The elliptical trainer is one of the most popular cardio machines at the gym because it is low impact and works the legs, glutes, hamstrings and even the upper body if you don’t hold onto the railings and instead work your arms back and forth.  But many exercisers will stride along without paying attention to intensity…reading a magazine!  We know you have done it!  J

Don’t read a magazine! Monitor your intensity this way:

Most elliptical machines at your gym will have not only a “Resistance” and “Crossramp” measurement, but also something called “Strides per Minute (SPM).”  SPM is a measure of how fast your legs are moving and it is a great way to monitor your intensity.  For example, many of the elliptical workouts in MGT dictate a certain resistance, but leave the SPM up to you.  However, if you are at Level 15 Resistance, but your legs are barely moving, it may not be the amount of intensity needed to generate great results.  For your higher resistances (10 and above), aim for above 140 SPM, while your lower resistances can allow for SPMs as high as 200.  On your recovery segment, move as slow as you like, but remember, during your hard intervals, a tough resistance + a challenging SPM = great results!

Below is a great NEW elliptical workout, not featured in any of the My Gym Trainer books.  As you move through the different resistances, focus on your strides-per-minute (SPM) and do your best to maintain your perceived exertion between 8-9 (on a scale of 1-10) on the tough intervals.  During the rest periods, go at whatever speed you want and recover slowly so that you can push just as hard on the next bout.

Navigating a gym can be a daunting task for many, and that is precisely why Jill & LeAura created the My Gym Trainer series of books, to help everyone get a great workout and feel like a gym pro! In this new series, we are going to be offering up short tutorials for MGT users to learn about new machines or exercises at their gym.

In this tutorial, Jill shows you how to recognize and use the Smith Machine, which is a gym staple. It is different from the squat rack in that it has a bar that stays on its axis, instead of a free-standing bar. Bars can weight between 2 lbs up to 45 lbs depending on the brand so be sure to check the machine before adding additional weights.

The Smith Machine can be a great tool for increasing isolation of a muscle group, because there is less stabilization needed, when compared to a free squat or lunge. Some MGT movements that use the Smith Machine include:

• Squats In-place
• Lunges
• Deadlifts
• Up-right Rows
• Glute Kick-backs
• Hamstring Pull-backs
• Single-leg Lunges
• Plie Squats

After a good My Gym Trainer workout, it is important to give your body the fuel it needs to repair muscles and refill energy stores. This is the perfect window to have a protein shake containing whey protein and a little carbohydrate for recouping (but not too much or it will go into fat storage). Choosing what types of carbs is important because ones that are more quickly absorbed are ideal, but they should still be clean ones like fruit, honey or real grape juice (i.e. it’s not an excuse to grab a cookie!).

Here is one of our My Gym Trainer favorites and Jill making it using the Magic Bullet blender (love that thing!), yum!

Protein Berry Smoothie

• 1 scoop strawberry whey protein powder
• 8 oz unsweetened almond milk (vanilla or original flavor)
• 1 cup mixed frozen berries
• ½ cup ice

Add muscle recovery supplements like L-glutamine or branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) if you want
Place all ingredients in the Magic Bullet and blend until smooth Give it a try!

Let’s face it, chicken breasts can get old. Dry. Boring.  Recently, we were fooling around in the kitchen and formulated a great– simple and quick!– recipe for some protein pancakes.  They are yummy, and they are ideal for right after a good, hard MGT workout because of the whey protein and oats.  Here is the recipe, let us know what you think!  info@mytrainerfitness.com

Mix the following in a large bowl or mix in blender:

• 2/3 cup liquid egg whites
• 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
• 2/3 cup dry old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg
• (Optional- dash of Pumpkin Pie spice)

Blend or mix until smooth.  Spray an omelet pan with PAM and put on medium heat.
Pour batter into pan and cook as one BIG pancake.  Makes 2 large pancakes (2 servings).
Add 2 tbsp Josephs Sugar-free maple syrup and eat!