Get Your G-Tox On: Green Juice Your Way to a Healthier Lifestyle

By Nikki “Fitness”  Glor

As you slowly undo the dietary damage you did over the holidays, you might want to consider what I call ‘G-toxing’— incorporating a daily green juice that replaces a meal, snack or coffee break into your routine.

Rather than doing a strict liquid diet for a few days or weeks, which can wreak havoc on your metabolism, people across the country are opting to G-tox with a concoction that consists of greens like kale and spinach, blended with fruits and nuts. It’s like drinking your salad!

Related: 3 Yoga Moves to Detox Your Holiday Naughtiness

Green Juices Are Everywhere

It used to be that you only came across a green juice at a vegan restaurant or at your hippie-yoga instructor’s house. Now you see bottled juices (like Naked and Evolution Fresh) at the supermarket, coffee shops, the gym and on the menu at mainstream restaurants. There’s even a green juice food truck outside my office in Rockefeller Center in New York City. And believe it or not, I’ve met people at parties who carried their juicer in their backpacks!

They also sell at-home juicers in many retail stories. My favorite is the no mess, no fuss NutriBulletwhich seems to be pretty popular. It has its ownTwitter account and over 15,000 followers.

Boost Your Liver Function

In a nation where obesity is an epidemic and there’s practically a bar on every corner, G-tox could help clean up Americans’ acts. The American Liver Foundation (ALF) warns that liver damage from alcohol is taking a back seat to Fatty Liver Disease caused by poor diets. It affects up to 25 percent of people in the United States.

“You’ve heard that sitting is the new smoking? Well, sugar is the new alcohol when it comes to liver damage,” says the ALF’s Nancy Reau, MD, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago who specializes in diagnosing and treating liver disease.

The trend of juicing once a day can be a more convenient and appealing way of getting more produce into people’s diets instead of sugar and fat.

“There are certain fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, nuts, and other foods that help boost your liver function,” explains Dr. Reau. “If people start consuming more of these foods through green juices, we could see fewer cases of liver disease in America.”

Related: Try A Vegan Diet Cleanse For A Week

Liver Detox Recipe

There are juicing recipes for increasing your energy, brightening your skin, and boosting your immunity. If you want to cleanse your liver, Dr. Reau suggest adding the following ingredients to your next green juice:

• Spinach or Kale
• Beets
• Limejuice
• Grapefruit
• Pineapple
• Apples
• Cranberries
• Goji berries
• Brazil Nuts
• Coconut water

Now that you’re drinking your greens, you’ll be glowing from the inside out.

Nicole Glor – NikkiFItness – is a fitness expert based in NYC, author of The Slimnastics Workout, and the star of 9 fitness DVDs including her new Seasonal Affective Disorder Workout DVD. You can follow her onFacebook and Twitter and get free newsletters, music playlists, video demos and DVDs.

New Video! S.A.D. Becomes Sculpt And De-stress Cardio Winter Workout!

With the frigid temps, people are having a hard time getting their resolution workouts in. My  brand new “Slimnastics Winter Workout” video can help!  It’s meant for resolutions and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD becomes Slim And De-stress!). It was shot on the beach in Mexico but all the cardio plyometric moves are winter sports themed. With my cardio workout and Soothing Yoga Stretch afterwards, participants increase feel-good brain chemicals like serotonin and norepinephine and decrease the stress hormone cortisol. On top of it, the cardio plyometrics create endorphins that take the body from sluggish to energized and happy!

You can see a demo here http://www.nikkifitness.com/dvd-SAD.php

Moves include:

-Speed Skater and Figure Skater

-Nordick Track and Ski Jumping Lunges

-Ski Slope Moguls

-Mountain Climbers, standing and planking

-Snowflakes (jack with an X in the air)

-Snowballs (jack tuck)

-Snow angels (burpee variation)

This 30-minute no-equipment cardio workout fights Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) with a warm vacation beach backdrop, snow-related moves, and a cardio high! Plyometric cardio intervals turn S.A.D to Sculpt and De-Stress. Work arms, abs, legs and glutes while melting fat and losing weight.

About the creator: Nicole Glor is the founder and president of NikkiFItness. She is a 35-year-old fitness expert, author of The Slimnastics Workout, and the star of 8 fitness DVDs including Hard Core Abs DVD, Fit Travel Workout DVD, Booty Camp, The Slimnastics DVD, Red Carpet Runway Workout, Military Wife Workout, Baby Bootie Camp, and the Beach Bride Destination Wedding Workout (Amazon).

Nikki’s workouts have been featured in over 100 national media outlets including the New York Times, Live! With Kelly and Michael, Fox & Friends, GMA Health, Shape, Self, Fitness, and Women’s Health. She is also an AFAA certified NYC personal trainer, group fitness instructor at Crunch in Manhattan, and a 200hr RYT YogaFit/Yoga Alliance trained yoga instructor. Her “Slimnastics” workouts focus on multitasking toning and plyomentric cardio intervals (HIIT- High Intensity Interval Training) to cut workout time in half and boost metabolism. Search for “NikkiFitness” on Facebook and Twitter, and get the free newsletters, music playlists, video demos and DVDs at www.nikkifitness.com

Low Calorie Cocktails to Avoid the Heavy Holidays!

So you want to have a jolly time this holiday season, but you don’t want to pack on the pounds. Nikki Glor, aka NikkiFitness, is the author of “Slimnastics” and gives tips on working out hard and playing hard without gaining weight.

Tip 1 – if you can’t remember all this, try to drink clear or almost clear drinks.

White wine and champagne – sparking wines have 78 calories! Most types of white wine have about 120 calories. The less sweet, the better. Red wine usually has a few more calories per glass but is still a good choice.

Vodka Soda with lemon – 100 calories (this is even better than a vodka tonic which has an extra 70 calories because of the tonic) club soda is calorie free

Bloody Mary’s give you a little vegetable juice with your cocktail, at only 125 calories.

Instead of an appletini with 240 calories, try a gin martini with 3 olives for 120 calories!

Instead of a pina colada, which has around 250 calories, try a pinapple vodka with a splash of coconut water for 130 calories.

A frozen margarita has around 500 calories depending on where you get it. A skinygirl margarita with no salt has 100 calories.

And don’t forget, drink responsibly, add spritzer to cut calorie count and alcohol, and drink water between drinks to stay healthy. And even if you stick to these healthy drinks, each time you consume an extra 100 calories you have to do

* 30 mins walking
* 10 mins jogging
* 8 mins swimming
* 15 mins cycling

So three drinks = a 30 min jog/run for 3 miles…. you don’t want to be hung over! If you are traveling for the holiday season, just do my FIT TRAVEL WORKOUT DVD the day after your holiday party to burn off those festive calories!
http://www.nikkifitness.com

Trend Alert: Jumping Warrior? Three New Workouts Combine Yoga and Plyometrics

Ever stretched into down dog, then practiced your jump tucks? A new trend for fall and 2013 is yoga workouts with plyometric intervals.

Plyometrics, if you are new to the term, are explosive jumping and level-​​changing moves that use your body weight as resistance, and require your muscles to fire away in short, intense bursts of power.

As a former college cheerleader, and current personal trainer and yoga instructor, I didn’t want to have to chose between my “ohm” days or my jumping workouts from the squad, so I created a new book and DVD workout called Slimnastics®! It combines gymnastics-​​inspired plyometric cardio intervals — like jump tucks, split jumps, and squat thrusts — with advanced balancing yoga moves — like firefly (titibasana), wheel push ups, warrior III booty boost, rockstar, handstands, side crow and 8 angle pose (astavakrasana) — that build upper body strength, boost your booty and require a lot of breath control and mental focus. The 30 minute, no-​​equipment workout is advanced, but the book has modified moves, tips on how to “get in shape for Slimnastics®” and mantras to get you moving. These core and toning moves coupled with the major calorie burn from plyometrics helped me get my body back after having a baby.

Soon after Slimnastics, I am happy to report that two similar results-​​based classes are taking New York City and the country by storm: BUTI® and Deep EXtreme. BUTI is a high-​​intensity Crunch workout that fuses yoga and dance with circuits of plyometrics and conditioning. BUTI® dance moves taken from various styles that focus on an intense shaking of the hips including Miami Booty Dance, Brazilian Baile Funk, Hip Hop, Crunk and African Tribal. Between the heart-​​pounding cardio deep stretching and dance moves, you¹ll be in BUTI®-ful shape in no time and feel sexy doing it.

The Equinox workout Deep EXtreme mixes up cardio like tribal swinging arm moves, flexibility yoga poses and strength training like squats in intervals of rest and intensity. It is based on Robert Steinbacher’s European bodyArt technique that was all the rage last year in the United States. Like Slimnastics®, and BUTI®, Deep EXtreme is a strengthening, energizing and calming series of moves for the entire body. The rhythmic beat music playlist keeps you flowing seamlessly from one move to the next. You’ll have a cardio high and a yoga calm after this trance dance.

If you don’t live near a Crunch or Equinox, try flipping your workout on it’s head with these Slimnastics sample moves to see if the workout is for you:

L Stand:

Sit on a mat facing the wall, with your legs extended in front of you. Your feet should touch the wall with them flexed, and place your hands next to your hips. This is how you measure your distance for the L Stand. Keep one hand on that mark where your hips were, and flip yourself over to face the mat. Place both hands where you measured, shoulders width apart and get into a tight down dog with your heels against the wall. Walk one foot then the other up the wall until your legs are parallel to the floor. (It helps to have a partner spot you so that they can tell you if your feet are too high or low. Look at the wall and push your hands strongly into the floor. Your body should look like an “L” in a 90% angle. You can also play with lifting one leg away from the wall at a time.

L Stand

Cardio Interval – X jump to Split jumps:

Stepping off the mat sets the scene for cheerleading inspired moves like X and split jumps. Perform 3 squats in fast succession counting 1,2,3. On the “and,” jump into the air using your leg muscles and punching the hands to the sky. Land on “four. Repeat.” I– squat/​ stand, 2– squat/​ stand, 3– squat/​ stand, and– jump, 4– land.” Make it advanced: turn the X into a toe touch (pictured).

See a sample video of Slimnastics at http://www.Youtube.com/NikkiFitness

Flip Your Workout on its Head — Part 3

You read last week about how to do the Forearm Stand and the “L” Stand, and you’re already standing taller and stronger after trying them! Here are the final two moves of the blog series for better posture and upper back muscles. Want more? Check out my Slimnastics Workout book (Amazon).

Handstand (no photos, self explanatory):

For the handstand, face the wall and place our hands about a foot away from it, on the floor. Get into a tight down dog position by walking your feet close to your hands and letting your hips rise to the sky. Look between your knees at the wall on the other side of the room. Kick one leg up then the next onto the wall above you. Now that you are holding all of your weight in your arms, press firmly into the ground, engaging your back muscles, and slowly step one foot away from the wall, then the other, so that you are hovering in handstand, stabilizing your core to help support you! Gracefully float one foot down then the next and relax in child’s pose.

Wall Walk to Wheel:

This is another fun upper-​​back strengthener, heart-​​opener, and backbend. Walk up to a wall and step a foot or so away, turning so your back faces the wall. Slightly bend your back and reach the arms overhead to touch the wall. Return to standing and inch forward a few times until you feel that you could not do another backbend and touch the wall.

Wall Walk – Nikki Fitness

When you have found your position, bend your back and look overhead, reaching the hands towards the wall and this time pressing your palms into it. Keep the feet hip-​​width apart with knees slightly bent and core tight. Slowly begin to walk your hands down the wall as far as is comfortable or coming all the way to the floor into wheel pose with your hands on the floor and fingers facing your heels.

Trainer’s Tip: Push hard against the wall because gravity will be pulling you down and you need to support yourself until you can reach the floor.

Wall Walk to Wheel – Nikki Fitness

Once in wheel, proceed to Wheel Push-​​Ups or walk back up. To walk up, press the hands firmly back into the wall and walk yourself back up to standing. As a counter-​​stretch, take a forward bend and reach towards your shins or the floor. Hold for two long breaths.

Wheel Push-​​Ups:

The wheel push-​​​​up is my favorite upper back move because it requires no equipment, and I always feel the muscles getting sore and stronger afterward. Once in the wheel position with arms and legs straightening into the arch formation, start bending the elbows to just barely tap the head to the floor and then straighten the arms again. That is one push-​​​​up. Work up to doing fifteen at a time and always counter-​​​​stretch between sets.

Fitness – fit it in, upside-down!

Upside Down Moves for Strength and Posture

Turn Your Routine on It’s Head! — Part 2

Summer Olympics always inspire me to work harder, better, faster and stronger… and to switch up my routine. If you are looking for a new way to challenge yourself and those you train, why not add some gymnastics moves to your workout?

Last week I showed you the first of four moves that turn your routine on it’s head, from my “The Slimnastics Workout” book and DVD, to get you holding your own weight, strengthening your upper back and arms, and improving your posture. Below, I describe the second move, the L stand.

L Stand:

Sit on a mat facing the wall, with your legs extended in front of you. Your feet should touch the wall with them flexed, and place your hands next to your hips. This is how you measure your distance for the L Stand. Keep one hand on that mark where your hips were, and flip yourself over to face the mat. Place both hands where you measured, shoulders width apart and get into a tight down dog with your heels against the wall. Walk one foot then the other up the wall until your legs are parallel to the floor. (It helps to have a partner spot you so that they can tell you if your feet are too high or low. Look at the wall and push your hands strongly into the floor. Your body should look like an “L” in a 90% angle. You can also play with lifting one leg away from the wall at a time.

Fitness — fit it in, upside down!

NikkiFitness 100 Push-​​up Boot Camp

I have helped a lot of people with push-​​ups. Some needed to pass a physical fitness test, some wanted to be able to do push-​​ups off their knees, and some just wanted to have smoking arms.

My plan to get anyone to do 100 push-​​ups in a single training session is this:

Get in shape:

If you can’t do 10 push-​​ups on your toes in a plank position, then start doing this routine on your knees, with hands wider than shoulders, so that as you lower, your elbows line up over your wrists like a field goal post formation. Then work up to doing 2 on your toes, and 8 on your knees, then 5 and 5 until finally you are strong enough to do 10 push-​​ups at a time on your toes.

THEN.…

Do 10 full plank push-​​ups on your toes with wide hand stance.

Turn over onto your back and do 1 minute of crunches (any crunches will do, if you want to mix it up, steal some moves from my Hard Core Abs video.)

Repeat this for 10 sets (100 push-​​ups). It should take about half an hour. You can finish here, or do some plyometric cardio moves, or go for a 30 minute jog before or after this routine. Then shower and go brag to your friends.

Next week I will write about push-​​up variations for when you have mastered the NikkiFitness Push-​​Up Boot Camp.
Fitness – fit it in! Nikki

NikkiFitness, Nicole Glor, is 34 year-old fitness expert on Fox and Friends, and the star of 7 fitness DVDs including new Hard Core Abs DVD, Fit Travel Workout DVD, Booty Camp, Red Carpet Runway Workout, Military Wife Workout, Baby Bootie Camp, and the Beach Bride Destination Wedding Workout (Amazon). Nikki’s workouts have been featured in over 100 national media outlets. She is also an AFAA certified NYC personal trainer, group fitness instructor at Crunch in Manhattan, a 200 RYT YogaFit/Yoga Alliance trained yoga instructor, author of the upcoming book “Slimnastics”, a fitness columnist for Military.com and a spokesperson for SilverSport antibacterial fitness products. Her “Slimnastics” workouts focus on multitasking toning and cardio intervals to cut workout time in half and boost metabolism. Get her newsletters, music playlists, video demos and DVDs at http://www.nikkifitness.com Search for “NikkiFitness” on Facebook and Twitter!

How to Get “Guns”

Client: Do you know the nearest vet office?

Trainer: Why?

Client: I have some sick pythons. (Client flexes his puny arms and kisses each bicep.)

Trainer: (Rolling her eyes) Drop and give me 50.…

Taking your “sick pythons to the vet” doesn’t have to be a joke. You can really have great guns (amazing arms) in just a few easy steps.

1) Melt the fat over the muscle. That means doing more cardio, eating lean protein after your muscle workouts, and making sure you eat 6 healthy meals a day including lots of fruits, veggie and fiber.

2) Build the muscle my increasing your weight. You won’t get too bulky by lifting 15 lbs free weights, and if you never move beyond the 5 lbs weights you won’t see definition. Work on your arm muscles 3 times a week with a rest day in between. Increase the weight by 2 lbs each week. Aim for 8 reps your first day, 10 the next and 12 the last day, then up the weight.

3) Work the different fibers in your muscles by hitting them from different angles. For example, do outside biceps curls (elbows in by your sides hands lift away from you out to the sides, then up to your shoulders), forward curls, hammer curls, preacher curls and cross curls (bring weights across body from left hip to right shoulder).

4) Make your triceps a triple threat with French presses (hands together overhead holding weight, then lower weight behind your head keeping elbows pointing to the ceiling and press back up), kickbacks (lean forward, lift elbows up near your ribcage and move weights from shoulders to hips and back to shoulders), and dips (sit on a bench, hands at your sides and lift your butt off the bench, lower down toward the floor until elbows are bent at 90 degrees and lift yourself back up by pressing through the palms).

5) Push that weight off your shoulder. Do overhead presses with weights facing forward and another set with them facing your ears. Do front and side extensions by keeping arms straight and lifting the weight away from your body forward and to the side. Throw in some planks and yoga-​​style down dogs in your other workout days to continue to define those delts.

If you can’t get to the gym or are traveling, push-​​ups work all three areas conveniently. And save the corny jokes. Arms like yours are seriously sculpted.

Is Your Vacation Making You Fat?

You worked hard doing Booty Camp and getting in bikini shape. You’ve finally gotten the Hard Core Abs I have been writing about. But the you go on vacation to the all-​​inclusive resort, or home to see family with lots of mom’s cooking and little time at the gym. Your only sweat is from laying out in the sun instead of a run. Your vacation is making you fat.

Here is where my fit travel workout moves and advice can help.

Prepare before you go: The most important part about staying in shape while traveling, for work or vacation, is packing work out clothes. When you have a chance to exercise, the excuse “I don’t have sneakers and a pair of shorts” stops way too many people before they even get started. It is worth finding room in your bag because of the stress, bad food and sitting involved in traveling. Your body wants you to move. You’ll get rid of stress, burn calories and release those feel-​​good endorphins.

While you are there: If you don’t have access to a gym or weights, there are plenty of things you can do with your own body’s resistance. Here are 10 of the 20 moves that make up my exercise-​​on-​​the-​​road routine, and my Fit Travel DVD was shot in 6 scenic locations around the world so your mind gets a vacation while your body gets a workout!

1) Warm-​​up. Start with a simple march and then jog in place for a minute. Move to a step-​​touch while lifting arms to the sides. Add an alternating hamstring curl and biceps curl with both arms. Then finish up the five-​​minute warm-​​up with light jumping jacks.

2) Push-​​ups with a glute raise. Start with regular style or add a multi-​​tasking move by lowering to the knees and adding lower-​​body sculpting. After the first modified push-​​up raise your right foot to the ceiling. Repeat 10 times on the right side after each push-​​up and then 10 times on the left side. You’ve just worked your pecs, triceps, core and glutes.

Pushups and Glute Raise

3) Low leg low ab crunch. Next, lie on your back and straighten your legs 80 percent straight, knees together and feet on the floor. Put your hands behind your head and crunch up for 50. Be sure to keep your eyes on the ceiling, knees together, neck long and chin lifted.

4) Cardio interval. Jump rope (pretend to hold the rope and swing it for extra biceps work) for one minute or count to 100 — alternate from one leg at a time, to feet together and hopping. Maybe hop twice on one leg at a time. Have fun with it. For all cardio intervals in this workout, march in place for at least 20 seconds afterwards to get your heart rate back down to a comfortable level.

5) Triceps dips. Sit on a bench, footstool or chair with your hands at your sides and palms on the bench knuckles up and fingertips curling around towards the floor. Lift yourself off the bench and slightly forward. Lower your backside toward the floor while bending your elbows at 90 degrees. Finish the move by pushing back up so elbows extend again. You can make this more difficult by straightening the legs or lifting one leg off the floor.

Tricep Dip

6) Inner thighs. Lie on your right side and balance on your right elbow and right hip. Bend your left knee to place the left foot in front of your straight right leg. Be sure to keep the right foot parallel to the floor and lift the right leg 30 times. Repeat on the other side. Next lie on your back with your legs extended over your ribcage. Turn the toes out and flex the feet. Begin to open and lower the legs to the sides, away from one another. To finish the move, bring the heels back together. To intensify, only bring heels in halfway and press against your inner thighs with your hands for a true “thigh master” resistance move. Repeat step one on the left elbow and hip.

7) Cardio. Stand up and do 20 jumping jacks with the right foot in front, 20 with the left foot in front and 20 alternating and crossing feet.

8) Outer thighs. Now lie again on your right side, and prop yourself up on your elbow but this time in a half-​​side plank. Bend the right leg lift hips off the floor. Keep the left leg straight as you lift it for 25 reps. Keep the abs tight because you’re working them as well in this multitasker. Repeat on the other side.

Outer Thighs Workout

9) Planks. Alternate from a middle plank (looks like a freeze frame of the top of a push-​​up) to a side plank and hold each for a count of 10 seconds. middle, right, middle, left equals one repetition. Complete 5 repetitions.

10) Cool down. Do a 5 minute cool down with the same moves in the warm up and then stretch your hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, hip flexors, inner and outer thighs, glutes, triceps, pectorals, trapezious and rhomboids (upper back), and lower back with standing rolls or cat/​cow.

Remember to drink a lot of water, and maybe treat yourself to a new exercise clothes as a souvenir to celebrate your healthy habits on the road.

Jump Off the Fitness Plateau

One of the questions I get all the time from clients and readers is how to break out of a fitness plateau. This plateau occurs when you stop seeing results, despite your workout routine. The answer is to pick up the intensity, challenge yourself and cross-train. Here are five easy ways to do that:

1) Multitask your workouts
Combine two workout moves. For instance, combine side-lying outer thigh leg lifts with your side plank ab workout. Try doing a side plank on your forearm and lifting the top leg for 20 reps. You’ll shorten your workout and make each exercise twice as difficult for your muscles. Use the extra time to do some different cardio.

2) New cardio
If you usually run, do one week of spin, then one week on the elliptical, then stairs, then combine running, spin, elliptical and stairs in the last week. It’s a month of new cardio workouts. You can also make each day of each week harder with more weight or incline, and for longer by five minutes each day.

3) Double your weight
If you’re used to doing 20 reps of shoulder presses with eight-pound barbells, jump to 10 reps of 15 lbs. Usually work out on a machine? Jump off the machine and get barbells then jump down to number four.

4) Get tubing, therabands, or cable machines at the gym
This offers different range of motion and different resistance. Add more resistance three days a week and increase the weight each week for a month. After that, add stability balls, bosu balls, body bars and kettle bells.

5) Switch up your fitness classes, outdoor routines and fitness DVDs
Try some hardcore moves that include intervals. For example, half-hour workouts where alternate working out for four minutes, and easy for two, will challenge your muscles and your heart. It will also help you burn more calories during and boost your metabolism.

Take my month-long five-step challenge to push yourself off that plateau. Just don’t blame me if you get sore — that’s how you know it’s working.