“Success is what comes after you stop making excuses.”
NEW A.M. CLASSES ADDED THIS WEEK!
You ask, I deliver. I know some of you are going back to work this week and need earlier times. Please email me and let me know if these times don’t work for you. I am trying to make the schedule fit for as many people as possible. I GOT YOU SIWICKI FIT FAM!
Monday - TABATA 7:30am, 9:00am & 5:00pm EST.
Tuesday - STRENGTH & ABS 7:00am, 9:00am & 5:00pm EST
Wednesday - HIIT 7:30am, 9:00am & 5:00pm EST.
Thursday - TABATA STRENGTH & ABS 7:00am, 9:00am & 5:00pm EST.
Friday - CARDIO+STRENGTH 7:30am, 9:00am & 5:00pm EST.
Saturday - STRENGTH+ABS 10:00am & 5:00pm EST.
CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK
Alright Siwicki Fit Fam! I get loaded with questions about my diet. Fun fact about me, I am a Type 1 Diabetic. I was diagnosed at 5 years old. I try to be extremely cognizant of what foods I choose to put in my body. I drink this smoothie every morning pre-workout. It helps to sustain my energy and it feels good to know I am loading my body with the nutrients it needs. I challenge you this week to make this smoothie every night before you go to sleep. I promise, it’s quick & easy.
tips of the week
#1 SPRINTS
Want to shred the fat? Get rid of those stubborn love handles? Arm fat? Back fat? I hear you. I have been an athlete my entire life - I swear by sprints. I encourage my clients to limit long distance runs due to the damage that it can do to your knees. Sprints are a great way to raise your heart rate and get that fat burning. Check out the video to see the recommended distance + time to sprint. You will be pleased with the results!
#2 EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE TO ORDER ASAP
Perform Better Bands
Although I never require bands in my classes, bands are a great way to add extra resistance. For example: put band above knees for squats. Added bonus: they are inexpensive!
ROGUE CUBE STRONGMAN SANDBAGS
As we all know, dumbbells are hard to come across! Sandbags are a great substitute for dumbbells.
5.11 TACTEC PLATE CARRIER
Caution: these are a bit pricey. I still wanted to include them because they provide added weight during exercises. These are a good investment, sure to last a long time. Sometimes vests can be tricky & uncomfortable. I recommend Rogue vests in particular because they: “reduce friction, have adjustable tensional bands to improve stability, and contain innovative air flow channels and aerospace mesh to ensure sustained comfort.”
meal & snack ideas for The WEEK
JACOB’S A.M. SMOOTHIE
Ingredients:
1-2 cups of water OR unsweetened almond milk
1-3 cups of spinach
2-3 tablespoons of chia seeds (must be soaked overnight)
3 tablespoons of peanut butter (try to find a PB that is natural + low sodium)
20 grams of protein powder (Jacob uses BioChem 100% Whey Isolate Protein - Vanilla Flavor)
Juliann recommends to add a banana for sweetness (Jacob disagrees)
1. Combine almond milk, spinach, chia seeds, peanut butter and protein powder. Blend for 1-2 minutes.
2. Put in fridge overnight (for chia seeds to soak).
3. Wake up and ENJOY!
This smoothie is LOADED with protein, antioxidants, Omega 3 Fatty Acids and fiber.
Chia Seed Pudding
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of chia seeds
1 cup of vanilla almond or coconut milk
Optional: fruit(s) of choice (Jacob & Juliann suggest blueberries & strawberries)
1. Stir chia seeds and vanilla almond milk together in a mason jar. Seal the jar, put in fridge. After about 20 minutes, take out and stir. Put back in fridge overnight (allow chia seeds to soak & expand).
2. Take out 30 minutes prior to eating. Stir pudding, let sit for 30 minutes.
3. You can have fun with this! Add yogurt to a bowl, or just plain fruit and add four tablespoons of your chia seed pudding. Your chia seed pudding can be stored up to one week in the fridge.
CHIA SEED FUN FACTS:
64% more potassium than a banana
2X the antioxidants of blueberries
41% of your daily fiber
5X more calcium than milk
100% more Omega-3 than salmon
3X more iron than spinach
20% protein
32% your daily magnesium
INDUSTRY NEWS
Why squats?
Squats are a compound movement, meaning they engage more than one muscle group — which translates into a lot of bang for your buck. It doesn’t take very many squats to raise your heart rate and fatigue your muscles.
Not only that, but the strength you develop while squatting will also keep you in shape for virtually any outdoor sport you’re itching to get back to. Squats serve as excellent cross-training for activities such as running, cycling, hiking and rowing.
Squats also prevent the loss of bone and muscle that can lead to falls and fractures. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of death and injury-related death in Americans 65 and older. Falls often result in broken bones, because an estimated 43.9 percent of older adults have low bone density, and another 10.3 percent experience osteoporosis. The surgeon general named osteoporosis, which literally means porous bone, one of the most significant contributors to bone fractures in older adults.
When it comes to falls, prevention is the best cure. Trainers and physical therapists tell their older clients that it’s important to perform strength training, and squats in particular, to keep their bones, ligaments and tendons as strong as possible. As Nina Geromel, a Milwaukee physical therapist, explains: “Our bones get denser when we use the muscles that pull on the bones.” Building strong muscles increases your chance of catching yourself if you stumble. And if you do fall, strong bones are less likely to break.
Squats also make you more stable. “The more strong you are in your core, your hips [and] your quads, the more stable you’re going to be walking around on your feet,” says Kristin Oja, an Atlanta-based nurse practitioner and certified personal trainer.
The move, which uses the hips, knees, ankles, glutes, quads and core, supports all kinds of functional fitness. Strengthening the lower body can not only prevent falls, but it can also make it easier and safer to perform activities of daily living, such as playing with grandchildren, bending down to pick up a basket of laundry, using the toilet and getting into and out of chairs and cars. Oja also notes that squats can strengthen the pelvic floor, thereby helping with urinary incontinence and urinary frequency.
For those using only body weight, five times a week is reasonable, but if you’re lifting heavier weights, Oja says, your muscles need 48 hours to recover between sessions. To make your squats more challenging, you can easily modify them — even if you don’t have any fitness equipment. Oja suggests standing up to a calf raise as you come up from your squat or touching the ground as you come down and raising your arms overhead as you come to the top of the movement. You can also go right into a vertical jump as you stand up from your squat; this is called a squat jump. If that’s still not hard enough, try the squat jump while wearing a heavy backpack. No matter where you are in your life or how fit you are, squats should be part of your routine. When I asked Geromel if there was anyone who shouldn’t perform the exercise, her answer was simple: “No one.” She explains, “We do it every day, and there’s no way to avoid squatting.”
Article via: Washington Post by Pam Moore
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Stephen Curry’s 8 TIPS on How to Build Mental Resilience
Be aware of the stresses around you and get ahead of them. You can't address what you don't know. "Having full awareness of how stresses can manifest themselves in your life, while being able to try to get in front of them as best as possible, is key."
Take control of your life: When you are driving a car, you usually don't want to be in the back seat or the trunk (you never want to be in the trunk). Curry explains, "Total health means controlling, as best I can, how I feel on a day-to-day basis. Obviously, there are many stresses and variables in life that you can’t control, but you can find ways to cope with stress related to finding peace and happiness as best you can, whatever that means in your daily life."
Step away: Curry explains that taking time off can offer a new perspective. Whether it's a dip in a sensory deprivation tank, a hike in the woods, or a really long toilet break, give yourself some rest.
Maintain good physical health: In case no one told you, your head is connected to your body. Curry emphasizes the need to "eat right, sleep right, get enough exercise, and drink enough water."
Find consistency: If you are tumbling in the ocean, you look for something solid and stable to hold. Curry explains that "my wife and I try to stay consistent with encouragement and support when parenting our two daughters."
Experience ups and downs: You may not be a muscle-head, but your mind is like a muscle in a way and needs to be trained through the stresses of life. Curry commented "my parents made sure that I was exposed to a lot of different things and was able to test myself as I was growing up. They also helped me understand that everything wasn’t always going to be perfect and that I had to be able, through successes and failures, to keep confidence in myself."
Open up and be honest with your situation: Curry mentioned that "as lonely as you may feel, there are always others who are going through similar things and can help you though the situation."
Have confidence in yourself: Curry emphasized that "the key is having confidence in yourself and adopt the belief that you can accomplish anything you want to, no matter what anybody says about you."
