10 Easy Ways to Lighten Your Holiday Appetizers

The Holiday season is upon us, with that comes the stream of holiday parties. The bad news is that many of our favorite appetizer recipes call for high-fat and high-calorie ingredients. The good news: in most cases we can make some simple ingredient substitutions and trim these recipes down to a healthier level of fat and calories without losing their holiday flair. Here are 10 easy ways to lighten your next holiday appetizer.

1. Use light cream cheese in your holiday recipes instead of regular cream cheese and you'll save around 296 calories and 44 grams of fat per 8-ounce block.

2. Use fat-free sour cream in your holiday recipes instead of regular sour cream and you'll shave off around 474 calories and 95 grams of fat per 16-ounce container. I really like the Naturally Yours brand in the black and white cowhide container.

3. Choose reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese (or other reduced-fat cheeses) in your holiday recipes instead of regular cheese and you'll save around 279 calories and 36 grams of fat per 8-ounce package of shredded cheese (2 cups).

4. Use half real eggs and 1/2 cup egg substitute in your holiday egg recipes instead of all eggs and you'll cut around 90 calories and 10 grams of fat and 500 milligrams cholesterol for every 4 eggs normally called for.

5. Use light turkey sausage or turkey bacon such as Louis Rich (and use half as much when possible) in your holiday recipes instead of regular sausage in the regular amounts and you'll trim around 347 calories, 42 grams of fat per 12-ounce package of sausage (9 ounces cooked).

6. Use light mayonnaise instead of regular mayonnaise in your holiday recipes. But you can shave even more calories and fat by blending 1/2 cup of light mayonnaise with 1/2 cup of fat-free sour cream for every 1 cup of mayonnaise called for. You'll then cut around 1058 calories and 136 grams of fat for every 1 cup of regular mayonnaise called for.

7. Use roasted skinless chicken breast for appetizer recipes calling for skin-on chicken thigh and save around 70 calories and 10 grams of fat per 3 ounces.

8. Add fat-free half-and-half for appetizer recipes calling for liquid cream and you'll save around 40 calories and 7 grams of fat per 1/4-cup serving.

9. Oven fry or pan-fry your holiday appetizer in a minimum of oil instead of deep frying and you'll cut around 80 calories and 9 grams of fat if you use 2 teaspoons less oil per serving.

10. Choose whole grain and lower-fat bread and cracker products to accompany your holiday appetizers to increase the fiber and take down the fat. Using reduced-fat Triscuits, for example, instead of regular, will cut around 30 calories and 3 grams of fat per seven-cracker serving.

Don't forget about the Oxygen and Iron Ornament Exchange Party on Dec. 17th at 7 PM. Bring a healthy appetizer. For more information please call the studio at 804-432-1375

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Family Favorite...PASTA

Pasta is a favorite family comfort food—it’s quick and easy to cook and always tastes good.

But with all those carbs can it be healthy too? You bet! The trick is to keep portion sizes under control and compensate by adding more lean protein and vegetables into the mix.

You might also skip the “regular” pasta, which is made from refined grains, and instead opt for whole-wheat varieties as we did in this recipe. Whole-wheat pasta is a good source of dietary fiber, and it hasn’t been stripped of the grain’s important trace nutrients and phytochemicals. So eat healthy this weekend try our Pasta with Procsiutto and Spinach recipe and tell us how you liked it!

Pasta with Prosciutto and Spinach

Cheese tortellini adds great creaminess and flavor to this dish, and makes it super-simple. Beyond the pasta, you just need to cook some spinach (chard, kale, or almost any other green will work too), and toss everything together. You can also substitute pancetta(my personal favorite) or bacon for the prosciutto, but if so, you need to cook it until crisp before adding to the pasta.

1 (9-ounce) package fresh whole wheat cheese tortellini (such as DiGiorno)
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add nuts to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Add nuts to bowl.

3. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Add spinach mixture, cheese, and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss well.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)CALORIES 292 (28% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.1g); IRON 1.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 32mg; CALCIUM 103mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38.8g; SODIUM 618mg; PROTEIN 14.6g; FIBER 3.8g

Super easy recipe that tastes GREAT! Try it tonight.

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Only 102 Calories per Serving

Enjoy our recipe of the week practically guilt free at only 102 calories per serving, as your main course, or include it as a side dish to accompany chicken or fish for added protein.

Eggplant Stackatini

Long prized for its deeply purple, glossy beauty as well as its unique taste and texture, eggplants are now available in markets throughout the year. In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. These nutrients are sometimes referred to as “free radical scavengers” which are shown to protect cell membranes from damage and improve overall health. In particular the benefits attributed to the nutrients found in eggplant promote anti-cancer, antimicrobial, anti-LDL (bad cholesterol) and antiviral activities!

Eggplant is a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, copper and thiamin (vitamin B1). It is also a good source of vitamin B6, folate, magnesium and niacin. At only 27 calories per cup this vegetable packs in the nutrients and is stacked full of flavor.

Eggplant Stackatini

Eggplant:
2 medium eggplants
3 eggs
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1 tbsp water
1 tsp salt
½ tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Filling:
15 oz lowfat ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup Romano cheese
¼ cup diced roasted red peppers
1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ tsp black pepper
1 egg

Sauce:
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
14 oz can no-sugar-added diced tomatoes
8 oz can no-sugar-added tomato sauce
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400. Whisk together eggs, parmesan, water, salt, oregano and garlic powder. Trim ends off each eggplant. Cut into ½ inch thick rounds. Dip each slice into egg mixture and place on a non-stick baking pan with sides. Pour any remaining egg mixture over eggplant and bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly before carefully loosening each slice from the pan with a flat spatula.

Turn oven down to 350.

Step 2: In a sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft and translucent. Add remaining sauce ingredients. Simmer 2 minutes.

Step 3: For filling, mix all ingredients together in a bowl

Step 4: Assemble the stacks. In a casserole dish, place half the eggplant rounds in the bottom. Spoon 2 tbsp filling onto each round. Top each with another eggplant round. Pour sauce over top. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve garnished with basil. Makes 8 servings.

Calories 102 per serving
Total Fat 7.2 g
Cholesterol 102 mg
Sodium 465 mg
Carbs 2.4 g
Protein 7.2 g

Quick and Easy Flank Steak

Oxygen and Iron's recipe for this week is a quick and easy Flank Steak. This cut of steak is lean and flavorful, which tastes best when it is marinaded. Flank steak is prepared quickly under high heat, and is generally served medium rare and thinly sliced. Try this week's recipe and let us know your thoughts.

Ponzu-Glazed Flank Steak-

cooking rice with green onions is an ideal side to soak up the pan sauce. For some color on the plate, sauté bell pepper slices and drizzle with sesame oil.


2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, and remove from heat.
Place steak on a foil-lined broiler pan. Brush half of soy mixture over steak; broil 5 minutes or until browned. Turn steak over; brush with remaining soy mixture. Broil for 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven; wrap foil around steak. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
Serve steak with pan juices.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and 1 tablespoon pan juices)
CALORIES 188 (30% from fat); FAT 6.2g (sat 2.3g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.2g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 37mg; CALCIUM 31mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.1g; SODIUM 330mg; PROTEIN 25.1g; FIBER 0.3g

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Taste Like Chicken...

Oxygen and Iron's recipe of the week, answers that question you hear everyday....
What's for dinner?
Each week we will choose different recipes using, beef, chicken or pork, fish, vegetables and pasta, to create a healthy tasty meal for you and your family.

Our first recipe for the taste testing...A Chicken Burrito Bowl
This is an easy hearty recipe, just let your crock pot do the cooking while you're at work.

Let's us know what you think of this dish...

Happy Cooking,

Linda and Rachel

Chicken burrito bowls

2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp corn starch
½ tsp red pepper
4 small chicken breast
½ cup mild salsa
½ can tomato paste
¼ cup sour cream
1 can black beans
1 large tomato, chopped
Shredded green/red leaf lettuce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix dry ingredients and rub into chicken. Place chicken in crock pot on high. Spoon a mild salsa over chicken. Cover and cook 5-6 hours. Turn crock pot down to low. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Add tomato paste and sour cream. Mix until even.

In a soup bowl, layer ½ cup black beans, ½ cup chicken, 2 tbsp. cheddar cheese. Top with tomatoes and lettuce.
Serves 8.
(327 calories, 9 g fat, 40 g protein)

What's for dinner tonight?

The question we hear or ask every night...What's for dinner?

Oxygen and Iron is here to help!

We are starting a "recipe of the week" section to our blog. We will share with you a healthy and delicious new recipe each week for 4 weeks. At the end of the 4 weeks we are going to have our own taste test of all 4 recipes, plus a nutritional seminar. We will teach you how to create healthy meals and give you valuable nutritional tips.

To maximize your training results you need to feed your body healthy and nutritious whole foods. The bottom line is you can’t “out-train”poor nutrition habits, and a commitment to optimal eating is essential to seeing the results you want, whether your goals
are performance based and/or body composition base.

So, check out our weekly recipes and join us for the nutritional seminars and taste testings.
Details of where and when the tasting will be is coming soon...

Have a healthy day,

Linda and Rachel

7 Simple Techniques to Minimize Your Swine Flu Risk

I'm not an alarmist kinda person. Not at all. But the statistics don't lie:
- Seasonal flu annually sickens 5-20% of the population

But there's no need for gloom and doom. Just read these 7 simple techniques reduce your Swine Flu risk and you'll start feeling much better.

http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/Swine-Flu-Prevention.html

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

PS - Remember, an ounce of prevention...read these 7 simple things and keep yourself healthy.
http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/Swine-Flu-Prevention.html

Michelle Obama's Workout...ONLY BETTER!!!

Since she walked into the White House, Michelle Obama has selected fashion-forward clothing that flatters her buff arms. Obama's arms are popular because she's neither too skinny nor too muscular. Her exercise regimen includes interval training - bursts of high-intensity cardiovascular exercises followed by minutes of lower-intensity activity – as well as working with a Personal Trainer three times a week. At Oxygen and Iron we know that this kind of total body training is the most efficient way to work out because you save time, burn more fat and boost metabolism.
In a recent article in Womens’ Health Michelle Obama cited small changes to her family's diet that she says have also made a difference. They include eliminating processed foods, cutting back on sugary drinks, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, eating together more as a family and teaching her daughters how to read food labels.
But health and fitness and how we eat and thinking about it has become part of our lives, because of our kids," she told Children's Health. "We are their primary role models. And if they see me exercising and thinking about what I'm eating, if they see their father, as busy as he is, getting to the gym and playing sports, when they grow up they'll understand that this is a natural part of being an adult."

Watch our workout of the week to see how you can get those famously toned Michelle Obama arms, only better!!

COMMIT or QUIT

Linda and Rachel

Prograde Nutrition's BIG Back-to-School Sale

It's that time of year. Summer is over. We're all back from vacation. The kids are back at school. And people everywhere are ramping their fitness program back up.

To make those fitness efforts easier than ever my buddies over at Prograde Nutrition are having an enormous sale. This week only you can get 10% off ALL of their powerful products. Yes, the very same ones I use and have been telling you about.

All the details, including the EXACT time it expires this Friday, can be found right here:

http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/specials

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

PS - By the way, Prograde Nutrition's http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/specials products are notoriously delicious. You definitely want to take advantage of this BIG sale in a BIG way.

Quick 20 Minute Strength and Core Workout

We are all looking for a stronger core. This week's "Workout of the WEEK" is a total body workout with an emphasise on a strong core!
You will perform 30 seconds of a total body exercise, followed immediately by 30 seconds of a core exercise. Complete all 10 exercises, rest 30-60 seconds and repeat series 4 times for a quick 20 minute total body and core workout.

Have Fun!




Remember to warm up at the beginning of the workout and cool down at the end. Stretch and Drink you post workout drink.

Linda and Rachel

Check out all our videos at http://www.youtube.com/laoxygenandiron

Breakfast is BORING

This morning I was sitting in front of my computer struggling to come up with a catchy title for this. I was thinking - yet again - about stressing the importance of breakfast to you.
So as I sat there trying to be clever I mumbled out loud, "Breakfast is boring."
And there you have it. That's exactly how I came up with this title. But do NOT take this message lightly.

You see, I know you're heard it a million times before. "You have to eat breakfast." And I know it's not a super sexy message. But do you have any idea how many people I meet that DO NOT eat breakfast? A lot. And do you have any idea how many of those people that don't eat breakfast are overweight? Pretty much all of them.

Look, I'm not crazy. I know you don't have much time in the morning. And I know many of you just aren't all that hungry right after you wake up.
So let's look at this another way. You get up each morning and go to work every day because you want a roof over your head and food on the table, right? Day after day after day you go to work because you want the RESULT of that effort.

Well, IF you want to burn fat, feel better and have more energy you WILL eat breakfast every morning. Period. End of discussion.
Some things are boring. Some things just have to be done to get the result you want. For those of you that want to burn fat all day long, breakfast is just one of those things.

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

P.S. - Prograde Lean... http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/lean is a DELICIOUS chocolate meal replacement shake that we recommend to our clients. It's the perfect solution to breakfast.

Top 10 Nutritional Myths

Last night we had our first nutritional seminar. It was for our one year anniversary. Here is what we talked about, in case you missed it....

TOP 10 NUTRITIONAL MYTHS

Does eating late really make you fat? Does sugar cause Diabetes? Can we really lose weight by NOT eating carbs?
The media’s given us some outrageous claims about the food we eat and what’s considered a healthy nutritional lifestyle. Today we are going to decipher the “truths” from the “myths”
Find out the answers to these and other myths about nutrition.

1. EATING LATE WILL MAKE YOU FAT
CALORIES are CALORIES no matter WHAT time of day you eat them. There is no magic hour when your body decides that what you are eating is now going to be stored as fat.
What we eat and how much we eat is much more important than when we eat. Remember to spread your food intake out over the entire day to sustain your energy.

2. ALL FATS ARE BAD
We all need fat to sustain our body. Fat aids nutrient absorption and nerve transmission and helps maintain cell membrane integrity.
As you know, if we consumed excessive amounts of fat, this will contribute to weight gain, heart disease and increase risk of some cancers.
However, some fats actual promote good health, like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats decrease our overall cholesterol, and our LDL (the bad cholesterol), while increasing our good cholesterol, HDL. Examples of monounsaturated foods are…nuts, avocados, and olive oil.
Polyunsaturated fats also decrease our overall cholesterol, and our LDL. Some food examples of polyunsaturated foods would be salmon and fish oil.

3. CHOLESTROL-FREE FOODS ARE HEART HEALTHY
Just because the front label says it is cholesterol free doesn’t mean the food is actually healthy.
Check the food label first and see what is the amount of saturated fat and Tran’s fat. Chances are that cholesterol free margarine, cookies or crackers are loaded with saturated fats, Tran’s fats or both.
The FDA allows products to claim cholesterol free on its label if there are no more than 2 milligrams cholesterol and 2 grams of saturated fat per serving. But there is NO limit on the Trans fat. Make sure you read the entire label to find the truth whether what you are eating is really heart healthy.

4. SUGAR CAUSES DIABETES
If you have diabetes, you need to watch your sugar and carbohydrate intake, but if you don’t have the disease, sugar intake will not cause diabetes.
The most common risk of high sugar intake is weight gain.

5. SKIPPING MEALS WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT
If you skip a meal your body will think it’s in starvation mode and therefore slow down the metabolism to compensate.
If you skip a meal, you tend to overeat for your next meal, thus consuming more calories than are needed.
Instead, eat six smaller portioned and balanced meals a day to maintain hunger and weight control.

6. EATING FISH IS THE BEST WAY TO GET HEART HEALTHY OMEGA-3 FATS
Including both fish and plant based omega 3 sources to your diet is best.
Plant based omega 3 foods include, walnuts, flaxseed, canola oil and soybeans. These foods also help promote healthy skin and hair.
Fish based omega 3 foods include, salmon and fish oil, help decrease risk of cardiovascular diseases because of their strong triglyceride lowering effect.

7. RED MEAT IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH
Though it is true that beef is higher in saturated fats then other meats, choosing a leaner cut of both beef and pork will help reduce the amount of unwanted saturated fats. In fact, some leaner cuts of beef are lower in saturated fats than a thigh of a chicken with the skin on.
When choosing a lean beef, try round, top, round roast, top sirloin and flank cuts. For leaner pork, try tenderloin or loin chops.

8. AVOIDING CARBOHYRATES TO LOSE WEIGHT
The “low-carb” diets claim that carbohydrates promote insulin production, which in turn results in weight gain. The problem with most of these diets is, they don’t provide ENOUGH carbohydrates for daily maintenance. So, your body will begin to burn stored carbohydrates (glycogen) for energy. When this process happens, water is release, thus the weight you lose is really only water weight.
Most of these diets also restrict your daily calorie intake to around 1000-1400 calories per day. This type of restriction slows the metabolism down. And once normal eating habits are restored, your body is use to the 1000 calorie requirement, so when you start eating 1800-2400 calories a day, you start to gain weight, usually MORE!

9. DARK BREAD IS BETTER FOR YOU THAN WHITE BREAD/ BROWN EGGS ARE HEALTHIER THAN WHITE
Don’t let the color of the bread dictate if the bread is nutritious or not. Wheat bread is not WHOLE wheat bread. Wheat bread will have enriched wheat flour, which is a fancy way to say white flour. Plus if you read further down the ingredients, you will find some type of food coloring to make it brown. The first ingredient in WHOLE wheat bread (or other grains) should say 100% whole wheat grain.
Again, don’t be fooled by the color, brown eggs and white eggs have the same taste and nutritional content. The color difference comes from the breed of hen.

10. EXTRA PROTEIN BUILDS MUSCLE
You heard it all before, if you want to add muscle you have to eat a lot of protein like the body builders. To add muscle you need three components… 1.adequate calories 2. a good intake of protein and 3. a good strength training program.
Eating protein after strength training along with some carbohydrates has been proven to build muscle.

I hope we have squashed some of the top nutritional myths for you. Understanding the truth will make your food choices easier. Good nutrition is about 75% responsible for how your body looks, feels and performs. If you need more nutritional guidance, please talk with one of our trained professionals, about how you can start looking and feeling better today!
www.oxygenandiron.com/services
804-423-1375 studio

You are what you eat,

Linda and Rachel

Prograde Nutrition 'Lazy Days of Summer' SALE

Well, the guys over at Prograde Nutrition have done it again.
This time they're giving you every incentive to beat the Lazy Days of Summer and make sure you don't skip your workouts.They're put their research based Prograde Workout recovery shake on sale! It's 10% off all this week. Now, the really cool thing about his product is all the science behind it. Most people just don't realize how important pre and post-workout nutrition is. (Just in time for our new Boot Camp session). Take a second out of your day to watch this very brief video on the subject. It will really open your eyes. You will probably be shocked as to how you've been missing out on the chance to get faster results from your exercise efforts. Oh, and on this page you will also find all the details on how to save 10% off Prograde Workout. http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/specials But hurry, because Prograde's Lazy Days of Summer Sale ends this Friday, August 14th at 11:59pm EST.

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

- I forgot to mention, Prograde Workout is not only science based and super-effective, but it's also delicious. We will be taste testing Prograde products next week for our 1 year anniversary! Again, find out for yourself here: http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/specials

Golf Conditioning

This week the PGA goes to my home state of Minnesota for the 91st PGA Championships.
Watch Tiger and last year's winner Padraig Harrington, tear up Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, just a few miles from my old stomping grounds! In honor of Minnesota hosting this prestigious tournament, I have put together a quick golf conditioning video for all you golfers out there!

Gain more distance on your drive, while decreasing your chance of a season ending injury. Perform 10 reps of each exercise for 2-4 sets. Remember to always warm up before starting your workout and cooldown with some easy static stretching.

Drive for show, putt for dough!

Hit'em straight out there!

Linda

MMA BOOT CAMP

Come join our NEW boot camp class...MMA BOOT CAMP. Learn how to throw a mechanically correct punch, throw the grappling dummy, and sharpen your hand eye coordination with the focus mitts. Try out one of the toughest, most intense workouts in Richmond! Oxygen and Iron is proud to annouce our new trainer, Kris Peters, MMA boot camp specialist! So, grap your gloves and wraps and join Kris in our next MMA BOOT CAMP class, tues/thurs at the studio.




COMMIT OR QUIT...

coming soon ANOTHER new class offered by oxygen and iron...KETTLEBELLS

look for more information to come...

We are also coming up on our 1 year anniversary...stay tuned for some FREE classes!

One last reminder...if you have not seen FOOD INC. the movie yet, please go see it...you will look at the food you eat VERY differently...to see a trailer of the movie please scroll down past posts and check it out....WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!

Linda and Rachel

Top Vitamins for Women Revealed

Ok, so you know Vitamins and Minerals are important. Most every woman knows that.

However, not everyone understands WHY they are so important for their body. So I recently asked Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter to give us the easy rundown on the Top Women's Vitamins. Here's what he had to say:

Vitamin A - This vitamin contributes to the health of you eyes, skin and nails.

Vitamim B - While B Vitamins are often referred to as "energy vitamins" they don't actually give you a surge of energy, per se. What they actually do is help facilitate metabolic reaction in the body to create energy. They're also necessary for a healthy metabolism.

Vitamin C - This women's vitamin is a great antioxidant and immune system booster. It also helps skin health.

Vitamin D - Helps women absorb calcium. And it may help prevent certain types of cancer.

Calcium - It's actually a mineral not a vitamin. And as most women know already, it improves bone density.

Pretty simple, right? But you can also see why it's so important to understand vitamins for women. When we understand the reasons to make healthier choices it helps us make them.

Now, I get asked all the time by women which vitamin supplements, if any, they need to be taking. Great question.

Well, if your nutrition is 100% perfect all the time, then you probably don't need to take any.

But that's not the case for most women. Most women are busy as heck and don't always find the time for proper nutrition. So if that's the case with you I recommend taking a Whole Foods based Multi-Vitamin. And the only one I recommend is Prograde Nutrition's VGF 25+ for Women.

It's actually really cool because it's literally made from 25 veggies, greens and fruits. You should definitely check out Prograde's Women's Vitamins http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/vgfwomen
At the very top of the page is the list of ingredients. You can see the 25 whole foods they use to make VGF 25+ for Women.

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

PS - Pretty cool, huh? The nutrition of 25 whole foods in a bottle!

Tennis Conditioning WORKOUT

With the Wimbledon finals taking place this weekend, I thought I would give you a tennis conditioning workout that you could use to help your tennis game.
If you want more stamina, quicker footwork and more power in your tennis game, try this 30/30 CARDIO CORE WORKOUT!

You don't play tennis? That's ok, this is a great workout that will challenge any weekend warrior, or someone wanting a change in their long boring cardio routine!

Perform 30 seconds of the cardio exercise followed immediately by 30 seconds of the core exercise. Repeat entire 5 set sequence for 2-5 rounds. Rest one minute in between rounds.

Have a great 4th of July weekend! Looks like an ALL AMERICAN women's final between the Williams sisters! GO VENUS!!!!! USA Andy Roddick is in the semi-finals!

GO USA!!!!!!!!

Stay active this weekend!

Linda and Rachel

Weight Loss Myths

....how food packaging and labels can be deceptive


The big Food Corporations are spending billions of dollars every year
trying to get their products into the market and get you to buy them. So, they will pretty much do everything possible to convince you of something, whether it’s true or false, but if it gets you to buy the product they are going to go as far into the gray areas of food laws as humanly possible.

For example, most of your not so healthy foods are going to be at eye level on the store shelves and the reason is, they’re higher profit margins because they’re easier to make with simple cheap ingredients. And these foods are packed with high-fat-high-calorie ingredients. So of course they are going to put these items right in your line of sight so that you easily grab them. And that’s just a simple example. Here are some more:

1. Fat Free Foods
If you remove all the fat from something there has to be something that replaces that ingredient and processed foods taste good because they’re either loaded with sugar, fat and/or sodium, so if you remove one you’re going to have to increase another to continue to make that food taste good and obviously, fat-free doesn’t mean calorie-free as everyone learned with the whole SnackWell craze. People were eating half the box of SnackWell cookies because they were fat free. Well, they were also half a box of pretty much pure sugars so you’re still talking possibly twice as many calories as normal, which is going to lead to fat gain! Besides what your body needs is good fat, which is actually necessary for energy production, production of hormones, promotes healthy skin and hair and assists in absorption of soluble vitamins.


You need fat in your body to be able to function efficiently and it helps if you feel fuller sooner and longer. Not that you want to eat a lot of fat, but you need to have some good healthy fat in your body so that it can function efficiently. And if you chose things that are fat-free, something has to replace that, and it’s usually going to be sugar, which is also a very high calorie substitute and mentally people think it’s fat free, “I can eat more of this”. But actually you should probably eat less. You are actually worse off eating more sugar than more fat when it comes to just packing on the pounds.



2. Sugar
How does sugar make us fat? I think logically it makes sense to people, “Okay, well if I eat fat, I’m going to get fat.” I mean it’s fat, but how does sugar makes us fat?
Well sugar, like I mentioned before, is a high calorie ingredient so when you consume it, obviously, more than what you burn, those calories tend to be stored as fat. Another more important reason on how sugar can make you fat is sugar will cause your body to send out a lot of insulin to try to get that sugar out of the blood stream so that your body can return to a normal balance in regards to the amount of sugar that it usually has in its bloodstream. Well your body has to do something with that sugar. Once that insulin goes out and grabs the sugar, it needs to do something with it. So, it either burns it for energy or it’s going to store it as fat to be used at a later time. Since there’s only so much energy to be burned for a typical person then the alternative is obviously to store it as fat. That’s how too much sugar leads to weight gain because you’re causing your body to have to store more calories as fat calories.
Another problem with fat free (sugar filled) foods is that you get hungry faster and you typically crave those same kind of foods because sugar gets processed and digested pretty quickly and when you get blood sugar spikes (and in response your body sends out insulin to store those sugars) your blood sugar then drops significantly and you would think that is ok. Instead what happens when your blood sugar gets low is your body gives off signals saying “Hey we need some energy. We need some food.” So, all of a sudden you think, “Oh, I’m hungry again.” Well, not really – you’ve caused this out of whack scenario where you spiked your blood sugars and then let them drop really fast and now your body’s confused thinking you’re hungry and you’re not. Most of the time when this happens people eat a candy bar or something real sugary and again filled with fat and packed with calories, this blood sugar spike occurs again and then you get hungry again and the cycle continues in search for instant energy.
So the food companies give you these foods filled with sugar and then your body craves more of them. I mean literally craves more of the same type of unhealthy foods that are very easily ingested so you end up consuming too many calories and that’s how you pack on the pounds. Simple, simple, simple.

3. Low-Carb/No-Carb Foods
These foods are usually high calorie/high fat foods so although fat does have a place in your meal plan you can’t just eat endless high fat foods because there’s a mark that you hit and when you go over that mark, as far as the number of calories you need in a day, whether it’s coming from protein, fat or carbs, your body still only needs a certain number of calories or fuel in a day. So, when you surpass that number your body’s going to have to do something with the surplus of calories. Most people think they can just eat fried foods and high fat meats etc. to stay on a low-carb diet but they end up overeating, just too many calories. Regardless if it’s just protein and fat – if you’re body is only supposed to burn 2000 calories a day and you’re eating 4000, well those 2000 extra calories are going to have to be stored somehow. So, the whole no-carb or low-carb all the time craze, leads people to eat too much and still gain weight.

In response the food companies and diet industries have jumped all over this and started making these processed nutrient dead foods to fill the demand. Foods with high fat ingredients as well as lots of sugar alcohol, which tends to trick the body into thinking that it’s not full yet so you just keep eating. And gaining weight. Simple, simple.


4. Processed nutrient dead foods
So, basically the middle aisles of a store are where most of the processed foods are kept, anything in a box or a can. And with these 100 calorie packs on the market today, you’re just getting the 100 calories of junk. If you’ve ever eaten one of those, you eat one and then about ten minutes later you think, “I’m going to have another one. It’s only 100 calories.” You start doing this form of thinking and before you know it you might as well just have had a Snickers Bar because you’re putting in 200-400 calories. So remember anything in the center aisles of the grocery store like that are just high profit foods for the manufacturer and the stores.

And don’t be fooled by the drinks sold in those middle aisles either. The waters that are out there that have vitamins and minerals are also loaded with sugar. Plus Diet Coke Plus and other sodas that say they have vitamins in them have such a miniscule amount that you’d have to drink about ten of them to have any real beneficial effect.
If you want to strip fat off your belly, or your butt, or your thighs, or your hips or wherever, you’re much better off drinking plain old fashioned water.

5. High fructose corn syrup
Another way food companies hide the fact that there’s lots of sugar in their products is the addition of high fructose corn syrup. It’s one of those ingredients that your body doesn’t recognize, so it doesn’t know when you are full. It’s also one of those that actually helps you feel good – by releasing endorphins which make you feel good and then your body’s unable to sense that you’re overeating so you gradually keep eating more and more. In other words it’s kind of addictive. And it’s a very cheap ingredient so again, if it makes the product taste good and it’s cheap to make, they’re going to use it regardless of the health benefits of lack of health benefits.


6. The good old-fashioned salad.
People like to go on diets and they love to eat salad. But beware of the fast food places that say they are adding salads to their menus to address all the obesity problems that are going on in our country. What happens is they slap on a couple of ounces of mayo or ranch dressing or blue cheese on top and all of a sudden your salad went to hell in a basket! Not to mention that you can add cheese and eggs and meat and nuts on to the top and those are really just higher calorie condiments. So your healthy salad can jump to 800-900 calories really fast. A lot of times you are better off getting an entrée of seasoned chicken with some vegetables on the side. You can have a healthy salad, just be careful what you put on top.


So, write down these six things and keep them with you when you go to the grocery store. Never shop on an empty stomach and stick to the outside aisles. Try to buy whole foods as well as plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and you will be on your way to a healthier YOU!

Happy Shopping!

Linda and Rachel

TRAVEL WORKOUT- this week's WORKOUT of the WEEK

Well, summer is here and it's time to travel. Whether you are going to New York, Amsterdam, Dublin or the beach, you can keep up with your workouts with our new "Travel Workout". You don't need to go to the gym while on vacation, be creative and use your surroundings to get your workout in. Check out this week's video to stay healthy during your travels.



Happy Travels from Linda and Rachel

Don't forget to use the "beach workout" if you are heading to the beach this summer!

Is Our Food Making Us Sick?

A new documentary is coming out this week about the food industry called Food, Inc.
This films talks about how our nation's food supply is controlled by a handful of corportations that put profit ahead of consumer health. Do we really know what we are eating? With our heavy dependence on corn, our need for bigger, cheaper and faster food making us sick? We are riddled with widespread obesity, especially among our children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults. Discover what our government doesn't want us to know...
If you haven't seen the trail, check it out below.



What are your thoughts on our nation's food industry?

In good health,
Linda and Rachel

Breakfast of Champions?

Here is a great article I just read...Thought I would share it with all of you! I know this weekend is a holiday weekend, that means cook outs with all sorts of "bad" for you food. I'm not saying you can't enjoy the cook out...just be smart...like mom always says, "make good choices!"
Those good choices, start with breakfast, the MOST important meal of the day!

Have a great holiday weekend...be safe...be fit and MAKE GOOD CHOICES!

Linda and Rachel

Breakfast: It really is for champions?
By Alan Courtenay

We have been told time and time again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yet nearly one-fifth of all adults choose to pass on the Wheaties. What is the big deal about breakfast? Can a solid breakfast really make or break your fitness goals? Read on as I answer your most pressing questions on this popular subject.

Why eat Breakfast?
Let's dissect the word 'breakfast'. When you take it apart you find two words with an all-important hidden message. Breakfast. I can hear your wheels spinning on this one! That's right, breakfast is the meal that breaks the fast that your body goes into each and every night when you sleep.
When breakfast is skipped, your body continues to fast until you eat later in the day.

This is a problem for two reasons.
Problem #1: Your brain needs fuel to function at its peak. This fuel comes in the form of glucose derived from food and is needed to walk, talk and perform all other activities. When you skip breakfast your brain is forced to work extra hard in breaking down stored carbohydrates or to turn fats and proteins into usable forms of glucose. Eating breakfast has been proven to improve concentration, increase your problem solving capabilities, enhance overall mental performance and even boosts your memory and mood.

Problem #2: Your metabolism will go into 'famine' mode. Three to four hours after you eat, your metabolism shuts down and acts as if it needs to store food. This is a great function to have if a famine were to break out, leaving you without food for days. Since this is likely not the case for you, it is pretty annoying when your body starts packing on the pounds in an attempt to protect you from starvation! Eating breakfast communicates with your body the fact that you are healthy, well fed and not in need of extra fat storage.

What about the cut calories? 'Skipping breakfast is how I cut calories out of my diet.' I can't tell you how often I hear this response when I encourage people to eat breakfast. What these 'calorie cutters' don't realize is that they are the ones who turn to snacking later in the day in an attempt to ward off low energy levels. Allowing your body to become over-hungry leads to distorted satiety signals, and leaves the door wide open for overeating later in the day.

Start your day with breakfast and then continue to eat smaller meals and snacks throughout the day for optimal calorie burning.

What's for Breakfast? Now that you are convinced that breakfast is worth your time, it's time to decide what to have! A recent study done by FoodWatch, a Minnesota-based consulting firm that watches food trends, revealed that most people are basically eating dessert for breakfast, due to the high quantities of on-the-go breakfast foods that are processed, packaged and pumped full of refined carbohydrates. Another study recently proved that high fiber, low fat breakfasts promote healthy weight control much more effectively than highly refined breakfast foods.

Try the following On-The-Go Breakfast Selections for a blend of hearty carbohydrates, protein and fat and experience optimal morning energy.
• Low Fat Yogurt with Fresh Fruit
• Low Fat Cottage Cheese and a Cherry Oatmeal Muffin
• Hard Boiled Egg and Whole Wheat Toast
• Scrambled Egg White on Half a Bagel
• Whole Wheat Tortilla rolled with Scrambled Egg Beaters and Salsa
• Soy Milk with Whole Grain Cereal and Fresh Fruit

Sleep It Off
Did you know that sleep is a vital component for weight loss? A study done at the University of Chicago concluded that people who got less than four hours of sleep actually had increased levels of the hormone cortisol and insulin which are linked to a difficulty in processing carbohydrates. Tonight go to bed early, aim for 8 hours of sleep, and wake up fitter.

10 minute fat burning workout HIGH IQ

This week's workout is a quick 10 minute fat burning workout!
Try this HIGH IQ workout- high intensity quick total body workout.
You ALWAYS have time for a workout!



Let me know what you think about this workout...please leave a comment below!

Linda and Rachel

Legs and Glutes WORKOUT of the WEEK

New WORKOUT of the WEEK...get ready for summer! With the hot weather already here, most of us have pulled out our shorts...time to get thoses legs toned up!

This workout is a superset ladder! Work hard and let me know what you think of this week's workout...

Linda and Rachel

Three Mother's Day Fat Fighting Tips

This Sunday is Mother's Day, so I thought I'd share with you some really simple tips that do a great job of fighting fat. But before I even get to them I want to let you know that while moms have a real tough job, it's not nearly as hard to burn off the belly fat.

In fact, just a few simple changes in lifestyle can make a dramatic difference in your belly, butt, hips and thighs. So be sure to put these tips to good use:

Mother's Day Fat Fighting Tip #1 - Avoid soft drinks, juices and any other liquids loaded with sugar. All these drinks are very high in useless calories. A 12 oz. can of cola typically packs 150 calories worth of sugar! Drink a couple of those a day and you're packing on the belly fat!

Mother's Day Fat Figthing Tip #2 - Record what you eat and drink. Most moms - and people in general - are shocked at the amount of food and calories that they are REALLY consuming when they track it. And be honest, many times when people do this exercise they "forget" to write down the foods they nibble on here and there. It ALL adds up.

Mother's Day Fat Fighting Tip #3 - Eat 5 to 10 servings of fruits and veggies each day. This will help you meet your micronutrient needs for the day. And that is critical to your body's ability to burn fat off your belly, butt, hips and thighs.

Happy Mother's Day!

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

and the winner is.......

Our grand prize winner of the night was....




thank you all for coming to our cocktail fundraiser party!

Linda and Rachel

SHOW ME THE MONEY! $$$$$$$

For those of you who promised to add to your donation if I wore a dress, heels and make-up.....SHOW ME THE MONEY! My end of the bet was honored, so now it's your turn.

The POWER of the PUSH UP CHALLENGE was a great success!
Thank you to all who participated.

Our push up challenge winner was...
Kim Downing for the most push ups...192

The challengers performed over 1500 push ups all together!
Delores Poe and Kim were both big money raisers. For the morning
session during the push up challenge we raised almost $2000!
After the evening cocktail party, we raised our total to over $4000, with more donations come in. If you are interested in donating to our Komen fund please go to our website... http://www.oxygenandiron.com/

Thank you again for all who participated in the Power of the Push Up Challenge and for
those of you who attended our cocktail party!

Linda and Rachel

3rd and Final Power of the Push Up Training Video

Here is the final video for your training for the POWER of THE PUSH UP CHALLENGE!
Remember the challenge is Saturday, May 2nd at our 7:30 AM BOOT CAMP! Please join us in supporting the Susan G Komen Foundation of Richmond! Don't forget the Cocktail
Party that evening at 7 - 9 PM, also at the studio! Help Oxygen and Iron raise more money than last year's event!

GET STRONGER!!!!!!!! FEEL THE POWER!!!!! PUSH IT!!!!!!

Power of the Push Up II

More push up training for the POWER of the PUSH UP CHALLENGE



Don't forget to save the date for MAY 2!
Power of the Push Up Challenge at 7:30 AM - NOON
Cocktail Party Fundraider at 7 PM - 9 PM

BE THERE!!!!!!!

Fast Food Fat Loss Failure

Back in the nineties Fast Food companies tried to change. They tried coming out with lighter and lower fat versions of their sandwiches and tacos and everything else.
Know what happened?
The "healthier" versions on their menus failed miserably. And I mean miserably. They were all pulled and replaced by newer options that were bigger, fattier and more calorie laden than ever before.
Seriously, they stopped pulling punches and did what any smart business should: They gave people what they wanted. And in the case of Fast Food companies that meant adding as much mayo, bacon, cheese and beef as they possibly could.
That's when we started seeing the Triple Burgers and Mega Burgers and tacos wrapped in melted cheese stuck to yet another taco.And people were more than happy to gobble them all right up.
I believe, fortunately, that we've come to a point where people have realized that it's all just too much. To some extent people are waking up and realizing that they cannot afford to get sick. They cannot afford to eat garbage all the time. They are understanding it WILL catch up to them.



Kentucky Fried Chicken has been in the news lately because they are trying a new Kentucky GRILLED Chicken. Supposedly it tastes as good as their fried version.
Now I don't know if it does or doesn't. And to be honest, I don't much care. You see, the fact of the matter is when people go to Fast Food restaurants and order something "healthier" like grilled chicken they typically off set it by eating every french fry in sight. Or drinking a 64oz cola.
There are better choices to be made. And if you plan your day you won't be in a position where you have to gobble a meal down at KFC, McDonald's or Burger King.
Things like:
Low fat cottage cheese
Hard boiled eggs
Fresh fruit and veggies
Raw almonds
You could also go with Prograde Cravers or Prograde Lean. Cravers are the best tasting healthy snack bar on the planet and Lean is their delicious chocolate meal replacement shake.
Look, the bottom line is simple: A little bit of planning and some smart food choices go a long way to getting that flat stomach you're looking for.
Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/cravers
http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/lean

POWER of the PUSH UP Training

Get ready for the POWER of the PUSH UP CHALLENGE.
Start training now! Try these push ups to help you
raise more money for the Susan G Komen Foundation!

May 2 2009 at oxygen and iron personal training studio
208 heaths way road, midlothian, VA 23114 804-423-1375
7:30 AM - NOON
Cocktail Party and Fundraiser at 7-9 PM

Sexy Summer Arms ~ WORKOUT of the WEEK

It's almost time for short sleeves and shorts! So, let's get ready
for summer. Try this week's WORKOUT of the WEEK...



Let me know what you think of this and any of our workouts....
Please comment below....

POWER of the PUSH UP fundraiser sponsored by oxygen and iron

It is time again to start thinking about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. We are doing it again, and we wanted to let you know about what is happening this year. We have a team registered, called Power of the Pushup, and we encourage EVERYONE to be part of it. Friends, Family, Neighbors... We raised almost $12,000 last year and we are shooting for even higher this year. This year we are doing 3 main fundraisers. First, we are having a fundraiser here at Oxygen and Iron and Design One Salon & Spa on the evening of May 2nd. There will be a raffle, food, and a lot of fun. Tickets are now on sale, with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen foundation of Richmond. Second, we are going to hold a Pushup Challenge. Participants will be ask to get pledges from everyone you possibly can, and then come in here to Oxygen and Iron for our special Pushup Boot Camp. The Boot Camp will be a fantastic workout, and you will certainly do many pushups. You can also come in that day to do pushups if you can't make the Boot Camp. Lastly, we are doing shirts again this year. We are extremely excited about our shirts this year, which have been designed specifically for our Team. Check them out below! For more information on all our Komen fundraising please check out our website at http://www.oxygenbootcamp.com/raceforthecure.html Thanks!!

Rachel's Birthday

Spring Break WORKOUT of the WEEK @ the beach

This week's workout of the week is done at the BEACH!!
Those of you on spring break can still get your workout
in, and those still at home, just pretend you are at the
beach and do this workout in your backyard.

30 second add ons...
perform each exercise for 30 seconds, followed by
30 seconds of rest. Complete 5 rounds, each round
add one more exercise, always starting with the
first exercise. Follow each round with a 30
second rest and continue until all 5 rounds are
completed. Repeat entire series one more time!

GOOD LUCK!

Linda and Rachel

The Power of the Push Up

Join Oxygen and Iron Personal Training Studio
for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure 5K on May 9.
We will be doing the warm up again for the race.
Rachel did such a great job last year, they wanted
us back...she thought she was on American Idol!

This year's team is the POWER of the PUSH UP.
(not Cougars for the Cure)
We are holding a push up challenge and fundraiser
party on MAY 2 at the studio. More details to come!

So we need to start training for the 5K and the
push up challenge...looks like more push ups and
suicides at boot camp!

More information on the race to come soon!

Linda and Rachel

BOOT CAMP week 1 of outdoor season!

We are back outdoors for 2009!
We forgot about the sun, the dirt, the rain, the suicide runs and the indian runs...
much more to come...I see bear and crab crawls in your future!!!

Great to be back outside!!!!

Linda and Rachel

WORKOUT of the WEEK 30/30 strength core

This week's workout of the week is a 30/30 strength core workout.
30 seconds of strength followed by 30 seconds of core.
Good Luck and have a great week!

Linda and Rachel

Win the Battle Against Fat Cells

As a fitness expert, you know I'll never promise you a pill is going to be the answer to that "jiggle in your wiggle." If you want six pack abs you're going to have to work for them.

BUT...

There is some very promising research out there in regards to a dietary supplement you've probably been hearing a lot about.

Yes, I'm talking about Essential Fatty Acids. You probably have heard them called something like Fish Oil pills.

How's this for good news?!

*University of Georgia researchers have found something pretty amazing about Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA. Get this: The actually help STOP the conversion of pre-fat cells into fat cells by causing them to die out before they can mature.

Once a pre-fat cell becomes a fat cell, well, there's no turning back. You've got that fat cell for life. Imagine, actually decreasing the accumulation of fat by taking an Essential Fatty Acid supplement containing DHA!

Now let me do my best infomercial voice for you...

But wait, there's more!

Seriously, that's not the only benefit of Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA.

According to studies** done at the University of South Australia people that combined exercise with Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA saw greater fat loss than the test group that only exercised and did not take the supplement.

How can you not be excited by these research studies??

Now, personally, I don't like Fish Oil pills because they cause you to burp like crazy. If you've ever taken them you know exactly what I mean. And they aren't always the highest quality.

I prefer EFA Icon from Prograde Nutrition because they use Krill Oil. It's been found to be a superior source of Essential Fatty Acids containing DHA. Plus, with EFA Icon there are NO fish burps. And I haven't even mentioned all the amazing health benefits from this dietary supplement.

If you're looking to accelerate your fat loss results than I really recommend you go with Prograde Nutrition's EFA Icon. You can get it here: http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/icon

Yours in rapid fat loss,

Linda and Rachel


PS - Remember, EFA Icon is NOT a miracle solution. You will need sound nutrition and exercise. BUT the research is there. It's definitely a supplement with powerful fat loss properties. http:/oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/icon

* Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136:2965-2969

** American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85:1267-1274

WORKOUT of the WEEK

Good Luck and have a great week!

Linda and Rachel

The NEW t shirts are here! The NEW t shirts are here!

Check out the NEW oxygen and iron t shirts!
We have men's and women's styles in either

black or white.

Stop by the studio to get your t shirt today.

Supplies are limited.

http://www.oxygenandiron.com/

Don't miss our special model in the video!

Toned Arms Like Michelle Obama

Regardless of what you think of the current administration, the media has made one thing perfectly clear: Women everywhere are BIG fans of Michelle Obama's arms.

Now I know that past First Ladies have not usually worn sleeveless dresses. And you may not think it's appropriate. You may love it. Whichever way you feel I think we can agree on one thing: The woman DOES have some sexy arms on her!

In fact, I've seen some reporters condemning her arms because they are flat out jealous of how good she looks.

After doing some research online it's become clear that the First Lady makes it a priority to exercise. In fact, according to news reports she and the President get up at 5:30am three times a week to workout. Imagine that, two people as busy as they are MAKING time for fitness. Kind of puts the lame old excuse, "I'm too busy", to rest for good, right?

Hopefully whomever is designing her fitness program is recommending she consume the proper post-workout nutrition. You see, research has shown that recovery of muscle nutrient stores can be enhanced by consuming a specified mixture of carbs and protein immediately after a workout. This greatly improves the recovery time from exercise.

Here at Oxygen and Iron we recommend Prograde Workout Drink.

Prograde Workout is NOT available in stores anywhere. You can only find them online here: http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/workout

Look, I'm not kidding about how much Prograde Workout will improve your exercise performance. It tastes great and it's ready to drink in less than 60 seconds. If you want sexy arms this will help you see them faster.

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

6 AM "Boot" Campers

50/10 Tabata WORKOUT of the WEEK

Here is this week's WORKOUT of the WEEK.
This week's feature is a 50/10 Tabata.
50 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds
of rest. Complete 4 rounds for a 20 minute
workout. Good Luck!



To get your own PERSONALIZED workout, contact us at
804-423-1375. Let Oxygen and Iron Personal Training
Studio be YOUR home for health and fitness!

Here it is...THE POWER of the CORE video

We had a great turn out for our first class...

Take a look and come join us next week...
FRIDAYS @ 10 AM & SATURDAYS @ 9 AM

Look for the Power of the Core Video

Oxygen and Iron's FIRST core class started this week,
with our new trainer Jeremy!

Power of the Core is a 30 minute core class to help
strengthen your total core! Using both conventional
and non conventional exercises.

If you are interested in join next week's class,
please call the studio 804-423-1375 or email Jeremy
at jeremy@oxygenandiron.com

Stay tuned for the video!

Have a great weekend.

Linda and Rachel

Bathing Suit Season Nightmares?

It's getting to be that time of year. Before you know it summer will be here. Heck, it's already Spring Break for some folks. Seems like just yesterday it was January 1st and everyone was making their New Year's Resolution. Well, hopefully YOU didn't because you know a flimsy "resolution" doesn't get you anywhere.
You know it takes much more than that. You know you need:
Written goals
A solid exercise program
Social support
Discipline
Patience
Sacrifice
A burning desire to succeed
Changes in your lifestyle
Education
Proper nutrition
In other words, you know you need to GET REAL about fat loss. You know it makes no sense to fall for the same old miracle promise or "easy" solution. Whether it's January 1st or Bathing Suit season doesn't matter. The proven approach to looking great on the beach is good old fashioned effort.
Look, in one way our lives would be a LOT easier if we just lied to you and sold you a bunch of empty promises. Sure, it would make earning a living super easy. Most people are happy to spend their hard earned money on the latest miracle pill or potion. But we wouldn't be able to look at ourselves in a mirror. We wouldn't be able to sleep at night. And that's why we'll never be the one to lie to you about what it takes to transform your body.
Do the right thing this Bathing Suit Season. Use it as a catalyst to really change your life. We'd be thrilled to help you. We'd love it if you'd place your trust in us and let us show you the right way to do things.
If you arm yourself with the right knowledge and approach this with a great attitude you'll NEVER have another Bathing Suit Season nightmare again.
Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel

PS - If you want to make the nutrition aspect of fat loss simple then you need to get on board with our friends at Prograde Nutrition. They're like us; they don't sell miracles in a bottle. They sell real nutrition that supports your fitness and fat loss goals. You can save a lot of loot with their combo packs. Check out Prograde Nutrition here. http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/

in case you missed this last post

Our new Online Monthly Newsletter

To check out our new monthly newsletter, just click on to link below...

http://www.ptonthenet.com/clientcontent.aspx?m=72819

Let us know what you think! If you have anything that you want to learn about, please just email us and we will find you your answers!

Have a healthy day,

Linda and Rachel

No Crunch ABS Workout

This week's workout is a quick abs workout.
Getting you ready for our NEW ABS CLASS!

Perform each exercise for 60 seconds. Rest one minute and REPEAT series 2 more times.

Why do women store fat differently than men and why is it harder for a woman to shed fat?

Well, some research may be showing why this happens.

Researchers have found one hormone that is linked to the impact of fat storage. The hormone is oestrogen.

On average, women have 6 to 11 percent more body fat than men. Studies show oestrogen reduces a woman's ability to burn energy after eating, resulting in more fat being stored around the body. The likely reason is to prime women for childbearing, the review suggests.

"From an energy balance point of view there is no explanation why women should be fatter than men, particularly since men consume more calories proportionately," Associate Professor O'Sullivan said. "In fact, women burn off more fat than men during exercise, but they don't lose body fat with exercise as much suggesting women are more efficient fat storers at other times.

Even though the research is early and there isn't a clear cut solution as to how to prevent the effective fat storage. There are a few things you can do to help minimize fat storage.

A big one is to eat the foods that provide the proper nutrients that promote fat burning and keep your insulin levels in control. The key is to not further promote fat storage. Keeping your insulin levels in control does this. Also, when you eat lean protein and fiber with a meal you are actually consuming nutrients that specifically counteract insulin and it's fat storage properties.

Another one is resistance and interval training. Increase your lean body mass with resistance training and increase your metabolism with anaerobic interval cardio training. These two training tips will help you create an afterburn that will help you shed unwanted body fat. For more information on afterburn, get a FREE report on our boot camp site at www.oxygenbootcamp.com

The reality is you are at a disadvantage, but you can do plenty to counteract this.

Best in health,

Linda and Rachel

WORKOUT of the WEEK workout A

Workout B

Work out of the Week EXPLAINED

Don't let the snow keep you from your workout!
Try our Workout of the Week, and stay on track...

This week's workout is a 10 Minute Continuous Work
plus an added bonus: a quick 4 minute Cardio Tabata.

You can end here or continue on to WORKOUT B below,
again, a 10 Minute Continuous Work plus 4 minute
Cardio Tabata.

Have Fun!

Let me explain the workout a little better...
each workout has 3 exercises. You will perform
10 reps of each exercise in a circuit fashion,
continuously for 10 minutes. REST one minute
and do the tabata. REST again and start workout
B in the fashion as workout A. REST one minute
and finish with the last tabata. GOOD LUCK!

Fast Fat Loss Plan

There is a reason few people reach their goals and make their dreams come true.

Know what that reason is?

It's because they actually HAVE goals written down. The vast majority of people on this planet do not.

And not only do people that achieve goals actually set goals, they also create a a plan to make sure they make things happen.

So where does that leave you?

Do you keep telling yourself you are going to "lose some weight?" Or do you have specific goals and a plan to reach them?

Do you have a plan for what you're going to eat each day so you're not tempted to fill up on fast food? Do you have a deadline for when you're going to reach your goal?

Here's another one: you KNOW you need to be eating breakfast every day. Do you have nutritious food in the house you PLAN on eating each morning?

If not have you looked into taking advantage of a delicious meal replacement shake like Prograde Lean? http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/lean

This is YOUR life. Whether you want your body to look better naked, you want to improve your health, you want to have more energy, or whatever your goal is, you MUST have written goals and a plan to achieve them.

Yours in health,

Linda and Rachel
PS - Fail to plan, plan to fail. Life is easy when you plan for it to be.

Partner work out for MAC users

Sorry, we realized that some viewers could not upload this video with their MAC computers. Please try this video, it's not as fancy, but the exercises are the same! ENJOY!

BONUS WORKOUT: Valentine's Day Partner Workout!

valentine partner workout


Have a great workout and a Happy Valentine's Day!

Linda and Rachel

oxygen and iron

Workout of the Week

40-20 tabata workout

Tabatas are a great quick full body workout.

Perform each exercise for 40 seconds. Rest for 20 seconds. Complete the entire circuit, rest one minute and repeat circuit.
Perform the first and third circuits right side only.
Perform the second and forth circuits left side only.

Have a great workout!

If you have questions on tabatas, or other exercise routines, please contact
us at the studio. 804-423-1375 or contact@oxygenandiron.com

COMMIT OR QUIT!

Linda and Rachel

Michael Phelps, Bongs and 6 Pack Abs

So by now you've probably heard that Olympic champion Michael Phelps has gotten himself into a little bit of hot (bong) water. I felt I couldn't let this opportunity slip by without sharing some lessons from his mishap.
First, we all have to remember that we're role models. Somebody somewhere is looking up to us for guidance. It's a shame Michael Phelps screwed up, but he did. What's done is done. I know it reminded me that as a fitness pro, I MUST lead by example.
Second, again, he screwed up. And while I'm not one to give people a million chances, I do believe in second chances. And forgiveness. Which, when it comes to melting fat and getting fit, is VERY important.
I can tell you from experience working with hundreds of people with similar goals to yours, you WILL screw up somewhere along the way. The key to success is to forgive yourself and move forward. The people who truly fail are the ones that just give up the first time they make a mistake.
Third, this has nothing to do with what Michael Phelps has recently done, but it's another great reminder. If you want a lean, hard body and 6 pack abs, you're going to need to WORK. Regardless of his recent actions Michael Phelps is an Olympic Champ because he worked his rear end off. Don't fool yourself into thinking achieving your fitness goals is going to be a piece of cake.
Fourth, much was made during the Olympics of Michael Phelps and the massive amounts of calories he was consuming. If YOU want to get into peak condition you need the proper nutrition. Period.
Look, if you're not eating enough fruits and vegetables you need a Whole Foods based multi like http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/vgf) like Prograde Nutrition's VGF 25+
If you aren't optimizing your workouts by refueling with the correct blend of carbs to protein (based on the research) then you need to start using Prograde Workout http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/workout) like I do.
Anyway, when you see a news story like this one involving Michael Phelps, always remember to look for the positive lessons you can learn.
Yours in health,
Linda and Rachel
PS - If you're serious about your training and want the best nutritional products, then use what I use - Prograde Nutrition http://oxygenrionworks.getprograde.com/)

Our FIRST workout video

Here is our first workout video.

FYI.....

Bootcamp starts up again TOMORROW....

For the next two months we will be INDOORS.

We have two 6 AM classes....

Mondays and Wednesdays

Tuesdays and Thursdays

We also have our 10 AM class on Tuesdays

and Thursdays.

WELCOME BACK CAMPERS!

Linda and Rachel

Happy New Year!!!!

We just want to say Happy New Year to everyone.
We missed some of you over the holidays (those who
decided to fall off the wagon), but it's
time get back to your fitness routines...Personal
Training, Small Group Training, Boot Camps or maybe
your nutrition program!!! The holidays have left us, so
let's start new for 2009.

Hopefully you have all made some type of New
Year's Resolutions, BUT......
Will your New Year’s Fitness Resolution fail this Year?
Making a resolution to lose weight today is an important
first step to a long and healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately,
on average only about 20% of us keep our New Year’s
resolutions and some of the biggest failures are found
in fitness resolutions.
Remember Rachel and I are here to help you with all
your fitness resolutions! Just let us know what we can
do to get you on the right path to your JOURNEY to
a healthier lifestyle!!!!

One way to help with a healthier happier you is trying
a post workout drink after every workout.
By consuming a proper post workout meal after every
workout, you assist your body in repairing and building
lean muscle throughout your body. The more lean muscle
you have, the higher your metabolic rate... hence, you
lose fat easier, and it is MUCH easier to stay lean long term.
With post-workout meals, you actually want a faster digesting
carbohydrate source to elicit an insulin response, which surges
nutrients and glycogen back into your muscles for repair.
You actually want low fiber, high carbs, and quickly digesting
proteins as well for muscle repair. with the post workout meal.
You also want almost all carbs and protein, and very little fat if any.
Fat just slows the absorption and glycemic response which
is not what you want with the post-workout meal.

Studies show that the sooner you consume your post workout
meal following your intense workout, the better your muscle
recovery will be, and a higher percentage of the carbs ingested
will be used for muscle glycogen replenishment instead of other uses.

Rachel and I both use the Prograde Workout. It's a great vanilla
taste and is easy to use. You can get it online at
http://oxygenironworks.getprograde.com/ or stop by the
studio. See if it makes a difference in your workout!

Hope to see a lot of you next week at boot camp...if you are
not doing boot camp, stop by the studio and get started on your
JOURNEY to a healthier you!

Linda and Rachel