Bron Brief: Chest Like Ken, Legs Like Barbie?

Go into any gym in probably the US and you'll see tons of guys doing chest and arms. From time to time you'll get a sprinkle of people doing legs but its rare and the ones who do are usually doing them wrong. Women do legs 24/7 but most tend to just sit on machines and open/close for 20 minutes then throw in a few kickbacks. Heck I've seen guys hold up the squat rack for a hour just to crank out some bicep curls. Why is this you ask? Because its hard to show of your leg muscles on a regular basis and...leg training IS HARD!!

A Berry-Good Smoothie

With the weather getting nice and sunny (sorry Alaska readers if I have any) chances are you'll be out and about more. That also leads to a higher chance of eating fast food junk. Even things like store bought smoothies can be bad. On-the-go smoothies are usually loaded with sugar and so many calories, you might as well just have a dairy queen milk shake (nice dairy queen plug). But don't (there goes the plug :( ) Make your own smoothies using this recipe. It's only 161 calories and loaded with antioxidants. Just toss. The ingredients in a blender and process until it's smooth. Lay out, drink and enjoy a healthy nice day.

Needs:
1 Cup of Berries (raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries)
1/4 Cup of Pomegranate Juice
1/4 Cup of Water
Half of a Banana
1 Cup of Ice
= Banging Smooth

Bron Brief: Building Better ABs

Million Dollar ABs Here We Come

People commonly think, "Hey if I do a million crunches every day, I'll have a 6 pack in no time." Wrong.. Your abs are like any other muscle in your body. By working them everyday you can over train them and actually set your beach body goals back a few weeks. Train them 2-3 times a week from all different angles through crunching and stabilization. Also use weights if you want them to really stand out.

P.S: Keep in mind, muscle definition like ABs is 90% diet...It takes 250,000 crunches to burn 1 pound of fat. Thats 100 crunches a day for 7 years. So in short you can do the greatest ab workout ever and if your body fat % is too high they will be the greatest abs hidden under layers of fat. So be careful what you eat.

"The important thing is to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we can become."

Bron Brief: Kill Your Lacks

No its not a typo of my trying to say Lats. 2 Common excuses for not working out are known as the 2 lacks. Lack of money and Lack of time. Money is the tougher of the 2 to fix but I'm sure if you sat down and wrote out what you spent money on in a week you'd see plenty of things that could be redirected towards your health goals. As for time, this ones easy. Everyone says they can't train or get to the gym because of time at one point or another. So try this out. For one day, schedule a time to workout, and then MAKE SURE you do it. Even if you can only exercise 10-15 minutes, get it done. At the end of the day, ask yourself if you were any less productive throughout the day than usual. The answer will probably be a no and one of your two main lacks will be gone.

The important thing is to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we can become.

Terry Crews Workout Equipment Spoof

We've all seen how ridiculous some commercials are for exercise equipment these days. Some 300lb ripped guy struggling to do a basic push up or crunch and then breezing through them thanks to the new handy dandy equipment. While their funny to those of us who know they don't work, some people actually believe them and waste hundreds of dollars buying into them. Sure they ignore the fact that this machine only works the triceps yet this guy is a world class body builder but whatever motivates you I guess. Well recently former NFL player turned actor Terry Crews decided to take it upon himself to show just how crazy some of these commercials actually seem during his muscle and fitness interview. Its just a spoof so don't jump to your credit cards if you think this might work for you...instead slap yourself..

From Gut to Greeeatt

Now everyone looks for that golden pill that will do all the hard work for them. Sorry if thats what you came here looking for but thats not the case. Fredrick Douglas said himself without struggle there is no progress and with these 10 tips maybe your struggle can be a little easier. You have probably heard most of these before but now its up to you to get off your butt and do them.

10. Take Measurements

You'll never reach your destination if you don't know your starting point. A great place to begin is calculating your body-fat percentage or at least body part circumference.
This will allow you to set accurate goals and measure progress. Don't just rely on the scale or your Wii BMI (which doesn't include muscle ratio). The more information you have on your body, the better you will be able to see and analyze your progress.

Fitness Profile: Sheri Koepsel

When you bring up the topic of women's body building to your average woman, the reaction could go either way. Some automatically assume that everyone who participates looks like Chyna from the WWE (not to be confused with Chloe Kardashian, thank you Maronzio) and that their just naturally juiced big amazons. Others appreciate the time and effort put in by these women to hone their craft and reach the apex of their body. On a good note, over time the trend is shifting more towards the latter. Women's Body Building has slowly evolved into Women's Physique and Fitness, showing off a more slender and sexy aspect while still being well...ripped and badass. The current peoples champ, Dana Linn Bailey has opened the eyes of a lot of people and helped open the doors for many new up and comers as well. Through my constant networking and Mark Zuckerberg's genius, a while back I came across one of those up and comers by the name Sheri Koepsel out of Milwaukee. For those of you who don't know Sheri your missing out. A total ball of energy, who along with being a NPC Competitor,winning 2nd place at the 2011 Badger State Figure show, also holds the title of certified personal trainer and model under her belt. No matter if its through wild facebook status' or spur of the moment walking lunge youtube video's you can see Sheri Koepsel loves what she does. So of course when time came around for my next fitness profile, I hit up Sheri for a interview.

Healthy Midnight Snack: Yogurt Covered Strawberries

A lot of peoples biggest weakness' is eating to late. When you eat late, you usually sit around or even worse fall right to sleep which leads to food not being burnt or properly digested. So theory's like "no food after 7pm" came around and for some that's hard to stick to. So heres a light and healthy snack you can have at night that won't kill your diet or stomach: Yogurt Covered Strawberries;

Dip some strawberries (halved or whole) in vanilla yogurt (Greek might be best, because it's thicker), then lay them on a wax paper lined pan and freeze Voila: Yogurt-covered strawberries! Depending on the type of yogurt you just made a roughly 90 calorie snack.

Maximize Your Time Workout

Your legs are easily your biggest muscle group yet you rarely ever ask someone how much they squat. Leg routines burn a ton of calories due to the face most leg exercises use other muscle groups (not counting machines). So here's a leg loaded full body workout you can do at home or at the gym. Use weights heavy enough that your arms get a good workout during the upper body and combination exercises while focusing on getting low into the Squats. Also don't forget to sit back during leg exercises with a straight line from knee to ankle and keep your knee behind your toes with your chest out. Do all 3 exercises in the group circuit style for set reps then rest and move to the next group after 30-60 sec.

Group 1) 3 sets of 10
Low Squats, Push Press, Bent Row

Group 2) 3 sets of 15
Squat to High Pull, Front Squat, RDL

Group 3) 3 sets of 10 (10 each Leg/Arm)
Lunge, Push Up, Renegade Row

Group 4) 3 sets of 12
Feet Elevated Hip Bridge, V-Up, Russian Twist

Remember form is key here so focus, activate your glutes and shed some fat

Lemon Cubes: A healthy time saver

By now most people know the benefits of drinking lemon water throughout the day. For those of you who don't know, here's a quick rundown of the benefits;

1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds. They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressure.

2. Balances pH: Drink lemon water everyday and you’ll reduce your body’s overall acidity.

3. Helps with weight loss: Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings.

4. Aids digestion: Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials.

5. Is a diuretic: Lemons increase the rate of urination in the body, which helps purify it. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.

6. Clears skin: The vitamin C component helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well. It can actually be applied directly to scars to help reduce them.

7. Freshens breath: Not only this, but it can help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis.

8. Relieves respiratory problems: Warm lemon water helps get rid of chest infections and halt those pesky coughs.

9. Keeps you zen: Vitamin C is one of the first things depleted when you subject your mind and body stress.

10. Helps kick the coffee habit: After having a glass of hot lemon water, Most people actually don’t crave coffee in the morning.

Now normally people who do this need big just of water to put the lemons but that can tedious so here's a stylish way you can add for yourself or when you have guests over and it's super easy.

Take a small/average size cupcake pan. Slice up some lemons. I suggest just a wedge or 1/8 of a lemon in each one. Fill each one with water and put the pan in the freezer. Half hour later and tada, trendy lemon cubes that can fit in normal glasses and still look nice. Also this works with cucumbers which if you saw the movie OTHER GUYS “The cucumber accents the water in such a way that..." which also has similar health benefits to lemon water.

Tip: Grind the used lemon rinds in your garbage disposal to help deodorize it.

Tip: Warm lemon water has the best effect but cold is still efficient.

Food For Thought: Veggie Chicken Stir Fry

This is a great meal for a busy night--for some added fun, leave the forks in the cabinet and bring out the chopsticks! 148 CALORIES

Veggie Chicken Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS
1 T low-sodium soy sauce
1 t hoisin sauce
1 c warm water
1 T cornstarch
1 t peanut or olive oil
1 t garlic, minced
1 t ginger, minced
1 t Thai hot sauce
2 c mushrooms, sliced
2 c broccoli slaw or chopped broccoli
1 c carrots, shredded
1 red pepper, roasted
2 c chicken breasts, cooked and cubed


DIRECTIONS
Makes 4 servings

1. Combine the soy sauce, hoisin, water, and cornstarch in a small bowl.

2.Stir to combine; set aside.

3.In a flat bottomed pan or wok set to high heat, add the oil, garlic, ginger, and Thai hot sauce.

4.Stir fry for 1 minute. Add the vegetables and chicken.

5. Stir fry, moving all ingredients in the wok quickly for 3-4 minutes. Add prepared sauce and continue to cook until the liquid thickens.

6.Serve with brown rice or rice noodles.

Number of Servings: 4

NUTRITIONAL FACTS
FAT: 2.3g
CHOLESTEROL: 41.0mg
SODIUM: 265.3mg
CARBS: 12.7g
DIETARY FIBER: 2.7g
PROTEIN: 18.9

Know Your Trainer: Buyers Guide to Personal Training

Knowing what your trainer is good at and capable of is almost as important as knowing your own goals. Like my mission statement says, the fitness industry is flooded with a ton of junk. Sadly a lot of that falls onto trainers too. Now everyone and their mother (literally in some cases) think they're trainers almost as much as girls who take pics of themselves on facebook call themselves models. But back to the point, there's ALOT of trainers, and most fall into categories. If your a trainer, read over them and see which one you fall into for giggles and if your a client point out which ones you've seen at your gym. Here we go;