Meal prep: Major Key. (Side not, please follow DJ Khaled on Snap Chat if you're not already.) If you have close to zero time throughout the work week to cook, I have a few tips and ideas for you to make it a lot easier to eat healthy when time gets away from you!  I usually prep a few snacks, proteins and carbs to have throughout the week, but this weekend and last I've been really trying to make it easier on myself through the week and spend a couple hours on Sunday preparing healthy, wholesome foods that I can just grab and go in the morning. 

After I ran my first half in October, I kind of took it easy throughout the holidays and hit a little "slump," if you will, with my health and fitness goals. I never really set very specific goals because I've always had a very "go with the flow" attitude toward my health and fitness. I do what feels good and I eat what tastes good while making sure I'm still eating healthy for the majority of the time. The start of 2016 gave me some different kind of motivation that I've not felt before. I'm holding myself accountable right now and  I'm starting Jamie Eason's LiveFit training program. It's 12 weeks of workouts and clean eating and I'm totally ready for a challenge and to hold myself to it! I did Phase 1 of Jaime's program during my sophomore year of college and it's what fueled my love of weight training and kind of taught me the benefits of lifting - especially for women! 

I swear I have commitment issues when it comes to sticking to a plan! But following through with running 13.1 miles showed me that I CAN, I just need to DO. If anyone has done the LiveFit program before, have you seen results? Any tips? I'm excited to have a more specific plan to follow and also curious to see if it can kick my chocolate addiction even a little bit ;) Of course I'll still relax on the weekends and enjoy indulgences, but I'm going to try my hardest to stick to the plan during the week. 

Yesterday consisted of lots of cooking ahead and I know it's going to make things SO much easier this week! So I wanted to share what I made to give you guys some ideas! 

Turkey & Chicken Muffins

I adapted this recipe from Jamie Eason's - I just used one pound of turkey and one pound of chicken and added some different seasonings. 

I'll eat these for snacks! They're delicious - like little mini meat loafs. 

Sweet Potatoes

I prepared sweet potato portions for the week, about 4-6 ounces each. These will be great to have to bring for my lunch and for dinners! So easy. Just poke some holes in the taters with a fork, wrap in tin foil and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. 

Brown Rice

I made a batch of brown rice in addition to sweet potatoes to switch up the carbs. Sadly there's no cookies in this holiday cookie tin...

Carrot Cake Protein Bars

These came out GREAT!! This is another one of Jamie Eason's recipes and I can't wait to make these again. I can already tell they will be a staple snack before or after workouts. I added some chopped pecans for some crunch. 

Chopped Veggies & Salad Greens:

I didn't snap any pics, but I chopped up some onion, olives, peppers and tomato so that I can easily throw it onto my salads for lunch!

I'll report back at the end of the week to let you know how everything holds up! 

Happy Monday!

XO - Rach

Do you do any meal prep for the week? 

What's your favorite food to make ahead of time?

Have you ever thought of trying out a workout and meal plan?

Gone are the days where we have time to focus on and isolate each and every muscle group at the gym. Time is precious these days and furthermore, there is limited space and equipment at the gym with the new years resolution crowd! That is exactly why compound movements should be your best friend. They will get you the results you want without spending tons of time at the gym.  Simply put, exercises can be broken down into two basic categories: compound and isolation exercises. Compound exercises work more than one muscle group at a time (most of the time almost all muscle groups!) and they are always multi-joint exercises. Isolation exercises use one muscle group at a time and are only single joint exercises. Here's an example to make it clearer to visualize: A barbell squat includes movement of your hip & knee joint and fires up your quads, glutes, back, core and hamstrings. This is a compound movement. A seated leg extension includes the movement only at your knee joint and only targets one muscle group: your quadriceps. See the difference?  Now of course there's always a time and place for isolation exercises, but if you're short on time or can only get to the gym 2-3 days per week, read on to see how compound exercises can be a game changer.

3 Major Reasons Why You Should Do Compound Exercises

1. Functionality

Compound exercises are functional. In our daily routines, it is very rare that we are only utilizing one muscle group at a time. Pretty much every movement in every day activities, like walking, running, carrying groceries, sitting, playing sports, etc. involve moving multiple joints at a time. Compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, etc. mimic these everyday movements and can make us stronger for life. 

2. Bigger Bang For Your Buck

As compound movements utilize more muscle groups at once, your working harder, burning more calories and building strength all over your body in less amounts of time. Compound exercises also allow you to lift a bit heavier weight because you're engaging your entire body. Front squats and deadlifts, for example, are one of the best exercises that can be done (especially for you ladies!) because they require essentially every muscle in your body to work hard! And I'll tell you this - my core is sore every time after I do front squats because our cores work so hard to stabilize in a front loaded movement, and NEVER after I do crunches. Forget the endless crunches and work various muscle groups at once! 

3. Increase Lean Muscle Tissue All Over

Contrary to popular belief, heavier compound movements are really the tools you need to "tone" and "tighten" your entire body. Lifting heavy weights with proper and safe form will most definitely not make you bulky or spike your testosterone levels! It will do just the opposite: burn fat, boost your metabolism, define your muscles and make you one strong, badass lady. 

Here are some excellent resources around the web to help you learn more about adding compound exercises into your workout: 5 Compound Exercises You Should Add To Your Workout, ACE Fitness 5 Best Strength Moves For Weight Loss, Health Magazine Difference Between Isolation & Compound Exercises, Livestrong Here's a couple of my favorites! The first one is a side elevated squat with an upright row and lateral leg raise, phew! This one works literally your entire body and gets your heart rate up like no other. I also can't live without my sumo squats! 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbfNLeyn2nE[/embed]

Now tell me, do you incorporate compound exercises into your workout? Would you like to start? Would you like to see more workouts on my blog incorporating movements like these? Have a great day!! XO- Rach

Happy first Monday of 2016! Here's to coming back to reality, right? I'm excited today to kick of this year on a strong note and feel more than ready to after about 2 months of some hard core indulging! I think that as I get older, the holidays seem to become longer. Not complaining, but I'm definitely ready to get back into the swing of things and rid my body of the unnecessary pounds of sugar and alcohol that was consumed!  I started today with my 6 a.m. spinning class. My participants were awesome, as always, and I could just feel the excitement of a brand new year. Stick around till the end of this post for my spin playlist if you need some music motivation! 

I'm heading to work now for a full week ahead, but I do feel very refreshed and ready to tackle it, especially after a packed weekend full of cooking my meals ahead and getting a lot of chores done around the apartment. Before I go I wanted to share this amazing winter soup recipe for those who are starting to feel the cooler weather! 

Warm your soul with this hearty vegetable barley soup. It is packed with filling vegetables, barley and a flavorful tomato broth. 

[yumprint-recipe id='13'] Enjoy!! And here's a new spin playlist for ya...

XO - Rach

How do you feel on this first Monday of 2016?