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1 Wedding, 1 Motorbike & Losing 1 Kilo…

So, we’re back! For those who didn’t know, we went away for a mini-holiday, and I guess you are new to our blog…so WELCOME… we’re happy to have you visit our space… animated-welcome-image-0276

Last week we took a break from training in the gym to attend Marie’s childhood friend’s wedding. It was beautiful! And folks from pretty much the four corners of the globe flew to Thailand to celebrate the start of their new life together. It was a privilege to attend!

For us it was a special trip as it was the first time we had a long ride (over 1000km) without our own trusty 8yr old GS1200…that baby is now with a new “daddy.” And it was a bit of a milestone in our transition to the nomad lifestyle, this was our first time to be away for more than a weekend and were excited to see how we would stay fit, keep up with our blog, and manage our online fitness business.

But before we could even start on our exciting first foray/trial run into our
new lifestyle we ran into a bit of an obstacle when we realized…WE NO LONGER HAD A MOTORBIKE!!!

We had no idea that our baby would have already moved on when Ana’s wedding would come around. You know how things are, you get so excited about the big event, and you totally forget about the small important detail of having no transport…

Everyone else was all organized to fly in or bus down from Bangkok. We were like, don’t worry about us, we’ll ride down and we’ll swing by the Cambodian border too, since it’s so close 😉

Fortunately, we know this really cool guy named Jamil. He came to our rescue and when we asked him if we borrow his baby for the wedding expedition he was like “Sure!” even though we knew he was a little jealous that he wasn’t able to ride around and take a week off…

Our borrowed baby came with some awesome spacious panniers. When I looked at all the stuff my wife “needed” to bring with her, I almost had a heart-attack.

4 pairs of shoes???

2 cases of make up???

Hair extensions???

Massive bottles of hair spray and I’m not sure what else…

She was like, “Honey, I’m the makeup artiste for the bride and maid of honor and I’m not sure what dress I’m actually going to wear so I have to bring 2 pairs of heels to match my 2 dresses and ALL of my makeup!”

I was like ok, you can bring whatever you manage to fit in your pannier and maybe 1 small bag can go in the top box…I want to keep that empty for our jackets, gloves, etc.

She said “Of course babe, I’ll fit it all in…”

And you know what, she did! I have no idea if this bodes well for our trip around the world, but I was damned impressed with how she packed everything in. The only thing she forgot was all her bras…

Fortunately, a couple of her sports bras managed to sneak in, and we were going for a beach wedding after all, so we were running around in swim wear most of the time but yeah, she brought EVERYTHING IN HER CLOSET besides bras!!

Wow, I’ve gotten complete side-tracked. I think this post is supposed to be about staying fit and work-efficient while on the road, but I’ve gone on a tangent and ended up talking about my wife’s magical packing talent…

So back to the point…

We did it! While there are many things we want to do while we are on the road (for real starting in June 2017) this week away we wanted to accomplish 3 main things…besides enjoying time with our friends and the participating in the wedding celebrations of course…

These are the 3 things we really wanted to make sure we did…

  1. We wanted to maintain our fitness and make sure to squeeze in at least 3 workouts that week
  2. We wanted to keep up with our blog and post our 3 posts per week (Monday Motivation, Wednesday Workout & Fit Food Friday)
  3. We wanted to make sure our online clients still were getting their workouts while we were away

And I’m proud to say, we did all the above and we on even managed to get the ball rolling with sending out some sponsorship requests for the gear/gadgets we will need for the trip.

WE ALSO LOST A KILO EACH!! I lost a kilo by making sure I fit in a HIIT workout or a swim before breakfast and Marie lost hers by climbing a mountain with 3km of stairs while having heeled leather riding boots on (see video below :D) and I guess all the stress of needing to do the bride’s and maid of honor’s makeup…LOL!

Well, to wrap this all up…

Make small and specific goals for a short period of time and you’ll find it easier to accomplish them…

We set those three goals and gave ourselves only 1 week!

When the week was over, it was easy to see if we accomplished our goals or not.

The same goes for weight loss, progress in a sport or completing a work assignment.

The goal to lose 1 kilo a month is so much easier to manage that losing 12 kilos in a year, don’t you think?

Shorts lists.

Short time frames.

Specific goals.

This is what works for us. Try it and let us know if it helps you too.

 

Fudge Chocolate Protein Bars

Fudge chocolate bars

Ingredients

  • 8 scoops chocolate Protein Powder
  • 1 cup Oatmeal
  • 1/3 cup Natural Peanut Butter
  • 3 Tbsp Honey
  • 1/2 cup 1% Milk
  • 3 tbsp crushed Peanuts

Directions

  1. Mix together the protein powder, oatmeal, peanut butter, honey and milk.
  2. Form into 10 bars and then roll in the crushed peanuts to finish.
  3. Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes

Nutritional Facts

(Per Serving)

  • Calories: 244
  • Protein: 25g
  • Carbohydrates: 18g
  • Fat: 8g

If you’d like more delicious & HEALTHY recipes click here to download your FREE 42 DELICIOUS FAT BURNING RECIPES

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5 Workout Secrets

If having a lean and sculpted body is your goal then I’ve got good news for you: follow these 5 Workout Secrets and your goal will quickly become a reality.

These secrets aren’t secret in the sense that you’ve never heard them before, because you likely have heard them. The secret is that by faithfully following each and every one of these 5 steps your progress will become automatic and your results will be guaranteed.

Workout Secret #1: Consistency is KEY

If you want a fit body then exercise MUST be a consistent part of your life. You can’t exercise hard this week and then take the next two weeks off and expect to see results. Results come from consistency.

 Workout Secret #2: Set ATTAINABLE goals

Let’s be realistic here, you aren’t going to lose 20 pounds in a week. That’s not an attainable goal! Those who achieve the most amazing body transformations do so by reaching a series of progressive, attainable goals. If you would like help in determining what an appropriate, attainable goal would be for yourself then simply reach out to me, I’d be happy to help.

 Workout Secret #3: Make it CONVENIENT

Are you straining to include your chosen exercise routine into your life? If your exercise time isn’t a seamless part of your daily life, if it causes too much of a strain and headache to accomplish, then you won’t stick with it. Find a time, a place and a modality of exercise that is as convenient to your real life as possible, so that you can be faithful to Workout Secret #1 by staying consistent.

 Workout Secret #4: Find something you LOVE

Similar to Workout Secret #3, finding a modality of exercise that you LOVE is key to making this a permanent part of your life. You may never love swimming because you hate getting your ears wet, or you may never love biking because you’ve always struggled with balance. If you’re straining to get through a modality of exercise that you loathe, then you won’t stick with it. It’s best to move on to something different that you would enjoy more.

**Note for exercise-haters: If deep down you consider yourself an exercise hater, then DO NOT take this Workout Secret as a free pass to forego exercise altogether under the guise of not loving it. Part of becoming fit for life is learning to find a type of exercise that you can learn to love.

 Workout Secret #5: Work with a PRO

This is my favorite Workout Secret because this is where I get to work with you! My passion and focus is in helping folks like yourself integrate fun, challenging, health-promoting exercise into your daily routine so that you reach your body and health transformation goals.

Don’t wait another minute! Call or email me today to get started on your personal body transformation.

If you’d like me to design a training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀

YOU’VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE…

Check it out NOW

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How to eat healthy when there’s a buffet at your hotel

One of the perks of traveling are hotels with delicious buffets!

But if you dive in and eat EVERYTHING AVAILABLE in the buffet, EVERY SINGLE DAY while you’re away from home, you’ll find the pounds piling on quicker than you can blink…

Ok, if you are only going to be enjoying that hotel and buffet for a couple of days..then go for it! Delicious food is one of the joys in life, but if you going to be away for 3 days or more we suggest that you take it easy on some of the days…

Here’s a short video on how to pick and choose some healthy options. This is a guideline.

We don’t “count calories” and “stay away from all all the good stuff” all the time. But we do try to make healthier choices MOST of the time…

 

If you’d like me to design a training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀

YOU’VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE…

Check it out NOW

If you like this post please subscribe to my blog and share 😀

Workout Solution–when you really don’t know what to do for your workout…

Hey there! Greetings from Thailand!

Next week we’re off for a friend’s wedding in a beautiful resort down south of Thailand. And while we’re excited about that, several of my training clients were concerned that they wouldn’t have a training program while we are gone.

They shouldn’t have worried…

We have a plan up our sleeves and we’ll make sure none of you have any excuse to skip your workouts. Stay tuned and check this space out again next Wednesday for our new and updated resort workout….

Let’s discuss the 3 main “EXCUSES” we end up using to justify missing out on workouts:

  1. I didn’t have any time to workout…
  2. I was _______ and didn’t have any equipment to workout…
  3. I just flat out didn’t know what to do for my workout!

Let’s discuss “Excuse #1” (No time for a workout…)

>>>> There’s ALWAYS TIME TO WORKOUT…you only need 10 to 20mins! If you can find time to lurk around on Facebook or on any other social media site you definitely can find time to workout. And if you’re really so busy that every minute of every day is scheduled…then you definitely need to schedule in a workout or you will crash and burn and your health will suffer.

Moving on to “Excuse #2” (I don’t have any gym/exercise equipment…)

>>>Seriously NONSENSE!! You have your body and that’s ALL YOU NEED  for a good workout. I won’t even continue to talk about why that excuse should be forever destroyed and dare I say ridiculed!  😛

Lastly “Excuse #3” (I didn’t know what to do for my workout, too many choices and no clue of where to start)

>>>Ok, this 3rd excuse is SORT OF valid. There’s been times when EVEN I HAVE BEEN CONFUSED about what to do for my workout too. And I’m a personal trainer…I literally have years of exercises/workouts stored up in my head…

The solution for this is to always plan for your workouts ahead. You should have a weekly routine to follow.

For example:

Monday—Run 10k/ body weight workout

Tuesday—Weights in the Gym

Wednesday—Swim for 30mins

Thursday—Weights in the Gym

Friday— Rest n’ Chill

Saturday–Play your favorite Active Sport

Sunday—Yoga/Dance/Run and Jump around with the kids

But if a workout schedule, like the above, is still too challenging for you and you want someone to tell you exactly what to do then you’ve come to the right place.

It actually doesn’t matter which days you workout on. What matters is making sure you are working out at least 3-4x a week!

And to make sure, you can scrape out “Excuse #3” completely from your life, we’re going to give you a plethora of workouts, every Wednesday, on this blog.

For today, just to make sure we cover all our bases, we’re going to give a list of workouts that’s specifically for beginners and some for those who have been working out for a while.

If you do these workouts 3-4x a week for 1 month you’re well on your way to staying Fit for Life…and that’s the ultimate goal, isn’t it?

Just throw in some swimming, running, or sports for variety, and you will have a ready-made 1 month training plan that will get you seeing awesome results.

Check it out now…

⇓⇓⇓⇓

Full Body workout (using only body weight)


Weights training (advanced)

Workout A:

https://youtu.be/PqGVTdTN5Sc

Workout B:


Weights training (beginners)

Workout A:

https://youtu.be/0v9dMN1TkSQ%20

Workout B:

https://youtu.be/rJLYEkEeUVU


Bonus:

Crazy hotel (or bedroom) workout


If you’d like me to design a training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀

YOU’VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE…

Check it out NOW

If you like this post please subscribe to my blog and share 😀

 

 

 

 

5 Steps You SHOULD do to get Flat Abs

5 steps to flat abs

Ok, so my last post was all about the 5 Flat abs Myths, what you should NOT do if you want flat abs.

Today I will show you 5 steps you SHOULD do if you want flat abs.

Step One: Stop eating junk. (You can enjoy your favorite foods SOMETIMES ?)

The best way to do this is by purging your kitchen. Throw out the sugary, processed and fat-filled foods. Once the junk has been cleared out, don’t buy any more of it. Remember that your beach-ready abs depend on what you eat – don’t eat junk! Instead eat more organic unprocessed food.

This is how my daily meal intake looks like:


Breakfast: protein pancakes. See the recipe here: https://youtu.be/ZarwX-p7mQk

Snack: Blueberry Blast Protein Shake ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ You can get 20+ DELICIOUS protein shake recipes HERE

Lunch: Paleo meal from www.paleorobbie.com

Snack: Strawberry Macadamia Protein Shake

***FREE RECIPE JUST FOR YOU***

1 – 2 scoops Whey Protein Powder

1/4 cup Macadamia Nut Shavings

4 Frozen Strawberries

1 cup water

4 ice cubes

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on medium-high for 45-60 seconds.

⇒ ⇒ ⇒ You can get 20+ DELICIOUS protein shake recipes HERE

Dinner: Paleo meal. (Usually I order a big Paleo meal from www.paleorobbie.com and eat only half of it for lunch and the other half for dinner)


I know, I know, that’s like eating 5x a day? Isn’t that too much???

No, you see eating small meals every 3-4 hours will actually increase your metabolism and make your body burn fat all day!

And like I said in my previous post DON’T STAY AWAY FROM CARBS ALL THE TIME because your body needs healthy carbs for energy.

Of course you should minimize unhealthy carbs such as pastries, burgers and alcohol…but if you only “cheat” once in awhile (no more than 3x a week) you can still enjoy yourself and stay on track.

Step 2:  Lift weights

Using compound movements with barbells, dumbbells or just your body weight will burn way more calories then all those fancy machines in the gym.

Basic power lifting  are the most effective exercises because they using multiple muscles to complete them.

But if you don’t have any equipment available or if you are traveling like my wife and I will be SOON…here’s a body weight variation anybody can do–anywhere at anytime ?

Step 3: Cardio

I’m not talking about walking or running on the treadmill or spending hours on the elliptical (cross trainer)…

I’m talking about HIIT  (high intensity interval training)

High Intensity Interval Training involves alternating between very intense bouts of exercise and low intensity exercise. For example, sprinting for 30 seconds, then walking for 60 seconds is high intensity interval training.

HIIT can be used both anaerobically (in the gym with weights) and aerobically with cardio.

My favorite HIIT exercises involve pushing or pulling loads (something that has weight or something that you can put weight in!!)

Like a tire pull ↓

Or a motorbike push ↓

Or pushing your car or golf cart ↓ ***make sure someone is steering safely 😛

You might have seen this type of training in the strong man competitions, except those guys go to the extreme and push or drag trucks and trains :O

It takes some balls to train like this, but the results are worth your time…Just 10mins of pulling a tire with a bit of weight  in it (10-20kgs) will give you all the fat-burning cardio you need and you will burn 5x more calories that boring yourself to death on the treadmill for an hour…

Pushing or pulling something will increase the resistance a lot and will tire you out quickly. You’ll attack your legs but also your core and upper body muscles. Having to exert strength and power to move that weight across the distance will also jack up your heart rate which is important for cardiovascular health.

You’ll also be moving your body, instead of sitting stationary at some machine. You will activate so many more muscles in your body that even after 38 hours you will still be burning due to this style of HIIT training. We call this the afterburner–and believe you me–YOU WANT AS MUCH AFTERBURN AS POSSIBLE AS THAT’S WHEN YOUR BELLY FLAB START GETTING TORCHED!!

Another benefit to pushing and pulling some weights like a tire or motorbike is that it’s low impact cardio. This means your joints won’t get beat up as much as sprinting, jumping  or bouncing around like most cardio exercises make you do.

Disclaimer: But that doesn’t mean push and pull work is any easier than lifting—anyone who has ever done it knows that it can be devastating. Don’t blame me if you puke ?the first time you try it…AND IF YOU HAVE ANY HEART PROBLEMS DO NOT DO THIS. We can give you an alternative which will also have similar benefits…just contact me now. 

Step 4: Set some goals and measure them

One of the most important benefits in setting fitness goals is identifying the barriers and facilitators to reaching those goals. … When setting a 12 week goal, also set shorter term goals such as 1 – 2 week goals. To be helpful these goals should be measurable, and realistic.

We use different measurements in our program to keep you accountable and focused. And we try to keep is SIMPLE!

For instance, the weekend is a few days away and you have guests coming to visit. You jot down a quick list of things to do before your guests arrive. These are your goals.

The list serves as a reminder of what your goals are and helps you organize your thoughts and you strategize about how to get them done. Next, you begin to perform tasks on the list and you systematically cross off the items that you have accomplished on the list, feeling a sense of achievement.

Apply the simple method above to your fitness goals!!!

Step 5: Get a coach…. 

If you’re a beginner and you don’t know where to start, you might get some advice from friends and the ending up doing something completely wrong or dangerous.

Some people are worried about their injuries and don’t want to make it worse.

And a lot of people are frustrated because they have reached a lot of their fitness goals already but are now on a plateau and  don’t know how to push themselves to the next level.

Or perhaps the 5 Steps I just outline here are still too vague and you want it all laid out for you.

This is why we are here for you…let us be your coach and we’ll help you to flatten your belly the fastest and safest way possible…

If you’d like me to design a training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀

YOU’VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE…

Check it out NOW

If you like this post please subscribe to my blog and share 😀

Spaghetti Squash Done Right

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could eat a big bowl of noodles without any guilt over the excess carbs and calories? Well, nature has you covered with the perfect noodles found in spaghetti squash. These made-in-nature noodles are high in fiber and are very low in carbs and calories. So you can serve it up with your favorite sauce and enjoy pasta night your way.

Many recipes for spaghetti squash have you cut the squash in half lengthwise. This technique causes the strands to be cut in half, shortening them. The technique shown below, which involves cutting the squash into rings, allows for the noodles to maintain their length – giving you the most authentic noodle experience. Enjoy!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

Servings: 4

Here’s what you need…

  • 1 spaghetti squash
  • 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
  • sea salt and black pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Cut the ends off the spaghetti squash and discard. Slice the rest of the spaghetti squash into 1-inch rings. Use a spoon to remove the seeds from the center of each ring.
  3. Rub the coconut oil over all of the spaghetti squash flesh. Generously season each ring with salt and pepper. Place the rings on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Flip each of the rings and roast for another 30 minutes, or until very tender.
  4. Once cooled use a spoon to remove the noodles. Place all of the noodles in a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Use as a base for your favorite spaghetti sauce. Enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 61 calories, 4g fat, 7g carbohydrate, 0g sugar, 17mg sodium, 3g fiber, and 1g protein.

I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week.

Remember, if you’d like me to design a personalized training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀

YOU’VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE..except a bit of fat! 😛

Check it out NOW

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The 20min Booty Builder

This workout is specifically for the ladies who want to grow and firm their BOOTY…

Set your “Count Down” timer for 20 minutes. You will complete at many reps as you can in 20 minutes. You MUST complete the TOTAL amount of reps of each exercise before moving onto the next.

REMEMBER TO WARM UP BEFORE YOU START!! Here’s a easy warm up from the Fitness Blender team https://youtu.be/R0mMyV5OtcM?t=25s

Your workout should have a 5-10min Warm Up so the workout will be about 30 mins max!!

  • 100 Squats
  • 75 alt. Lateral Lunges (total)
  • 50 Walking Lunges
  • 25 Jump Squats

Don’t worry if you have knee problems and CAN’T SQUAT OR LUNGE!!

Just do this workout instead. All you will need are small resistance bands like these here.

Have fun! 😀

If you’d like more of these types of workouts specifically designed for your body and equipment available check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀

Check it out NOW

If you like this post please subscribe to my blog and share 😀

5 Things you should NEVER do if you want Flat Abs

5 Flat Abs Myths (part 1)

Most people want to slim down before baring it all, so I’m here to warn you of the 5 Flat Abs Myths that DON’T WORK!!

Myth #1: Do extra crunches to flatten your abs.
Excessive crunches aren’t the answer for tight abs. In order to achieve a toned look you’ll have to focus on burning off the layer of fat that is covering up your tummy.

  • Tip: Don’t obsess about crunches – instead focus on fat burning and full body “ab” exercises like planks, mountain climbers and burpees

Myth #2: Take diet pills to speed results.
I know it’s so tempting! The ads make compelling claims about the power of popping a pill, but don’t fall for it. There is no ‘magic pill’. Diet pills are more likely to burn through your pocketbook than to slim you down.

  • Tip: Don’t pop a pill – instead burn calories with intense exercise and A CUPPA  BLACK COFFEE 😉

Myth #3: Turn to packaged diet products to boost results.
Don’t fall for the foods that are packaged as ‘diet’ or ‘weight loss’ aids. Quite often these products are packed with refined sugar and other artificial ingredients that your body doesn’t need, and certainly won’t help you attain that tight tummy.

  • Tip: Don’t eat packaged diet foods – instead stick with nutritious whole foods.

 

Myth #4: Avoid all carbohydrates in order to achieve tight abs.
Carbohydrates have been given a bad rap, which is unfortunate because you can (and should) eat carbs while slimming down. The key is to stick with whole grains, oatmeal and brown rice while avoiding processed and refined flours and sugars.

  • Tip: Don’t give up all carbohydrates – instead stick with wholesome carbs like sweet potato, rolled oats, lentils, quinoa, corn on the cob etc.

 

Myth #5: Starve the chub away.
Trying to lose weight by starving yourself is not only ineffective it can also be dangerous. It may seem that severe calorie restriction would deliver the quickest weight loss, but your body is complex and by doing so you’ll disrupt your metabolism and slow your results.

  • Tip: Don’t starve yourself – instead eat small wholesome meals throughout the day. You can download 42 awesome FREE HEALTHY RECIPES HERE

Now that you know what not to do in order to achieve tight abs, next Monday I will show you 5 Thing you SHOULD DO to get Flat Abs.

If you’d like me to design a training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀

YOU’VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE…

Check it out NOW

If you like this post please subscribe to my blog and share 😀