Summer Shape Up 2011

It’s finally here: 3rd year of Summer Shape Up!! I’m really excited about this one and hope you’ll join in the fun Summer is a great time to shake up your workout routine and find extra motivation to fuel your body the best way possible. Little changes add up and can make a huge difference — not only in how we look, but most importantly, how we FEEL <3 Feeling good, energized and healthy is #1.

So, how does it work?

-For the next 4 weeks, I’ll post a sample grocery list along with meal ideas that can be created based on this list.

-Along with the grocery list will be a weekly workout plan, featuring a weights workout, cardio components and flexibility training suggestions

-Keep track of your progress, cheer each other on (in the comments section and on Twitter: #summershapeup) and have fun! <3

Think of this as a chance to spice up your workout routine and clean up your eats, if you would like. This is by no means a “challenge” and I don’t want any of ya’ll to feel pressured to participate. Just look here for info purposes and motivation (healthy eats and exercise is a GOOD thing and we can root for each other!) if you’d like to join. Just imagine your favorite gym is offering 24-7 fitness classes for the next 4 weeks and you can jump in whenever you’d like.

Disclaimer: As always, please alter the workouts and eating plan to suit your personal needs and preferences. Check with a doctor before making any fitness or nutrition changes.

The Eats!

Grains and breads:

-Brown rice

-oatmeal

-brown rice farina

-quinoa

-1 type of pasta: I love mung bean fettuccini and black bean spaghetti the best, but whole-grain or 100% whole wheat is fab too

-whole grain bread of choice (or brown rice bread) + one “fun” bread (like whole wheat wraps, 100% whole grain pitas, brown rice tortillas, gluten-free or whole wheat English muffins or gluten-free or whole-grain bagels)

Dairy:

-organic butter or ghee

-organic eggs

-goat cheese

-goat cream cheese

-milk of choice (organic 1% or skim, coconut milk, almond milk, hemp milk, oat milk)

Meat/fish

-frozen Wild-caught salmon (fresh is better, but since I live in Arizona, frozen is the same thing as the “fresh” stuff at the deli)

-frozen organic chicken breasts

-canned albacore tuna

-Deli meat or tofu is a great option, but there more occasional treats

Beans/legumes and canned food

-organic chickpeas

-organic kidney beans

-organic lentils

-raw cashews

-diced tomatoes

-pasta sauce

-artichoke hearts

-kalamata olives

-sundried tomatoes

-tomato paste

-tomato sauce

Condiments

-Almond butter

-Dijon mustard

-One salad dressing (Goddess dressing and balsamic are my faves)

-hummus

-Nama Shoyu or Tamari

Produce (all organic)

-salad greens- I switch it up every week. If I got romaine last week, I’ll get spinach this week, arugula the next and so on

-green apples

-grape tomatoes

-bell peppers

-baby carrots

-cucumber

-lemons

-zucchini, squash, asparagus or eggplant- whatever looks fresh and in season

-onions

-berries (fresh and frozen for smoothies)

-baby bananas- I pick the smallest ones, since a large banana is usually two servings

Snacks

-Seaweed snacks

-Dark chocolate

Extras

-Extra virgin olive oil

-Coconut oil

-Sun Warrior protein powder

-Decaf espresso powder

-cacao powder

-Spices

-Almond milk, or milk of choice

Meal ideas:

(Check out the *food* page for recipes)

Breakfasts:

-Breakfast cookie dough cereal

-Breakfast cookie

-Egg white burrito with cream cheese and salsa

-2 slices of toast with 1/2 sliced banana and 1 T almond butter, cinnamon

-Mocha Berry Smoothie (1 C almond milk, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 scoop protein powder, 1/2-1 T cacao powder, 1 t espresso powder, 1/2 C frozen organic berries)

-Perfect protein pancakes

-Omelet with 1 egg, 2 egg whites, cheese, veggies and salad

Lunches:

-Baked pizza: top a brown-rice or whole-grain tortilla with pasta sauce, veggies of choice, 1 serving of cheese and bake in the oven 10 min, or until crispy. Serve with salad

-Broccoli slaw with spicy almond butter sauce and chickpeas

-Quiche with vegetables

-Salad beast

-Turkey or tofu wrap, fresh berries

-Sweet potato with goat cheese and chives, salad

-Greenacolada smoothie

Snacks:

-Hummus and crudités

-1 banana with 1 T almond butter

-1 serving tortilla chips (homemade or store-bought with salsa)

-Amazeball

-Pack of seaweed snacks + small smoothie (1 C almond milk + 1 scoop protein powder, ice)

-Fruit bowl with fresh chopped fruit of choice

Dinner

-Mung bean pasta with wilted arugula, pasta sauce, roasted veggies

-Baked salmon with lemon and garlic, baked sweet potato and salad

-Snobby Joes on bread of choice, or atop greens

-Quinoa with roasted veggies, chickpeas, seasoned with lemon juice and thyme, and topped with salad dressing of choice

-Salad beast- make sure to have a quality source of protein in there

Eating goals:

-Protein with every meal/snack

-8 glasses of water (at least!)

-Lots of fruits and veggies

-Whole foods, the way nature made them, not man

-Enough sufficient fuel to support activity levels and flourish

The workout plan:

Each Monday, I’ll post a sample workout plan to follow if you’d like. As the weeks go on, the main workout will be more challenging and the order will change- Sunday is always active rest day

Here’s the first week:

Workout #1:

This workout is meant to be completed circuit style, by doing all of the moves in the circuit without rest in between each exercise. After completing each exercise once, rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute, and repeat the entire circuit again 1-2 more times for a total of 2-3 times. The cardio blast in between each circuit is optional and meant to be done once to get your heart rate up in between circuits. As far as weights go, choose a weight that is challenging for you without being too much- if you can easily do more than 15 reps with a certain weight, time to bump it up.

Circuit 1 (Repeat 2-3 times total)

-Stability ball hamstring curl (12-15 reps)

-Stability ball overhead pass (10-12 reps)

-Stability ball back extension (10-12 reps)

CARDIO BLAST: 1 minute of burpees

Circuit 2 (Repeat 2-3 times total)

-Bench push-up- with hands on the bench or feet on the bench (12-15 reps)

-Bench split squat <—take a larger step than the guy in the video; you want to make sure your front knee doesn’t go past your toes –if these are too challenging, regular lunges are great (10-12 on each side; hold weights to make it more challenging)

-Bench tricep dip (12-15 reps; bent legs is easier, straight legs is more challenging)

CARDIO BLAST: 1 minute of mountain climbers

Circuit 3: (Repeat 2-3 times total)

-Assisted pull-ups (12-15; at home? Try lat pulldowns with a resistance band)

-Lateral raises (12-15)

-Bicep curl plie squat combo (12-15)

CARDIO BLAST: I minute of squat jumps

Ab burner (1 time through- that’s it!)

-50 sit ups

-50 crunches

-25 reverse crunches

-25 bicycle crunches

This week’s other workouts

-For cardio, it’s your choice. The HIIT options, hills and steady state are there as options but feel free to switch it up as you like. My favorite HIIT intervals are 1 min 30 seconds easy, 30 seconds balls to the wall (sprinting, elliptical or bike), and you don’t need to do HIIT for more than 20 minutes total. Make sure to include a warm-up and cool-down with your cardio sessions.

-For yoga, feel free to check out a class in your area with lots of juicy stretching, or try a YogaDownload.com podcast- the 20 minute ones are free

Each time you finish a workout, please leave a comment on this post and let me know how it went and what you think! <3

Happy training

xoxo

Gina

Are you joining in the fun? If not, how are your summer fitness goals going? I love hearing what you’re up to

See ya later today with Vegas adventures, and tomorrow with the exciting news I’ve been waiting to share with ya <3