fit

My Guide to Supplements

11.06.2014

Hi loves! Let’s talk supplements. Supplements can be extremely overwhelming, there are so many companies, types, ingredients and so on. It’s confusing! On top of that, you have the myths that “girls will get bulky or manly” or “supplements are for guys”. But once you see past those silly myths, supplements can actually help you take your physique to the next level!

Here is my go-to supplement guide for the ladies!

Whey Protein: is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, a milk based protein that is naturally low in calories. Whey helps build and maintain lean muscle. More muscle=faster metabolism! Whey is fast and easy to digest and when consumed it quickly breaks down in the body and sends aminos to the muscle tissue. I usually consume 30-60 minutes before or after a workout.

My favorite from Cellucor: COR-Performance™ Whey (I am loving the mint chocolate chip flavor!)

Casein: Unlike whey, casein is a slow-digestive protein. Casein provides the body with a dose of amino over a long period of time. However, it also helps with building and maintaining lean muscle. Casein protein powder has a higher calcium intake as well as boosting your protein intake, allowing you to maximize your fat loss benefits. In my experience casein is best consumed right before bed, allowing you to digest over night.

Multi-Vitamin: Pretty straight forward! Multi vitamins are the most popular supplement among men and women of all ages. They supply all of the vitamins and minerals we need that our diet may or may not be providing. Being deficient can effect you in ways that decrease energy, or can keep us from loosing fat and gaining muscle, so this one little vitamin can prevent all of those things! I take daily with food.

Fish Oil: Fish oil supplements provide a wide variety of health benefits. Fish oil contains two essential omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. These fatty acids are termed “essential” because we need them for proper function, but our bodies cannot produce them. Thus, we must obtain them through food or supplements. Among the many benefits, fish oil can stimulate fat loss, as well as prevent a wide variety of illness.

Pre-workout: simply provides more energy for your workout, which can in turn improve strength and endurance. NO3 is Nitrate, an advanced compound found in pre-workouts that promotes energy and muscle pumps.

My favorite from Cellucor: C4 Extreme (I love the pink lemonade flavor)

BCAA: stands for branched chain amino acid. BCAA’s make up approximately 1/3 of muscle protein. The benefits include reduced muscle fatigue, speedy recovery, decrease the loss of other amino acids from muscle during exercise and help the body absorb protein. A deficiency in any one of these aminos will cause muscle loss. I love taking my BCAA’s in a post workout shake.

My favorite from Cellucor: Alpha Amino Sports Drink OR B-BCAA

CLA: (stands for conjugated linoleic acid) is a naturally occurring fatty acid (a good fat found in meat, cheese and dairy) which promotes fat loss. A number of studies have demonstrated that CLA reduces fat mass, while increasing lean body mass.

My favorite from Cellucor: CLK or Super HD

My routine: I take whey, a multi-vitamin and fish oil daily and the others just depend on my goals at the moment! I am usually on and off with pre-workouts, same with BCAA’s. Casein is also a great way to fill you up after dinner if you’re still hungry or need something to cure that sweet tooth.

Overwhelmed yet? Don’t worry, if your just starting out we all start somewhere! There’s a ton to know about supplements, but my biggest piece of advice is to do your research! My most useful reference is bodybuilding.com, but there is so much out there on the internet, or talk to a trainer or nutritionist for advice. (I am not a trainer or nutritionist, just someone who has done my research and sharing from my experience.) Hopefully this helps you with a general understanding of a few supplements. And let me know if I can help in any other way!!

Cellucor is offering all Fitness & the City readers 25% off with the code CELLUCORFIT. The code is good for supplements on http://cellucor.com.

Enjoy!

This post was brought to you by Cellucor.

Meet Health Coach Amanda Kelly & GIVEAWAY!

05.21.2013

Today I am having Health Coach and friend, Amanda Kelly take over the blog! Here she is…

Aloha!! I am so excited to write a post for Jenna’s Fitness & the City! I have been following her since she started last year and I LOVE her blog.

My name is Amanda Kelly and I am a certified Holistic Health Coach. I work with people to slowly incorporate healthy habits into their lives, so they can live a happier, fuller life (and get healthy!). I love what I do and I adore talking nutrition, so I was psyched that Jenna offered a guest post to me! Woot woot!

Everyone wants to be happy and healthy. For you ladies (and gents!), I made a quick list of easy-to-implement healthy habits that will make your skin glow and your body tight. I don’t believe in a one-day overhaul of your health; it takes time to get totally on track! These are simple, easy tips that you can slowly take on, one at a time.

1. Sleep at least 8 hours a night. Everyone loves to sleep. Give your body a much-needed break at night to restore itself. There are so many benefits to getting enough sleep at night, including: WEIGHT LOSS, improved memory, increased life span, and improved performance at work and in real life (think exercise!). Aside from all that, getting enough sleep will make you one hot lady! While you sleep, your skin repairs itself. They don’t call it beauty sleep for nothing!

2. Eat more color!! Include more dark greens, rich purple, orange, red, and white produce into your day. Colorful produce has an array of vitamins and minerals, and you need every color of the rainbow to get each of those vitamins. Try something new each week, like eggplant or mashed cauliflower. I have recently come to love purple cabbage in my salads!

3. Don’t skip meals. EVER. Eating should be your favorite thing in the world. If you are eating all those colorful fruits and veggies, you should be able to eat until you are full without worrying about packing on the pounds. It is seriously impossible to over-eat veggies. Plus, if you are eating well, you will be feeling well!!

4. Check your labels. Anything that doesn’t come from the produce aisle is likely to have some questionable ingredients. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient, you probably shouldn’t eat it. Just imagine all that gunk trying to break down into your body and get into your cells : Try whole foods, which are easier on your body.

5. Take your vitamins!! Although eating lots of fruits & veggies will get your gorgeous bod glowing with vitamins and minerals, you should still take a multivitamin daily. It is a good back-up. You want all that goodness in your body! I swear that I am happier when I take my vitamins.

6. Avoid GMO’s – just know that GMO’s have not been researched enough on humans to be deemed safe. That does not sound appetizing! Stay away from anything made in a lab and you will be looking fab (Like my rhyme?).

7. Try organic. This is one super easy way to increase your health and probably your lifespan. Organics are so good and pure they make me want to jump for joy! Do a little experiment, if you like. Grab an organic apple and a non-organic apple from the store. Take a bite of the conventional apple (after you pay for it) then take a bite of the organic apple. Prepare to be blown away! You will never want conventional produce again.

Little side note: I know organic is more expensive. If you aren’t ready to go all-out organic, take a look at the dirty dozen list. This is a list of foods that have been shown to carry the most pesticide residue. You do NOT want to buy these in the conventional form. There is also a list called the clean fifteen, which have the least amount of pesticide residue. Google them!

8. Switch to all-natural products. I’m talking skin care, toothpaste, body wash, household cleaners, you name it. I have started using coconut oil on my face and hair. It’s amazing! Also, you can make a fab toner out of a little apple cider vinegar + water. Plus, using natural products is less expensive than all those creams and face products. Yay!

9. Exercise!! I swear, you will get hooked on endorphins. Get fit AND get high! The easiest way to incorporate exercise into your life is to find something you like. Try a Zumba class, Jazzercise, spin class, whatever. Even long walks with friends count. Try it! You can even start a little weight circuit – dumbbells are super fun. Feel like a boss and get toned at the same time. Weights are inexpensive (get some dumbbells at Target for less than $10) and there are TONS of free Youtube videos that show you weight circuits for any body part. I am a huge fan of Tone It Up – these girls are fun AND know how to get toned!

10. Slow down. Take some time to relax!! I’m talking about doing something every day that makes you feel rested and well. Take a long hot bubble bath. Get a massage. Read a novel. Do something totally indulgent and feel good about it. YOU should be your first priority. Don’t feel bad about it either! When you take care of yourself, you are happier, healthier, and more of a joy to be around.

GIVEAWAY!!

If you got to the end of this article, you are in for a prize! We are prizing one of you lucky ladies (or guys!) with MY FAVORITE COOKBOOK! I cook one of these recipes weekly, and the food is freaking delicious! Aside from it being mouthwateringly-incredible, it is also healthy! I nearly died the first time I made the split pea soup with kale. My boyfriend even ended up eating FOUR BOWLS. In one sitting! There are so many recipes in this book that will make you want to entertain for days. I love making these recipes for guests, because they are so incredibly delicious but so healthy! The cookbook is called … (drumroll please) Crazy Sexy Kitchen!! It is written by a cancer survivor (Kris Carr) who has lived with an incurable stage 4 cancer for 10 years! She knows a thing or two about health, let me tell ya.

To win this delectable little prize, you must complete the following:

You must be following this blog to enter. Just subscribe by entering your email to the right —>
Then “like” the Fitness and the City Facebook page
Go over to my Facebook page, Amanda Kelly Health Coaching, and like that also
Lastly, I want to know which of these little health tips you are going to work on this week. Share that as well as tell us what you completed in the comments below.

The winner of the giveaway will be selected Tuesday 6/4/13.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Thanks Amanda! Be sure to check out her website: www.amandakellyhealthcoaching.com 🙂

Booty Build Workout!

04.11.2013

Summer is just around the corner and I know all you ladies want a firm, tight, little booty. (Why do I feel so naughty saying that?) Well, ok…I’m sure the guys want to see that as well. So here’s the deal. Muscle building does not come from hours of cardio or squats using your own body weight. You must push yourself with heavy weights, ideally 1 or 2 times a week.

I always dedicate specific days to each muscle group, rather than doing full body workouts in one session. This gives you more energy to dedicate to one body part, allowing you to build the muscle to its maximum potential. Here is an example of my ideal weekly routine:

Monday- Chest/Cardio
Tuesday- Arms/Cardio
Wednesday- Legs/Glutes, no Cardio
Thursday- Cardio
Friday- Rest
Saturday- Back/Cardio
Sunday- Rest

As you can see, I don’t train my shoulders because this usually causes too much strain leaving me with a headache the next day. This is just my personal opinion, so shoulder exercises may work for you. Dont forget to switch your routine every so often so your body doesn’t get used to the same workouts leading to no change. Give your body some new excitement and it will adjust accordingly.

Needless to say, my leg/glutes day is definitely my favorite. I can do without cardio, although I love to run. But working my legs and glutes gives me some sort of indescribable satisfaction. I have always had the smallest glute muscles (which is the opposite problem for most women) but with this workout once a week, (twice if I have time) has given me a much more defined, rounder and larger (in a good way) “bottom”.

Instead of just going through the motions, push yourself with this workout and you will burn a ton of calories! Most importantly, use weights that are challenging for you. If you are a set of 10, use heavier weights than if you are doing a set of 15. Give yourself 1-2 minutes of rest in between each set, pay close attention to proper form, and have fun with it! If you stick to this 30-45 minute session, once or twice a week, you will see change!

After this workout it is crucial to go home and refuel. It’s best to head straight for a protein shake, or meal including protein, veggies and whole grains. I know so many women who don’t eat anything after a workout, but unfortunately that will only burn off the hard-earned muscle you just worked so eagerly for. At the gym, you are breaking down the muscle tissue, but after the gym with proper sleep and nutrition is when you build that muscle to be stronger than before. Your activities outside of working out are just as important as the hour your spend at the gym. Nourish your body and it will rebuild the muscle you have broken down. Does that make sense?

If you are unsure of any of these exercises, refer to bodybuilding.com for examples and explanations.

(I wish I could find a ‘before’ picture so we can compare…but find me on Instagram!)

:::DISCLAIMER:::

This blog is meant to follow my lifestyle of health and fitness, and inspire others who may be on the same journey. All opinions are my own and not everything I post may be right for you. Anything I discuss is what I believe and I am not responsible for errors or omissions. I am not a certified trainer or nutritionist. Anything posted relating to these fields are my beliefs and what has worked for me. Thank you for your support!

April Fitness Goals

04.09.2013

Let’s talk goals. Do you set long-term or short-term goals for yourself? Goal setting has just come up at work, as we approach a new quarter. Ok, so job related goals aren’t as exciting as fitness or personal for that matter, BUT extremely beneficial. So I usually start off my week with a couple of goals in mind (partially because I am uber organized). Some consist of food prepping on Sunday nights following church, others consist of planning my workout schedule for the week, or as simple as doing my weekly laundry ritual. Sounds a little monotonous but you get the point. What about fitness related goals? I have found that goal setting is another way to set yourself up for success. Actually, I like to think it’s the only way to be successful. So with that said, I like to set my long-term and short-term goals for the month and see how they pan out.

I find that sharing them with you all keeps me accountable, and acts as a journal in sense. Hopefully my personal goals will get you thinking and lead you to jot some down as well.

Short Term Goals:

Drink 1 gallon or more water/day
Bring my lunch and snacks to work each day this week
Continue to build muscle through heavy lifting
Prep for my 10k this coming weekend
Only have 2-3 cheat meals per week
Drink one cup of green tea/day

Long Term:

Run a half marathon this year
Schedule a photo shoot (to get me 110% committed)
Obtain my personal training certification (I have already purchased the classes!!)
Spend more time bloggging, attending expos and exploring other outlets
Help someone else achieve their fitness goals

Above all have fun with it! I wouldn’t be 100% dedicated if I didn’t absolutely love what I am working for. This journey has been so exciting for me and I can only hope to grow in the fitness world, gain as much knowledge as possible and enjoy every minute.

This is a very appropriate time to give a big shout-out to a woman who is the ultimate goal setter and motivating me to get my butt in gear. My lovely Mom decided to set a large goal for herself last year as she has become more and more interested in organized running events. She decided to find at least (1) 5k per month to run in our local area. This month, I was blown away with her commitment to running (3) 5ks and (1) 10k! She has outdone herself and I am so happy for her. Mom, you’re the best! Now would you commit to running an organized race each month?

It’s your turn, get thinking about how to accomplish your goals. Another thing to remember, it’s about the journey as much as the outcome, so enjoy the ride! The dedication, commitment and belief in yourself is the most exciting part. So, believe in yourself a little more and it will be so worth it in the end.

Thanks for reading!!

Treadmill Interval Training

03.26.2013

More often than not, I am bored out of my mind on a treadmill. Staying in the same spot for 30 minutes or more seems so monotonous, but often times I neglect getting outdoors for a run and stick to the treadmill. Interval training not only adds excitement to my workout but also leads to a calorie burn way more effective than running the same pace. Ditch the constant pace and pick it up a notch with interval training! Or experiment with both and see the difference in calorie burn.

Try this interval workout and let us know what you think!

Remember to always start with a warm up, and end with a cool down. You can also add an incline to pick it up a notch. Keep in mind that this pace (MPH) listed may not be suitable for some, so please adjust to your own physical ability.

(Disclaimer: This blog is meant to follow my lifestyle of health and fitness, and inspire others who may be on the same journey. All opinions are my own and not everything I post may be right for you. Anything I discuss is what I believe and I am not responsible for errors or omissions. I am not a certified trainer or nutritionist. Anything posted relating to these fields are my beliefs and what has worked for me. Thank you for your support!)

fit

Latest from Instagram