Best Exercises for toned legs and booty

When it comes to leg day, there are too many leg exercises to count. Jump squats, leg press, leg extensions, calve raises, reverse lunge, side lunge, and the list goes on. We cannot possibly do all of these exercises in one day.. You should be doing exercises that will lead to your overall goal. Are you building muscle? Toning? Beginner? I'm going to share my top 3 exercises that I find to tone, define, and enhance my endurance (I do enjoy a good run when the weather permits).

I have chosen these three exercises because they maximize the use of almost every leg muscle. Please not that these are not the only exercises I do on leg day, I am constantly trying to find new ways to keep my workouts interesting. I learned to lift using the app "BodySpace" created by bodybuilding.com. I highly recommend this app. I will write more about the app in another post.

Anyway...
Warm up by walking on the treadmill at speed 3.0-4.0 and jog if you prefer. 5 minutes is enough time but do what feels best for you.

Exercise one is the oh so loved..



Back Squat: Start off by squatting the bar (45lb) for as many reps as you can with good form.

Go up to a weight that you are comfortable performing 8-12reps with correct form.

     Notes: I was never fond of the back squat and avoided it like the plague. You must become comfortable with your form 100% and keep the weight low until you can squat with proper form in order to reduce chance of injury. Do not be afraid to ask one of the employees at your gym for help, that is what they are there for.

Dumbbell Squat: 4 sets 10-15 reps (squeeze glut, slow and controlled). Comfortable weight I used 40lb.

Cable Kick Backs: 3 sets of 8-15
Kick as high as you are comfortable. I will post about hip flexibility soon. Keep knee slightly bent and keep back straight. Perform one leg at a time and use ankle clip if available.

Advanced: more exercises that could be added to this include: walking lunges 3x10-12, Romanian dumbbell dead lifts 4x10-12.


Follow these steps for any squat exercise: GOLDEN RULES

• Keep back straight with chest up.
• Do not let knees pass toes.
• If you are flexible and can squat with your quads parallel than do what is comfortable for you. The safest squat is a squat that does not allow your knee to exceed 90 degrees.
• Do not hyper-extend knees at the end of each squat in order to reduce risk of injury. 

Healthy Sweet Potato Waffles Guilt Free

I was experimenting in my kitchen this morning and discovered a delicious recipe. I had some left over sweet potatoes and wanted to make waffles for breakfast so I threw together some ingredients and Voila!

These waffles are so sweet you do not even have to add any syrup. I made these for my boyfriend and I, let's just say he ate 3 of them. If you like are a health conscious eater like me but enjoy sweets, this is the recipe for you.



Ingredients:

3/4 cup oat flour (blended quick oats)
9 tbsp Egg whites
1 Scoop vanilla protein powder (I used quest)
1 medium-large sweet potato cooked (preferred w/o skin)
1/3 cup almond milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 packets stevia OR (optional) 1 squirt vanilla birthday cake


Blend all dry ingredient in food processor or blender (oats, baking soda, baking powder, protein, stevia) until powder consistency.

Mash sweet potato and mix in the wet ingredients (egg whites, almond milk, sweet potato) until fully mixed and creamy.

Add all ingredients to food processor and then you are ready to pour into the waffle maker! Make sure you spray your waffle maker with some sort of oil to avoid sticking.

Check out the flavoring I used in these waffles. This flavoring is a great way to add 0 calorie deliciousness to oatmeal, pancakes, egg whites, and more! They have recipes and are able to be purchased at www.ISO-SPLASH.com