Referenced Links In This Episode: www.MadeFitTV.com - www.twitter.com/jennydidonato

Happy New Year to all! Not only does January 1st bring a new year, it is accompanied by the urge for people to get in shape. But jumping in too quickly into a fitness program that you haven’t done in ages may do more harm than good. Starting out slow is a guaranteed way to help you pick up the pace through the next few months. A good way to ease into your fitness program is to learn how to warm up properly and stretch.

There are several different ways of stretching reserved for different activities and movements. One of which is static stretching. Static stretching is most common where you hold a position for a period of time to relax and elongate the muscles. The reason this is good for the muscles is because it helps keeps muscle fibers elastic and keeps the blood flowing to prevent tears, strains and injuries.

It’s important to note that before you perform this type of stretch, you must warm up. Stretching stiff, cold muscles is like trying to stretch a rubber band that was left in the refrigerator — it snaps. Ouch! If you are doing cardiovascular exercise, walk at a brisk pace for five minutes and then stretch before getting back on the treadmill for your run. If you’re wanting to stretch a muscle that has been stiff from weight-lifting, always stretch it AFTER your workout. Studies show stretching before weight-lifting may inhibit muscle contraction performance because the muscle has been elongated. Make sense?

To see some good stretches to incorporate into your routine, check out this weeks podcast. The notes below will also help you follow along.

Seated Hamstring (Leg) Stretch:
Sit with one leg extending in front on you and the other leg tucked close to your torso. Lean your chest forward while keeping your leg straight. You should feel the stretch behind your straight leg. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds and repeat on other leg.

Gluteal and Piriformis (Butt) Stretch:
While seated, place your left foot flat on the ground. Take your right leg and bend it so the side of its ankle rests on your left knee. Hold your butt off the ground with your hands under you and lean your weight forward. You should feel the stretch on your right glute. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds and repeat on the other leg.

Pectoral (Chest) Stretch:
Find a wall or a pole and stand facing it with half of your body overlapping it. Place your right arm against the wall or pole at a 90 degree angle so the entire inside of your forearm from your wrist to your elbow is against it. Lean your chest forward and hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat on your other arm.

Referenced Links:
Contact me anytime - Be my twitter friend! www.Twitter.com/jennydidonato

Happy Holidays! From now until January 1st you will most likely be eating daily three times the calories your body burns in just one day. That said, we should probably cut corners where we can — and I’m not talking about cakes!

Good habits to live by during this “season of splurging” is to avoid drinking your calories, cutting back on portions, and not going back for seconds. Notice how I’m not telling you to avoid the sweets? Cutting it out cold turkey — especially during the Holidays — may prompt you to completely lose your mind from sugar-deprivation, steal the entire pumpkin pie, and down it in two minutes while hiding out in the hall closet!

So instead of doing away with the sweet-stuff, watch this week’s podcast and try whipping together this healthy dessert recipe that’s both tasty and satisfying. If you love peanut butter, this one’s for you!

Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Ingredients: 1 cup plain instant oats, 1 cup honey, 1 cup natural peanut butter (drained), 1 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder

1.) With peanut butter still in the jar, drain the oil off of the top
2.) Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl with a spatula
3.) Wash your hands and continue mixing the ingredients until there are no dry spots
4.) Roll up balls of the mixture about the size of a half-dollar and place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper
5.) Cover with wax paper or parchment paper and refrigerate
Optional: You may also melt down two cups of semi-sweet chocolate morsels and dip one side of each ball in it before refrigerating

Servings: approx. 24 balls
One serving, plain= 103 calories
3.5g fat
11.5g carbs
7.5g protein
6g sugar

One serving w/chocolate= 138 calories
5.5g fat
17g carbs
7.5g protein
10g sugar

Tired of your Ab Roller taking up space? Tired of trying to sell your Ab Roller? Tired of looking for your Ab Roller? Tired of being tired of looking for your… Alright! I know, you get it! I just thought I’d slam you one more time with some of that infomercial garbage — because that’s where you got your Ab Roller through, right? Well, if you think it’s just an out-dated piece of metal that used to give you the fantasy of having your own “six-pack” someday think again! There are many ways to use your Ab Roller to exercise other muscle groups besides your core… and I’m going to show you! Now, pull that baby out of the closet.

First of all, you should never use your Ab Roller other than what’s intended of it. But we’re going to make an exception on that (wink, wink). I came up with some simple moves you can do by incorporating your Ab Roller.

Check out this week’s podcast for the step-by-step instructions on how to perform new movements with an Ab Roller. They include incline push ups, tricep dips, elevated split squats, and inverted back rows. Just make sure you follow along carefully so you don’t get hurt!

This Weeks Referenced Links
www.askohdoctah.com
www.poledancefactory.com

I may preach and live the healthy and fit lifestyle — but that doesn’t mean that it’s so easy for me all the time. I’m just like you; I can’t get in all of my fruits and vegetables every day. I can’t stay away from non-whole grain carbohydrates all the time. And I sometimes can’t eat just one portion. Now, these are innocent humanly flaws. But if they become a constant habit, then I may be headed down a slippery slope of malnutrition and love handles!

The trick that keeps me level with my overall health and fitness is that I try to control the situation with options that are best for me and my lifestyle. Because nutrition accounts for 75%-80% of the results we see from exercise, starting with your shopping cart is the best way to gain control of eating healthy, without really feeling like you are. Another important variable is understanding and following the serving sizes and nutrition facts on the food labels. Only you can control what you put inside your body — and how much.

Check out this week’s video for some simple and easy ways to clean up your grocery list and nutrition habits while staying within your comfort zone. This is geared toward the everyday person just looking for a little guidance!

For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the official kick-off of the holiday season. It’s also a big excuse for many to kick their fitness program. Well, not if I can help it!

You don’t have to throw away months of hard work and training just because you go overboard on one or two days. So, to ensure from the get-go that you don’t get crazy with the gravy… the first thing you should do on your holiday morning is get moving!

Working out before you even touch all of the fixin’s may make you less likely to splurge later on. Why? Click on my video and I’m going to show you a workout that will kick your butt so hard you won’t want to undo it (I hope)! Plus, working out right off the bat as opposed to saving it for later (which is code for “not at all”) will burn off some of those extra calories you’ll consume when you’re gorging on your second slice of pumpkin pie.

So, watch my video and then print out these notes to follow along for when you do your pre-holiday workout. You’ll need a treadmill and two dumbbells that are light enough that you can perform 15 repetitions, but still challenging that you feel the burn at the end of every set.

Total workout time: 35-40 minutes
1.) Warm up on the treadmill for one to five minutes at a comfortable pace
2.) Walk at a minimum of 3.5 miles per hour at a 4% incline for one minute
3.) Carefully grab your dumbbells and perform 15 overhead presses while still walking
4.) Next, walk for one minute and then perform 15 hammer bicep curls while still walking
5.) Now, get off the treadmill — but keep it on — and perform a total of 20 alternating reverse lunges while holding your dumbbells at your sides
6.) Get back on the treadmill, lower the incline to zero, and crank up your speed and run at a medium to high pace for five minutes
7.) After your run, bring your pace back down to at least 3.5 miles per hour and bump your incline back up to 4% for one minute
8.) Repeat three times

Health and fitness is a necessity to keep us living long, fulfilled lives. But if we need it to live, why is it so damn hard? Because we unnecessarily make it that way!!! Whether you need to lose 50 pounds or just want to get back in shape, beginners can’t expect to jump in head first and see instant results. That, more likely than not, may lead to really sore muscles, injuries, malnutrition, and a strong detest for exercise. I don’t blame you. But there is a way for you to kick your program off easier –and correctly– so you eventually do see lasting results.

If you’re getting your butt into shape for the first time, you need to initially take it slooooooow. Forget about what other people are doing! They may not have the same goals as you! Instead, start out with lighter, but challenging, weights that allow you to do higher repetitions while still feeling “the burn.” No matter where you are now and what your goal is, EVERYONE should ALWAYS lift weights.

To prevent injury that will keep you away from exercise even longer, use correct form while focusing on every movement and muscle you work. Also, perform compound movements. They work more than one muscle group and are great for conditioning yourself for overall performance.

You want more? Click on my video to see what I’m talking about! After you watch it and try out the exercises, comment on the blog or email me at jenny[@]bridesmadefit.com.

Lower Back. Even the name sounds like it’s not a priority so why the heck would you consider it? Well, you should! If you’re a living being right now, your lower back is being engaged constantly — and most-likely being mistreated. I know you don’t mean to disregard your back when your slouching in your work chair, helping your buddy move, or racking too much weight at the gym… but you are.

Now is the time to start incorporating lower back exercises into your routine. If you’re one of the lucky ones who has 6 months of snow-shoveling to look forward to like me, then you’re especially in need of a good exercise to get you going so you don’t injure yourself. Deadlifts are the answer.

A deadlift can include a barbell or dumbbells being lifted from your shins to standing position, using primarily your lower back, along with the hips, butt, and legs. You may typically see men doing this movement at the gym, but ladies need to do them too!! Because deadlifts require sufficient form and strength of the lower back, injury is very common if you get lazy. But, I don’t want you to avoid this movement all together either. So, click on this week’s video, watch, and learn the correct way to perform a deadlift for a strong, sturdy, sexy lower back!

And finally, I give a big shout out to Jon over in the UK who just finished the New York City Marathon! He raised over £2,500 for the Orchid Male Cancer Charity. He said that he used some of my workouts to help with some of his resistance training and he actually shed five minutes off of his time! That is awesome! So, congrats to Jon!

If you want to email me a question or share some fitness news that you would like to see on the next show, EMAIL ME! (jenny[at]bridesmadefit.com)

As a trainer, I am constantly asked by people how they can target their “lower abs.” In actuality, there is no such thing as lower abs. Humans are programmed to store excess fat in the lower abdomen region for survival. Unfortunately, this God-given (or, evolution-given) trait is unbecoming if stored in high amounts. And the site of it tricks us into thinking all of those crunches we’re doing aren’t paying off.

Fat loss in your abdomen can only come from a consistent program of cardiovascular exercise and a nutrition plan low in sugar and refined carbohydrates. Read these words: you CAN eat carbs!! Complex or simple carbs in minimal portions. Along with a good program to help you burn the fat, toning the abdominal muscles will make them stronger and look more defined.

The abdomen is made up of a series of muscles. The region in the center we target for a six-pack is the Rectus Abdominis. Performing jackknife crunches can target this muscle in it’s entire range of motion, upper and lower.

Along the sides of the Rectus Abdominis are the Internal and External Oblique muscles. These can be targeted from twisting motions, such as the bicycle crunch.

The Transverse Abdominis is the muscle in the center of the core underneath the obliques, which acts as a girdle. To condition this muscle, you can perform exercises that invert the pelvis, such as a prone position pike on a fit ball. See this awesome abdominal workout in this week’s podcast, and try it yourself!

Halloween is here! And I’ve been sweatin’ to the 80’s, 90’s, and “now” at the gym all week in anticipation to get my trick-or-treat on! Okay…I didn’t go that overboard on the stairclimber because I don’t plan on going overboard on the sweets, either. But, prepping for the possibility of eating outside of your nutrition plan is fine in moderation. And when I say moderation, I mean once a quarter!

If you’re a sweet-lover this time of year, it also doesn’t hurt to figure out what candy will do the least damage if eating it is inevitable in the near future. So, I did a little research and put together a list of the top 10 candies that aren’t the worst thing you could eat on the goulish night. And don’t worry… it’s candy that you’ll actually eat — not those nasty circus peanuts!

(Note: This list is based on macro-nutrient amounts. The lower choices have higher sugar and less calories, but the higher choices having more protein.)

#10 3 Musketeers
1/2 a bar
100 calories, 3g fat, 17.5g carbs, 15g sugar, .5g protein

#9 Heath Bar
1/2 a bar
110 calories, 6.5g fat, 12g carbs, 12g sugar, .5g protein

#8 Butter Finger
1/2 a bar
115 calories, 4.5g fat, 19g carbs, 12g sugar, 1.5g protein

#7 Kit Kat
1 two-piece bar
115 calories, 6g fat, 14.5g carbs, 11g sugar, 1.5g protein

#6 Hershey Bar
1/2 a bar
115 calories, 6.5g fat, 12.5g carbs, 11g sugar, 1.5g protein

#5 Almond Joy
1/2 a bar
135 calories, 8g fat, 16g carbs, 12.5g sugar, 1g protein

#4 Snickers
1/2 a bar
140 calories, 7g fat, 17.5g carbs, 15g sugar, 3g protein

#3 Baby Ruth
1/2 a bar
140 calories, 6g fat, 16.5g carbs, 13.5g sugar, 2g protein

#2 Peanut M&M’s
1/2 a bag
120 calories, 6g fat, 14g carbs, 11.5g sugar, 2g protein

#1 Pay Day
1/2 a bar
155 calories, 8g fat, 17.5g carbs, 15g sugar, 3g protein