Why You’ll Do Better With a Cheat Day

One of the hardest things I frequently see in the people I work with is the ability to embrace the concept of ‘cheat’ days. They aren’t really cheats though – they are planned and have a purpose. However, the feeling bubbles up that this is cheating and therefore bad and if they just skipped the [...]

The Bigger Muscle Builder – High or Low Reps?

When muscle gains are what you are after, whether it’s building a bigger bicep or developing your glutes, knowing the most effective way to lift, is important.  After all, who wants to waste any time and effort when working out? I recently got asked this question in a comment when a gal had gotten confused [...]

What Does Muscle Failure Really Mean?

The other day one of my clients wrote me with the following question: …what does it mean to push your muscles to failure?  How do you know?  Is there a burning sensation?  Or shaking? This is a great question because I don’t typically have to think about this but what’s obvious to me isn’t always [...]

How Much Exercise Is Too Much?

If you are a ‘regular’ here, you know I’m often advising women here to cut back on the exercise volume they are doing. Meanwhile today I end up posting on Facebook that I did the P90X Arms & Shoulders workout followed by a 30 minute Les Mills Pump workout and was even considering a late [...]

What Makes Us Fat?

The easy answer would be to just say that what makes us fat is eating too much and being too sedentary.  But that would not be the whole answer.  In fact, while the energy input vs energy output (calories in vs. calories out) is important, just focusing on that could still lead to little, if [...]

My Review of P90X2

Chris and I have been doing P90X2 for our workout routine for just over 5 weeks so far.  While we are not anywhere near complete, I do have a few observations I will share.  This is intended to be a balanced review so I will highlight both what I like about P90X2 and what I [...]

P90X2 Week2 Complete

I finished off week 2 of P90X2 with Chris.  We are still in the foundation building part of the program which focuses largely on balance and core development.  The weights we’ve been lifting are much lighter than what we’d normally do for a military press or tricep kickback move but since they are paired with [...]

P90X2 Week 1 Complete!

Well this week has been a humbling experience!    I went into this thinking I was in top shape with only a few pounds of fat to peel off and to my complete surprise, found out that P90X2 had something to teach me about combining balance and power. I have felt clumsy with the moves.  [...]

Starting Over – What I’m up to now (P90X2 shred)

Well the time has come for me to do my usual winter shred.  For the last 7 months I’ve been focused entirely on strength and muscle growth and was not concerned about much else.  I did get very strong and added significant muscle.  But as I added the weight, a little fat crept on as [...]

What I’m Reading Now

I like to read! So it was with great joy that I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas this year. I also got a Kindle gift card so I’m now enjoying both. I like to read good books on health (fitness and nutrition) and occasionally a fun read. I’m doing both right now – here’s [...]

Good Thursday Morning Everyone (12/22/2011)

Facebook won’t let me post on my wall today so I’m sending up my daily update via my blog. Looking forward to finishing the last of my Xmas shopping today. Was able to pick up my local, pastured Christmas goose yesterday along with my weekly raw milk order. YUM! Chris and I are very sore [...]

Our current back and tricep routine

I mentioned in Facebook today that Chris and I had an awesome back and tricep workout and was then asked to list what we did.  Now in a pledge of full disclosure, I happen to have some equipment at my disposal that many of you may not.  I own both a BowFlex and a Total [...]

My Achilles Heel

We all have weaker parts of our body, mine happens to be my calve muscles.  It’s not that mine are not strong or well developed (they are) but they do have a tendency to pull.  I watch my mineral content so it’s not that my diet is lacking potassium, magnesium or calcium, it’s just a [...]

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

I sincerely wish you all a wonderful day of thanks, good company and great food! We are hosting a smallish T-day dinner (our family and my brother-in-law’s family). I’m pretty excited about the menu which includes:   Farm fresh pastured turkey Stuffing Cranberries (cooked by me – no canned stuff) Bourbon vanilla sweet potatoes (my [...]

Feeling Great with my Rawesome Diet

I have to admit that I can’t remember the last time I felt this good. I’m not just talking about having a high energy day, I’m talking about feeling really good for awhile now. And I fully credit changes I’ve made to my diet.   Those of you who know me, know that I have [...]

Come Do P90X2 With Me!

Q. What’s better than getting your own P90X2? A. Getting P90X2 and doing it with friends! In fact, we can not only do it with people we know, we can join each other here, online and get amazing benefits.  But that’s not all…. If you join my P90X2 group, you’ll be eligible for prizes like [...]

Fab Abs After 40 — Part 3

With dietary changes in place, you’ll be well on your way to correct your body’s current tendency to hang onto and store calories as fat.  If you consider your metabolism as being similar to a campfire, the diet changes will help you make sure your kindling and wood is dry and ready to burn.  So [...]

Fab Abs After 40 — Part 2

In Part 1 of ‘Fab Abs after 40′ I discussed that more than killer ab moves are required for great abs.  Truth is, you are better served by focusing more on overall fat loss. Perhaps you are concerned because you are carrying a disproportionate amount of fat around your belly.  This is not natural but [...]

Fab Abs After 40 — Part 1

I get asked regularly how to get great abs.  As a woman over 50 who was not only fat but carried a lot of it in my gut, people want to know how I achieved my now flat, fab abs.  So I’ve decided to address the subject and reveal the often overlooked issues that prevent [...]

What’s Your Ideal Weight?

I’ve been getting a fair number of emails lately where the customer corresponding with me tells me that they need to hit a specific weight.  This nearly always makes me smile because I always wonder how they make that determination. For me, my ideal weight shifts regularly.  I, like many others who are committed to [...]

My Current Diet

I finished the book Deep Nutrition and recommend it highly.  The author, Dr. Cate Shanahan takes time to have you understand what the typical American diet is doing to us (all sorts of bad things) and what we need to do to change our diet in a meaningful way.  She develops four pillars of eating: [...]

My Summer Reading

I love to read but often don’t allow myself that indulgence.  We all get busy with work and family and finding time to read on top of everything else, can be difficult.  But this summer I decided to make time.  With longer days and nothing much but re-runs and talent shows on TV,  I’ve got [...]

Clean vs. Organic Food

Those of you who follow me regularly know that I talk a lot about eating organic. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge an alternative which I refer to as clean food. Clean food is free of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers (produce), hormones and antibiotics (meat and dairy). Food can be clean without being organic [...]

2-a-Day Workouts for Enhanced Muscle Growth & Fat Loss

First let me start out by saying that this is not a fast weight loss program.  In fact, you may not lose any weight at all!  The point of these workouts are to stimulate muscle growth and burn fat faster.  So ultimately you end up with a greater lean body mass whether or not you [...]