Personal Training

Sand Walking, Gums Info, Full Body Circuit!

Posted on by Naomi
Hey guys! I hope you all had a great weekend! It was beyond beautiful here. Not hot, sunny and perfect! I spent Friday night and Saturday in Cape Cod which was incredible!  I went on a long walk with my mom through some of the dunes of one of the nearby beaches. It was one long path about 100 yards from the ocean through the brush. It was still walking on sand but it wasn’t as windy as walking right on the water and so gorgeous. Also to take note…walking on sand is HARD! Wow…First of all it takes much longer to walk a certain distance but I could feel that whole walk in my glutes and hamstrings. I can only imagine what running on the beach feels like! Must be a great workout–I certainly want to try it soon!

The main reason its a little more challenging is because when your feet sink into the sand, it forces your musclesto work harder to lift out of it on each step. This extra effort translates into extra fat and calories burned.


Sand is softer than hard surfaces like concrete and is therefore easier on your joints too!

The benefit to sand walking is that it’s more difficult to walk on so you’ll burn more calories because your body will require more energy to lift out of the sand. BUT The downside is that you have a greater risk of pulling a muscle while walking in loose sand. A good compromise is to spend half your time walking in loose sand and the other half walking on hard-packed sand (closer to the water).

Be sure to begin your warm up on the hard sand and when your muscles feel warm and pliable, move to loose sand for a few minutes. Then switch back to the hard sand. Avoid walking on rippled sand, which can cause you to lose your balance and pull or strain a muscle or joint.

Remember to wear your sunscreen!!


I have been enjoying of course, delicious salads! I am quite often on the go, so I am quite used to just packing my lunch in tupperwares complete with a few items you will ALWAYS find in my car
-Spices (Mrs Dash, Italian Seasoning
-Mustard packets (I take them from the cafeteria at work!)
-Plastic silverware galore
-Balsamic vinegar, I always have a small travel size bottle in my car
Baby spinach base topped with asparagus (steamed previously) red pepper, mushrooms, scallions, cucumbers, italian seasoning, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and I also had some lean ground turkey as my protein. 
Of course, I have still been experimenting with delicious smoothie recipes, however my true love is still currently the pumpkin protein smoothie!!
Tips for great salads:
  • I love to roast up some veggies, and always keep them on hand in the fridge. I just make my salad and top it with some pre-roasted veggies to add some delicious flavor and crunch.
  • Broccoli, Asparagus, green beans and cauliflower are some of the veggies, I chop and roast! 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, topped with Mrs Dash or salt and pepper!
  • I always love to season up my protein that I cook for the week in different marinades and flavors. It can change a salad from “Taco, Southwestern style” to “Greek and Rosemary” style.
  • This week I cooked up some chicken breasts in mustard, balasmic vinegar and tons of lemon and rosemary to give it that “Greek” flavor–similar to my Balsamic chicken and mushrooms I also am finishing up some lean ground beef cooked in Taco Seasoning to give it that “Mexican” flavor.
  • Add some “fun” I love to throw on special toppings like roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, fresh spices like dill and basil. The possibilities are endless!!
  • Add fruit! I love tossing fresh slices apples, pears or blueberries into my salads! Yes, protein and veggies and fruit–its delicious! Just like my Blueberry turkey Burgers!!!
Trader Joes Fun!
I love these little Jazz Apples! I know they’re advertised for kids to throw in their lunchboxes, but come on—theyre just so stinkin’ cute!
I really love Trader Joes and I don’t know about your store, but the folks that work at my Trader Joes are SO friendly and helpful! If I can’t find something, they will make sure I find something similar or give me a new suggestion! That is how I discovered the Taco Seasoning. Well, acutally first I saw it at my mom’s house, but at Trader Joes I was standing in the aisle, and just starting at it, when a nice employee came over and gushed to me how good it was and gave me some tips about it. I love helpful people!

Peaches and Lemons (I always throw some lemon juice in my water!) And this time, used it for my “Greek” style chicken breasts
Roasted yellow and red peppers. I love these on salad.
Basil! For my salad. I roll up a bunch at at time and chop chop chop into very small pieces. Onto the salad they go!
 
I have gotten a couple of emails about the “Xanthan Gum and Guar Gum” that I use in my smoothies. Well I wanted to share some info about them!
I have the “now” brand which seems to be working perfectly! Did I mention I also got these last year and still have more than 50% left? For each smoothie, I use about 1/8 tsp of each so it lasts a very long time!
Both of these gums can be found online at stores like iherb.com and netrition.com. They also can be found at your local health food store or Whole Foods.
Xanthan gum is a corn based, fermented product. It’s used extensively in the food industry to make products thicker and it’s a common ingredient in gluten-free recipes. TOO MUCH xanthan gum can make food gummy and slimy, so it is very important to use the tiniest bit (like I said, I just use 1/8 tsp)

Guar gum comes from the seed of a bean-like plant. It has about 8 times the thickening powder of corn starch and is very high in fiber. Because Guar gum is very high in fiber, some people have problems digesting it, even in small doses
Together, the gums are a powerful force used in smoothies! The gums do not add any flavor to the smoothie, they have a very nuetral taste. Their main job is a thickening agent. They will make your  shakes thicker and creamier. They prevent ice crystals from forming and therefore make very thick and “milkshake like” smoothies and ice creams. They are also used in gluten-free baking. It is not necessary to use the gums in your shakes and smoothies BUT take it from me…it will change your idea of a ‘smoothie’ forever. AND they add a great amount of volume as well…BRING IT ON! 
—–
I have been LOVING my workouts lately…I feel like I am back to ‘myself’ a bit. Toward the end of my show prep, those workouts felt like such a chore sometimes and I am so happy to be back and take days off when my body needs it (or I jsut want to!) and not feel like I have to go back to the gym for a 2nd time during the day!
I am still lifting heavy and getting in 3-4 days of weight training because I love it! I will take that over cardio anyday! Of course I love getting in a cardio sweat session, but its a more ‘mind clearing, enjoyable’ form of cardio rather than the ‘I’m dreading to get on this stairmaster” type…does that make sense?
This morning after my 30 minutes of stepmill, I wanted to give myself a little kick in the pants with some full body quick moving circuits! I set myself up in the studio at my gym which was empty!

****Go through each exercise back to back with no rest, and at the end of each set rest only for 30 seconds. Move fast and sweat!
Circuit 1 (Repeat 3x )
Bosu hop overs-5 each side
Lateral raises-10 reps
Mountain climbers (flip over bosu)-10 each side
Russian Twists-10 each side
Plank Twisters-10 each side
Circuit 2 (Repeat 3x)
Plank Ups-8 each side
V-up crunch-10
Reverse crunches-10
Push ups with Knee drive-5 each side
Floor Jacks-10
Circuit 3 (Repeat 3x)
Arnold Press-12 reps
Squat jumps-Jump squat up and slap the floor at the bottom
10 jumping jacks, 10 mountain climbers–repeat 3x for each set
High knees-30 seconds
ENJOY!

Naomi
Naomi