Sunday, October 16, 2011

Yoga Fit Level 1

To all my friends, family and fans,

I am so happy and excited to share my new of completing my Level 1 Yoga Fit. I'm already signed up for Level 2 in November! It brought such insight and strength to me as an individual that I really hope that I can pass it on to everyone else.

Your friend,
Shannon

Friday, October 14, 2011

What the weekend has in store....?

I hope that everyone burned off some additional calories this week, what with last weekend being Thanksgiving and all! I know I could feel a little extra "stuffing" in places that shouldn't have extra "stuff"!

I'm excited to be taking my Level 1 Yoga Fit Certification to propel myself and my knowledge in a new way. I still have a long way to go before I become a teacher but I'll get there.

Have a safe weekend!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

GRILLED TOFU WITH BASIL PUREE OVER TUSCAN BEANS

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive-oil
1 ½ cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Non-stick cooking spray
1 block of extra firm tofu
2 15.5 ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onions

  1. In a food processor, combine the lemon juice, oil, 1 cup of basil leaves, 1 garlic clove, ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper. Puree until smooth; set aside.
  2. Heat a grill pan to medium-high and mist with cooking spray. Hale one garlic clove and rub the tofu with its cut side. Season tofu with ¼ teaspoon each of the salt and black pepper. Grill 4 minutes per side.
  3. Mince remaining garlic and saute in pan coated with non-stick spray over medium-low heat for 2 minutes; let cool slightly. In a medium bowl, combine the white beans, tomatoes, red onion, remaining salt and black pepper, and sauteed garlic. Tear up remaining basil and combine with bean mixture.
  4. Divide beans among 1 plate and 3 Tupperware (for later meals) and top with tofu. Add basil puree and serve.
 For meat lovers use 1 pound 1 1/2-inch-thick sirloin steak cut into 4 portions.
Make sure that the red onion is fresh and used immediately.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Disservice to my clients

I would like to apologize to all my clients and followers for not staying up-to-date on my blog. I feel that I have done you a disservice, for that I am deeply sorry. I'm back, online and still here for you, even if I don't blog. ;)

I'm totally booked for the October Boot Camp which makes me happy to know that people see the benefits of exercise and health! I hope to expand my studio for 2012 so I can service more people in the winter season.

Yours in health,
Shannon

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Setting up the perfect squat!

I can't stand when I'm at Maxximum and I see someone doing an improper squat; it drives me BATTY! When your form and technique is wrong, your not achieving the full benefits of the exercise. Here are some tips for the perfect squat.

  • Stand with feet slightly wider than hip width apart, slightly, NOT sumo;
  • Make sure the barbell is placed on the meaty part of your traps, NOT on your spine;
  • Hold barbell in hands, lightly and start thinking about the descend (Visualize that there is a chair behind you that you are trying to sit down and back onto);
  • As you go back and down, keep the weight in your heels and make sure to NOT let your knees come past your toes (as you come down, its a count of 2);
  • Make sure you come low enough that your thighs are parallel to the floor and that you are still placing the weight in the heels, DO NOT LET YOUR HEELS COME UP!
  • Once you reach parallel, press evenly and fluidly back to the start position through your HEELS, NOT TOES (come up to a count of 1 but fluid not jerky).
Coming nice and deep in the squat will really target those quads (upper thigh) and glutes (buttock). Pay close attention to your form and you'll have an amazing ASSets!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Falling off the wagon, man is it hard to get back on.

After the week of being sick before we went away, going away and then getting the sinus infection when we got back; I gotta say getting back on track has been hard. See everyone, no one is invincible, even trainers. I have started back to the regular program and I can tell you my down day will be St. Patty's, well because it's St. Patty's! That's my cheat and then back at it. I am looking forward to training with Scott on Saturday...eeeekkkkkk! He will seriously kick my ass but it'll be fun!

I hope that you are all having a great week and I will let you know how Saturday goes, if I survive?!

Friday, March 11, 2011

I'm back...in a couple of days.

Hey Everyone,

I am sorry that I have been MIA since Monday but when I returned home, I got a sinus infection, my daughter got bronchitis and my husband had something but wouldn't go to the doctors. We are just getting over it and I plan to be in full swing by Monday. We have March break, so things will be a little up and down but we'll get it sorted. I hope everyone has been well and I'll keep you posted this week.

Cheers,
Shannon

Sunday, February 20, 2011

On the mend.

I'm starting to feel a lot better. I had to make some homemade chicken rice soup, from scratch because everything on the shelves has too much sodium. I didn't want to piss off Scott! I'll definately be taking immunity boosters for the rest of my "competition size" journey. I'll have to work back into my workouts this week and make sure I don't over do it.

I wish everyone a very happy Family Day tomorrow and make sure to switch off and truly focus on your family; I will be.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Sick; it even happens to trainers!

Hey everyone,

Even trainers get sick. Yes, we are not invincible! The one downfall to training for a competition, believe it or not is lower immunity. Once your body falls below 18.5% body fat, you have lower immunity and you can become sick easier. This is why I would never do this more then once in my life because staying within a low body fat range can also cause other irreversible effects.

-Low Immunity: as discussed above;
-Cancer Risks: people that do not get enough healthy fats and are malnourished Fall prey to types of cancer. Vegetables and fruits help your body protect against cancers.
-Osteoporosis, Bone breaks and Fractures: proper nutrition and healthy fats promote healthy bone growth. Proper vitamins and minerals from your food help decrease your chances of developing arthritis,brittle bones and osteoporosis.

Please make sure to hire a professional that really knows what they are doing and are taking your health into consideration, not their "image" as a trainer.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Beginning of week 7...its hard to believe!

Hey Everyone,
I told Scott that I would post a picture today of my progress; drum roll please........there it is. I know to you all it probably doesn't look like much but it is. I'm down to 123 which is close to impossible for me to get to. My inches are what's crazy, total body has been over 15 inches! The camera does no justice but I wanted to prove to you all that even thought the scale may be a little harsh, the inches should still come off! I'm only half way there, believe it or not. I took a side profile this week, so I'll take one during the next "weigh in". I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of myself for being so hardcore about this. If I can do it, SO CAN YOU!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Ahhh, flu season. What to do?

Well it seems it's that time again. You know, when everyone gets flu's and colds. It's a combination of the flux in the daily weather differences (minus 21 today, plus 3 tomorrow), improper dress attire, low vitamin D from our lack of sun, poor nutrition and decrease in exercise from our winter blues. What to do? Well kick it up a notch!
- supplement vitamin D, especially without seeing the sunshine regularly;
- eat properly to support your immune system;
- exercise even if you feel blue, it'll release your happy chemical and keep your body strong;
- dress appropriately for outdoor play; I'm not saying you catch a cold from the cold but if your system is already down, it's a lot harder for it to protect itself when its trying to keep you warm.

If you'd like any information on proper nutrition for the winter months, contact me today!
416-617-2523
Shannon Jonas
www.healthierathome

Monday, February 7, 2011

Week 6 weigh-in

Down to 124lbs, as of this morning which is GREAT! I'm keeping the muscle but still dropping inches, bye bye fat. Up to 6 liters of water a day...gag! It's pretty easy staying on the meal plan now. My biggest test with be my vacation, boo!

Had a wicked workout yesterday!

Fightin' something off, so I'm hittin' the hay.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Continuing from the beginning...

I have to make a correction from the beginning. I orginally went to school to work with the Elderly not Law and Security, that was later.

After the stabbing incident, I vowed I would never get hurt, physically by anyone. I worked out with the big boys, in a gym where they blared Metallica and had barf buckets set out on the floor. It was pretty extreme! We'd work out till we couldn't move and head to Wendy's immediately after and grab a frosty, chicken breast and a loaded baked potato...ahhh, ignorance is bliss. I continued this very regularly, for many months while trying to manage or as I like to think, ignore my depression that kept surmounting. Push it to the back of your mind and it never happened, right? Wrong! Unfortunately my mind pushed back and I hit rock bottom. With the help of two very special people, Jeff and Aracely, they helped me drudge through the sorrow. I could not have done it without them. I had to work through a lot off issues and needed to learn to ask for help. I ended up moving home because it was to surmounting. I think after I can home, most of it was a blur. I ate the same way I ate when I was training hard but the thing was, I wasn't training. I was sitting and doing absolutely nothing. This is when my percentage of body fat went up (to be honest I never even checked) and I completely checked out of this body.


I'm attaching a photo of myself but to be very honest, this wasn't me at my worst. I was probably about 153 but I got up to 160 and for someone who is 5'2, that's a lot of weight to carry.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Just keep rollin'...

I didn't budge in weight, at all but I'm still losing inches. Might have to reve it up a little, literally! It's amazing to think that the harder you work, the harder you have to continue to work. That's why I tell my clients, this is an uphill climb...forever. You can never give up on setting goals, you always have to continue the climb to challenge yourself. Just when you think you've got your body figured out, something will change. Whether it be your hormones, your lifestyle or even the fact that you've plateaued...just keep on climbing. We have to strive to be better physically or we can just coast, the choice is yours. Even in your job, you need to either learn and grow so that you can rise or you can stay where your at but why settle? I challenge you to challenge yourself. Maybe a marathon, certain body fat percentage or push yourself to lift that "impossible" weight. All you need to do is remove the "im" or as I see it, "i'm" holding myself back in impossible!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Missed a couple of days there...a complete blur

Hey Everyone,

Sorry about missing a couple of days. I actually had blogged something but forgot to post it and then it just seemed silly to blog something from the day before.

Hope everyone had a fantastic week! I was extremely busy and have been staying on track, very well I must say. No booze, no sugar, only 1 coffee (I'm allowed). It's easier then I thought but it's the repetition of doing something that makes it easy. Just keep a little mantra going in your head, so that when your significant other or people around you are ordering beers, pizza and wings; you stay strong! Try something like, "I have done so good for this long, it would be a shame to blow it on something that would only provide a springboard for worse things."

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Talking weights...

When to lunge and when not to lunge? This presents an interesting question. To answer, it depends. It depends on possible injuries your recovering from, ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or PCL (posterior cruciate ligament). These two ligaments form an X inside your knee and there job is to keep the lower leg bone in position with the upper leg bone.
A study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reported that the lunge placed little stress on the ACL but highly stressed the PCL. So to answer the question, go lunge crazy on leg day if your recovering from an ACL injury but stay away if it's a PCL injury or at least until the doctor gives you the okay.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Feeling great!

Had a great day, I hope you did as well!

Taught 2 Spin classes today, so I definitely got enough cardio in today. My dear friend Tylor joined and for his first time, he did pretty darn good! Good on ya! Workouts and meal plan are going along pretty good. Still slightly missing coffee...ahhhh glorious coffee. I think I'm sitting in and around 21% body fat, so I've come down which is awesome. I've got an early morning, so we'll chat more tomorrow.

Cheers!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Monday...ahhh, Monday

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Mine was pretty quiet. Had dinner with a good friend (cheat night)! Got an amazing 5oz fillet Mignon with beets, asparagus and broccoli all freshly prepared (without salt or butter). Most people would not consider that a "cheat" but on this meal plan, it is! Went to the Pickering Flea Market; pretty good.

I woke up this morning feeling a little discouraged; can't lie. I had a feeling that my weight had not dropped anymore, which is didn't. My measurements went down, so that's awesome! This week Scott's got me upping my cardio. Yes people, even personal trainers have to kick their own asses! So on top of everything else I teach, I will be adding 40 minutes (daily) of high cardio (140-150bpm). What will you be doing?! :)

I'm looking forward to seeing great results at the end of this week!

Have a fantastic day!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Coming back to the present for a moment...

Good Morning Everyone,
Lets talk a little about the meal plan I am currently on and ones that I put my clients on. I want all my current clients and future clients to know that without determination and perseverance, it is extremely challenging to adhere to a meal plan. Life happens, right? Well, yes but that's where it is so important to be mentally strong and prepared. Having a thought out meal plan, that you could prepare with your eyes closed while knowing that your eating healthy will help you in the long run. Trust me, there are times when I'm out with friends or family and everyone is eating and drinking whatever they want, in copious amounts...it's hard. That's where the mentally strong comes into play. You have to weigh the pros and cons (maybe in your head) and realize that you are striving to be healthy! NOT EVERYONE SHARES THE SAME GOAL, REMEMBER YOURS! It will be a constant battle but when you are older and you don't have diabetes or heart problems or joint problems or high blood pressure or a ton of other problems that occur with obesity, then you will be happy that you don't share the same goal as them.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

A little history...in the beginning.

To start this journey, we need to go way back. I started working out when I was around 16 years old. I had always been heavier set, especially in the hips and thighs and was always insecure about my weight and appearance. I didn't take it to serious because I was young and stupid and wanted to eat McDonalds. I also had the nasty habit of smoking, occasionally. I never did cardio, well because I didn't want to. I kept this up for many years until something monumental happened in my life.
I had finished high school at 19, mostly to stay with my high school sweetheart. I got ready to go off to college, in Kingston to take Law and Security (chasing my cop dream). The September long weekend would be a weekend I would never forget. I went to a field party in Newmarket and was attacked by some very bad people. I had been stabbed in the back, literally with a knife. It went through my right rear deltoid (shoulder) and came out through my armpit. The most hurtful part of the situation was that my recently ex-boyfriend of 3 years watched it all happen, without helping me and proceeded to go to an after party with these same people. He never contacted the police or helped me even during the trial. This would be one defining moment in my life...

Start of my Show Journey

Good Morning Everyone,
I am quickly posting a pic at my start weight before I achieve dropping weight, to get to show size. I am not actually going to do a show, I just wanted to set a goal for myself this year. I had to take some time off at Christmas from training and well, you know what all the Christmas eating will do to ya! At the height of 160cm, I got up to the plump size of 134lbs or 60.7kgs, BMI-Body Mass Index (I'm only using this as a reference point for people) of 23.7. My measurements were as follows:
Chest 94.0cm
Waist 74.5cm
Forearms 25.5cm
Up.Arms 32.0cm
Neck 31.7cm
Hips 96.0cm
Thigh 24.0cm
Calf 36.4cm
With the help of a friend of mine Scott Housley, who is also a trainer and deals specifically with people trying out for shows I started my journey. I have already lost 10lbs and am down to 124lbs or 56.2kgs. This puts my BMI (Body Mass Index) is 22.0. My pic (don't mind the hair, I just woke up) that I am posting is at the weight of 128lbs or 58.0kg. I'll do measurements again at the end of the month.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Believe...Achieve!: Start of my blog.

Believe...Achieve!: Start of my blog.: "Hey everyone, This is another way for me to reach out to you! I take so much pride in what I do and in what you do. Let me start off by sa..."

Start of my blog.

Hey everyone,
This is another way for me to reach out to you! I take so much pride in what I do and in what you do.
Let me start off by saying that I am here for you and will help you in every way possible.
Let's start the journey today!
Your friend in health and fitness,
Shannon