Summer Ready Abs

It's summer time in the northern hemisphere, which means, no matter what your age, you want to look good on the beach, poolside or lakeside.  Needless to say, a flat belly goes a long way towards making that look as impressive as possible.  Besides the obvious diet and cardio portion of the plan, here is a little routine, done at least 3 times a week, that will certainly aid in the quest for a flatter stomach.

Ab Circuit -Perform this circuit once and repeat. **** Remember to push the small of your back into the floor or ball at all times...it encourages you to hold your abs tighter and protects your lower back! 

1. Ab Cycling              10-15 ea leg          

2.  Reverse Crunch  (pull knees towards your chest)   15 reps

3.  Swiss/Stability Ball Crunches        15 reps

4.  Side to Side Ball Crunches       8 ea way
 (alternate twisting from side to side as you come up) 

5.  Leg Raise and Lower              10-15 reps

6.  Ball Plank (can be done from knees)          30-60 sec

Dried Fruit for Snacks

Do you often wonder about whether eating dried fruit is a good or bad thing?  Here is a query I often get....

Q:  I have quite the sweet tooth!  Is eating dried fruit a good idea for a sweet snack or do you have other suggestions?

Although dried fruit is packed with nutrients and fibre, it is also packed with calories.  For example, just a 1/2 cup of raisins contains 250 calories, the same number of calories found in 3 apples or 8 cups of fresh grapes!

In addition to the high calorie content, dried fruits can also be difficult to chew, sticking to teeth and dental work.  If you can eat small amounts of dried fruits, then this is certainly better than eating candy.  Or, instead of basing your sweet snacks on dried fruit alone, try adding them to other snacks like nonfat yogurt, trainl mix or healthy cereal.  1 cup of Special K with 1/2 cup nonfat milk, topped with 50 raisins also has 250 calories and no fat, but offers you calcium and protein in addition to being an excellent snack or breakfast.

To save yourself even more calories, swap the dried fruit for fresh fruit, which is more filling, lower in calories and equally as sweet and nutritious.  Because of their high water content, you can eat a lot more fresh produce for the same amount of calories!  Yee ha!

Get Fit and Foxy: Dried Fruit for Snacks

Get Fit and Foxy: Dried Fruit for Snacks