^_^

health-over-vanity:

124 Calorie Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

These bitches are easy as hell to bake, plus they’re ah-mazing!

What you need:
1/2 cup melted butter (1stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup splenda or any other 0 cal sweetener  
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip
1/2 cup rolled oats (uncooked oatmeal) 

So here’s what you do:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Melt butter in large microwave safe bowl
-Add brown sugar and splenda. Let cool for a little bit
-Add egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Stir.
-Add flour and stir. Then add chocolate chips and oats.
-Stir em’ up and spread dough evenly on greased 8x8 inch pan 
Bake for 15-30 mins and cut into 16 squares when they’re cooled.  

Add in another 1/4 cup oats for a more cookie like texture! 

(via beneathmyrecoveringbones)

healthysexyhappy:

Find an exercise you enjoy!

Your aim here is for at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on most daysof the week - moderate intensity activity being anything causing a slight but noticeable increase in breathing and heart rate. It’s all very well to launch into new physical activity in a burst of inspiration, but to reap the full lifelong benefits you have to DO IT REGULARLY, so you need to find something you enjoy doing.

  • Choose something you enjoy and that is readily available

Finding a physical activity you enjoy, and that is easy to build into your regular routine, is really important if you are going to stick at it. Choose types of exercise that need minimal equipment, no specific venue, minimal or no ongoing costs, and no other team members makes them easy to do spontaneously. Brisk walking is a good example.

  • Choose more than one type of exercise

Exercising the same way every day can not only becoming monotonous, but it can increase the risk of injury and will restrict the benefits you obtain from exercise. Analternative exercise will add variety, and by working different muscles on different days you will help reduce risk of injury.

  • Vary the intensity of your exercise

Highly trained athletes often train according to the ‘hard-easy’ principle whereby oneday of intense exercise is followed by a day of low intensity exercise, and so on. This principle can also apply if you have a lower level of fitness: it will help avoid injury and will allow your muscles time to recover from hard work.

  • Choose exercises that addresses all aspects of physical fitness

Select a range of exercise options that include things such as hand-weights training for strength, walking, jogging or cycling for aerobic fitness and endurance, and yoga or stretching exercises for flexibility.

  • Join a class or social sports team

You may like the discipline of attending a regular class or course or joining a social sports team; this can tend to make you try harder than you would on their own. 

Check your local newspaper for local fun runs and walks. The sports pages often have ads from local teams and clubs hoping to recruit new members. Community centres and adult education colleges often offer classes in activities such as dance, yoga or pilates as well as classes for the older exerciser. You can also search the internet or Yellow Pages for local sports clubs or outdoor activity groups.

  • Choose exercise options that don’t depend on good weather

Having both indoor and outdoor exercise options means that you don’t need to be stuck on the couch when the weather closes in.

  • Choose exercise options that can become part of your routine

Some types of exercise are ideal for becoming part of your usual day, eg, getting off the bus or train a stop early could build a 20-minute walk into both ends of your day. 

Increasing the incidental activity in your day can bring health benefits, eg, by helping to burn calories and manage your weight. Sweep the driveway rather than power blasting it with a leaf blower, and walk to the shop for milk rather than driving. On work days take the stairs rather than the lift, and walk to the park for lunch.

  • Choose an exercise that accommodates any health problems

If you are over 40, or overweight, or you’ve been inactive for a long time, have existing health problems, or old or recent muscle, bone or joint injuries, see you doctor before starting or re-commencing regular exercise. 

Being unwell or having an injury does not usually rule out exercise, in fact, it is often a vital part of rehabilitation. However, exercise in this context may mean you need to re-think your approach to physical activity under guidance from your doctor or healthcare professional. 

Many people with asthma find they can achieve high levels of fitness through swimming, as the air they are breathing during this exercise is warm and moist and less likely than cold, dry air to trigger an asthma attack. Long-term conditions such as high blood pressure can be improved by appropriate amounts of daily exercise, while the risk of developing conditions such as type 2 diabetes or osteoporosis can be reduced. 

People with arthritis are often suited to exercising in a swimming pool as the buoyancy of the water avoids weight-bearing stress being placed on inflamed joints. Weak upper leg muscles and poor balance in some older people can mean that a recumbent stationary bicycle is particularly suited to encouraging exercise without causing discomfort or risking injury.

  • Choose to exercise with a friend

Keeping up the motivation to exercise regularly is a challenge for many people.Including your friends in your new-found exercise interest might include booking a court for weekly social tennis, organising a bushwalk with your friends and following it with a barbecue, or arranging to walk each morning with a friend who lives nearby.

  • Do you need a personal trainer?

A qualified personal trainer can help you make the most of the time that you have put aside from your busy life for exercise, as well as help motivate you, help you with technique, monitor your progress, adjust your exercise programme in response to your changing fitness level, and offer alternative exercise options to keep up your enjoyment level.

And remember…

Whichever exercise options or strategies you use to keep motivated, remember to start off slowly and build up gradually. Don’t push yourself too hard, too fast: progression in fitness occurs over weeks and months, not days. Increase only one exercise variable at a time — how long your exercise session lasts (duration), how hard you work during the exercise (intensity) or the number of exercise sessions each week (frequency) — and only by a small amount, say 10% each week.

COMMON EXERCISE ACTIVITIES

  • The gym

The great thing about the gym is it offers somewhere warm and dry to work out and a really wide range of options. You can run, row, cycle, use weights to train or you can join an aerobics, dance or yoga class. Best of all, when you join most gyms they help you work out an exercise programme to suit your needs, and offer training to use the equipment. 

It’s worth visiting a few to find one where you feel comfortable and confident. Don’t be shy about asking the person you have been assigned lots of questions – if you don’t like their manner, ask for someone else. If going to the gym is a real turn off, get yourself a set of hand weights and go through your routine in your backyard or even at the beach!

  • Walking

By exercise standards, walking is gentle on the joints and it’s really economical too! By walking regularly we can improve the condition of our heart and lungs (cardiovascular fitness), work the muscles of the lower body, and probably improve our bone density – very important to help offset osteoporosis. 

Although our daily routine sees most of us on our feet at some point, research shows we don’t walk as much as we used to. In the UK, the Government has calculated the number of miles walked since the mid-1980s has fallen by more than 20%. Yet walking is one of the easiest activities to fit into our lives.

  • Running

Running is another great way to get fit. You don’t need expensive equipment; you can do it anywhere – even on the spot - and make it work around your schedule. Even better, it really works! If you have a history of the following conditions, consider consulting your doctor first: diabetes,chest pain, angina, asthma,epilepsy, high blood pressure. Also consider a visit to your doctor if you have recently undergone surgery, are pregnant, or are overweight, as running can put more stress on your joints than activities such as walking and cycling.

Although anyone can run, if you are new to exercise, or haven’t been physically active for a while, it’s a good idea to take it slowly:

  • Start off walking for 20 to 30 minutes, 4 days a week at a comfortable pace.
  • Begin alternating 2 to 5 minutes of brisk walking with 2 to 5 minutes of easy walking, gradually increasing the ratio of brisk to easy.
  • Once you’ve worked up to 30 minutes of brisk walking, try alternating running and walking, at a pace that is comfortable for you.
  • As the weeks pass, increase the ratio of running to walking until you are running for the whole 30 minutes. But just listen to your body and don’t feel pressured to go too fast.
  • You should never feel sore or fatigued after exercise.
  • Swimming

Swimming is a great all-round exercise and extremely gentle on the joints. If you don’t know how to swim, most pools offer lessons, and for those who have already been bitten by the swimming bug, many pools have squads for training. 

Just swimming a few lengths involves most of the major muscle groups, which gives your body a good workout. By moving faster through the water you’ll enjoy an aerobic workout too, and swimming is great for fat-burning. According to BBC Health, research has revealed that exercising in waist-deep water reduces the pressure on joints by 50%, while exercising in chest-deep water reduces it by as much as 75%. 

Swimming New Zealand, the national organisation which represents swimming, believes it is fantastic for cross-training when mixed with other exercise.Tanya Cates, fitness and health educator and associate Lecturer at La Trobe University, says: “Using the water for swimming or other ways such as water running can be a lovely way to decrease the amount of impact training you are doing with normal walking or running.”

  • Dance

According to the Arts Council England, the benefits of dance not only include a healthy body, but a healthy mind. Dance can bring a wide range of physical and mental advantages, including:

  • Healthier heart and lungs.
  • Stronger muscles.
  • Stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis.
  • Better co-ordination, agility and flexibility.
  • Improved general and psychological wellbeing.
  • Greater self-confidence and self-esteem.

Don’t worry if your co-ordination isn’t the best, the idea is to enjoy moving to music and you can always do it in the privacy of your own home. However, joining a dance class can be a great way to meet people.

(via afitterlife)

“No matter what anyone tells you, there is no replacement for hard work. No training system, no diet, no machine, no gimmick and no supplement. But most people fear hard work more than they fear death. They simply don’t have it in them….We are all brainwashed to believe that you can get bigger and stronger and leaner in a very short time, with very little effort and even less dedication. But nothing could be further from the truth my friends. The only way to achieve physical greatness is through brutally hard fucking work. That, my friends, is the main ingredient. End of story. Now go earn it.
- Jason Ferruggia (via warrior-fitness)

(via gettingtomygoalweightby2012)


evepostapple: 30 Minute Fat Torching Circuit Workout: It’s no secret that circuit training is the way to go for high-level fat burn.  It keeps your heart rate pumping and your body moving through resistance, aerobic, anerobic and body weighted movements thus working to shape muscle and torch fat simultaneously. The Low Down: (from livestrong.com, workout adapted) Circuit training is a quick and efficient workout that works to gain muscular strength and endurance. Exercises are performed at various stations, and weight resistance can be easily selected by placing a pin in the desired weight. A full-body workout can be completed in as little as 30 minutes. Two to three workouts weekly for 30 minutes will increase strength (the ability to lift heavier weights) and endurance (the ability to lift a weight many times). Chest, Shoulder and Triceps Complete 3 supersets of 10 to 12 repetitions for each exercise. Your choice of: Skipping, Jumping Jacks, Skaters, Bench Hops, Burpees for 45 sec between each superset. 30 sec rest before you begin the next one. Seated or Vertical Chest Presses - With arms bent and gripping the handles, press arms forward until fully extended. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position.  Peck Deck - In a seated, upright position, bend arms and place forearms on pads or grip handles. Squeeze the chest and bring pads or handles together, hold, then slowly return to the starting position.  Overhead Press - In a seated, upright position, bend arms and grip handles. Lift the arms up until they are fully extended. Hold, then slowly lower, returning to the starting position.  Lateral Raises - In a seated position, bend arms and place hands against pads or grip handles. Lift the pads or handles out to the sides, hold, then slowly return to the starting position.  Tricep Pushdowns - Bend the arms and grip the bar while standing. Push the bar down towards the thighs until your arms are fully extended. Hold, then return to the starting position. Back and Biceps Complete one to two sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.  Your choice of: Skipping, Jumping Jacks, Skaters, Bench Hops for one minute between each superset. 30 sec rest before you begin the next one. Lat Pulldowns - Sit and arch your back slightly. Keep your legs bent with knees under roller pads and hands gripping the ends of a lat bar. Begin the exercise by squeezing the shoulder blades together and pulling the bar towards your chest. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position, relaxing the back muscles and letting your shoulder blades separate.  Seated Row - Sit with back your straight, knees slightly bent and hands gripping the bar. Start by squeezing the shoulder blades together and bringing the bar towards your ribs. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position, relaxing your back muscles and letting your shoulder blades separate.  Bicep Curls - In a standing position, extend your arms towards the thighs and grip the curl bar. Bend the arms, keeping the elbows down, and squeeze the biceps to bring the bar up to your chest. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position. Lower Body and Ab Exercises For legs, complete 3 supersets of 12 to 15 repetitions.  Your choice of: Skipping, Jumping Jacks, Skaters, Bench Hops for one minute between each superset. 30 sec rest before you begin the next one. Leg Extensions - Sit with your back straight, legs bent and feet under the roller pads. Extend the legs, bringing your feet up to a horizontal position. Hold, then slowly lower to the starting position.  Seated Leg Curls - Sit with your back straight, legs extended, knees under the pad and feet above the roller pad. Bend your knees, bringing your feet down towards the floor. Hold, then slowly lift towards the starting position. Machine Crunches - Sit with your back straight, the chest behind the pad with arms at sides. Tighten your ab muscles and bend the torso, bringing the pad down to your thighs. Contract the ab muscles, holding the pad down, then slowly relax the abs, bringing the pad up to the starting position.

evepostapple:

30 Minute Fat Torching Circuit Workout:

It’s no secret that circuit training is the way to go for high-level fat burn.  It keeps your heart rate pumping and your body moving through resistance, aerobic, anerobic and body weighted movements thus working to shape muscle and torch fat simultaneously.

The Low Down:

(from livestrong.com, workout adapted)

Circuit training is a quick and efficient workout that works to gain muscular strength and endurance. Exercises are performed at various stations, and weight resistance can be easily selected by placing a pin in the desired weight. A full-body workout can be completed in as little as 30 minutes.

Two to three workouts weekly for 30 minutes will increase strength (the ability to lift heavier weights) and endurance (the ability to lift a weight many times).

Chest, Shoulder and Triceps

Complete 3 supersets of 10 to 12 repetitions for each exercise.

Your choice of: Skipping, Jumping Jacks, Skaters, Bench Hops, Burpees for 45 sec between each superset. 30 sec rest before you begin the next one.

  • Seated or Vertical Chest Presses - With arms bent and gripping the handles, press arms forward until fully extended. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position. 
  • Peck Deck - In a seated, upright position, bend arms and place forearms on pads or grip handles. Squeeze the chest and bring pads or handles together, hold, then slowly return to the starting position. 
  • Overhead Press - In a seated, upright position, bend arms and grip handles. Lift the arms up until they are fully extended. Hold, then slowly lower, returning to the starting position. 
  • Lateral Raises - In a seated position, bend arms and place hands against pads or grip handles. Lift the pads or handles out to the sides, hold, then slowly return to the starting position. 
  • Tricep Pushdowns - Bend the arms and grip the bar while standing. Push the bar down towards the thighs until your arms are fully extended. Hold, then return to the starting position.

Back and Biceps

Complete one to two sets of 10 to 12 repetitions. 

Your choice of: Skipping, Jumping Jacks, Skaters, Bench Hops for one minute between each superset. 30 sec rest before you begin the next one.

  • Lat Pulldowns - Sit and arch your back slightly. Keep your legs bent with knees under roller pads and hands gripping the ends of a lat bar. Begin the exercise by squeezing the shoulder blades together and pulling the bar towards your chest. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position, relaxing the back muscles and letting your shoulder blades separate. 
  • Seated Row - Sit with back your straight, knees slightly bent and hands gripping the bar. Start by squeezing the shoulder blades together and bringing the bar towards your ribs. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position, relaxing your back muscles and letting your shoulder blades separate. 
  • Bicep Curls - In a standing position, extend your arms towards the thighs and grip the curl bar. Bend the arms, keeping the elbows down, and squeeze the biceps to bring the bar up to your chest. Hold, then slowly return to the starting position.


Lower Body and Ab Exercises

For legs, complete 3 supersets of 12 to 15 repetitions. 

Your choice of: Skipping, Jumping Jacks, Skaters, Bench Hops for one minute between each superset. 30 sec rest before you begin the next one.

  • Leg Extensions - Sit with your back straight, legs bent and feet under the roller pads. Extend the legs, bringing your feet up to a horizontal position. Hold, then slowly lower to the starting position. 
  • Seated Leg Curls - Sit with your back straight, legs extended, knees under the pad and feet above the roller pad. Bend your knees, bringing your feet down towards the floor. Hold, then slowly lift towards the starting position.
  • Machine Crunches - Sit with your back straight, the chest behind the pad with arms at sides. Tighten your ab muscles and bend the torso, bringing the pad down to your thighs. Contract the ab muscles, holding the pad down, then slowly relax the abs, bringing the pad up to the starting position.

(via reebbecka)

(via missionthinspossible)

Why am I so lazy?

Why am I so lazy?

(Source: jetiensa, via fashionsexandfood)

peaceloveandhealthyy: Intersting article about weight loss from the New York Times.  You can check out the full thing here http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/science/a-mathematical-challenge-to-obesity.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

peaceloveandhealthyy:

Intersting article about weight loss from the New York Times. 

You can check out the full thing here

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/science/a-mathematical-challenge-to-obesity.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

(via peaceloveandhealthyy)

(Source: tumblrgym, via peaceloveandhealthyy)

Fit Villains: Selfish, Shameless, Sassy, Fitness.: Fit Reading: The First 20 Minutes, By Gretchen Reynolds →

fitvillains:

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer

A cutting-edge prescription for exercise by the New York Times “Phys Ed” columnist

At one point or another, nearly every person who works out wonders: Am I doing this right?…

fitvillains:

Workout Challenge: ZWOW #17

This one’s a KILLER, but it’s short (12 minutes AMRAP - As Many Reps As Possible). It’s all body weight, but you’ll need to be close to a wall. Keep going until the time runs out, take short breaks when you need to and push yourself hard to keep up with Zuz!

ZWOW #17

  • 5 Wall Walks
  • 10 Wall Lunges
  • 15 Plank Wall Touches
  • 20 Wall Sits With March

Beginner Alternative

If the moves above are too difficult, try this less complicated circuit.

  • 5 Inchworm To Lie Down
  • 10 Reverse Lunges
  • 15 Opposite Arm Leg Extensions
  • 20 Squats

5 Inchworms To Lie Down

Bend at the waist and place your hands on the floor. Keeping your legs as straight as possible, walk your hands forward until you are in plank position. Come down to the ground (chest to floor) and rest one moment. Return to plank, and walk your feet towards your hands, bringing your hips up in the air (like an inverted V). Repeat, walking your hands forward.

10 Reverse Lunges

Instead of stepping forward, step back into a lunge. Lower your torso down and try not to lean forward. Your weight should be in the heel of your front foot and your knee should be in line with your ankle.


15 Opposite Arm Leg Extentions (left + right = 1 rep)

Come into a tabletop position on your hands and knees. Keeping your hips facing the floor and back flat (eyes between your hands), extend your right arm forward while lifting your leg leg backwards. Try to form a straight line between your arm, back and leg. Hold 1-2 beats, then return & switch sides.

Tip: fold your mat in half to have more cushioning for your knees.

20 Squats

Feet wider than hips apart, sit down and back into a squat. Keep your knee in line with your ankle and think about pushing your booty back. Your chest should be open, keep good posture, eyes forward.

Alternative: Try a minute in the wall sit without the marching.

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