I Wasn't Sore Yesterday, Was My Workout Effective?

It's a common myth that you need to feel sore after your workout to experience strength and other performance gains. Sometimes, however, it's inevitable. Muscle soreness is caused by doing something your body is not used to doing. People just starting a workout program usually experience the most soreness. As their body adapts to working out, their chances of experiencing significant soreness is greatly reduced. With the metabolic chains we've introduced this session at boot camp, many of us have had more soreness than usual. This is normal as our body adapts to this new training method.

Instead of relying on muscle soreness to gauge the effectiveness of your workouts, it's better to look to your progress. Are you getting stronger? Are you able to lift heavier weights, do wall sits for longer, do more push-ups or hold a plank for longer? Can you do cardio for longer at higher intensities? If you're trying to lose fat, are you?

Healthy Substitutions!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions for making healthy muffins that taste great. Here are a few ideas for adapting your favourite recipes.

1) FLOUR - Use whole grain flour instead of white. Whole grain gives you more fiber, vitamins and minerals. You can substitute all or part of the white flour. You can also boost your fiber by adding a few tablespoons of wheat germ, bran or rolled oats to the mix.

2) FAT - You can decrease fat by adding low-fat liquids such as skim milk or nonfat yogurt. You can typically substitute up to one-half of the fat called for with unsweetened applesauce. Some recipes you may be able to substitute even more.

3) SUGAR - In most cases you can cut your sugar by a half and not even notice. You can also consider substituting healthier options like honey or agave nectar for refined sugar or corn syrup. Adding sweet spices like cinnamon, ginger and vanilla will also make your muffin taste sweeter.

4) ADD INS - Some other healthy ingredients you may want to consider adding include nuts, dried fruit, seeds or ground flax seed. I also like to add a scoop of whey protein powder to my recipes.

I recently stumbled upon 5-healthy muffin recipes from Women's Health Magazine. Click here to check these out. Let me know what you think or if you have other ideas! Happy Baking Everyone!

Muffins That Kill Your Diet!

Most Muffins are full of fat & calories. They are really nothing more than a piece of cake without the frosting. It's really important you read your labels carefully. I used to get the low fat muffin at Second Cup because I was told that it had 200 calories and under 5 grams of fat. What I didn't realize was that the nutritional information provided was for only about 1/4 of the muffin. Eating muffins like this regularly make it very difficult to maintain a healthy weight. Costco muffins are one of the worst with approximately 700 calories and 40 grams of fat.

The best is usually the homemade variety. You might want to try my kid's favourite banana loaf recipe from Company's Coming Light Recipes. One slice costs you only 148 calories and 4 grams of fat. It's easy to make, delicious and won't sabotage your diet.

Low-Fat Banana Loaf

1 CUP Mashed Bananas (3 medium)

1 TSP Baking Soda

2 Large eggs

1/4 CUP Butter

1 CUP Brown Sugar (I usually cut this to 3/4 CUP)

1 1/2 CUPS of All Purpose Flour (I usually use whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 TSP Baking Powder

1/4 TSP Salt

In a small bowl stir mashed bananas and baking soda together and set aside.

Beat eggs in a small mixing bowl until frothy.

Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 eggs. Beat to mix. Add second 1/2 eggs. Beat in. Stir in mashed bananas.

Add flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to moisten. Spoon into 9 x 5 inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with no-stick cooling spray. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cut into 16 slices.

Use Metabolic Chains to Burn Fat & Build Muscle!

This session of Boot Camp our plan is to shake things up by adding Metabolic Chains into the mix. Within the next 6-weeks, our goal is to build up to using chains for 30 consecutive minutes. By combining weight-based exercises with cardio, this training technique is extremely effective at burning fat and building muscle at the same time.

Metabolic chains are very similar to supersets but with a cool twist. You link together two or three exercises into one movement. For example, you may link a squat jump with a bicep curl and a shoulder press. These three moves create one rep of your chain. Each chain has one base exercise that activates fat burning. Your squat jump would be a great base exercise for this chain. Each time you repeat the chain add one rep to your base exercise until you reach 10 reps, you can then start over at one and do it all again.

This integrated workout will save you time and deliver amazing results! Research is showing that this type of training, when compared to separating your cardio and weight training workouts, will burn up to 10-times more fat and produce 85% greater muscle development (according to a study at the University of California quoted in the September, 2011 Edition of Oxygen Magazine). The calorie burn after your workout is also quite a bit higher. Oxygen magazine sited an example of a 130 pound women. 30-minutes of metabolic chains can easily burn 300-350 calories during the workout and another 300-500 calories in the next 24-hours as her body recovers.

Want to give it a try? Let me know, and I'll send you some great chains you can try at home!!!

Don't Skip the Stretch!

Skipping your stretch after an intense workout is a mistake. It's the key to bring oxygen and blood flow back to your tired muscles. It helps reduce muscle soreness, increases mobility & flexibility and aids in a quicker recovery period. Not stretching regularly sets you up for injury, poor posture, as well as tight hamstrings and hip rotators.

The best is to use a combination of dynamic and static stretches. Dynamic stretches are when you move your muscle through its complete range of motion. Examples are arm swings or shoulder rolls. These stretches are good to use as a warm-up, as well as immediately following your exercise program. Static stretches, on the other hand, mean you stretch your muscle to its furthest point comfortably and hold it there for 15 to 30 seconds and then release gently. These stretches are best used after exercise. Never stretch to the point of pain or discomfort.

I like to dedicate at least 5-minutes at the end of each workout to stretch all the major muscles we used that day. Just keep in mind that if you have an injured or strained muscle you may need to adjust your stretching technique; and it's best to consult with your doctor about the best way to stretch for your specific condition.

Is Your Salad Making you Fat?

You may think you're eating well because you only had a salad for dinner. If your greens are buried under heaps of dressing, croutons and cheese you can wind up with a salad that is equivalent in fat and calories to a fast-food burger.

Here's a great example. If you choose McDonald's Southwest Salad with crispy chicken & dressing it will cost you 530 calories and 26 grams of fat, which is more than a Quarter Pounder. Instead, try the Cesar Salad with grilled chicken and no dressing for only 220 calories and 6 grams of fat.

The key is to pick lower fat, nutrient rich ingredients and set limits on your toppings. Stick to 1 TBSP of low-fat dressing and one ounce of aged cheese or avocado or a quarter cup of unsalted nuts. Feta or aged parmesan will give you lots of flavour and may end up saving you calories because you don't use as much. Adding some complex carbs like couscous or protein-packed quinoa will keep you feeling fuller longer. If you're trying to lean out, you should also add 3 ounces of lean protein to top off your salad like eggs, black beams, tuna, or skinless chicken breast.

If you have any good salad or salad dressing recipes, please send them my way!

Top Recovery Foods

After any intense workout it's really important that you give your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to properly recover. If you don't your performance will suffer during your next workout and your body won't be able to effectively repair and build lean muscle. This is key, as the more lean muscle you have the higher your metabolic rate and the more fat you'll be able to release.

Experts say that the best combo for maximizing muscle repair and boosting your metabolic rate is eating 2 to 1 carbs to protein with very little fat (up to possibly a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein) as quickly as possible after your workout.

Here are three options to consider...

1) Chocolate Milk - This is a fave for many athletes. An eight-ounce glass of low fat chocolate milk provides 32 grams of carbs and 11 grams of protein, an ideal carb to protein ratio.

2) Low Fat Granola Cereal - GOLEAN by Kashi is a good choice: A 1-cup serving has 140 calories, 30 grams of carbs, 13 grams of protein, and 1 gram of fat.

3) Fruit Smoothie - frozen banana, berries, whey protein powder and some water, aiming for at least a 2:1 carbs to protein ratio.