I heart avocado toast. It's one of my go-to breakfasts during the week. My 4-year-old daughter even digs it. But rather than just putting mashed avocado on toast, it takes practically no time to add a fried egg and some tasty veggies, which keeps me satisfied all morning.
Here's how to take avocado toast to the next level:
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If you’re looking for a low-impact cardio workout—or just want to mix up your regular exercise routine—hop on the elliptical machine. The cardio equipment is almost guaranteed to be at your local gym and is a quick way to work up a serious sweat.
“My mantra for almost everybody is the same: the best cardio modality is the one that you’ll do,” says exercise physiologist Neal Pire, M.A., C.S.C.S., F.A.C.S.M.. And we couldn’t agree more. And while running, rowing, or stair climbing are all great workouts, too, sometimes you need to do you.
If you’re comparing it to running on a treadmill, you will naturally be expending less energy (and calories) because you don’t have to pick up your feet, explains Pire. But this actually gives the machine an edge if you’re looking for a cardio routine that’s easy on your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. Training on the elliptical is a weight-bearing workout, but it’s low impact on your body because you don’t strike the ground with every stride.
As with most gym equipment, if you’re not wearing a heart rate monitor, the exact calorie count may be a little off, so don’t read too much into them. However, you can burn as many calories on an elliptical as you do on a treadmill (and maybe even more), you just have to work harder to compensate for the fact that there’s no energy exertion from lifting your feet, Pire explains. As with most things, it all comes down to how hard you’re actually working. And if you’ve ever thought the elliptical isn’t hardcore try telling The Rock that—he even travels with his precious cardio machine.
To help you get in the zone, Annette Comerchero, founder of Elliptifit studio in Los Angeles, created a 20-minute, fat-burning elliptical workout. All you need to do is get on the machine and put in the work. But first, let’s talk form.
The workout utilizes high-intensity interval training for maximum efficiency: Since you’re raising and lowering your heart rate throughout the workout, you’ll continue to burn calories as your body tries to get back to its normal state after you step off.
You’re all set—now, time to channel your inner Rock with this fat-burning, heart-pumping elliptical workout.
Related: 5 Awesome Treadmill Workouts For Burning Fat
The post A Low-Impact Elliptical Workout That’ll Crush Calories appeared first on SELF.
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Stretching on the reg is great for improving your flexibility, and busting out a few feel-good moves after a workout can help prevent injury. (Remember, you want to do dynamic movements before a workout and static stretches after a training session.)
And while the benefits of stretching are mentioned at the beginning and end of almost every fitness class, it’s really easy to skip stretching entirely when training solo—knowing you need to stretch more and actually stretching more are two separate things. You’re even supposed to stretch on the days you’re not working out, but that always seems to be the thing that gets pushed to last when triaging your daily to-do list.
Related: 8 Small-Space Workouts That Burn Fat And Work Your Total Body
But it’s all about those baby steps, which is why doing this one feel-good and ridiculously simple stretch is a great place to start. The foldover stretch (also called a forward bend or fold) is one of our go-to, super-effective, G.O.A.T. stretches for better flexibility—it stretches your neck, back, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Basically it targets all of the areas that tend to feel achy, particularly after a long day of sitting. And while it’s a stretch you might have done before, you’ll definitely want to start doing it more often. Loosen up? Yes please! Here’s how to do it:
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Foldover Stretch
Tip: If you’re not comfortable reaching that far, bend knees more and/or place hands on elevated surface, like yoga blocks.
Related: 4 Workouts That Will Make You A Better Runner
The post An Easy Stretch For Relieving Tightness In Your Back, Butt, And Hamstrings appeared first on SELF.
My daughter was 9 months old when she had her first allergic reaction to food—scrambled eggs. Almost immediately, she began rubbing her lips and face uncontrollably. Helplessly, I watched as tiny pink hives began to appear all over her face. As a new mom, it was a terrifying experience. In hindsight, though, it was a relatively minor reaction compared to when she ate cashews and we had to rush her to the ER. And we would relive it again when some noodles at a restaurant made her lips swell. And then again when her little brother tried eggs for the first time.
You know what’s so great about running? It’s just putting one foot in front of the other. Speed? Nah. Whatever you can do is good enough. But if you’re looking to improve your speed, like everything else in life, you have to actively practice.
“Running can help improve coordination, flexibility, and speed, which are three very important bio-motor skills,” says Joe Holder, Nike+ Trainer, Nike Run Coach, and coach at S10 Training in New York City. “Proper programming and frequency of training will ensure you get faster because the body has no choice but to adapt.”
But you don’t (and shouldn’t!) do the same running routine over and over again. Mix things up with the workouts Holder created below and you’ll be setting all types of new personal records. And since it’s basically summer, put on your sneaks and head over to your local track to do these routines, just be sure to start each one with an easy-breezy one-mile jog to warm up your muscles.
Don’t forget…becoming a better runner isn’t just about running more—you also have to get real about your strength routine. So Holder created a runner-specific workout that will help to strengthen your butt, legs, and core, too.
You can start with any of the workouts below, but if you’re looking for a plan to follow here’s what Holder recommends:
Now let’s get to the workouts…
Graphic by Jocelyn Runice
The post 4 Workouts That Will Make You A Faster Runner appeared first on SELF.
When it comes to old faithful workout equipment, stair-climbing machines are at the top of the list. They’re totally no-frills, which makes them easy to use (even for beginners), but they can also give you a killer full-body workout.
“A stair climber is a great piece of equipment for anyone looking for an effective low-impact cardiovascular workout with the added benefits of a lower body resistance workout,” Idalis Velazquez, a certified personal trainer/online coach and C9 Champion ambassador, tells SELF. Hopping on this machine, even for just 30 minutes, can help you burn calories, boost your cardiovascular fitness, and firm up your entire lower body. Even your abs get a little love. “Your core also works hard to provide balance and stability every time you step without using the handles,” Velazquez explains.
It’s important, though, to make sure you’re climbing with proper form. “This machine is best for someone looking for a challenge and who is able to climb stairs pain free and upright,” Kate Bishop, a personal trainer with on-demand fitness app Find Your Trainer, tells SELF. “The danger lies in the tendency to lean forward and rest the upper body on the handles,” she says. This can prevent important muscles from engaging (read: your core) and lead to pore posture outside of the gym.
So make sure to stand up tall, and only use the handles for balance if necessary—no need to hold on for dear life, promise.
“This machine provides an effective glute-strengthening workout since it targets all the muscles that make up your butt and hips: the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus,” Velazquez explains. You hit all three of these muscles with a classic upward stepping motion.
Pro tip: Your stepping form can actually determine whether you’re mostly working those glutes or your quads. When you place your foot on the next step, focus on pushing through your heel to stand to activate the muscles along the backs of your legs, explains Velazques notes. “If you push with the balls of your feet, more tension will be placed on the frontal thigh (AKA your quads).”
In the workout below, she suggests a combination of different step variations to really target your butt and leg muscles from all angles—below are all the moves you need to know. During the warm-up and cool-down, walk up each step as if you were walking up a flight of stairs,” Velazquez says. Throughout the other stages of the workout, you can increase (or decrease) the intensity to whatever feels most comfortable for you by changing the speed at which you step.
Step-It-Up HIIT
Total time: 30 minutes
“Intervals on the stair climber will help improve your cardiovascular fitness and health,” Bishop says, while also toning muscles in your core, butt, and legs. She suggests doing long intervals, at three minutes each, to give your heart rate enough time to adjust to each stage before moving onto the next. For this workout you’ll be doing single steps and double steps as described above. Let’s get to it!
Stair-Climbing Speed Intervals
Total time: 43 minutes
The post 2 Ridiculously Effective Ways To Work Your Butt Using A Stair Climber appeared first on SELF.
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Bored to tears by that steady-state cardio? It’s time to mix up your treadmill routine. Whether you’ve got five minutes or 40, these treadmill workouts will break you out of any running rut and jumpstart weight loss with super-efficient intervals, if that’s a specific health and fitness goal you have.
Created for SELF by Bonnie Micheli and Tracy Roemer, the founders of Shred415, these routines incorporate challenging speed work, leg-burning inclines, and major creativity. Intense interval training routines are key for fat loss, because working out at high intensities creates an afterburn effect known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). That means you’ll continue to burn calories even after you hit the stop button as your body works restore its oxygen levels and return to its natural resting state.
Related: 8 Total-Body Moves That Will Kick Your Ass
If you can’t get to Chicago or St. Louis to try Micheli and Roemer’s cardio-meets-strength training class for yourself, put their workouts to work in your own gym. Here are five of their best treadmill workouts for weight loss:
Related: A 30-Minute Treadmill Workout That’ll Burn Fat In Overdrive
Graphic by Jocelyn Runice
Pre-game these efficient flat-road intervals with an easy three-to-five minute jog. Then do this simple circuit once, or repeat as many times as you’d like.
Graphic by Jocelyn Runice
During this rolling-hill run, you’ll walk the high hills and speed up on the lower ones, Micheli and Roemer explain. As the incline goes down, the pace goes up, so the walking intervals act as your recovery.
The post 5 Awesome Treadmill Workouts For Burning Fat appeared first on SELF.
