Try Boot Camp!

So the summer is fast approaching, and you may find yourself thinking, “How am I going to put on a bathing suit looking like this?!”

Now is the time to kick your workouts up a notch (or start a workout program) so you don’t have to think twice about stepping onto the beach with confidence this summer!

A great way to do that is to join a boot camp class! Boot camp is a group class that is most often taught by a certified instructor outdoors, and may be a combination of cardio, strength training, agility, and plyometrics in an intense way to keep your rate up the entire time and tone the whole body.

As soon as the weather gets nice enough to be outside (which fortunate for us living in Miami is just about year-round) I put together my boot camp class and start some serious a** kicking workouts!

Let me tell you, my girls are hardcore! I don’t teach a sissy boot camp class where we just skip along the beach and do some jumping jacks – no, we dig in deep to our souls to force out the extra effort it takes to finish. We are sweaty and out of breath, but loving every minute of it! Ask my girls, and they will all agree to the great sense of accomplishment and pride that is felt when we are finished. I urge you all to reach beyond your normal level of comfort and exceed your own expectations!

If now isn’t the perfect time, then when will be?

If you are dreading going shopping for a bathing suit, then maybe it’s time to reevaluate your current program and really think about how well it’s working for you. So many people fall into a routine, a rut, of going to the gym but not really pushing themselves above and beyond. If you find yourself in this situation….why not try boot camp! It is a great way to get outside and enjoy this fabulous weather we’ve been having, meet some great new friends who have strong interests in fitness like yourself, and kick your butt into high gear so when it comes time to put on your swimsuit you will like what you see! Plus, you will get a really great tan (added bonus)!

Don’t sell yourself short…believe in yourself and your ability,

and you will be amazed at what you can achieve!

So if you live in the Miami area and are ready to push yourself to the next level, contact me to see how you can get into my boot camp class!

(Check out my profile in the personal trainer section).

Countdown to a Photoshoot

In this blog I thought I would share with you the turmoil and deprivation it takes to properly prepare yourself for a photoshoot. Ok, so I am exaggerating a bit! But truthfully, it takes a lot of hard work and discipline to get ready for a photoshoot as a fitness/figure model – just about as much as getting ready for a figure competition. We all tend to fall into our own comfort zone, and pushing ourselves that little bit that it takes to get beyond that in order to reach our goals can be a daunting task. I must admit, I have definitely fallen into a comfortable zone of maintaining my physique at my current level. Now it is time for me to step it up and be camera ready!

I work best under pressure and deadlines, and when the date is set, I will stop at nothing to make sure I am fully prepared. So when I am down to the wire my fire burns the brightest and I really step it up. With summer just around the corner, I urge you to set a date and challenge yourself to get to the next level. Being the mother of a very active 2- yr-old, and having been out of the competitive circuit myself for some years now, I have not felt the need to push myself to get to my next level. Sure, I work hard and represent myself well as a professional in the fitness industry, but I am talking about really making a commitment to yourself to not let that picture of yourself that you envision in your head fade away. Make today be the day that you put your plan into action! Now, with the first photoshoot that I have had since before being pregnant quickly approaching, I am excited to see me reach my goals and feel the sense of accomplishment that will come with it. Can you imagine how amazing it feels to see your goals become reality!

Then make a plan to get you there and do something about it!

I will check back with you again so you can follow along with me on my challenge. And I will surely share with you the end results and the true testament…the photos!

You can suffer through the long hours of practice it takes to achieve each of your daily goals, or you can suffer through the extreme disappointment you will interminably feel for not knowing the joy associated with achieving your dreams.

Pain is temporary.

Pride is forever.

Cara’s Turkey Scramble

Ever get bored with the same old grilled chicken and brown rice, the  eggwhites and oatmeal, and the standard protein shake?

Well I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes to get you out of the diet boredom that inevitably will lead you to one day SNAP! and hit up your local IHOP at midnight……MMMM…speaking of IHOP, my absolute fave cheat meal is stuffed french toast!

Cara’s Turkey Scramble

You can determine the amounts of each ingredient according to how many servings you want to make at once. I like to cook up an entire pan so that I will have some left over for other meals.

INGREDIENTS:

93% Lean Ground Turkey – 1/2 package

1 Whole Egg & 10 Eggwhites (or use Papetti All-Whites – great to save time)

½ Green Pepper, diced

½ Red Onion, diced

Fresh Cilantro or Basil to taste

Veggie Shreds (Parmesan, Mozzarella, & Romano Mix) Shredded Cheese

Garlic or Garlic Powder

Spray Original Pam on your pan over medium-medium/high heat. Once hot, sauté diced onions and peppers. Once they are a little brown, add turkey, eggwhites and whole egg. Cook thoroughly, then add fresh cilantro, basil, & garlic to taste. Lastly, add a little Veggie Shreds cheese to melt in. I like to add Hunt’s No Salt Added Ketchup.

Enjoy!

Note: You may also add tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, low sodium salsa, or anything else that sounds good to you. Also, try the turkey scramble in a low sodium whole wheat pita or wrap!

Hope you enjoy the recipe.

I’d love to hear your feedback…let me know if you like it!

Until next time…remember to feed your body the proper fuel it needs to be the best it can for you!

Guys, Guys, Guys…Let me tell you how to attract a hot girl!

OK GUYS…..so it has come to my attention that many of you could use some coaching in how to deal with the opposite sex. I came to this conclusion when I found myself being subject to really lame attempts by men to get my attention while I was working out at the gym the other day. Now on most occasions I am one of those girls that tries to send a “I’m serious about my work out, so please leave me alone” vibe by wearing my headphones and not stopping to chat with every person I see (on a really serious day I have been known to have my hat pulled down low). But on this particular day my Ipod was dead, leaving me vulnerable and exposed and not giving me a good excuse to pretend I don’t realize someone is trying to get my attention.

So every couple of minutes I was approached by a guy that wanted my attention. Now I’m not saying that I blame you guys (ha ha…), but what I want you to know is that there are things to do and say that will leave a good impression, instead of making me think “What in the world was he thinking?”

Tip #1

Get close to her.

First of all, if you want to attract a girl you see in the gym you should notice what body parts she’s training and do the same (and yes, guys, if you see her doing legs it’s a good reason for you to finally get a leg workout in!). That way, you have a good opportunity to be close to her, since most of the equipment at gyms is grouped together by the muscles they work. You also will get a good chance at conversation, because you could attempt to use a machine after her and ask her how many sets she may have left. She might even offer to let you work in with her (if she thinks you’re cute enough). But guys, this is not the time to load up the machine with the most weight you’ve ever attempted in a lame attempt at trying to impress her! It doesn’t work that way, and actually if you are groaning and look like you are in excessive pain, we will probably just turn away. This situation allows many chances to impress her. First, before you jump in to do your set, notice the weight and height settings that she was using, so when you are finished you can put it back for her to be ready to use. And please, please, please make sure you wipe off the bench or equipment before she goes to use it again. No girl is going to want to swap sweat with a dirty grimy guy she doesn’t even know.

Tip #2

Smell good.

Guys, make sure that you wear deodorant!!! It’s no secret that funky –smelling men are a total turn-off! But at the same time, that does not mean you should douse yourself with a thick layer of cologne either. Try something subtle, or light (may I suggest Dolce and Gabbana – Light Blue).

Tip #3

Stop staring!

The absolute worst is the hardcore starer. Now maybe you didn’t realize, guys, that gyms are full of mirrors! All around you, at all angles are usually really, really, big mirrors. This guy was checking me out so hard in the mirror in front of me that he didn’t even notice that I was watching him watch me in the mirror to the left of me! Now when a girl catches you glimpsing at her and notices you checking her out, it can be flattering. BUT, when you stare so hard that it looks like you are trying to envision us naked in front of you, it gets pretty darn creepy. And if you stare with your mouth open and tongue hanging out, we are immediately leaving the gym for sure!

Tip #4

Skip the stupid comments!

This guy came up to me and said, “Wow, are you like a bodybuilder or something?” I immediately thought he was a moron, because anyone who knows anything about fitness can see that I’m a figure competitor, not a bodybuilder!

Now he would have scored more points with me if he had said, “Excuse me for interrupting your workout, but I just wanted to say that all your hard work really pays off.” The man that says that to me has managed to immediately get on my good side by apologizing for interrupting my workout, and extra bonus points by acknowledging that I obviously work very hard in the gym.

One more thing -do I have to state the obvious? Please don’t ever come up to us and say “Mmmm….girl check out that booty-damn u fine!”(even if that is all you can think of in your head)!

Something more tasteful and a little less desperate will work much better.

So guys, take my advice and you may even be able to score a hot fitness chick for yourself (it worked pretty good for my husband)!

Good luck!

Cara

What’s with all the hatin???

What’s with all the hatin???

By: Cara Mills

This is a call for all the ladies to finally put the hatin’ and the evil eyes aside and give props to those that represent the female form well. You know what I’m talking about – it’s a well known fact to both guys and girls that women typically suffer from cases of jealousy when they see a girl that looks good. Now I have witnessed this first hand when I have been in the gym and seen the girl walk by with the tight abs and trendy gym clothes and all the men are staring after her as she strolls by. Meanwhile you can read all the girls thoughts as they stare her down – “I hate her”!

I must admit that when I am particularly bloaty at that time of the month, or had a bad week of major carb over-loading, and skipped my morning cardio for an extra hour of sleep 3 days in a row, I’ve found myself thinking the same thing at times.

But most of the time I respect that girl because I know the dedication and hard work it takes to look like that. I know she doesn’t just look that way every day by merely doing a spin class once a week and cutting her Cold Stone Creamery cheat days down to once a week.

Shouldn’t we want our fellow ladies to represent us right? To look good and feel good and exude confidence – isn’t that what we all want? So ladies, let’s give props where props are due, and maybe instead of making nasty comments when a girl that obviously works hard to look the way she does walks by, you could stop her and pay her a compliment – or better yet, ask her for some tips so you can strive to look like her too! You know as well as I do; that girl sweated her butt off every morning and maybe even every night for weeks in a row as she ran on the treadmill. And I’m sure she did not go out to happy hour on Friday night and fill up on beer and hot wings! So if you want a body like that, do what you got to do ladies!

Don’t hate, appreciate!

Let’s encourage each other to be the best we can be, and be happy for each other when we reach our goals!