FItChick Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls
The Filthy Fifty Workout: Get Down and Dirty
High Intensity Training: Get the Most From Your Workout
Abs Are Made In The Kitchen, Not the Gym... What you should be eating Now
Top 10 Supplements for women Give your Body what it needs
5 Easy Tips To Stay Motivated Kick start Your Routine Today
01 22 NOv 2013
Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls
Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls Hardcore Fitness For Harcore Girls
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CONTENTS
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Supplements Top Workout Supplements
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You might think that this is only suppose to be for the guys, but get that out of your mind.
03 Contents
On the cover Photo Taken by J. Robert Williams Fitness model Elsa from Eugene,Oregon
Welcome to the first issue of FitGirl. This magazine is here to provide articles and advice that adhere to a strict and intense fitness regime for girls that enjoy challenging workouts and who want to be strong instead of just skinny. A FitGirl is someone who wants to be just as strong as the boys. A FitGirl is a strong independent girl who knows what she wants and goes after it with all she’s got. This magazine is here to provide stepping-stones to achieve your goals. The FitGirl publication is here to support you when your muscles are aching or you just can’t seem to finish that last mile. We are here to push you further than you have ever gone before and to congratulate you when you look back and see how far you have come. Join us on this journey, and together we will all become FitGirls.
Letter From The Editor
Readers,
04 Letter
C Crossfit star Camille Leblanc-Bazinet explains how the program has changed her body and her life. She also provides step by step instructions for her favorite workout, the Filthy Fifty, so you too can become a CrossFit junkie.
CrossFit
05 Strength Training
Photos by Carole Pilling
Interview with a champion Tell us how you got started in CrossFit.
»I did gymnastic since I was 2 and 1/2 and started competing at 5. I ripped my hips at 16 and was looking for a new challenge. I did every sport (soccer, volleyball, ski, running, flagfootball, rugby) and at a rugby party I met a guy who was a owner of a cross fit gym and he challenged me to try a session, that same day I payed for a year.
What does your workout consist of?
»It is a lot of strength training and skill work. Some aerobic work too. I might do typical SOD (skill of the day) 4 times a week but mostly strength work.
»I eat clean with some supplements. Meat, veggies some fruit and nuts. I also take the supplements Synths-6, Amino-x, Extreme-endurance and fish-oil.
What is your favorite CrossFit exercise? »My favorite would be pull-ups. I don’t know why but I can do a lot of them and I can do them really fast
Is there advice for someone who is starting CrossFit?
What is your favorite thing about CrossFit?
»Obviously the community, but more than that it kept my family together at a point in our life that we all started to go our separate ways. Both my sister and brother own a gym together and my parents are 2 of their best clients. The best Crossfit has done for me is that I get to see my parents healthier than ever. It seems like they both lost ten years and I couldn’t more proud to see that. Traditional training just doesn’t bring you magic like that.
What does your diet look like?
»Leave your ego at the door and be open minded because your life is about to change.
What is the misconception about CrossFit?
»That it is going to injure you. It is base on natural movement. CrossFit is like rehab for people who have stopped moving for years. It is only going to extend your ability to keep a healthly lifestyle.
What does the future hold for you?
»Only good things. I believe that hard work pays and I am not ready to stop working hard. I just got married and I am still studying chemical engineering and still training for the CrossFit games. ◄ Interview by TheAthleticBuild.com
06 Strength Training
CrossFIt Workout: Box Jump Begin in a flat-footed standing position. Jump with legs together onto the top of a box (24" tall). Return to the starting position. This is one rep.
Getting Down and Dirty A CrossFit staple, the Filthy 50 is a brutal series of taxing exercises that’s likely to seem endless if you’ve never done it before. The circuit includes 50 reps of 10 different exercises, all done as quickly as possible. This workout does a good job conveying the basics, and the madness, of CrossFit. This workout gets to a lot of people at the knees to elbows stage, according to Sara Haley, star of Sweat Unlimited, a DVD series of extreme five-minute workouts. “[The Filthy 50] is such a challenge because you have to literally be good at everything. It’s a full-body workout that includes cardio.” The sheer number of exercises can be hard to fathom, so it’s best to just pace yourself and focus on the task at hand, not on how much more there is to do. Of course, you can also modify this and do less of each exercise if you’re new to CrossFit and don’t want to dive in headfirst—try 20 or 25 of each during your first time through the circuit.
The Filthy Fifty includes: »50 Box jumps »50 Jumping pull-ups »50 Kettlebell swings »50 Walking lunges »50 Knees to elbows »50 Push press »50 Back extensions »50 Wall ball shots »50 Burpees »50 Double unders
Jumping Pull-ups Begin with feet on the ground or other solid platform, with hands gripping a bar in pull-up position. Perform a pull-up, assisting with the legs in an initial jump to start the motion.
Kettle Bell Swings Begin by holding a kettlebell with both hands in a starting dead lift position. Thrust the kettlebell forward and upward starting by using the hips and then moving into using arms and shoulders.
Walking Lunges Hold a dumbbell in each hand and pull your shoulders back. Lift your chest up and look straight ahead. Position your right leg forward in a long stride. Your right knee should kiss the floor. Left leg next.
Knees to Elbows While hanging from a pull-up bar, bring your knees up to touch your elbows. Then, return to a dead hang position.
07 Strength Training
The Filthy Fifty Push Press Begin with a barbell in clean position (at neckline). Bend the knees slightly and explode upward to perform a shoulder press.
The cOol Down
Back Extensions Lie face down on a hyperextension bench, tucking your ankles securely under the footpads. Adjust the upper pad if possible so your upper thighs lie flat across the wide pad. Bend forward 90 degrees. Then return to starting position.
Wall ball Shots Start in a squat position in close proximity to a wall and holding a medicine ball with both hands. Explode upward. At the top of the squat, throw the medicine ball upward, bouncing it off the wall. Catch the ball. Return to squat position.
After strength training or cardio, your muscles are warmed up so they’re more elastic and pliable. “This is when you’re going to see the most benefits in flexibility,” says Burke. “Stretching also relaxes the tension from the workout.” Although stretching hasn’t been found to decrease injuries, it has been shown to decrease next-day soreness in hamstrings, quads and calves. Stretching also maintains circulation in key areas and expedites the healing process after muscles begin breaking down. “You’re technically supposed to stretch each major muscle with four reps at 15 to 60 seconds each,” says Comana. “But that could take about 40 minutes. Instead, you can get away with five to 10 minutes.” If you just do one stretch, Burke suggests a hamstring towel stretch: Lie on your back, raise one leg and loop a towel around your foot. Pull the ends of the towel to bring your leg toward your chest and feel the stretch in your hamstring. Hold the position, then repeat with your other leg.
Burpees Start in a squat position and jump your feet backwards so your body is in a pushup position. Perform a push-up pull your legs back into a squat position. Jump from the squatting position and clap your hands above your head.
Double Unders
Hydrate Every time you move you’re expending water from your body. After an intense workout, you need to replenish water supplies—this helps decrease muscle soreness and increase strength and flexibility.◄ Workout from Crossfit.com
Jump rope. Pass the rope under your feet twice before touching the ground. If unable to do double unders, perform tuck jumps instead.
08 Strength Training
High Intensity Training By Charlotte Anderson
High Intensity Interval Training is a hot topic in the fitness world lately. Called HIIT, it involves jumping back and forth between relatively low and extremely high cardiovascular workouts. HIIT takes less time than traditional cardio workouts, and provides the same, if not greater, results, such as raising your metabolic rate and increasing your excess post oxygen consumption. HIIT can be done on any machine that allows you to vary your speed or resistance, including an elliptical. High intensity interval training is not appropriate for beginners. Before starting high intensity interval training, make sure you can complete at least 30 minutes of low to moderate intensity cardiovascular activity such as jogging, biking or using an elliptical machine. Once you are ready to try HIIT, warm up on the elliptical for five minutes to get your muscles and your mind ready for a challenge. To begin high intensity interval training, you need to identify the absolute maximum level you can push yourself to work out at. On an elliptical, this means either increasing the machine's resistance or level or increasing the speed that you are pushing the pedals until your heart rate is at or above 90 percent of its maximum. Your low intensity interval should keep your heart rate around 50 percent to 65 percent of its maximum. To find low intensity, reduce resistance, level and speed.
Superefficient HIIT is the ideal workout for a busy schedule
10 Cardio
Efficient Super-efficient HIIT is the ideal workout for a busy schedule—whether you want to squeeze in a workout during your lunch break or to get in shape for a fast-approaching event. Research shows you can achieve more progress in a mere 15 minutes of interval training (done three times a week) than the girl jogging on the treadmill for an hour. (Watch and try this video of a 10-minute fat-blasting cardio routine that burns more calories than a half hour on the treadmill!) And according to a 2011 study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, just 2 weeks of highintensity intervals improves your aerobic capacity as much as 6 to 8 weeks of endurance training. Burn More Fat Not only do you burn more calories during a HIIT workout, but the effect of all that intense exertion kicks your body's repair cycle into hyperdrive. That means you burn more fat and calories in the 24 hours after a HIIT workout than you do after, say, a steady-pace run. Healthier Heart Most people aren't used to pushing into the anaerobic zone (that lovely place where you can't breathe and you feel like your heart is trying to jump out of your chest). But in this case, extreme training produces extreme results. One 2006 study found that after 8 weeks of doing HIIT workouts, subjects could bicycle twice as long as they could before the study, while maintaining the same pace. No Equipment Necessary Running, biking, jump roping, and rowing all work great for HIIT, but you don't need any equipment to get it done. High knees, fast feet, or anything plyometric like jumping lunges work just as well to get your heart rate up fast. In fact, some equipment like dumbbells can make HIIT less effective because you want the focus to be on pushing your heart to its max, not your biceps.
11 Cardio
Lose Weight, Not Muscle Anyone who has been on a diet knows that it's hard to not lose muscle mass along with fat. While steady state cardio seems to encourage muscle loss, studies show that both weight training and HIIT workouts allow dieters to preserve their hard-earned muscles while ensuring most of the weight lost comes from fat stores. Win/win! Increase Metabolism In addition to increased fat burning and more muscle preserved, HIIT stimulates production of your human growth hormone (HGH) by up to 450 percent during the 24 hours after you finish your workout. This is great news since HGH is not only responsible for increased caloric burn but also slows down the aging process, making you younger both inside and out! Do It Anywhere You can do it in a boat, you can do it with a goat. You can do it here or there, you can do it anywhere! Dr. Seuss would have loved HIIT. Since it's such a simple concept—go at maximum effort for a short period of time followed by a recovery period and repeat—you can adapt it to whatever time and space constraints you have. Challenging This is not a workout you can do while reading a magazine or chatting with your friend. Because it's so short, you will be working hard the whole time. The trade-off is this format offers seasoned exercisers a new challenge and new exercisers a quick way to see results. You may be in pain, you may be sucking wind, but you definitely won't be bored!◄
12 Cardio
FiT is not a destination. It is a way of life.
14 Motivation
Top 10 Supplements for Women
50 Pre and Post Workout snacks
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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for some, but for those who manage to squeeze some gym time into their routine, pre- and post-workout foods can be just as huge. While everyone’s nutritional requirements are different depending on their goals and activities, these snacks can offer the right balance of carbohydrates, fats, and protein to satisfy hunger, fuel workouts, and aid in recovery. Read on for Greatist’s 50 favorite pre- and post-workout snacks, including some goto recipes from our trusted health and fitness pros.