Merry Christmas!!!

It is the holiday season! No doubt, this is a hard time to stick with your training and healthy living habits. However, don't be one of the many that fall away from their goals, you must keep your goals in mind throughout this time of year! For me, I have found that if I prepare my meals for several days, even a week at a time, it is so much easier to stick with my clean eating habits. That's not to say that you cannot enjoy Christmas dinner with your family, but you must keep your goals in mind! For instance, if you want to eat Christmas dinner with your family, plan your other meals so that at the end of the day, you have not varied far from your typical daily intake of calories and macronutrient (protein, carbohydrate, fat) ratios. It's also essential that you continue to eat at your regular times, for me that is every 2-3 hours. That is how I keep my body in its anabolic state so that it does not enter a fat-storing mode. In order to keep my calories and macronutrient ratios in place, I know that I must also keep my portions small. Good luck to you during this holiday season and I pray that you have a blessed Christmas as you continue toward your goals!

<3 Keli

New Recipe and New Photos!!!

     I have just added some photos from  my shoot last week to Photo Gallery 1 AND I have a new recipe for you!  Thanks to Mark Jesse and Bill Powers for an awesome shoot!
     The new recipe is called Oatmeal Muffins...I know, quite the original name.  Nonetheless, these muffins are delicious and highly nutritious!  They are made of completely natural, whole foods with no added sweeteners and are great for an "on-the-go" snack.  The original recipe is not very high in protein, however if you are wanting to increase your protein intake, I think it would work great to just add a few scoops of vanilla protein powder to the ingredients.  I have not tried that yet, so let me know if you do!
     Remember, just because it's getting cold outside is no excuse to slack off on your training!  What you do in your off-season (or just none-swimsuit-season) WILL be reflected when competition and warm-weather months roll around!

<3 Keli


Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 24 Muffins
1 Muffin/serving
Nutritional Info/Serving:
110 Calories
2.4 g Protein
15 g Carbohydrates
2.8 g Fat
Ingredients:
4 Ripe Bananas
3 Cups Whole Grain Rolled Oats
1 Cup Quinoa (cooked)
3 Egg Whites, beaten
1/4 Cup Orange Juice Concentrate (unsweetened)
1 tsp Orange Extract
1/4 Cup Walnuts
1/4 Cup Macadamia Nuts
1/4 Cup White Raisins
1/4 Cup Dates
1/3 Cup Dried Cranberries
1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 Tbsp Flaxseed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Mash bananas thoroughly in a large bowl.  Combine all moist ingredients and add oats.  Combine all dry ingredients and fold into the oat mixture.  Pour into muffin pan, sprayed with baking spray.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until browned as desired.

Mexican Quinoa Stew

     I have a wonderful new recipe today!  It's called Mexican Quinoa Stew.

      I don't know about you, but I love one-pot meals.  Being a full-time student and balancing three jobs, on top of trying to plan out meals can be quite challenging.  That is why I love one-pot meals.  It makes packing my days' worth of meals so much easier!  Not only does it cut down on the amount of Tupperware I use daily, but this dish makes enough for several of my meals for the week and it can be frozen for later as well.  For the complete recipe and nutritional breakdown, go to my Clean-Eating Recipes page.  I will say, while it is not necessary to buy all things organic, I try to buy all of my produce and meat organic.
     On a side note, I had an awesome fitness photo shoot this evening in my hometown gym.  It was a lot of fun to get to take some great photos in my own gym.  I haven't gotten the pictures back yet, but I will post them very soon!

<3 Keli

Eat Clean, Stay Lean!

     Last week I finished up my testing, as well as began to lean out my diet.  This week I'll be prepping for a photo shoot on Friday, which I'm really looking forward to! Pictures soon to come.  :)  In order to look my best for my shoot, I have been sure to eat really lean the past two weeks and now this week I will be flushing out excess water weight. 
    I just posted my first recipe on my Clean-Eating Recipe page and it is absolutely delicious and super easy!  It's called Dreamsicle Protein Shake and I love to pair it with a bowl of old-fashion rolled oats for a nutritious and filling breakfast.  Remember, in order to keep your body in an anabolic state, you must NOT skip breakfast!  Eat breakfast like a champ.

<3 Keli


Dreamsicle Protein Shake (My Favorite!!!)
Makes 1 Serving
Nutritional Info/Serving:
169.5 Calories
1.6 g Fat
18.7 g Carbohydrates
21.2 g Protein
Ingredients:
1 Scoop All-Natural Vanilla Whey Protein Isolate
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Green Tea (I use Green Tea for extra antioxidants and an energy boost in the morning, but water can be used instead)
1/2 Cup 100% All-Natural Unsweetened Orange Juice
Ice (optional)
Directions:
Blend together in a shaker bottle, or if using ice use a blender.

New Goals, New Stats

     This week I have begun testing my strength on various lifts so that I will be able to track my progress during this next training period.  I chose 4 exercises from which I will track my progress.  These consist of the Back Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press and Pull-Ups.  By tracking the strength gains made on these 4 exercises, I will be able to gauge the effectiveness of my program, as well as see my weaknesses. 
     Yesterday, I performed a Back and Biceps workout.  I was able to make a new PR on my pull-ups which was great! I had been stuck at 17 reps for a long time so it was great to finally break that at 18 reps!  On that note, I must point out that a pull-up with a kip is not a pull-up.  A pull-up with correct form consists of palms facing outward, lowering your body until arms are fully extended and engaging the upper back muscles, biceps and abdominals to raise your chin above the bar.  No swing.  No kip.  End of story.
     Today I maxed out on the Back Squat.  My 1-Rep max actually took a drop on this one, however that was due to correcting my form.  Correct form is VITAL to max strength gains and avoiding injury!  Techniques which I use when performing a Back Squat include the following:  wide stance (glute/hamstring dominated), knees out, toes slightly out and your rear must go below parallel while keeping your knees out!  I will be posting a video soon demonstrating a proper, glute/ham dominated Back Squat.  This week, make it your goal to focus on form and technique!

<3 Keli

Back at it! :)

     It has been a while (that is definitely an understatement) since my last post.  Originally this blog was created as an assignment for my Strength and Conditioning internship with the Florida Atlantic University Strength and Conditioning Department.  I will still be addressing topics of strength and conditioning, however now I will be focusing more on physique training, nutrition, weightlifting techniques and overall fitness, rather than specifically strength and conditioning for the athlete.  I have learned a lot since my last post and I cannot wait to begin passing this information along! Remember, eat clean to stay lean!
          ~Keli  : )