Tushy Toner & Strawberry Orange Mint Cream Smoothie

I tested out a recipe last night, there are some tweaks that I’ll have to make but it is actually a perfect light energy snack to have on hand during this heat wave we are experiencing here in Baltimore. It’s called socca bread and is made from chickpea flour/water/salt and what ever flavoring (sweet or savory) that you add to it is up to you. Chickpea flour is just finely ground up chickpeas (that have been soaked/sprouted/or not soaked/sprouted, this is your preference and I’ll be experimenting with the two options). So I had a ton of leftover cooked chickpea that I didn’t want to go to waste, so I used them. The original recipe for socca bread does not involve cooked chickpea, it is chickpea flour. But I figured, what the hey!
Socca Bread: My ‘Test’ which will need adjustment

1. 1.5-2C Cooked Chickpeas
2. 1-2 tsp salt
3. 1-2 TBSP Agave
4. 1-2 tsp lemon juice
5. 1 tsp cinammon
6. 2 tbsp almond nut cheese
7. 2-3 tbsp water
8. 375F for 15-30 minutes in square coconut oiled pan

Place all ingredients in blender of food processor and blend until combined. Then put in a 8X8 baking pan and throw in the oven on 375F for 20-30 minutes. Turned out light, a tad sweet and delish! I will need to tweak though because it crumbles easily and I want it to stay together. Maybe arrowroot powder or something else, I will update you when I figure it out!

On to the workout…

I woke up ready to tear up some legs and core exercises down at a park near my house with my TRX and straight up body weight moves. I tuned my bike up yesterday so I hopped on my bike, brought my backpack with my workout gear (TRX, phone for music, exercise journal, water) and hit the road for a pre-workout quick bike ride which was perfect warm-up, took me about 7 minutes to get to the park.

Then I did the fabulous workout below baking under the warm morning sun.

Tushy Toner Workout:

Do each exercise for given # of reps and sets. Then move onto next exercise. Complete workout one time through or if you’re really feelin’ it that day, go for 2 rounds!

1. Pistol Squat (10R/Leg; 2 Sets) (Hold out 1 leg straight while you squat all the way down then back up on other leg, I used TRX for a bit of assistance on way back up)
2. TRX Reverse Lunge (10R/Leg; 3 Sets) (Make TRX into 1 Foot Strap, place foot in foot strap, hop forward on other leg so you about 4 feet away from anchor point, squat down on leg as you reach foot that is in foot strap back OR do same motion resting one foot on stability ball) (OR do a reverse lunge)
3. TRX Ham Curls (10 Reps; 3 Sets) (Lie on back facing TRX w/both feet in foot straps, raise hips up, curl feet into butt-back out-then lower hips down OR do same motion w/heels on stability ball) (OR Lie on back, place both heels up on edge of chair, raise hips up and down)
4. TRX Jump Squat (10 Reps; 5 Sets) (Facing TRX holding handles lightly, feet wide and plie/toes point out, squat all the way down then power up and jump up OR do same motion without holding TRX handles)
5. TRX Knee Tucks (10 Reps; 5 Sets) (Do plank w/feet in TRX foot straps OR on stability ball, from plank you tuck both knees up to chest and back out) (OR do plank and hop both feet up to hands and back out)
6. Burpee minus push up (10 Reps; 3 Sets) (From standing, squat down, place hands on ground, jump feet out to plank, jump feet back in, stand up/power up/jump up, repeat)
7. Shoulder Taps Feet Elevated (20 Taps Alternating; 3 Sets) (Get into plank w/feet in TRX foot straps, on a stability ball or elevated on chair, contract core & right arm as you tap right shoulder w/left hand, repeat w/right hand tapping left shoulder, do 20 reps)
8. V-Up Knee Tuck Reach High (10 Reps; 2 Sets) (Lie on back, hands at sides, raise upper body up and tuck knees up to chest as you come up into V shape w/body and reach hands up to sky, lower back down)
9. Side Plank Reach Unders (10 Reps/Side; 1 Set) (Get into side plank on left hand w/feet in TRX OR on stability ball OR elevated on chair, take right hand and twist torso as you reach under left side, do 10 Reps/side)
10. Side Lift Splits (10 Reps/Side; 1 Set) (Lie on Left Side, split legs pressing feet up against a wall, press left hand into ground right under left shoulder and raise hips up off ground and lower back down, do 10 Reps/Side)

Then I biked back home taking a longer route that included a BIG hill, so biking for just a total of 15 minutes but with intensity! DONE! ENJOY!

After my workout I continued to be quite active. Took my pup for a long walk, hit up the organic market for some goodies, played baseball with my boyfriend and then I needed to cool off from the 90 degree heat with a tasty and refreshing Strawberry Orange Mint Cream Smoothie (VEGAN)!

Strawberry Orange Mint Cream:

1. 8 Frozen Strawberries
2. 8 Sprigs Fresh Mint
3. 6 TBSP Fresh Almond Milk
4. 1/2 Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
5. 1 TBSP Lacuma Powder
6. 2 Shakes Stevia/Agave/Brown Rice Syrup
7. 1 TBSP Shredded Coconut
8. Ice to desired thickness
9. BLEND!

As you can see, I had already taken a big gulp of the smoothie before taking the picture! It was just too good to wait! Perfect treat to chill off and cool down from one fabulous Sunday!

Health & Happiness,

Nat

Arm Ripper & Core Workout & Fresh Homemade Almond Milk!

This morning, I woke up SO ready to take on Saturday in full force. I felt excited about getting outside this morning for a Upper Body, Core & Cardio Workout. Also, my almonds that I had placed in a jar of water the night before to soak were ready to be blended up to make my first ever batch of home made almond milk! Before my 30 Day Challenge, I was drinking that processed, pasteurized almond milk from the store…during my 30 Day Challenge this has been one of my ‘vices’ that I had to let go of. I’ve known the whole time about being able to make my own home made almond milk (which I can have during the 30 day challenge), but haven’t had the time until today!
First I wanted to post a picture (pic above) from my Arbonne Spa Party I had the other day. I made up some macro/vegan meals for my lady guests, and they were a hit! I served up ‘Mock Chicken Salad’, Hummus, Salad w/ citrus ginger vinaigrette and my beloved raw vegan chocolate pudding!

The ‘Mock Chicken Salad’ was a hit, even my boyfriend likes it! And of course, chocolate pudding was phenomenal! Me and my lady guests had such a great time getting our mini-facials and makeup makeovers, the before and after was amazing. Kristy is SO talented at doing our makeup makeovers! Thanks Kristy!

I served it fresh and cool out of the refrigerator in cups and my guests couldn’t believe that this chocolate pudding was raw, vegan and made from simple and super good for you ingredients! It’s so tasty and there are so many different variations to this recipe!

On to my fabulous home made ALMOND MILK! Oh good lord was it SO much tastier and satisfying then the crap I bought in the store! First, I soaked 1 Cup of Almonds in a jar with filtered water. Fill jar up with filtered water to cover almonds completely + 2 inches more of water. Sit on counter top to soak overnight. Then follow directions below!

Home Made Almond Milk:

1. 1 Cup Soaked Organic Raw Almonds (drain water)
2. Blend Almonds in good blender first.
3. Then add in 2-3 cups water until you get desired consistency.
4. Strain almond milk mixture through nut milk bag into a big glass jug or jar.
5. Squeeze all of almond milk from nut milk bag.
6. Place nut ‘cheese’/leftovers to side (DO NOT THROW OUT!)
7. Put almond milk liquid back in blender.
8. Blend in 1-2 tbsp vanilla extract, 1-2 pitted dates/agave/stevia, these are optional and for whatever your preference is.
9. Also, you could add mint, raw cacao, fresh squeezed orange juice and so on to add different flavors!
10. Store in fridge, keeps for 3 days or so. You can flavor you leftover nut ‘cheese’ to taste like cheese or use it in different recipes, so don’t throw out the leftovers!

For my Ripped Ass Woman Upper Body, Core & Cardio workout, I took it outside under the sun and to a park near my house that has chin up and dip bars. I hooked up my TRX around one of the chin up bars. Below I give alternative exercise moves if you don’t have a TRX:). Enjoy!

Ripped Upper Body, Core & Cardio Workout:

Part 1: Strength – Do 1 Round of following exercises.

1. Chin Ups 12 Reps
2. TRX Atomic Push Ups (OR Push Up and Squat Thrust) 10 Reps
3. TRX 1-Leg Shoulder Press 16 Reps (8R/Leg) (Do Pike Press w/feet Elevated on Chair)
4. TRX Atomic Push Ups 10 Reps
5. TRX Dips (OR Dips off Chair or Bench) 15 Reps
6. TRX Low Rows (OR Inverted Rows or Bent-Over Rows) 15 Reps
7. TRX Y Flyes (OR Incline Bench Back Flyes) 15 Reps
8. TRX Atomic Push Ups 10 Reps
9. TRX Tricep Overhead Extension (Or Standing Overhead Tricep Extensions) 15 Reps + 20 Pulses (Upper Half Range of Motion)
10. 1-Leg Elevated (On Dip Bars, 4 feet high) Push Ups 5R/Leg; 2 Sets
11. Hanging V Leg Raise (Holding body off ground on dip bars, raise legs up in V) 10 Reps; 2 Sets
12. Inverted Rows (Overhand Grip 10 Reps/Underhand Grip 10 Reps) 2 Sets
13. Body Dips on Dip Bar 10 Reps; 1 Set

Part 2: Cardio

1. Set Timer for 10 minutes. You will perform exercise movement for 45 seconds of effort and have 15 seconds rest. So you will do 10 intervals of 45 seconds of effort and 15 seconds of rest for total of 10 minutes.
2. You will alternate between two exercise moves. Start with Sprint Runs for first 45 second interval. Rest 15 seconds. Then perform High Knee Jump Rope Skips for 45 seconds, rest for 15 seconds. Keep repeating and alternating between these two exercises for 10 minutes.
3. Sprint Runs: I ran ‘suicides’ in outdoor basketball court between one end, to mid court & back, then from one end to the other end and back. Basically, just sprint between two points for 45 seconds and you’re good.
4. High Knee Jump Rope Skips: I used my rock climbing rope for extra challenge because it is heavy, but any rope will do. Do jump rope while doing high knees. Or just do your best and go your hardest at jumping rope or high knees.

Now, chug some water, lie down and congratulate yourself because you just completed a Ripped Ass Woman workout!

I had a surge of energy later in the afternoon, and decided to take my bike out for a spin around town. So fun, relaxing and got a good 45 minutes of hills and flats in! Now time for an ice cold frosty home made lemon drink!

To Your Health,

Natty Mac

Keep it Fresh, Make it FUN!

Change it UP!!! If you have recently implemented an exercise routine into your lifestyle OR if you have been exercising for years…this post is for you!

DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR ROUTINE! Make it exciting and change it up often, now I don’t mean you have to every day or even every other session. But at least do a different exercise routine every week. You will see better results and you will feel it too!

SO…What if you runout of ideas? Be creative! Did you play sports as a kid or in high school? Do you have any hobbies? Download some new soundtracks for your workout. Use a different type of equipment (use a kettlebell or medicine ball in your next routine).

If you change it up, you won’t get used to your routine, and you won’t know what to expect or when to expect it. I know people all too well, and I do this myself as well if I do the same routine over and over…do you ever hold back because you want to leave some steam for what’s to come later on in your workout?! If you change it up, you won’t know what’s about to hit you later on in the workout and you will give each and every part of the workout your all, or at least I hope you will!!!

So in honor of today’s blog post I brought back some sport specific training into my workout. I used to play soccer a lot as a kid and absolutely loved it. So I took my soccer ball up to my local high school field and did a little training. I used some bodyweight techniques and meshed them together with soccer specific conditioning skills. It was a blast! I felt like a kid again and kicked my own butt while workin’ up a mean sweat. My favorite exercises of the day were soccer dribble sprints and soccer ball burpees!

Post your creative exercise routines here, I’d love to hear them!

Health & Happiness,
Nat

At-Home Work Out Equipment and Home Workout Video!

I love using my TRX® to get a quick workout in. You can do some intense versions of push ups, plank/crunch/pike, back rows, 1-leg squats and lunges…and this is just the start of it. The bundle I bought, which I think was the ‘pro’ bundle, came with a dvd to start me off which helped a lot. From there, I just used my creativity and YouTube to find out about more exercises. I posted a exercise video on this blog a while back, CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO. I jibber jabber in the beginning of the video for a while, but eventually get to the point lol!
Next, my Ultimate Dip Station. You can do way more than dips on this piece! I do hanging leg raises and oblique knee tucks, inverted rows, push ups, dips, use your imagination and have fun with it!

I have plenty of body weight and kettlebell videos on this blog for you to check out to get some good ideas for exercise routines, so make sure to watch some of those videos when you get a chance. BUT, I went ahead and made a NEW VIDEO for you all that includes some body weight exercises as well as exercises using my Dip Station, Sand Bag, Stability Ball, and Resistance Bands. The NEW VIDEO is at the end of this post:).

If you are aiming to get your heart rate up there in the ‘cardio’ zone and increase your metabolism and fat burning capability of your workout, then choose exercises that target large muscle groups and are compound exercises(squats, rows) that hit many muscle groups, those that involve 2 or more joints and large groups of muscle working together in a coordinated movement. Only do 2-3 compound exercises per workout, because they take a lot of energy and tire you out, also do them at the beginning of your workout. End with isolation exercises (involve the movement of a single joint), such as the bicep curl.

Also, you may count reps and sets or do the exercises in an interval format. For example, if you are doing squats, push ups, dips, and rows; you could do 3 sets of 10-15 reps of each exercise (enough resistance for each movement that you’re almost at point of total fatigue by 10-15^th rep). Or, you could time yourself while you perform each movement, and try to get in as many reps as possible (with good form) of each exercise during your ‘effort interval’ and have a short period of rest in between, before moving onto the next exercise. You can do the exercises in a circuit format (in which you move from one exercise to the next) and perform a given number of rounds of the circuit. For example, perform each exercise for 45 seconds of effort with 15 seconds of rest & move to next exercise, do all exercises in circuit for 45 seconds of effort with 15 seconds of rest, back-to-back until finished 1 circuit. Rest for 1-2 minutes at the end of each circuit and perform as many circuits as desired for your goals. I usually pick 10 exercises and do 2-3 circuits.

For my routines, I do reps and sets when I’ll be doing a lower number of reps/exercise because I’m lifting heavier weight that day. On the days in which I’m aiming to get more of a ‘High Intensity Interval Training’ effect, I do timed intervals and use lighter weight in order to get a higher number of reps and obtain a ‘cardio aspect’ to my strength training routine. It is great to change up the format of your routines day-to-day and week-to-week, not only to accomplish muscle confusion, but also to avoid boredom!

Exercise video is below!

Multi-Taskin’…Healthy Diet & Exercise No Matter How Busy Your Day Is!

A day in the life of Natalie!

Don’t fret, I don’t really think that you care what my day is like, I’m not that vain! I wanted to give you an example of how I fit in healthy eating habits and consistent exercise into a very busy schedule.

I usually wake up at 5am and don’t finish work until 7:30pm. So as you can see, I have LONG days…don’t be misinformed though, I LOVE what I do for a living and I DO get breaks here and there throughout the day. I use those breaks to eat healthy and exercise and it makes getting through my day all the better and easier! Exercise gives me stress relief and stamina, healthy eating gives me a clear mind and energy!

I wake up early enough so that I have at least 1 hour to get ready and eat breakfast before I need to hit the road to train my first client. Right out of bed I down 1 scoop of fiber dissolved in a 16oz. glass of water. Then, I usually eat oatmeal & Shakeology (for protein/vitamins/energy/health). I have a cup of coffee with a splash of unflavored almond milk. I head out to train my clients usually until noon or 1pm. Then I have my afternoon ‘break’. I eat lunch, which is either a salad with chicken or a ‘green smoothie’ (pics below) and get to work in my ‘office’. This is when the multi-tasking comes into play!

In my ‘office’ (which I’ve moved outdoors since the weather is beautiful right now in MD) I do admin, marketing, blog, emails, and anything else it takes to make my personal training business run! During this ‘office work’ I fit in intermittent workouts. I use my body weight, dip station, TRX, stability ball, kettlebells, resistance bands and sandbag. I will do a post tomorrow on exercises I do using these different pieces of equipment.

I also have a gym membership. I go there daily as time permits and do cardio on the arc trainer, step mill, treadmill, and spin classes. I also use the bench, barbells, smith machine, cable machine, kick boxing bags, dumbbells, and other equipment that I do not have at home. While I’m working in my ‘office’, I do exercises for the muscle group I’m focusing on that day that I can do using my home workout equipment so when I hit the gym, I can get in and out of there faster. For example, I do push ups/chin ups/dips/core work at home while working on my upper body days so that when I hit the gym I only have to do the remaining exercises on the equipment that I don’t have at my house, such as bench presses and cable rows and the step mill!

When I need a power packed lunch but will be working out within an hour or so and don’t want to feel ‘full’ or ‘heavy’ from undigested food, I eat a green smoothie! I throw 8 oz of water, a few dashes of cinnamon, a handful of spinach salad leaves, a scoop of my chocolate Whey protein supplement and 1/2 scoop of my Shakeology, a couple frozen organic strawberries, ice cubes in my Bullet Blender cup and blend. I LOVE the ‘Bullet’ because it has single portion cups that you throw all your ingredients into and blend and drink out of the same cup, then throw the cup in the dishwasher and go!

Finally, after my last personal training client, I come home to eat a light dinner. I won’t be doing anything quite physical after dinner so there is no need for a huge dinner, you just don’t need the fuel because you’ll be sleeping soon! Today, I trained a client outside at a park that overlooks downtown Baltimore City…it was BEAUTIFUL today! I came home and threw a salmon filet in my skillet and cooked it in 8 minutes on my stove top, I also threw together a quick side salad.

So that’s my day! Jam packed yet I get in my workout and healthy nutritious meals to fuel my body and help me achieve my goals!

If you find that your schedule is busy and it is hard to get a workout in or eat healthy food while on the go, YOU’VE GOT TO PLAN AHEAD. I prep meals the day in advance if I know the following day will not allow me time to cook or I won’t be home for lunch. I ‘schedule’ my workouts in my calendar so I know exactly when I am scheduled for my daily workout and don’t end up at the end of the day, out of time and no energy to exercise.

Hope this helps! Health & Happiness,

Nat

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TRX & Kettlebell Interval Challenge!

Sculpt those arms, legs, butt and abs with this interval training workout using body weight techniques, kettlebells, and the TRX Suspension Trainer. Jump start your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and tone up and jump on the Raw Fitness train! Challenge yourself this month and perform all the workouts on my You Tube page or http://www.RawFitnessTv.com site. All of my workouts will boost your metabolism, burn fat, and help you feel better physically and mentally! Enjoy!*Each part: 1st round do the non-TRX movement, 2nd round do the TRX movement (if you have one). If you don’t have the TRX yet, just perform the non-TRX movements for each round.

Part 1: 2 Rounds @ 15 sec rest, 45 sec effort
1. Running Man or TRX 1-Leg Lunge
2. Running Man or TRX 1-Leg Lunge
3. KB Heavy Pants or TRX Low Row
4. KB Dips or TRX Dips
Cardio 1: 2 rounds, 30 sec effort, no rest
1. Mountain Climbers
2. BKWD Lunge Knee Up or TRX Sprinter Hops
3. BKWD Lunge Knee Up or TRX Sprinter Hops
4. KB Deadlift Squat Thrust

Part 2: 2 rounds, 15 sec, 45 sec
1. 1-Leg Hip Raise or TRX 1-Leg Squats
2. 1-Leg Hip Raise or TRX 1-Leg Squats
3. Push up w/Squat Thrust or TRX Chest Press
4. KB Russian Twist or TRX Plank Crunch
Cardio 2: 2 rounds, 30 sec effort, no rest
1. Jump Lunges
2. Pendulums
3. KB Swing
4. TRX Pikes or V-Knee Chest Tucks

Any questions about the TRX, send them my way, I LOVE the TRX!!! Health & Happiness, Nat 🙂