Tag Archives: cardio

Top reasons why your workout is NOT working

Posted in Fitness Tips by

bea_blHello everybody!

We all went through these little mistakes in our fitness journey, wanting to see results after the first day in the gym or having to big expectations. No matter how much we hope, workout results will never appear overnight. But there are a few things in your routine that you can change to speed up the time it takes to reach your goals. Read these tips below to find out why your work out is not working.

  1. You are not paying attention on your nutrition

Exercise is necessary, but if you’re not eating a healthy and nutritious diet, you could be setting yourself back. Even if you’re doing all the right exercise routines, nothing can out train a poor diet. Remember weight/fat-loss is 80% diet, and 20% exercise. So the next time you walk out of the gym, think twice of what you going to eat after!

  1. Miscounting Calories

We all love to watch the number under “Calories Burned” increase on the exercise machine at the gym, but you can’t rely on that number too much. Fitness machines are only estimating how many calories you have burned. This is because people burn calories and fat at different rates. When we see on the machines that we burned lots of calories, somehow we allow to ourselves to eat more, or eat not so healthy food, because already “burned” those calories.  So pay attention and don’t let your mind trick you!

  1. Not drinking enough water!

One of the most essential things you can do during your workout is hydrate! When you work out, your body is depleting nutrients while you sweat, so it is extremely important to replenish those nutrients by hydrating. Even though sports drinks may taste better, they are also filled with sugars. Water is always the best way to go!

  1. Doing The Same Fitness Routine

Try to change your workout routines! Not only does it give certain areas of your body a rest, but it also makes your work outs more fun and exciting. Try exercising with a partner or friend, so have someone to push you through your workout. Fitness classes are always a nice challenge. Try out something new like dance classes, jump classes or yoga, when you get tired from the weights room!

  1. Focusing On One Area

We all know about those girls who are doing just cardio, running/ walking on the treadmill, or guys with big upper body and slim legs, this is because they focus only on the same body parts. For best results, focus on exercises that target multiple parts of your body at once, like lunges or squats! If you are going to focus on one area per day, make sure you switch it up next time.

  1. You are doing too much cardio

Cardio is great for getting the blood flowing and burning calories, but TOO MUCH cardio won’t help you gain any definition. A good workout routine consists of a combination between strength, resistance, cardio, and flexibility training. Incorporating workout routines that involve weights, and using your own body weight, can help tone muscles and give definition. This is how you achieve a lean and sculpted body.

  1. Not Getting Enough Sleep

One of the most important things to remember is your body needs rest. Even if you can’t sleep 8 hours per night, try to get as much as possible. Resting is especially important after a hard workout, to ensure your muscles have enough time to repair, and for your body to replenish energy. Recovery also speeds up your metabolism, and is absolutely essential for great results!

Hope you will pay more attention next time you work out.

Have a great weekend! :*

How NOT TO gain weight during the Christmas holidays

Posted in Nutrition Tips by

italian-christmas-dishesHello everybody!

Today I’m going to write about a much requested topic, on how not to gain weight during this beautiful season. We all know that the party season is tricky, we have our friends and families over, we make festive dinners, lot’s of snacks, desserts and not to forget about the drinks.

So Christmas is all about enjoying life, family and friends, relaxation and eating. Speaking about eating, I personally always eat whatever I want to eat – and that is healthy. But if I want to enjoy an unhealthy Christmas meal once or twice, I definitely do it!

BUT please be aware, just because you ate an unhealthy breakfast this morning does NOT mean the day is ruined.  Just because you’re going to eat a big piece of cake and some pie this afternoon does NOT mean you should continue in that direction with dinner too. What I mean is, if you’re going to eat ONE bad meal, you still have the opportunity to eat two really good meals afterwards. As I wrote in my previous articles one bad meal does not make you gain weight. It’s when that one bad meal is followed up by a week of bad meals now that’s a  problem.  Eat a bad meal and move on!

Are you ready for my tips? If so, just read below! 🙂

 1. Avoid going to parties hungry

 A common mistake is overindulging on high-fat pastries, chips and dips while waiting for the “real” food to arrive. Avoid overeating by ensuring you do not arrive at an event starving. Have a filling snack 60 to 90 minutes before you go.

 2. Choose the right foods to eat

On a Christmas dinner table there are plenty of foods to choose from. In my opinion it’s not a good idea to choose the slow carbs like mashed/fried potato, or pastries, crackers and breads. Too much slow carbs will make you feel bloated, and with a very low nutritional value. So if you ask me I say, you better choose some ham, eggs, vegetables, meat balls, some olives,cheese and lots of vegetables.

3. Don’t overeat

I don’t know how you celebrate Christmas, but in my family we love to eat a lot and often during the winter holidays. So I always make sure to not overeat.

Try to eat small portions and often, it’s better than big portions often :))

4. Watch the Drinks

Not only is the food bad enough at most holiday parties, but the drinks can really add up some calories quickly. Many of the fancier cocktails that people opt for can easily pack 200 or more calories per glass. Do yourself a favour and plan to either treat yourself to something food-related or something drink-related. Not both. This will at least limit the amount of additional calories you are taking in at any given meal.

Dilute wine and spirits with ice or mineral water, ask for light beer instead of full-strength or intersperse a juice or sparkling mineral water between regular drinks.

Have something to eat before you drink to slow the absorption of alcohol into your system.

5. Smaller Plates, More Activities

It’s a good trick! Use smaller plates. That way, even if you double charge, the total amount of food you eat will be smaller.  Concentrate on family and friends, not food. You do not have to eat and talk at the same time 🙂

 6. Get back on track the next day

Don’t let Christmas run until January. Your body has no idea that it’s holiday season, it’s just another day.  So the day after, treat it like the rest of your healthy days.

The day after the big dinner take corrective action, doing a bit more cardio and cut back on your carbohydrate or fat intake.

Well these are the tips that I have for you right now. If you have some other tips, please write in the comment field!

 I wish you again a happy holiday season and much love! :*

 

 

Quick full body workout

Posted in Workout video by

Hey everyone!

Here is my new workout video. This workout is short, but super effective. It works your whole body, speeds up your metabolism, speeds up your heart rate and at the end of it, you will feel amazing!

You can do this workout at home, at the gym, in the park even in your hotel room, does not require any kind of equipment, it contains only body weight exercises.

In this video I am doing only one set of every exercise, but you have do 2 sets of them or repeat the circuit 2 or 3 times 🙂

Try to keep a good form while doing the exercises and let’s get started! Have a nice day guys!  😉