Strengthen Your Shoulder Blades with Blackburn Exercise

Getting injured is the one thing you don't want to happen when working out, but with some bad form, that may lead you to some serious problems. One of which is getting your shoulders hurt while bench pressing. You get that sharp pain feeling with certain movements and when you rest on that side of your shoulder when lying in bed it hurts big time making it hard for you to sleep. If you experience this, you're not alone as I have the same experience also. It is caused by repetitive motion with incorrect execution which causes swelling on the rotator cuff. I've stumbled a therapy that could help strengthen the shoulder blades if you're at the end of recovery and can perform the exercise without pain and in good form.

Here's a video of the exercise called the Blackburn, named after Dr. Blackburn.

Blueberry Smoothie

Here's an easy to prepare smoothie perfect for your meal plan that won't hurt you weight loss program.

Ingredients:

1 cup skim milk

1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries

1 scoop whey powder vanilla

1 tablespoon cold-pressed organic flaxseed oil

Add milk, blueberries and whey in a blender and blend it for about a minute or until it gets smooth. Put it to a glass and stir in flaxseed oil.

Makes 1 serving.

Total Body Circuit Dumbbell or Kettlebell Workout

Here's a total-body circuit workout with not much equipment used. Just dumbbells or kettlebells and you're ready for some nice burn. Do 3-5 sets. Rest for 1-2 minutes after finishing the whole circuit. You may rest for 30 seconds in between exercises.

1. Goblet Squat with Shoulder Press. Goblet squats are great for toning and sculpting your butt and abdominal muscles. Combining it with shoulder press, you're hitting not just the lower part of your body but your upper part as well.

Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell with two hands close to your chest while standing upright, feet on shoulder width. Slowly squat down until your hamstrings are on your calves. Keep your back straight, chest and head up. Pause a little when you hit the bottom position, using your elbows to push your knees out. As you ascent, explode upwards by pressing the dumbbell overhead. If you're a beginner, use lighter weights. Do 8-10 reps.

2. Walking Lunges. This type  takes any lunge exercises a step further. It may not be the most popular but it's effective to strengthening your quads, glutes, hamstrings, hips and core as well. You can perform this anywhere and by holding weights, it elevates the intensity.

Start by standing straight with feet in hip distance apart, holding a lighter to moderate-weight dumbbell (or you may start with no weights at all if you're a beginner then add weights later on as you progress). Drop down to a lunge, make sure both knees are in 90 degree angle and forwarded leg not go over your toes. Thigh of your forwarded leg should also be parallel to the ground. Step together then switch legs. Stop for a moment when you reach the starting position to keep yourself in right form. Continue to walk through as far as you can go or perform 8-10 reps.

If you have a knee injury, or experience pain in any of the joints, it's best to stop and not to perform this exercise. Consult your doctor.

3. Single-arm bent over row. This exercise targets your back. Start by placing your left knee and hand on a bench. Hold the dumbbell or kettlebell in your right hand at arm's length, elbow slightly bent, keep right leg straight, maintain a straight back and neutral spine. Don't let your head go up or too far down. Pull the dumbbell or kettlebell up to your rib cage level then slowly lower it back to start. Depending on your preference, you may start with right knee and hand placed on the bench. Do 8-10 reps. After finishing the reps, go to the other side. Inhale on the way down, exhale when going up.

4. Dumbbell Chest press. Lie down on the bench. Knees bent, feet flat on the floor and your back flat on the bench. Don't arch your back. Engage your core muscles. Hold dumbbells slightly above chest level, elbows out and palms facing forward. Inhale. Exhale when you gradually push the weights up. Don't lock or hyper extend your elbows. Pause a second, then slowly go down to the starting position while breathing in. Do it in a nice controlled movement. Select a weight that you can lift with right form. Do 8-10 reps.

Burn Fat in 10 Easy Ways

With the rise of different diets' popularity nowadays, you're left to think and select on what's the most effective among them. It varies on every person actually, like if this person lost weight because he/she followed this popular diet, it doesn't mean it will work for you. In some cases you'll hear someone talk about losing weight because of eating less or skipping meals, well, I don't recommend it as it will cause you to eat more once you start to crave in. When you stressed out because of your restrictions, cravings to eat more kicks in and it's not going to be good. By continuing your crash diet, it will have a great effect towards your body as you'll have shortage of nutrients, creating an imbalance that may lead to some serious illnesses in the future. You'll also start to burn muscle tissues and slows down your metabolism, which may give fat the advantage to infiltrate the territory. Eat more nutrient-dense food to keep you full all day and fill out empty calories. Eat sensible, eat a balance meal. If you want to lose weight and burn those fats, here are some ways to help you.

1. Sleep 7 or longer hours. Studies show that people who sleep for only 5 hours or less are likely to gain more weight because it creates imbalance in the hormones. They also get more stress and visceral fat.
2. Eat more protein. Eating high protein foods like eggs, broccoli, chicken, etc. helps in muscle recovery and maintains lean muscle. Keep 30% protein in your diet as too much may lead to kidney strain.
3. Do resistance training. Try lifting free weights, pump up the iron, do heavy and light sets. Or try calisthenics, using only your body weight to increase strength and flexibility.
4. Drink water. Water keeps you hydrated and studies show that by drinking at least 8 cups of water, it can raise metabolism and shed some pounds without extra effort.
5. Eat vegetables, ideally, go for organic ones. Vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber so you can go full without getting to worry about incoming fats.
6. Rev up your morning by eating breakfast. Don't skip this as it is an important part of your meal plan. It jump starts your metabolism throughout the day so having a hearty breakfast is better.
7. Try other sports. Doing the same activity over and over, our body adapts to it thus reaching a plateau and in essence, burns less calories. If you're used to walk always, try jogging or biking. Your body will get a shock with some varied new activities which in turn, up your metabolism and burn those calories more.
8. Go for fish. People who include fish in their diet tend to have lower levels of leptin, a hormone that when it gets higher, metabolism becomes lower, therefore is prone to obesity. Fish is also rich in Omega3, which can lower elevated triglyceride levels.
9. Coffee or tea. Caffeine can accelerate your metabolism which can burn more calories.
10. Go citrus. Fruits like oranges, lemons and tangerines are rich in vitamin C which increases your metabolism and help you to burn fats efficiently.

Low Calorie Dessert: Black Forest Banana Split

You've trained hard, ate right, so as a prize why not treat yourself with a dessert, in a healthier way. Here's a recipe by FitnessMagazine that will not break your diet.

Ingredients:

2 cups of nonfat ricotta cheese
2 bananas, split
16 walnut halves
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cherry concentrate

How to:
Put the ricotta into a dessert dish then place the split bananas on each side of ricotta. Put walnut halves on top. Dust with cocoa powder. Drizzle cherry concentrate on top. Makes 2 servings.

Nutritional facts per serving:
377 calories
23 g protein
40 g carbohydrates
11 g total fat
3.5 g fiber
1.5 g saturated fat

Weight-Loss Smoothie: Chocolate Chia Cherry Protein Shake

Here's a healthy, flavorful smoothie that will boost your energy and fill you up during snack time until you eat a major meal. It packs both protein and fiber which help you in your weight loss program.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened nut, almond, soy or cow's milk
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups pitted, halved cherries
1 medium-size ripe banana
1 scoop whey protein powder
1 tablespoon honey (if you prefer sweeter taste)
4-5 ice cubes

Simply add all the ingredients in the blender and blend until everything gets smooth.

Fat Burning Workout for 15 Minutes or Less

No time for gym? Well here are some exercises that will help burn your fats right at your very own home. This circuit workout will tone and tighten up your body in 15 minutes or less as it combines cardio and strength training.

Here's the workout:

1. squats - 30 seconds

2. push-ups - 30 seconds

3. jumping jacks - 30 seconds

4. burpees - 30 seconds

5. jumping lunges - 30 seconds

6. v-crunches - 30 seconds


By performing each exercise for 30 seconds of high intensity, you max yourself out hard thus burning more. Your aim is to perform as many reps as possible during the 30 second time frame. After finishing the first exercise, if possible, go to the next exercise without rest, but if you can't, you may rest for 10 seconds in between before going for the next.

After you finish the six exercises, rest for one to two minutes then hit it up again. Do 3-5 sets. Do some warm ups first and stretch before doing this circuit workout or any other workout. If you have some heart ailments, doing high intensity isn't right for you. Consult your doctor if you can do circuit training. Always remember to be safe.

Revitalize Your Body with Lemon Water

One of the latest craze from health buffs nowadays is lemon water. It has become so big that you've probably seen a lot of fitness enthusiasts, even celebrities, go for this one to boost their energy during workouts. It's also said that it can help you lose weight so they've added lemons in their diets.

So what is lemon water? It's basically a mixture of water and juice from lemons. You may also add some ingredients for flavoring. Although there's a minimal research about its impact as a whole, it claims to help your mood and memory and increase immune system. It has the same benefits of regular water but more.

Other benefits include preventing kidney stones, increases potassium levels, helps the liver in filtering toxins, helps in digestion and relieves constipation, improves skin and detoxification, make you look younger, good source of vitamin C, boost metabolism, improves your performance during exercises and helps you get hydrated.

What are the side effects of Lemon Water?

Lemon water is safe to drink however the acid present in lemons can damage your tooth enamel and can make your teeth more prone to cavities according to studies. Use straw whenever possible in drinking it then rinse mouth afterwards to limit the risk. However it is highly recommended that you wait for an hour before brushing your teeth as brushing while your tooth enamel is in the state of acid softening can cause severe damage.

As for people with heartburn, effects may go either way. Some may experience relief while some gets aggravated result as the citric acid stimulates and triggers heartburn. If you're one of those who experience the latter, it's better to avoid drinking lemon water.

How to prepare Lemon Water?

Squeeze fresh lemons and simply mix the juice or slices of lemon (peel included) in cold or hot water. Always use fresh lemons. Do not use artificial ones from bottle that's usually available in supermarkets. For more added flavours, you may add other ingredients if desired.

Getting Back on Track After Long Hiatus

You've set your goals. Trained hard. Achieved some of it. And then you took a rest. Now the rest took longer than expected and suddenly it hit you. You became the old self who once wanted to go fit. Whatever the reason of that extended period of rest, which, may vary from each person - it may be because of injury, getting busy from work, a hectic schedule which squeezing time to work out was hard or giving birth, you just couldn't go back the way you wanted it. Yes, we all experience this at some point and getting back on track is easier said than done. So how can you cope up on this?

Here are some tips to take off that rustiness you've incurred during hiatus.

1. When going back, you need to consult a physician so you will know which one fits your system and not. Safety first before anything else. There might be some exercise programs that should be avoided.
2. Go train as a beginner again! You can't go back to where you left off thinking that, "Hey, I've done this before, I can do it again!" In most cases you won't be able to do it or if ever you did, it may lead to serious injury. Doing too much too soon can harm you than do good.
3. Take it slowly, be patient, it's not a race, you got to think of it as a lifestyle and not just targeting for a specific time only.
4. Don't impose high demand to yourself, it will only frustrate you if things don't go well in your timeframe which will cause loss of desire to workout.
5. Give your body time to re-adapt. Start on lighter weights and cardio training. Build yourself up gradually. Eventually your body will catch up what you've had before.
6. If you've just recovered from injury and wanted to return, choose one exercise that will painlessly affect your rehabilitating muscle.
7. Enjoy the time when you're working out.