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Seafood Pasta Salad
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
10 oz MACARONI, COOKED, ENRICHED
1 lb ATLANTIC COD, COOKED, 2 cups of any seafood will work
1/2 cup ONION, RAW
1 medium RED PEPPER, SWEET, RAW
1/4 cup BASIL, FRESH
1/4 cup PARSLEY, RAW, chopped
1/2 cup SALAD DRESSING, ITALIAN, DIET
1/2 tsp MUSTARD, PREPARED, YELLOW
1/2 cup GREEN LEAF LETTUCE, RAW
2 large TOMATO, RED, RIPE, RAW
DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and oil. Drain and place in a large bowl.
Add remaining salad ingredients to pasta. Stir to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together salad dressing and mustard. Gently stir into the pasta mixture.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
For presentational value, line the serving bowl or a platter with lettuce, fill with pasta, and top with tomato wedges.
193 calories
21g protein
21g carbs
3g fat
Chicken Salad
4 Servings
INGREDIENTS
6 oz CHICKEN BREAST, BONELESS, RAW, MEAT ONLY
2 cups CELERY, RAW
1/2 cup CHICKPEAS, CANNED (GARBANZO)
1/2 cup KIDNEY BEAN, CANNED
1 cup SALSA, RTS
6 cups LETTUCE, COS OR ROMAINE, RAW
4 tsp OLIVE OIL
1 tsp CHILI POWDER
2 cloves GARLIC, RAW
DIRECTIONS
In a non stick saute pan add oil, diced chicken, celery, chili powder and garlic. Cook until chicken is browned, then add chickpeas,
kidney beans, and salsa. Simmer for 10 minutes; until beans have softened. Pre-arrange a bed of lettuce each serving plate. Remove saute pan from stove and let stand for 5 minutes to cool. Spoon chicken and vegetables over lettuce. Serve.
190 Calories
15g protein
20g carbs
6g fat
One of the most frustrating processes is hitting the dreaded progress plateau. This is when you’re maintaining your regular workout and diet program but then progress stops dead in its tracks. Rather than continuing to see the results you’ve been getting, everything is at a standstill.
Often you’ll question what you’re doing wrong. You are doing the exact same thing you were always doing before, so what’s changed?
Plateau’s are definitely a challenging time for anyone but with some sneaky tricks you can get past them and get back on the road to results. Here are some of the best ways to get past this plateau.
Change The Exercises You’re Doing
The first thing you can do to get through a plateau is to alter the exercises that you’re performing. The body responds best to constant change, so if you’re doing the same exercises over and over again, you’re not giving the body enough of a reason to change.
Instead do something new – push it past its comfort zone. This could be an entirely new exercise altogether or just a different way of performing a given exercise such as moving from a barbell curl to a set of dumbbell curls.
As long as something changes, that should make the body sit-up and start responding again.
Alter Your Rep Ranges
Second, another quick way to get results is to alter the rep ranges that you use throughout the exercise. If you have been working in the lower rep range lately of five to six reps, try bumping this up to eight to ten reps instead.
This also works the body in a slightly different manner, targeting your fitness level differently and working slightly more on size compared to strength when muscle building.
If you’re working towards fat loss, higher rep training can also increase the metabolic rate to a greater extent, which will help shed the fat faster.
Assess Your Nutritional Strategy
One thing that very often is the cause of the plateau in the first place is your nutritional strategy or more specifically, your calorie intake. If you’re aiming to build muscle and aren’t seeing changes on the scale, this is a strong signal you are taking in too few calories.
If you were to bump those up another 200 or so, progress should start happening again.
Likewise, if you’re aiming to lose body fat, take a good look at how much you really are eating. Often people have a tendency to underestimate their calorie intake, thinking they are eating fewer than they really are.
Since calories do add up quickly and will impact progress, this is something you must get in line. Always look at your diet whenever you’re struggling to see if changes can be made there.
Take A Short Training Break
Finally, the last way to beat a plateau is sometimes just taking a training break. In some cases the body is just in strong need of rest and is fighting your efforts. Taking a week or two off can often jumpstart progress again when you get back into it, so ask yourself how long you have been training very intensely for.
If it’s been more than three months without a solid week off, now might be the time to take one.
While plateaus may seem like the biggest problem you’ve encountered with your training, they can be beat. If you think smartly about how to address them and implement the changes that are needed, you can get back on track very quickly.
Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2010 from Fitness 4 San Diego…
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. 2009 is coming to an end and 2010 is just around the corner. I would love to hear your New Year resolutions – post them in the comments sections to commit… A resolution is like a goal and it only counts if it’s in writing.
Here are my top 3 resolutions for the upcoming 2010.
1- I need to stop worrying. I don’t stress much, but I worry a lot about things that haven’t even happened yet. In 2010 I think I’m going to slow down, take a step back and learn to appreciate every moment for what it is.
2- I’m going to help as many people get in better shape as possible. As a matter of fact, I’m gonna start right now. There are 5 Saturdays in the month of January. For the first 5 people who email me omar@fitness4sandiego.com or call me (619) 709-1886 I will reserve the entire month of Saturday morning outdoor BootCamps (9:30 am) for just $5. That’s just one dollar per session.
3- Write. I actually enjoy writing, I just don’t seem to do as much as I would like. Come 2010 I plan on changing that.
Be sure to share your 2010 goals and wishes in the comment section below…
The Workout:
Full Turkish Get-Ups: This is a BIG movement and requires a lot of work. Especially with proper form. Both Lauren and Raquel completed 50 towards each side. That’s A Total Of 100 Get-Ups!!!
Inclined Pull-Ups On The Gravity Trainer GTS: Pull-Ups are a great upper body workout. Now, when you are able to perform 150 throughout a session – then you deserve bragging rights.
Burpees: Most people drop as soon as they here the word burpee. Not these girls. 80 Burpees Each
1/4 Mile Run: Might not sound like much, but in combination with this killer workout AND on a FULL 12 GRADE INCLINE believe me when I tell you, this is tough!
GREAT Job…
