Foam Rolling 101
Foam rolling (also known as, self myofascial release-SMR) is actually a HUGE part of any workout, and is a crucial component to your warm up. So why foam roll?? Well when we exercise or do any sort of repeatitve movement our muscles shorten and tighten up. In order to have a full range of motion, proper flexibility, proper strength production we need to ensure these muscles go back to their original length. Whether youre a dancer, runner, or weight lifter if your muscles are too tight or short they will cause problems!
Foam Rolling 101:
1. Get the tools of the trade, a hard roller, a trigger point ball for the trickier spots (or lacrosse ball works well)2. When you foam roll you place the tool along the muscle roll until you feel an area of discomfort or pain and then HOLD. The biggest mistake is to roll back and forth over it, you need to apply pressure for about 30-60s before the muscle will release at all! There are receptors in your muscle that only respond to sustained pressure, these are the ones which cause the muscle to relax!
3. Repeat! Day in day out, before a workout followed by a dynamic warm up (movement based not static stretching) & after a workout.
Some key areas a lot of people find tight:
1. Hips and glutes (butt). Lay on your side with foam roller placed under side glute hip area. Find the spot, hold 30-60s or until the pain lessens. I often use the ball to get into the deep glutes
2. Calves (or baby cows, as I refer to them), place ball under calf in the belly of the muscle, put our body weight on it and hold. This one kills me, my poor cows are so tight all the time.
3. Latissimus Dorsi, aka the lats. Lay on your side, with the roller under the arm and relax your weight onto the roller, and move so you're laying on it more than pictures too.
4. Upper Traps, this is a serious area of tightness for most people, especially when you sit or use a computer. Lay on the ball with it on either side of your spine (not directly on the spine!) and when you find the spot hold it. Works best on the ground so the ball doesn't bounce away
5. Pectoralis major. Again when you sit a lot you tend to round the shoulders and the pecs shorten up. Place ball between pec and the wall, its a bit close to the armpit, hold it their and let it relax.
Recipe: Shrimp Tacos
Fact: Tacos are the BOMB. No one can argue with that, and my favourite type are shrimp tacos. I've had this recipe under my belt for 4 years and it never gets old. I probably make it once a month. SO GOOD.
Ingredients:
1lb shrimp
1-2 peppers
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 lime
Spices: 2 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp chilli powder
1. Heat olive oil at medium in pan, add in peppers, onions, and all spices. Add shrimp in and sautee until done. Add fresh squeezed lime on top
2. Get tortilla, load up with the mixture, add some fresh tomatoes and top off with fresh homemade guacamole
3. ENJOY!
Kimono
Outfit: Romper-Forever 21, Shoes-Winners, Kimono-Noul, Bag-Vintage, Rings- Noul, oak and fort and vintage
When its hot and muggy here in the summer it can make getting dressed a little tricky. What I want to be able to do is layer, but usually layers means more clothes and more clothes means more heat. Thats why this little kimono from Noul has been a godsend, its so lightweight and goes with everything. Like this floral romper, also made out of chiffon like material for those hot hot summer nights. Best part of rompers, is they make your legs look so long and at 5 2 I will take full advantage of that! I cant wait to pack this one up for my vacation later this summer.
Outdoor Workout, Round 2
1. Side Plank Dips
Ensure hips are level, can be on one forearm or from hand as in the photo. Extend the other arm overhead or have it resting on hip. Lower hip down and contracting obliques bring hip back up. Repeat 10x per side
2. Plank Taps
plank from hands, ensure you are level from head to toes. Core is tight and glutes are contracting, put weight into one hand and tap opposite shoulder. Try your best not to shift weight between hips, keep them level! Go back and forth between shoulders. 10 taps per side
3. Up downs.
This one is great for the shoulders, start from a high plank position and lower yourself onto your forearms and then back into a high plank position. You can do this from your knees also! 5 per side
4. 1 leg glute bridge.
Laying on your back, 1 leg on the ground close to your bum and squeeze your bum to lift your hips up. Lower back down slow and controlled. 10x per leg.
5. Jumping Jacks.
Ensure that when you're jumping, knees do not fall in. 20x
Repeat this circuit 4-5x, resting 1 minute between sets.
Fit Weekends
The weekends are meant for many things: Brunching, sleeping in, catching up with friends & being active. Weekends are a great time to get out and try those things that you dont have time to do during the week. This weekend why dont you:
1. Run some stairs with friends. Swap out your brunching with friends to stairs with friends! Or stairs then brunch, burn off the eggs bennies before you even get em.
2. Go explore your city via bicycle. There is something so great about getting to see a different side of your city when you see it on bike. Map out your trails and pit stops along the way!
3. Do an outdoor workout. Its summertime might as well enjoy it before its over, there are lots of circuits that dont need any equipment
4. Try something new: Golf, a spin class, an outdoor boot camp, hiking, go rock climbing (we did that last weekend, SO fun).
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