STRETCHING

I just uploaded my stretching video on YouTube, but I want to talk about the benefits of stretching and what to avoid.

It improves your flexibility. Most guys don't care to be "flexible", i understand, but it's NOT like that. Flexibility helps improve your athletic performance and it also decreases your risk of injury. Think of it like this - when you have full range of motion, such as running, throwing, & jumping, you perform better. and at the same time, when you exert your energy into doing those movements, you can pull a muscle that isn't used to being stretched in that way. Get it?

It ALSO helps with your exercises - ex: squats - if you can't go low on squats because you lack that range of motion, you don't reap the full benefits of the movement. same with lunges. another example - sit-ups. Decline sit-ups are more effective than sit-ups on a leveled ground. but if your back can't handle the stretch, you're hurting yourself more than you're helping yourself.

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN STRETCHING:

1. Make sure your muscles are warmed up before you start stretching. You can improve flexibility more when your muscles are warm too, so I recommend stretching AFTER your workout if you're crunched on time.

2. Stretch the muscles that you used or will be using. There's really no point in stretching your legs if you're doing arms.

3. BREATHE. yes, even when you're stretching, you need to focus on your breathing. deep, relaxed breaths of air can help you calm down so you're not tensing up while stretching.

Now...GO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO :)
Stretching with Alina

Healthy Snacks & Cheat Meals

Happy Sunday!! I hope your week has been going great :) I just uploaded my "Circuit Training with Alina" last night so feel free to check it out on my channel - Alina Belly

I get a lot of questions regarding diet and what to eat. It's hard to explain sometimes, but i found some things that helps me explain it a bit better on here.

Soooo..snacking is NOT a bad thing, if you're doing it right. and this pretty much means - don't eat if you're not hungry. pretty simple...but difficult to do lol snacking is meant for times like:

1. you're in-between meals and are starting to get super hungry, but don't want to or can't eat your meal yet
2. you're up later than you thought and you don't want to eat, but you're hungry and won't be able to sleep if your stomach is growling
3. you don't have time to eat, but you NEED to get something in your tummy

I found a list of healthy snacks that you can buy to munch on and what some of their benefits are.

1. FRUITS:
    -Mangoes: protect against a variety of cancers
    -Peaches: rich in potassium, fluoride, and iron
    -Blueberries: protects your heart
    -Oranges: helps maintain great skin and vision
    -Apples: helps develop resistance against infections
    -Watermelon: helps control your heart rate
    -Pineapples: helps fight arthritis

2. Snacks that give you energy:
    -Raisins
    -Dried plums
    -Dried Cranberries
    -Bananas

3. OTHER HEALTHY SNACKS (Boosts Metabolism - M; ):
    -Almonds
    -Cucumber
    -Celery
    -Peanut Butter
    -Hummus (with carrots! =D or Naked Chips)
    -Broccoli
    -Oats
    -Yogurt

AND....CHEAT MEALS!!
Everyone loves cheat meals...just not the after effect haha What I found out to be most effective for me is this thing called the 90-10 Diet (EXCEPT IT'S A LIFESTYLE =P)

It pretty much means that you eat healthy 90% of the time and it's okay for you to eat a cheat meal 10% of the time. This is hard to calculate, i know. But the way I think of it is: I am allowed to have a cheat MEAL 1-2 times a week. Doesn't seem like a lot, but it WORKS. It's not a day filled with eating whatever you want, because you should still take into consideration that you have to portion your food and the aftermath of a whole cheat day. So remember that IT'S OKAY to reward yourself to help with keeping those cravings down. Just don't do it all the time.

Video Blog :) Face-to-Screen

And yes, I am aware that there is one strand of hair that's sticking up...lol oh well.

Hope your enjoy! Good night everyone :)

Maximum Fat Loss & My Unofficial Boot Camp

So yesterday, I hosted an unofficial boot camp for some of my Houston/Sugar Land friends. They've been asking me to train them and workout with them so I figured, hey, let's just get a group together and work them all out at once. It's difficult for me to find time when I'm in Houston anyways because I'm there visiting family.

So, the boot camp ended up being pretty awesome and a great eye opener for me! I didn't realize how overwhelming it could be trying to keep track of time, making sure form is correct, and demonstrating the exercises. (I'll post a video of some of the exercises when I get the video edited) I was NERVOUS at the beginning since I'm only used to teaching a bunch of little kids at work lol but it was a lot of fun :) 10 people ended up showing up, which is good for me, but hopefully I can get a bigger turnout next time! =) Thank you to everyone who came out & to my awesome boyfriend for recording for me :) And I got some feedback so that's always good too

We did Tabata style workout, which is 20 seconds high intensity, 10 seconds active rest. With some of the sets, I allowed them to just rest, but to keep their feet moving. Also incorporated High-Intensity Interval Training which is a GREAT way to workout! It can burn calories for more than 24 hours and it really challenges your body.

Sorry I haven't really been updating much on my blog. I'm going to try and start updating every Sunday, but if you don't hear from me, you can always follow me on Instagram at o_olala. I'm also trying to start editing some videos and uploading them to my YouTube as well so subscribe to Alina Belly :)

Arms

I did arms with the boyfriend yesterday and edited my very own YouTube video for the first time. Guess I'm starting to get the hang of this stuff lol

Just make sure to stretch your arms well before, in-between, and afterwards. And don't forget your water!

Watch, subscribe, like, comment.
Arms with Alina!

My 135lb Squats

Squats are a great exercise for your glutes and your legs. Just make sure that you're pressing down with your heels and not with your toes. Don't want to strain your knees or ankles. A good trick is lifting your toes up to make sure you're not using the balls of your feet.

Make sure you're stretching before and warming up as well. And if you need a spotter, get one. Better safe than sorry. 

CLICK ON THAT LINK BELOW. Thanks to my oh-so-amazing boyfriend, Hoang T., for recording this video for me. (HOPEFULLY THIS WORKS. I've been trying to upload this video for about an hour now....what a pain.)

Squats

My First Video WOULD be an Abs Video!

I got the opportunity to do an abs video with my friend, Hanh Champion! Thanks to Jenny, his amazing girlfriend, for the idea! We had fun shooting this and I hope it helps with anyone not knowing what to do for abs or need a change-up in abdominal exercises. CHECK IT OUT below and SUBSCRIBE cuz there will be more videos to come! It's a long video, but it's worth it :) And also, I'm sorry about the curse word.... o_O

ABS WITH ALINA