The Quads get a lot of flack. Most of which is false information.  But once you learn how important this muscle group is to your weight loss and muscle toning regimen, you will agree that all the negativity is largely unfounded.  As their name suggests, your quadriceps consist of 4 muscles: the rectus femoris, vastus medialis,vastus lateralis and vastus intermedius.  While it isn't super important to remember the names, (that's us Trainers job!) you should know this: The quads are your lower body's powerhouse.  They provide the force for every activity you do, whether you are walking, running, or just getting up and down from the floor. Having stronger quads will also lower your risk of injury, including those of the ankle and knee.  Whats more, recent research has found that having stronger muscles in the pelvic girdle for women & men can help prevent ACL injuries.  The trouble is that many women aren't devoting enough time to training this muscle group for fear of "bulking up".  But you can safely put this myth to rest...here's how.  Because the upper leg muscles and glutes are together the largest muscles in the body, they play a much larger role in fat loss when they are trained.  Although you can't spot reduce,  you can spot "improve" and by strengthening your legs will boost muscle gains, which will raise your BMR - basal metabolic rate - boost the rate that you burn calories all day long, which in turn, accelerate allover body fat loss.  That is what we are looking here for, ladies, body fat loss...and the toning and firming of the muscles you have, not water and muscle loss by dieting only.  As a TRX & bodyweight exercise specialist, circuit and interval training utilizing these major muscles are the way to go to lose body fat and even attack that stubborn belly fat!  Two of my favorite leg exercises that tighten and tone the legs and glutes are lunges (walking with weights, or on the TRX suspension cords), squats with body weight on the TRX or with resistance on a cable machine) Call to action, ladies! If anyone in my area would like to sample a 30 minute lower body blast for FREE, please give me a call/text message (i am in merrimack valley area, MA (haverhill), and the first 5 people to sign up receive a Free fitness consultation (1.5 hour worth $60.)  For more info and my phone number, check out my website at mroofe.com  and come on over and lets have some fun!

Beat the heat & your craving for a frozen dessert with this clean, summer-perfect ice pop!

Protein Smoothie Ice Pop - ready in 10 minutes (plus 30 min freezing time), makes 10 servings


2 cups plain, low fat yogurt
2 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder
2 cups of frozen berries
1/2 cup agave nectar

1. place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender.  Process until just combined.

pour mixture into ice-pop molds. Freeze. Enjoy!

Protein Smoothie Pop  vs. Vanilla soft-serve ice cream


calories - 90 vs 191
total fat - 1gram vs 11 grams
saturated fat - 0.5 g vs. 6 g
sugars - 12g vs. 18 g
Cholesterol - 5 mg  vs. 78 mg
sodium - 45 mg  vs. 52 mg
protein - 6 g vs. 4 g
total carbs - 13 g vs. 19 g

This is my "bodyweight" fat burner of the month workout....no equipment necessary! This can be done in bits and pieces and work your way up to the full workout guidelines. (that is what im going to try to do too!)  Here it is (it aint for the faint of heart either!)

Repeat exercises in the order listed 5 times, with 1 minute rest in between exercises. Have fun with this one! Get ready to sweat!!! 

1. 30 jumping jacks
   
2. 10 push ups (on knees or regular if you can)
3. 25 high knees jog in place
4. 7 Burpees (back in 1970-80s we called these squat thrusts)
5. 15 AB crunches
6. 10 jumping squats
7. 10 push ups
8. 15 AB crunches
9. 10 push ups
10. 10 jump squats
11. 30 jumping jacks
12. 1 minute wall sit (knees behind your toes!)
13. 10 push ups
14. 25 high knee jogs

COLLAPSE/BREATHE/DRINK WATER and REPEAT 4 more times!!! 
Remember, slowly work your way up to it, for this is tough for most people, but its excellent for those who need to lose body fat & lose weight and increase their functional training endurance and bodyweight strength.  If you have a chair or bench handy, i would add tricep dips in there too so we can blast those jiggly underarms!  If any of you ladies would like to be coached thru this workout, call me and we can set up a small group training workout together that would save you money! Have fun! Melanie 978-994-0498