Category Archives: General Fitness

Staying Fit on Vacation!

General Fitness, Living the Fit Lifestyle, , , , , ,

Hi everyone!

Hope you all are doing great and enjoying Spring!!  This time of year is when a lot of people take some time to go on VACATION!!!  It’s one of our absolute favorite things to do!  Getting away for a while is a great way to relax and unwind, but as many of us know from experience can often lead to coming back with a couple of extra pounds that AREN’T from your luggage!  It can also be tough to get back in your gym routine after a few days of R&R.  I thought I’d share some helpful tips I use when we’re on vacation 3.that help me balance my fitness and nutrition goals with having some fun too!  We took an amazing Caribbean Cruise vacation last month, and these points helped me enjoy myself and stay on track.

1.) Realize it’s all about BALANCE!!! 

One of the best parts of any vacation is relaxing and spending time with loved ones, having fun, and eating yummy food!  Focus on enjoying the experience and not what you can/can’t eat, and realize that it’s okay to tone down the crazy workouts some.  BALANCE FRIENDS!!!  Eat dessert, order the wine, enjoy yourself!  I try to make healthy eating choices for breakfast, snacks, and lunch or dinner, but allow myself to enjoy a few bites of desert and a drink or two every day.  It’s all about moderation!  More on the workout piece in a bit.

2.) Drink alcohol in moderation

It might be fun to toss a few back, but the hangover the next day will NOT be fun!  I love a fruity drink by the pool or beach just as much as the next girl, but I don’t love the bloated, gross feeling that comes from over indulging or the horrible feeling a hangover gives you!  Enjoy your alcoholic beverages in moderation while on vacay, and you won’t have to worry about missing out on fun from not feeling well, and it will also save you THOUSANDS of calories!  Those delicious fruity/ frozen drinks can add-up quickly, so again, try to enjoy those in moderation when possible.  This tip will also save you some cash too!!  Drinks can add up quickly leading to a hefty bar tab!

3.) Enjoy some ACTIVE-ities!!!

My husband and I love to gallivant and sightsee when we travel.  Exploring is the name of the game!  We also like to do fun things like hike if there are caves, architectural sites, or natural tourist points to trek to and explore.  While we were in port in Falmouth, Jamaica on the cruise, we spent the day climbing the beautiful Dunn’s River Falls in Ochos Rios.  It was so much fun!  We also love theme parks and ziplining! Other great activities could be snorkeling, skiing, mini-golf, sports at your resort, whatever your heart desires!  These are all great calorie burners that get you moving and are sure to be a fun time for all!

4.) Plan to workout

At least pack some workout/gym clothes in your suitcase!  Even just a quick 20-30 minute lifting session, some cardio, or a circuit workout will keep you somewhat in your routine and easier to get back into the swing of things when you get back home.  My rule of thumb: 3 workouts if I’m gone for a week, one if it’s a shorter trip like a weekend.  This is easy to do if you have a gym on your ship or your hotel!  We worked out every day on the cruise, but when we were abroad for three weeks in Japan last year it was much harder to find gyms (they literally DO NOT exist there.  Thank god for the Ritz!) so we only worked out like three times.  Just make it a priority and make it fun—you won’t regret it!

5.) Pack some protein focused snacks and get as much protein as you can!

I love this one.  Our favorites: Protein powder and Quest Bars!  I never worry about carb intake on vacay, but really try to eat as much protein as I can.  Snacks can help you in a pinch if you get stuck in an excursion or in the airport too!  Protein is key.  It’s easy to get the fat and carb macros you need eating out on vacation, but the protein will keep you full and will help curb overindulging on some not so healthy foods.  Aim for grilled chicken, seafood, or fish when you can, and don’t be afraid or embarrassed to order a salad!

I hope these tips are helpful if you’re planning a fun trip anytime soon.  You’ll be so proud of yourself for sticking to your fitness and nutrition goals that it will make you want to take another vacay to put them to use!

Till next time,

-Mere

The Best Exercises to Build a Booty!

General Fitness, Workouts, , , , ,

Hi friends!  If you’re like 90% + of women out there, you want a nice, round, perky butt!  Believe it or not, the glutes (butt) are one of the hardest muscle groups to work, and one of the top body areas both men and women want to change in their physiques!  Most of us have either a.) alot of fat in the butt area or b.) have really underdeveloped glute muscles leading to a pancake or flat butt!  When I first started training several years ago, my booty was really lacking muscle development, and was one of my weakest body parts on stage.  I’ve spent the last few years training glutes at least twice a week, and they have improved SO much thanks to alot of repetitions of these exercises below.  Here are my favorite exercises to train my glutes that will help you build that booty just in time for summer!

1.) SQUATS!! Bottom line (Ha! Pun definitely intended!) this movement is the KEY to really developing that round, booty shelf look that comes with a great butt!   There are SO many types of squats!!  Mix these up every time you train legs– plie squats (feet wide toes out, using either a dumbbell or body weight– these will target your inner thighs more), jump squats, hack squats, front squats, sissy squats, Bulgarian split squats, pistol squats, air squats, bosu ball squats, heavy barbell squats at the squat rack or on the Smith Machine, and high rep lighter weight squats too!  The great thing about squats is that there are so many variations with equipment, foot placement, intensity, etc., that you can incorporate several versions of them into every leg workout.  Here’s a great link to a bodybuilding.com article on different versions of squats.

Squat Variations from Bodybuilding.com

2.) Leg Press-  Leg Press, ooohhhhhh Leg Press.  I have a love hate relationship with this machine.  It literally kicks your ass.  And hams, and quads, and can get your heart pumping SUPER fast when you go really heavy with it.  It’s one of the oldest machines around, and looks really intimidating, but it’s not.  Most gyms have both a plate loading version and a pin weight version.  Personally, I prefer the plate loading type.  Foot placement can really change which muscles are doing the work in the movement.  If your feet are higher on the platform, you’ll feel it more in your upper hamstrings and glutes.  Wider feet will incorporate more inner thigh, narrow feet more outer thigh, and lower feet more quads.  Easy, right?  Try moving your feet around next time you’re on the Leg Press.  Be CAREFUL not to lock your knees out when you’re pushing the sled back up–you can break a knee that way dude!!

A traditional Leg Press

3.) Glute Kickbacks- These are AWESOME.  Personally, I love to do high volume repetition sets of these at the end of a workout as a finisher.  They’ll give you a great pump!  You can do them on either the glute kickback machine, or on a cable with an ankle band.  If you go the cable route, be sure to keep the weight low enough to keep good form.

One of my very first progress pictures taken in October 2014! No butt at all here!!
Took this last week after a crazy leg day!

4.) Lunges!!! I’ve done a bazillion of these over the years.  They’re not easy, but I’m convinced that next to squats, they are the building blocks of a great ass!  Like with squats, there are so many variations of these that you can really change it up.  Some of my favorites– weighted walking lunges with a barbell or dumbbells, uphill lunges (outside on a hill or ramp), lunge jumps, split lunges with foot on a bench and dumbells, curtsy lunges, and reverse lunges.  Change it up and do a few different versions in your next workout!   A tabata (HIIT session–try the tabata timer app; 20 seconds all out effort, 10 seconds rest for 8 rounds) of lunge jumps and squat jumps will definitely work your legs!  Try it as a finisher!

5.) Glute bridges.  You can do these with our without weight, banded, etc.  I prefer them with a barbell and a squeeze/hold at the top.  You’re gonna feel the burn for sure!

Amanda Latona- She’s the “Booty Queen” and is known world wide as the Queen of booty moves and glutes! #glutegoals

I hope that these exercises and ideas encourage you to experiment more with your typical workout routines.  Remember that muscles take YEARS to develop.  If you keep working hard, and you eat a clean diet consistently, you WILL see results!

I’m always here to answer questions, help, and encourage you, so feel free to email me at meredithlynchfitness@gmail.com, or DM me.

Till next time!

-Mere

2018—Get it Started on the Right Track!

General Fitness, Living the Fit Lifestyle, Nutrition/ Diet, , , , ,

 

I can’t believe we’re already coasting through January!  I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and your 2018 is starting off well!  We’ve all heard it.  New Years comes with a ton of promise.  January is full of resolutions—people wanting to do better, feel better, get better, etc.  The number one New Year’s resolution?  You guessed it—losing weight!  Here are my top tips on how you can get your year started on the right track to make some major changes and lose those last few pounds for good!

1.) Awareness.  The first step in making changes in diet and fitness is being AWARE of what you’re eating.  It means paying attention to portions, labels, skipping meals, behavior patterns, etc.  The first thing I typically make new clients do is keep a food log or journal for EVERYTHING they ate and drank for at least 7 days, including times and amounts.  Most people don’t really pay attention to what they’re eating, and that’s where problems start.  If you don’t know where you start point is, then it’s really hard to figure out a gameplan.  Pay attention to emotional eating, alcohol intake, eating out, even those little handfuls of snacks here and there at the office and at home add up, sometimes even to hundreds of extra calories a day.

2.) Activity.  Not every gym rat came out of the womb a gym rat.  It sometimes takes years to develop behavior patterns that result in spending multiple hours a day in the gym.  What I always tell my clients is to find a form of activity that you ENJOY and ultimately you will be more motivated to do it!  It’s NOT going to be easy, especially when you’re first starting out or have a lot of weight to lose, but every bit of activity is a step in the right direction.  Maybe it’s just a walk around your neighborhood, or a yoga class at the Y, or just parking a few spaces futher out at the mall.  Aim to be active as much as you can every day.  Make a list of active things that you enjoy— I promise you that you will look forward to doing those activities!  It doesn’t even have to be the gym (although obviously that’s what I recommend the most!!), it can be hiking, the zoo, running, bicycling, dance lessons—you name it, there’s a TON of ways all around you that will give you an opportunity to be active and burn calories!  You can even go with a friend and it will make it that much more enjoyable!  Just get out there and get moving!!

3.) Consistency.  There’s a saying that it takes 4 weeks for YOU to see your body changing, it takes 8 weeks for your close friends and family to see, and 12 weeks for the world to see your changes.  Rome wasn’t built in a day!  True weightloss and transformation comes from being CONSISTENT with nutrition and exercise day after day for several weeks.  Can you have pizza or a cheeseburger every now and then, OF COURSE!  But at the end of the day, it comes down to making healthy choices on a daily basis.  You can’t expect to see major changes in just a couple of weeks.  In fact, most doctors and nutritionists advise against losing any more than 1-2 pounds per week!  If you have 20-30 pounds to lose (which is most people just starting out) then do the math!

4.) It’s a LIFESTYLE.  Newsflash: There’s not a pill, a 21 day fix, a pink drink, a wrap, or a shortcut that will help you have true, lasting, successful weight loss.  It may work in the short term, but unless you truly begin to understand what it means to have a healthy lifestyle, I guarantee you’ll succumb to a lifetime of yo-yo dieting.  THOSE THINGS DON’T WORK!!! You can’t expect to do the “whole 30” for thirty days, or eat clean for 21 days, or drink a pink drink or Shakeology when you remember to, and go right back to your old habits and not gain the weight back.  You have to make true changes in how you approach choices in what you’re eating and the activity that you’re doing.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m here to help!  I love working with people to educate them on how to be healthy and fit!  We all start somewhere.  I’m taking clients on a part-time basis right now and would be honored to work with you and help you start your fitness journey.  Feel free to email me at meredithlynchfitness@gmail.com, or message me for more information.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me reading this post today.  Cheers to a wonderful 2018!!

Till next time,

-Mere

Meal Prepping for Cheap!!

General Fitness, Living the Fit Lifestyle, Nutrition/ Diet, Weightloss, , , , , , ,

Hi friends!

Hope you all are doing well and you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!  I know it’s been a while between posts, but I’ve been a busy girl studying for my NASM Personal Trainer test!  Can’t believe I’m finally taking it in two weeks!!

One of the biggest misconceptions I’ve seen and heard out there about meal prepping is that is expensive.  I’m here to tell you that that is so far from the truth!  If you really think about it, eating out multiple times a week at $6-10 a pop minimum quickly adds up!  Although you may not realize it, hitting up drive thrus and restaurants frequently can add up to hundreds of dollars a month.  Shane and I didn’t realize it at the time, but several years ago, both of us ate out for lunch nearly every day of the week.  You figure $15-20 for two people a day times 4-5 days a week, for 4-5 weeks a month, that equates to $250-$500 a month!  Unbelievable!!!  And that’s just lunches out, we’re not even talking dinners yet!  Not only can eating out sabotage your budget, but you have very little control over the nutrition of your food when you’re eating out, so it sabotages your fitness goals too. Here are some easy ways to make meal prepping (or preparing your meals ahead of time) cheap and easy!

  • Buy in bulk! Costco, Sam’s Club, or something similar is your friend! These warehouses typically cost $50 a year to join, but it pays for itself in savings!  Personally, I’m a Costco girl!!  You’ll see from my Instagram posts, that we’re huge fans of their chicken and egg whites!  Liquid egg-whites are an excellent source of protein, and they’re safe to drink because they’ve been pasteurized.  Costco sells 6 small cartons for 8 dollars!  That’s super cheap!  You can get chicken for about $3 a pound.  One 7-8 pound package costs about $21 dollars and will feed the two of us for a week, supplemented with maybe turkey, fish, or ground beef to mix things up.  You can catch chicken on sale at your grocery store, but the quality and price of warehouse clubs are hard to beat.  I’ll also buy boiled eggs, almond milk, Greek yogurt, oats, rice and potatoes here too.  All of the staples J  And warehouse clubs are GREAT for cleaning products and household goods too!
  • Salsa + Chicken + Crockpot= delicious chicken for days! This recipe could not be easier!  Take a small jar of salsa, about 3-4 pounds of chicken, and cook on low in your Crockpot or slow cooker for about 8 hours.  I use a spicier salsa (Joe T’s Medium is our favorite) and like to add about 4 tablespoons of low sodium taco seasoning.  Once it’s done, you shred up the chicken and you’re ready to go!  The salsa and seasoning don’t change up the macros that much, and this version of chicken is easy to serve over rice or lettuce for an easy meal.  You can also sub out Buffalo sauce for salsa.  It’ll keep in the fridge for 4-5 days.  See—cheap and easy!
  • Baked potatoes and rice—carbs are super easy and cheap to prepare ahead of time. I’ll make a cookie sheet of sweet potatoes) and a few baked potatoes (spray them with oil, sprinkle some salt, and roll in foil) and bake them all together at 450 for 90 mins.  Rice is also really simple to make ahead of time.  AND CHEAP.    
  • Frozen vegetables—personally I prefer fresh veggies, but from a nutrition standpoint, frozen is just as good! They are really inexpensive too!  Typically you can find pretty much every vegetable for $1-$2 a bag, which has several servings.  I should point out, however, that you want to make sure that you’re getting PLAIN vegetables—there are several brands that add in sauces, cheeses, and seasoning—steer clear of those!  They pack a ton of sodium and fat.  Frozen veggies are also found in bulk at your warehouse clubs!
  • Spices—Variety is the spice of life! Spices are really inexpensive—typically $3-5 for a jar—and are probably the easiest way to change up flavor profiles on protein, carbs, and vegetables.  Penzy’s Spices (penzeys.com) has an excellent assortment to choose from, and you can buy them in all different sizes!  Flavor God seasonings (www.flavorgod.com) are also delicious, low sodium options, but they are a little more expensive.  They keep for a long time, and you will get several uses out of one jar.

 I tell my clients all the time that starting out meal prepping isn’t easy.  You have to put some effort into it, and it takes PREPARATION.  You will have to get comfortable and used to eating a lot of the same foods.  It takes some time to adjust and get used to it, but I promised you’ll see the positive payoffs in your waistline, your energy levels, your stress levels, and your pocketbook!

Till next time!

-Mere

17 Tips to Make 2017 Your Best Year Yet!

General Fitness, Living the Fit Lifestyle, Nutrition/ Diet, Weightloss, , , , , ,

Happy New Year friends!

I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and your New Year is off to a wonderful start!  I love New Year’s Day.  It’s a fresh start, an exciting opportunity with a whole year ahead of new adventures, challenges, and experiences ahead.  Isn’t that great?!  January 1st is also a day when a lot of us recommit to health and fitness, to a “new you”.   Resolutions can be an excellent way to set goals and challenge yourself.  In that spirit, I wanted to share my 17 tips on how you can make 2017 your best year yet!

  1. Be realistic. All good things take time. Especially major weightloss or physique changes.
  2. Start with small changes. What are small changes you can make in your life today that will have an impact on what you’re trying to achieve?
  3. Be consistent. Success is built on consistency.  Stay the course!
  4. Find your why. We all have different motivators, but only you can find out what yours is.
  5. Set SMART goals. Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-line driven.
  6. Have a game plan. This is huge, and perhaps one of the most important on this list.  If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.
  7. Surround yourself with support. Birds of a feather flock together friends! Lifestyle changes aren’t easy.  You need people around you to support you, and help keep you accountable.
  8. Challenge yourself. This is the fun part. It’s you vs. you.
  9. Measure progress. And NOT just by what the scale says! (see number 16). Record your workouts.  Pay attention to your food choices.  Take progress pictures!  It will get easier, and you will get better.  Progress can also be a great motivator.  When you see how far you’ve come, it’s so encouraging to keep pushing forward!
  10. Rest is part of the program. Listen to your body.  Sleep, rest, hydrate.
  11. Practice mindfulness. This is one of my favorites. It’s so easy to just go through the motions with the minutiae of life.  Mindfulness is a practice of being present and paying attention.  Be mindful of your spirit. Of what you’re eating.  Of how you’re feeling.  Be present friends!
  12. Remember to have fun. You won’t stick with anything that isn’t fun!  When you’re having fun, life is more enjoyable!
  13. Reward yourself. Not necessarily with food, but with little perks that will keep you motivated and excited!
  14. Be nice to yourself. Your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you can keep your attitude and mindset in check, the rest will come.
  15. Balance is KEY. Life is too short to not enjoy it! Everything is fine in moderation.  Have the wine, eat the cupcake, get some tacos!
  16. The scale isn’t everything. Especially as women, it’s so easy to tie our progress and attitude to what the damn scale says.  Remember this is a lifestyle, as your physique changes, the scale will change.  That’s why it’s so important to look at progress in every area.
  17. Take one day at a time. Honestly, take it one day, one meal, one workout at a time.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Be nice to yourself and enjoy the process!

I don’t know about you, but I am so excited to see what this new year holds!  I’m finishing up studying for my NASM Personal Training certification, and can’t wait to partner with more clients to help them in their fitness journeys.  Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers!

-Mere

Boulder Shoulders!

General Fitness, Workouts, , , , ,

Hi friends!

I hope this finds you all healthy and happy!  I don’t know about all of you, but I am definitely ready for the holidays!  I love this time of year—so many things to be thankful for, fun activities, and Christmas cheer.  It will be 2017 before we know it! Between studying for my upcoming NASM personal training test and decorating our new home, things have been pretty busy.

I wanted to make today’s post about my favorite moves for one of my favorite parts to train.  You may not know this, but your shoulder is an extremely complex joint.  Not only is it connected to several muscles in the arm, chest, neck, and back, but it also houses the rotator cuff!  Your rotator cuff is comprised of four muscles (here’s my NASM studying coming through), the Teres Minor, the Infraspinatus, the Supraspinatus, and the Subscapularis.  These muscles work together to allow for the wide range of motion and movements that make your shoulder so unique.  Your shoulders are utilized in several upper body exercises when you train chest and back, but because of their structural complexity, they are also easily susceptible to injury.

See? So many muscles!
Lots of bones connect at your shoulder too!

 

Be careful with your form!   When you’re training shoulders, it’s really important to make sure that you are training all angles of them, the front, rear, and side delts.  Again, this is a complex muscle/joint group!  Broader shoulders also make your waist appear smaller!  A total shortcut to getting every girl’s dream “hourglass” curves!  Here are a few of my go- to moves for awesome shoulders.

  • Overhead Dumbbell Shoulder Press: This is the standard shoulder movement in weight training.  To perform this movement, you hold a dumbbell (moderate weight, something you can keep good form with for 12-15 reps) in each hand, and make almost like a field goal with your arms as you extend and press the dumbbells overhead.  Be careful to keep your head up and core tight.  Here is a link from Bodybuilding.com explaining the movement.  You can also do these with a Shoulder Press machine, just make sure you are lined up correctly with it before you begin, and start out a lower weight to make sure you’re using the correct one.
  • Lateral Raises: You can do these with dumbbells (my favorite!) or cables. Typically I like to do a lighter weight and go higher in volume.  You can keep a slight bend in the elbow if needed, but don’t bend it too much.  You can also change the tempo to really get a good pump!  I never do shoulders without these!! 
  • Angled Shoulder Press: These are super fun! We have a butt blaster machine in our gym that works great for these, but you can also use a barbell for them as well.  They’re easier on the front part of your deltoid muscle (front delt), than a traditional front raise, but are a great finisher, or to do a drop set with.  Here’s a picture. 
Angled Shoulder Press
Angled Shoulder Press
  • Reverse Peck Deck: Using the pec deck or chest fly machine, face the pad and move the arms out to either side of you, similar to if you were opening a cabinet. You should really feel these at the back of your shoulders.  Keep your head and spine neutral, and don’t lock your elbows.  Start with a lower weight if needed until you get the form figured out.
  • Front Raises: Personally, I like to get crazy and superset these with my lateral raises at the end of a shoulder workout.  Go lighter with these, and really focus on NOT swinging your arms to move the weight.  For added benefit, you can pause and squeeze at the top of the movement, or take them really slow.  Those are killer!

There you have it y’all!  Remember, summer bodies are made in the winter!  If you want those hot sexy shoulders come tank top season in a few months, NOW is the time to work on them!  Let me know if you have any questions—I love answering them!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!

 

Till next time,

-Mere

Easy Ways to Change Up Your Workouts!

General Fitness, Workouts, , , ,

One of my favorite things about training is that you can constantly change up your workouts!  Since I’m in offseason, I have really been changing things up with my weightlifting split and routine to push myself in the gym.  Here are some of my favorite ways to mix things up!

  • Drop Sets—these can be super challenging, and can be used for almost every muscle group. I particularly love these for lat pull-downs, leg extensions, shoulder presses, and leg press.  But really, use your imagination because they can be used for pretty much every move.  The idea is that you start with a heavier weight doing less reps, and then decrease (“drop”) your weight and increase your number of reps each set.  The idea is to get a lot of blood flow to your muscle.  Your first set should be challenging and heavy!  Sometimes I like to go until failure each set, dropping the weight each time.  Also, make sure you’re not resting very long between sets.  30-45 seconds is plenty of time.

For lat pull downs, it might look something like this:

  • Set 1– 10 reps at 110 pounds
  • Set 2– 15 reps at 90 or 100 pounds
  • Set 3– 20 reps at 80 or 90 pounds

 

  • Pyramid Sets—similar to drop sets, pyramid sets involve increasing the weight and decreasing the number of reps, but you also come back up in weight, so typically you’re doing 5-7 sets. These are tough!  I love to do them for Bicep curls and squats!  Keep your rest periods short, and make sure you are only using a weight that you can safely move with good form.  Try it like this with dumbbell bicep curls:
    • Set 1- 12 reps at 20 pounds
    • Set 2- 15 reps at 15 pounds
    • Set 3- 20 reps at 10 pounds
    • Set 4- 15 reps at 15 pounds
    • Set 5- 10-12 reps or to failure at 20 pounds.

 

  • Super Sets—these are one of my all time FAVORITE things to incorporate into a workout! In fact, I superset something pretty much every day I’m in the gym.  They’re time savers, and a great way to really get a muscle group to hypertrophy, which will encourage muscle growth!  Supersetting means that you preform two exercises (using the same or opposing muscle groups) back to back with no rest in between.  They are really great for legs, and arm workouts (supersetting bis and tris).  Remember, no rest in between exercises.  Done correctly, these will really get your heart rate up, and get a lot of blood flow into your muscle.  Give these supersets a try:
    • Leg Press supersetted with plie squats or squat jumps
    • Bicep curls supersetted with tricep extensions or skull crushers.

You can even go crazy and add on a third exercise for a GIANT set!

  • FST-7s. FST stands for Fascia Stretch Training.  This training concept was created by Nicole Wilkins and Phil Heath’s trainer, the legendary Hany Rambod.  Basically it involves doing 7 sets of the same exercise with roughly 8-10 reps each set and very little rest in between sets.  Like 15-20 seconds between sets.  They need to be done as a finisher at the end of your workout, or at the end of training the particular body part you are using them on.  They get a great “pump” to the muscle, because all those reps really build up bloodflow.  These are tough but soooo much fun!  I like to do them for shoulder presses, lateral raises, bicep curls, typically smaller muscle groups, but you can use them for back and legs as well.  The basic formula for an FST looks like this:
    • 7 sets of 10 reps at the same weight, with 15-20 seconds between sets. *Note—you may have to drop weight.  Sets 5-7 are particularly challenging, and you will likely go to failure J

So there you have it!  4 easy ways to really mix things up and challenge yourself in the gym.  Be creative with your workouts—I can promise you that you will enjoy your workouts even more!

 

Till next time,

-Mere

My Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight!

General Fitness, Living the Fit Lifestyle, Nutrition/ Diet, Weightloss, , , , , , ,

Happy Monday everyone!  It seems like people are always asking me how to lose weight.  Once the find out I’m a gymrat, or that I compete, or that I’m a “trainer in training”, that’s usually the first question they ask.  My answer pretty much always starts off with some form of—“it’s definitely a lifestyle” and “it matters more what you EAT the other 23 hours of your day, than what you do for the 1 hour in the gym!”.  Whether you’re looking to lose 5 pounds or 50 pounds, here are my 5 TOP TIPS for losing weight!

  • Eat out less. It goes without saying that restaurant meals have a ton of hidden calories and fat.  Although they’re delicious, those meals can pack on the pounds quick!  When you cook your own meals at home, you have so much more control over what you’re eating, and the amount you’re eating.  Plan ahead, grocery shop, and make most of your meals at home.  Try eating out for lunch just once a week instead of every day.  I promise you’ll start to lose weight, and your bank account will appreciate it too!
  • Read nutrition labels. How many calories, fat grams, sugars—the information is all right there at your finger tips. If you only pay attention to one or two of the numbers on a label, pay attention to the sugar content and carb content.  You’d be SHOCKED to see how much sugar comes in foods with a nutrition label!  Also, have you ever thought about how a lot of “whole” foods (i.e. produce, fruits, most meats, etc.) don’t really have a nutrition label, and if they do, they usually have less than 5 ingredients?
  • Avoid processed foods. I know y’all have heard me say this so many times—if it comes in a package, has a bunch of ingredients, or is anything frozen that’s not a vegetable, it’s probably not something you want to eat a lot of.  Processed foods are right up there with restaurant foods in terms of having a ton of added calories, sugars, and fats.  Their bright colored and appealing boxes, bags, cartons, and packages all cover this up, so it’s best just to avoid them or eat them in small amounts.
  • Avoid drinking your calories. Whether it’s alcohol,  a  daily 3pm Dr. Pepper,  your favorite smoothie, or your venti frappucino/latte/can’t live without it Starbucks creation, those calories are empty!  Most people don’t know how many calories are in alcoholic drinks, sodas, coffee beverages, even smoothies!  These tasty treats can pack a punch of hundreds or calories, and lots of sugar.  Just start paying attention to how often you imbibe in a high-calorie drink.  If it’s more than once a day, what can you do to change that?
  • Pay attention to portion control. This one is huge.   Challenge yourself to really pay attention to how much food you’re eating on a daily basis.  Keeping a food journal, or using a food tracking app like My Fitness Pal, will really help you see exactly what you’re taking in on a daily basis.  It’s important that you’re not getting too many calories, and also that you’re eating enough calories to really keep your metabolism burning strong.

So that’s it!  It was hard to narrow down to my Top 5, but I think this will definitely get y’all headed in the right direction!  If you would like some extra help or coaching on fitness or nutrition to help you reach your goals, I would LOVE to help you!  Feel free to message me, or email me at meredithlynchfitness@gmail.com.

Till next time!

-Mere

My Favorite Cardio Workouts

General Fitness, Workouts, , , ,

Hi friends!  It’s hard to believe Fall is already here!  This summer absolutely flew by!  Between the move and vacationing, things have been a little nuts around here, but things are FINALLY starting to settle down a bit.  In my last post, I mentioned planning to start prep in August for a November show.  We all know how life throws curveballs, and I got a bit of an unexpected surprise when I ended up getting a small stress fracture in my foot that required rest and a boot for several weeks throwing my plans completely off course.  I basically had what felt like a sprain at the top of my right foot for several weeks.  I thought between the move and my usual running, plyo, crazy workouts that it was nothing.  It kept getting more annoying and the pain got worse.  I hobbled around for about a month before finally caving and seeing a sports orthopedic doctor on the advice of both my coach and MAT therapist.  The treatment—anti-inflammatory prescriptions, rest, and a boot for at least 3 weeks.  There was no way I’d be able to get ready for a show by November—I saw the doctor the week I was supposed to start prep!  Fortunately, I was still able to work out, I just didn’t put much weight on my foot, and had to modify my leg workouts.  I also stopped doing cardio—thankfully my weight has maintained this whole time, despite not being perfect with my eating!  Some days were easier than others, but it slowly got better!  Honestly though, if wearing a boot for 3 weeks and postponing a figure competition are my only major problems in life, then I’m really doing okay.  Hey—at least since I’m not in Prep I can enjoy pumpkin spice everything season, right?!  Thankfully I just had my follow up appointment and things are looking and feeling better, so I can slowly get back into training legs as usual and cardio as I feel like it.  Other than that, it’s just been fun to enjoy our beautiful new home, and go through my normal routine.

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In other news- I’m happy to report that I have officially started preparing to take my NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine—they’re the leader in personal training certification) CPT exam!  My book and studying materials are en route, so I will be able to start studying next week, and plan to take the exam in February.  You have six months to study, which is great because there is a TON of material to cover.  The test covers everything from anatomy and physiology, to exercise science, client assessment and evaluation, nutrition, supplementation, and a ton more.  I’m so excited to take my passion for fitness and nutrition to the next level, and use it to help others on their journeys too.  Here’s to a new adventure and learning ALL of the things!

Since I’m building up my client base, I really wanted to give you guys some ideas for cardio workouts.  An important thing to keep in mind when doing cardio is that interval training is best to really get the highest calorie burn in the shortest amount of time.  HIIT is where it’s at to get the most bang for your buck!  To be honest, I’ve kind of missed cardio these last few weeks!  I’ve done all of these—give them a whirl the next time you’re up for a sweat!  I guarantee you’ll get a great calorie burn!!

Tabata Workouts—these are some of my favorite forms of HIIT training!  Basically the idea is that you have all out intensity for a “work” period, followed by a brief “rest” period. You can download the Tabata Timer app, and set it to any split of the two that you’d like, but aim for about a 2:1 ratio of rest to work.  Trust me—you want a timer! Typically I do tabatas for 10-15 minutes.  When done correctly, that’s about all you can handle of these guys.  These are great for finishers on top of say 20 minutes of an incline walk, jog, or stairs.  Here are a few of my favorites:

  • Set your tabata timer to 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest for 10 rounds, and do the following 5 exercises 2x through: squat jumps, mountain climbers, jump rope (in place is fine), butt kickers, burpees.   This should take you 10 minutes to do, or you could do a third time through for 15 minutes.
  • Battle ropes! Most gyms have these—set your timer to 30 seconds of work, 1 minute of rest—aim for 10 rounds.  I LOVE to do these as a finisher on an upper body day—especially arms and shoulders!  Hit the ropes HARD as fast as you can, you can even alternate or make waves with the ropes.  Your shoulders should burn and your heart rate should be UP!
  • Sled pushes—most larger gyms have these. Load that puppy up and push for 20 seconds with a 40 second rest.  After leg day it’s particularly good!!!
  • 8 rounds of burpees on the 20 sec work/ 10 sec rest split is BRUTAL, but you feel like a BOSS after finishing it!
  • For my lower body days, I love to do a split of lower body exercises with HIIT training—try the 30 sec work/ 1 min rest split again, but with squat jumps during the work period and body weight squats during the “rest” period, or lunge jumps/ lunges.
  • Sometimes I’ll even challenge myself to do 50 reps of 5 different exercises 5 times—this can be pretty difficult, but it’s fun—do whatever you want, jumping jacks, high knees, skater hops, frog jumps, pop squats, you name it!

Treadmill Workouts:

Poor treadmills get a bad rap!  Honestly, they are a multi-purpose MACHINE and can be used for more than just running.

  • Incline Walk—set the incline for a 13-15 and walk at a 2.8-3.0. You will feel this in your hams and calves.  I PROMISE.  Don’t hang onto the hand rails unless you absolutely need to, and then only for short periods of time.  Work your way up to 20-30 minute sessions.
  • Sprint intervals—You can do these with or without a timer. Sprint for 20-30 seconds, followed by a minute to minute and a half of rest.  A sprint should be a speed of at least 8.0 on the treadmill.  During your rest periods, just hop up and put your feet to the sides of the belt.  I like to crank up the inline to about a 4 to make them extra difficult.
  • Jogging intervals—you can walk (3.8-4.0) for 1 minute, then jog or run at a 5.0 – 7.0 for 2 minutes, this one’s much easier to do for longer periods of time. 10 rounds of it for 30 minutes, and 15 for 45 minutes respectively.

I also LOVE the stairmill for cardio!  It really works your lower body and glutes like no other.  Try the interval programs on the machines, or make your own intervals at high and low speeds.  I like to make my own, and skip steps on the lower speeds to really work those glutes!!!  The elliptical is also beneficial, but it’s not my preferred poison of choice.

Also—cardio is more fun when it’s nice outside!  Take your tabatas outside, or go for a jog around your neighborhood instead of on the treadmill.  It’s good for your soul!!!

Track Workouts:

When it’s not 100+ degrees outside here in Texas, I LOVE to hit the track with my girlfriends for a crazy cardio session.  Here are some of our go to workouts—most of these we’ll combine for a total time of 45 minutes to an hour.

  • 15 minutes of stairs (run up the bleachers, walk down), 15 minutes of sprinting the straits along the track and walking the curves/endzones, 15 minutes of plyos consisting of the following: 1 min squat jumps, 1 min rest, 1 min jump rope, 1 min rest, 1 min burpees—3 rounds, with one minute between each round. THIS IS KILLER!!!!
  • Suicide sprints– Sprint to the 10, jog back, sprint to the 20, jog back, etc. all the way to the other end zone.
  • Jog a lap around the track, 50 jacks/ 50 squats/ 50 mountain climbers. Repeat 5 times.
  • Running the stairs on one side of the field, sprint to the other side, do those stairs, then run around the track.

track

I hope y’all enjoyed these ideas—can’t wait to hear your feedback!  I’m working on putting more blog posts together, especially as I learn more these next few months as I’m studying.  Stay safe and stay fit!

 

Xo,

-Mere

Plans into Action!

Contest Prep, General Fitness, , , ,

It’s been too long friends!  I hope you all are doing well!  Where to start.  Somewhere between working full time, crazy workouts, buying a house, and two vacations, I cannot believe the summer is already halfway over!  I want to apologize for having really let my blog and social media platform get pushed to the wayside these past several weeks, but I’m excited to share some exciting updates with all of you!

Like I said, it’s been busy!  Not sure if you guys can relate, but I’m so bad about getting stuck in my routine and getting so “busy” with life that before you know it the to-do lists and minutia of life make the days fly by, and then the days turn into weeks and before you know it a month’s gone by!  Things are good over here though!  We’re hopefully closing on our home here in Fort Worth next week!  HOORAY!!!!  We renewed our marriage vows for our 10 year anniversary in the Bahamas, which was super fun and romantic!  I’ve switched teams at work TWICE since May, which was a bit of an adjustment to say the least.  The last six weeks have been geared mainly around getting ready to move, and scoping out furniture, light fixtures, and paint colors.  SO many decisions to make when you’re decorating a house!  We just got back from Vegas for Shane’s birthday, which was a blast, and we’re moving here in just a few short weeks.

Just re-married! Can't believe it's been 10 years!
Just re-married! Can’t believe it’s been 10 years!

As crazy as things have been in the Lynch world, honestly, I’ve really had some good time to reflect and think about where I am on my fitness journey, and how I want to use my knowledge and platform to help others.  I was so frustrated with how the last prep went and the outcome gearing up to the show, that I really let it mess with my mindset for a bit.  It’s so frustrating sometimes when you start to compare yourself to others and forget to celebrate your own results, hard work, and how far you’ve come.  To be honest, I wasn’t being fair to myself.  I started this fitness journey for me, and just me.  Competing is fun, but it’s not why I love working out or eating clean.  It’s a daily effort to keep my mindset in check and remember my why.  I have so many friends that compete, and with both my Facebook and Instagram feeds being almost completely consumed with shredded people and bodybuilders, so it’s hard to escape constant comparison and scrutiny.  I’m sure those of you that compete or have in the past will agree that you kind of forget what “normal” is.  You forget about balance, and it’s easy to let yourself get consumed by your macros, workouts, cardio, and the scale.  Am I right?  Enough.  I needed some time to just train hard, enjoy some time off, and forget about the stage for a bit.  The world isn’t going to end if I have a glass of wine with my mani/pedi, or skip 25 minutes of cardio.  Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint, and you need to have BALANCE or you will drive yourself insane.  I had to remind myself of that!  I’m human, not perfect.  I took an ENTIRE WEEK off from the gym when we went to the Bahamas.  It was amazing, and my body needed the rest.  I took the 4 days were in Vegas off too!!!  I have more energy, and I’m getting creative with my workouts, which I love.  Competing and being shredded is so much fun, but this time around I’ve learned to really embrace the off season too.  What’s even cooler is that I’m only up about 6 pounds from my stage weight.  AMAZING!!!!!  My coach and I have attributed that to my hormones kind of settling down a bit after the whole IUD debacle.  Staying pretty lean will hopefully make my next Prep (which will start in just a few weeks—Mid August) much easier.

Flex Friday in Vegas!
Flex Friday in Vegas!

As many of you know, I’ve been saying for about a year now that I would love to get certified as a Personal Trainer.  I’ve have friends and fellow gym goers beg me to help them and teach them what I know and I kept putting them off saying, “I’d love to but I’m not certified”, or “Okay sure, but let me get certified first!”.  What am I waiting for?  There’s no perfect time for anything.  If you are serious about a goal and following your heart, there’s no better time than the present to take a leap of faith and jump.  Life’s about pushing yourself and taking chances.  If I kept listening to that stupid voice inside my head, (you probably have one too)—the same one that tells me I’m never good enough, or that I’m going to just quit it later, or that I’ll never know what I’m doing enough to teach others–I know I’d regret it.  Why should I let fear of failure stop me from doing anything I set my mind to?  I have nothing to lose, and at the very least will gain a ton of knowledge in the process.   Every expert was once a beginner.  Although I’m around a ton of fitness junkies and trainers by being in the bodybuilding circle, and it seems like everyone’s doing “online programs”, there’s still a huge demand for trainers, particularly female ones!  **Disclaimer—before starting a fitness or nutrition program, you should see a medical professional and be sure that the person you are working with is knowledgeable and qualified to provide guidance to you.  Be smart people!  I may not be an expert, but I can start building my client base now, and share what I already know, particularly as it comes to nutrition.   I want to help women like myself learn their way around the gym and discover how powerful clean eating and nutrition really are.  I’m excited to share with you that I have decided to really take my passion for fitness and nutrition and helping others to the next level.  It’s time to turn PLANS into ACTION!  Life is too short to wait for the “perfect time” to make something happen.

Crazy back pump--training is still so much fun!!
Crazy back pump–training is still so much fun!!

After a lot of soul searching and research, I’ve finally put together my “business plan” for this, and am getting the study guide and materials from NASM (the National Academy of Sports Medicine).  I will have about six months to study the material (there’s a lot of it!) and then sit for the exam.  I will spend the next several months studying, and then sit for the test early next year.  I love recruiting, and will continue to do that full-time for the time being, but I feel like my heart is pulling me more towards eventually working in fitness and nutrition, at least on the side.  In this process of getting certified as a Trainer, I will accept taking on a small number of clients and build out customized nutrition and/or workout plans for them, at a lesser cost, since I’m just starting out.  A friend of a friend reached out to me last week, and it looks like she’s going to be my first “enrolled” client!  No more turning people down when they ask me to help them!!  It’s funny how life works out.  I’ve got a ton of experience with leadership training, facilitation and coaching.  Since high school, I’ve sort of just fallen into roles and positions that have given me opportunities to lead, influence, and motivate others.  Work, Junior League, you name it.  Leading others and public speaking comes naturally to me, and I love it! Combine those leadership and communication skills with my love of fitness and nutrition, and the opportunity to build a business, and it’s pretty exciting!

Love this quote. It just about sums it up!
Love this quote. It just about sums it up!

I’m absolutely still planning on competing (my next show is just over 18 weeks out in November), but I’m eager to start this next chapter too.  I always say that everyone eats and everyone has a body—fitness and nutrition affect everyone every single day.   I can’t wait to help others on their fitness journeys too.

Thank you all again for your support, encouragement, and interest you all have taken in my journey so far.  It doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated.  Lots more updates to come, but as always, feel free to email me, call, or text with questions.  If you are interested in becoming one of my very first clients, please email me at MeredithLynchFitness@gmail.com.

Cheers to new beginnings and new adventures!!!

Xoxo,

-Mere