Ask the Trainer Tuesday: Proper Exercise Form

In this weeks “Ask the Trainer” Tuesday segment with Lori Murphy, personal trainer and fat loss expert from My Stronger Self Fitness Studio in Brighton, MI, demonstrates two common strength training exercises: the squat and fly. Good form ensures that the movement only uses the main muscles, and avoids recruiting secondary muscles. Proper form is only one ingredient in your overall fitness program. But just like any other recipe, getting one ingredient wrong can ruin the whole project. Form has this power. Get it wrong and you are looking for trouble, if not just bad results. Get it right and you will be that much closer to the body-improving fitness results you seek. Proper form also also lowers your risk of injury.

If you have an exercise or fitness related question, send an email to FitForLife@MyStrongerSelf.com.

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Don’t Use a Machine, BE the Machine!

Listen in as Lori Murphy of My Stronger Self Fitness Studio in Brighton, MI answers a couple of great questions this week regarding the difference between using machines or free weights. Lori also answers a question regarding diet and exercise and how we can never outwork a bad diet. If you exercise, eating to fuel your body is most important so it matters even more what you eat. By getting the protein, carbohydrates and vegetables with each meal/snack, you are properly fueling your body and muscles to work most efficiently and for extended periods of time. Ultimately producing the most energy throughout the day, and support for intense workouts!

If you have a question about health and fitness that you’d like answered leave us a comment here or contact us via email at FitForLife@MyStrongerSelf.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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Running Low on Healthy Food Choices?

It’s Sunday, you’re determined to plan your meals for the week because you know that’s the only way you can make good choices when your schedule gets hectic (and it always does!). Sometimes we just need a quick fix to get us through the day. Well, we found a great article and visual presentation of what 300 calorie meals look like courtesy of diet-blog.com.

Breakfast – 290 Calories

1 whole wheat English muffin
2 pats low fat butter
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 cup of fruit
8 oz fruit juice
8 oz water

Cereal – 300 Calories

1 cup of cereal
8 oz 2% milk
1 banana
1 coffee or tea

Baked potato – 305 Calories

1 medium baked potato
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons salsa
1 cup sliced melon
12 oz water

Oatmeal – 325 Calories

1 cup oatmeal with raisins
1 cup of fruit
1 cup coffee or tea
1 banana

Soup – 350 Calories

1 bowl of soup
1 small tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
12 oz water
4 saltine crackers

Chicken – 345 Calories

6 oz of chicken
1 cup of green beans
2 pats of low-fat butter
1 small tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
12 oz water

Chicken Salad – 350 Calories

1 large tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
6 oz sliced chicken
1 cup of low fat wheat thin crackers
12 oz water

Scrambled eggs – 360 Calories

2 scrambled eggs
2 strips of turkey bacon
1 piece whole wheat toast
1 pat of low fat butter
1 coffee or tea
8 oz water

Fish – 365 Calories

6 oz broiled white fish
1 cup of mashed potatoes
1 pat of butter
1/2 cup of peas
8 oz diet iced tea

Chicken and Rice – 395 Calories

6 oz cooked chicken
2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce
1 cup of mixed vegetables
1/2 cup of brown rice
1 small tossed salad
2 tablespoons reduced fat oil and vinegar dressing
12 oz water

Believe it or not, the average American consumes around 3,800 calories per day. That’s more than all the food shown on this page.

Guacamole Salad

We stumbled across this fresh side dish, guacamole salad and thought how beautiful and healthy it looked. It oozes summer and for Michigan residents it’s something we’ve been waiting for all winter long. Not only would it look great next to a piece of salmon but also make an excellent turkey burger topping too if you if ask me!

Ingredients

• 2 avocados, diced
  

  Guacamole Salad

• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 4 large-ish tomatillos, diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• handful cilantro, chopped
• 2 limes, juiced
• salt

Method

The only thing I really need to explain (probably) is how to deal with tomatillos, so here goes…

Remove the green husks. You’ll feel that the tomatillo is slightly sticky to the touch. Rinse those suckers under some warm water, then chop ‘em up like the rest of the ingredients.

In a large bowl, add all ingredients together and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Health-vent.com

Heavy Weights VS Lighter Weights

We’ve got a couple of great questions this week regarding strength training. Teresa asked the question if it’s good to add a third day of strength training to her fitness routine. And the last question comes from Lisa in Howell and she wonders what’s the difference between using heavier weights and doing less repetitions versus lighter weights and more “reps”. A lot of women have misconceptions about strength training or using weights in their workouts and therefore always stick to cardio based exercise. Cardio is great, but we all need to strength train to create those lean muscles which helps keep our metabolism burning for us.

If you have a question about health and fitness that you’d like answered leave us a comment here or contact us via email at FitForLife@MyStrongerSelf.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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What to Eat Before a Workout?

We answer a couple of questions this week, but one in particular comes from Angelina in Brighton, MI. Angelina wonders what she should eat before a workout. This is a common question and it varies a little on the person and the type of workout. Listen in and let me know what you like to eat before and after your workouts.

If you have a question about health and fitness that you’d like answered leave us a comment here or contact us via email at FitForLife@MyStrongerSelf.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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