As 2014 Comes To An End....

Aloha readers! 

Today is a great day to make it a great day ! 

In the blink of an eye, it will be 2015! 

How would you sum up your 2014? 

For me, it was another roller coaster ride for me - but that's okay! It just means that I am learning new things, gaining more experience in different aspects of life, and living my life. Life is full of changes, and we can never stay the same - not for too long that is. 

I like to see myself as someone who is always looking for room for improvement and change. I don't want to stay the same as I am now. Not because I am not happy or don't love myself the way I am, but because I know I can do more, do better, and be happier. I believe in being proactive, and working hard for the things you want. And that's going to shape how I want my 2015 to be! 

I've still got a ways to go with school, so that will always be one of my top priorities. A year ago today, I would have envisioned that my blog would be running smoothly with good traffic, and I was doing well in school as well as taking on personal training clients. But that is not the case. Again, that's okay. 

It's all part of the learning experience. I tired things one way, it didn't work, and now I know where I need to work harder on and areas that need improvement. I know what my priorities are, and I am going to distribute my effort based on the ranking of these priorities. 

I am working hard to build this blog into what I envisioned it, and I hope - and will work hard - to make 2015 the year for this vision to start becoming a reality :) 

With lots of love from Sellychan Fitness, have a safe and happy new years! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

10 Ways to Fit In A Quick Workout (12/29)

Aloha readers! 

If incorporating more physical activity into your daily life is a new priority to you, today's post will help you learn more about fitting quick workouts into your busy day. 

60-90 minutes of physical activity is recommended per day, but 10 minute intervals of exercise throughout the day can be very beneficial too. If you're short on time, or have a break at work, pick on of these exercises below and start moving! 

Around the House 

1. Power walk around the block twice when you're picking up the morning newspaper or the mail in the morning. 

2. While waiting for your food or water to heat/boil up, do alternating 30 seconds of jumping jacks and wall push-ups. For the push-ups, stand about arms length away from the kitchen counter and push your arms against the counter. Or, throw in some standing calf raises while hanging on to the counter edge. These can be done while waiting in/for the escalator too! (More later on how to skip using the elevator!) 

3. Bringing in the groceries from the car? If possible, hang on to them for another minute and do some bicep curls with the bags! 

4. Keep a pair of dumbbells close by the TV/couch - get up and do some jumping jacks and push ups during the commercials! 

5. Put on some music while cooking dinner or washing the dishes and shake that booty! Not only will it boost your mood, but it will help burn off some calories too :) 

At Work 

6. If you take the public transit to work, get off a couple stops earlier to and from work and walk the remaining distance. Take the stairs at work too! If you work in a high rise building, you may need to take the escalator up for most of the way - but don't let that stop you from getting off a few flights earlier and taking the stairs up! Try to walk down the stairs if possible too. 

7. Take a few minutes out of your coffee break to do some stretching to loosen up the muscles - especially if you've been sitting all day! Try doing 3 minutes of jumping jacks, pushups, high knees, butt kicks, toe touches, and side bend overs for 30 seconds each. If you can, set a timer to get up and move around for a couple minutes for every hour of work you put in. 

8. Work out on your lunch break. If your break is too short, take as little as 5 minutes to do some jumping jacks or pushups before eating. Or, choose a restaurant that's within walking distance for lunch, and walk there! Mid-day workouts can help increase your productivity too! 

Out and About 

9. While waiting at the checkout, do some calf raises or carry something and do bicep curls. Feeling bold? Do some air squats! 

10. Walk up the escalator or stairs while at shopping malls! 

Hopefully some of these tips will help you fit in some physical activity time during your busy day. The holiday seasons are upon us, and sometimes doing these little things each day can help make a difference in our fitness level! 

Happy Holidays, Cheers! 

xoxo

Booty Move of The Week - Sumo Squats (12/26)

Merry Christmas everyone! 

I know I'm a day late on posting, but the holidays is about spending time with the people you love. And I hope that's exactly what you did! 

Today I'm going to share with you a squat variation that I like to include in my workouts. I seldom get tension in my hips, so Sumo Squats are a good exercise to help strengthen them. It also helps strengthen the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes! Try these out, and share your feedback with me! 

1. Stand up straight, with feet wider than shoulder width apart, toes pointed out (top pictures).
2. Keep your chest up high, shoulders pulled back, and keeping your back straight.
3. As you squat down, go to parallel level or even lower if you can (bottom pictures).
4. As you come back up, push up through your heels. Like a normal squat, squeeze your glutes at the end for a couple seconds.

Cheers! 

xoxo

5 Tips To Get You Motivated (12/24)

Aloha readers! 

Have you ever had one of those days, where you woke up and you just weren't feeling the greatest? Did it make you feel unmotivated, and just wanted to sleep for the rest of the day? Did that affect how you felt about tackling the day, such as working out? 

If you have, we are in the same boat! Today's post is to help you feeling motivated again to get moving and get working, so please share it with anyone you feel may find it useful -  your friends,  your family members, colleges, whomever! 

Number 1. Find your personal motivation to exercise. It can be from an external factor, such as losing X number of pounds or to fit back into those skinny jeans. But short term motivation makes it hard to stay focused and motivated in the long term. There are many other reasons to exercise or get fit. Do you want to be more confident in yourself and your body? Maybe you want to take the first step in becoming a role model for your parents or siblings? These are called internal motivators. They are what keeps you motivated for the long term, with a bigger goal in sight. Whatever it may be for you - find it, and hold on to it. Find a reason that's important to you. 

(http://smartchic.me/10-smart-easy-ways-get-keep-motivated-today/the-best-motivation-always-comes-from-within/)

Number 2. Set realistic goals to keep you motivated. If you're trying to achieve too much in a short period of time, it can feel overwhelming - leaving you feeling discouraged. Set smaller goals that lead to the bigger goal, and do a little bit more each day to reach that bigger goal. You can read more about goal setting in my Set Attainable Fitness Goals post. 

Number 3. Stop seeing it as "Exercise". Do something you enjoy! If the thought of exercise makes you go "ugghhhh" or make you want to crawl back into bed, then it's time to change your perspective of exercise. Too often we hear the word exercise and immediately think about going to the gym. But it doesn't have to be like that. 

It can be as simple as something you enjoy - going for a 15 minute walk with your partner, kids, or dog, taking the kids to the park after dinner, or taking a yoga class to help relief some daily stress and tension. As long as it's something you enjoy and it's helping you get moving, it's a start! Don't forget - you are surrounded by endless opportunities to get active! 

Number 4. Plan out when you want to workout ahead of time. We all have busy lives, and sometimes it truly is hard to squeeze in a workout when you've got things to do lined up back to back. Waiting for time to open up is not ideal, as there's likely something else that you will decide to do rather than exercising. Plan out your to-do list the night before - this way you can find time to schedule in your workout. We will make time for things that we believe are a priority. To learn more about planning your day ahead of time, check out my Jump Start Your Fitness Routine post. 

(http://ilikerunningdotcom.tumblr.com/post/78509845474/work-hard-in-silence-let-success-make-all-the)

Number 5. Bounce back from setbacks. We often lead ourselves down a dark road after missing a couple days of exercising. But just because we missed our scheduled workout Monday morning doesn't mean the whole day, or week, is completely ruined. At the same time, you can re-evaluate your schedule for the day to see where you can schedule in your workout next. Add little things into the day if you can't get a good 30-45 minute sweat session fitted in. Maybe go for an extra long walk (with the dog) after dinner, or hop on the stationary bike for 15 minutes while watching TV. 

You have the choice to either drag yourself around for the rest of the day, or face the remainder of the day with your head held up high :) Learn how to use your mind to help propel you into action for both starting, and sticking to a fitness routine! 

With that, I will bring more content to you after the holidays! 

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate Christmas, and a Happy Holidays to everyone ! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

How to Jump Start Your Fitness Routine (12/22)

Aloha readers! 

The New Year is quickly approaching, and many people are starting to make New Year resolutions. If you're one of the many to include weight loss, eating healthy, being more active on your resolution list, then you'll find this article helpful! Often we wait until last minute to make a new year resolution, without really making a plan on how we are going to achieve those goals. 

By planning ahead of time, you'll be ahead of the game and that much more closer to obtaining your new year resolution!
"If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail." 

1. Create a routine - Create a routine that will work for you. You can research for hours what worked for other people, but if it won't work for you, then it just won't happen. Set a time to workout when you know you will have the time. If you're a morning person, maybe working out in the morning before work is best. Or do you have a hard time not hitting the snooze button more than 3 times in the morning? If that's you, then maybe an after-work or later evening working is more suitable for you. Set small, but specific goals. To read more about goal setting, check out my S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting article. 

2. Plan your schedule out ahead of time - Do you ever find yourself scrambling in the morning trying to figure out all the things you have to do that day? The way to avoid that is to plan your schedule out ahead of time. This can be the night before, or even a few days ahead. Take 10 - 15 minutes the night before to list out the tasks you need to do, and what time you're going to tackle each task. Did I mention the satisfaction of crossing things off a to-do list? 

3. Make time for exercise - Make it a priority. Treat it like an important meeting with your boss - yourself! You wouldn't skip out on a meeting with your boss, so why should you skip out on your own workout? We all have the same 24 hours in a day. The difference is what you do with those 24 hours - what you make as your priority and how you're going to make time for it. 

4. Start slow - Evaluate your fitness level and find an activity that's suitable for you to start with. We want to start slow and start building up on it - rather than trying to go too fast and fatiguing ourselves out. Too often we want to jump into activities that may be too intense to help us reach our goal faster, but that can do more harm than good. 

5. Adjust your nutrition - You'd be surprised how changing your nutrition even the slightest bit can make you feel better. Like with exercise, start off slow. You don't have to change everything at once - simply cutting back on that drink or soda pop at dinner is a good starting point. Then progress on to replacing those drinks with water or milk at other meals. This way, you can slowly introduce more nutritious foods in to your diet while substituting out the less-nutritious foods. 

6. Build a support system - This is probably one of the most important parts! Tell your friends and family this new adventure that you're going to start, and get them to keep you accountable and support you - or even better, get them to join you! A big difference can be seen in people who workout together rather than by themselves in terms of motivation and progress. Post your workouts or workout selfies on social media to keep your accountability! You may even inspire some distant friends and family members to get off the couch and start moving! 

I hope you find these tips helpful, and that they'll help you in setting your new year resolution goals! Leave your goals below in the comment section to keep yourself accountable! 

Cheers!

xoxo

How to Set Attainable Fitness Goals (12/20)

Aloha readers! 

The end of the year is quickly approaching, and too often we find ourselves inspired by a sudden rush of motivation and want to get active the moment we feel the rush. That often leads to setting up goals that are unrealistic, or not attainable in a short period of time. We ned to make S.M.A.R.T goals if we want to be successful! 

What is S.M.A.R.T goal setting? It stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

If you're starting to plan your new fitness goals, take a read below! 

1. Specific - Don't be vague about your goal. Define exactly what it is you want to achieve. Rather than just "I want to be fit in 2015", be more specific, such as "I will be physically active for 15 minutes each day". The specificity of your goal makes you more motivated, and easier to define when you've reached your goal! 

2 . Measurable - Set a goal you can measure your progress against. If you're concerned about your body weight, setting a goal such as "I want to lose 10 pounds in 3 months" will be more realistic than "I'm going to lose 50 pounds in 3 months". This doesn't have to be a number goal on the scale - it could be being able to run for X number of minutes on the treadmill, or doing X number of push-ups continuously. The important thing is to have a standard to measure it against. 

3. Attainable - Break your big goal into smaller goals. If your ultimate goal is to lose 20 pounds, start by setting a realistic deadline. The recommendation is to lose no more than 1 pound a week, so telling yourself you want that weight off by the end of the month probably isn't realistic and attainable. 

On the contrary, 4 months is a reasonable amount of time for the 20 pounds to come off with consistent efforts in both fitness and nutrition aspects. By setting smaller stepping stones towards your big goal, such as 1 pound a week, will help you stay on track and not get discouraged! 

4. Realistic - Don't set yourself up for failure by setting goals you know you can't reach. If you're new to working out, setting a goal to hit the gym daily is probably not very realistic. A goal such as hitting the gym twice a week, or being physically active twice a week, may be more realistic. 

I once made a plan to do 2 workout programs simultaneously, and need I say I failed to complete them. I set myself up for failure because I scheduled myself to workout every day for a couple hours on top of my other commitments, and that's unrealistic for me. 

5. Timely - As previously mentioned, a due date should be assigned to your goal. A timeframe too short can cause you to feel frustrated and discouraged for not reaching your goal, and an endless time frame can make you lose motivation and lose sight of your goal. Make sure the timeframe is reasonable, and can be completed based on your own schedule. 

If you've found this guideline helpful in setting your goals, leave a comment below and share with us what your new goal is! I love hearing from everyone :) 

Cheers! 

xoxo

Fixing Your Diet - Identify and Remove Nutritional Deficiencies (12/19)

Aloha readers! 

Today I'd like to talk to you about the often neglected micronutrients - vitamins and minerals! Firstly, how has your diet been lately? Would you consider it balanced? Wait.. what does balanced even mean to you? We hear a lot about the macronutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. But what about the micronutrients? 

Micronutrient deficiencies are more common than you think. The most common vitamin and mineral deficiencies in athletes include calcium and vitamin D, the B vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin C. Macronutrient deficiency is more susceptible in people who restrict energy or had a recent rapid weight loss. Water intake can also make an impact on vitamin absorption. 

If you're struggling to get adequate servings of fruits and vegetables, there is a slight chance that you may be have adequate intake of some vitamins and/or minerals. Micronutrient deficiencies can be corrected with time and a few simple steps. 

1. Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. Staying hydrated can help you curb your cravings, and help you be more alert and make better food choices. Drink more water if you have exercised that day, or done any running or hard labor for that day. 

2. Eat more foods rich in vitamins and minerals, such as fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are naturally packed with lots of vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables will help make sure you get a wide range of vitamins and minerals that are essential for optimal body functions. If you're afraid you're still not eating enough fruits and veggies, talk to your physician to see if taking a multivitamin tablet is suitable for you. However, your major source should still be coming from natural foods, and not relying on supplements! 

3. Get 2-3 servings of fish in your diet each week. Fish are good lean sources of protein, and marine sources, such as salmon, tuna, and shrimp are good sources of an essential fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid, commonly known as omega-3. 

Omega-3's produce anti-inflammatory compounds in the body, and are essential for regulating the inflammation functions of the body, as well as excess inflammation. Because our Western diet is often an imbalance of omega6:omega3 (more omega-6 consumed than omega-3), many people don't get enough omega-3 in their diet to synthesize these anti-inflammatory compounds. Taking an omega-3 supplement may be helpful if you don't like to eat or don't eat a lot of seafood, to help reduce excessive inflammation in your body. 

I know my blog has been a big focus on the physical component of health and fitness, but you can't have health without the nutrition component either. I am a Nutrition major student, and topics like these are very, very interesting to me. I hope to bring to my readers the knowledge I learn from my classes, in order to help you live a happier, healthier, active life :) 

Cheers! 

xoxo

Booty Move of the Week - Curtsey Lunges (12/17)

Aloha readers! 

For the next few weeks, I'd like to feature some of the moves I like to do in my leg day workouts. 

Todays post will be about one of my favourite moves to do during leg days. I find that when I do regular pulse or walking lunges, I get a lot of pressure in my knee and hip joints. To work around that, I like to do curtsey lunges. There's less pressure on those joints, AND it really works the side of your booty :) 

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart (top picture). 

2. Starting with your right foot, take a step back and cross your right foot behind your left foot, without rotating your hips (bottom left picture). 

3. Slowly bend your knees and bring your right knee to almost touching the ground, as if you're doing a curtsy (bottom right picture). 

4. Push up with your left heel and return to the starting position. 

5. Alternate legs each time, for a total of 15 reps per leg. 

Try this out, and leave a comment below and tell me what you think! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

Booty, Booty, Booty Workout (12/16)

Aloha readers!

Today's my first day back at work, so I'll keep this post short! 

I had been slacking with my workouts recently, so I decided to do one of my favourite leg workouts last night! 

Here's a quick run down of my workout: 

- Glute bridges x 3 sets 

- Glute kickbacks x 3 sets 

- Curtsey lunges x 3 sets 

- Dumbbell squats x 3 sets 

- Dumbbell deadlifts x 3 sets 

- Kettlebell sumo squats x 3 sets 

Curtsey lunges are one of my favourite moves - I'll have a more detailed instructional post about it tomorrow! Something that I'd really like to work on is a booty building guide for all my female readers. All females deserve to have a round, firm booty! I'm putting things to the test slowly, so hopefully by the summer I'll have something for you guys! 

Thanks for reading! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

8 Tips To Help You Break Out of A Fitness Slump (12/15)

Aloha readers!

Can any of you relate to how after being motivated to do a certain workout for so long, you suddenly wake up one day not feeling as motivated like you usually are? Because I have. It’s what I call a fitness slump. Are you in a fitness slump right now? Or maybe you’re looking for something new to do because things are sort of getting ‘boring’.

Toady I’m going to give up a few pointers in how to get out of this slump and get active again!

1. Get up and do something – move around! Wallowing is a self-perpetuating state of mind and will keep you in this slump!

2. Start small – you may feel like you need to a LOT to make up for what you haven’t done, but it should be the opposite! Pick one thing to do – like go for a 30 minute walk – and start from there. Telling yourself you’re going to go to the gym every day for 2 hours is going to exhaust you quickly, leaving you feeling discouraged and unmotivated.

3. Try something new – maybe you’re in this slump because you got bored with your previous workout routine. Check out something new! Many gyms have free drop in classes to try out.

4. Set ONE goal – sometimes we have too much going on in our life, and our mind can get clouded. It’s hard to maintain energy and focus when you’re being pulled on one direction. Whether your goal may be to go for a 20 minute walk each day, or to go to the gym twice a week, focus on the one thing that you want to do first.

5. Get Support – whatever it is that you want to try, find a friend to join you! Inspire someone else to get active with you!

6. Tell your friends, share your goal publicly – use different forms of social media to tell your friends and family what your goal is what you’re going to do to achieve that goal. This way, not only can you look forward to updating your statuses, you would want to avoid the embarrassment of having to admit that you gave up on your goal!

7. Find your inspiration – look for people or success stories of people who have done what you’re aiming to do. Use their actions and guidance as a form for inspiration and motivation!

8. Treat yourself to a new fitness outfit – There’s probably not too many things that offer the same thrilling feeling as going shopping. After picking out your new outfit, you’ll probably want to take it to the gym for a spin to show it off – and hey, maybe break a sweat too!

Hopefully you find these posts helpful, as I'll be trying to post more of these in 2015! If there's anything specific you'd like to learn more about, leave me a comment below and I'll make note of it! 

Cheers! 

xoxo 

I'm Back!

Aloha readers! 

I'm back! If you've been wondering what I've been doing lately and why I haven't posted, the reason is what it always is - school ! School, school, school :) But exams are finished now, my holiday break has started, and I am back for good :) 

Along side with studying, I've been putting some time aside to figure out how to manage my time to keep this blog running throughout the 2015 year, as well as what type of content to bring to you! 

I love sharing my workouts, but they can get boring after so long! I've put a lot of time and effort into brainstorming some topics to kick off 2015, but I'd love to hear from you too! 

If there's anything YOU would like to read more about or see more of on my blog, leave a comment below, or send me an email @ selinachan.business@gmail.com ! 

For the month of December, my friend Rhonda and I have co-started a Facebook support group called "New Booty for the New Year". It's a support group for females who are doing the Brazillian Butt Lift,  or any other booty focused workout, and share their workouts, tips, and motivation to keep each other going! My job as an admin is to post a booty-building move each week and share with the ladies how they can incorporate it into their workouts to build the tush! 

This week's booty move was the glute bridge! 

Some things to remember with the glute bridge is to master the proper form before adding on (heavy) weight. This is crucial because we want to learn how to maximize the glute activation in order to get the full benefit of the exercise! This can be done by following through with the full range of motion. 

1. Keep your feet as close to your butt as possible (top picture). You can put your hands on the side to help stable yourself. Push up with the heels of your foot. 

2. Bottom left picture shows what it looks like if you are not pushing your hips all the way up. You want to hyperextend your hips, like in the bottom right picture, and really squeeze your glutes as you get to the top. This helps fully activate the glute muscles! 

3. To really get the burn, slowly lower yourself back to the ground in a controlled manner. 

I hope you like these picture guided movements - I hope to bring you more of it, as well as educational content! Visit back often ;) 

Cheers! 

xoxo