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

Update + New Content

Aloha readers! 

Allow me to selfie for a moment here to show you that I am still alive :P 

In the midst of trying to sort out what I want to do with my life (which is still a big ????) I have decided to try and bring your more helpful health and fitness content on my blog throughout the new year. Given my previous attempts, trying to blog every day may not be realistic for me. Instead, I'll aim to post a couple times each week. 

Of course, it will be a little more frequent in late December and early January since I'll have some time off from school. That being said, I'm slowly putting together a calendar of what kind of content I want to deliver on my blog and when I will deliver it :) This is exciting! 

I'll leave you with that, and now I'm back to planning things out! 

Cheers! 

xoxo