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Floor planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening core muscles. Holding a plank position engages not only the abs but also the back, shoulders, and glutes.
This comprehensive workout aids in improving posture, reducing back pain risk, and enhancing overall stability.Planks can be adapted to different fitness levels, making them versatile for core strengthening.
Adding floor planks to your exercise routine can enhance balance, boost endurance, and tone the midsection. Next time you focus on working your abs, try incorporating floor planks for a rewarding workout.
The holiday season is a time of celebration, but that doesn’t mean it has to derail your health and fitness goals. If you’re looking for low calorie drinks to enjoy at festive gatherings, don’t worry! There are plenty of delicious adult beverages that won’t sabotage your waistline. In the last post, we talked about how alcohol calories are burned before anything else in the body, so it’s smart to be mindful about what you are drinking. If you plan to indulge, read on to learn how to quench your thirst with some waist-friendly options.
Red or White? Wine is always a go-to for celebrations and if you love wine, you can still enjoy a few glasses. When choosing wine, opt for lighter options such as Pinot Grigio, Champagne or Sauvignon Blanc. These white wines typically contain fewer calories than their red counterparts, so they’re a great way to keep the calorie count down and enjoy your favorite beverage. White wines contain around 110-125 calories per 5oz serving compared to 125-165 calories for a similar serving size of red wine.
If you’re looking for something bubbly, prosecco is an excellent option. Prosecco has fewer calories than champagne and is the perfect way to add some sparkle to your festivities. For prosecco, a brut, non-sweet option comes in at around 60-80 calories per 5oz pour, which is half the calories in a brut champagne. Champagne can have anywhere between 125 and 175 calories per 5oz, which varies based on the added sugar. When comparing the two, prosecco is the better choice. For a refreshing spin on this classic bubbly, try adding a few wedges of citrus or berries for a satisfying drink.
Cider is another festive drink that can be surprisingly low in calories when enjoyed in moderation. Choose ciders made from fresh-pressed apples rather than those made with concentrate for the lowest calorie content. To spike your cider, try adding a splash of hard seltzer or flavored vodka for an extra kick without the extra calories.
Beer For beer drinkers, light varieties are the way to go. Most light beer has just around 100 calories per bottle. Craft beers can range from light to high in calorie content, so it’s important to choose wisely and read the label. Some craft beers can contain up to 200 calories per bottle, which can add up quickly. If you’re avoiding gluten, you can opt for a hard seltzer, which has around 100 calories per can. Even if you are not a fan of wine or beer, there are plenty of other drink options that won’t break your calorie budget.
Cocktails If you prefer cocktails, mix up something refreshing with fresh squeezed juice, seltzers or herbal teas with a shot of vodka or gin and a lime. There are so many natural and low calorie mixers on the market these days that won’t cause your waistline to expand! Clear spirits such as vodka and gin have about 96 calories per 1.5 ounces, while darker spirits such as whiskey and rum have around 105 calories per 1.5 ounces. Try swapping a second cocktail for a glass of sparkling water to keep both the alcohol and calorie content down while keeping yourself hydrated.
When it comes to cocktails, there are some drinks that should be avoided if you’re trying to watch your calorie intake. Margaritas and daiquiris can contain up to 400 calories per drink. Long island iced teas are also a no-no – they typically have around 475 calories per drink and an insane amount of alcohol that nobody really needs, but no judging, promise!
Lastly, stay away from sugary drinks like White Russians and Pina Coladas as they can contain upwards of 500+ calories per drink. No matter what your beverage of choice is, moderation is key when it comes to drinking alcohol. Too much can have lasting negative effects on your health. So, when it comes to choosing low calorie alcoholic drinks during the holidays, remember to drink responsibly and enjoy your favorite beverages in moderation. With a few smart choices, you can still indulge without sabotaging your diet or compromising your health. Cheers!
We’ve all heard of the infamous “beer belly” which makes us associate alcohol with weight gain, but what you may not know is that there could be more to alcohol hindering your fat loss goals than just the number of additional calories. The calories consumed from alcohol can have a major impact on the amount of fat your body burns.
When you drink alcohol, it gets first priority for energy needs in the body. The body metabolizes alcohol primarily in the liver, breaking it down into acetate. The acetate is then converted into usable fuel to satisfy energy needs of the body. This means that calories from the alcohol are used for energy before other sources can be burned, leaving little room for fats and carbohydrates, which will then be redirected for storage if they are not needed. Since acetate is readily available as an energy source, the body does not need to burn off stored fat for energy, causing an overall decrease in fat burning. The liver prioritizes metabolizing alcohol over burning off stored fat.
In addition to inhibiting the amount of fat your body burns, drinking too much alcohol can also lead to weight gain due to its high caloric content. Alcohol contains seven calories per gram and is considered a source of “empty” calories. Factor in the additional calories from the drink, it can add up pretty quickly if we’re not careful. Alcohol also reduces inhibitions, which can contribute to drinking more than we planned. It also has the potential to increase your appetite and lead to cravings for unhealthy high-calorie foods, which can further contribute to weight gain or impede weight loss.
While I’m not advocating becoming a teetotaler since I like to focus on small, realistic adjustments we can work into our lives, it’s important to remember that consuming too much alcohol can drastically hamper your efforts to burn stored fat and lose weight. If your goal is to lose or maintain a healthy weight, cutting back on alcohol may be what you need to get there. Additionally, opting for lower-calorie alcohol such as light beer, hard seltzer or vodka-soda can help reduce the number of alcohol calories that you consume.
Since consuming too many alcohol calories can inhibit the amount of fat your body burns and make it difficult to achieve lasting weight loss, reducing your alcohol intake is key if you want to reach your fitness goals. Staying educated, being mindful, and having a plan before you drink can help you stay on track. Stay tuned for a comparison of common drinks and their caloric intake so you can make the best decisions this holidays season.
The holiday season can be a difficult time to stay on top of your health and wellness goals. With tempting treats and festive feasts, it’s easy to give into temptation. But with the right strategies, you can still reach your weight-loss or fitness goals while enjoying the holidays. Here are 5 tips to help you stay on track during this holiday season.
1. Eat Small, Balanced Meals: Eating small, balanced meals throughout the day can help you stay on top of your diet and prevent overeating. Try to choose nutrient-dense foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
2. Drink Plenty of Water: Drinking water throughout the day helps keep you hydrated and also helps control hunger levels. It also helps flush out toxins from your body that can lead to weight gain.
3. Exercise Regularly: Exercise is one of the best ways to lose weight and stay fit during the holiday season. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week, such as walking or jogging outdoors or doing an online workout video in the comfort of your home. Wear a fitness tracker to be sure you are getting 7,000-10,000 steps per day.
4. Avoid Processed Foods: Processed foods are full of empty calories and unhealthy fats that can make it harder to achieve your weight-loss goals. Instead, focus on eating whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.
5. Get Enough Sleep: Skimping on sleep during the holidays can affect your hormones and lead to overeating, weight gain and feeling miserable. Make sure you’re getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night so you have enough energy for exercising and making healthy choices.
The holiday season can be a great time to take charge of your health and reach your wellness goals. By eating small, balanced meals, drinking plenty of water, exercising regularly, avoiding processed foods, and getting enough sleep, you’ll be able to enjoy the holidays without sacrificing your progress. So make sure to use these tips and make this holiday season the best one yet.
You may have heard of HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training, but if you haven’t incorporated this effective training tool into your routine, you could be missing out on a chance to take your fitness to the next level and achieve your goals faster than you thought possible.
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is an effective method to burn subcutaneous fat, the fat that sits right beneath your skin that is visible to the eye, the kind that you can pinch.
In addition to aiding fat loss goals, HIIT has been studied and shown to have many additional health benefits. Read on to find out what HIIT is, why you should care and how you can incorporate it into your lifestyle today.
What is HIIT?
HIIT is exercise that utilizes large muscles and incorporates intense exercise (sprinting) with recovery in one session. During the sprinting portion, you push yourself close to maximum effort for a short period of time (think 8/10), which is immediately followed by a period of recovery. This cycle is repeated several times.
By peaking your heart rate and then allowing your body to recover immediately after you’ll increase your cardiovascular fitness at the same time as targeting the fat you can see. The method of go-rest-go-rest teaches your body to recover quickly so you’ll be training your body to be more effective at recovery as well.
Why Should You Care?
HIIT has been shown to be a more effective form of exercise than moderate paced or steady-state cardio. Even though HIIT often takes less time than other forms of steady-state cardio exercises, HIIT has been shown to burn more calories when compared to other forms of exercise such as biking or jogging.
The reason for this relates to your consumption of oxygen post training, known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). With steady state cardio, the main source of caloric burn is during the workout. With HIIT, you will continue burning calories after the workout, so although you may not burn as many calories during the workout due to the fraction of the length of the session, you will continue burning calories for hours after your workout, so the overall total caloric burn will be higher for a HIIT session.
Health Benefits
In addition to being a more effective training method than steady-state cardio sessions, (which have been shown to cause microscopic tears in heart muscles), there are numerous other health benefits that have been found through scientific studies. Some of these benefits include improving VO2max (cardiovascular fitness), improving fasting insulin levels and improving the quality of mitochondria.
Improving VO2max, a measure of how much oxygen is consumed during exercise, is used as a measure of aerobic endurance. Physical training can help you improve these numbers and HIIT has proven to be effective at this.
Improving Fasting Insulin Levels. There is research that also shows that HIIT is more effective at improving insulin sensitivity when compared to moderate-intensity training, or steady-state cardio as I like to call it. The improvement was not found with moderate intensity training.
Improving the Quality of Mitochondria. If you recall from biology, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. It’s where your body makes energy. Research has shown that HIIT can make your mitochondria more effective, which means more efficient energy production for you.
Time and Flexibility
The aspect I love the most about HIIT is that it doesn’t take up a tremendous amount of time so can easily be incorporated into a busy schedule. It is also great for someone who is newer to exercise or someone coming back from a hiatus (as the position I often find myself in) who wants to start off by incorporating smaller bouts of exercise into their routine. This means you can work in a HIIT exercise routine just about anywhere, making it highly flexible to your schedule. But none of that would matter if this wasn’t an effective form of exercise.
Get Started Today
I found this 35 minute workout by exercise scientist, Christian Finn, in the early 2000s and it is still my go-to for a quick, effective HIIT workout. He times the work portion to maximize glycogen usage.
0-5 minute
• Warm up – essential to eliminate risks check journal – associated with HIIT
5-10 minute
• 15 seconds max, 45 seconds recovery
10-15 minute
• Steady cardio
15-20 minute
• 15 seconds max, 45 seconds recovery
20-25 minute
• Steady cardio
25-30 minute
• 15 seconds max, 45 seconds recovery
30-35 minute
• Cool down
Resources
Low-Volume High-Intensity Interval Training in a Gym Setting Improves Cardio-Metabolic and Psychological Health. Sam O. Shepherd, Oliver J. Wilson, et al. Published: September 24, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139056
Doaj.org
The effects of high-intensity interval training vs. moderate-intensity continuous training on body composition…Wiley Online Library. M. Wewege, et al. Published: 11 April 2017. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12532
