Avocado.  It’s the incredible, edible…fruit?  Yes, despite its creamy and somewhat savory flavor, avocado is actually a fruit.  And a darn good one too.

Its chock full of healthy fats, fiber, potassium, and vitamin E.  It’s also incredible versatile.

You’re probably very familiar with adding some avocado slices to your salad to beef it up a bit, or making some homemade guacamole to go with your free-range chicken and vegetables, but have you ever thought about avocado as a dessert?  Yes, a dessert!

Try these two awesome chocolate dessert recipes that are made extra delicious by adding avocado!

(Now don’t be nervous.  Most of the time you can’t even taste the avocado, but occasionally, if it’s super ripe, you may taste a hint, but it’s still amazing.  Trust me on this one!  I had the mousse last night for dessert!)

Mmmm…chocolate.

Chocolate Cinnamon Coconut “Mousse” (serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 medium ripe avocados

¼ cup light canned coconut milk

3 TBSP unsweetened dark cocoa powder

2 TBSP maple syrup or honey

2 TSP vanilla extract

2 TSP ground cinnamon

2 TBSP coconut flakes

Pinch sea salt

Directions:

Blend avocado (minus the pit and the skin) in a food processor until smooth and creamy.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until thoroughly mixed.  You may have to scrape the sides of the food processor occasionally.  At this point, you can further flavor or sweeten if desired.  Top with coconut flakes and enjoy immediately or refrigerate immediately.

So rich and so good!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake (serves 1)

Ingredients:

1/2 medium ripe avocados

½ cup light canned coconut milk or almond milk

2 scoops chocolate protein powder (This is our favorite!)

1 TBSP unsweetened dark cocoa powder

2 TBSP natural peanut butter

1 medium ripe banana (even better if frozen)

1 TSP vanilla extract

4 oz. water

Directions:

Blend all ingredients thoroughly in a blender until smooth.  Add some crushed ice for a thicker shake, and add more water for a thinner shake.  Enjoy immediately.

These rich desserts are not only delicious, but chock-full of tons of healthy ingredients.  Keep in mind they are also calorie dense, and are not meant for daily consumption, but an occasional treat!

Name:  Angel Stone

Age: Dirty 30′s

Location: Washington, D.C.

What does being a GGS mean to you?

• Acknowledging your fears then crushing them with your bare hands.
• Letting your light shine.
• Surrounding yourself with other shining lights.
• Forgiving yourself. Missing a workout or eating a giant cupcake isn’t disastrous. Negative self-talk is.
• Celebrating your strengths. If you’re funny, make people laugh, darn it. If you’re disciplined, inspire consistency in others.  If you’re a writer, start a blog. Seduce me with your vocabulary and your ability to use a semi-colon.

How long have you been training? 

Eight years of regular lifting. Four years of GGS lifting.

Favorite Lift: 

Power clean. Executed perfectly, it’s poetry in motion.

Most memorable PR:

10 consecutive chin ups

Top 5 songs on your training playlist: 

Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym/in your gym bag:

Ipod, ipod, ipod. It’s an extension of my arm.

Favorite post workout meal: 

Chocolate banana smoothie

Favorite way to treat yourself: 

Yoga retreats & sugar (not in that order)

Favorite quote: 

Never let it rest until your good is better than your best.

Favorite book:

The WillPower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal

What inspires and motivates you? 

I am inspired by opportunity. I am motivated by the possibilities.

Next training goal:

Become a yogi.

If you had to choose 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?

Passionate, curious, energetic.

What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous to start lifting heavy? 

Being nervous is natural. Not wanting to feel strong and sexy is not natural. Lift! Good things are in your future. I promise.

And for a little nutritional tip from Angel on broccoli ;-) Enjoy! 

Angel Stone is a fitness coach and cycling instructor. She has a Masters in Kinesiology and 10+ years of experience training clients. She is proud to be a brand ambassador for lululemon and a trainer for Nike. Outside of fitness, Angel is passionate about traveling the world, music, and making children smile. Follow her here:

Website: www.fitandhungry.com

Twitter: @angelrstone

Facebook: Fit & Hungry

The ladies of GGS preparing to get their “om” on together in a relaxing yoga class.

What would you say if I told you that there are 4 simple things you can do to look better, feel better, and be healthier overall, and NONE of them have anything to do with nutrition or exercise?  Would you believe me?  What if I told you that you could have all of those benefits if you simply did a better job managing your stress?

As we all should realize by now, the body is a system with a lot of moving parts.  I like to think of it like an assembly line, and I always picture the hilarious I Love Lucy episode where when one part of the assembly line is disrupted, and the whole thing turns into a big disaster.

The body is like an assembly line. If one part is out of whack, it affects everything else.

Luckily, with the human body, things don’t typically go awry that quickly, but you get the idea.  If you’re like most women I work with, you don’t prioritize stress management, and your sympathetic nervous system is primed all the time.  You basically exist solely in “fight or flight” mode.

You see, your body doesn’t differentiate between different types of stress, so the reactions to different stressors are similar.  For example, whether you’re late for a meeting, stuck in traffic, fighting with your spouse, or bouncing a check, your body reacts similarly to when you’re being held at gun point, or being chased by a predator.  Essentially, your body thinks you’re running from a lion trying not to get eaten ALL. DAY. LONG.

Your body thinks you’re running from this thing all day! (O_o) Umm…Yikes.

No wonder we are all exhausted.

Another important point to consider, is that we are the only animals who can create our own stress. We sit around all day worrying and stressing, often about things over which we have no control.  We allow ourselves to be overworked and underpaid, we say “yes” too often when we don’t want to, and we spread ourselves way too thin (yes… I am talking to YOU).  Check out this book for more information.

So what can you do about it?  Here are 4 tips:

1. Learn to relax.  Whenever you feel yourself getting worked up about anything, especially if you cannot control it, stop and take 10 deep breaths into your belly, and make sure they last at least 10-15 seconds each.  When you are done you will be more relaxed and focused, and hopefully have more perspective on the situation.  You can also turn the ringer off on your phone, and remove social media alerts from your phone as well.  Those constant distractions keep us primed and ready to go all day long.

2. Meditate.  Whether it’s prayer, deep breathing, or just lying down and listening to your favorite relaxing music, take 5 minutes, once or twice a day to clear your mind and relax.  It will be one of the most difficult, but important things you learn to do for yourself.  Even if you can’t get the hang of it at first, just lie still and breathe deeply.  You’ll feel instantly more calm.

3. Remove unnecessary stressors from your life!  Do you loathe chairing that one committee at your children’s school and dread every meeting?  Then step the heck down!  Let someone else do it who gets enjoyment from it.

Do you have one friend who always calls and just unloads all of their negativity on you and leaves you feeling icky?  Have a talk with them about their behavior and let them know that you care for them and want the friendship to fill you both up, not suck you dry.  Who knows?  You may be just the boost they need to make a change!

Commit to taking care of yourself, so that you can fulfill your responsibilities more fully and with more passion.  You might do less overall, but you’ll do it well!

4. Be filled with gratitude.  A couple of months ago, I had had a crazy day. I worked from 9 am until 11 pm, and I was incredibly cranky because our internet was slow at the gym and every assignment took twice as long to complete.  I was starving because I hadn’t eaten much that day, I felt work piling upon more work, and I felt like everyone wanted something from me.  I was about to lose my mind.  I packed up my stuff, got in my car and headed home.  On the way home, I started thinking about why I was so upset and I realized:

-  I had worked all day because our gym is slammed with new clients, effectively tripling my workload.

-  I was cranky about the internet being slow AT MY DREAM GYM THAT I CO-OWN.  Boo-freaking-hoo, right?

-  I was hungry at the moment, but my metabolism is healthy enough that I can go hours at a time without eating and not suffer adverse blood sugar reactions.  Plus I could have stopped at any one of the wonderful grocery stores within a 2 mile radius and gotten any type of food I desired with the money that was in my pocket.  Pretty darn blessed when you think about others who do not have food so readily available, or who have to worry about how they will pay for their next meal.

-  Everyone wanted something from me because people like my work and want to work with me.  They feel like I can help them and change their lives for the better.  Man that’s humbling.  I’m actually in tears as I write that statement.  I love my job.

When you’re filled with gratitude, you don’t have room for negative emotions.

It was that simple.  Thinking those thoughts was all it took to turn a stressful situation into an amazing situation.  I instantly started chuckling at myself, and just started feeling grateful for my life.  It really *IS* all about perspective isn’t it?

To read more about gratitude, check out this post.

There you go!  4 things you can start doing immediately to help manage your stress more effectively.

What do you think?  Did I miss anything?  How do you manage your stress?

Handstands have been quite the unexpected teacher for me over the past seven months. In the fall of 2012, I began my growing interest and determination with calisthenics. For years now, I’ve been able to do pistol squats, pull ups, one arm push ups and other body weight movements, but I wanted to take body weight training to the next level. I find dance, gymnastics, capoeira and other free moving skills to be oh-so fascinating.

In addition to the above, it wasn’t long before I became enamored with the playground (bar athlete) workouts and wanted to find myself able to accomplish muscle ups, a human flag, front levers, etc. Not to mention, there are very few females I see doing these movements!

Up until last fall, I had built a solid foundation of strength and conditioning, but I wasn’t sure where to learn the next steps or how to breakdown the technique of these coveted bodyweight moves, much less transfer my strength. In an effort to seek various teachers, I also thought yoga could be another dimension to begin gaining a different perspective of movement and body awareness. The rest is pretty much history as my love for inversions began…

Both literally and figuratively speaking, we can learn so much when our world gets turned upside down.

The following are 10 life lessons I’ve become more present to simply from practicing handstands:

10. Patience – We must crawl before we can walk. All new things have a learning curve and progress in anything is made with consistency over time. We must start small, be okay with starting small and build appropriately.

9. Be curious – Try new things. Explore. You never know what you may find. For years, I admired the scorpion posture. One day in a yoga class, I was in downward facing dog and our teacher instructed us  into dolphin. It was right then, I had an ah-ha moment that was the precursor posture to the forearm stand and from there, the scorpion. So many awesome things are found simply by exploring the unknown.

8. Body Awareness – As a fitness professional, I already had a lot of body awareness but nothing equivalent to balancing upside down. Handstands opened my eyes to a whole new feeling in my body from my gaze to the alignment of my hips, my core engagement and most noticeable, the weight distribution in my hands and fingertips.

7. Repetition – Practice, Practice, Practice! The best practice is repetition. I read in a book titled The Four Agreements that “repetition makes the master” – this is so true. A little each day, wherever you have 5-10 minutes to spare. Yoga Professional, Erica Collins says “This is key. The more you can get your body inverted and supported on your hands, whether it be against a wall or a couple jumps on your mat, the more accustomed your body will become to balancing upside down. It’s not just bones and muscles that are inverted, but our organs are also being flipped upside down, and that’s why handstands can be overwhelmingly sensational at first.”

6. Have Fun! – It’s fun to play! I am often so technical in my form and my lifts, especially when under a heavy load. Handstands allow me to tumble, jump, roll and move freely. It’s fun to be free, carefree and move like a kid. Not to mention, the fun is in the moment of excitement when you begin to catch hang time in your handstands. Just as you feel the rush of a new PR on a deadlift, you feel the excitement of landing your first handstands.

Fun in my office! Taking 5 to turn upside down and trusting myself not to fall into furniture

5. Let Go of Fear – This is a biggy. Fear of anything often holds us back. It’s okay to fall and the fear of falling is often worse than the fall itself. “Falling can point us to where our balance or strength is lacking and also show us where we lack trust in our ability,” Says Erica.

4. Trust yourself – This piggybacks on number five. In order to let go of fear, it’s important to trust yourself and trust the process. Believe in yourself and take that leap.

3. Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight – You will fall and that’s okay. Brush it off and try again. Keep trying. Results follow effort.

2. Never Say Never – Do not count yourself out. Ever. Do not doubt your ability to do something or achieve something if it’s important to you. For a few years, I had a lot of low back pain. At times, I could barely go into extension without pain. Part of the reason I admired the scorpion posture so much was because it seemed impossible for me to achieve it. I never believed my back would bend that way, needless to say, pain free. I was wrong.

1. Practice Progress Play – This is my latest mantra. Practice, Progress, Play. In anything that we do, whether it be a sport, a technique, a hobby, a job –> Practice, Progress, Play. Put your time in, get better and then perform. Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!

It’s been six months and I’m still working on my handstand game. I’ve gone from kicking up and falling down, to kicking up and landing. Then jumping up and into the handstands. My latest learning / ambition is working on a pike position handstand but my core is not there yet. Time, practice and more time and practice. This is just the beginning of a fun journey into calisthenics, new movements and learning!

Since I’ve painted the experience of the handstand to be so life changing here are a few tips if you’d like to begin:

Learning the Handstand

(Start by practicing with a wall)

1. Hands shoulder width apart and fingertips placed a few inches from the wall (the closer, the more vertical you will be versus being inverted at an angle)

2. Gaze between your hands

3. Kick up and catch your feet on the wall

4. Practice rooting in from the ground up: begin to notice the weight distribution in your fingertips, push through your shoulders to create full extension, keep your core engaged. Get familiar in how those things begin to feel. Keep your legs A L I V E! Stay engaged in your thighs, feet and toes throughout the entirety of your inversion.

Erica’s Pro Tip: “Students often allow their legs to become dead weight, which means they have to rely on momentum and more shoulder strength. Continue to kick through both legs as you lift and once you’re up.”

4a. If you’re lacking in shoulder endurance (shoulders get tired fast) simply spend a few practices holding in the supported (against the wall), inverted position to build stability, control, awareness and endurance over time.

4b. If you’re ready to progress, start to move your feet away from the wall. See how long you can hold your handstand unsupported. If you lose your hold, you either fall back to the wall or bring your legs back to the ground.

5. When you feel ready, start practicing your handstands away from the wall. You’ll kick up and fall over plenty, just be mindful to fall with some control in an effort to protect your neck and back. Have fun and learn as you go!

“Handstands not only ground me in my hands but in the present moment. When I’m upside down I must breathe NOW, I must activate shoulders, core, thighs and toes NOW, I cannot escape into the future or hide in the past. I’m always challenged and humbled when inverted on my hands. When I’ve had a hard day, I like to turn my world upside down for a few moments, gain a new perspective, then come back to my feet and put a new foot forward. There’s not much a handstand cannot cure nor teach ☺” –Erica Collins

Introducing Miss Erica Collins!

Also a BIG thanks to Erica for contributing her time, tips and thoughts towards this piece.

OK, OK so that’s probably not true.  But after reading Part 1 of this article, you may have felt like you didn’t know anything about how to squat properly, and that’s OK!  We all had to learn at some point.

Now if you read that article and you were already familiar with those concepts then congrats!  You’re totally ahead of the game!

Part 1 of this article discussed how to teach a beginner to squat using a box or a bench, and then progressing them to a body weight free squat.

Part 2 discusses the next progression which is a goblet squat.

Goblet squat — front view and side view

The goblet squat was invented by Dan John and is a fantastic exercise.  They allow you to lightly load a squat and build a solid pattern before putting a bar on your back.  Most women aren’t ready to go straight from a body weight squat to a bar on their back, so a goblet squat is the perfect transition.  Also, holding the weight in front of you, forces you to stiffen your core more, which helps you control your pelvis.

Here’s how to goblet squat properly:

1. Pick up the kettlebell properly!   Make sure you push back into your hips to pick up the kettlebell instead of rounding your back.  This reinforces a good hip hinge pattern and is safer for your lumbar spine.

2. Keep your elbows down!  Keeping your elbows down is much easier on your shoulders, and allows you to hold heavier weight than if your elbows are flared out.

3. Pull your shoulder blades back/squeeze your upper back together!  Anyone who has had weight on their back can attest to the fact that keeping your upper back tight is a must!  Not only does it keep your whole body tighter, but it will teach you to create a little “shelf” on your back for when you do start squatting with a bar.

4. Keep your ribs down!  As discussed in the video, keeping your ribs down will help you maintain a solid neutral spine position, and it will make the next cue much easier.

5. Brace your core!  Try to create pressure in your core circumferentially, or all the way around – front, back, and sides.  This will help protect your spine, and control your pelvis.

6. Tuck your chin slightly!  Many lifters cue, “head back,” which works for powerlifters wanting to lift maximal weight.  But when longevity and health are your goal, squatting with a more neutral head is safer, and actually allows you to sit back into your hips more easily.

7. Eyes up!  Just because your chin is tucked, doesn’t mean you can’t look up.  Looking down at the ground can encourage you to drop your chest and fall forward.  Keeping your eyes up can help you “drive out of the hole” on your squat.

Once you have mastered the goblet squat, you have a couple of options for progressing:

1. Offset goblet squat – Hold a kettlebell in one hand when squatting, for more of a challenge!  Just make sure you drop the load around 30-40% when you first attempt these to ensure that you can maintain proper form!

2. Double goblet squat – This variation is exactly like the variation above, except you are holding two kettlebells instead of one, so you can use more weight.  You can also “mis-load” the weight and hold two different weights in your hands.

3. Band goblet squats – Put a mini-band on right under your knees to remind you to drive your knees out as you squat.

Alright guys – now that you know how to goblet squat, you have no excuses!!  Get after it!

Do you goblet squat?  Do you do any variations not mentioned above?  Did you learn anything from this article?  We’d love your comments below!

Meet Ali Porter!

Age:

28

Location:

Portland, OR

What does being a GGS mean to you?

Being a GGS means living your fit life to the fullest. Examples of this are:

- Doing things that bring you joy.

- Seeing the gym not as a burden, but as a playground, and being excited to go play.

- Making time for the things that are important in your life.
- Making sure to take time to focus on yourself.

- Surrounding yourself with people who inspire, and motivate, you to be successful.
- Being really, really awesome.

Jumping for joy and being playful!

How long have you been training? 

Just over a year

Favorite Lift:

Deadlifts. Although, I also have a strong fondness for squats and TGUs.

Clearly, Ali loves deadlifts! Get it, Ali!

Most memorable PR:

I had set a goal to deadlift 155lbs, which I hit on my birthday this year I was pretty jazzed about that, to say the least!

Top 5 songs on your training playlist: 

I don’t actually have a playlist (I know, blasphemous), but I usually go with 80′s dance party or Rattatat radio station on Pandora.

Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym/in your gym bag:

Water bottle, chap stick, phone (to log my workouts)

Favorite post workout meal:

Three egg scramble w/ black beans, tomatoes, avocado, jalapeno, and jack cheese with a side of fresh salsa from my fave brunch spot.

Favorite way to treat yourself:

Sauna, followed by a deep tissue massage.

Favorite quote: 

When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story. – Barney Stinson

Ali…showcasing her awesome.

Favorite book:

Toss up between Tucker Max I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell and Chelsea Handler Are You There, Vodka? It’s me, Chelsea. (I need to laugh when I read!)

What inspires and motivates you?

Setting and reaching my goals is a huge motivator for me. It seriously makes me feel like I can do anything. And who doesn’t love that feeling? Inspiration wise, I’m really inspired by a lot of our clients. I work for a web design company, whose clients are mainly in the fitness industry, and I draw inspiration from a lot of their stories.

Next training goal:

I have a few at the moment, but mastering a pistol squat is probably at the top.

If you had to choose 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?

Goofy, friendly, caffeinated.

What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous to start lifting heavy?

Two things: Find yourself an awesome lifting buddy who will motivate and challenge you; Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Heavy lifting is an awesome adventure. Make sure you ask questions, and keep people around you who will push you and celebrate with you on your journey.

Ok, I lied. There is a third thing I would say. Don’t assume you will turn into a bulky monster if you lift heavy. You know what will happen? You will become super lean, and super rad.

Ali looking both lean, and RAD!

Years ago, when I was a slave to frequent feeding and calorie counting, I had a regularly scheduled cheat day.

Sunday-Friday I consumed 1500 calories, broken down into 6 meals, with a 1:1 protein to carb ratio. I never strayed outside those parameters. NEVER. Except on Saturday, that sweet, sweet cheat day.

Aaaah Saturday. It was delicious. I would indulge in all of my favorite things: bread, wine, cookies, pizza, brownies-you name it. Then, on Sunday morning, it was back to business as usual. This worked for a time; for about 6 months I maintained my lean physique and avoided binges or rebounds. But what happened if there was a party or get together and it wasn’t on my cheat day? Well, I’d either skip it, or go and be miserable. Sounds pretty amazing, right?

And then one Saturday, cheat day turned into cheat weekend. Sunday morning was donuts with my kiddo, and Sunday night we’d order Chinese. Wine drinking found it’s way into Friday evening, and before I knew it, I was going on a Friday night-Sunday night binge, just about every week. And the worst part? On Sunday night, I’d find myself looking for something naughty to eat-even when I wasn’t hungry-simply because I knew I had to start my diet again come Monday morning. 

On Monday, I’d feel bloated and corpulent, and by friday I’d be lean again. It was an awful cycle. I was pretty much cray-cray.

Eventually, I’d had enough. I chose to break free from that cycle, quit counting calories and macronutrients, and started eating more intuitively. I experimented with intermitting fasting, food eliminations, Whole 30 challenges and so on. I have run the gamut of nutritional mayhem in my time, trust me. But the one thing I discovered, no matter how I was eating, was this:

Cheat days are not for me. 

Let’s be clear-I’m not saying calorie counting and macronutrient portioning doesn’t work. It does, and in fact, it is an integral step in your nutritional journey as it teaches you what to eat and how much of it is right for you. I’m not saying cheat days don’t work, and I’m not saying you should eat like me.  The truth is, that for those of you just starting out, the idea of a planned cheat day could be very helpful. It will teach you to appreciate your “treats” and show you how differently you feel when you do eat less than optimally.

However, at this stage in my journey, I have found that given my lifestyle, cheat days are detrimental. I often get asked f I have “cheat days” or if I ever “cheat on my diet” and the truth is, no, I don’t.

Do I eat things that won’t propel me towards my physique goals? Of course I do. Do I even eat things that blatantly undermine my goals? Absolutely. But it’s not all the time and it’s not scheduled. Instead, I eat pretty much on point with my goals approximately 80% of the time, although that number could certainly be considered arbitrary. The rest of the time, I relax, and it’s usually when there is a special event to attend or during my many travels. I don’t call this cheating; I call it LIFE. 

Drinking wine is one of my favorite extra-curricular activities.

Staying within sensible nutritional parameters majority of the time, allows me to celebrate when it’s time to celebrate, without guilt, binging, or rebounding. I still watch my portions by eating intuitively and mindfully. I make sure I get my veggies and my protein, and I only drink alcohol when the occasion calls for it, or if my body feels it really wants a glass of wine. If I go to a restaurant, and the bread is fabulous (I make my fiance try it first!), then I have some. If I’m at Chelsea market, I’ll have a Fat Witch caramel brownie or a raspberry vanilla cupcake from Eleni’s, because they are a few of my favorite things. Every once in awhile, I eat french toast.

But I never binge. I never cheat. And only recently, I have let go of all food related guilt.

Instead, I listen to my body. I do my best to nourish it and give it both what it needs and wants. I consistently eat in a way  that pleases my palate and my physique, but sometimes I don’t-and that’s okay too. Am I as lean as I used to be, when I was a slave to my food scale? No, not really. I used to maintain 12% body fat and was perpetually bikini ready. These days, I am far more aware of the fact that I am not a physique competitor, and there is no reason for me to drastically alter my lifestyle in order to be shredded 100% of the time. I stay pretty lean, although my weight fluctuates, and I can always feel fabulous in my clothes. I am confident in a bikini, even if I am not ripped out of my mind. The most important thing to note, is that I’m happy, and mostly sane-wihthout cheat days.

Cheat days made me feel as though I had a window of time to consume all of the things I was deprived the rest of the week. They fueled guilt, over eating, and disordered eating; they simply didn’t work for me after the first few months. While there are certainly some scientific factors that make cheat days effective for fat loss, including boosting leptin levels and having what is called a “re-feed,” it really comes down to you and your lifestyle. There are countless ways to simultaneously  lose fat and enjoy life. I encourage you to choose the path that cultivates and enriches your life, rather than force yourself into calorie counting and cheat day mayhem.

While I encourage you to find a nutritional path that best suits your lifestyle, I invite you to ask yourself: Do you really want that cheat day? Do you want a day on the calendar to tell you what you’re allowed to eat, to dictate your mood and your eating behaviors? Do you want the discomfort, bloating and guilt that usually accompany a cheat day? Or, do you want to eat joyfully and mindfully, fueling your body and your taste buds?

In the fitness jungle, squats are king. Photo credit: Ken Hicks

Squats have been called “The King of Exercises,” and with good reason.  There are very few exercises out there that have the potential to increase strength, change your body composition, and make you feel like the ultimate bad-ass in the gym quite like the squat.

The problem is, most people don’t perform squats correctly, and that’s totally understandable.  Squats are a very complex exercise and there are a lot of moving parts, and things to remember. Heck, I’ve been squatting for almost 10 years and I still get coached and cued on a regular basis!

In an effort to help you start mastering the squat, my business partner Jim Laird of J&M Strength and Conditioning, and I shot a video where we explain and demonstrate some of the main mistakes we see in women when they are squatting, and how to correct them. Check it out:

1. Check your stance!  Most average women (i.e. women who aren’t geared powerlifters) don’t need to be squatting much wider than just beyond shoulder width, with their toes pointed out between ~15-30 degrees.  Squatting very wide is harder on the hips, and once you get extremely wide, it can be even harder to drive your knees out, which, as you’ll see below, is very important.

2. Brace your core!  Again, most women don’t know how to brace their core effectively.  Even if you think your abs are strong, you might not be bracing correctly.  You actually have to learn how to create pressure in your low back when you squat, not just in your anterior core (i.e. abs).  Here and here are a couple of fantastic videos that teach you how to breathe, and create pressure in your core.

3. Keep a neutral head!  It’s really popular in the powerlifting world to throw your head back when you squat.  This is completely understandable as it can help you “drive out of the hole” (i.e. stand up from the bottom of a squat) and it’s common knowledge in the training world that the body will go where the eyes go.  That can be fine for competitive powerlifters, but most women need to keep a neutral head.  Throwing your head back causes you to go into lumbar hyperextension, effectively putting all of the pressure on your lower back, and not allowing you to use your entire core, or your glutes, as effectively as you could.  Think neutral head, eyes up.

This little man has the right idea when it comes to keeping his head neutral!

4. Use your hips!  As you’ll see in the video, it’s very common for women to use their spine to “catapult” themselves off of the box, instead of using their hips and their entire core.  Once you learn how to effectively brace your core, you will allow your hips and your entire core to start taking the load, and you’ll get much stronger, and stay much safer.

5. Drive your knees out!  Using your glutes to drive your knees out, allows you to open up your hips so you can sink down into the proper squat position.  If you don’t drive your knees out, you’ll not only run into your hips, but you won’t have a comfortable (or safe) hip, knee, and ankle angle.  This also ties into tip number 1.  If your stance is too wide, you often won’t be able to drive your knees out effectively, so bring your stance in, and think about driving your knees OUT to open up your hips.  Using a light mini-band right below the knees here as a reminder to drive them out, can be very helpful.

6. Sit back!  Women tend to be very quad dominant creatures, and we typically either want to shoot our knees forward on a squat, or almost “plié” down into the squat.  Neither of these are correct when you’re trying to do a true squat.  This is why we have women learn how to squat onto a box first.  It teaches them to sit back into their hips safely, and allows them to learn this pattern without feeling like they are going to fall backward.

This is not the position you want to be in when you’re trying to squat real weight!

7. Use an appropriate range of motion!  When first learning to squat, many women won’t be able to hit depth, which is typically defined as parallel or slightly below parallel.  If they can hit depth, they often can’t control their pelvis in that position, and they will experience “butt wink” where their butt tucks under at the bottom.  Only squat as low as you can maintain good form, and over time, with practice and the correct mobility and stability work, most women should be able to squat to depth.  If you are squatting onto a bench or box, and can’t control your squat, throw a plate or two onto the box until you get strong in the range of motion, and then slowly but surely increase your range of motion by removing plates until you can squat the your desired depth.

Well, there you have it!  7 awesome secrets to help you master the squat.  Keep your eyes peeled, because we will be back with several more parts to this series, including learning how to squat with a kettlebell, a barbell, and of course, all of the accessory movements you can do to help your squat improve!

P.S.  Our TRAIN LIKE A GIRL seminar is SOLD OUT… But visit this link and get signed up to learn about how you can come and train with us IN PERSON! =)

The following is a concoction I recently created… Note: while I’ve had several years of prepping healthy food / meals, I’ve never been a culinary expert nor am I ultra creative, experimental or exact when it comes to food, flavor and prep. I offer you that because (1.) this recipe is loose, the measurements are loose and so is the prep (and my instructions) so feel free to play with it yourself – make changes, substitutions, create your own variation! And (2.) if I can create it, you certainly can too!

Pineapple Lavender Stir Fry

Ingredients:

Yellow Onion
Yellow Bell Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Broccoli
Portobello Mushroom
Fresh Pineapple
Coconut Oil
1 tsp Olive Oil
1-2 tsp Lite Soy Sauce
1-2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp Pineapple Juice
1 tsp Lavender Seasoning

Prep:

- Cut up yellow onion, yellow and orange bell pepper, broccoli, mushroom and pineapple

Directions:

- Lightly oil your wok or a large frying pan with coconut oil
- Begin cooking the onion, yellow and orange bell pepper first
- Add broccoli and mushrooms (note: I cut the broccoli rather small so it would cook faster)
- Add 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of lavender seasoning to the vegetables
- Stir constantly and let cook until your preference
- Add cut pineapple and 2 tbsp of fresh pineapple juice
- Add 1-2 tsp of Lite Soy Sauce and 1-2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
- Continue to let cook a few more minutes until flavors infuse

Serve over white fish, shrimp or chicken. Enjoy!

Bonus:

Last but not least, get creative. Another variation I thought to try was substituting mandarin oranges in place of the pineapple.. that was delicious too!

Let us know if you tried the recipe and or what other variations you came up with!

Meet Karen Smith!

Name:

Karen Smith

Age:

39

Location:

Virginia Beach, VA
What does being a GGS mean to you?

Being a GGS means that I am part of a larger vision, that I get to help motivate women to be strong and forget all the crazy myths that have been drilled into our heads of years. We are strong and capable of so much more. I love that each of you ( Molly, Ali and Neghar) are strong, beautiful and down to earth women. I appreciate all the hard work each of you put into your training and bodies as role models and helping others. It is an honor to be featured as one of your GGS.
How long have you been training?

Involved in fitness my whole life but began a serious focus on strength training in 2007.
Favorite Lift:

Deadlifts and Pull ups
Most memorable PR:

Iron Maiden – Pull up with a 24kg bell

(Note from GGS: Karen is one of the few women in the world to complete the Iron Maiden Challenge, which is a pistol squat, a strict overhead press, and a strict pull-up with a 24 kg/53 lb. kettlebell)

Poise, grace, and strength.

 
Top 5 songs on your training playlist:

Believe it or not…I don’t really have a playlist
Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym/in your gym bag:

SPARK, Hair tie,cute workout attire (Nike or LuluLemon)
Favorite post workout meal:

Chicken, Black bean and quac.
Favorite way to treat yourself:

Food treat – Ice Cream other treats – massage/ pedicure
Favorite quote:

“Whatever the challenge, whatever the test, whatever you’re striving for give it your BEST!”
Favorite book:

Anything training/strength/health related, and also really enjoy Nicolas Sparks and Janet Evanovich books
What inspires and motivates you?

My daughter, Other strong and confident individuals, my amazing mentors and family and friends.

(Note from GGS: Check out Karen’s awesome blog post HERE about why a woman should be STRONG!)
Next training goal:

2+ x BW deadlift, reaching 20 BW pullups and getting back into tumbling

So talented!

 
If you had to choose 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?

Motivated, positive, and appreciative
What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous to start lifting heavy?

Be confident and realize your potential. Lifting heavy has so many benefit, and will make many things easier. Bonus…. you will get a great body from it. It is so empowering.