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Easy Healthy Breakfasts

Easy Healthy Breakfasts

Not everyone eats breakfast. Some people don’t care for it and prefer to start eating later. Others find it too time-consuming and impossible to fit into their schedule. Some people substitute a healthy breakfast with a donut and coffee. That’s not the fuel of champions. You need nutritious food that keeps your energy high without peaks and valleys. There are easy breakfasts that are lower in calories and high in nutrition. You can make some dishes the night before and reheat them in the microwave in the morning.

Include all the macronutrients in your breakfast.

Breakfasts should contain carbohydrates for energy, but they also need protein and healthy fat. They keep you feeling full for longer. Including fiber in your breakfast can also extend your feeling of fullness longer so you aren’t famished by mid-morning. A breakfast burrito with egg, mushroom, feta, and kale is also delicious. The egg and cheese provide protein and healthy fat. The carbs come from kale and the burrito shell. Other versions, like those with black beans, cooked quinoa, tomatoes, and other ingredients, are delicious. Just cook each ingredient the night before and microwave them in the morning. All that is left is a 15-second assembly.

Regular oatmeal or overnight oats provide fiber and carbs.

Overnight oats take little effort. You make overnight oats using one cup of oats to ¾ cup milk or milk alternative and a pinch of salt. Put the ingredients in a container and store them in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Serve cold or heat in the microwave. Stir before serving. Add dried or fresh fruit, toasted nuts, nut butter, and a sweetener like maple syrup. If you have more time in the morning, make fresh stovetop oatmeal. You can use the same extras used in overnight oats. Adding toasted pecans or almonds gives extra flavor.

If you’re rushed, make several breakfasts at once.

Boil a week’s worth of breakfasts at once. If you put a hard-boiled egg in the refrigerator immediately after it’s cool, it will last a week. Combine one or two eggs with one or two slices of whole grain bread topped with butter from the milk of pastured cows or made from mashed avocado. Add a banana, some sliced tomatoes, or a sliced apple.

  • Make breakfast muffins from eggs, veggies, and meat. Scramble the eggs, add cooked meat, cheese, and veggies. Pour into muffin tins, bake, and store in the refrigerator to heat and eat. They last in refrigerated airtight containers for four or five days.
  • Make a breakfast smoothie. If you’re in a hurry, tossing ingredients into a blender and pushing a button is quick. It takes some planning. Prepare the ingredients the night earlier. You can use frozen fruit to make it smooth and creamy.
  • Go simple with minimal preparation. Fill a one-cup Mason jar halfway with Greek yogurt Toss in fresh or frozen berries, half a slice banana, and a layer of wheat germ, walnuts, or pecans. Put on the lid to eat in the morning.
  • Put mashed avocado onto whole grain toast and top with a sliced hard-boiled egg, or poach the egg if you have time. Add baby lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese for a breakfast sandwich.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


The Role Of Nutrition In Weight Loss

The Role Of Nutrition In Weight Loss

Some people in Houston, TX think that starving yourself is the only way to attain weight loss. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you try to exist on a diet that’s too low in calories, the body attempts to conserve energy to ensure enough for vital functions. It slows metabolism and makes loss harder. The key to losing weight is adequate nutrition. Many foods can satisfy your hunger, keep you feeling full, and boost your metabolism, so weight loss is easier.

Don’t avoid foods with fat.

You’ve probably chosen a fat-free type of dairy, thinking it would help you lose weight. You sabotaged your weight loss program by doing that. Fat-free options often contain chemicals to provide the consistency fat offers. They also improve the flavor with sugar. You don’t need either one to lose weight. The sugar causes cravings and weight gain. Your body requires fat for many functions. It helps burn body fat, is part of making hormones, and keeps you feeling full. Choose healthy options, like fat from avocados, whole eggs, or fatty fish. It keeps you healthy and helps weight loss.

Foods that contain magnesium are excellent for weight loss.

If you want to burn more fat, eat food containing magnesium. It helps burn fat and aids in muscle contractions. It lowers insulin levels and improves blood glucose levels. Reducing insulin levels and improving fasting blood glucose helps your body efficiently burn fat and makes the process quicker. One study showed magnesium supplements helped boost protein synthesis and burn stored fat. You get magnesium from eating dark leafy vegetables, avocados, cashews, and almonds.

Food high in quality protein or fiber.

Both fiber and protein take longer to digest. They make you feel full longer. Fiber feeds the beneficial microbes in the gut. The microbes affect everything from mood to nutrition. Some excrete material that helps you maintain a healthy weight. High-fiber foods include apples, cauliflower, broccoli, and whole grains. Quality protein also keeps you full longer. They provide the building blocks of muscle. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism is. Consider animal products from pastured animals. They’re higher in ALA, a healthy fat that makes you burn more fat.

  • Avoid simple sugars and food with added sugar. Sugar spikes insulin levels. That can cause insulin resistance and weight gain. Read labels and choose food with no additives or sugar.
  • Diet and exercise are both key to weight loss. Start with a healthy diet. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Follow it with exercise for a healthier life, toner body, and faster weight loss.
  • Foods containing choline and B vitamins, like navy beans, eggs, and chicken, slow the genes that cause the body to store fat. Those vitamins are also necessary for a healthy metabolism.
  • Choose your drink wisely. Drinking sugary soft drinks can make you gain weight. A study showed sugar-free ones can increase your waistline. Don’t drink fruit juice instead. It doesn’t have the fiber to slow sugar absorption and can increase insulin levels. Drink water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


Tips For Healthy Eating Habits

Tips For Healthy Eating Habits

You won’t get healthy by eating all junk food and topping the meal off with a carrot stick. You need to ensure you have nutritious food at every meal and minimize the food that’s not good for you. That requires your eating habits to change. Once something becomes a habit, you don’t have to think about it. You automatically do it. You can change a little at a time, making small changes every few weeks, or jump right in with both feet and change your diet entirely. The key to good health is consistency.

Drink more water and chew food longer.

You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference this makes. When you drink water frequently, you do more than quench your thirst. You boost your energy. Mild dehydration can make you feel tired and mentally confused. If seniors are mildly dehydrated, it can create the same symptoms of dementia. Drinking water before a meal can fill you so you don’t eat as much. That helps with weight loss. It’s far better than soft drinks, even diet soft drinks, that add inches to your waist.

Keep healthy snacks ready to eat.

Snacking doesn’t have to be bad for you. It’s all about the type of snack you eat. If you have vegetables and dip ready in the refrigerator, you’ll probably eat that instead of potato chips. When you bring home watermelon or cantaloupe, peel it and dice it. Keep it in a bowl in the fridge to satisfy your urge for something sweet. Frozen grapes can also be a delightful summer treat. Other healthy snacks include nuts, fresh fruit like apples or oranges, and cheese.

Try meal planning.

Planning meals, including snacks, makes it easier to stick with a healthy diet. You plan the meals one day, shop on another day, and cook everything for the week on your day off work. It saves you money since you use the ingredients in several meals. Bake a chicken for baked chicken one night, a chicken salad another, and chicken soup with leftovers. Chopped veggies can be snacks, used in meals, and if there’s any leftover, used in soup. Pack the week’s meals in individual serving sizes. When you’re ready to eat them, just heat and serve.

  • Consider pasta substitutes. Spiralized vegetables such as zoodles or Mother Nature’s noodles from spaghetti squash are good substitutes for pasta. You can slice eggplant or zucchini for lasagna.
  • Add extra vegetables to your dishes. If you’re serving rice, toss in some broccoli. Scramble your eggs with spinach and cheese. Mix boiled cauliflower with boiled potatoes for mashed potatoes.
  • Switch to whole-grain bread. White flour uses just the starch endosperm off the grain and has few nutrients. Whole grains have the bran, germ, and endosperm. The bran is fiber. The germ contains all the nutrition.
  • Use unsweetened applesauce to replace oil or sugar in a recipe. If you’re making a smoothie, sweeten it with a ripe banana. Cut fruit into pieces and freeze it. Put it in the blender to make a sorbet for dessert.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


Best Diet Foods That Satisfy Cravings

Best Diet Foods That Satisfy Cravings

It’s hard to match the satisfaction junk foods offer people in Houston, TX. Most diet foods pale by comparison and fail to satisfy cravings. Cravings start in the brain. It’s part of the body’s reward system. Hunger pangs begin in the hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain. The center of the brain contains the reward system. It helps keep people alive and guarantees the continuation of the species. Those systems control eating, sleeping, sex drives, and the fight or flight response. It triggers the release of dopamine, the feel-good hormone. Sugar is one trigger. Your memory of emotional moments also triggers cravings.

There are also selective and nonselective cravings.

Selective cravings are specific. If you’re experiencing a difficult time, your comfort food is a selective craving. Nonselective cravings are broader. If you’ve just worked out and are famished, anything that fills that gnawing hole in your gut will do. The messages can be confusing in this area. If you’re dehydrated, sometimes you think you’re hungry. That hunger is usually for juicy foods like Popsicles. It’s easy to fill that need without adding calories. Drink a glass of water and wait. If you feel satisfied after a few minutes, you weren’t hungry. You were thirsty.

Overcome emotional cravings by identifying what draws you to that food.

Some people head for crunchy food when they’re angry. That crunch helps release their anger and gets them back in control. Food like pretzels, chips, and crisp cookies often satisfy that urge. How do you overcome that? Fresh vegetables offer the same crunch. They don’t have the salty outside that drives people toward chips and pretzels, but you can overcome that drawback. Create a dip from yogurt or hummus that has a slightly salty flavor. If you want that comforting taste of mashed potatoes when you’re sad, consider making a mixture of mashed cauliflower and potatoes. You won’t notice the difference.

There are healthier options to fill your cravings.

Do you crave something sweet when you’re tired? Keep watermelon chunks, cantaloupe, or berries ready to eat. Crunchy food substitutes include popcorn, nuts, and trail mix. Does a specific food remind you of home and safety? Alter the recipe to create a lower-calorie version. Use spaghetti squash with a fresh tomato sauce topping flavored with herbs. One quick fix is to use a can of chili-ready tomatoes and one of stewed or diced tomatoes. Boil it down for a low-calorie, healthier option.

  • Give up food with added sugar for a few weeks. It breaks the cycle of requiring more and more sugar to get the same rush. You’ll be surprised how fresh fruit now tastes sweeter and satisfies cravings.
  • Health issues or hormonal changes can cause cravings. Women who need iron often crave chewing on ice cubes. Hormone changes may trigger cravings for sweets or comfort foods.
  • You might feel hungry even if you also feel full. Lack of sleep causes the body to produce more ghrelin—the hunger hormone—and less leptin—the satiety hormone.
  • Stress can cause cravings. People under stress often eat to help keep their mind off the problem and keep themselves busy. Instead of eating, try exercising.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


Do You Know Much About Your BMI?

Do You Know Much About Your BMI?

You may have heard about your BMI, maybe even from your doctor. What is it? Does it give a good picture of how healthy you are? BMI is an acronym for body mass index. It compares your height to weight to determine whether you’re underweight, average, overweight, or obese. BMI charts exist for men, women, and children. It’s a quick way for doctors to identify changes in your body that might indicate a health issue or point to issues like severe obesity or other weight issues. It’s not the final answer.

BMI needs to be combined with a physical exam and other factors.

Muscular people will weigh more than people without massive muscles, even though they may be the same size. A muscular six-foot man may weigh 200 pounds and be healthy without looking overweight. Another six-foot man with little muscle mass and a high percentage of body fat will look fat! The BMI chart indicates both are overweight and bordering on obese. That’s true for one but not the other. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, so if your body composition is mostly muscle, you’ll look thinner.

Know your numbers, but understand they aren’t the final answer.

Based on BMI, an ideal number is between 18.5 and 24.9. Someone with a BMI below 18 is underweight, and 25 to 29 is overweight. 30 to 40 is obese, with 40 or above being extremely obese. Besides body composition, other factors influence BMI. Bone structure is one of those. People with a smaller bone structure will weigh less than someone with a larger one. The length of your body compared to your height is another factor.

BMI is only one guide.

There are far more accurate ways to determine your health. Your waist circumference is one of those. Your waist circumference indicates the amount of belly fat you have. Belly fat is visceral fat. It crowds the organs and leads to conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and breathing problems. Visceral fat causes inflammation. Men with a waist measurement over 40″ and women whose waist is larger than 34.6″ are considered at risk.

  • Life insurance underwriters use BMI charts to identify and add extra premiums to those with health risks. Unlike healthcare professionals, they don’t see the person. They often rate muscular people at a higher risk due to muscle weight that affects BMI.
  • The formula used for BMI is (weight in pounds x 703) / (height in inches x height in inches). Using a chart was easier than calculating the information each time.
  • One study showed BMI didn’t predict cardiac health. There was no correlation between an unhealthy BMI and a healthy or unhealthy cardiometabolic profile that contains blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.
  • RFM is a better way to identify health risks. RFM stands for relative fat mass index. For men, the formula is 64-(20 x height/waist circumference), and for women, 76-(20 x height/waist circumference). It helps identify a high ratio of body fat.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


Why 10,000 Steps Per Day?

Why 10,000 Steps Per Day?

The definition of being fit is personal. Each person determines their goal. Ways of staying fit are just as varied. Some people, like the family of warriors at RCFitness, use online services or private and group training to achieve that goal. One way that’s encouraged is to walk more. A movement encouraging walking 10,000 steps each day grew significantly these past few years. Why has it become popular? Is there a reason 10,000 steps are better than 5,000 or 15,000?

It all started in a marketing meeting in Japan.

You would think the magic 10,000 number came from the mouths of people wearing white lab coats, but it didn’t. It all started because of the 1864 Olympics held in Japan. People there were excited. Everyone was jumping on the fitness bandwagon. Half of Japan had taken up running, and the other half started walking. Walking clubs became popular. Pedometers that tracked steps also had their moment in the sun. One company created a pedometer called. Manpo-kei. If you translate that to English, the name means 10,000 steps. At that point, the concept of walking 10,000 steps became popular, even though there is no scientific evidence that the number is significant.

Scientists tested the marketing gimmick.

Japan may have started the trend, but it didn’t stop there. The rallying cry of 10,000 steps grew around the world. Studies checked the validity of the push. One study showed how increasing daily steps from 2700, classified as sedentary activity, to 4,400 steps reduced mortality rates by 41%. That same study found that the mortality rate continued decreasing until the subject averaged 7,500 steps, then leveled out.

Should you consider boosting your daily steps?

Increasing your steps increases your activity level. That’s good. The more active you are, the healthier you tend to be. Walking more, whether or not combined with a formal exercise program, increases your endurance, helps prevent osteoporosis, and builds lower body strength. The average person takes approximately 2,250 steps per mile, making 10,000 steps approximately 4.5 miles. If you walked the 10,000 steps without taking a break, it would take about 80 minutes.

  • If you choose the 10,000 daily step method, don’t forget to include flexibility, strength, and balance exercises, too. If you’re new to exercise, start walking and slowly add other exercises to your fitness program.
  • You can modify your workout and get more benefits by turning it into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout. HIIT workouts alternate intensity by walking at peak intensity, switching to a recovery pace, and volleying between the two.
  • You don’t have to do your 10,000 steps all at once. Find ways to increase the steps you take. Park further from the store and walk. Get off the bus at a stop before your destination and walk.
  • Most people wear their pedometer all day, so they include normal walking. Sedentary people increase their activity by 60 minutes a day.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


Burn Fat And Build Muscle

Burn Fat And Build Muscle

Looking great is one of the goals of people in Houston, TX. They want a toned appearance achieved with weight loss and improving muscle tone. It’s not easy to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously. You need to ensure the weight you lose comes only from body fat. If you’re overweight, exercise will help you firm and tone muscles, but you also must eat fewer calories than you burn to lose fat. If you only diet, you may lose fat but still look out of shape. Doing both in the right combination provides the look most people want.

Consuming 3500 fewer calories than you burn to lose a pound.

The problem with dieting is that you can’t designate whether the pound you lose will be fat or lean muscle tissue. If you have more lean muscle tissue, it helps you look fantastic in two ways. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue, so the more you have, the easier it is to lose weight. Muscle tissue also weighs more per cubic inch. A container holding exactly a pound of muscle would be smaller than one holding a pound of fat. If two people weigh the same but one has more muscle, the muscular one will look thinner.

You have to lose weight while you build muscle tissue.

You lose fat when you eat fewer calories, but it has to come from the right type of food. You need protein but should avoid highly processed food and food with added sugar. Your body requires healthy fat, but it’s also vital to avoid unhealthy fats, like trans fats, that you get from junk foods. Identify your ideal weight and eat the calories necessary or cut your intake by 500 calories. That’s enough to maintain energy, build muscle, and lose weight slowly.

Use the best exercise.

All exercise is good, but if you want to lose fat, you need strength-building workouts and a little less cardio. If you do only cardio, you will burn calories, but the calories come from burning lean muscle and fat. When you burn calories while doing strength-building, you’ll be building lean muscle mass and losing fat. Doing HIIT—high intensity interval training—burns tons of calories. It’s not a specific exercise but a way of doing exercises. You alternate between high-intensity and a recovery pace. Doing bodyweight exercises in HIIT mode burns fat and builds muscle tissue.

  • Maximize your calorie burning and workout using compound exercises that exercise several joints, tendons, and muscle groups.
  • If you’re a woman and worry about building bulk and looking like The Hulk, don’t worry. Your hormones won’t allow that. Women bodybuilders who bulk up spend hours every day exercising and eat a special diet to get that look.
  • Get adequate sleep. When you lack sleep, your body overproduces ghrelin—the hunger hormone, and underproduces leptin—the satiety hormone. You’re hungrier and burn fewer calories because you’re tired.
  • Stay hydrated. Drinking more water helps you lose weight easier. Studies show drinking 8 ounces of water 20 minutes before a meal causes you to eat less. It fills you and boosts your energy, so you burn more calories.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


Sneaky Ways To Lose Weight

Sneaky Ways To Lose Weight

When people workout at RC Fitness in Houston, TX, they expect to work hard and eat healthier to lose weight. That doesn’t mean that weight loss has to be difficult all the time. There are sneaky ways to burn more calories and shed extra weight that you can start using today. Making small changes in your lifestyle, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking further from the store and walking, can increase the weight you lose and improve your fitness efforts. Even simpler is drinking a glass of water a half hour before eating. Studies show you’ll eat less and feel fuller faster.

Just make a small change and see if you eat less.

Instead of rushing through a meal, plan extra time and chew longer. That’s right. Chewing your food longer does two things. First, it helps digestion. Part of digestion takes place in your mouth. It’s both the crushing of the food and the saliva that makes that change. If you are drinking a green smoothie, chew it too. It may sound odd since it’s already blended, but chewing it gives your saliva time to start the digestion process. Chewing your food until it’s a liquid also slows down eating. Your stomach has time to contact the brain to let it know it’s full, so you’ll eat less than you would if you ate your food faster.

Your dishware could help determine how much you eat.

Choosing smaller plates can trick your eyes and brain into believing you’re eating more. You don’t have to eat off saucers to benefit. Dinner plate sizes range from 9″ to 13″ in diameter, with most people using 11″ to 12″. Switch to a 9″ plate. Restaurants with big serving sizes use 13″ plates. If you eat at one of those, ask for smaller salad plates. Divide your meal into two portions, one for home and one to put on the smaller plate.

Save time and money with a meal plan.

Our RCF meal plans are created to meet personal preferences, special needs, and goals. All you do is shop and cook. You cook all meals one day, using some ingredients in several ways to create different meals. It includes healthy snacks and delicious food you’ll love. It makes dinner time quicker than going through the drive-through and saves you money since there’s no waste..

  • Drink more water. Hunger sometimes feels like hunger. Carry a bottle of water with you at all times. It boosts your energy, so you’ll burn more calories and can curb your appetite.
  • Have fruit and vegetables washed, cut, and ready in the refrigerator for snacks. You can also use it as an ingredient for another meal. When it’s ready to eat, you’ll choose it as a healthier, easier option.
  • Get more ZZZs. Getting adequate sleep is vital for weight loss. Lack of sleep causes your body to make more ghrelin—the hunger hormone—and less leptin—-the one that makes you feel full.
  • Make family time and time with friends more active. Take walks for lunch or hikes with the family. Buy everyone hula hoops and jump ropes and have family contests.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


At-Home Exercises For Pain Relief

At-Home Exercises For Pain Relief

It’s common for people to use OTC painkillers to treat pain, but it’s not always the best way to deal with it, especially if it’s chronic. While they may bring pain relief, using them too frequently can cause even worse health problems, like heart and digestive issues. One alternative to medication, both prescription and OTC, is exercise. Exercise releases natural painkillers and improves circulation. They aid in reducing inflammation, which increases pain. Here are at-home exercises you can use that will help you feel better quickly.

You can do light cardio.

Walking is probably the easiest exercise for pain relief. You can do it anywhere, and it costs nothing. Even if it’s late at night or the weather is bad, you can do it in your home, pacing back and forth, or at a mall. You don’t have to walk fast or very far, especially if you’re in excessive pain. Take your time and walk a block or two. It helps build strength and improves heart health and endurance. As you get stronger, walk further and faster.

Stretching can reduce pain and prevent it in the future.

Whether you choose yoga poses or other stretches, you’ll get sore muscle relief. If you’re at a computer for hours, besides getting up and moving about once every 50 minutes, you should also do upper body stretches. Many people sit with their heads lower and forward. That can bring back and neck pain. Raise your arms in the air, clasp your hands, and lower them behind your back, moving your upper body opposite of your normal sitting position. Lean back as far as you can, arching your back. Arm circles help bring relief.

Improve flexibility and strength to reduce lower back pain.

Many exercises can help strengthen core muscles. The stronger your core muscles are, the less prone you’ll be to back pain. Combining the cat-cow yoga poses is one way to bring back pain relief. Start on your hands and knees for the cat pose by lowering your head and arching your back. Hold it for a second, and then move to the cow pose. You’ll raise your head and drop your stomach with a concave curve in your back. The dead bug, bridge, and lower back rotational stretch are excellent choices to relieve pain.

  • Turn to the pool for low-impact exercises. Your body is more buoyant in water, putting less pressure on joints. It’s also harder to move in water since there’s more resistance. That makes a pool the perfect place to do pain-relieving exercises.
  • You don’t have to have chronic pain to benefit from these pain-relieving workouts. You can use the exercises as recovery workouts the day after an intense session in the gym. They boost circulation and speed recovery.
  • If you’ve ever felt like staying in bed because your body hurt too much or you didn’t feel up to it, only to find how great you felt once you got moving, you probably understand how being active helps.
  • Before starting any fitness program, even one for pain relief, always check with your healthcare professional first to ensure it’s safe.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness


Pelvic Floor Exercises For Women

Pelvic Floor Exercises For Women

If your pelvic floor muscles aren’t strong enough, you’ll have problems with bladder and bowel continence. The pelvic floor can affect women’s sexual sensation since it supports the uterus. Weakness can even cause back pain. Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles. The stronger those muscles are, the less fear you have that you’ll wet your pants if you sneeze or laugh. That’s especially true for pregnant or older women.

What are the pelvic floor muscles, and how can you strengthen them?

As the name implies, these core muscles are on the floor of the pelvis. They support the bladder, bowel, uterus, and core. They also regulate abdominal pressure. You can start with a simple exercise done on the toilet when you urinate. Focus on the muscles you’re using to allow the urine to release before you go. Attempt to stop your urine by tightening those muscles before you start urinating. A kegel exercise is done the same way but not while urinating. Instead of stopping a urine stream, tighten and relax the muscles you use to do that. You can do it anywhere.

Do a bridge and then squeeze.

A bridge starts by lying on your back with your knees bent with your feet flat on the floor. As you exhale, pull your belly in as tight as you can and squeeze your bottom tightly, lifting your body to a straight angle from your knees to the top of your head. Hold, then slowly lower your body as you inhale. To improve the pelvic floor workout, hold a ball or pillow between your knees.

A clamshell helps build the core muscles.

The clamshell is a simple exercise that starts by laying on your side with your upper body lifted and supported on the forearm of your lower arm. Bend your knees at a 45-degree angle, putting your upper arm on the floor for stability. Keeping your heels together, lift your upper leg like a clamshell opening. Hold and then lower the leg back to the starting position. Do ten, then switch sides.

  • Do a side-style leg left. Lay on your side with the bottom leg bent and the top one straight. Lift the upper leg while you tighten the pelvic floor muscles. Slowly lower the leg and repeat. Switch sides.
  • Doing a shallower squat with feet closer together can help strengthen the pelvic muscles. Keep your back straight and lean slightly forward while you bend your knees and lower toward the ground. When returning to the standing position, focus on tightening the pelvic muscles.
  • Pelvic floor exercises can help stop the stomach from pouching. If the pelvic floor is weak, it causes your organs to droop and push out the stomach.
  • Just like any exercise, focus on form and technique. It’s even more important for pelvic floor exercises and the reason most people need to locate where they are before starting.

For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness