Monthly Archives: May 2014

Juice and Smoothie Recipes from a Fitness Expert

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Smoothies and juices are a great way to get a ton of nutrients in one convenient sip. Booya trainer Zander Gladish  shares his favorite juice and smoothie recipes and why he’s an avid sipper!

Juices:

Juicing vegetables and fruits separates the water and nutrients from the harder to digest fiber. Without this fiber, your body doesn’t have to work as hard to break down the food and receive the benefits. Therefore, you can get more of the vitamins and minerals in much larger quantities. If you’re only juicing fruits, however, the high sugar content will be absorbed by your blood stream much faster, which can cause a sudden blood sugar spike. Make sure to keep a balance of fruits and vegetables to fully reap the benefits of this liquid meal.

Zander recommends sticking to lower glycemic index ingredients:

1. Start with vegetables with a high water content such as celery or cucumber.

2. Add in some more vegetables like carrots or beets plus fruit like lemons, limes, oranges or grapefruits.

3. Top everything off with greens like spinach, chard, kale or romaine lettuce.

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Smoothies and Shakes:

When making a smoothie, the blender uses the entire fruit and vegetable, which keeps all of the fiber intact. However, the process of blending breaks down the fiber a bit, making it easier for your body to digest and allowing for a slow release of nutrients into the blood stream. Because of the added fiber, smoothies tend to be more filling than juices. Be careful when purchasing smoothies instead of making your own. Add-ins like milk, yogurt or dairy bases will increase the calories of your drink. Zander loves to stick to green smoothies and always adds in a green leafy vegetable like chard, kale or spinach.

1. Start with a coconut water or almond milk  base as your liquid.

2. Add in your favorite fruits (or easy-to-break-down vegetables like chunks of cucumbers) and a bit of ice. Frozen berries work great and are high in antioxidants. You won’t need ice if you’re using frozen fruit.

3. Top off your mixture with a protein powder or low-fat yogurt to bump up the nutrients and keep you fuller longer.

 

5 Tips to Shake Up Your Workout Routine

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We hope that you’ve found at least one workout that you love on Booya (do let us know), but one of our core philosophies is the belief in variety and having fun while working out. According to Booya trainer Brittani Rettig, you should vary your workouts to prevent injury, avoid a plateau and stay motivated.

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Bri’s Top 5 Tips to Shake Up Your Workout Routine:

1. Vary your cardio: Do three different types of cardio exercises every week. At a minimum, it’s most important to ensure that you get three, 30-minute cardio workouts in each week. However, you can maximize results by doing a variety of cardio workouts.

2. Add intervals: Intervals in terms of speed and incline/resistance are a great way to keep your body in the “cardio zone” and make sure you don’t get complacent.  For example: when on the elliptical, ride at level 5 resistance for 3 min then level 10 resistance for 1 min, continue alternating for 30 min to 1 hr.

3. Skip running: Power walk instead of running or jogging. Power walking is not as natural of a movement as jogging or running which means you have to engage more muscles.  This is a great way to shock your body and even burn more calories. Try adding light hand weights for an extra burn!

4. Switch up your resistance regimen: Instead of your usual back and chest workouts that you have been doing for years, change it up!  Try TRX suspension training or an endurance body weight routine.  Remember, if you do what you always done, you’ll get what you always got!

5. Get moving with a group: Working out with a group makes you push harder and leverage the energy of those around you.

**Booya encourages you to check out the class schedules of our featured instructors. If we don’t have an instructor in your area, try using Fitmapped to find a boutique class near you!  

How to Perform the Perfect Squat

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This post has been brought to us by Fitmapped, Your GPS for Fitness.

Today is a perfect day to get back in the gym and work on some strength training, and one of the ultimate leg-toning moves is the squat. Squats can be done a variety of ways target different muscles, but primarily they work on your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. They are also great for your core, as you need to use your back and ab muscles to stabilize your body throughout the moves. Additionally, muscle-building moves like squats are great for strengthening your bones.

 

In a traditional squat, you begin standing straight upright with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart. Extend your arms out so they are parallel with the ground, and take a deep breath in. As you breathe, move your hips back and down, bending the knees as if you are sitting into a chair. Make sure to keep your back straight and chest forward as you lower your butt, and don’t let your knees go over your toes in the front. You can go deeper, but a good aim initially is to squat until your quads are parallel to the floor.

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Keep your core engaged throughout the move. Once you get as low as you want to go, pause, and then push back up through your heels. You should feel this in your glutes as you push yourself back up to your standing position. To make a traditional squat more challenging, you can add weights, either holding a bar behind your head or holding weights at your chest or to your sides.

There are ways to perform squats that work slightly different muscles. In the simplest way, you can spread your legs wider than hip-width apart and stand in a plié-like position with your toes facing slightly outward. This move works the inner thighs a little more, and it can also be made harder and more aerobic by adding a small hop while in squatting position. This is a great plyometric movement that can help burn fat while sculpting muscle. You can also do this move using weights, as with a traditional squat.

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Another variation on the squat is the split-squat. Split-squats are also called static lunges; to do a split squat, you stand with your feet one in front of the other, separated by a few steps (approximately 2 feet, depending on your size). Then you lower your body straight down until your front quad is parallel to the ground.

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This move requires more stabilization from the core. Again, once your front quad is parallel to the ground, you pause for a second and then push up through the front heel, engaging the front-leg gluteus maximus. You can make this move harder by holding weights in either hand. You can also make it into a plyometric movement by jumping straight up, switching legs mid-air, and squatting with the other leg forward. This jump split-squat move is much harder and requires more balance and use of stabilizing muscles, so I would only recommend it once you’ve mastered other squats and gained leg strength.

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There are tons of other ways to do squats, and with all squats you should be careful to use proper form to protect your knees. If you have any doubts, consult a professional at your local gym, and if anything ever feels painful, trust your body and stop.

Content has been approved by Anita Mirchandani, NASM CPT.