Losing Weight On Your Lunch Break

These days there are often more things on our To-Do list than can get done.  If you have ever had more work than hours in a day, that “planned” gym time may be slipping away. Rather than trying to fit in a workout before running off to work or trying to be active after work when your energy may be low, why not lose weight during your lunch break?! New research suggests that even a 30 minute walk during your lunch break may boost your mood, as well as increase your ability to manage stress and nerves in the office.

If walking isn’t your thing and you want a bit more of a challenge, you have to try the “deskercise” 30 minute workout routine listed below! Not only will you get your training in, but you will feel even more energized as you get back into the workplace. The best part- these moves require little to no equipment and most can be done in the comfort of your office work-space! Try this routine 3 days per week and you can leave work each day feeling productive and active!

***Tip: Leave a pair or workout clothes/shoes in a spare drawer at work or in your car so that if you have the opportunity to sneak in a quick workout, there are NO excuses!

Lose Weight During Your Lunch Break- Power Moves

• Office Desk Dips- 4 sets of 10
• Lunge Back with a Kick- 3 sets of 10 per side
• Office Desk Push Ups- 3 sets of 8
• Wall Squats- 3 sets of 3-20 second holds
• Stair Climbers- 5 minute climb

Lunch Break Workout Description

Office Desk Dips– Face away from a sturdy desk and place the palm of both hands on the edge. Walk your feet out about 2 feet in front of you and begin to support your weight on your palms. Tighten your core and then begin to drop your glutes to the floor. Once your arms are at or near a 90 degree angle, push up through your palms to the start position. For an advanced movement, bring one leg up off of the ground and use only one leg to support and stabilize. Switch the supporting leg half way through the repetitions.

Lunge Back with a Kick– Begin standing with both feet together. Balance weight on to your left foot and then push your right foot and leg back into a lunge position. Allow for your front knee to bend to a 90 degree angle and then push back up through the ball of your right foot and follow all the way through with a kick. Repeat on the left leg for all 10 repetitions and then switch to the right side. For an advanced move you can bring both hands overhead. This will work on stability and balance.

Office Desk Push-Ups– Face towards a sturdy desk and place both palms on the edge. Walk your feet back about 2 feet until you are in a plank position. Keep you back flat and core tight through the movement. Begin by slowly lowering your chest down towards the edge of the desk. Then push back up through the palms of your hands. For an advanced movement, hold one leg up and balance weight on the opposite foot. Switch the balancing foot mid-way.

Wall Squats– Stand with your back flat against a wall and then walk your feet forward and slide down into your start position which should look like you are sitting in a chair. Hold this position for 20 seconds to begin. Then stand up and relax for a few seconds and repeat 2 more times for a total of 60 seconds. For an advanced movement, hold the wall squat for 1 minute with arms elevated over head or alternate balancing from one foot to the other.

Stair Climbers– Most office buildings have flights of stairs that are begging to be used! Hold on to the rails if needed for extra balance.

Single steps for 2 flights

Skip a step for 2 flights

Single steps with a leg kick back and squeeze your glutes for 2 flights

Single steps for 2 flights

Turn around and briskly walk back down to the bottom as a recovery.

Repeat this 2 more times or until you reach 5 minutes total.

For an advanced stair climb, you can triple the workout duration and try to avoid pulling yourself up with the handrails.

This entire “deskercise” workout can be completed in 30 minutes flat! What are some of your favorite ways to clear your mind and get moving during your lunch break? Share them in the comments section below!

Burning Off the Feast

Did you go overboard a bit this holiday weekend? If you did, no worries, you are not alone. Between the get togethers and Pumpkin Pie, many of us have fallen off track with our fitness goals. But today is a new day and and NEW MONTH. So here are a few tips to get you feeling great while burning those extra calories off in no time!
Get Back to Your Normal Routine
You may be exhausted from the weekend, but make it a priority to get back to your normal eating and exercise routine. Pack your meals for work so you aren’t tempted to snack on some left over pies and goodies at the office. The longer you stay off track, the harder it will be to get back in the swing of things.
Chuck the Sugary Sweets and Left Overs
It may be hard to part ways with the Pecan Pie and Bread Rolls, but they aren’t doing your waistline any favors. Some of these holiday treats have over 20g of carbs/sugar per serving, meaning you are easily creeping up on your recommended sugar limit for the day. If it is not pies but stuffing and gravy that make your heart sing – look out! Those extra nibbles of leftovers will ADD UP quickly! So either give it away or get it out.
Drink Protein
Get back on track by adding extra protein to your diet. The ISO 100 from Dymatize helps crush cravings with all of its delicious flavors. More than 20g of protein per scoop- which means you will feel full while having a delicious and waist line friendly snack.

Get Moving!
Does the extra food have you feeling sluggish? The last thing you want to do after over-indulging is sit around. Here is an at-home workout that will torch fat and burn tons of calories in only 15 minutes. (Be sure to warm up before getting started.)
After Turkey Day Fitness Routine
Duration: 5 rounds with 45 second rests between rounds
• 20 jumping jacks
• 20 high knees
• 20 squats
• 10 forward lunges per leg
• 20 per leg mountain climbers
Be sure to really push yourself and complete as many repetitions as possible at your own pace.
Other Options:
• Walking your dog for 30 minutes at a brisk pace.
• Jogging in place or doing standing alternating knees to chest in your living room during commercial breaks of your favorite shows.
• Anything to get up and get the heart rate flowing.
These simple steps will have you burning off the feast in no time. So get over the guilt and get moving!

Would love to hear from you! In the comments section below, please share your tips to get through the holidays while staying on track.

It’s Not Always Greener On The Other Side

With the overwhelming amount of social media that we are bombarded with daily, it can be easy to feel like we are not doing “enough”.  You don’t have thousands of followers, aren’t being paid to promote some teeth whitening non sense or poop tea, aren’t sponsored by your favorite brand, you drive a 10 year old car, are renting an apartment, can’t seem to stay in a relationship if you life depended on it.

Yet you see the girls with “perfect” bods, hundreds of thousands/millions of followers. They take lavish vacations, drive the nicest cars and seem like they have it ALL while having it ALL together.

I like to remind people that social media for most, is a personal highlight reel. Make-Up is perfect #Selfie, outfit on point #OOOTD, sponsorship #blessed, won something #everybodymustknow. m u s t. d o c u m e n t. e v e r y t h i n g. . .

And there is NOTHING wrong with that because the internet provides us with an open forum to post AS WE WISH. So I’m not here to shy you away from posting your highlights, rather I am here to tell you that when you scroll through your feeds and feel down or like your life is not so glamorous and fab, that you need to SNAP out of it and  focus on yourself instead of all of the things that everyone else is doing or posting.

Think the grass is greener on the other side? Well the grass is greener where you water it…

What does that mean? Well we all have our own plot of land (if you will), and the way that we care for our land determines what is growing and how green it is. If you are so busy admiring your neighbors plot of grass… how will you have the opportunity to tend and grow your own???

Makes sense when you think about it right…?

Here is another thing I want you to think about. There are some people that you may look up to and admire for their “accomplishments”, but in some cases you do not know what it took for them to get to that position. They may have had to “sell their soul” and the glitz and glamour may simply be what you see on screen. Believe it or not, some people keep their personal lives “personal”, so you never know if they are having issues with their children, work, they are sick, in debt….. the list goes on. So STOP comparing and START water your own grass, would ya?!

Here are some tips that help me out if I am ever feeling down or like I am not “enough”…

Power Off

Avoid spending too much time on social media, the hours you spend swiping up could be spent working towards your own greener grass.

Count Your Blessings

Think of all the blessings you have. Probably a computer or smart phone if you are reading this. A home, clean clothes, a friend you can count on, some sort of income… the list goes on. When you think of someone who lacks those things we take for granted, it puts things into perspective.

Get Better Not Bitter

See something that someone is doing that you wish you were doing? Then get BETTER not bitter. Ask that person for some advice on how to get started in that field, or make the proper steps to get you there. Sitting on the sideline and wishing will not get you any where. That I can guarantee.

So I hope this post is a sign that it is time to get up and GO! Stop waiting for tomorrow- start NOW. Your homework (yes) is to write down 3 goals that you personally want to accomplish. Having these goals in writing will help you to focus on yourself rather than wallowing in self pity over the things you wish you had or were doing. Make your own dreams come TRUE.

Have questions or want me to post about something? Leave me a comment below or shoot an email to Info@AngelesBurke.com. Also sign up for my newsletter here  so we can stay in touch!

 

Quest Pumpkin Pie Bar Review

Pumpkin everything seems to be the Fall trend over the last few years and Quest Nutrition has taken notice. I am a personal fan of any of the Quest bars that contain “chunks”- so the chocolate chip cookie dough (yum), white chocolate raspberry (nomnom) are among my faves. I actually eat the chunks and leave the rest of the bar to the birds- LOL!!!

Anyway enough on my bizarre eating habits… the pumpkin pie bars. Quest released them at the end of September 2015 and I just HAD to get my hands on them. Rumor had it they were unlike any bar before- dun dun duuuuuuuun.

(For those who have never had a Quest bar-They are a gluten free, low net carb, high fiber protein bar. They have about a dozen flavors and you are bound to find one you like.)

Thanks to Jarrod and Annelise from Southern Muscle Sport Nutrition, I got a whole box- Wahhhooooo! Let the reviewing begin…

So on first appearance I was a bit shocked because the bar was actually coated, imagine when something is yogurt covered. It was a bright orange with rough mounds on top. I would later find out that those mounds were delicious crunchy goodness.

The bar itself is just like any of the other plain quest bars. The overall flavor and texture were pretty good but they don’t compare to my bars with the chunks- all time favorite!!!

The best way to eat one in my opinion is 10-15 seconds in the microwave… warm and soft goodness.

The macros on these are a bit higher than the other flavor options I believe and I think it has something to do with the outer coating. Serving: 1 Bar, Calories: 220, Fat: 12g, Carbs: 19g (4 Net), Protein: 21g

SO what are your thoughts? Would you try it? Or have you already? Leave me a comment and let me know what you thought about it! #GetPumpkin

Olympia Prep 2015

When I received a call from Robin Chang, the promoter of the Olympia event, I about fell out of my chair. While I never publicly put it out there, a big goal of mine this year was to qualify for the 2015 Bikini Olympia.

After having a successful 2015 season, I did decide to sit out the last few shows of the year since I knew my body was needing a bit of a break. During this time I was just hoping I would have enough points to qualify for the 2015 Olympia… and I did!

During my “time off” acted as if I was going to the Olympia WEEKS before I even knew so that I would have enough time to prepare in case I was given the opportunity. But once I got that call- it was GO TIME!

Below are a few clips from my training before hitting the BIG stage!

I train 5-6 days a week and eat 5-6 meals a day. This is typical for me, but you have to understand that THIS is a huge part of my life and passion. Even on days when I don’t have much motivation, getting into the gym and doing something is better than nothing 🙂

Looking back on this experience is just a true feeling of bliss. I have a lot of people on my side and I am so thankful!!!

Thank you to my sponsors- Celsius- Bluefish Sport- ZenBody Foods- Bombshell Fitness- IFBB/NPC- Pro Tan- CJ’s Elite Suits- Glam Competition Jewelry.

I appreciate you all following along on my journey- Let me know if you have any questions!!!

3 of my Favorite Cooking Hacks

There are some days I LOOOOOVE cooking and other days that make me want to flail on the floor like a child and never deal with a stove again….

I digress….

However on either occasion I have a few secret weapons that I just HAVE to share with you.

1. Crock Pot– DO IT! Buy one. I didn’t for the longest time because I thought they were for grannies and the lunch lady.

WRONG!!!!!

Crock pots are GENIUS!!!

I love throwing flank steak or chicken in there for about 6 hours on low. It comes out perfect, juicy and SUPER tender. To jazz it up, you can add in some diced onion,peppers and tomatoes and it will come out more like a stew. Add with a side of rice (or throw the rice in after a few hours and it is a perfect dish that will last for DAYS)…. you are welcome!

2. Crock Pot Liners– Crock pots make amazing meals BUT the clean up SUCKS!!! The juices get all stuck on the sides and takes a lifetime to scrub off untiiiiiiiil crock pot liners. LIFE savers!

A 4 pack runs about $2.50- cannot beat it for time saving and zero frustration.

3. Salt Free Mrs. Dash Seasonings– Welcome to my freaking fiesta baby! I add salt to my meals before I eat it, in case I am adding a sauce or condiment so that it is not sodium overload or if cooking for someone else. But sometimes during prep for competitions or events I kick it with these Salt Free options so that I am not gagging on cold bland cod while contemplating the meaning of life (tell us how you really feel).

Legit Mrs. Dash- SO good!

I don’t have time to figure out which seasonings make my shrimp taste like a fajita, but Momma Dash did and I thank her for it.

I hope you check these tips out- they help me and save TONS of time! Any one use these or have any fun tips to share? Comment below.

PS.I post up more healthy living tips on my IG and it gets pretty weird over there- so follow me @angelesburke – DO IT!!!

Healthy Grocery Store Shopping Tips

OK- let’s face it.

The marketing world has gone above and beyond to make us feel that the sugar free, low fat, low carb, low sodium buzz words make a product healthy. And THAT my friends could not be further from the truth.

Seriously- next time you are in the store, I want you to READ the BACK of the box- not just the catchy bold words printed on the front.

What is on the back is what REALLY counts. Added sugars, preservative and unpronounceable ingredients run rampant on the nutrition labels.

In this video I give you some of the shopping tips I use each week to see if what I am buying for myself and loved one is really all that it is cracked up to be- enjoy!

Be sure to head over to my site http://www.angelesburke.com and sign up for my free healthy living tips 🙂

One Arm Seated Cable Row

Cable rows are a great exercise for your back, biceps and shoulder muscles. Using different grip attachments on the machine can help you target different muscles in your back. I personally prefer doing the seated rows with one arm. This allows me to concentrate on working each side evenly. As I fatigue while doing double handed rows, my dominant side tends to over compensate. Doing single or one arm rows allows me to effectively build my back.

Begin with a warm up set of about 15 repetitions. Then choose a more challenging weight. Be sure to let your back do the majority of the work. If you are using too much momentum then you are recruiting secondary muscles and not training as effective. Control the weight at all times.

Below is a video demonstrating this effective move. 4 sets of 12-15 repetitions per side. 20 second rest between sets. Let’s GO!

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Free Bikini Seminar- Tampa, FL

THIS weekend- February the from 11am -1pm. I will be at Calta’s 24/7 Fitness (4320 W Gandy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33611) providing ladies with all the tips and tricks they will need to get started in the NPC Bikini Division.

I will discuss:

-Posing
-Nutrition
-Training
-Stage presence
-Hair and make-up
-How to get started in the NPC
-Marketing yourself

PLUS- TONS OF GIVEAWAYS!
– DNC Supplements goodie bags with a $15 gift certificate in each bag!!!
– Protan items
– iStyleXG hair salon vouchers
– Celsius drinks
– Bluefish sports apparel

Please do not forget to bring your heels!

Direct any question to info@angelesburke.com.

Thank you to the DNC Supplements team for the opportunity to represent the NPC and IFBB at this event.

Can Resolutions Be Bad For Your Health?

This year is going to be YOUR YEAR- right?!

And in all of your excitement, you may have set some pretty unrealistic and unattainable goals in front of you.

Being a few days into the new year, are you having any second thoughts on that “I am going to train for 3 hours a day” mentality or “I will never eat carbs again” foolishness?… you many be in total misery.

SO can resolutions be bad for your health? It all depends!

In this article, I was interviewed along with several other industry experts on 10 New Years Resolutions That are Bad For Your Health. Check it out and see if you set any of these “no-no” resolutions yourself.