Get in Shape for Spring

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Katie Boyd, star of Style network’s hit show, Wicked Fit, which takes place in her gym, The Miss Fit Club www.KatieBoydsMissFitClub.com , is taking women to a new level of fitness and feeling good with exercise and strategic nutrition tips and so they can reach their goal of becoming fit and healthy in 2012 .  Katie, a personal fitness trainer and certified nutritionist, says, “You can go out and have a life and still be fit for Spring. It’s about getting your thinking in shape for success and know choosing  in favor of being healthy and happy with yourself.”

 
4 Tips for Getting in Shape for the Spring

Spring Fever is right around the corner! You know that feeling where it gets a little warmer, the sun starts shining brighter and while outside you close your eyes, take a deep breath and welcome it! Crocuses are popping up from the soil, the snow is melting away and so should your fat deposits that have been accumulating and storing as if you were a hibernating grizzly bear during an extra long winter slumber.

That being said there are a couple universal rules that all walks of life can do to help tone up, shed body fat  Here are my four no fail sure fire tips for Springing into Fitness

1. The biggest lesson I have ever learned in my life: Your best bet to shock your body into change is to do an 8 week stint of High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT training consists of upper and lower body movements at the same time with Isometric or holding contractions in static electricity in the muscle fiber and Plyometric exercises which are explosive movements in between every two exercise combos. For example: Bicep Hammer Curl with Plie Squats then Alternating Side to Side Lunges with Upright Rows then a Plyometric Jump Squat. A workout like this should be done 4-6 days a week depending on how much body fat you are looking/needing to lose. 45 minutes tops! Workouts that are hyper-explosive get the job done.

2. Eat six small meals a day! Never say the word DIET... Food is nourishment and fuel for an active lifestyle and if you follow the 80/20 rule meaning 80% of the time eat what I am going to show you and then 20 % eat some nachos or have a cocktail...do not  beat yourself up over it. Eating every three hours makes sure your body is always working to metabolize. Thus burning calories. I like to use the analogy of making a fire. If you are making a fire you feed the fire kindling and some news paper or brush and that usually ensures a bright burning fire that you can add larger items to like the occasional log.  It is the same with your body. 

Most people starve themselves until dinner time and drink coffee to keep themselves going until the eat a dinner the size of Manhattan, then go to bed with all that junk just waiting to be stored as body fat. How is that ever going to work for you? Exactly...it never will! Adapting the twigs and newspaper idea for your body as you would starting a fire is the way to go. Always have some kind of a protein at every meal. It doesn't always have to be food you chew...it can be a shake. You can also get protein from legumes like hummus or nut protein like raw almonds or all natural peanut butter as well. Tapering your starchy carbs off as the day comes to an end is also going to really help you shed that body fat because your body does not need carbs at night for energy. Just protein for repairing muscles and fibrous carbs like green veggies.  

Sample Meal Plan

Meal One at 7 am~ Greek Fritata with an Ezekiel Bread English Muffin with coffee with 2 Truvia and a splash of So Delicous Coconut Creamer (comes in three flavors, Hazlenut, French Vanilla and Regular)

Meal Two at 10 am~ 1 cup of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries, one or combo of all) with Muscle Milk Lite Vanilla Latte It is tasty, has mono and poly saturated fat which studies have shown help burn fat and is lactose free for those who have milk issues.

Meal Three at 12/1pm~ 1/2 of a cup (cooked) of Tricolor Quinoa, 1 cup of greens (broccoli, asparagus, or my favorite recipe right now, green beans, I love haricovert ...the baby string beans with pine nuts and dill with some type of protein whether it is chicken, steak or fish, or if you are a vegetarian Veggie Patch Makes wonderful meatless meatballs and veggie burgers.

Meal Four at 4pm~ 2 tablespoons of Tribe Hummus, they have a plethora of amazing flavors from Mediterranean style to Cilantro Chimmichurri with 1 cup of green veggies. My fave mix is broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, cucumbers, celery. No carrots and no tomatoes...too sugary for that time of day.

Meal Five at 6/7pm~baked haddock or cod fish around 4-6 oz with 2 cups of KB's green beans. No starches at night...no pasta, bread rice potatoes of any kind and certainly not fruit.

Meal Six at 9 pm~some kind of Protein. I love Muscle Milk Lite Cookies N Cream Ice Cream.

3. Cardio: HIIT on the treadmill.

Warm up for 5 minutes on the treadmill at 3.0 MPH at a 0 Incline. Then 3.5 MPH at a 15 Incline...hold on for dear life it's going to get really real right now! Do this for 2 minutes. Recover at 3.0 MPH at a 0 Incline for 1 minute Then walk side to side first starting on your less dominant side step together step together at 1.8 MPH at a 5 Incline. 1 minute on each side. Then recover at 3.0 MPH at a 0 Incline. Sprint at 6.0 MPH at a 5 Incline for 2 minutes then recover at 3.0MPH at 0 Incline...that is always going to be your recovery zone. Then to finish the round you will walk backwards at 2.0 MPH at a 7 Incline for 2 minutes. You will repeat this for either a half an hour 45 minutes or an entire hour depending on what your goals are for body fat burn. You are getting a full blown all around leg workout without the boredom of just blankly staring into space.

4. To find  the recipes for food, products and juice www.KBMFC.com .

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blog, and more at: www.brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, or visiting the Brummet's Store - every sale raises funds for charity as well!