If you've been a regular user of exercise balls then this information is for you. For the ball Hamstring curls, you will probably only get results from this exercise for a short while. Here is a progression that will help you keep getting results for a much longer period of time.

1) Move from 2-leg ball curls to 1-Leg ball curls.

2) Move to doing hip extensions with the soles of your feet on the ball.  Then follow immediately with 1-leg ball curls.

3) 1 leg hip extensions on floor followed imm. by 1-leg ball curl (same leg)

4) 1-leg hip extensions on ball followed imm. by 1-leg ball curl (same leg)

Rachel Cosgrove has been fortunate to have studied under several of the world’s top training and nutrition specialists including Dr. Eric Serrano and Thomas Incledon. Her goal is to bring a holistic approach to health, fitness & nutrition and repeatedly produce fast, effective results in all of my client’s fitness and nutrition programs, whether their goals are for general fitness or for a specific competition. 

Rachel holds a Bachelors degree from the University of California -Santa Barbara in Physiology, and is one of only a handful of people in the country to be qualified as a certified sports nutritionist with the International Society of Sports Nutrition and as a Nutrition and Lifestyle coach from the prestigious CHEK institute.

A member of the American Dietetic Association, Rachel is also certified as an Apex Nutrition Professional and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

You may have read Rachel’s articles in Muscle and Fitness Hers, Oxygen Magazine, Women’s Health and Mens Fitness magazines along with many website magazines as an expert in the field. Or you may have read Rachel's Chapters in our manuals ShapeShift and Secrets of Female Strength and Conditioning. We suggest you check out Rachel’s site
www.rachelcosgrove.com where she provides nutrition and training advice specifically for females.

Rachel has worked with a variety of clientele whose goals range from fat loss to muscle gain to general health. She has designed specific plans for fitness and figure competitors, bodybuilders, triathletes, marathon runners and numerous other athletes to win their chosen sport.

GA: Rachel, what is your nutritional philosophy/approach to healthy eating?

RC: 
The goal to “Healthy Eating” is to take in the proper nutrients to function optimally with energy and vitality and look and feel great!

This can be different for different people. Some people function optimally on higher carbohydrates, others on higher protein. The majority of people do well on a low junk diet consisting of a mixture of high quality carbohydrates, protein and fat.

Carbohydrates should come from nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Protein should come from lean sources such as lean meats, cottage cheese, whey protein, etc and fats should come from natural sources such as olive oil and nuts.

The majority of people would do well sticking to whole, natural foods. We have a nutrition plan we start people on at our gym to eliminate the junk from their diets called “Green Faces” and it consists of eating foods that are green or that had a face. That’s it, nothing else.

We usually put them on this for 2 weeks and then gradually add in other natural foods. If it isn’t green and/or didn’t have a face you can’t eat it.


GA: Do you have any super foods that you think absolutely must be in everyone’s diet for health and wellness purposes?

RC:
Green vegetables are a “super food.” I usually try to get my clients to have some kind of vegetable at breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. They can throw some spinach in their eggs, have a salad at lunch and broccoli at dinner for example.

The other “super food” besides green vegetables is essential fats, whether it is from foods or in supplement form everyone should be getting their Omega 3 fats. Over and over again in the research Omega 3 fats prevent all types of diseases and are truly a “super food.”  So eat fish and green vegetables!


GA: Where should someone start if they want to take their healthy eating to the next level? (i.e. beyond just eating regular supermarket chicken and vegetables). What are some tips to eating as healthy as possible?

RC:
Get out of your rut. Too many people get stuck in a rut of eating the same thing every day. You should rotate your foods. If you eat a food today, you shouldn’t eat it again for four days. This is called a rotation diet and works great for your health and for decreasing inflammation. Basically if you have chicken today, don’t eat it again for four days.

This is really hard to do and I don’t usually give a true rotation diet to too many people but I do emphasis variety and trying to eat different foods throughout the week. Basically each time you go to the grocery store try to
buy something different, try buffalo or ostrich meat or a different type of fish. Grab a new vegetable you have never tried.

GA: What ratio of carbohydrates, fat and protein is best for fat loss or is this something that must be approached individually?

RC:
This is individual, depending on metabolism and activity level.

Following a Low Junk Diet cuts your carbohydrates back pretty low though so I suppose if I were to recommend anything, it would be lower carbohydrate where all the carbs are from fruits and vegetables.  I would never say no carbohydrates though. You have to be careful because if you cut back too much you’ll be too tired to move and then you’ll burn less
calories and it’ll back fire on you. I also like to cycle in a higher carbohydrate day once or twice a week.


GA: What are 2 of your top fat loss nutrition tips and what common fat loss myths would you like to correct?

RC:
1. Rev your engine with food.
Don’t cut back on calories until you are starving yourself, your body needs food- lots of it! You will not burn fat if you don’t have fuel coming in. I don’t know how many times I have had client’s come to me saying, “I have tried everything to lose fat and I haven’t lost a pound. I am only eating 1000 calories a day.” Of course your body isn’t going to give anything up.
These same clients I have switched to an 1800 calorie diet and they have dropped 15-25 pounds in 12 weeks.

2. Trick your body.
You can’t just eat the same thing everyday. You have to zig zag your calories and eat higher calories one day, lower the next to keep your body guessing and burning fat.

As far as fat loss myths there are a lot of them out there. There are so many diets, books and plans making promises. I would say that every diet works, it is coming off of the diet that doesn’t work.

Most quick fix plans are not realistic for the long term. The key is finding a plan you can stick with for the rest of your life. That is the only way you will keep the fat off is by permanently changing your habits.


GA: What is your take on the low-carbohydrate approach to fat loss? Do you have any low-carbohydrate case studies you would like to share?

RC:
Like I said before, eliminating junk tends to decrease your carbohydrates.

I am not against eating carbohydrates but I am against eating a lot of simple, processed carbohydrates. The “green faces” plan we start many of our clients on is a great way to jump start your healthy eating.

We have seen people drop as much as ten pounds in two weeks, some of it fat but most of it is just bloat from eating junk. What a great start to a long term change in the way you eat. Slowly add in fruits, nuts and dairy and see
how your body responds.