Slowly lift your left leg and while raising the leg, straighten it.
Lift your extended left leg until it is at about a 30-degree angle with your upper right leg.
Hold for 2 seconds, and then lower your left leg again. While lowering the leg, bend it again, so you can position your left foot next to your right foot.
This completes the reverse extend & lift on one side.
Repeat for the other leg.
Note: Try to keep your core straight while doing the leg movement. The effort of the leg lift can result in your pelvis dropping.
Variation: If the exercise is too difficult, limit the leg lift to a horizontal position. This will reduce the effort from your core and upper leg muscles.
Start with your left leg, lift the leg and move it outward. Place it on the floor at about a foot from its original position.
Now lift the right leg and move it outward in the other direction. Place it on the floor about a foot from its original position.
Next, left your left leg again and move it back to its original position.
To complete the reverse walk out, left your right leg and move it back to its original position.
Note: Keep looking upward during the exercise to maintain proper form. Try to move slowly when lifting and moving your legs. For easy positioning of the legs, it is best to use a yoga mat, so you can place your feet just outside, or on the edge of the mat.
Progression: Repeat the reverse walk out 10 times on each side.
Variation: Instead of moving the legs to the most outward position in one move, you can do it in two moves. Making smaller ‘steps’ while walking out will make it a bit easier to keep your balance. But it will not require less effort, as you left the legs more often!
As part of my diet, I regularly drink a smoothie for breakfast. Quick and easy to make, healthy and nutritious. And there are so many variations possible when it comes to making smoothies! Various fruits and vegetables lend themselves perfectly for blending. For the liquid, you can use milk, yogurt, soy milk, or just water.
One of my favorites is the banana avocado smoothie. Why? The ingredients are readily available, and the health benefits are excellent.
Smoothie Ingredients
Here’s what I put in it:
banana (1)
avocado (1)
date (1)
spinach (handful)
soy milk (1 cup)
This will result in 2 to 3 servings. You can keep the smoothie in the fridge as well for 1 or 2 days, although immediate consumption is the best.
Bananas are available in most parts of the world, and bananas are a healthy option for most diets. Just make sure to get a ripe one, as unripe ones contain resistant starch which is not digested. Ripe ones also are a little sweeter, so a single date will suffice.
The health benefits of avocados are numerous. They contain vitamins, minerals, fibers, and healthy fats. Consuming avocados as part of your diet can help lower cholesterol, decrease inflammation, and help reduce the risk of developing heart disease. But since avocados are high in fiber and fat, they make you feel full longer. So consuming them at breakfast will help postpone the next hunger feeling.
For the date, I use dry Medjool dates. They are more easily available, and I can keep them longer (in the fridge). My main reason for adding them is to get a little more (natural) sweetness in the drink. But dates are also high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The fiber helps with digestive health. And lastly, dates also contain antioxidants. The most important ones are flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acid. These can help your body prevent diseases. If you don’t eat dates, you could use honey, or other natural sweetener.
Spinach is very versatile and healthy, and great for a smoothie! Spinach is mostly know as a good source for iron (creates hemoglobin in your body to help transport oxygen). But spinach also contains lots of vitamin (A, B6, B9, C, E, K1). Together with the other plant-based components, spinach as been shown to improve oxidative stress, eye health, and blood pressure. Although I use fresh spinach, you can also use frozen (thaw it first).
I prefer soy milk over regular milk, because it is lower in (saturated) fat and contains no cholesterol and no lactose. So it is also a good option is you are lactose-intolerant. Soy milk, in comparison with some other alternatives is also a good source for protein.
How to make it
Making a smoothie is rather easy. In most cases, it is about putting the ingredients in a blender and turning it on. With some recipes it is better to blend some ingredient first, before putting the rest.
In the case of the banana avocado smoothie described here, the ingredients can all be mixed together in one go.
Peel the banana and cut or break it in parts before you put it in.
Slice the avocado in half, separate the two halves, remove the seed, and scoop out the avocado from its peel.
With the date, you also need to remove the seed if it still has one. I cut it up in a few pieces, but that is not really required. Tip: For the type of blender that was used here, it is best to leave the date in big pieces. The smaller it is cut before putting it in the blender, the more grainy the end result.
If you use fresh spinach, make sure it is washed before using it in a smoothie.
Poor the soy milk on top, put on the lid, and then turn on the blender. Tip: You can increase the amount of soy milk if you find the end result is too thick.
It does need a little time to blend, so give it time to get smooth.
Apart from using a standing blender, it is also perfectly okay to use a hand blender. Just make sure your container is large enough to hold the ingredients, and move the hand blender up and down while blending to get a smooth result.
Sit on the floor with your legs together and extended.
Lean backward a little and position your arms behind you on the floor with your hands toward your body. Keep your core tight and your back straight.
Now bend your left leg, and place your left foot next to your right knee.
Next, push up your hips until your body is straight (with the exception of your left leg). Make sure to breathe deep and slowly to maximize your oxygen intake.
Hold for 2 seconds, and then lower your hips to the floor again.
This completes the reverse bent leg pull up.
Switch sides by extending your bent, left leg, and pulling up the right leg.
Note: Keep looking upward during the exercise to maintain proper form. This exercise strengthens your core and back muscles. Try to move slowly when you push your hips up, as that maximizes the result of the effort. Ideally, your movements should be synchronized with your breathing!
Progression: Repeat the reverse bent leg pull up on each side 10 times.
Variation: Instead of exchanging the legs, you can do a number of repetitions on one side before switching to the other leg. Be aware that this is more difficult than switching sides every time.
Now lift your left leg, straighten it and place your heel on the floor.
Next, lift your right leg, straighten it and place your right foot next to your left foot. You are now in a reverse full plank.
To complete the exercise, reverse the leg movement. Start with with the right leg, move your foot towards your body, and place it in the original position. Repeat for the left leg.
This completes the reverse bridge walk out (and back in).
Note: Keep looking upward during the exercise to maintain proper form.
Progression: Repeat the reverse bridge walk out until you have stepped in and out with each leg 20 times.
Variation: Too hard? Limit the distance you move your feet. Don’t straighten your legs, but move your feet forward a limited distance.
When you decide to make an active lifestyle part of your weight loss efforts, it is a good idea to get an activity tracker. These devices range from very simple to very advanced. The basic ones are simple step counters, while the advanced ones allow measuring many more aspects.
Steps, blood pressure, oxygen levels in the blood, and heart rate, are just a few.
Fitbit Devices
One of the most popular devices for activity tracking is a Fitbit. Fitbit has a wide range of product offerings, including smartwatches and trackers. Together with their phone app, you can really benefit from gaining insight into your activity, whether it is just for fitness, or as an aid in your weight loss journey.
For the Fitbit devices that include a heart rate monitor, there is even more good news. The FDA in the US has recently approved the Fitbit algorithm that passively checks for atrial fibrillation (Afib).
What that means is that their devices can detect Afib and inform the wearer of the device.
Afib is a heart condition that affects millions worldwide. It is a heart rhythm condition where the heart beats irregularly, and faster than normal. The problem with Afib is that it is not continuous, and as a result can be hard to detect.
By using continuous heart rate measurement, together with the new algorithm, Afib can be detected with a 98% accuracy according to a 2020 study.
Other Devices for Heart Rate Monitoring
Fitbit is not the only device that offers heart rate monitoring, the Apple Watch (Series 4 onward) and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 also offer heart rate measurements using EKG sensors. Up to now, however, the wearer always needs to manually trigger the display of an ECG.
The Apple Watch also offers Afib detection and notification on some devices and in some countries. This is not continuous, the algorithm to look for Afib is run occasionally, mainly when the wearer is not moving. More details on that are available from Apple.
For people with an Afib condition, this is great news. Early detection can help prevent more serious conditions, such as heart attacks, and strokes.
Next, lift your right leg and move it inward until your feet meet in the middle.
To complete the reverse bridge walk, lift and move your left leg outward again.
Do the same for the right leg.
This completes one “walk”.
Note: Make sure to not move your feet outward too far. I recommend you use a yoga mat to help place your feet in the middle and just outside the mat. The exercise is about lifting and moving the legs. Moving your feet further apart does not benefit the exercise.
Progression: Repeat the reverse bridge walk until you have stepped in and out with each leg 20 times.
Variation: Too hard? Limit the distance you move your feet. Only move from the starting position to the middle, and back.
Now lift your left knee, like you would in a high knee exercise.
Next, extend your left leg to straighten it out.
Hold for a few seconds before lowering your left leg back to the floor.
Repeat with the other leg.
Note: As with all reverse planking, try to keep proper form. Look upward while doing the exercise and try to prevent your hips from sagging. This will ensure you get the maximum result from the reverse tuck & extend exercise.
Progression: Repeat the reverse tuck & extend exercise 20 times on each side.
Variation: Too hard? Get stronger by using the Reverse Leg Lift exercise first.
