Quinoa Chicken Salad in a Mason Jar

• 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. raw honey (or pure maple syrup)
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil (extra virgin)
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 4 cups sliced cucumbers
• 4 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 3 cups grilled chicken breast (boneless, skinless, sliced)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. To make dressing, combine vinegar, lemon juice, and honey in a medium bowl; whisk to blend.

2. Add mustard; mix well.

3. Slowly add oil while whisking; mix well. Evenly divide dressing between 4 one-quart Mason jars. Set aside.

4. Evenly layer quinoa, cucumbers, tomatoes, chicken, and cheese on top of dressing in jars. 

5. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Shake before serving. 

6. Variation (Add 1 green container per serving): Add 4 cups fresh baby spinach. 

*Nutritional information (per serving) does not include spinach.

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P90X/P90X2 Portions
½ Dairy
1 Protein
½ Grain Carb
2 Vegetable
1 Condiment

P90X3 Portions
3 Carb
1 Protein
2 Fat

Body Beast Portions
1½ Starch
4 Vegetable
2 Fat
2 Protein

Portion Fix Containers
2 Green
1 Red
1 Yellow
½ Blue
1 tsp.

2B Mindset Plate It!
A great lunch option. Replace quinoa with more veggies for dinner.

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There are few food combinations more deliciously satisfying than peanut butter and banana, and this PB and Banana Latte Shakeology has both — and more!

This shake may taste like a rich, decadent treat, but it can help set your day up for success: With a scoop of Cafe Latte Vegan Shakeology in it, this shake is the perfect complement to a healthy breakfast that has a mix of carbs, protein, and fat.

Not a morning shake drinker? Then blend this up for a healthy afternoon (or any time of day!) snack.

Don’t have Shakeology yet? Get all of the Shakeology flavors here!

PB and Banana Latte Shakeology

This decadent-tasting peanut butter and banana shake feels more like a treat than a healthy snack!

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup ice
• 1 scoop Café Latte Vegan Shakeology
• 2 tsp. all-natural peanut butter
• 1/2 large banana (cut into chunks)

1. Place almond milk, ice, Shakeology, peanut butter, and banana in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

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P90X/P90X2 Portions
½ Fat
1½ Protein
½ Fruit
½ Single-Serving Snack

P90X3 Portions
1½ Carb
1½ Protein
1½ Fat

Body Beast Portions
1 Fruit
1½ Fat
1 Protein Liquid
3 Balanced Liquid

Portion Fix Containers
1 Purple
1 Red
3 tsp.

2B Mindset Plate It!
A great breakfast option.

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The decline press is sort of like the redheaded stepchild of the bench press family. While the flat bench press — one of three tests of fortitude in the sport of powerlifting — is the overachieving oldest child, and the incline press — a standby for bodybuilders and fitness models — is the flashy, charismatic youngest child, tucked over in the corner, covered in drips from a leaky ceiling pipe, is the often-neglected decline bench press.

And that’s a shame.

While setup for the move — a reverse decline sit-up with a head weave around the bar — can be awkward (especially if you’re wrestling a pair of dumbbells), and lowering a heavy barbell towards your neck like a guillotine can be daunting, these are minor quibbles compared with the numerous advantages of this great exercise. Here’s why.

 

Benefits of the Decline Bench

More pecs

Where the flat bench heavily recruits the anterior deltoid, the orientation of the decline bench press shifts more of that load onto the lower, or sternal, head of the pectoralis major. That amounts to greater chest development, especially at the lower fibers.

Less stress

Because of your inverted position, the bar’s path naturally helps reduce stress on the shoulder joint, which you might otherwise encounter in a move like the incline press. You’re also less likely than in a flat bench press to arch your back, which can place greater pressure on the lumbar spine and increase the risk of injury.

More weight

Most lifters find that they can handle surprisingly heavy weight on the decline press — often more than they can on the bench press.

“The decline bench press gives you a greater mechanical advantage,” says Beachbody fitness expert Cody Braun. “That allows you to press more weight.” Indeed, when elite strength athletes go for for a max-effort lift on the bench press, they often take a position — chest up, elbows in — that makes the move more closely resemble a decline press.

The upshot: if you want to reap the strength- and muscle-building benefits of handling big weights without causing undue strain on your joints, hit the decline bench press.

 

How to Do the Decline Dumbbell Press With Perfect Form

Appears in: Body Beast >> Beast Up >> Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps

• Keeping your abs engaged, lie back on a decline bench, holding a pair of medium-to-heavy dumbbells at the sides of your your chest. Your palms should be facing forward.
• With your feet flat on the floor, push the dumbbells over your chest.
• Pause, and then slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.

 

How to Make the Decline Bench Press Harder (and Easier)

Sure, it’s easy enough to change the weight — and that’s a great option, especially if you tend to forget that strength training is supposed to be progressive or, equally, if you tend to pile so much weight onto the bar that orthopedic surgeons spontaneously hand you their business cards whenever they see you in the gym. It bears repeating: if you’re going for enhanced strength, muscle size, or performance, choose the heaviest weight you can handle with good form for the appropriate number of reps.

But what if you don’t have a choice of weight to use on the decline press? What if you’re lifting in a hotel, and all they have are 25-pound dumbbells? What if you’re switching off sets with your significant other who’s twice, or half, as strong as you? How do you change the difficulty? A few strategies:

Change the angle

Many (though not all) decline press stations are adjustable. If that’s the case with yours, try a different angle. In general, most people find that the closer the bench is to flat, the harder the move; and the steeper the decline, the easier the move. If you’re having trouble with the move, change the angle before abandoning the exercise altogether.

Vary the motion

One little-used but effective technique on all bench-press variations is the “1.5.” Under this approach to the movement, you lower the weights fully, press them up halfway, then lower them again before once again pressing them to arm’s length. That’s one rep.

If you’re feeling particularly sporty you can divide the rep into three movements, so that each rep is even more fiendish: lower the weights fully, press them up one quarter of the way, then lower them again; press them up halfway, then lower them again; press them up three quarters of the way, lower them again; then press them all the way up. That’s one rep — and a heck of a lot of uninterrupted time under tension. Yowch.

Change the tempo

When you lower a weight quickly then heave it back up, you’re minimizing the amount of time your muscles spend under tension, a key stimulus for growth. Lowering the weight slowly forces the muscles to do more work. A three-to four-second lowering phase followed by a fast press is optimal.

 

What Muscles Does the Decline Bench Press Work?

Pectorals

The chest muscle you can see is the pectoralis major, and it comprises two heads: the clavicular (upper), and the sternal (lower). They combine to bring your arms toward the midline of your body, as when clapping. Toiling in obscurity underneath the pec major is the pectoralis minor. The pec minor draws your shoulder blades down and forward.

What part of the chest does the decline bench press work?

The decline bench press places greater emphasis on the pectoralis major’s sternal (lower) head than moves like the flat or incline bench press.

Deltoids

Emphasized less than in a flat or incline bench, the muscles of the shoulder still get plenty of work in the decline press. The deltoid consists of three heads: the posterior (back), the lateral (side), and the anterior (front), the last of which shoulders more of the load (see what we did there?) in the decline bench press.

Triceps

The pushing muscle of your upper arm, the triceps occupies roughly two-thirds of its musculature. It consists of three heads (from closest to your torso outward): the long, medial, and lateral. The decline bench press emphasizes the lateral and medial heads of the triceps.

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There’s never a bad time for a refreshing, fruity shake and this Watermelon Mint Lemonade Shakeology recipe hits all the right notes: sweet watermelon, tart lemon, and fresh mint.

You can easily make it a vegan shake — just swap in Tropical Strawberry Shakeology for Strawberry Shakeology.

It may only have six ingredients, but this simple, healthy shake is packed with bright flavors that will satisfy your sweet tooth and fill your tummy with protein, fiber, and other wholesome ingredients.

Don’t have Shakeology yet? Get all of the Shakeology flavors here!

Watermelon Mint Lemonade Shakeology

This is refreshing shake is equal parts tart, sweet, and minty!

• 3/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup ice
• 1 scoop Tropical Strawberry Shakeology or Strawberry Shakeology
• 1/2 cup watermelon (cubed)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves (coarsely chopped)

1. Place water, lemon juice, ice, Shakeology, watermelon, and mint in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

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P90X/P90X2 Portions
1 Protein
½ Fruit
½ Single Serving Snack

P90X3 Portions
1½ Carb
1 Protein

Body Beast Portions
1 Fruit
1 Protein Liquid
1 Balanced Liquid

Portion Fix Containers
½ Purple
1 Red

2B Mindset Plate It!
A great snackional or enjoy as part of breakfast.

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Chocolate might be the most versatile food out there. You can pair it with almost anything and come up with something delicious — like this Chocolate Raspberry Shakeology.

Bonus? If you’re not a fan of eating veggies, this is the perfect (and tasty) way to drink your veggies! You won’t even notice there’s a half cup of spinach it this rich, satisfying smoothie.

Don’t have Shakeology yet? Get all of the Shakeology flavors here!

Chocolate Raspberry Shakeology

Chocolate + plump, sweet raspberries and I get some veggies in? Yes, please!

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup ice
• 1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
• 1/2 cup raw spinach
• 1/2 cup fresh (or frozen) raspberries

1. Place almond milk, ice, Shakeology, spinach, and raspberries in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

(Not familiar with Portion Fix? Find out how Portion Fix can make losing weight simple.)

P90X/P90X2 Portions
1½ Protein
½ Vegetable
½ Fruit

P90X3 Portions
1 Carb
1½ Protein

Body Beast Portions
½ Vegetable
½ Fruit
1 Liquid Protein
2 Balanced Protein

Portion Fix Containers
½ Green
½ Purple
1 Red
1 tsp.

2B Mindset Plate It!
A great snackional or enjoy as part of breakfast.

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Spend enough time around workout machines, and you’ll find they each have their own personality; the Versaclimber is a drill sergeant, the assisted pull-up is the science nerd, the cable row is the blue-collar mensch. The party guy, however, has got to be the cable chest fly.

Standing cable flys won’t exhaust you like squats or lunges, they won’t shame you like pull-ups. They’re dessert after a tough workout, a little shot of ego-gratification after you’ve dutifully swallowed all your veggies and vitamins. They’ll give you a pump in your chest muscles — arguably the showiest of all — while letting you strike a bodybuilding pose in public without risking ridicule.

Cable chest flys are also a great way to work your pectoral muscles while sparing your joints. “One of the main functions of the chest muscles is to adduct your arm across your body,” says Beachbody fitness expert Cody Braun. “That’s exactly what the cable chest fly does. This is a great option for those who experience discomfort in their joints during the bench press.”

 

How to Do the Cable Chest Fly With Perfect Form

Appears in: Sagi’s BOD Exclusives >> The Equipment Room >> Chest and Tris

• Set the pulleys on a dual cable machine to chest height, and stand between the two stacks. Grab the handles.
• Keeping your back straight and core engaged, raise your arms out to your sides, palms facing forward, and walk a step or two forward in order to create tension on the cables. Stand with one foot in front of the other.
• Bend your elbows slightly, making sure not to let them travel behind your shoulders. This is your starting position.
• Pull your hands toward each other in wide arcs in front of you, pausing when your hands touch before slowly returning to the starting position. Alternate your forward foot with each set.

 

How to Make the Cable Chest Fly Harder (and Easier)

The standing cable fly is a single-joint move intended to maximize tension in a single muscle group. As such, you want to feel the cable chest fly all the way from the stretch at the start of the move to the intense contraction at the end. That’s not possible with too much weight.

Sure, over time you’ll want to increase resistance on the cable chest fly, just as you would on any other strength-training move — but do so slowly. Instead of rushing to add weight, change the tempo. By slowing down the eccentric (negative) phase of the move and holding the contracted position for a second or two, you’ll increase your time under tension — a proven stimulus for muscle growth.

Another way to increase time under tension is the “1.5″ method: pull the handles together, contracting your pecs fully, then let them go halfway, and bring them together fully again, squeezing your chest muscles as hard as you can. You’ll make the set considerably harder by performing the toughest part of the move twice on each rep — and you’ll feel it even more the next day.

 

Benefits of the Cable Chest Fly

For people who experience discomfort in their joints during the bench press, cable flys are a great alternative. With proper shoulder blade stability, the cable chest fly changes the angle of the movement enough to limit the potential stress on the joints.

Cable chest flys also place lots of tension on the muscle through its entire range of motion. That’s not something that can be said of bench press variations (in which your bones support the weight when your arms are vertical), or dumbbell flys (in which there’s a lot of tension on the muscles when your arms are spread wide, but almost none once your arms are vertical.) The cable setup gives your muscles almost uninterrupted time under tension, and a huge pump — each of which which can help optimize muscle growth.

 

What Muscles Does the Cable Chest Fly Work?

Pectorals

It’s in the name of the exercise, folks: the muscles of the chest consist of the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor, and they’re the object of the cable chest fly. Of the two, only the pec major is visible, powering adduction of the arms (bringing them together in front of you, as when hugging or clapping), as well as their inward rotation and elevation. The pec minor is located a layer deeper, and draws the shoulder blades down and forward.

Which cable fly angle works the upper chest?

The pec major itself is comprised of two heads, each of which may be worked differently depending on the angle of adduction; an upward angle of movement emphasizes the upper, or clavicular, head, while a lower angle emphasizes the lower, or sternal, head of the muscle. Adopting a low-to-high motion with the cable chest fly exercise will target the upper fibers of the chest.

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If you’ve ever watched your favorite pro athlete clear a five-foot box in a single bound and wondered about your own capacity for air time, there’s good news: It’s a trained skill, and plyometrics (i.e., exercises that involve fast, explosive movements, such as jumping) can help you develop it. The jump squat is a great place to start.

Known interchangeably as a squat jump, it’s a simple, low-maintenance exercise that packs a serious power-building punch. All you need is a few feet of floor space, and weights are optional. You can start slow with lighter resistance and smaller jumps, and gradually transition to a faster pace, higher jumps, and heavier weights. But no matter how you do the jump squat, you’ll reap a variety of benefits.

 

Benefits of Jump Squats

Jumping in any form primarily works the glutes and quadriceps. But jump squats hammer those muscles harder than many other plyometric exercises because they require you to perform a full squat (thighs parallel to the floor), not just a dip of the knees as you might do when performing a forward or lateral hop. So if you’re interested in sculpting your legs and defining your rear, add the squat jump to your workout (you’ll only need about 30 seconds to feel the burn).

And weekend warriors take note: plyometric movements like the jump squat can help build explosive power, which may give you a leg up in your next friendly tennis match or pick-up basketball game.

 

How to Do the Dumbbell Jump Squat With Perfect Form

• Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell or sandbag at your chest with both hands. Alternatively, you can hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing in.
• Keeping your chest up, core engaged, and back flat, push your hips back and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Push yourself back up explosively, jumping straight up.
• Land softly, lowering yourself immediately into your next rep.

 

How to Make Jump Squats Easier

If weighted jump squats prove problematic in any way, use lighter weights, or simply switch to the bodyweight squat jump. Another option: “Don’t jump,” says Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S., Beachbody’s senior fitness and nutrition content manager, adding that this option is a particularly good one for people who are overweight or have joint issues. “Not jumping might seem like it defeats the purpose of the exercise, but studies show that performing a movement explosively while keeping your feet on the ground provides similar benefits to traditional plyometrics without increasing the stress on your joints.”

 

How to Make the Jump Squats Harder

If you’re looking for ways to increase the difficulty of the move, use heavier weights, jump higher, or add a pause at the bottom of the movement, suggests Thieme. That last option will eliminate the help you get from the stretch reflex, which is the rubber band-like tendency of a muscle to return to a shortened state when stretched.

However you perform the squat jump, try not to save it for the end of a workout. “The squat jump requires what it helps you build — explosive power — so you don’t want to save it for the end of a workout when your legs are tired,” Thieme says. “You want to perform it when your legs are fresh, during the first half of a training session.”

 

Muscles Targeted by the Jump Squat

Gluteus

You’re likely familiar with the biggest of the three major muscles comprising your butt: the gluteus maximus. It’s most responsible for the hip extension required in jumping. The other two — the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus — are more involved in hip rotation and abduction (outward movement).

Quadriceps

On the front of your thighs are the four muscles comprising your quads. They all spring into action simultaneously to extend your knee during jumping squats.

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Experimenting with new and innovative weightlifting exercises can be fun, but when you want guaranteed results, nothing beats a classic. Enter: the overhead press. Not only is it a go-to move for those looking to build big shoulders, it’s also a good foundational exercise for any good upper body weightlifting routine.

That’s because an overhead press strengthens muscles of the shoulder, which, in turn, helps improve power in your upper body. “Your shoulders carry out many of your upper body movements, which makes them integral to your everyday functions,” says Beachbody fitness expert Cody Braun. If you want to be more efficient at lifting, pulling, or pressing objects, strong shoulders will help you with that.

Keep reading to learn how to practice proper overhead press form, and why you should add this move to your fitness routine.

How to Do an Overhead Press With Perfect Form

Appears in: The Master’s Hammer and Chisel >> Hammer Power

• Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding two heavy dumbbells at shoulder height, palms facing each other.
• Keeping your elbows in, slowly press the dumbbells upward until your arms are straight.
• Lower your hands back to your shoulders and repeat.

How to Make the Overhead Press Easier or Harder

Adjust the intensity of the dumbbell overhead press by changing the amount of weight you’re lifting: make it easier with lighter dumbbells or make it harder with heavier dumbbells.

Bonus Tips for Doing the Overhead Press

Like all exercises, good form is key to getting results. If you’re arching your back during the exercise, you likely need to switch to lighter weights. Or, sit in an upright bench for back support, Braun suggests.

And if you think you can’t do this move because you don’t have access to dumbbells, you’re in luck: you can do this move just as effectively with resistance bands. Just stand on the center of a resistance band with your feet shoulder width apart and bring the handles to your shoulders with your palms facing each other for the starting position.

Benefits of the Overhead Press

The overhead press recruits several different muscles in the body. It hits the deltoids and the triceps, and if you’re doing the move from a standing position, it also engages your core for balance. Because the overhead press targets multiple joints, it enables you to lift heavier weights, Braun says, “which, in turn, incorporates bigger muscle fibers and increases the potential for growth.”

Additionally, the neutral grip involved in the overhead press also tends to make it easier on your shoulder joints, as compared to other moves that use different grips, like the military press which has the palms facing forward.

What Muscles Do Overhead Presses Work?

Within your shoulder, you’ll find the deltoid muscle and the rotator cuff. The deltoid gives your shoulder size and definition when it’s developed. The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder joint, which is extremely important since the shoulder is one of the most mobile joints in the body. The overhead press also targets your triceps.

Deltoid

The deltoid muscle has three sections, called “heads:” the front (anterior), middle(lateral), and back (posterior). The front head is responsible for raising your arm up and in front of you. The middle head lifts your arm out to the side. And the rear head moves your arm behind you, and lifts it to the side when you’re lying on your stomach. The three heads always work together as one unit, although some movements can emphasis some fibers more than others. In the case of the overhead press, most of the emphasis is placed on the anterior and lateral heads.

Triceps

Your triceps – the horseshoe-shaped muscle on the back of your arm – make up about two thirds of your upper-arm musculature. Each tricep (one on each arm), is composed of three heads. The lateral and medial heads originate at the humerus (upper arm bone) near the shoulder, and the long head originates at the scapula (shoulder blade). They all fuse together and attach to the elbow by a single tendon. The lateral and long heads are the most visible, forming the classic “horseshoe” shape (long head on the inside, lateral head on the outside). The medial head lies under the other two, and while it doesn’t contribute much to the shape of the muscle, it does contribute significantly to its overall mass.

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Among upper body exercises, the bench press gets all the love. Sonnets have been written extolling its virtues. If you want, you can buy a T-shirt proclaiming that you “enjoy long romantic walks to the bench press.” But no such T-shirts exist for the lowly push-up, or its more challenging first cousin, the decline push-up (a.k.a. feet-elevated push-up). And that’s too bad, because decline push-ups are among the best chest builders there are — rivaling even the much-adored bench press and all its variations.

For stronger, more advanced exercisers, the decline push-up is the natural progression of the flat version. “When you elevate your feet, you throw more weight onto your hands, forcing you to lift a greater proportion of your bodyweight with each rep,” says Beachbody fitness expert Cody Braun.

Mess around with tempo, range of motion, and explosiveness, and you’ll have enough challenging variations to last a long time. Add weighted vests, resistance bands, and other forms of external resistance, and the decline pushup can challenge even the strongest lifters for life.

 

How to Do the Decline Push-up With Perfect Form

Appears in: Body Beast >> Beast Up >> Chest, Shoulders, & Tris

• Assume a standard push-up position with your hands on the floor and your feet elevated on a sturdy bench or box. Your arms should be straight, hands slightly wider than shoulder width, and body straight from head to heels.
• Keeping your body straight and core engaged, slowly lower your chest as close to the floor as possible.
• Return to the starting position.

 

How to Make the Decline Push-up Harder (and Easier)

Yet another sign of push-up greatness: versatility. Just check out all the ways you can adjust the difficulty of the move.

1. Change the angle

Let’s say you’ve built sufficient strength to pump out 15 good pushups in a row. You don’t have to jump to a steep angle: elevate your feet just four inches — an aerobic step works well for this purpose — and build your way up in the new position. Once you can do 15 reps with your feet elevated 18 inches, move onto a new strategy.

2. Change the tempo

One minor downside to push-ups: people tend to bounce out of the low position. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily — learning to be “springy” is another aspect of fitness — but it does place less work on the muscle. If your goal is strength and size, increase time under tension by slowing your descent to 3-4 seconds, then push yourself back up. Twelve of those will smoke just about anyone.

3. Change the base of support

In the early 2000s, “unstable surface training” was all the rage: everyone was performing their squats, deadlifts, and curls on a wobble board, Bosu ball, or Swiss ball. The trend, shown to slow improvements in lower-body strength among healthy athletes, passed quickly.

But instability still has its place: in the decline push-up, you can increase the core challenge by performing the move with one leg lifted (alternate legs with each set or each rep), by placing your hand on a Bosu ball (use the flat surface), or both. We don’t recommend using a Swiss ball with this movement — the risk of injury is too great.

4. Change the resistance

Think you’ve mastered the decline push-up? Add resistance. This is easier than you think: put a resistance band across your back like you’re wearing a backpack. then assume the decline pushup position with your hands on the handles. The band will tighten progressively as you complete the move, improving your “lockout” strength.

Another option: perform the move with a weighted vest or backpack, or other implement on your back. Got small kids? Have them cling to your back as you do the move. Keep it up, and by the time they’re teenagers you’ll be a superhero.

 

Benefits of the Decline Push-Up

You get all of the following without a single piece of equipment. No barbell, no kettlebell, no cable-crossover monstrosity. You don’t even need shoes. You can do decline push-ups anywhere there’s gravity, an elevated surface, and enough floor space to lie down.

It’s functional

By doing the decline push-up, you’re refining a skill you need every day of your life. Pushing yourself up from a flat surface is among the first movements you learn as a baby, and probably one of the last ones you’ll need before you shuffle off this mortal coil. This functional movement is step one in our evolution from belly crawlers to bipeds.

It activates the core and improves posture

The decline push-up is also a great multitasker. Not only do you work the pushing muscles (chest, shoulders, and triceps), you also work the core. Retract your head as you perform the move (as if making a double chin) and pull your shoulder blades together, and you’ll fire up your postural muscles, too.

It’s joint-friendlier

Speaking of the shoulder blades, the decline push-up encourages them to move on your upper back — something that’s essential for shoulder health. Bench pressing effectively glues your shoulder blades in place, so that when you lower the weight, all the movement occurs at the shoulder joint. Over time, that could be a problem.

 

What Muscles Does the Decline Push-up Work?

Pectorals

There are two major muscles comprising your chest: The pectoralis major is the one you can see; it pulls your arms toward your body’s midline, helps raise them in front of you, and rotates them inward. Lying underneath it is the pectoralis minor; it draws the shoulder blades down and forward. The decline push-up in particular targets your pectorals, increasingly emphasizing the upper, or clavicular, head of the pec major the higher you elevate your feet.

Triceps

Occupying roughly two-thirds of your upper arm musculature, the triceps is one muscle, three heads (hence the “tri” prefix): long, medial, and lateral. It’s responsible for straightening your elbow, which is obviously central to pressing movements like the decline push-up.

Deltoids

These are the muscles surrounding and supporting the shoulder, which is the body’s most mobile joint. That makes developing and strengthening the muscle’s three heads — anterior, lateral, and posterior — vitally important. The decline push-up emphasizes the anterior fibers of the deltoid.

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There are a few theories on how the good morning exercise got its name. Some say it’s from the movement you make when you rise out of bed in the morning. Others claim it’s because it resembles how you might bow at the waist to say, “good morning.”

Whatever the case may be, the good morning exercise is simple move that activates your core and engages a handful of your body’s most powerful muscles, including your hamstrings and glutes. It also strengthens your erector spinae, which are muscles that help stabilize and extend your vertebral column, says Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S., Beachbody’s senior manager of fitness and nutrition content. “The greatest misconception about the good morning is that it’s bad for your back,” he adds. “When performed correctly, it actually has the opposite effect.”

Here’s how to do this powerful move with proper form so you can safely enjoy all of its muscle-building, back-protecting benefits.

How to Do the Good Morning Exercise With Perfect Form

Appears in: The Master’s Hammer and Chisel >> Max Hammer Strength

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and and place your fingertips gently behind your ears.
• Keeping your back flat and core braced, push your hips back, lowering your torso until it is nearly parallel to the floor.
• Pause, and then return to the starting position.

How to Make the Good Morning Exercise Easier

The most basic version of this move is the bodyweight variation. You should start by mastering the movement pattern and perfecting your form before adding an external load (e.g., dumbbells or a barbell with weight plates). If you lack the strength or hip mobility to lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor, only lower it as far as you can with perfect form.

How to Make the Good Morning Exercise Harder

Increase the difficulty of the good morning by using a resistance band, dumbbells, or a barbell, Thieme suggests.

• Resistance band good morning: Stand on the center of the band with your feet hip-width apart and hold one handle in each hand down by your sides so there is slight tension.
• Dumbbell good morning: Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides, palms facing each other. Keep the dumbbells close to your legs as you lower your torso.
• Barbell good morning: Place a barbell on your shoulders with your hands equal distance apart.
• Zercher good morning: Hold a barbell in front of your body against your sternum in the cooks of your elbows. Stand warned: This variation is the most technically demanding, and places the greatest strain on your core. That can be a good thing if you’re ready for it, and a bad thing if you’re not.

For an added challenge, you can also perform the good morning on one leg at a time, raising your non-supporting leg behind you as you lower your torso toward the floor. This variation requires even greater core activation to maintain stability.

Bonus Tips for Doing the Good Morning Exercise

“The three key things to performing this move correctly are to engage your core, to keep your back flat, and to initiate the movement by pushing your hips back, ” Thieme says. To achieve that last tip, it helps to imagine that you’re closing a door with your butt. “There should only be a very slight bend in your knees, and you should never feel as if you’re ‘bending over,” which will throw you off ballance,” he adds. “The key is to hinge forward at the waist as you push your butt/hips back. Also, never lower your torso until it’s parallel to the floor—you want to stop about 15 degrees above parallel.”

Going all the way down to parallel will increase the strain on your spine. Stopping a bit shy of parallel gives you all the benefits without increasing your risk of injury.

Benefits of the Good Morning Exercise

The good morning is great for learning and mastering the all-important hip-hinge movement (described above), Thieme says. A proper hip-hinge pattern is critical to performing a number of lower body exercises safely and effectively, including the squat and deadlift.

Additionally, the good morning activates many of your body’s biggest muscles, including your glutes and hams, making it an good “bang-for-your-buck” exercise. Plus, it strengthen your erector spinea, which can help reduce your risk of developing back pain.

What Muscles Does the Good Morning Exercise Work?

When you do the good morning exercise, you engage the muscles of your posterior chain, which run along the backside of your body and include your hamstrings, glutes, and erector spinae. You also hammer your core. Here’s a look at how each of these muscles or muscle groups contribute to helping you perform this exercise.

Hamstrings

The term “hamstrings” actually refers to a group of three muscles located on the back of each leg: the semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and biceps femoris. These muscles serve to flex the knee and extend the hip.

Glutes

Your glutes are group of three muscles in each butt cheek that include the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus. The gluteus maximis is the largest in the trio, and it’s the one that’s most responsible for your booty’s round shape. More important, it helps extend your hips. The gluteus medius and gludeus minimus are primarily responsible for the abduction (outward movement) of the thigh.

Core

While your glutes (which most people don’t realize are part of the core), focus on hip extension during the good morning, the rest of your core muscles engage to stabilize your spine. The key players are the rectus abdominis (i.e., your “abs”), the traverse abdominis—which wraps around the abdomen, and is often referred to as the body’s inner “weight belt”—the obliques that run down your sides, and the erector spinae that are located along your spine.

Erector Spinae

This part of your core gets a special shout out when it comes to the good morning exercise because of its central role in performing the movement. This muscle group is comprised of nine different muscles that run along the sides of your spine from the base of your skull to your pelvis. They’re primary jobs are to extend and stabilize the spine. As you can imagine, the latter function is crucial when performing the good morning.

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All-natural peanut butter can part of a healthy diet…in moderation, of course.

Peanut butter is an excellent way to work some healthy fats into your diet — you heard that right: “healthy fats.”

Some fats are healthy and others are not. These Peanutty Peanut Butter Squares are made with a handful of wholesome ingredients you can feel good about.

Okay, not all peanut butter is good for you. That’s because some brands of peanut butter contain lots of additives and tons of processed sugars.

To be sure you are getting pure unadulterated peanut butter take a look at the ingredients on the jar. If you see corn syrups and cane sugars listed, put that jar back on the shelf.

One way to make sure you are buying nothing but the good stuff is to grind your peanut butter yourself. Lots of whole food stores and groceries, especially those that carry bulk grains, now have nut butter machines right in the store.

Pro tip: Here’s a quick, easy recipe for making your own peanut butter at home!

This decadent recipe only calls for a few ingredients and is mostly made of peanut butter.

Add a few eggs, a touch of raw honey, a little vanilla extract, and a dash of baking soda whip thoroughly and voila. This neat baked treat utilizes a little chemistry magic to give rise to the dough.

Peanuts are slightly acidic which reacts with the baking soda causing the dough to rise in the oven. Since these peanut butter squares are made mostly of actual peanut butter they won’t throw your healthy eating plan off the rails.

To get the recipe and find out the Portion Fix Containers and nutritional information, watch the FIXATE episode on Beachbody On Demand!

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Your obliques, the muscles that run up the sides of your core, have one primary job: twisting your torso. When you’re in the car and reach to grab something out of the back seat, your obliques help make it happen. So what better way to strengthen these muscles than by doing oblique twists? This includes a group of core-twisting exercises that target both the internal and external obliques in ways most people’s workouts rarely do.

Rotation is one of the body’s fundamental movement patterns, so it’s important to train your core to resist rotation (like in a Pallof press), flex (as you do with crunches), and extend (achieved with back extensions). It’s also important to train your core to twist when you need it to (you make a quick turn during a game of basketball), and that’s where the oblique exercises come into play. While you would never do a specific “oblique workout,” there are a number of moves you can do to ensure that your oblique muscles get plenty of attention.

How to Do Oblique Twists With Perfect Form

Since there is no “one” type of oblique twist, here are four variations on the movement to sprinkle into your next core workout. And these aren’t just plain old oblique crunches. These moves will give you a nice assortment to stave off workout boredom.

1. C-Sit Tap

Appears in: The Master’s Hammer and Chisel >> 10 Min Ab Hammer

• Sit with your butt and heels on the floor, with your knees bent slightly and your arms extended in front of you, palms up.
• Keeping your core braced, lean back slightly, and rotate to your right as you reach back with your right arm to touch the floor behind you.
• Return to the starting position and repeat to your left. Continue alternating sides.

2. C-Curve Weighted Pass

Appears in: 21 Day Fix EXTREME >> 10 Min HardCORE

• Sit with your butt and heels on the floor and your knees slightly bent, holding a dumbbell with both hands at arm’s length in front of your chest.
• Keeping your core braced, lean back slightly, creating a C curve in the spine. This is your starting position.
• Passing the weight to your left hand, rotate to the left as you reach back to lightly touch the weight on the floor behind you. Keep your right arm extended in front of you throughout the movement.
• Return to the starting position, and, without stopping, pass the weight to your right hand. Repeat the move to the other side.
• Continue alternating sides, and perform equal reps on each.

3. Bicycle Crunch and Punch

Appears in: Autumn’s BOD Exclusives >> Kill Cupcake

• Sit on the floor with your legs straight and your guard up holding a light dumbbell in each hand.
• Brace your core, lean back slightly, and raise your legs off the ground.
• Simultaneously draw your left knee toward your chest, extend your right leg, and punch across your body with your right hand.
• Switch sides, bringing your right arm back, drawing your right knee towards your chest, extending your left leg, and punching across your body with your left hand.
• Continue alternating sides. Too difficult? One option to make it easier is to ditch the weights. Or, you can also touch the floor with the heel of your extended leg instead of keeping it elevated during each punch.

4. Close-Grip Oblique Twist

Appears in: INSANITY: THE ASYLUM Volume 2 >> Back & 6 Pack

• Take an overhand on a pull-up bar.

• Pull your body upward until your chin clears the bar, keeping your back straight and core tight as you pull yourself up.

• Holding the top position of the pull-up, lift your knees toward your chest as high as possible.

• Keeping your knees drawn up and squeezed together, contract your obliques, as if trying to touch the outside of your right hip to your right elbow.

• Repeat on your left side.

• Lower your knees, straighten your arms, return to the starting position, and repeat.

How to Make Oblique Twists Easier

“You can make oblique exercises easier by increasing how many points of contact you have with the floor,” explains Beachbody expert Cody Braun. “For example, by keeping both feet on the floor, you can make the exercise more accessible.” Both the C-Sit Tap and C-Curve Weighted Pass keep the feet on the floor to decrease the demand placed on your core. Master these oblique twist variations before progressing to more advanced ones.

How to Make Oblique Twists Harder

“If you hover the legs you will place more stress on the core musculature,” Braun says. The bicycle crunch and punch, and seated bike twist do just that, while the close-grip oblique twist, performed from a dead-hang, requires and builds next-level core strength.

Bonus Tips for Doing Oblique Twists

While the focus of oblique twists is strengthening the obliques, remember that the obliques work in tandem with the rest of your core musculature—including your rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis muscles. You should keep your entire core braced during oblique twists to maintain proper form.

The Benefits of Oblique Twists

By focusing on an often-neglected muscle group and movement, oblique twisting movements can help improve functional strength, stability, and power. “They train the oblique muscles to transfer power from side to side, and coordinate the transfer of movement from upper body to lower body,” Braun says.

Strengthening your obliques also helps them with their very important task of protecting the spine from excessively rotating during movements like swinging a bat or tennis racquet, for example. Your obliques also help your posture by keeping your pelvis positioned properly.

What Muscles Do Oblique Twists Work?

Hold onto your hats folks – this move targets your obliques! Ok, that part was probably obvious, but what isn’t as commonly known is that your obliques are just one part of your abdominal muscles. It includes the obliques on the sides, the rectus abdominis (aka the “six-pack” muscles that run down the center of your stomach), and the transverse abdominis, which wraps around your torso underneath these muscles.

But that’s not it…there are actually two kinds of oblique muscles: external and internal. The external obliques are visible (if you’re lean enough for them to show) and run diagonally from the sides of your rib cage to the tops of your hip bones. The internal obliques are situated right below them. The right external obliques work in coordination with the left internal obliques, and vice versa. For instance, the right external obliques rotate the body to opposite side, while the right internal rotate to the same side. All together, they help to stabilize your spine and rotate your torso.

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Although few people consider lasagna to be healthy, it’s still surprising to discover exactly how many calories are lurking in that tiny slice.

That’s why we’re here to share a way that you can enjoy lasagna, without tossing a healthy diet completely out the window.

When you think of lasagna, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? We’d bet it has something to do with bubbling hot tomato sauce and cheese.

With this recipe, we’ve focused on the good stuff, which means you’ll still get plenty of sauce and cheese.

But instead of pasta noodles, you’ll load up on spaghetti squash instead. Spaghetti squash is a fiber-rich, lower-carb alternative to pasta.

Ditching the noodles saves on calories and makes room for plenty of cheese. After a trip to the oven, the spaghetti squash noodles will have absorbed some of the tomato and cheesy goodness.

A sprinkle of basil makes the flavors really pop, but the dish still tastes delicious without it.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

This sinfully delicious Spaghetti Squash Lasagna is made with all-natural marinara, part-skim ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese and healthy spaghetti squash.

• 1 small spaghetti squash ((approx. 3½ to 4 lbs.))
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 4 cups all-natural marinara sauce
• 3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil ((optional))

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

3. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and membrane. 

4. Place spaghetti squash, cut side down, on baking sheet. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until tender. 

5. Reduce oven temperature to 350º F.

6. Scrape spaghetti squash flesh into stringy noodles.

7. Lightly coat 4-quart baking dish with spray. 

8. Evenly layer half spaghetti squash, half marinara sauce, and half ricotta cheese in baking dish. Repeat with second layer.

9. Evenly top with Parmesan cheese.  

10. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

11. Garnish with basil if desired.  

The Nutrition Facts box below provides estimated nutritional information for this recipe.

(Not familiar with Portion Fix? Find out how Portion Fix can make losing weight simple.)

P90X/P90X2 Portions
1 Fat
2 Protein
1 Vegetable
2 Condiment

P90X3 Portions
2 Carb
2½ Fat
2 Protein

Body Beast Portions
6 Vegetable
4 Proteins
2½ Fat

Portion Fix Containers
1 Green
2 Purple
1 Red
1 Blue

2B Mindset Plate It!
A great dinner option. Add an FFC for lunch.

If you have questions about the portions, please click here to post a question in our forums so our experts can help. Please include a link to the recipe.

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The dumbbell pullover is a bit of a weight-room unicorn. Unlike nearly every other strength training exercise out there, it simultaneously works two opposing muscle groups at once—specifically, the pecs and lats.

So…do pullovers work your chest or back? The answer is both! While the pectoralis major in the front of the chest controls pushing moments (think: push-ups and bench presses), the latissimus dorsi muscle, spanning both sides of the mid- to lower-back, powers pulling movements (think: rows and pull-ups). It doesn’t get much more contradictory than that. However, by taking the shoulders through a huge range of motion, the dumbbell pullover exercise is able to tap both muscle groups.

So whether you’re trying to build your chest, your back, or both, you need the dumbbell pullover exercise in your upper-body workout routine. Here’s how to do it properly, and a few tips to get the most out of this magical move.

How to Do a Dumbbell Pullover With Perfect Form

Appears in: The Master’s Hammer and Chisel – Total Body Chisel

• Holding a set of dumbbells, lay with your back flat on a bench or stability ball.
• With your feet planted on the ground and your core engaged, extend your arms to the sky, holding the dumbbells together above your chest.
• Keeping your low back pressed into the bench or stability ball, slowly lower your arms overhead until your biceps reach your ears.
• Slowly bring your arms back to above your chest and repeat.

How to Make the Dumbbell Pullover Easier

• Choose a lighter weight: Always select a weight that allows you to perform all reps with proper form.
• Do a bent arm dumbbell pullover: “You can regress the pullover by bending the elbows slightly,” says Beachbody expert Cody Braun. That will bring the weight slightly closer to your body to decrease the amount of stress placed on your core when the dumbbell is in its lowest position.

How to Make the Dumbbell Pullover Harder

• Choose a heavier weight: This is a simple way to increase the load on your pecs and lats.
• Hover your legs a few inches above the bench throughout the entire movement: Braun suggests this option that will be more challenging for your core than it will be for your pecs and lats. To maintain good form, though, you will likely need to use a lighter weight than you would otherwise, and it’s best to do this variation on the floor so you don’t have to worry about losing your balance laying on a bench.

Bonus Tips for Doing the Dumbbell Pullover

“The biggest key to executing the dumbbell pullover correctly is to keep your low back in contact with the bench throughout the whole exercise,” Braun says. Keeping the low back pressed into the bench requires high engagement of the core muscles, especially the deep-lying transverse abdominis. On the flip side, if your low back arches up off of the bench during the dumbbell pullover, you’re likely not engaging the core as needed, or the weight might be too heavy for your core to stabilize it. You may even be “dumping” the weight into your low back, which can increase your risk of injury.

The Benefits of the Dumbbell Pullover

This move works both the pecs and the lats, but it places special emphasis on strengthening the pecs. And if that wasn’t enough, the dumbbell pullover exercise also increases core strength and stability, Braun says. “As the dumbbell gets farther away from your body, your core has to work harder to stabilize the spine.”

What Muscles Does a Pullover Work?

The dumbbell pullover mainly hits your lats (latissimus dorsi) and your pecs (pectoralis major and pectoralis minor). The lats are a part of your upper back. They’re a fan-shaped muscle originating at your mid and lower back and attaching to your upper arms. In coordination with your trapezius and rhomboid muscles, they allow you to pull and row with ease.

On the front side of your body, the pullover exercise works your pecs. You have one pectoralis major and pectoralis minor on each side of your body. Each pec major has two heads – one attaches to your collarbone, and the other attaches to your breastbone. Both fuse together to attach to your upper arm bone. The pec minor is situated just below, and it attaches to your upper ribs and the front side of your shoulder blades. Together, these muscles work to move your arm in multiple directions, helping you push, squeeze, carry, and more.

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Moment of truth: Right now, you’re probably hunched over a computer screen, phone, or tablet. It’s an inevitable outcome of the digital age we live in, and while the technology is great for communication and dispersing information, it can really take a toll on your body. Thankfully, you can mitigate some of the side effects of slouching by doing an exercise called the reverse fly.

Benefits of the Reverse Fly

“Every day, many of us sit at a desk typing, texting, or slouching, which lengthens the fibers of the rear delts and rhomboids,” explains Beachbody expert Cody Braun. “The more we are in this position, the more likely these muscles are to become under-active, and the more likely we are to suffer movement dysfunctions.” In fact, research published in Surgical Technology International shows that this slouched, head-forward position can be equivalent of having up to a 60-pound weight strapped to your neck and upper back. Ouch.

The result: Poor posture, sub-par exercise performance, and an increased risk of injury. The solution: The reverse fly. While this move alone won’t cure the detriments of slouching, it will help strengthen the rear deltoid, rhomboids, and middle fibers of the trapezius (the ones that aid in scapular retraction). Sure, you could go to a gym and use the reverse cable fly machine, but you can also do this move in the comfort of your own home with just a set of dumbbells. The dumbbell reverse fly works just as effectively as any machine (and it takes up a lot less space, too). Here’s how to do the reverse fly, and some variations you can add into your workout routine.

How to Do the Reverse Fly With Perfect Form

Appears in: Clean Week >> Strength

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
• Hinge at the hips (press the hips back as you lower your chest) until your chest is almost parallel with the ground. Allow the weights to hang straight down at arm’s length, palms facing each other.
• Keeping your back flat and your core braced, raise your arms out to your sides until they’re in line with your body. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
• Return to the starting position, and repeat.

Variations on the Reverse Fly

By making a few tweaks to the angle of your torso, you can hit your muscles in slightly different ways to get even more out of this move.

Reverse fly on bench

Appears in: Body Beast >> Build: Back and Bis

• Holding a set of dumbbells, sit on a bench or stability ball. With your feet flat on the ground, hinge at the waist to lean forward slightly, and bring your dumbbells behind your calves, palms facing each other.
• With a slight bend at the elbow, raise your arms outward and squeeze your shoulder blades, keeping your palms facing the floor.
• Release your arms slowly and repeat.

Post delt fly with resistance bands

Appears in: The Master’s Hammer and Chisel >> Iso Speed Hammer

• Hold the handles of a resistance band and assume a shoulder width stance, using both feet to stand on the center of the band to secure it.
• Exchange handles between your two hands so that the bands cross.
• Bend your knees slightly and hinge at your hips until your torso is almost parallel to the floor and your back is flat. (If necessary, spread your feet wider to create more tension on the band.)
• Keeping your torso still, raise the handles as far as possible directly out to your sides, with the back of your hands facing the ceiling.
• Lower the handles fully, and repeat.

Pterodactyl fly

Appears in: P90X3 >> Incinerator

• Holding two light dumbbells at your sides, assume a long, runner’s lunge position, with your stronger leg forward, torso leaning forward, and forming a straight line from your back leg to your head. Keep your back leg straight.
• Keeping your torso still and the back of the hands facing the ceiling, slowly raise the dumbbells directly out to the sides until they are parallel to the floor, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
• Lower the dumbbells to the sides of your ankle and repeat.

How to Make the Reverse Fly Easier

• Perform the move from a seated position: By sitting on a bench, you’ll increase stability, so your core doesn’t have to work quite as hard, allowing you to focus entirely on the rear delts, traps, and rhomboids.
• Use lighter weights: You should only lift as heavy as you can while keeping proper form. If you find that you need to use momentum to lift your arms up, go down in weight until you build more strength.

How to Make the Reverse Fly Harder

• Decrease stability: Variations like the pterodactyl fly change your center of gravity, making your legs and core work even harder.
• Slow down the movement: You can do this using dumbbells, but it can be especially effective using resistance bands, which forces you to engages your muscles on the way up and down.
• Use heavier weights: This is an easy way to increase the load on your muscles, as long as you maintain proper form.

What Muscles Does The Reverse Fly Work?

The reverse fly hits a number of important muscle groups on your back and shoulders, including the trapezius, rhomboids, and rear deltoids.

Trapezius

This kite-shaped muscle runs vertically along your upper spine and fans out toward your shoulders. The upper traps shrug your shoulders up, the middle portion pulls them back, and the lower traps pull them down. All together, they help you do nearly anything that requires upper body power, like throwing, climbing, swinging, pulling, pressing, and more.

Rhomboids

A series of small muscles that create a diamond-shape across the shoulder blades, the rhomboids primarily help to prevent excess movement in the shoulder blades while you throw and push objects. The rhomboids run from the inner edge of your scapula to your spine.

Rear deltoids

The delts are the meaty part of your shoulder, giving it that buff definition when it’s built out. There are three parts to the deltoid muscle: the front (anterior), middle (lateral), and rear (posterior) fibers. The reverse fly emphasizes the rear fibers of the delts, which moves your arm behind your body when you’re standing, and lifts it to the side when you’re lying on your stomach.

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If you’re following a healthy eating plan, it might seem like chicken and waffles is completely off the proverbial table.

But it just isn’t so: Thanks to 21 Day Fix creator Autumn Calabrese and her brother, chef Bobby Calabrese, chicken and waffles is back in a big way with this recipe for healthier Oven-Fried Chicken and Gluten-Free Waffles.

They make this culinary feat a delicious reality by harnessing all of the flour and breading alternatives at their disposal and a little baking chemistry know-how.

The breading for the oven-fried chicken is seasoned to perfection. Even the best fried-chicken joints have their proprietary season mix, and so does Chef Bobby Calabrese.

To get all of the flavors of your favorite fried chicken, Bobby employs a host of spices like onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, dried thyme, and baking powder to level the mix and hold everything together.

He uses a nifty trick to hold all of your breading to your chicken without deep-frying, but you’ll have to watch this episode of FIXATE to find out how!

We can give you a hint — the essential ingredient is a handy olive oil or coconut oil spray. This will allow you to get the minimum amount of oil in the pan necessary to keep the breading on the chicken.

Then it’s into the oven to finish. Since there’s no deep-frying involved means this chicken and waffles recipe has none of the grease of the classic version.

There’s much debate as to which aspect of this meal is the star — the chicken or the waffles. Personally, I’m a waffles girl, but to each his own!

To keep the carbs low and preserve those valuable yellows, Bobby uses a balance of three different kinds of flour, coconut sugar, ground flax seed, and a bit of baking powder for lift.

Compared to your typical store-bought waffles, these healthier FIX-approved waffles recipe has three times as much fiber and double the protein.

They’re an excellent treat for those of us who can’t get enough of the most important meal of the day!

To get the recipe and find out the Portion Fix Containers and nutritional information, watch the FIXATE episode on Beachbody On Demand!

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Emergency “junk-food moments” — let’s call them JFMs — are just a fact of life in the 21st century.

You’re halfway between Heresville and Therestown, you’ve been driving to and fro for hours and you’re starving.

Of course, the beckoning glow of the Chub-e-Mart calls for you to stop and in minutes, you’re back on the road, snacking on salted, processed vegetable matter and carbonated sugar water. Yay! (I mean, “whoops!”)

No one is judging here. At this point, you probably felt you needed the carbs and caffeine. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

As long as the majority of your diet is made up of whole, nutrient-dense foods, you should be okay with the occasional wobble.

The problem is, most people aren’t doing that.

They’re just bouncing from JFM to JFM. And even if they do try to eat clean, those whole foods may not be as nutrient-dense as they thought.

Either scenario creates an insidious little issue called “hidden hunger,” meaning the foods you eat may fill your belly, but they’re not giving you the vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and other essential nutrients that your body hungers for — nutrients you need to stay healthy.

So, how did we get this point? Here are some reasons why your body may not be getting everything it needs and too much of what it doesn’t need:

1. We eat too much nutrient-poor food

While issues like this are typically associated with poverty, a spin through the statistics shows hidden hunger transcends economic situations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 36.5 percent of Americans are obese. Slightly less than 70 percent of us are merely overweight.

Yet, while we’re apparently getting ample food, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, the USDA is concerned that many people consume below the Estimated Average Requirement or Adequate Intake levels of potassium, dietary fiber, choline, magnesium, calcium, and vitamins A, D, E, and C.

Research in the Journal of Nutrition assigns percentages to some of these deficiencies, including 34%, 25%, 70%, and 60% for vitamins A, C, D, and E respectively, as well as 38% for calcium and 45% for magnesium.

The Guidelines claim these low intakes occur “within the context of unhealthy overall eating patterns, due to low intakes of the food groups — vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and dairy —that contain these nutrients.”

In other words, Americans across the spectrum eat too much junk and not enough healthy food.

This is hardly a newsflash. We’ve known for decades that Americans tend to eat foods chockful o’ bad fats and added sugar.

A 2008 study showed that whole grains only made up 10 percent of the average American diet and dark green veggies only made up 6 percent. (So much for Elaine’s Big Salad.)

2. We eat too much of the same foods

Even if you’re trying to straighten up and fly right, there are still a number of nutritional air pockets out there that make it a bumpy ride.

First off, thanks to the abundance of high-calorie, hyper-palatable rubbish out there, most of us are within nibbling distance of a JFM at any given moment. Who can resist that sort of constant temptation?

Second, with our busy schedules, varying our diet gets tricky, so we eat the same things over and over. True, spinach five days in a row is good for you, but spinach isn’t omninutritious — despite what Popeye would have you believe — so you might end up getting ample vitamins A & C, but you might not nail your vitamin D.

3. Foods are becoming less nutritious

Even if you have a perfect diet, your diet might not be perfect. A study in The Journal of the American College of Nutrition compared 43 garden crops from 1950 to 1999 and found that, as a group, the crops declined in protein, calcium, potassium, iron, riboflavin, and ascorbic acid.

The study’s authors theorize that this is because of attempts at increasing yield drive nutrient content down.

Bluntly put, farms are making food less nutritious so that they can make more of it.

4. Not all apples are created equal — literally

Even within specific types of produce, nutrition can vary. For example, bitterness is often associated with the more powerful phytonutrients in fruits and veggies, and yet most people are drawn to sweeter fruit and blander veggies.

Case in point, golden delicious apples have a polyphenol count of 485 ml/kg whereas their bitter cousin, the granny smith, comes in at 835 ml/kg.

(Fun fact: Polyphenols are compounds found in fruits, vegetables, cereals, and drinks like wine and coffee that may help reduce the risk of some chronic diseases.)

With this in mind, an apple a day may not cut it if you pick the wrong type.

So what can you do?

But all this doom and gloom isn’t an excuse to stop eating your fruits and veggies. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. You just need to fine-tune your tactics. Here are a few things you can try:

Focus on variety

The more kinds of fruits and veggies you eat, the broader vitamin, mineral, and phytonutrient net you’ll cast.

Get weird

Peppering your diet with unusual varieties of produce also broadens your nutrition, while getting around that water-down “garden crop” issue I mentioned earlier.

Supplemental insurance

A multivitamin like Activit is a good way to get the vitamins and minerals you may lack. However, a superfood nutrition shake like Shakeology will provide an even more robust nutritional foundation, thanks to its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrient-packed botanicals.

For most of us, our real lives seem to get in the way of our ideal lives with increasing regularity these days, and “hidden hunger” is just one of the many symptoms.

Luckily, it’s fixable with just a few simple tweaks. So make a point of buttoning down your eating if for no other reason than taking the guilt out of your roadside JFMs.

from The Beachbody Blog https://ift.tt/2qDHwtd
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