5 Minute Plank Workout + Prevention R3 Summit

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

Planks can be compared to eating your veggies or brushing your teeth. You don’t have to like doing it, you just need to get the job done — and it only takes a few minutes per day. Just like vegetables or proper oral hygiene, planks are a great way to look good, feel good, improve your overall health — and attract new friends! Ha ha!

Holding the plank position may look like child’s play, but don’t let the simplicity of this no-equipment, body-weight exercise give you a false sense of bravado.

Planks are hard and humbling. I’ve seen planks that can make grown men and women cry. Recruit a friend to make the pain more fun!

Core strength, balance and flexibility are just some of the benefits you’ll gain from practicing a plank – plus, you’ll stand taller, straighter and prouder! Who am I to judge if you want to pull up your shirt to show off new found abs and obliques. In addition to the abdominals, other muscle groups used include those in the back, chest, shoulders, and neck. Getting into the plank position helps to loosen up hamstrings (lordy, I need that) as well as calves and arches of the feet. Planks also demand concentration and a focus on balance to keep from toppling over, especially in some of the advanced variations.

Being able to hold an abdominal plank for two minutes (with good form) is an indicator of good fitness. Remember to tuck in rear end push belly button up, keeping a straight line from the top of your head to the back of your heels. Try my 5 Minute Plank Workout either in the morning or at the end of your next gym session. It’s just 5 minutes so no excuses, plus you’ll love the results after a few weeks! If you can’t hold the planks for the recommended amount of time, just lower into a resting position until ready to tackle the next one.

Or, try the whole five minutes at once, no variations to break it up — just go for it!

Also, I wanted to tell you to save the date! Prevention Magazine’s third annual R3 Summit is returning to Austin on Jan 15-16. I’ve been the first two years and can’t wait to go back to this health and wellness conference to learn new ways to take action when it comes to my health and happiness ((R3 = Revive, Refresh, and Reinvent).

R3 is an award winning 1 ½-day long experiential event taking place this year at ACL Live at Moody Theater. Guests enjoy a wide scope of wellness workshops, fitness classes, tastings and health and beauty consultations – there is something for everyone and keep an open mind because you may discover something amazing that you never thought was for you – last year I was blown away by the Reiki healing and the artistry of the women doing henna tattoos.

But, you know I was also all about the clean eating demonstrations and meeting the celebrity chefs. I also “competed” in a wild tuna cook off!

Confirmed speakers for the 2016 R3 Summit in Austin on Jan 15-16 are:

Dr. Travis Stork -Emmy®‐nominated host of the award-winning talk show, The Doctors, and a board-certified emergency medicine physician
Lizzie Velasquez -motivational speaker, author and activist, A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story
Chad Sarno -culinary media spokesperson for Whole Foods Market and VP of Plant-Based Wellness of Rouxbe Online Culinary School
Monica Pope -James Beard nominated Houston Chef and Restauranteur, Top Chef Masters
Mary Joan Cunninghman – #ThrivewithMS
Dr. Mark Hyman – nine-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate

Save $20 on a weekend pass by using discount code PVNR3AUFORK at check out on the registration site. If you’re going to be there, let me know so that we can plan a meet up!

5 Minute Plank Workout + @PreventionMag R3 Summit, Be There! #Austin

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So, do you plank? Have you ever been to Austin? Ever had a henna tattoo? Ever had your tongue read (oh, that’s a whole other post!)? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer

Run, Workout, Eat, BCAA 2x Day, Repeat! + Med Ball WOD

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

Running comes naturally to me, it always has and I am so thankful for that. Being a runner is part of who I am (been running strong for 25 years), and God-willing, I’ll be competing at some level for many more decades. But I don’t just wake up and assume my body will perform like my ego thinks it should. I’ve eaten crow too many times for that. Staying where I want fitness-wise takes a holistic, whole-body approach which includes training smart along with eating and sleeping well. While real estate tycoons capitalize on location, location, location – we athletes make our gains on recovery, recovery, recovery!

Now, as hard as it is to admit, my gains look a little different. I’m no longer that runner in my late 20s who can train hard and play hard and still pull of a 2:50 marathon. Flash forward 20 years (and it was a flash), and I’ve slowed some . . . while that’s a hard pill to take some days, I remind myself that I perform at a higher level on an age-graded scale and, overall, I’m a stronger, more well-rounded athlete. I actually workout now– not just run! I just have to pay more attention to rest and nutrition as part of my recovery strategy. Today, I’m recovering from a run and this Med Ball Workout.

Sleep is so important for recovery and a problem area in my life, but I’ll get to that later. Nutrition is the other main component, and thankfully I can more easily control how goes down with my workout recovery! I optimize my performance for the next day by eating a colorful, wholesome diet with plenty of muscle-making protein balanced with healthy complex carbs. After an intense effort, I have a 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio snack or shake within 30 minutes (typically a whey protein isolate in the form of a shake or bar), followed up by a good meal within a couple hours. Personally, for my size, I’m eating about 100 grams of protein a day to support my active lifestyle – that’s quite a bit, but not undoable if choosing lean proteins or super-clean protein powders.

Still, I sometimes have trouble with achy joints, dead legs or delayed onset muscle fatigue (damn you CrossFit). I’ve started taking a great new lean amino acid protein product immediately after I exercise (in addition to my protein snack)– Isopure® Aminos. If you think amino acids are for hard-core bodybuilders only, look at me and think again. This forward-thinking formula supports comprehensive body and mind benefits with BCAAs combined with Tart Cherry (to reduce inflammation and thusly next-day soreness) and L-Theanine for a relaxed, calm feeling. There are studies that suggest both tart cherry and LTheanine also help to promote better sleep – yay!

Research shows that the biggest surge of muscle-making growth hormone happens while we sleep, so it’s important to get enough quality snoozing time and have adequately eaten before bed. To fuel my body through the night, I always have a slow-digesting protein snack before bed such as Greek yogurt, almonds or a protein powder shake – if I don’t, I’ll wake up before 4 am hungry! Adding a BCAA product like Isopure® Aminos can also help with the night-time muscle recovery and building process – plus, the Tart Cherry brings on the elusive Zzzzz’s!

So, are you wondering — how do you use this stuff? Just put a full scoop of Isopure® Aminos into 10 – 12 ounces of water – I appreciate that it dissolved really easily into my water bottle, no shaker or blender required. Isopure Aminos also tastes really good and refreshing after a sweaty workout or run and comes in yummy flavors including Cranberry Grape, Alpine Punch and Cherry Lime.

With only 10 calories per serving, there’s no worry about busting your daily allotment – it’s just a great booster to pair up with a whey protein isolate or other protein-rich food.

Come back on September 29th – I’m sharing a yummy bedtime snack using Isopure Aminos. Meanwhile, check out ISOPURE to get more info on how it can help you bring your strongest fight to a workout every time!

Run, WOD, Eat, Drink @IsopureCompany, Sleep, Repeat! #BehindTheMuscle #Ispoure #Ad

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Do you take any post-workout supplements? How many hours of sleep are you logging per night? Please share in the comments below — XOXO, Jennifer

This post sponsored by ISOPURE. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Run Faster 800 Meter Workout + Protein Bar #FeelGooder

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

The start of the school year has always been the unofficial kick-off of my marathon training. Even though Austin is still in the dog days of summer, with temperatures over 100 degrees, I will start upping mileage and long speed intervals, be mindful of my hydration needs and stock up on one of my favorite protein bars as I ready up for the San Antonio Marathon on December 6th.

As I hinted, hydration is so important, but I also insist on eating a protein snack after a long run or intense effort workout, like running 800 meter or mile intervals. Research study after research study has shown that consumeing a protein-rich snack after hard workouts is vital to protein syntheses, and a must-do if you want to repair taxed muscle tissue, increase strength and recover faster.

Perfectly Simple protein bars by ZonePerfect are a great solution for me, each tasty on the go snack offers about 10 – 11 grams protein and around 200 calories or less, the perfect post-workout fuel for me to #FeelGooder until I can follow up with a full-on clean meal. I love how these protein bars embrace the “less is more” approach to life – the company is super-picky about the ingredients they choose to ensure a simple yet tasty feel-good healthy snack.

Even if you’re not working out, a protien-rich healthy snack, like a protein bar, helps you feel fuller, longer – which means you won’t be grabbing a handful of M&Ms every time you walk by the community candy jar (okay, I’m talking about myself here).

Roasted Cashew & Dark Chocolate protein bar from Perfectly Simple

Oh, Hello My Precious!

Right now, if you visit ZonePerfect Perfectly Simple, you can get a $1 off coupon for a box of these nutrition bars. Right now, there are four delicious flavors (five protein bars per box) including Almond Toffee Crunch, Bing Cherry & Almond , Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk, and Roasted Cashew & Dark Chocolate.

So, are you ready for the 800 meter workout – it’s a doozy. There is just no arguing that the muscle fatigue, lactic acid build up and special brand of pain that comes with knocking off a bunch of 800s sucks, but if you’re getting ready for a marathon, it’s time to embrace that suck. Am I right? Plus, 800s can be used as a loose guideline to predicting your marathon time — just google Bart Yasso’s Yasso 800s. Basically the gist is that you work your way up to 10 800s in a session, keeping them as close in time as possible (a second or two flux is okay). The resulting average 800 time can be extrapolated to be your marathon time – eg: average 3:00 minute 800s equals a 3 hour marathon, 3:30 minute 800s equals a 3:30 marathon, and so on. My workout is a little different, but still great for a marathon.

My 800 Meter Challenge workout won’t take you all the way up to the 10 full half-mile laps, but it will get you strong enough to eventually get there! Enjoy.

Don’t forget to check out ZonePerfect Perfectly Simple Nutrition Bars to grab your $1 off coupon for a box of these delicious protein bars.

Do you incorporate speed workouts into your trainjing? Do you have a go-to interval workout for marathon season? I like cashew and chocolate – what two flavors would make the best bar for you? Please share in the comments below – XOXO — Jennifer

800m workout to #RunFaster and Perfectly Simple protein bars to #FeelGooder @ZonePerfect #ad

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Summer Perfect Partner Watermelon WOD #LivingOnTheWedge

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

What’s the point of bringing a big, yummy watermelon home from the market if you need help getting it out of the basket, into the car and up the garage stairs to the fridge? “No thanks, I’ve got this,” is what I tell the twerp well-meaning bag boy who always tries to help. Hey, I’m not just your ordinary produce-shopping mom – I’m a fruit-loving foodie who’s turned herself a lean, mean lifting machine thanks to adding functional exercise (aka CrossFit) into my workout routine about three or four years ago.

TheFitFork.com Living On The Wedge

While I don’t care to set records or go for “max” when lifting weights (nor could I) during a CrossFit WOD, I do feel like adding weight to my workout regimen has helped me tremendously as a runner, an athlete and busy working mom who’s just living her crazy life and might be getting a little older in the process. Last year for my summer of #LivingOnTheWedge, I shared a CrossFit inspired Watermelon Workout – I’ll never forget swinging a 25 pound watermelon kettle bell style and having it fly out of my hands across the yard. Oops! And, who could forget the Watermelon Pool Workout from earlier this summer – I certainly know the swimmers grinding out their laps that morning I filmed it had something to talk about!

This month, I’ve created a Partner Watermelon WOD that lets you share pleasure and pain of working out with a friend who loves watermelon as much as you!

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Partner Watermelon WOD (8 Sets of the Following):

(6 Reps) Watermelon Burpee-Squat Handoff: One partner does a traditional burpee while the other partner simultaneously squats with a watermelon – then the watermelon is handed off for the next rep.
(6 reps) Watermelon Box Step Up: One partner steps up with watermelon at chest or held straight overhead while other partner uses small watermelon for Russian Twists (12 to 20 twists, or until box step ups done). Partners switch off and perform repeat exercises.
200 Meter Run or Walk: holding watermelon at chest.

You may be laughing at the video, but watermelon makes a great piece of workout equipment in a pinch – you can lift it, swing it, jump over it, squat with it and more. Plus, you can purchase them in a variety of weights – the smaller “personal-sized” melons are awesome. If you didn’t get enough workout inspiration, here’s a Summer Squat Challenge to get your rear in gear – of course, use a watermelon for your weighted squats!

Working out with a watermelon isn’t so crazy when you start seeing the results of this muscle-making melon – plus, who can argue with gobbling it up as a nutritious snack afterward?! Made of 92% water, watermelon is obviously hydrating. But did you know the fruit can help you with workout recovery? A recent study in the Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry reports that drinking watermelon juice before a hard workout helps to reduce an athlete’s heart rate and next-day muscle soreness. That’s because watermelon has an abundance of an important amino acid called L-citrulline, which the body converts to L-arginine, to help with blood vessel dilation and improved circulation.

I’m winning at this watermelon workout thing and to the victor comes the spoils – at that is first dibs at devouring the watermelon! Okay, okay, I’ll split it up fairly between my workout friends!

About to share watermelon with my Cross friends - Jennifer Fisher, thefitfork.com

About to enjoy the fruits of our efforts! Sharing watermelon with my Cross friends

Grab a friend, a watermelon and WORKOUT! #LivingOnTheWedge @watermelonboard #sponsored

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The average size of a watermelon from the market is about 20 -25 lbs. Guesstimate the weight of the biggest one you’ve ever brought home – 47 pounds for me!
What are you doing to work up a sweat this summer – other than just stepping outdoors?!

Share in the comments – XOXO, Jennifer

4 Ways Sports Injuries Build Better Athletes

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Jennifer FIsher

I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by the maker of Advil® PM and I received financial compensation and a free sample of Advil® PM caplets. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’ve never met anyone who enjoys being physically injured, and the insult of having your body kick you to the bench seems even more painful (at least mentally) to athletes. So, in no way am I endorsing injuries as a way to be a better athlete – for heaven’s sake, take care of yourself! But, if a physical issue, (biomechanical, accident or otherwise) does come your way, I’m here to tell you that you can use the setback to your advantage.

I’ve sustained my fair share of injuries over the years through running, CrossFit, gymnastics, yoga, working out and enjoying an overall active lifestyle – everything from concussion, stress fractures and bone contusions to cuts that required stiches, oozing road burn, ripped palms, a multitude of pulled muscles, sprained ankles, wrists and ribs and more. Thankfully, nothing of a very serious nature and that a little Advil® PM couldn’t help me though!

Getting a good night's rest is important to recovering from minor sports injuries.

“No, no! I don’t need to go to the hospital!” Uh, I’ve said that before . . . .

However, I believe the time spent sitting on the proverbial sidelines can help an athlete heal both physically and mentally, especially if the right mindset is kept. Think of your injury as a way to embrace these four factors that will ultimately help you mend on the inside and out – remember that tough times don’t last, but tough people do!

4 Ways Sports Injuries Build Better Athletes

Box jumps gone bad – careless form leads to injury.

Confronts Problem: Some injuries are complete and total fluke accidents. However, the majority of problems caused by exercise are driven by careless, reckless or single-minded behavior – even ignorance and denial are reasons people hurt themselves in sports over and over. Admit it, you know a guy who jacks his back in the gym every month. Whether you are piling on miles with terrible running form, are an adrenaline junkie who puts thrill before skill, or just unlucky enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, getting injured forces you to look at the issue rationally and figure out ways to rehabilitate and keep it from happening again. Or, so I hope!

Even if a sports injury is minor, it's a good idea to take it easy for a few days.

Taking some rest is a good thing!

Forces Rest: As much as a go-go-go, type-A personality athlete might feel like he or she is withering away physically and emotionally when slowed down by injury, the forced rest is actually quite beneficial – muscles actually get stronger during the recovery phase of a workout, not during the actual effort! There is some time that you don’t have to use it, before you lose it. Take this as a not-so-subtle hint to sleep in, move slower and focus on nutrition. It will take at least a couple weeks for strength athletes to notice any signs of muscle atrophy and, in the same vein, endurance athletes shouldn’t expect to lose any significant VO2 max during the same period of break. However, if an injury is more serious, you will want to work with your doctor of physical therapist to develop an alternative training plan that will keep you at an agreeable baseline of fitness – so that when you’re able to jump back in, you’re not starting from square one.

Dislike turned to love while recovering from an injury.

Expands Horizons: When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade! Finding an alternative form of exercise to keep fit through an injury may just introduce you to the newest passion in your life – an experience never fully realized had it not been for the initially unwelcomed introduction. For example, runners may find they love swimming, weight-lifters may find they love sculling, tennis players may take to yoga and, heck, who doesn’t want an excuse to play golf all day long?! Even if you can’t wait to get back to your first true love, the change of pace will do your mind and body good!

Tests and Strengthens Resolve: A sports injury can really put a person’s resolve to the test, especially when it comes to staying on course. This ability to stay focused, determined and put a plan into action is a testament to the strength or weakness of your resolve – or, another way to say it, it’s the “steering mechanism” that drives you to a desired outcome. Will you crash and burn, stall out and give up, or keep after it until you reach the finish line? Playing the victim (or poor me), blaming, making excuses and complaining when it comes to dealing with an injury just weakens your resolve and lessens the likelihood of you ever achieving the athletic goals you first imagined. Once you are healed, being fearful and dwelling in the past will likely also keep you from that personal victory. Just keep looking forward, staying positive and celebrating your milestone achievements on the road to health and recovery.

Whether you are an everyday athlete or an elite superstar, managing the pain and the restlessness that often comes with being sidelined due to injury can be lessened with Advil® PM. I’ve used this safe and effective over-the-counter pain reliever and non-habit forming sleep aid with great results to treat the aches, pains and minor injuries I’ve dealt with running and working out over the last 25 years. It’s always so hard to sleep when your muscles are trashed from a marathon, or that headache from a day in the sun won’t go away —Advil® PM to the nighttime rescue!

Of course, before taking Advil® PM, you’ll want to consult with your physician to make sure this product is right for you. You can visit AdvilPM.com for more information and a coupon!

4 Ways Sports Injury Make You a Better Athlete #ad

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Have you had a sports-related injury? What happened and how did you get through it? Please share in the comments below. XOXO – Jennifer

thefitfork.com

The Fit Fork

Category Archives: Workouts

5 Minute Plank Workout + Prevention R3 Summit

Run, Workout, Eat, BCAA 2x Day, Repeat! + Med Ball WOD

Run Faster 800 Meter Workout + Protein Bar #FeelGooder

Summer Perfect Partner Watermelon WOD #LivingOnTheWedge

4 Ways Sports Injuries Build Better Athletes