A Contributor Post: Inclines, Protein Bars and Abs

I have decided that having Mal do a post every Monday is a great way to start you week. Most people "cheat" on the weekends and use Monday as the day to get back on track. This post from Mal has a lot of great ideas to start your week off healthy! So here ya go:

 
 

Pic found via Pinterest

I've seen a lot of this at the gym lately and I just want to make sure everyone is aware.... When you put the treadmill on a steep incline and then proceed to hold on to the top of the treadmill... You are no longer walking at an incline. You are walking on a flat surface while giving your forearms a little workout.  If that is the goal, great. But there is great fitness that comes from incline work so why not get the most out of it? First of all, let go of the treadmill. If you can't keep up, slow down the speed. When I do inclines I try and think about taking longer strides and squeezing my butt with each step. You can even get your arms going too. But don't you dare hold on to the treadmill.  :)

Another thing that kills me to watch is someone who is obviously trying to make healthy choices but is downing a sugary, chemical-filled "protein" bar. There are A LOT of bad protein bars on the market with lots of tricky little sayings on the wrappers to make you think they are healthy. There are also a lot of good ones. So how do you know? Read the label. Below are some nutrition facts to three different bars. One of them is a Snickers.

Bar A: 410 Calories, 12g fat, 5g saturated fat, 28g sugar
Bar B: 300 Calories, 8g fat, 4g saturated fat, 25g sugar
Bar C: 250 calories, 12g fat, 4.5 saturated fat, 27g sugar

Which one is the "candy" bar? They all look eerily similar.... Bar A is a Met-RX Big 100 Colossal Protein Bar, Bar B is a ProMax Protein Bar and Bar C is the Snickers. Take away the protein and these bars are honestly just glorified candy with actually a ton more artificial sweeteners and ingredients. And some have a TON of calories! If you are just using these as snacks, they could definitely put you over your calorie limit.

When I am trying to find a good protein bar there are a couple things I always look for. First, I see how many ingredients are in the bar. The fewer ingredients the better. When the list goes on and on you know there are going to be a lot of nasty chemicals you don't want in your body. Second, I look at the sugar. For those of you that know me, you know I love my sugar. But if I am going to have it I would much rather have it in the form of ice cream, cake, and chocolate rather than a protein bar. So I try and make sure my protein bars have less than 5g. Don't forget to look at the sugar alcohols as well. While they don't have as much of an effect on your blood sugar, they do have an effect on your stomach and can cause gas and bloating.

I have found that Quest bars are my favorite and most reliable protein bar. They have a ton of different flavor options, low sugar, and a very short ingredient list. If you are in the market for a good protein bar, I would definitely recommend Quest bars. My favorite is the Apple Pie. It has little apple chunks in it and it is just freakin good...

Last but not least I would like to leave you with an awesome little ab workout I did last week courtesy of gppfitness.com. I am just getting over the nasty flu so this was the perfect workout to get me back into the swing of things.

Killer Abs
3 rounds for time:

35 v-twists (Right and left equals 1) You can use a medicine ball or a light weight dumbbell
35 sit-ups on a stability ball with your feet anchored under something heavy
35 weighted superman back extensions (I held a small 8lb dumbbell)
250 m Row
35 v-ups
35 kettle bell swings (I used a 25lb kettle bell)
35 tick tocks Right and Left (I used a 25lb kettle bell)
35 box jumps

For movement demos visit gppfitness.com!