If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.
— Anna Kaiser
The majority of us spend anywhere from three to ten hours - or more - being active and working out every week. Why not develop a skill and get better at something while you are getting the best full-body workout?
From a lifestyle standpoint, for every workout that you do, give yourself $5 to buy a piece of clothing to inspire your next workout.
Your core is the center of your entire body - everything else is an extension - so you want to make sure you're strong in your entire core and not just part of it.
The side plank and plank jumping jacks are all really great; just be sure to hold that naval to the spine as hard as you can. As for reps, do as many as you can and try for more on your next workout. If you can only do five on Tuesday, make sure you do six or seven on Wednesday. The only rule? Never go back to five! Always continue pushing forward.
Veggies and fruit are known to harbor bacteria, and so your body naturally wants to avoid them. I used to beat myself up about trying to get enough fresh food and protein like I did before getting pregnant. But then I resigned myself to the fact that my body is going to crave what it needs.
You cut up a piece of fruit, peel it, put it on a dish, and top it with something fun, and it feels like a real snack, instead of just walking down the street while peeling an orange and eating it: you're not actually taking a minute to enjoy that snack.
Some great soups are filling and warm. So, at the four o'clock hour, when people are craving caffeine and a cookie, soup is a really great option because it fills you up and feels like a meal, so it can keep you going until dinner, but it's not hugely caloric.
I knew that my career in dance would come to an end at some point, and transitioning into a career in fitness was a natural progression.
I love working out at AKT. I will jump into one of my instructor's classes, hold a secret session with friends, or jam it out with my team, five days per week, 60-90 minutes each day.
One meal option is a piece of poached chicken the size of your fist with a green salad sprinkled with lemon juice, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and celery. Another is a cup and a half of quinoa with minced veggies, all cooked at once so the quinoa absorbs the nutrients.
If I have my breakfast after my workout, I'll do a shaker with whey protein, chia, greens powder, and maca. When I get out, I'll put ice in the shaker with coconut water, shake it, and have it for breakfast.
I love giving myself and my clients gold stars every day that they've completed a workout - it feels really good.
Sleep more. I don't think anyone understands how important it is. If you have a choice where you've only been sleeping five or six hours and can sleep an extra hour or work out, sleep an extra hour.
There's nothing that helps clear my mind and improve my mood more than sweating in a room with my friends to some amazing new music and feeling stronger and taller every time I walk out. It's truly incredible. I'm addicted. And the results aren't half bad, either.
I will make a ton of meat and fish and poultry on Sunday and then again on Wednesday. It's not always easy to get protein if you don't prepare in advance.
Fashion is really our armor in the world.
If you only focus on your abdominal wall, your back isn't going to be as strong, and so there's going to be an imbalance in your body. You want them to be strong together and work together, and not have one overcompensate.
I always say eat everything, but eat it in moderation. I don't like to inhibit anyone.
Everyone has a different opinion when it comes to caffeine during pregnancy. I work full time, and with the extreme exhaustion pregnancy brings, I need a little boost a couple of times a day. On days when I can't stomach coffee, green tea has also proven to be very helpful and soothing.
One of my pet peeves in athleisure today is clothes that make a woman feel square and one-dimensional.
A heart rate monitor is very important because every day is different. Sometimes you may have a ton of energy, and other days you may not, but you can hold yourself accountable for knowing how hard you're working by having a very specific goal to work toward.
Our skin is the largest organ and one of the ways we eliminate waste.
Cardio should remain low-impact at first. You can gradually kick up the intensity. Interval training is a great way to incorporate short bouts of strength and cardio efficiently, too.
As I get older, I think about the quality of my life and a balanced way to enjoy that. That's true wellness - being well from inside out.
I wake up in the morning and drink my Essentia water first. I keep a liter by my bed. If I get up in the middle of the night, I can just grab it. I try to drink a liter before 10 A.M. The water rehydrates me after sleeping for eight hours.
The most important tip is to find a workout that you love - one that you're excited to go to. And do it with a group of friends. That's one of the reasons I created Happy Hour. It's effective, but it's also really fun to dance together under a disco ball.
I don't think that anyone should be working out more than 60 to 90 minutes, four to five days a week.
Dance has been a driving force in my life for 25 years. From music videos and hip hop, to jazz and musical theater, to ballet and classic modern dance, I have had extensive exposure to a variety of techniques that inspire my own electric style.
Soreness is not something you should always look for. It's good once in a while: it means you are pushing back on plateaus. But just because you aren't sore doesn't mean you aren't working hard.
You don't always want to go do the same thing day after day because your body, as well as your mind, is not going to be as stimulated. You're not going to want to work as hard or be as motivated.
If you want to see your abs, you have to lose fat. I want to be sure there are no misconceptions that specific abs exercises will give you abs! I work with the core. Think about your abs and back working together to support your spine - that will give you an amazing physique!
Pregnancy has been a huge lesson in patience and in allowing myself to be open to whatever the day may hand me.
Just because your body is losing inches doesn't mean you're losing weight or vice versa. It's not about the weight: it's about building lean muscle, which is going to increase your metabolism and then allow you to lose weight quicker.
Soup is really easy to make: you can take basil, celery, acorn squash and boil them and then put them in the blender with sea salt. It's delicious and only takes about 15 minutes. You can make it the night before. It's kind of like making baby puree, and there are a ton of super easy recipes.
When you're hypermobile, it's easy to think your muscles are flexible, but your flexibility is really around your joints and not your muscles.
When I'm traveling, I always make sure to fit in a good daily AKTread session. And, of course, a day off every week.
It's important to work slowly and intelligently in your strength work before revving up the intensity. Start with deep diaphragmatic breathing to reengage and reconnect with your abdominals.
Caffeine is hard on an empty system, so I try not to do it unless it's to get my heart rate up. If you drink caffeine 15 minutes before the workout, it can make it more effective. So I'll do tea or coffee after breakfast.
Workouts, for me, are more about stress relief and having more energy to do the things I need to do. That's a much healthier way of approaching exercise. All of those other things will come if you commit to it. It really is about being a happy person.
Dance classes are not designed to be workouts - they're designed to teach skill.
You can tell if you feel like you are unable to recover from the workout you had. It's still hard to breathe. You don't have energy. You are sore instantly. You just can't seem to get enough water. Then it's too hard.
