Practical Fitness Blog

Developing and maintaining healthy eating habits can be challenging when you love food as much as I do! Food plays a central role in my life. One of my favorite ways to unwind and enjoy the company of my friends and family is to have a nice home-cooked meal. The hard part? Making food that promotes good health, has great flavor, and doesn’t require too much fuss in the kitchen.

So this post will be the first of many where I’ll share some of the dishes that I’ve developed to marry those goals. This recipe for turkey and veggie meatballs is probably the most requested meal/recipe that I get from my friends. It’s got lots of great flavors and nutrition going on. The turkey gives you lean protein without a lot of extra fat, while the onion, spinach, and mushrooms provide additional fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The vegetables also do a great job in keeping the meatballs moist and soft throughout, so you don’t get dried-out, tough meatballs out of the oven.

The recipe and some serving suggestions after the jump…
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You may hear or read that resistance training (for muscle development) and cardiovascular exercise (for improved circulatory health and aerobic calorie burn) are mutually exclusive. Many people believe that while lifting weights will make you stronger and improve your muscle mass and tone, you’ll have to hop on a treadmill or bike for an aerobic workout. The answer to combining your lifting and cardio? Circuit training! More about the details of this resistance training suggestion after the jump…
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Have you noticed over the last few years that there’s been some serious marketing going on for eating eggs? My favorite commercial currently is the one featuring Luke Myers (world-class Sport Stacker), shown here. The slogan goes, “If you want to BE incredible, EAT incredible [edible eggs].” Pretty snazzy! Let’s talk a little more about how “incredible” eggs are and some ideas to spice up one of my favorite healthy meals: the scrambled egg omelette!
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Looks like my article on basic weight training moves has been featured in a couple of blog carnival issues this week. Both FitBuff.com and Weight Master have included this post in their most recent blog carnival issues. These two blogs are also great resources for learning about leading a healthy, active lifestyle.

Thanks to Fitbuff.com and Weight Master for their support!

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Figuring out what weightlifting exercises to do during your workout is only part of the equation. (You can get some ideas from this post, if you like.) How many times should you perform each move? How long do you rest between sets of exercises? How much weight should you be lifting?

The answers will vary based on your workout goals. (Are you trying to add more muscle mass? Looking to improve the tone and shape of your muscles?) Keep on reading for some general guidelines about sets, reps, and weight that I use when planning my workout routines.
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Portion control is not a personal strength. I am definitely someone who can sit down in front of the TV with a jumbo bag of chips and end up inadvertently eating the whole thing by the end of my show. The worst part about that event is not that I’ve probably blown a day’s worth of calories and fat in one sitting, but that I don’t really remember what I ate and might still feel hungry!

To help prevent this kind of caloric catastrophe, I’ve learned a few tricks in enforcing portion control and holding myself more accountable to what I consume. Keep reading to learn more about these portion control tips.
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My first time at the gym, I was intimidated and overwhelmed by all of the different exercise machines, benches, and free weights in front of me. There are so many muscles in your body, and so many different ways to workout each of those muscle groups, it’s no wonder that gyms have such a wide variety of options for their patrons. Unfortunately, for those of us just beginning to explore the gym, all these choices make the gym seem less than “user friendly.”

This post focuses on describing some basic resistance training moves, and includes the muscle groups targeted by each exercise. If you are a new member at the local recreation center, reading up on these exercises will give you a good starting off point for planning out a good weight training regimen. And if you’re a bona fide gym rat, this article might be a helpful refresher in getting “back to basics” when it comes to lifting.  

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