The longer I’ve had this blog, and the longer I’ve been surviving on planet earth, the more I’ve developed my ideas on health and beauty. My opinions are often reflected in what I post and the comments I make. As such, I get a lot of questions regarding my thoughts on health, and lots of requests for advice, so I decided to make a general health page, and if you have more specific questions, you’re more than welcome to ask.
My Philosophy:
All body types are beautiful. Period, end of story. However, when I say body types, I mean your natural body structure. I do not mean that being twenty pounds overweight or underweight is attractive to me. That being said, outer beauty is a matter of opinion. Some people might be attracted only to very skinny people, while others prefer more curves. If that is your preference, great, but please don’t feel like you have to correct my preferences. I prefer healthy bodies. I believe that is the best way to live regarding lifespan, energy on a daily basis, and general happiness, as well as physical attractiveness. How that looks physically varies from person to person, but in general, health is best.
What to eat:
That just about covers the general stuff. Just remember to look for “whole wheat” or “100% whole grain” with a certified organic seal. (Multigrain, 7grain, wheat flour, wheat bread, etc. doesn’t mean shit…they’re trying to trick you.) and at all costs avoid high fructose corn syrup (and as a general rule, anything that ends with something that rhymes with “gross” is probably bad for you).
Healthy Weight vs. Height Chart:
How to work out:
Before you read further, I’m almost entirely self-taught. I’m not an expert, and you can easily gain more knowledge than I have just by using Google. So if anything I say is in contradiction with that of a doctor or personal trainer, go with them. I get a lot of questions regarding my work out routine and how I got this muscle or that muscle, so I’m just telling you what works for me personally. My routine varies because my schedule is constantly changing, but I try to do 30 minutes of cardio at least 5 days a week, and muscle exercises as often as I remember (which is usually 3-4 times a week).
- Try to live an active lifestyle. Park far away. Take the stairs. Try a dance class. Go for a walk on the beach before you lay down to tan. Be a badass like me and take up rock climbing as a hobby. Every little bit of movement helps to build muscle and burn calories.
- In order to stay low on extra fat, do lots of cardio. Cardio is basically just a bunch of movement. It won’t help you much if you’re trying to bulk up on muscle, but it’s great for turning unneeded fat into small amounts of useful muscle that will speed up your metabolism and keep your body burning more calories. Examples of good cardio exercises are running, jump roping, biking, swimming, and cardio machines (like ellipticals and stair-climbers). The most important thing to take from this number is LOW RESISTANCE AND LOTS OF REPS. You will actually burn more calories going at an easy resistance and quick pace than you will if you’re trying to swim through molasses.
- Work specific muscles several times a week. I usually just do abs because I naturally have strong arms and legs (thank you, Bj, for getting me addicted to rock climbing), but if you’re trying to gain muscle in these areas, alternate between them (do back and legs one day, arms and abs the next). Most of my ab workouts I’ve just found online. My favorite compilation of workouts is right HERE. I find that some of them work really well for me and some don’t work at all (I like Pike 90, Crunchy Frog, and Corkscrew). Try them out and see what you like best, then do two or three sets of those as often as you can.
Specific Workouts:
Upper abs:
1. The Basic Crunch:
Beginner: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet shoulder width apart on the floor, hands behind your head. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.
Intermediate: Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled in toward your chest, feet hanging close to your buns. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.
Make It Harder: Rather than placing hands behind your head, extend your arms as if you’re diving into a swimming pool, keeping forearms close to your ears. Focus on relaxing the shoulders to keep tension out of your neck. Also, try varying the speed of your lifting and lowering motion.
Helpful Hints: Try not to lower completely to the floor at the bottom of the movement. Try to clear your shoulder blades from the floor; be sure you’re not just lifting your head. Really focus on pulling your belly button down toward your spine.
2. Frog legs:
Beginner: Lie on your back with the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall open to the sides. Place your hands behind your head to support your neck. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.
Intermediate: Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled in toward your chest. Cross your ankles and let your knees fall open to the sides. Place your hands behind your head to support your neck. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.
Make It Harder: Extend your arms as if you’re diving, keeping forearms close to your ears. Focus on relaxing the shoulders to keep tension out of your neck. Also, try varying the speed of your lifting and lowering motion.
Helpful Hints: This exercise works the upper part of the rectus abdominis and into the lower segment. Be sure to really pull your belly button in tightly to protect your back and don’t lower all the way to the floor at the bottom.
3. Demi Crunch:
Beginner: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet shoulder width apart on the floor, hands behind your head. Pull your belly button to your spine and lift shoulders and head off the floor, just a few inches. You should feel a contraction in the abdominals. Now lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up and slowly return to your starting position - do not go all the way to the floor.
Intermediate: Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled in toward your chest, feet hanging close to your buns. Pull your belly button to your spine and lift shoulders and head off the floor, just a few inches. You should feel a contraction in the abdominals. Now lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up and slowly return to your starting position - do not go all the way to the floor.
Make It Harder: Lie on your back with your knees bent and walk your feet away from your buns until your legs are almost fully extended - be sure to keep a slight bend in the knee. If you feel any pain in your lower back, bring your feet in closer to your buns. This leg position gets the lower abs, too.
Helpful Hints: Be sure to really pull your belly button in tightly to protect your back and don’t lower all the way to the floor at the bottom.
1. Leg lifts: Lie down on your back with your hands under your buttocks. Lift your legs up vertically with your knees bent on the way up to avoid straining your lower back. Straighten your legs an keep your abdominals contracted – you should feel the tension. Lower both legs slowly without locking your knees until your feet nearly touch the ground. Hold for a second. Return your legs to the vertical position and repeat. If you feel tension in your back keep your legs slightly bent and do not lower too much initially. The toning work to your lower abs is done during that second when you are holding your position.
2. The reverse crunch: Lie down on your back; keep your arms on the floor alongside you. Keep your knees bent and your feet off the ground. Slowly move your knees towards your chest and lift your buttocks off the mat. Contract your abs and move slowly, do not swing your legs. Lower legs slowly back to the starting position keeping feet 6 inches (15 cm) off the floor.
*Note: If you combine these 2 exercises with a complete abdominal routine you should start with these 2 first. Repeat each exercise 15-30 times. Breathe in on the way down and out on the way up. Rest a few minutes between each set. Gradually increase to 3 or 4 sets of 15-30 repetitions.
