Bootylicious

It has been a while since I last posted, and I apologize. Things have been a little crazy with transferring to Rutgers and work and all, but luckily I am getting back in the swing of things. 
I wanted to do a post mainly for the ladies. This post does not exclude the guys by all means, but I feel like having a nice looking backside isn't a mans first priority. 
Your gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your body, therefore it puts off the most amount of force and it is one we are constantly using. Whether we are using it to stand, run, or sit we like to know that it looks good while we are "working it". 
Here are a couple of ideas to help shape up the booty without the gym. 

Single leg squats done in sets of ten. You want to try and keep you front knee from leaning over your toes and drop down to a 90 degree angle. I could have dropped down a little bit farther. This can also be done with dumbbells in each hand. If you don't have any at home try holding a jug of milk or a laundry detergent container. 

Box squat (another form of a single leg squat) should NOT be done on the edge of a bed like shown. These should be performed on a sturdy surface, such as a coffee table. The idea is to squat down as low as possible. The lower you drop the more this will target your butt as apposed to your quads. I have seen people go as far as touching their butt to their heel and coming back up. It is best to face the wall when starting out so that you have something to steady yourself with. These can also be done with weights. I do mine in sets of 5. 

Glute Bridges can be done in two ways. First you can simply drive your heels into the ground and hold the position seen in the second picture or by dropping your butt to the ground and pushing back up as high as possible. You can also hold a barbell or dumbbells on your hip bones while you do this.  

Single Leg Glute Bridge basically the same thing as above only with one leg in the air. 

Lunges are so great because there are so many ways to perform them. Here are a few things to think about when doing lunges. One: never put your knee on the ground doing so lets your glute muscles relax and defeats the purpose of the exercise. Two: you don't want your front knee to go over your toes it can be very hard on your knees. Three: when doing a walking lunge people tend to want to push off of their back leg which causes them to glide through to the next step instead of using your glute muscles. When standing from the lunge position you should always drive your front heel into the ground and almost solely use your front leg to stand. 
As far as versatility you can lunge down and hold that position like in the picture. You can jump up and switch legs, and even treat it as a single leg squat and do reps. 
One last thing about lunges; I see a lot of people at the gym doing walking lunges with dumbbells at their side. When they go to stand up they swing the dumbbells forward and use that momentum to help them stand. This is very bad; it puts you in a bad position and you use more shoulder muscles then leg muscles. Try instead putting a barbell across your shoulders; doing so forces you to stay in position and really drive with the legs. If done correctly this will have your booty burning for days. 

Well I hope that this helps you get the lift you have always wanted! If you want to know about any other muscle group or just plain health questions give me a holler! 

Drive through the pain. 

-Sonya

Muscular Strength

A friend of mine had asked me about muscle growth the other day. He said that he had upped the amount of weight at the gym and still hasn't gained any on his body. He wanted to know how long it takes for muscles to grow. Well Chris here is your answer. 
The muscular system is extremely complex, we have muscles everywhere in our bodies. Just to give a few examples, we have a tiny muscle called the Arrector pili in the middle layer of our skin, one can only guess that it is used to raise the hairs on our body. This is the muscles only purpose. We also have muscles in the iris of our eyes and even in our blood cell walls. 
But enough about microscopic muscles lets get back to the big guns. Muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) varies from person to person. This is because no one is built the same. Some people produce more amino acids, protein builders, than others. But don't fret this has a lot to do with the kinda of foods we eat. The more protein a person eats the faster a muscle will grow. Plus, protein helps fight off fatigue. To get the full effect of protein you should try to consume roughly 20 grams of it within 30 minutes of completing your workout. Two protein bars or a glass of chocolate milk and a peanut butter sandwich should do the trick.  
As we get older it is more difficult to build muscles, because our bodies stop naturally growing in our late teens and early twenties. Therefore one must know how to work their muscles in order to gain mass. Muscle memory is a term used when you do something so much that is just becomes automatic to your body. We see this a lot in sports, when the pros make things look easy and natural. This can also happen when you are in the gym lifting. Your muscles will become accustomed to doing the same lifts, and the lift will stop affecting muscle hypertrophy. You need variety in your workouts. Don't do bench press every time you lift upper body. Try it instead with just dumbbells, or do reverse bench press. If you get to the point where you can do 15 reps without getting tired the wight is too light (for muscular strength that is).
If you start to increase your weights and you don't see a noticeable difference after the first couple weeks don't be alarmed. Muscles grow slowly. On average it takes about two weeks for a workout to affect your muscles, sometimes longer. This all depends on your food intake, and what you do the day after. 
Muscles can be complicated. If you need some advice on alternative workouts or eating habits for gaining weight just post a comment! I will be happy to help in anyway that I can! 

Stay positive. 

-Sonya

Getting Started

I was talking to my boyfriends mom the other day and she said she hadn't done any physical activity in a long time. 
"I sat down to stretch and even that was difficult!" she had told me.

My mom said something along the same lines to me a while ago. 

"I went for a 30 minute bike ride and I came back and was so sore for days after. It just made me not want to go out and ride my bike again." 
I get the feeling that this is the case for a lot of people, younger and older, and when everything doesn't start clicking right away they just stop. 
Here are a couple of ways to slowly get back into fitness minimizing the amount of pain. You are going to be sore that can't be avoided but hopefully this helps it to be more tolerable.
Walking is a great way to get back into shape if you haven't worked out is a while. Take a 30 minute walk every day just to get your muscles used to doing physical activity again. After you have done that for a couple of weeks try upping your pace and holding it for the duration of the walk. Get to the point where you are walking swiftly for 30 minutes instead of just leisurely. You will be surprised at how much simply walking can do for you. 
You are going to be sore and stretching for about 20 minutes after your work out can help. I wrote an earlier post about the different types of stretches and when to do them. If you need some advice an stretching check it out! Or just leave a comment for me. 
If you are not big on jogging try swimming! Swimmers experience the least amount of injury because there is barely any pressure on your bones when you are in the water. Do the same thing with swimming as you would walking. Swim casually for about 30 minutes then work your way up! 
Working out is all about knowing where to start, and working your way up to harder things. If you are are older and want to try some of the work outs I have previously posted on here try doing them at a slower pace or a jog! That would be another good way to get into working out again. 
Fitness is something that never goes away. It keeps your body healthy and you can feel it into your old age. My grandpa is 92 years old and he walks at least 3 miles daily. His doctor even said that he is healthier than a lot of young people. He doesn't really eat anything special, and he loves a glass of scotch with a cigar whenever he can. Fitness really helps; you just have to know where to start!
Leave me some comments! 

Failing is the first step to success. 

-Sonya 

I Need a Massage

So the past couple of days have been kind of rough. What with finding time to get a workout in and working practically all day every day I haven't had a whole lot of time to just unwind, or get rid of some soreness. Good news is that I have found a couple ways to get rid of some soreness and stress in a decent amount of time. 

Lets be honest most of us don't have the time to take a full body ice bath after a workout every day. Filling up the bath with cold water and putting ice in it, then actually laying in it for 15 or 20 minutes just isn't going to happen. Instead after a workout take a cold shower! We generally take 10-15 minute showers anyway why not turn it into a rehab as well? The reason we are told to put ice onto a sore spot or a swollen area is because the ice makes our blood thin and it moves more easily through the swollen area. Which means more white blood cells to help with repairs! 

Feet sore and no one wants to touch them? Sit in a chair and place a tennis ball under your foot then simply move your foot back and forth over the ball. This makes for a great arch massage. It feels amazing and you can do it if no one else wants to give you one! You can even do this at the office! If you want a deeper massage use a denser ball. 

Foam rollers are kind of the same concept. Only you can use them on your whole body. I highly recommend investing in one. They are fantastic!

We have all heard about how yoga is a great way to relax and release some stress, which is very true. But not everyone can afford the classes let alone have the time to attend them. So here is what you can do instead. In a dark quiet room lay on the floor facing up. Close your eyes and while breathing deeply and steadily flex your muscles one at a time. Start by clenching your fists and toes then flex your calves and biceps. Work from your extremities inward. Lastly scrunch up your face. While your whole body is flexed and tight take two deep breathes and begin to slowly relax your body in the same fashion. As you release your tension really focus on deep breathing and feeling your stress exit the body. This is one of the simplest forms of yoga and it takes a total of 30 seconds. If you want to give it an extra little boost light a mint or jasmine candle. Both of these sents are said to help relieve stress. 

You can also do this in a warm or cold bath too. It works wonders! 

Try some of these tricks this week and let me know what you think!

Eliminate unnecessary stress.

-Sonya

So Sore

The other day a coworker of mine said he had been reading my blog and wanted me to take him for a spin on the track. It was raining a little that next morning which made running conditions really nice. I gave him an option of two workouts that were honestly about the same difficulty. This is the one he chose (that we are both still sore from).

Two 300 meter sprints 75-80% max speed (3 min rest)
5 min rest
Two 200 meter sprints 75-80% max speed (3 min rest)
5 min rest
Two 100 meter sprints 80-90% max speed (3 min rest)

The goal is to run each set in the same amount of time. For example we ran both our 300's in about 47 seconds, our 200's in 34 seconds, and our 100's in a low 15.

We took about a 7-10 minute break then we started bounding. Bounding is a series of explosive jumping generally the idea is to be on the ground for the least amount of time as possible. There are all sorts of bounding exercises, but these are the ones we did. 

10 tuck jumps (land light and be off the ground again fast)
7 single leg tuck jumps (7 each leg)
5 standing broad jumps (land soft, reposition yourself, then jump again)
Do everything twice. 

Lastly we finished up the workout with 500 ab exercises of some sort. We did 50 crunches to warm up our abdominals and then did sets of 25 (various abs) until we reached 500. If you are not used to doing that many abs at a time then do less. 500 is a lot. 

This exercise is really focused on your quads, inner thighs, gluts (booty), and calves. 
For anyone who is unsure of the distances: 300 meters is 2 straights and a curve on the track, a 200 is one curve and one straight, a 100 is one straight. There are markings on the track that tell you where to begin, or at least there should be! Try this out if you are having trouble thinking of work outs to do and let me know how it goes!

Try something new. 

-Sonya

Dynamic, Static, and Ballistic Stretching

I really want to talk about stretching, what is the correct way to do so, and when is the best time to. I feel like there are a lot of people out there who still think that static stretching is the only way to get your body ready for a workout or competition. Which is definitely false. 

There are three types of stretching. Static stretching, dynamic stretching, and ballistic stretching. Static stretching is the form that most people probably think of when they hear the word "stretch", this is stretching without any movement. For example this would be seated toe touches, or tricep pulls. This sort of stretching is what should be performed after a workout not before. When we workout we get lactic acid build up in our muscles; this is what makes our muscles start to ache as we continue to run or lift. Static stretching helps release that lactic acid build up so that we don't get so sore. Hence you do static stretches at the end of your work out. 

Dynamic stretching is stretching with movement. Some dynamic stretches would consist of walking lunges, leg swings, walking quad pulls, arm circles, etc. This type of stretching should be done before a workout. It just makes more sense to warm up your body by doing a movement that is similar to ones that will be done durning a performance. Could you imagine trying to run a 100 meter sprint without doing any short sprints before the race? Or pitching a baseball full speed without doing some warm up throws? Recent studies have shown that athletes who do 20-30 minutes of dynamic stretching before a competition are less likely to get injured during their performance. 

The last type of stretching is one that is no longer done, or at least should no longer be done. Ballistic stretching is uncontrolled bouncing. An example of this would be a variation of standing toe touches where you bounce up and down to get a deeper stretch. The idea for these stretches was that with every bounce the athlete would be stretching farther. However, this is not the case; ballistic stretching is very bad for you. It puts a lot of pressure on your joints and ligaments. You can unintentionally hyper extend something and cause injury to yourself. It is even possible to pull a muscle.  

Strive to find knowledge.

-Sonya

Just Some Answers

Powerlifting: 
My old wrestling coach is an amazing guy, and when it comes to health I always trust what he says. I had some questions about powerlifting and where to start, so I consulted him and this is what he had to say:

Hope this helps!

Small meals:
We have all heard that it is better for you to eat 6-8 small meals a day, which can seem a little overwhelming if you are unsure of what a small meal really is. This is actually a very common question. I understand how is seems completely insane to eat 8 meals a day; you would spend most of your time eating and get nothing done! Really you should think of these meals more as snacks then anything else. 

Here is what a normal day of eating looks like for me-
9:00am: Refried beans and an egg with a glass of milk
10:30am: Some sort of fruit or veggie. ex: grapes, baby carrots, etc.
12:00pm: Turkey/Chicken sandwich or salad with some sort of granola/power bar.
1:30pm: Yogurt and granola or crackers and peanut butter
3:00pm: Toasted peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread. 
6:00pm: What ever I decide to cook for dinner that night. (This will normally be my largest meal of the day) 
9:00pm: Some sort of snack similar to the ones eaten during the day. (Sometimes it is a chocolate snack. I deserve to indulge myself every once in a while and so do you!)

Keep in mind this is not exactly what I eat every day and not at those exact times. That would just be boring. Sometimes I eat more and some days I eat less, and somedays I eat better then others too. It should also be noted that this is the meal plan for someone who is trying to lose or maintain their current weight. This is not for someone who is trying to bulk up. 
Hopefully after reading this it will help to understand what is meant by a small meal!

Feed your desire. 

-Sonya

Hydration Station

I wanted to talk a little about being hydrated. You see a friend of mine is a fire fighter and we work out together sometimes, but when we work out in the heat of the day she tends to get light headed easily and want to throw up. She works out regularly but the difference is that she normally only lifts indoors with her other coworkers, and when she comes to work out with me we do a lot of running and endurance training. Which is not something that she is used to any longer. 
She drinks plenty of water during the workout, but that is the problem. She doesn't drink enough before and after the workout. In my principals of strength and conditioning class we touched briefly on hydration and how it works. The thing is that your body needs plenty of water long before you work out; not just during the workout. If you start to feel dehydrated and drink some water here and there as you workout the feeling normally doesn't fully go away. This is because your body uses the water that has already been in your system before you start working to keep you cool and hydrated. If you drink water during the work out your body doesn't have enough time to absorb and use that water to stay hydrated. 
I am not saying that you should stop drinking water during a workout, just that you should drink plenty of it throughout the day and especially a few hours before you go get your grind on. 
I think people underestimate how important water really is to the body. It can help you in so many ways. It even helps fight off wrinkles! 
Here are some signs of dehydration:
-light headed/dizzy
-blurred/tunneled vision
-excessive sweating 
-nausea 
The best thing to do if you ever feel dehydrated is to stay upright or lean against something, slowly drink water, and put some on your wrists, ears, and behind the neck. Never sit, lay, or bend over. When you bend over you restrict your diaphragm  and close off your airways. Doing this will cause you to throw up or pass out. Which is never fun. 

Your body is your sanctuary.

-Sonya

ABDOMINALS!

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone asked me about ab muscles. Which is actually really good because those are probably my favorite muscles to work out. There are several things you should consider when working your abs. They are different than your other muscles. The reason they are so difficult to maintain (especially for women) is because when we gain weight the first place to get a layer of fat is normally the gut region. Your abs are still there just under a layer of fat. The fastest way to get and keep your abs looking good is cardio; lots and lots of cardio. Why do you think runners and swimmers and gymnasts have amazing looking abs? Because they work cardio like no other. (Yes even gymnasts run) 
If you are really dedicated to keeping your abs looking tight here is what you need to do. 
1) Work them daily: go hard one day and easy the next 
2) Increase the amount of cardiovascular workouts that you do. (cardiovascular workouts are anything where your heart rate is increased for long periods of time 20-30 min or more)
3) Watch what you eat! No more fast food. Steer clear of sodas. Stick with lean beef and anything that flies or swims is always going to be a better choice than red meat. When it comes to meals you should try and eat 6-8 small meals a day. This will help speed up your metabolism. Faster metabolism=more pooping=weight loss! Don't be starving or stuffed ever; you want to be content. 
As far as workouts go there are all sorts of things you can do. Here are a few ideas on combining abs and your cardio workout:
-Combination pull up/abs: switch off a set of pull ups and then a set of abs right after you drop off the bar. 
-Combination sprints/abs: sprint at a 80-90% speed for 60-70 yards then drop and do a set of 25 abs then get up and sprint again. 5 sprints is one set. (You can also make it a circuit and throw some pushups and squat jumps into the mix!) 
Just plain abs:
-With a partner: hold your legs 6 inches off the ground and for X amount of time have your partner firmly (yet bearable) punch your abs. This will cause you to keep your abs tighter than you are used to. Plus you look like a bad ass at the gym.
-With a partner: have your partner toss a medicine ball slightly above your head. Catch in an upright position do a sit up with the ball above your head and on the way back up toss the ball hard back to your partner. You can do this sideways as well if you need a good oblique workout. 
If you have anymore questions about abs or want to see pictures or need more explanation on anything just leave a comment! 

Utilize your surroundings.

-Sonya

Think Realistically

I had a pretty good workout today after work. I ran 3 sets of stadium stairs then did 4 sets of 60 meter sprints some abs and pull ups. I get the feeling sometimes that lots of people think that working out means a gruesome three hour workout where you can barely walk afterwards, but this is not true at all. You can get a good workout in 30 minutes to an hour it just depends on what you are trying to accomplish and in what time frame you would like it to happen. 
When planning your workouts you have to think realistically! Don't go out there thinking you are going to run 3 miles when you have never ran like that in your life. I can't even run 3 miles without stopping, and I have been working out almost on a daily basis for as long as I can remember. All your work outs should be something you have worked up to. For example I take my workouts a week at a time. I write a weeks worth of work outs try it out and then seeing how my body feels at the end of the week I either pile on a little more work load or take a little off in places. I guess in my next post I should talk a little about how to write a workout for yourself huh? Well in the mean time I hope this helps a little! 

Seek multiple options.

-Sonya

New Shoes, New Hills

My boy friend Ryan bought my these new shoes made by Saucony last week. I always thought that I would forever be a Nike Free typer of girl, but these shoes are fantastic! I did an easy hill work out the other day and they worked wonders for my feet and shins. My Frees normally give my some grueling shin splints when I do any sort of bounding or jumping (up hills included) but I didn't feel it coming once! They even worked well when I did some short sprints. I was staying on my toes much easier than in my Frees which in turn helped my run faster and get a better workout. I definitely recommend making your next pair of running shoes a pare of Saucony's. 

My new babies! 

As far as workouts go if you are like me and hate hate hate! running hills try to find a short yet very steep hill (50-60 degree) and try doing standing broad jumps up the hill. It really targets the gluteus (booty) muscles and the quads. Of course you should still do a few sets of sprints up the hill but at least this will give you some variety in your work out routine.

Open your possibilities.

-Sonya

Work in Progress

So this is my very first post! I have never done this before and I am still new to the whole process so bare with me, but hey this whole health kick idea might be a first for you too. Just like this blog page is a work in progress so is your body. It is constantly changing, inside and out. Although you may not have a whole lot of control over the changes that your body goes through you can help it form and grow into your ideal physical appearance. Whether you are looking to lose weight, bulk up, tone down, or just relieve some stresses of daily life being healthy, physically and mentally, works wonders. Health encompasses so many aspects it is not strictly nutrition and exercise like many believe. There are actually 7 dimensions of wellness which include: social, emotional, environmental, occupational, intellectual, physical and spiritual. 
Being a collegiate athlete I use all 7 of these on a daily basis. One might not see how but hopefully through this blog I can help others to learn as well. My goal is to post every couple of days or daily on my personal experiences. I want to talk about my workouts, nutrition ideas, and answer common or uncommon questions on food, athletic apparel, injuries, and any other curiosities that my followers may have. As a Journalism/Health Promotion major this is what I believe I would like to do for a living so please tell me if I am helping (or not) in anyway. 

Discover your possibilities. 
-Sonya