Erin Stern's 4 Week Trainer- Recap Week 3!

Week 3 Complete and a lesson in Post Workout Recovery!

I have been diligently taking BCAA's and P90X Rest and Recovery after my intense workouts. For some crazy reason on the beginning half of this week they seemed to elude my memory banks as a necessity. I can assure you that will not be happening again for a long time. By Thursday morning I was spent.... my legs were failing me while teaching a Pump class and sore doesn't really cover how I felt! Thankfully the rest of my Thursday was filled with yoga classes so I got lots of opportunities to stretch. Upon coming home late that evening I crawled into the tub and then into bed. After a very deep sleep I woke up completely refreshed and ready to go....  I had a yoga class in the morning then managed to hit a double workout as I had missed one earlier in the week. My legs were still not a 100% but Friday was all upper body. Chest, Shoulder x 2 and arms. The following day was the true test- "Leg Day" I gotta tell ya' I was very nervous about my legs holding up for the plyo workout! As luck would have it one of my regulars that attends my Pump and Spin classes was at the gym that morning so I recruited her to join me for my leg workout. Therefore I knew there would be no cutting corners and no complaining! Well it worked and we both nailed the workout! Yeah to workout buddies!

Inspired this morning I decided to grab my tape measure. It appears in the past three weeks without making any other changes then adding in this workout I have lost 1/2" in all areas of my body. Chest, waist, hips, thighs and even biceps! I was pretty excited about that! One more week to go......

Erin Stern's Program

P90X Rest and Recovery

Y-Von's Paleo Approved Potato Soup

3 Large Sweet Potatoes Diced into cubes
1 med yellow onion
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, peeled and chopped
5 tsp jarred garlic, minced
1 1/2 containers of chicken stock or broth
2 Tbls of coconut or almond flour
1/2 c almond milk
Salt, pepper
optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, green onions

Add potatoes, onion,carrots, celery, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.
Cook on high for 6-8 hours
Add the flour, almond milk and non dairy cheese(if you choose). If your soup is really thick add a bit more stock to the mix. If you have an immersion blender you can blend right in your slow cooker. I usually use my food processor. I blend 3/4 and then mix it back in with the rest.
Stir well, top with your choice of garnishes & enjoy!

Y-Von's Potato Soup

5lbs of potatoes ( I mix about 1-2 of sweet then the rest russet) Diced into 1" cube
1 med yellow onion
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, peeled and chopped
5 tsp jarred garlic, minced
2 containers of chicken stock or broth
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz Greek yogurt
Salt, pepper 
optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, green onions

Add potatoes, onion,carrots, celery, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.
Cook on high for 6-8 hours 
Add the cream cheese and Greek yogurt. If you have an immersion blender you can blend right in your slow cooker. I usually use my food processor. Mike likes his lumper so he mashed it all?! It depends on the consistency you want. I blend 3/4 and then mix it back in with the rest. 
Stir well, top with your choice of garnishes & enjoy!

Coconut Crusted Pork Chops

Ingredients:

3 - 4 pork chops 

2/3 cup Ground almond meal 

2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

3 Tbls of Coconut Thai Spice  (Bulk Barn) 

Grind some black pepper

In a separate bowl 

One egg white 

1/4 cup of water 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the egg/water mixture together in a separate bowl. Add all dry ingredients in together I use a large plate with sides so I can get the whole of the pork chop in there. Dredge the pork chop through the egg/water bowl then cover with the dry ingredient mixture. Place in a roasting pan uncovered and cook for 15-35 mins depending in the size of your chops

Use any style of fruity salsa as a topping. This time I chose to experiment with a cucumber salsa and yum! A definite winner!

Cucumber Salsa Recipe is from All-Recipes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cool-cucumber-salsa/

Erin Stern's 4 Week Trainer- Recap Week 2!

Week 2 complete!!! Most of the moves from week one are repeated through week 2 with the odd exception. Due to my teaching BodyPump classes my shoulders are taking a killing with 2 shoulder workouts included in this program and 2 with my classes! Thankfully shoulders is one of my fave body parts to train. I find especially with women that shoulders tend to not get the attention they deserve. If your going to kill yourself building up those triceps and biceps you need a gorgeous shoulder cap to top it all off! After all rumour is tank top season should be coming soon!

Yesterday I completed the "Plyo Leg Day" with no add-on's! It's a great endurance workout and really gets that heart rate up there. If I didn't have additional leg work throughout the week I personally would add in a second leg day!

If you give this program a try I would love to hear about your experience! 

A Fitness Page doesn't = Fitness Expert!

   There are many of us out there who are like me that love to share our journey and our passion for health and wellness. Each one my have their own speciality and actually be a subject expert on a certain topic. For many pages it's just average Joes and Janes sharing and using their journey to encourage others. Although it is a wonderful compliment to have people reaching out by asking for advice and opinions please be cautious who you are going to for that advice and opinion! Yes I am certified yoga instructor and I'm happy to provide some ideas on general add in to your practice, moves that will help with tight areas etc. I have recently been receiving messages involving actual injuries, people in the process of recovering, chronic pain issues asking for advice. This is where I become scared! Myself personally I will message back and always with a bucket load of my own questions and they will always include- Have you spoken to your doctor? Have you seen physio? What was their recommendations? Etc, etc.... My fear is this is your health and well-being! It isn't possible for anyone to be able to provide truly helpful beneficial information without having actually spoken to the individual, qualified them with a dozen to hundred questions and partnered with other medical experts if necessary. Please be wary of where you going for your health and fitness questions! Ask yourself, is the person your speaking to able and qualified to help you?! Free advice could come at a HUGE cost to your health and wellness!

On a side note* This post is not to discourage your messages because I truly do love hearing from you! When you do send those question expect that you will be receiving several questions back?! There's no quick, easy answers out there! Stay healthy!

Erin Stern's 4 Week Trainer- Week One

For the month of March I decided to challenge myself a little further as I was missing my time in the weight room. I decided to check out the FREE training programs available through Bodybuilding.com and came across Erin Stern's program that was a perfect fit with my already busy schedule and the timeframe of 4 weeks that I was able to commit too. 

Saturday was my last workout of week one and I loved all the workouts! I am a personal trainer and sometimes it is nice to have someone else tell you what to do so this program worked perfectly. Added bonus was trying new moves I haven't done before! I always love learning something new and have already included some of them in my private training sessions. Saturday was another introduction to a new idea for me a Plyo Leg Day! This was a unique experience as I am very much the lift heavy person on leg day. I was definitely tired at the end of each plyo round but I was still unsure that I had done enough to annihilate leg day so I did complete a few weighted exercises and once I was satisfied it was home time. It appears Plyo Leg Day's are sneaky.... upon attempting to jump a puddle I found my legs didn't really want too. In the evening and parts of the next day I had my moments of wishing we lived in a rancher. I would definitely say it was a success and I am committing to completing the workout as written in the program to really get an idea of the end result! Of all the workouts my favourite from last week was "Back" for sure. It's one of those super important body parts that most of us don't spend enough time on it and I liked the creativity of the workout! 

Here is the link if you would like to check out the program further..... 

Erin Stern's 4 Week Trainer