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| From Karen |
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Summer Rules to Live By!...
Summer is always a time of compromise...how much can I 'cheat' on my meals without gaining weight, how few days can I train and still progress, can I get away with not training on holidays? 
Personally, summer training is the best time for me. That's because the gyms are quiet and I usually have the entire gym to myself! I make sure I go before 11 am, when it starts to get too hot, and I make sure I train 5 days a week.
I've had a lot of people ask me why I dont 'loosen up in the summer', as if that's the norm. It's not in my world! It used to be, when I too was overweight and trying to compromise with everything...eating like I wanted to, training off and on (off in summer) and still wanting to see results...it simply didn't work.
There are certain rules to live by...don't make the summer any different than the rest of the year. Keep that inner fire a-glow, stick to a training regime and watch your eating. And come back in September feeling proud of your efforts!
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Training Tip: aim for 3 days a week minimum. |
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Question: "What's the miminum I need to do to stay in shape over the summer?" 
Answer: In my experience, we require a minimum of 3 days a week to keep the gains we've made all year long...kind of.
Women who continue to weight train over the summer (yes, in-gym stuff) do the best. Now many of us can't get into the gym, so body plyometrics are fine, but they have a hard time keeping your gains if you've been doing an in-gym routine. You just can't duplicate the effects of an in-gym workout.
If you can, commit to using some equipment - dumbells, med ball, a bench, a barbell - all the better. Your body has gotten used to using these and so needs the added resistance to keep progressing.
That's why in our July HLP I've got 7 workouts laid out for my group - with videos, workout cards with suggested weights, reps and sets depending on their level - both in-gym, at-home with minimal to no equipment. I want my gals to come back after summer feeling great, rather than guilty!
Now that's confidence-building!
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| spiritual Matters - it's all an inside job. |
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Health and wellness is an inside job. I learned this little tidbit many years ago, and it still runs my world. In fact, we can use it for all things...love, finances, career. What you think about something dictates your level of success in it.
I remember coming to a crossroads about 5 years ago, when my life just wasn't where I wanted it to be. I had all the opportunity in the world - I came from a decent upbringing, I was smart, motivated, aware, but I just wasn't reaching my fullest potential, particularly in my physique and in my career (I was wiping down equipment in the local gym and taking the odd training client).
I needed to change my thinking, so I started to get clear on my future. Whata did I want? How would it look? Five years later, my health, my physique and my work transformed! I was walking into what I was envisioning.
I've learned to walk as if, in every step of my life. And my life just keeps unfolding! I encourage you to do the same! We only come this way once...
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| she did it - Teresa won Best Overall! |
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My 12-Week Advanced Challenge closed with a bang on Saturday...with all women having completed my rigourous training program, and wow, what a team! One lady, Teresa Ruygrok, won best overall, and no wonder! Here's what she had to say about her experience.
"I've done personal training before and was never really happy. They didn't discuss diet and how to succeed. I loved the 12-Week Advanced Challenge. The intensity kept going up...and seeing the results gave me motivation to strive for more! It really focused on the eating which I am a firm believer is the biggest part of how you can change your body.
Thank you so much Karen for all the work you put into the Challenges. You put your heart and soul into it. You helped create us!"
Thanks Teresa and all the Challengers! It was my pleasure! Our next 10 and 12 Week Challenges start September 17th. Limited seats!
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creatine for results! |
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If I'm always surprised that so many myths are still out there, like creatine being illegal, or a steroid!. I've been using creatine for years, and I gotta say, I wouldn't see the results without it! Especially at my age!..
Creatine is naturally produced in the human body from amino acids primarily in the kidney and liver, and supplies energy to the muscles. About 95% of our total creatine is
located in skeletal muscle.
A study, involving 18 vegetarians and 24 non-vegetarians, on the effect of creatine in vegetarians showed that total creatine was significantly lower than in non-vegetarians. Since vegetables do not represent the primary source of creatine, vegetarians (or those that don't eat adequate protein) show lower levels of creatine. Sports nutritionists still say that even if you eat the required 100-150 grams of protein a day, creatine supplement will increase performance and strength, and aid recovery.
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| Mango Orange Chai Ice Pops! |
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What's summer without a popsicle or two? Try this healthy popsicle (from Oxygen Mag). Fresh OJ protects us from the sun, kefir builds the immune system, and chia is a fibre-rich protein seed!
- 1 cup mango chunks, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup non-fat kefir
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tsp vanilla
Blend orange juice and kefir until smooth. Stir in the chia seeds (available at helath food stores). Blend mango chunks on low speed to achieve a chunky consistency. Pour into ice pop mold and set in freezer until solid, about 4 hours.
Per popsicle: Protein: 4 g, carbs, 19 g, calories, 110.
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| Book corner |
| - Greg Wells, PhD |
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I love reading success stories and the science behind athletes at the top of their game. So when I saw this book advertised on Canada AM, I grabbed it! I wasn't disappointed!
What I like about this book is Wells' in-depth study on high-performance athletes. Being an athlete himself and having trained alongside a lot of them, Wells shows us how they practice, how they harness the power of the mind, and how they stay fit into older age. He throws in science-based info on different body types, the musculature system, clean eating, supplementation and more!
This book is not for Olympians, rather, it is written to inspire and motivate common people like us, and lets us peak into the world of our own possibilities! |
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Summer Sizzles! |
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In our summer Healthy Living Program, we've got tons of in-gym and at-home routines...and even some road routines that you can take on holidays! And I'll show you my latest at-home workout gear from Accufitness that enables me to keep a competitive-level body, in my own basement! If I can fo it, you can do it too! 
Don't leave your fitness to chance. For only $19.99/month you get non-stop training and nutrition support (I did the math...if you were to purchase this or pay a trainer for it, it would be over $300!).
No excuses. Stay with it...You deserve it!
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