Trainer Jo's NO MERCY Legs 1 (not for the novice)

Hey guys, here is a leg routine for you to try sometime. It is intense, so make sure you eat & hydrate well before attempting it. There are two parts to this workout; one is an intense interval routine, followed by 3 traditional leg exercises targeting your glutes, hams and quads

You will need access to the following
- Leg press machine
- 25 lb Olympic plate
- yoga or exercise mat
- interval stop watch or timer (if you have an iPhone, download the app called "Rounds"- you can set it for multiple intervals, with time between each interval).
- water and towel

Set your interval timer for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds between each interval to give you enough time to transition from exercise to exercise. You will be doing a total of 5 different exercises.

Exercise 1 (30 sec) - Leg presses (first set, no weight- just the weight of the sled)

Rest/transition (10 sec)

Exercise 2 (30 sec)- Crunches with 25lb plate on chest

Rest/transition (10 sec)

Exercise 3 (30 sec)- Split jumps

Rest/transition (10 sec)

Exercise 4- Superman planks

Rest/transition (10 sec)

Exercise 5 (30 sec)- Squat jumps

REST 2-4 minutes..or as long as it takes to get your heart rate down. For those of you who are just starting out, you may only be able to one round of this. For your more advanced trainers, set your goal to finish 5 rounds, the proceed to the leg workout

LEG WORKOUT

Single leg presses
- On leg press, aim for 10-20 reps, depending on your strength. Guys add weight so you can get a good set out of 10-20 reps.

Reverse Barre Lunges (3 sets of 10- 20 reps)
- Stand with your feet directly under the barre, both hands on the bar in front of you
- with the opposite leg, begin to go back into a reverse lunge, but do not let your foot rest on the ground behind you.
- you should end up in a reverse lunge position but with only your front foot on the floor, all your weight on your heel (so you really feel it in your glute) and your torso should be completely upright with your head directly above your torso, arms straight holding on to the bar (which is preventing you from falling all the way backwards).
- Your knee should also be directly above your heel. to make this exercise more effective, the fulcrum of the entire exercise should be on your knee. From your foot to your knee, should never move, pivoting on your knee, feeling the tension on your glute.
- make sure your other toe never touches the ground behind you.

Side Lunges w/ 25-lb plate. (3 sets of 10- 20 reps per side. Finish one side at a time. Do not alternate)
- start with a sumo squat position
- lunge towards one side, making sure you knee does not go over your toe
- push off with heel back to start position... repeat.


Stationary lunges w/ 25-lb plate. (3 sets of 10- 20 reps per leg. Finish one side at a time, Do not alternate.)
- stay in lunge position
- your legs should all bend to form right angles when you lunge down
- try to keep the tension on your glute, but pushing off with your front heel

A hot potato or a cold one?

Past few years, carbs have been demonized by a segment of the weight loss community that promotes low carb diets. But if you are active in vigorous exercise, you don't want to sacrifice your carbs because it will compromise your workout, therefore your results.

In the fitness modeling community, yams and sweet potatoes are rendered as one of the best carbs to eat to prevent insulin spikes and blood sugar drops. Potatoes, depending on how you prepare them, can range from high glycemic all the way to the low end.

First off, know that on the high end, baked russett potatoes take the prize
Surprisingly, boiled then chilled yams win on the low end ! ! No wonder a baked potato leaves you hungrier than sweet potatoe salad.


Here's a easy & tasty way to try yams

Boil yams until they are tender, cut them up into 1/2 inch slices. (don't remove the skin)
Spritz with grapeseed oil and sprinkle with Truvia and Cinnamon
Chill for an hour

wow...... quick and painless. No need to reheat. And for the sake of it's glycemic rank, you won't want to reheat them !!!