A Quick Fix - Homemade Strawberry Milk

This is a good snack for anyone.  Use it as a special treat or a dessert and I'm fairly sure kids will love it.  Lately, I have really been into strawberry milk.  And  I don’t mean the crazy-loaded-with-weird-and-hard-to-pronounce-chemicals-that-does-who-knows-what-to-you Nesquik-types.  I mean my own home recipe for strawberry milk.  Why not give this to your kids as a treat?  They can make it as they drink it, and it’s a good way to get your fruit.  You can probably do this with other fruits too, but this is a Strawberry only zone.

Ingredients:

-       6-8 oz milk (you don’t want to overload on milk)

-       Honey

-       Four Strawberries (Fresh or Frozen)

There are two ways I like to do this.  First, blend it all together.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.  (Ooh I bet a small amount of lemon would be delicious!)

Second, put your strawberries in a glass, add milk to barely cover them, drizzle with honey grab a fork and squish the strawberries.  This is why I think it would be fun for kids to do – because you get to make your own glass by squishing the strawberries.  Plus, it looks pretty.

 

Enjoy!

#Strawberrymilk #DIY #howto #recipe #kidfriendly #easyrecipe 

So, You Walk Like An Ape

 Hi, my name is Jackie.  I’m a personal trainer, sporadic blog writer, life enthusiast and avid book reader.  I noticed you walking around the other day, like a silverback gorilla.  You Tarzan, me Jane, you walk funny.

You’re probably asking yourself, “is she drunk?” Well, no, but I am drinking some chardonnay, which is delightful thank-you-very-much.  But seriously, this a super structural problem that afflicts many men.  Am I being sexist?  No, guys aren’t working out properly, so they’re being stupid. 

Go stand in front of a full-bodied mirror.  Face forward, feet hip width apart, arms dangling at your side.  Now casually glance at your hand position (you don’t want to scare yourself).  Which way are your palms facing?  Are they facing inward (towards your body), are they facing forward (towards the mirror) or are they facing outward (freakily away from your body)?  Chances are your palms are facing backward.  This, my dear readers, is NOT NATURAL AND IT DRIVES ME CRAZY!  So I am going to attempt to bring awareness to ape-arms and help you help me fix it.

So there are two main reasons for ape arms; super-tight pectoral (boob-region) muscles, or weak rhomboid (back) muscles.  I also have the hypothesis that because we spend so much time typing on a computer our SITS (supscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor) muscles get extended from their regular position, shortening the greater and lesser tubercle muscles, causing a “natural” rotation of our shoulders to this unnatural position.

So what do you do to combat ape arm? It’s an easy fix, really.  Takes time, as do most things with training, but again, relatively easy.  First, you need to make sure that you are shoulder packing when you are doing ALL arm workouts.  Second, make sure you are working out your upper and mid back muscles (again, while shoulder packing).  You can do this by doing some form of row, including the row machine, upright row, or my favorite “the bow and arrow” (patent pending).  Third, it’s most likely that you aren’t stretching your pectoral muscles after you work out.  To do this, find the corner of a wall, or a structural beam and put your wrist and elbow on it.  Make sure your elbow is at a 90-degree angle and straight out from your body (don’t let it slant down or up).  Twist your body out away from your arm, causing a stretch in the front of your shoulder region.  You can also feel this in the back of your shoulders, and pectorals.  Now take a step out, extending your arm to feel a deeper stretch, mainly in your biceps, but it will also affect your shoulder muscles.  If you don’t feel it, then twist body, leaving your arm in place, and you should eventually feel it.  Hold each position between 15-20 seconds doing each stretch 2-3 times. 

The final thing that you should do is work out your SITS muscles.  At first, only use 5lbs, because it’s a son-of-a-bitch move.  This is a VERY limited range of motion move, so if you move your elbows too much it loses it’s power.  

To do this:

-      -- Grab your weights

-     -- Lock your elbows in at your side

-     -- Make sure you keep a 90-degree angle at the elbow

-     -- Move your hands out and in, AGAIN keeping your elbows locked in at your side.  This is very difficult at first especially rotating outwards, but as you progress your range of motion will improve.  Do 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.  After three weeks you can increase your weight by no more than 2 lbs (these muscles are sensitive and you don’t want to injure yourself!).  

You can also do the “space invaders” move to work the SITS muscles. 

-     -  Grab the weights

-     -  Bring your arms out in a “T” position

-     -  Bend at the elbow so the top of your hand is toward the ceiling, your palms are facing forward

-     -  Lower them down so your palms are facing the floor, then bring them back up. 

-     -  You are essentially rotating your arms in a 90-degree, frontal plane movement.  HOWEVER, if your shoulder is clicking or making a popping noise you need to reduce the range of motion.  As the muscles get stronger, your range of motion will increase.  DO NOT go past the 90-degree range of motion seen in the video.

These exercises are not only a great way to combat ape-arms, but also to strengthen your rotator cuff muscles to help prevent injuries associated with tennis and golf.  And remember, most important is that you spread the word to your friends so we can stop this devastating and preventable issue.

5 Hot Tips To Help Prevent Inury

If you read my blog regularly you may notice some repeats.  That is because these are part of the essentials that you should learn when you get a trainer.  They are not only necessary for proper function when you work out, but they will also help prevent injuries during every day fun.  I cannot emphasize the importance of these tips.


5)  Shoulder packing:
Shoulder packing is very important for posture, and to help prevent rotator cuff injuries.  It should be done before you do any upper body exercise, whether you are working out your arms, chest or back.  After enough practice it will be a natural motion and you won't have to think about it, but until that happens you may have to check your posture while working out.

To practice this lie flat on your back on the ground with your arms at your side.  You can either have your legs bent at a 90 degree angle or flat on the floor.  First push your shoulders towards your feet, then down into the ground.  You should be able to feel your shoulder blades "flat" against the ground.  Hold this position for 10-12 seconds and repeat 5-6 times.  Once you've done this on the ground a couple of times, you can try it while standing.  The reason you start on the floor, is because it really creates a sense of awareness of the movement that you are supposed to be doing while standing up.

4) A proper squat:
Squats are something that I emphasize in all my programs for my clients because you often have to pick things up off of the ground.  There is a whole bunch of other reasons to emphasize a squat, but that is not what I am here to talk about.  Often, squats are done wrong and the wrong action can cause stresses and strains on your knees that are unnecessary.

Stand with your shoulders about hip width apart, or a little wider.  Make sure your feet are parallel with each other - meaning that the toes are pointing directly in front of you and your heels are hitting the wall directly behind you.  Bend at the waist first, sticking your butt out and when you feel like you are about to fall, bend your knees and squat down.  Bending at the waist first makes utilizes your glutes (butt muscles), which is what is supposed to happen.  Make sure your abs are tight and braced while doing this to maintain a straight back.

3) Bracing:
Bracing is relatively easy, but necessary for your workouts.  You should do it when working out your upper and lower body for sure, and you can randomly do it while your walking.  It's a way to help support and stabilize your back to prevent injury.

If you haven't figure it out by now, bracing involves your abdominal muscles.  The best way to describe it is like this: pretend someone is about to punch you in the gut, how would you harden your muscles?  That is what bracing is.  It's tightening your abdominal muscles, again, to support and stabilize the spine.


2) Drink Water:
You should always drink 8 oz of water before you work out.  Drink water every 10-20 minutes (or as needed) while you are working out, and drink 8-12 oz immediately after working out.  This is the best way to prevent dehydration, headaches, sore muscles and fatigue.  You are made up of water, so you should replace the water regularly.  I have found that by drinking the appropriate amounts of water I am able to focus better and I feel more energized throughout the day.  So, stop drinking all that soda, all that juice and all that coffee and every time you pass your kitchen, drink some more water!!!


1) Ask questions:
If you are relatively new to a gym and don't know how to use a piece of equipment, or are unsure of how to workout a specific muscle, ask a trainer.  Even if you don't train with them, it is their job to help you.  Don't expect them to give you a full session, but I've asked several trainers questions before and they are generally awesome at helping out.  I know that if someone were to come up to me, I'd be glad to help.