Victoria Wellness Professionals

At least once a week I get comments from clients regarding running or jogging. Now, I freely admit I have never been a fan of running myself. But, that doesn’t mean I discourage clients from running. If running is something you really enjoy and it does not cause you pain or discomfort then go for it.

But, what concerns me the most is the thought a lot of people have that you have to run to lose weight. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. And, for some people it could even do more harm than good.

First and foremost, you have to ask yourself – “Do I really enjoy this activity”. If the answer is no, then for goodness sakes stop! Why force yourself to do something you don’t enjoy when there are so many alternatives. Some alternatives to running or jogging could be: swimming, interval training either outdoors or at a gym, power walking, nordic walking, hiking. Take up a game such as tennis, badminton. Join a fun sports league – volleyball, basketball. There are literally hundreds of options to replace an activity that is not enjoyable. Remember if you don’t enjoy it, chances are you won’t continue for very long.

One great way of getting in some intervals outdoors and not running is hill walking. Find some hills close to home or drive and find some hills to walk. Make sure you do a good 5-10 minute warm up walk. You want to raise your body’s core temperature and prepare the muscles for workload. You should break a slight sweat. Once warmed up, perform intervals by power walking fast up the hill. Turn around and walk down, but monitor your pace on the way down. You don’t want to be jogging. Remember the down portion puts a lot more stress on your knees that walking up. You should perform 6-8 of these hill power walks (or intervals). Make sure you do a 5 minute cool down and stretches.

If you do want to run or jog then you need to ask yourself if you are prepared or ready for this activity.

If you are new to running or jogging, then make sure you start gradually. Most running stores will have an introduction to running clinic or even a suggested program to follow. Start slow with walk/jog program. Make sure you warm up and all stretches are done at the end. Most importantly listen to your body! If you have discomfort or pain either during the exercise or after, consult a fitness professional. You should not have pain – period!

So, what should you take away from this post? Simple – not everyone should run. You don’t have to run/jog to lose weight – there are alternatives. Pick something you enjoy – chances are you will stay with it. No pain; no gain is outdated and should not be a credo to follow. Pain means something is wrong – stop and consult.

Till next time,
Narina
“Monitoring, Mentoring, Motivation”

Uncategorized exercise, exercise and pain, hill running, interval training, jogging, running

Todays post comes from a fellow personal trainer, Angie Schumacher http://www.fatblastingbootcamp.com  It is a great article on putting together an awesome fat burning meal.  So simple, so effective.  Give it a try.

Putting Together a Fat Burning Meal

What is the best way to put together some healthy meal plans? Well, you can start by choosing from my top 5 list of proteins, carbs and fats. It is important that you have something from all 3 nutrients in each of your meals or you will not feel satisfied or be giving your body all the nutrients needed to burn body fat! Check out my list below:

PROTEINS
1. Chicken Breast
2. Lean Ground Beef
3. Eggs
4. Protein Powder
5. Cheese/ Cottage Cheese
CARBS
(Fibrous)
1. Broccoli
2. Spinach
3. Peppers
4. Stir Fry Veggies
5. Tomatoes
6. Zucchini
(Starchy)
1. Eziekel Bread (toasted)
2. Sweet Potatoes
3. Whole Wheat Tortillas/Pita
4. Black Beans
5. Whole Wheat Pasta

FATS
1. Organic/Natural PEANUT BUTTER (MMM…my favorite!!)
2. Almonds
3. Walnuts
4. Olive Oil
5. Flax seed

Some examples of healthy meal plans are:

Breakfast:
*2 egg whites with 1 whole egg, spinach and feta cheese (cooked in olive oil)
Lunch:
*Chicken breast with stir fry veggies and walnuts
Dinner:
*Turkey Meatballs with broccoli, raisins and walnuts
Snack:
*Cottage cheese, yogurt, walnuts and fruit

Now its your turn! Start planning some healthy, fat burning meals today!

Narina

Angie Schumacher is a Certified Fitness Professional and Boot Camp Instructor in Colorado.

She is the author of FatBlastingBootCamp.com. Visit http://www.fatblastingbootcamp.com to sign up for the latest and greatest tips on fat burning, boosting your metabolism and getting rid of that belly fat and help you transform that body in no time and receive your FREE report! For more great fat burning tips, make sure to visit her blog at www.fatburningtips4women.com.

Uncategorized Angie Schumacher, fat blasting, fat burning meal, healthy meal plans, Victoria Wellness Professionals

The question often comes up about the need for multi vitamins. My opinion is that if you are able to eat 100% clean, healthy foods every day; then possibly a multi vitamin may not be necessary. But as mentioned in the article below that is most often not the case in our forever busy lives.

Ok, so you know Vitamins and Minerals are important. Most every woman knows that.

However, not everyone understands WHY they are so important for their body. So I recently asked Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter to give us the easy rundown on the Top Women’s Vitamins. Here’s what he had to say:

Vitamin A – This vitamin contributes to the health of your eyes, skin and nails.

Vitamim B - While B Vitamins are often referred to as “energy vitamins” they don’t actually give you a surge of energy, per se. What they actually do is help facilitate metabolic reaction in the body to create energy. They’re also necessary for a healthy metabolism.

Vitamin C – This women’s vitamin is a great antioxidant and immune system booster. It also helps skin health.

Vitamin D – Helps women absorb calcium. And it may help prevent certain types of cancer.

Calcium – It’s actually a mineral not a vitamin. And as most women know already, it improves bone density.

Pretty simple, right? But you can also see why it’s so important to understand vitamins for women. When we understand the reasons to make healthier choices it helps us make them.

Now, I get asked all the time by women which vitamin supplements, if any, they need to be taking. Great question.

Well, if your nutrition is 100% perfect all the time then you probably don’t need to take any.

But that’s not the case for most women. Most women are busy as heck and don’t always find the time for proper nutrition. So if that’s the case with you I recommend taking a Whole Foods based Multi-Vitamin. And the only one I recommend is Prograde Nutrition’s VGF 25+ for Women.

It’s actually really cool because it’s literally made from 25 veggies, greens and fruits. You should definitely check out the Prograde Women’s Vitamins. At the very top of the page is the list of ingredients, you can see the 25 whole foods they use to make VGF 25+ for Women.

Yours in health,

Narina Prokosch

PS – Pretty cool, huh? The nutrition of 25 whole foods in a bottle!

Uncategorized Prograde Nutrition, supplements, VGF 25+ for Women, Victoria Wellness, vitamins

At our studio we have the privilege of working with an amazing group of clients. Our clients come to us from a variety of backgrounds. Some have been active their whole lives, involved in various sports or activities. Others, are discovering the joy of exercise for the first time.

Whatever, their background, they are a committed group who take their exercise program and their healthy lifestyles seriously. For that, congratulations.

Most of the clients we work with are involved in some activities away from the gym. We have golfers, tennis players, squash players, cyclists, runners and the obsessive gardeners. All of these people require specifics within their training programs that will not only allow them to participate and do well in their chosen activity but also to keep them injury free.

People often think it is the sporting events that cause us, their trainers, the most concern when it comes to injuries. But, the fact is that we see a lot of soreness and injuries happening right around the house – in the back yard!

Recently we had a group of women that hiked the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. They completed the hike, hot but injury free and from what I hear surpassed the expectations of their guide. Way to go girls!

Congratulations to Victoria, Gail, Anne and Mary for another great adventure completed. These four ladies also climbed Mt. Ranier two years ago. Pictures of that adventure on available on the web site under “Client Activities”.

I can’t wait for the next challenge our clients present us with.

Narina

Uncategorized Client Activities, conditioning for hiking, Grand Canyon Hike, hiking Grand Canyon, strength training for sport, Victoria Wellness, weight training for golf

Today was workout day, as pretty well every day is. But, I didn’t really have a plan today. Now, most of the times when you train you need to have a plan. Your overall program should have a plan, a goal to work towards.

Today I really just wanted to shake things up a bit. Add in some exercises that I haven’t maybe done for a while. I also wanted to do a little of everything. Some strength work, some kettlebells with some rope work thrown in.

I made up my workout as I went. This is what I came up with:

Sumo Kettlebell Deadlift )
Push Press with Barbell ) Done as a circuit 3 times thru
KB Figure 8 to hold )

Single Leg Deadlift to OH Press )
Push ups – vary ) Done as a circuit 3 times thru
Chins – NG – 8 sec eccentric )

Finished this workout with runs of Sled Rope Rows with Bear Crawls.

Not too bad for a 25 minute workout. What are your ideas for a quick workout? Send them along to me.

Narina

Uncategorized bear crawls, kettlebell deadlifts, push press, quick workouts, sled training