The Two Ripped in 30 Winners!

Congratulations JenniferHarmon and Heidi! Our lucky readers (comment #27 and #39 on our giveaway post) just won the Workout DVD Ripped in 30 by Jillian Michaels!

This is a great Workout DVD to help anyone stay or get in shape during the holidays! Since I can’t come there to your house and train you, I figure Jillian can help get the job done! As if you didn’t already know, Jillian is one tough trainer…so you will see the results you were looking for! Good luck!

Thank you everyone for participating in this contest! We will have many more opportunities for you to win something, so stay tuned…

Winner’s next steps: Watch for our email! It will come from editor@SkinnyTwinkie.com, and we will need you to provide us with your mailing address so we can have your prize sent directly to you.

If you do not reply back to us within 48 hours after our email, we will have to choose another winner.

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Tags: Fitness, giveaway, Health, Jillian Michaels, workout

Your Chance To Be Ripped In 30!

Two lucky readers of ours will win the Workout DVD, Ripped in 30 by Jillian Michaels! I thought this Workout DVD would be the perfect holiday gift from me, to not one, but two of my readers! 

You Can Be Ripped in 30!

Jillian Michaels is the Personal Trainer who we have all come to love and fear from The Biggest Loser! The Workout DVD Ripped in 30 by Jillian Michaels is the perfect way to start the Holiday Season – in shape!

The DVD includes 4 weeks of 4 incredible workouts to help you get in “insane shape” in less than 30 minutes.

In addition to helping you with your workouts, the DVD also includes access to an online 30 day diet plan. I am not one for “diets“, but I believe it will help kick start some healthy eating habits you can incorporate into your healthy lifestyle.

How to Enter

1) Join this website (through Google Friend Connect) and make a comment on this post with your email address. If you are already a member, just log in and comment. Yup, it’s that easy!

I encourage you to consider the bonus entries, since we will announce the winner on this site, facebook, and twitter!

Bonus Entry Points

1) Find us on Facebook and “like” our page. We’ll have a post that you can comment on, which will provide you an additional entry point when you comment on it. Nice!

2) If you like to tweet, you should “follow” Skinny Twinkie on twitter! All you need to do is Retweet our tweet on twitter that announces this giveaway, and you will get another entry point.

3) Do you have a blog? Grab my button and add it to your site or you can blog about this contest and link to this giveaway post, provide the link to your blog in the comments section on here (or facebook), and you will have gained another chance to win!

♦♦♦You can give yourself a total of four chances to win! ♦♦♦

Contest Rules and Eligibility

This contest is open to all U.S.  and Canadian residents who are 18 years or older. Void where Prohibited by Law. This is a giveaway, which means you are not obligated to buy anything from anyone.

This contest starts on November 14th 2011 and will end on November 27th, 2011 at midnight EST.

Skinny Twinkie will use Random.org to choose one winner by picking a random number based on the total number of entries. Skinny Twinkie will draw the winner on November 28th, and the winner will be announced that same day on SkinnyTwinkie.com, twitter, and facebook.

If you are selected as a winner, we will contact you via email, to let you know that you have won! If you do not reply back to us within 48 hours after we have notified you, we will choose another winner and you will forfeit your prize.

Good luck everyone!!!

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Tags: Fitness, giveaway, Health, Jillian Michaels, workout

Workouts for your Baby

It’s never too early to exercise, right?  Your baby will benefit from exercise, just as much as you do! Babies need to work on building strength, and your little bundle of joy is going to need your help getting there.

Tummy Time

This helps your baby build a strong core, which strengthens your baby’s stomach, back, and neck muscles.

Why it’s Important: It’s important that your baby’s core muscles are strengthened so that if your baby is ever in a dangerous situation (such as face down and not getting enough oxygen), your baby will have the ability to roll over.

Lifting

Let your baby learn how to lift objects with varying weight and size,  such a baby’s rattle, toy keys, or Alphabet blocks. It will be a fun way for your baby to learn how to hold objects as well as build strength in the arms.

Why it’s Important: Building strength in the arms is an important step for your baby, which helps your little one push up and eventually crawl!

Kicks and Swatting

This is a fun way for your baby to build flexibility and coordination. Babies are naturally flexible, but it still takes work to build dexterity and stability. Kicking a targeted object is a good way to help your baby understand depth perception as well as cause and effect.

Why it’s Important: Kicking and swatting helps to increase leg strength and muscle control which eventually leads to crawling.

Twisting and Bending

Allow your baby to gently stretch since this is a great way for baby to gain flexibility and coordination which helps provide precise movement.

Why it’s Important: This will help your baby roll over from one side to the other.

Sources: Parenting.com

Your baby is just like you when it comes to getting bored with the same workouts. Switch things up and keep it interesting and fun for your baby!

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Tags: Baby, baby yoga, crawling, exercise, Fitness, flaxible, Healthy, lifting, mom, muscle, strength, tummy time, workout

Healthy Tips for Thanksgiving

Here are some healthy tips to help you survive on Thanksgiving Day…

Exercise

A great way to start your Thanksgiving day is to exercise. If you plan on consuming more calories because of this traditional high calorie meal, a hearty workout will be very beneficial for you, including your waistline.

Exercise is a great way to start your day, which can also help you maintain healthy choices throughout the day.

You may want to focus on an cardiovascular workout, such as swimming, jogging, or using an elliptical machine. All would be great ways to burn a lot of calories for the day.

Drink Water

Just like any other day, it is important to drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated. A benefit to drinking enough water is that you eat less than you would if you were dehydrated, which helps keep you full so you don’t overeat.

Healthy Snacks

Snacking throughout the day is great – only if you munch on healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Remember that Pumpkin pie is a dessert, not a healthy snack to curb your appetite.

Portion Control

Did you know that the average Thanksgiving meal can be 2,000 calories or more? The reason for this isn’t necessarily for what is being eaten, but how much of it is eaten. Be sure to eat a healthy breakfast and snacks before your Thanksgiving Lunch or Dinner. This way, it won’t feel like this is the first and only meal you have had all week.

Healthy Thanksgiving Meal…Mostly!

Be sure to fill your plate with mostly healthy foods rather than piling it with high calorie, fattening, or sugary foods. This way you still get to enjoy some of your favorite traditional food without over indulging.

Remember that treats like candied yams should remain a treat and not become the main course.

Satisfied, not Full

Thanksgiving meal isn’t a race to see who can eat the most in the shortest amount of time. Like any other meal, you shouldn’t continue eating after you are satisfied.

To avoid this painful scenario, be sure to follow these tips:

• Start with just a small amount of food on your plate. If you put a lot of food on your plate from the start, you are more likely to finish your plate, even if you are completely satisfied or full. If you finish your small plate of food and you are still hungry, go ahead and add more food to your plate. It’s easier to add food to your plate later than to test your self control.

• Eat slowly!  It takes about 15 to 20 minutes before your stomach realizes that it is “full”.  At that point, the sick feeling of overeating is unavoidable. It’s Thanksgiving, and it’s OK to eat slowly and enjoy your family and friends.

• Stop eating once you are “Satisfied”. This is a signal that your body gives you letting you know that you have enough food.

Enjoy your family and friends, and have a Healthy Thanksgiving!

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Tags: cardiovascular, drink water, elliptical machine, exercise, Healthy, healthy meal, Healthy Snacks, holiday, jogging, low calorie, portion control, satisfied, small plate, snacks, swimming, Thanksgiving, water, workout

Stretching Before & After Exercise

You probably already know about the importance of exercising on a regular basis. Many don’t know that with every time you exercise, proper stretching should be accompanied with your workout.

Importance of Stretching

If you aren’t properly stretching with your workout, you are definitely putting yourself at risk for a serious injury during your workout. It’s always a bad situation when you can’t workout because of a workout related injury that was very preventable – if only you stretched after your workout!

Not only do you prevent injury by stretching, you also become increasingly more flexible,  stronger, bring valuable oxygen to your muscles, and  provide better blood circulation.

Stretching after your workout helps prevent muscle cramps, soreness, and allow for your muscles to loosen up.

Before your Workout

Do you need to stretch before your workout? This topic is very debated, and studies show that stretching before your workout might not be as beneficial as we all once thought. In my personal experience, I find that stretching is very beneficial for my workouts, especially since I have previously injured one of my knees in the past. I notice that I have a lot more range of movement, and my knees don’t hurt at all (or as much) during my workout  compared to me not stretching at all. My take? Listen to your body’s needs and take necessary precautions.

Studies say that having a warm up before your workout is really what helps your body get ready for that good heavy workout your about to do.

After your Workout

After your workout is when you should be stretching, which you will really notice the benefits when your muscles aren’t as tight and sore the next day.

When stretching, be sure to breath in and out slowly and allow yourself to ease into your stretch. Do not “bounce” into your stretch, as this can cause more injury to yourself than not stretching at all.

Stretching Tips

•Ease into your stretches – Be sure to ease into each of your stretches rather than quickly moving into them. Quickly moving into your stretches might cause injury in and of itself.

•Slowly Breathe in and out – Just as Breathing while working out is important, it is just as important to Breathe while you are stretching.

•Keep it in the Happy Medium – Don’t barely stretch where you aren’t really stretching at all, and don’t over do it where you end up hurting yourself. If you aren’t feeling anything, slowly ease more into the stretch until you feel it. If you are in pain, you are over doing it, and ease slowly out of the stretch until you feel moderately. The goal is to find the “Happy Medium”.

Stretches

Here are some stretches that will be helpful for you:

Glute Stretch – While sitting down on the floor, extend both legs in front of you and put one leg over the other and place the foot as close as possible to the hip. Be sure to keep your upper body upright and grab your leg and pull it towards your upper body.

Inner Thigh Stretch – While sitting down on the floor with your upper body upright, bend your knees and press the soles of your feet up against each other. Slowly push your knees to the floor, without bouncing. This stretch is more commonly known as the “butterfly stretch”.

Hamstring – Sit on the floor with both of your legs straight in front of you. Keep your toes up rather than pointed, and reach for your toes with your hands.

Calf – Stand at arms length from a wall, and put both hands on the wall. Put one foot forward and bend it towards the wall while your other foot is straight.

Quad – Stand close to a wall or other support, and with one hand balance yourself. Lift one leg off the floor and with your other hand, grab your ankles (not your toes!) and hold.

Ankles – While standing up, roll one of your ankles clockwise ten times, and then again counter-clockwise. This stretch is important for when you put a lot of weight on your ankles, such as when you are running.

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Tags: After Exercise, Before Exercise, muscle, oxygen, post workout, preworkout, Proper stretching, stretch, Stretching, tips, workout