Q & A

What is one of the best abdominal exercises? 

• Here's a great one you can do at home! Sit tall on the edge of a sturdy chair, place your hands on the edge of the chair with your fingers pointing towards your knees. Pull you abs in and up toward the rib cage and tighten, bring your toes off the floor and then lift your seat off the chair - HOLD! See if you can hold for 10 seconds or more! Slowly lower down and repeat 5-10 times!

What is one of the best tricep exercises? 

• We at Soul Body LOVE tricep push-ups! Try this challenge variation! Come into a plank position with wrists under shoulder, toes on the floor, abs drawn in and up and tightened. Shift slightly forward, lift right leg up - Squeeze the seat and keep leg lifted to hip height. With elbows squeezing in toward your rib cage slowly lower chest toward the floor until you are in a hover and slowly push back up - Try to do 4-8 - SLOW! Then lift opposite leg and repeat! The lifted leg not only strengthens you tush, it challenges the balance and the triceps! 

What should I eat right after a full body workout?

• Eating within two hours, get your carbs from whole grains, fruit and veggies and get enough protein in your body to help promote muscle growth. You could even eat half your protein thirty minutes before your workout and thirty minutes after!  Adding the carbs with the protein helps slow down protein breakdown and speeds up muscle growth. SB Barre, SB yoga and many Pilates exercises break down the muscles, our bodies need amino acids to repair these muscles and build them back up! 
• What kinds of healthy proteins to we recommend??
• Beans (mix with brown rice to add amino acids)
• Quinoa (a perfect protein)
• Tofu
• Carrots/Beets/Squash (great carb options)
• Tempeh (a complete protein)
• Almonds (jam packed with fiber and protein and actually help you loose weight!)
• We also go for raw almond butter on gluten free toast
• Tuna Fish
• Eggs
• Hemp Protein powder - mix with coconut or almond milk and frozen bananas, mangos or peaches!!

• How much sleep do I really need??

• Sleep is an individual requirement - there is no magic number according to the National Sleep Foundation. Healthy adults need seven to eight hours of sleep every night. One thing is for certain, sleeping too little can affect your productivity, cause moody swings and forgetfulness and can even lead to more serious health issues such as depression, substance abuse and heart problems.
• Experts say preschoolers (age 3-5) need 11-13 hours of sleep
• School aged kids (ages 6-12) need 10-11 hours of sleep
• Get the sleep you need! And if you have a night or two with little sleep because of stress or illness - that sleep debt can "paid off" with a nap or a few good nights sleep!