the package reads 0 grams of trans fat.

Trans fat does occur naturally in very small amounts and that naturally occurring trans fat should be all of the trans fat you consume. Watch out for this next time you shop.

Key words to look for when checking ingredient list: partially hydrogenated.... oil or hydrogenated.....oil.

Here are some links with more information about trans fat. If I had to choose just one thing to keep out of my diet, Industrial produced Trans fat would be it!

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045792

http://www.thetruthabouttransfat.com/?utm_source=doubleclick&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=TransFat

JRW

Exercise of the day #5- Stability Ball Crunch

Exercise: Stability Ball Crunch
Target Muscles: ABS

- Using a (well inflated) stability ball, sit on the ball and then slowly lean back and roll the ball into your lower back.

- Place your hands behind your head with your elbows out.

- Contract (squeeze) your abs and lift your Chest toward the ceiling pulling your back off the ball.

- As you curl up, keep the ball stable (you shouldn't roll).

- Slowly lower back down to your starting position.

Once you get good at these, hold a plate in your hands near your chest for and added challenge.

Tiff

Science of Health Food - by guest author Jon England

Food for Thought - Fatloss Grub Part I

The calcium, complex carbohydrates, and fiber that are found in Whole-Grain Cereal, and Oatmeal rev up metabolism by keeping insulin levels low after eating. I know what you're thinking "But Jon, won't the carbs in the oatmeal actually raise my insulin?" No! Well... transiently. Do not interpret this as a justification to eat the candy packets that Post Cereal likes to call instant oatmeal. Eat uncut steel-rolled sawdust type oatmeal that has not been leached of its fiber, add a little splenda, and you'll be 100 steps ahead of the game.

(Note from JRW - I get the unflavored Quaker brand and add fresh fruit as a sweetner)

Capsaicin, found in hot peppers like jalapeno, habanero, and cayenne peppers, ups your metabolism by speeding up your heart rate. It's bite actually speeds up your calorie burning for up to three hours; ever notice how you sweat a little after you finish eating that bowl of spicy ramen? Spicy food is the bomb, just bring some mints along with you and don't over do it with the spice... burn ya once... burn ya twice...

Caffeine and a chemical in green tea called EGCG up your metabolism. Just as the capsaicin, caffeine ups your heart rate. The EGCG in green tea makes your brain and nervous system run faster. EGCG has a whole host of other benefits that I'm not going to get into here, but do yourself a favor and drink some - Lipton makes some awesome diet stuff that's ready to drink and it's available in nearly every gas station on the planet.

(Note from JRW - EGCG and compounds found in berries are also antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your cells from cancer causing free radicals)

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in salmon, tuna, and sardines, help raise metabolism. Fish-oil supplements probably work just as well (although everyone knows that unprocessed natural foods are better). Just don't over do like I did with 30 fish pills a day or you're going to end up with an oily mess...

EAT RASPBERRIES! Raspberries contain a magical molecule that has been dubbed Raspberry Ketone! RK causes increased translocation of HSL (hormone sensitive lipase). HSL is the rate limiting step of fatloss and by eating raspberries you will definitely increase the amount of fatloss over placebo.


So class, in conclusion, each day I want you to eat and drink: Fish, Raspberries, Peppers (or hot sauce), Green Tea and Oatmeal! Trust me, your body will thank you =)

Jon E

Exercise of the Day #4- Tricep Push-ups

Exercise: Tricep Push-up
Target Muscles: Triceps
Secondary Muscles: Chest

Just like doing a regular pushup, but with your hands positioned close together (make a diamond shape with your hands). As you lower make sure to keep your elbows in, this will keep all the tension on the triceps. If you let your elbows turn out, you will be working your chest more than your triceps. Now push back up to your starting position while keeping your elbows in.

For those who can not correctly do a push up on their toes should lower to their knees while still keeping your back straight and level.

Tiff