Q&A WITH TRAINER VERONICA PRINCE
Getting advice is my JAM.
And I know that physical fitness is something that a lot of you are passionate about so I wanted to link up with my good friend Miss Veronica Prince and just ask her a fewww questions about the whole working out thing.
I personally do some kind of exercise about 5 times a week but that doesn't mean that every now and then while I'm busting my ass on the stair master I don't think to myself...is this realllly helping me?
You know what I mean? And then you start to wonder...is this building my legs up or is this toning them down? Is there even a difference? So while everyone else is sweating their life off and thinking about their ass, I'm over there thinking about if what I'm doing is even working.
SO.
Let's get into the questions ay??
Okay.
1.
ME: Okay so the first question that comes into my mind that I feel like I get asked A LOT is how can girls slim down/ tone up/ their legs?
VERONICA: So it kind of depends. You have to determine if your legs are MUSCULAR and you want them a little less "bulky" or if they are big and "soft".
If they are muscular and you want to tone them down, then you are going to want to do HIIT workouts. HIIT = high intensity interval training. So an example of this would be jump squats and jump lunges.
I would do 4 sets of 15-20 reps. Another type of HIIT is sprinting intervals so I suggest getting on the treadmill and sprinting with 90% effort for 30 seconds then taking a break for 30 seconds. Do this for a total of 15 minutes.
Also!!! Jump roping is GREAT for the legs whether you're wanting to tone up or slim down!
2.
ME: Amazing! Okay so what do you suggest as an ideal week of working out? I personally do 3 HIIT workouts, 2 days of steady cardio for about 30-45 minutes and 2 days of interval sprints. Sound good?
VERONICA: Yes that sounds perfect! So this is what I suggest BECAUSE this way you are always surprising you body and burning a TON of calories.
- 4 x's a week = RESISTANCE TRAINING. This means just using something a little bit more than your body weight so try incorporating a medicine ball, resistance bands, or light weights.
- On these days also do 10 minutes of interval sprints.
- 2 days a week do 30 minutes of steady cardio
- The last day you should so some kind of active rest so try going for a walk or a hike for 30-45 minutes.
3.
ME: What would you say to someone that feels like they are killing it in the gym but they stopped seeing results?
VERONICA: I would tell that person that they definitely need to check their water intake. Water is a huge reason why some people hold on to weight.
ME: YES! I totally understand that. When I was right out of high school and started to work out on my own, I noticed that after two weeks of drinking a gallon of water a day my love handles SERIOUSLY shrunk. It was amazing.
VERONICA: Yeah it really really helps! When it comes down to it, your results are going to come from what you're feeding your body. If you're eating more than your burning then you will maintain or gain, if you are burning more than you are eating then you will lose weight.
ME: I feel like this is why girls starve themselves sometimes though and then they can't even make it thru a workout because they don't have enough energy. WE NEED TO EAT NUTRITIOUS FOODS!
VERONICA: Oh totally. Yeah we NEED food to workout. I would also tell someone that if they're not seeing results that you DON'T need to go buy every supplement on the planet. Really the only supplements I suggest are Protein and BCAA's. (Branch chain Amino Acids).
4.
ME: What do the BCAA's do for us?
VERONICA: Basically Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein so it leads to greater muscle gain and it helps maintain lean muscles. This also promotes fat burning which can lead to weight loss AND they help replenish muscles after a workout so you're not as sore!
5.
ME: Okay amazing!! Yeah I remember my trainer had me drinking those like all day every day when I was training for a fitness competition. Speaking of hardcore fitness training, what are your thoughts when girls say they are afraid to lift heavy weights because they don't want to bulk up?
VERONICA: So....it takes body builders A LONNNNNNG time, a TON of work and a BUNCH of weight to look that way. Us lifting heavy a few times a week isn't going to magically turn us into that. Not to mention that those body builders are usually on some kind of growth hormone, testosterone and steroids..
Heavy lifting is ESSENTIAL for us and has so many great benefits. The higher percentage of muscle mass that we have the faster our metabolism is working all day long, even when we're at rest. This is because muscle is harder to maintain than fat so your body has to burn more energy to keep it!
When lifting heavy the idea is that you're toning right? So when you say that you want to TONE you're basically saying that you want to lose body fat and build some muscle.
Next time you do a heavy workout, do 6-12 reps with the last 2-3 reps being pretty hard for you to finish, and rest for 60-90 seconds in between sets.
TRAIN SMARTER, NOT HARDER.
ACHIEVE THE SAME SUCCESS IN LESS TIME IN THE WEIGHT ROOM RATHER THAN RUNNING.
6.
ME: Yeah honestly, I see AMAZING results when I lift heavy, especially ass workouts ;) haha, okay! Next question. I LOVE LOVE LOVE fasted cardio, what are your thoughts?
VERONICA: It's great because it revs your metabolism for the rest of the day! I definitely don't suggest weight training first thing in the morning because you need more fuel for that but fasted cardio is great. Something like the bike or the stair master.
7.
ME: Okay, what are some of your favorite pre and post workout snacks? You want to have carbs before a workout for fuel and protein after to rebuild muscles, right?
VERONICA: Yeah Ideally! I like to have 1/2 a sweet potato, quinoa, oatmeal or an apple or banana with almond butter before a workout. Afterwards I like to have a protein smoothie or salmon :)
8.
ME: One last question...I feel like girls ask me this question a lot which is why I've focused on it so much with my 8 Tips to a Flat Tummy Newsletter...Girls always want to know how they can loose the belly, get abs, and just tone their core. I have always noticed that I get the best results from WHAT I EAT, but I'm interested in asking you on what your thoughts are on this from the perspective of a trainer.
VERONICA: You NEED to focus on your diet. Core strength exercises can help, like planking and leg raises but honestly the core starts to peek through after a clean diet and just working out in general. Whenever you start consistently burning calories from cardio, weight training, and other workouts, the overall calorie burn will result in weight loss from your mid section.
ME: Good to know!! Yeah that's why I made the 8 tummy tips because I feel like with just a few habit changes, you'll really start to notice that bloat goes away and your abs peak though. Everyone HAS abs, their just hidden!
If you want to sign up for my 8 tummy tips just leave your info below!!
Follow Veronica on Instagram @VERONICA.PRINCE
HOW TO WANT TO RUN
I’m someone that pretty much loves everything. I don’t like to be in a bad mood, I like to try basically anything and everything blah blah blah.
But ever since I stopped playing soccer I have not even sort of been a fan of running outside. For the longest time I hated it because I thought it was boring. That’s basically the only reason actually. I preferred to be on the same elliptical every day for 30 minutes rather than somewhere outside but the problem with that was that that also got boring. Surprise surprise.
But, just like with anything else in life, I believe that things are what you make them and you can adjust your mind to like or not like something in an instant. I knew that running would allow me to lose the weight I was hanging on to AND FAST so first I told myself over and over again that I LOVE running outside…!
From there I made sure that I had music on my phone so that my internet wouldn’t give out on Pandora in the middle of my run and make me want to kill myself, and I downloaded a free running app. After the self-convincing all I had to do was make it more exciting to me than watching paint dry.
I did this a few ways.
I put together a few playlists that made me zone out and set a good pace for me so that I wouldn’t really think about how hard I was pushing myself.
If I needed to get in 30 minutes of cardio I would set my running app to let me know when I had been running for 15 minutes then I would know when to turn around. This way I could go the same way back to where I started and know that I had hit 30 minutes. This took out the annoying aspect of having to continue glancing at the time and it also gave me the freedom to run wherever I wanted rather than saying “I’m going to run to the pier and back” and then only thinking about how far away the pier is the ennttiireee timmmeee.
If I only had 20 minutes to run I would do intervals to get the most out of my time. I would set my running app to let me know when I had hit 10 minutes and then I would turn around and do the same drills back. I would usually do something along the lines of jogging an easy pace and counting to 45 steps. Then, I would SPRINT but I would count at the same pace I was when I was jogging, but only count to 12. Make Sense? Again, this way you don’t have to keep looking at the clock and you know that you just keep doing it until you hear your running app that its been 10 minutes, then turn around!
Also, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Change it up. Sometimes I hit the ground running from the first step I take out of my apartment, other times ill drive to a random neighborhood in Santa Monica and just see where I end up. This usually leads me to different bridges, overpasses, stairs and pathways (Q the fun, ex out the boring)
Just some tips for running if you think you can’t or if you find it to be too boring! Now I actually really do love running outside, I’ve slimmed down and my playlists are on point ;)
Let me know how it goes!