fABulous ABs

Written with love, by Kim Riegel

Amongst all the craziness of planning a wedding is the desire to feel and look your best on your wedding day. I am going to give you the "skinny" on what it realistically takes to get flat, fABulous abs!

Bad news first ladies...

There is a little bit of a genetic component that can influence how to get flat abs. For the most part, women usually fit into one of two body types:

1. Some women are apple-shaped, which means they carry more weight in their upper body, chest, and stomach area.

2. Other women are pear-shaped, which means they are smaller in the upper body and waist area, with more weight in the hips, buttocks, and thighs.

A pear shape is usually more genetically predisposed to a flatter stomach. Jennifer Lopez is a good example of a pear shape, with a flat stomach and a little more weight in the hips and butt area.

Now the good news...

That does not mean that you cannot get flat abs if you are more like an apple shape. It just means that you may have to work harder with all of the other components that are required to get flat abs. So let's talk about what those are!

Flat abs will not appear just by doing abdominal exercises.

I want to clear up a few items...you have muscle underneath with fat and skin on top. While you may work very hard to strengthen the muscles, if there is a thick layer of fat on top of the muscle, the abs will never be seen. This transitions us into the first component which is DIET.

Diet

Getting flat abs requires eating a good, healthy diet. If you don't shed the skin and fat above the muscle, they will never be seen. It can be done! I had a baby and was also on bed rest during my pregnancy. Yet with a healthy diet, overall strength training exercises and cardiovascular training combined with the right abdominal exercises, was able to get my flat, toned stomach back and you can too!

Which leads me to component number 2...

Strength Training + Cardio

Spot reducing unfortunately does not exist, so doing 1,000 crunches alone is not the answer. You should incorporate a program with overall total body strengthening along with cardio to help burn fat quicker and increase your lean muscle. This will, in turn, speed up your metabolism. When you begin to lose weight, the muscle on your body will begin to be seen.

Abdominal Training

Finally, the abdominal exercises themselves. Without getting too technical, the core is made up of different types of muscles. Some pelvic muscles are deep and help with pelvic alignment, the spine, and balance, while superficial muscles are the ones that can be seen and are on top. The ones that run up and down are the rectus abdominals, and the ones that run at an angle are your obliques.

Here are a few examples of abdominal exercises that you can do to strengthen and flatten those abs!

1. Plank

This exercise is good for the deep core muscles. You can either start on your elbows and toes, or on your hands and toes in a push-up position. Keep your body straight like a board and pull your belly button in toward your spine.

Try to hold each repetition anywhere between 30 and 60 seconds. Try shifting your body weight so your core is holding you up more than your upper body. Your abs should be shaking.

A way to step up the intensity is to alternate one leg up in the air for 10 seconds and then switch to the other leg.

2. Plank on a stability ball

This is an advanced step up from a plank on the floor. Get an appropriate size stability ball. Roll out face down on the ball to a push-up position with the ball underneath your shins. Keep your body straight like a board with your belly button drawn in toward your spine. Adding the ball now gives you an instability factor which, in turn, causes your abs to work harder to stay in position and hold the ball still.

You can even advance this one to a leg up, hip extension with one leg on the ball for 10 seconds, alternating legs.

3. Oblique twists with a medicine ball

Grab a medicine ball anywhere from 4 to 8 pounds. If you do not have one, anything that is small and has some weight will do. Get a mat or something with cushion and sit on the floor with both legs out in front of you with your knees slightly bent. Clutch the medicine ball to your chest and lean back just a little bit. Contract your abs to hold you in place and begin rotating and tapping the medicine ball from side to side on the ground, close to your body. This exercise should fatigue your abs rather quickly and does not need a lot of repetition.

4. Long Lever Crunches

These are crunches with your legs extended out in front and knees slightly bent with your toes pointing to the ceiling. Place your hands behind your head and begin to curl up and down.

I like these crunches because they change your center of gravity while doing the abdominal crunch. When your knees are very bent, you may tend to feel it up higher in your abs. But when you extend your knees out in front of you, your center of gravity changes to a lower position, causing you to feel your abs working harder and more in the lower abdominal region.

While there is no magic number of how many reps and sets to do, do as many as you can to feel the burn in multiple sets.

Happy Ab Training!

Fast Tips for Fat Loss

Written with love, by Rebecca Fisher

Take a moment and consider your workout routine. How many days a week do you work out? Do you stay with the same routine, or try to get new ideas and add some zing to your workouts?

News flash!

You must change up your workouts daily to wake up your muscles to perform in new ways . Do you have a certain image of how you want to look and feel (other than the obvious, which is your best!) on your wedding day? In order to match your vision, you must continually change up your workouts!

Do you have an action plan for getting there? I would bet that you may have some sense of how you would like to look but may not know exactly what you should be doing. Am I correct? 

When I'm unsure about where to start to achieve a goal, I go back to the basics of whatever it is that I want to accomplish. I want to do it right! 

I've compiled a list to get you on your way or maybe even out of your own way!

What you truly want to feel is fabulous and FIT! Focusing on fat loss is essential for a fit bride. Here's how to maximize your results! Let me know how they work for you and remember to share these with your friends. Add in your own and create a new game plan for a successful workout strategy that will bring you in at your best ever bridal body!!

Fast Tips for Fat Loss

1. Always aim for 12-15 reps per set. Always aim for 3 Sets. 

2. Resting in between sets is highly variable, depending on your fitness level. If possible, do a jog in place(keep up those knees to raise up the intensity...therefore more fat burning) for 30 seconds in between sets. If you have been exercising, rest for 10-15 seconds in between sets. This raises your stamina level and heightens your metabolism, burning more fat.

3. Focus on using good form in the exercise, not speed. This reduces your chance of injury and as you feel more fluent in the new exercises, you will speed up automatically.

4. Always get approval from family and a doctor before starting a new fitness or exercise program. 

5. Train 3 days a week, resting at least a day between training. Take a vigorous walk or ride your bike at a moderate pace for 30 minutes and allow your muscles to adapt, all while your now fat burning capabilities of your metabolism are speeding up daily.

6. Review your daily way of eating with a dietician or nutritionist that can support you in your goals. Eating "clean" and fat burning to hand and hand. However, you can learn the tricks of raising your fat burning potential through diet as well. Adding in portion control and strategizing when to eat certain starchy carbohydrates and good fats can help you meet your goals faster.

7. Listen to your body. Start with 1 circuit if you are a beginner, and rest 30 seconds between each set. Stop when you run out of steam.

Intermediate: Push yourself, but never compromise your form. Do 2-3 circuits and rest 10-15 seconds between exercises, Or Light 30 second jog.

Advanced: Do 3 circuits. Rest 30 seconds between circuits and add in a 30 second high knee jog in between each exercise.

Try this Fat Burning Circuit Workout!

Unsure of the correct form of any of these exercises? There are great YouTube videos to show you every move correctly! Just go to your YouTube app and search the exercise!

 1. Walking Lunge 

2. Swiss Ball Glute Bridge

3. Push-Up

4. Bent Over Dumbbell Rows

5. Superman(woman!) with Arm sweep

6. Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curl

7. Reverse Crunch with Swiss Ball

Enjoy your results!!

WARNING: The Honeymoon Slump

Written with love, by Jaime Innis

With every wedding comes SO much excitement and so much energy. The part that we often forget is that is causes stress. The honeymoon is SO needed and so rejuvenating to have immediately after the wedding. My husband and I went to Greece and London for 12 days and needed those twelve days for some recuperation after seven months of planning a wedding, having a wedding, and then being married.

The first thing I told Steve (my husband) when we arrived in London was that I was not going to hold back. This is the ONLY honeymoon I will ever be able to have and I'm going to indulge guilt-free. For the seven months of my engagement leading up to my wedding, I did a monthly 3 day cleanse (www.facebook.com/coachjaimeglonek for more info). I didn't eat carbohydrates past 6pm, I drank a gallon of water a day, I lifted HEAVY 2-3x per week, taught Turbo Kick 2x per week, and gave myself one good day of rest. I took care of my body and worked hard to fit into my perfect wedding dress with SCULPTED shoulders. Looking back on pictures, my body was in its peak.

Fast forward to AFTER the honeymoon. I had planned on 3-4 days of taking it easy expecting to be jet-lagged. What I did NOT expect was to have such a hard time getting back on track after indulging for two weeks straight. My sleeping habits were off, my sugar cravings were at an all time HIGH, and I was incredibly lethargic. 

Let me remind you, I have no regret or guilt for allowing myself to enjoy the honeymoon of our dreams. We wined and dined and enjoyed lots of CARBS and RED WINE.

BUT... I knew it was going to be a gradual process to get back to where I was on my wedding day. I asked my husband for support and he agreed to help us BOTH get back on track.

How did we get back on track? 

1. We stopped going out to eat

Eating out puts such a damper on our waistlines. Even if I opt for the "healthier" options, it is still likely to be cooked differently than how I cook things. It will more likely be higher sodium, higher fat, and more sugar. When we go out to eat we almost always order wine and that alone will increase your sugar cravings, negatively affect your sleeping patterns, and leave you feeling dehydrated.

2. Meal prep and grocery shop WEEKLY, if not twice a week.

This means lots of veggies, fruits, lean proteins, and complex carbs. This also means chopping up and washing ALL fruits and veggies before placing them in the fridge. This allows me to make up less of an excuse when there is "nothing to eat" when in reality, all of the prep work is done for me. It also saves a ton of time. I leave the veggies, fruits, and lean proteins in the FRONT of the fridge so that they are the first things I see upon opening the fridge. 

3. Get back on my workout routine.

Yes, Steve and I were VERY active on our honeymoon. We did not lift weights once, and had lost the strength we had built up. I needed to remind myself to start slow with this process to avoid any injury. 

4. Water intake .

I got back to drinking at least half of my body weight in ounces each day - I aim for 1 gallon per day. The more hydrated you are, the less likely you are to crave junk food. This also helps to make you sleep better, your skin clearer, and your hair shinier. All great benefits! Lately, I have been starting my day off with 10 ounces of water before I do anything else.

I hope this tips help you get back on track after your wedding or after ANY slump in your health and fitness. Please know that this is a LIFESTYLE and we all deserve to enjoy the things we love...in moderation. If you are lost or need some extra motivation, I would love to chat - It's what I do :) XO