GD Omni introduce their new development Cambie62 located on the corner of Cambie and 62nd. This 6 storey concrete development will have 27 units consisting of 1 and 2 bedroom condos. Situated within walking distance is the lovely Langara Golf Course and Winora Park.
Floor Plans for Cambie62
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Cambie62
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
Coming soon to the very popular Cambie corridor is a stunning concrete development by Cressey. This spectacular project will consist of two six storey buildings located opposite the amazing Queen Elizabeth Park.
There will be 65 units consisting of 26 – 1 beds, 27 – 2 beds and 12 – 3 beds. Cressey develop quality products and we can expect to see top class finishes throughout each unit.
Floor Plans for Cambie + 31st
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Cambie + 31st
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
GD Omni introduce their new development Cambie62 located on the corner of Cambie and 62nd. This 6 storey concrete development will have 27 units consisting of 1 and 2 bedroom condos. Situated within walking distance is the lovely Langara Golf Course and Winora Park.
Floor Plans for Cambie62
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Cambie62
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
Coming soon to the very popular Cambie corridor is a stunning concrete development by Cressey. This spectacular project will consist of two six storey buildings located opposite the amazing Queen Elizabeth Park.
There will be 65 units consisting of 26 – 1 beds, 27 – 2 beds and 12 – 3 beds. Cressey develop quality products and we can expect to see top class finishes throughout each unit.
Floor Plans for Cambie + 31st
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Cambie + 31st
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
Vancouver’s stunning Wilmar Residence located on a 1.95-acre site is going to be redeveloped and will consist of a full renovation of the current mansion along with 5 luxury single family homes.
Each of the 5 units will range in sizes from 3,600-3,800 sqft. The main mansion will be converted into a duplex and will consist of one 4,500 sqft home and one 5,200 sqft home.
Floor Plans for Wilmar Residences
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Wilmar Residences
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
Coromandel Introduces a new townhouse development called Willow. This development will consist of 20 3-storey townhomes ranging in size from 1,279 – 1,416 sqft. Each townhome will have 3 bedrooms and come with its own private landscaped patio.
Floor Plans for Willow
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Willow
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
Vancouver's stunning Wilmar Residence located on a 1.95-acre site is going to be redeveloped and will consist of a full renovation of the current mansion along with 5 luxury single family homes.
Each of the 5 units will range in sizes from 3,600-3,800 sqft. The main mansion will be converted into a duplex and will consist of one 4,500 sqft home and one 5,200 sqft home.
Floor Plans for Wilmar
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Wilmar
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
Coromandel Introduces a new townhouse development called Willow. This development will consist of 20 3-storey townhomes ranging in size from 1,279 – 1,416 sqft. Each townhome will have 3 bedrooms and come with its own private landscaped patio.
Floor Plans for Willow
Floor plans have yet to be finalized.
Pricing for Willow
Please register and join our VIP list for early access and be the first to receive information on plans and pricing.
Name:Johnny Matcham Location: Tower District — Fresno, California Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting
Johnny grew up surrounded by vintage. His father collected vintage radios, cameras and old advertising signs. His mom had a large collection of cookie jars and vintage kitchen decor. His grandparents had a house full of kitsch treasures: tiki mugs, risqué lady figurines, and novelty bar ware. Growing up, Johnny's bedroom was filled with vintage art and toys. He can still picture the life-sized Easy Rider poster he had in his bedroom as a kid, and the countless enamel signs his dad would bring home after working at a local landfill. Clearly, it's obvious why he loves vintage things. "I guess it's just in my genes," he says.
The Seattle-based artist responsible for creating some of the world's most exceptional colored glass sculptures has bestowed his talents upon the New York Botanical Garden for the first time in over a decade. According to Architectural Digest, Dale Chihuly's vivid display of artistry is helping the city come alive in spring time by way of his CHIHULY show, which showcases more than 20 of his signature captivating glass pieces.
On the surface, it’s such a simple question. And it has endless possibilities. But the simplicity combined with the variety is the exact reason why this question stops you in your tracks and makes meal prep — and deciding what to eat — feel much harder than it should.
The point of meal prep is not to be perfect. It’s to make it easier for you to be imperfect.
It can keep you standing still in long cereal aisles, staring at a restaurant menu, or sitting for in front of a blank page that’s supposed to be your grocery list.
The time you spend thinking about what you want to eat is considerable. Add it up across your lifetime and it probably feels like a lot of wasted time.
Don’t think you’re a willpower weakling for falling victim to this. The phenomenon runs true for even the most trained of minds taking on their most common tasks. For proof, look no further than this analysis of parole board decisions. Researchers found that the judges were more likely to rule in favor of a parolee on two occasions: 1) earlier in the day, or 2) nearer to a meal. As the day wore on, judged drifted toward automatically choosing the easier decision: rejecting the application.
You’re not a judge, but each day, three times a day or more, you’re making judgments about what you should eat. And you know what happens when you run out of energy and start looking for easy answers. It’s drive-thru. Or a vending machine. Or a bag of nachos in the cupboard because it’s right there. And hey, pizza is a vegetable, right?
Look, when it comes to healthy eating and upgraded meal prep, less is more.
That doesn’t mean less food. In fact, sometimes the problem that’s holding someone back is that they aren’t eating enough—not enough calories to build muscle, or not enough protein, or not enough healthy fat to feel full. Coaching clients are often surprised to find out that they can eat more and get leaner.
No. What we mean is less thinking.
What if you could make healthy eating or meal prep so simple it was almost reflexive? Then you could give your body exactly what it needs, spend a whole lot less time worrying, and enjoy the results—both at the table (with delicious meals) and at the beach (hey look, abs!).
The good news is you can simplify the meal prep and planning process. Start saving time today by using these tips to declutter your grocery list (and your brain), and make it easier for you to choose the meals that are best for your body (and taste buds).
Break down recipes into simple blocks
When meal prep consists of choosing which recipes you want to eat out of a 500-page cookbook, the process is undeniably overwhelming. Here’s the thing: You don’t have to pick a new recipe for every single meal. Instead, you can follow a formula that hits on all of the macronutrients you need—and does so in a format you like.
Take stir-fry, for example. It really only has four elements:
vegetables(broccoli, onions, bell peppers, snap peas—whichever ones you like),
a protein source(chicken, fish, steak, or tempeh tofu for example),
a carbohydrate(quinoa, rice, or sweet potatoes), and…
healthy fat(olive oil or coconut oil) to cook it in.
You can pick what you like from each category and eat it the same way every time. Or you can choose different options and mix it up in almost countless ways. However you go about it, instead of having to write down a laundry list of ingredients, you can walk into a store knowing you just need those four things.
You can repeat this process with almost any meal. For example:
Omelette
Eggs
Vegetables
Cheese (if you like)
Soup
Protein
Vegetables
Stock (perhaps made by boiling the protein)
Carbohydrate
Salad
Leafy Green
Protein source
Additional veggies (or even fruit! Ever tried blueberries or strawberries on spinach salad? They’re legit.)
Dressing (we like olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but go with what works for you)
When you narrow down your list of needs for meal prep, you free up brain space. You can use that extra RAM to get creative and put a new spin on your favorite standby. Or you can just speed through the grocery store for the four (or eight, or whatever) things you need, get in, get out, and get on with your day.
Embrace “last-minute” meals
Look, it’s fashionable nowadays in nutrition circles to say that you should “eat whole foods” and “avoid processing.” And yes, if all things are equal and you have the time, it’d be ideal if you could drive yourself down to a local, organic farmer’s market, pick out the items that look the freshest, then drive back to your house, chop all of them up, and turn them into a delicious meal. But let’s face it, there willalwaysbe days when don’t have time for that.
In fact, there are going to be days when you don’t have time for washing and chopping. And that’s fine—if you have a backup plan in place. Let’s go back to the stir-fry example.
If I’m in a hurry, I’ll take that same formula, combine it with a little bit of frozen convenience and make this 10-minute peanut stir-fry. It’s just frozen organic veggies, eggs and whatever carb I have available from meal prep day (more on that in a sec). You can make it more involved if you like, but if you’re in a hurry, that combo will get you a tasty meal in—you guessed it—10 minutes or less.
The takeaway here? Buy and prepare fresh whole foods when you can, but it’s also a good idea to have frozen veggies (or fruits for smoothies) that work in your meals on hand. And bonus points if you’ve got a healthy carb source ready-to-go thanks to…
Master Meal Prep Day (with imperfection in mind)
Instead of thinking, “What will I eat?” every day, draw up a plan one day per week (I prefer Sunday) for meal prep, and then follow your menu. That could mean putting together an entire meal (soups are especially good, since they keep well), or it might just mean preparing the more time-consuming essentials that you’ll know you’ll need during the week, like boiling brown rice or roasting sweet potatoes. The hour-ish cook times on these items is way less daunting when you already did it two days ago.
[Editor’s note:The point of meal prep is not to be perfect. It’s to make it easier for you to be imperfect. Look at it this way, if meal prep feels daunting, just focus on the meals that are most difficult for you. For many people, this means lunch. Try to prep 80% of your lunches for the week. This could mean just 4 meals (for weekdays). When 80% of your meals are covered, the day that you decide to go out for lunch or eat something different won’t derail your plan, and it can fit in perfectly with your goal. When you enable imperfection within any plan, it gives you the freedom to eat what you enjoy and see results. – AB]
Use simple cooking techniques
If you’re relatively new to cooking—or your relationship with the kitchen is less based on love and more based on need (as in: you need to eat)—then the seemingly endless array of ways to cook can feel pretty daunting. Roasting, steaming, blending, pan-searing—there’s a lot to learn. You shouldn’t expect yourself to master all of those techniques overnight. In fact, some of them you probably don’t need to learn at all. (Will you ever really broast something? Probably not unless you work in a restaurant.)
To make the learning process easier, choose one method of cooking (roasting, steaming, blending, etc.) and stick with that. You’ll be amazed at how far learning just one technique will take you.
Do you know what vegetables taste great roasted? Answer: All of them. Roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, asparagus—they’re all seriously delicious. When you work your way up to pro status, then sure, go ahead and roast one thing while steaming another and blending together a sauce. But until then, simple and easy always wins.
Fill your freezer with “in case of emergency” items
Making larger servings for everything can save you those times when you’re in a pinch. Freeze soups, casseroles, homemade breads, protein cookies, veggies, cooked proteins, etc. for grab-and-go meals. Think of these as your backup “911” options. That way, when life happens and you need something to eatright now, you don’t have to wonder what you’re going to do. The decision is made for you, and it’s healthy, homemade, and delicious.
McKel Hill, MS RD, is a registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Founder of Nutrition Stripped.
Editor’s note: If batch cooking and meal planning for every day of the week sounds dreamy but like something that’s not gonna happen, then check out the NS Society: A Guide to Master Meal Planning can help you learn how to eat well for life with simple tools, a yearly meal plan, 100+ healthy recipes, cooking videos, and support from a global community. Born Fitness has no financial stake in Nutrition Stripped, but we do believe it’s a valuable resource and community.Learn more here.
On the surface, it's such a simple question. And it has endless possibilities. But the simplicity combined with the variety is the exact reason why this question stops you in your tracks and makes meal prep — and deciding what to eat — feel much harder than it should.
The point of meal prep is not to be perfect. It's to make it easier for you to be imperfect.
It can keep you standing still in long cereal aisles, staring at a restaurant menu, or sitting for in front of a blank page that's supposed to be your grocery list.
The time you spend thinking about what you want to eat is considerable. Add it up across your lifetime and it probably feels like a lot of wasted time.
Don't think you're a willpower weakling for falling victim to this. The phenomenon runs true for even the most trained of minds taking on their most common tasks. For proof, look no further than this analysis of parole board decisions. Researchers found that the judges were more likely to rule in favor of a parolee on two occasions: 1) earlier in the day, or 2) nearer to a meal. As the day wore on, judged drifted toward automatically choosing the easier decision: rejecting the application.
You're not a judge, but each day, three times a day or more, you're making judgments about what you should eat. And you know what happens when you run out of energy and start looking for easy answers. It's drive-thru. Or a vending machine. Or a bag of nachos in the cupboard because it's right there. And hey, pizza is a vegetable, right?
Look, when it comes to healthy eating and upgraded meal prep, less is more.
That doesn't mean less food. In fact, sometimes the problem that's holding someone back is that they aren't eating enough—not enough calories to build muscle, or not enough protein, or not enough healthy fat to feel full. Coaching clients are often surprised to find out that they can eat more and get leaner.
No. What we mean is less thinking.
What if you could make healthy eating or meal prep so simple it was almost reflexive? Then you could give your body exactly what it needs, spend a whole lot less time worrying, and enjoy the results—both at the table (with delicious meals) and at the beach (hey look, abs!).
The good news is you can simplify the meal prep and planning process. Start saving time today by using these tips to declutter your grocery list (and your brain), and make it easier for you to choose the meals that are best for your body (and taste buds).
Break down recipes into simple blocks
When meal prep consists of choosing which recipes you want to eat out of a 500-page cookbook, the process is undeniably overwhelming. Here's the thing: You don't have to pick a new recipe for every single meal. Instead, you can follow a formula that hits on all of the macronutrients you need—and does so in a format you like.
Take stir-fry, for example. It really only has four elements:
vegetables(broccoli, onions, bell peppers, snap peas—whichever ones you like),
a protein source(chicken, fish, steak, or tempeh tofu for example),
a carbohydrate(quinoa, rice, or sweet potatoes), and…
healthy fat(olive oil or coconut oil) to cook it in.
You can pick what you like from each category and eat it the same way every time. Or you can choose different options and mix it up in almost countless ways. However you go about it, instead of having to write down a laundry list of ingredients, you can walk into a store knowing you just need those four things.
You can repeat this process with almost any meal. For example:
Omelette
Eggs
Vegetables
Cheese (if you like)
Soup
Protein
Vegetables
Stock (perhaps made by boiling the protein)
Carbohydrate
Salad
Leafy Green
Protein source
Additional veggies (or even fruit! Ever tried blueberries or strawberries on spinach salad? They're legit.)
Dressing (we like olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but go with what works for you)
When you narrow down your list of needs for meal prep, you free up brain space. You can use that extra RAM to get creative and put a new spin on your favorite standby. Or you can just speed through the grocery store for the four (or eight, or whatever) things you need, get in, get out, and get on with your day.
Embrace "last-minute" meals
Look, it's fashionable nowadays in nutrition circles to say that you should "eat whole foods" and "avoid processing." And yes, if all things are equal and you have the time, it'd be ideal if you could drive yourself down to a local, organic farmer's market, pick out the items that look the freshest, then drive back to your house, chop all of them up, and turn them into a delicious meal. But let's face it, there willalwaysbe days when don't have time for that.
In fact, there are going to be days when you don't have time for washing and chopping. And that's fine—if you have a backup plan in place. Let's go back to the stir-fry example.
If I'm in a hurry, I'll take that same formula, combine it with a little bit of frozen convenience and make this 10-minute peanut stir-fry. It's just frozen organic veggies, eggs and whatever carb I have available from meal prep day (more on that in a sec). You can make it more involved if you like, but if you're in a hurry, that combo will get you a tasty meal in—you guessed it—10 minutes or less.
The takeaway here? Buy and prepare fresh whole foods when you can, but it's also a good idea to have frozen veggies (or fruits for smoothies) that work in your meals on hand. And bonus points if you've got a healthy carb source ready-to-go thanks to…
Master Meal Prep Day (with imperfection in mind)
Instead of thinking, "What will I eat?" every day, draw up a plan one day per week (I prefer Sunday) for meal prep, and then follow your menu. That could mean putting together an entire meal (soups are especially good, since they keep well), or it might just mean preparing the more time-consuming essentials that you'll know you'll need during the week, like boiling brown rice or roasting sweet potatoes. The hour-ish cook times on these items is way less daunting when you already did it two days ago.
[Editor's note:The point of meal prep is not to be perfect. It's to make it easier for you to be imperfect. Look at it this way, if meal prep feels daunting, just focus on the meals that are most difficult for you. For many people, this means lunch. Try to prep 80% of your lunches for the week. This could mean just 4 meals (for weekdays). When 80% of your meals are covered, the day that you decide to go out for lunch or eat something different won't derail your plan, and it can fit in perfectly with your goal. When you enable imperfection within any plan, it gives you the freedom to eat what you enjoy and see results. – AB]
Use simple cooking techniques
If you're relatively new to cooking—or your relationship with the kitchen is less based on love and more based on need (as in: you need to eat)—then the seemingly endless array of ways to cook can feel pretty daunting. Roasting, steaming, blending, pan-searing—there's a lot to learn. You shouldn't expect yourself to master all of those techniques overnight. In fact, some of them you probably don't need to learn at all. (Will you ever really broast something? Probably not unless you work in a restaurant.)
To make the learning process easier, choose one method of cooking (roasting, steaming, blending, etc.) and stick with that. You'll be amazed at how far learning just one technique will take you.
Do you know what vegetables taste great roasted? Answer: All of them. Roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, asparagus—they're all seriously delicious. When you work your way up to pro status, then sure, go ahead and roast one thing while steaming another and blending together a sauce. But until then, simple and easy always wins.
Fill your freezer with "in case of emergency" items
Making larger servings for everything can save you those times when you're in a pinch. Freeze soups, casseroles, homemade breads, protein cookies, veggies, cooked proteins, etc. for grab-and-go meals. Think of these as your backup "911" options. That way, when life happens and you need something to eatright now, you don't have to wonder what you're going to do. The decision is made for you, and it's healthy, homemade, and delicious.
McKel Hill, MS RD, is a registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Founder of Nutrition Stripped.
Editor's note: If batch cooking and meal planning for every day of the week sounds dreamy but like something that's not gonna happen, then check out the NS Society: A Guide to Master Meal Planning can help you learn how to eat well for life with simple tools, a yearly meal plan, 100+ healthy recipes, cooking videos, and support from a global community. Born Fitness has no financial stake in Nutrition Stripped, but we do believe it's a valuable resource and community.Learn more here.
When you're bored at home or feeling stuck in a rut, what's one of the first things that pops into your mind to fix that situation? I'm willing to bet you're tempted to slip into some shoes and head out the door to a restaurant you saw in the paper, or out to a movie with your friends. But that requires money and when you're constantly consuming, your bank accounts start to feel the effects.
Is it appropriate to ask my landlord to pay for an appliance that broke in my new apartment? My window A/C unit was fried because a previous tenant decided to DIY some of the electrical wiring in the apartment without notifying the landlord.
Name: Anne, Dave, Pascale and Liam Lowell Location: Orinda, California Size: 2,000 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, owned
After living in San Francisco for 20 years, Anne, her husband and two children moved north over the Golden Gate to Orinda — a small town in the lush hills of the East Bay.
In truly tiny apartments, it's not uncommon for renters to forego the traditional coffee table simply to squeeze in a little more seating. An extra chair or two means more room for friends, but once everyone's there, where do you set down your drinks or serve the popcorn in a coffee-table-less room? To solve your insufficient surface area woes, DIY one of these ledges, c-tables or shelves that tuck into areas you didn't even know your living room had.
Lauren Singer has a pretty famous jar. The jar itself is nothing special—just a regular pint-sized glass one—but if you're an average American, what's in it is mindblowing. The jar holds all of Singer's trash from the past four years—yes, every last bit of it.
When our team got together to talk about which female designers to highlight for our Women in Design series, Paola Navone's name kept coming up. Her design pedigree is long, but lately she's been in the spotlight both for her pitch-perfect interior designs, and for product designs with mass appeal—and mass distribution.
Not all wallpaper is created equal. And while it is having a well deserved moment, some wallpaper can make a room feel instantly dark and outdated. Yasmin found an inexpensive way to banish her bland wallpaper, among other things, and brighten up her whole kitchen.
We always say that your home should reflect your interests and hobbies—so if you happen to be a caffeine-loving espresso guzzler, it only makes sense to devote some space to your favorite pastime. Each one of these DIY refueling stations is guaranteed to perk up your home's style and save you from that afternoon slump.
Name:Shelbie Engelgau, Blake Cox, MJ Tantingco, Myles Huff(and fifth roommate Brian, who isn't featured in the tour) Location: Oceanview — San Francisco, California Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 4 months, rented
Shelbie's move into this San Francisco apartment required no driving: She and her roommates only had to schlep their furniture up a small flight of stairs from the unit below into this newly remodeled four-bedroom upstairs unit. Quite the upgrade from the two-bedroom apartment she squeezed into with her boyfriend Blake and their friends MJ and Myles...for two years! Not surprisingly, after the upstairs unit opened up, they jumped on it. "It was a super easy transition and kind of bizarre at first since all of the fixtures and furnishings were basically the same," Shelbie says. "Our good friends moved into our old spot, and now our life is basically a sitcom."
If you thought Airbnb was just great for finding a place to crash in an undiscovered city or to find the magical spot where you'll spend your dream vacation — think again, because the home sharing company is so much more.
Did you know that when you take a barre class, your entire body—especially your thighs—just shakes uncontrollably the entire time and that's supposed to be normal?
Name:Elle Ruhstaller and Alex Ristevski Location: Piedmont Avenue — Oakland, California Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting
Elle can't really pinpoint a specific style for the Oakland apartment she shares with her partner Alex. "It's a mash-up of what I like most from many different eras," she said of her apartment's decor. Elle inherited a lot of antiques from her father, an antiques dealer with an estate sale business, and her home is filled with them: on the wall, the living and dining rooms, and the couple's bedroom. It's many of those pieces that give the couple's home a unique look that can't really be matched — a timeless eclectic style
Whether you subscribe to bohemian style, or just love living surrounded by natural materials, these DIY projects can help you bring the outdoors in. Plus, going on a nature walk (or just searching your front yard) for supplies is way more fun than standing in a never-ending line at the craft supply store.
Arranging furniture in a small space is always a bit of a challenge—and this is particularly true if your space is a bedroom, living room, dining room, workspace, and kitchen all in one. If you're looking for inspiration for the layout of your studio apartment, look no farther than these five diminutive spaces, whose owners came up with five very clever solutions for one-room living.
When Chloe inherited her grandfather's house she knew it would need some tender loving care. Working with her family to rethink the layout and rid the space of the less than desirable '60s elements, she came up with a shockingly stylish space on a budget.
Depending on where you reside, car ownership may not be necessary for day-to-day life. For Bay Area residents who want to swap out their big ol' hunk of metal and four wheels for something that consumes less space and gas, a bike shop in San Francisco is here to serve your carbon footprint-reduction needs.
As much as we love spending time on social media, some of the unexpected burdens it brings kind of make us want to log off permanently. Just kidding – that probably won't ever happen, but while we're sharing, we shouldn't allow ourselves to become so blinded by the likes that we stop prioritizing the need to protect ourselves online.
It's fragrant, fast-growing, green, and complements fruits, vegetables and meats. It's also its own ice cream flavor. So what's not to love about mint? If you've ever grown the herb, you know where I'm going with this, but if you haven't and are interested: read on for the dos and don'ts of successfully growing mint in your home garden or in a container.
Power tools can be intimidating, we get it. If you're interested in getting into the world of power tools but aren't sure where to start, let us introduce you to the perfect gateway tool: the Dremel drill. This popular multifunctional rotary tool may look like a miniature electric drill, but by switching out the attachments, it can do everything from carving wood to etching glass. Start with one of these beginner projects, and you'll probably discover you're a power-tool pro.
It's been really inspiring to me how much we've all embraced spring cleaning this year. Even when I've given you permission to take a day off — like when you've recently cleaned your kitchen cabinets or because you don't have a dishwasher — I've seen you chiming in, finding something else to tackle that day in the name of a cleaner, refreshed home for the sunny season.
Bond markets began the day in slightly weaker territory, with Treasuries following European yields higher in the overnight session. Domestic hours brought more selling pressure out of the gate with Q1 wage growth coming in higher than expected. There were also some counterpoints in the GDP data that made the 0.7 vs 1.2 result look more palatable. Namely, inventories cut 0.9% from the GDP headline. That means GDP would have come in at 1.6 vs 1.2 with a neutral inventory build. Finally, the PCE and core PCE components of the GDP report were downright unfriendly to bonds. PCE was up 2.4% vs 2.0% previously and core PCE came in at 2.0% vs 1.3% previously. Those are pretty massive swings in inflation metrics--certainly enough to convince a few traders of a faster Fed rate hike timeline. Perhaps...(read more)
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Bond markets began the day in slightly weaker territory, with Treasuries following European yields higher in the overnight session. Domestic hours brought more selling pressure out of the gate with Q1 wage growth coming in higher than expected. There were also some counterpoints in the GDP data that made the 0.7 vs 1.2 result look more palatable. Namely, inventories cut 0.9% from the GDP headline. That means GDP would have come in at 1.6 vs 1.2 with a neutral inventory build. Finally, the PCE and core PCE components of the GDP report were downright unfriendly to bonds. PCE was up 2.4% vs 2.0% previously and core PCE came in at 2.0% vs 1.3% previously. Those are pretty massive swings in inflation metrics--certainly enough to convince a few traders of a faster Fed rate hike timeline. Perhaps...(read more)
Forward this article via email:Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Name:Kirsty Davey and Simon Taylor and their daughter, Mali Location: Victoria, Australia Size: 180 square meters (1,672 square feet) Years lived in: 7 years; Rented
Kirsty and Simon moved to Victoria's coast from Melbourne when they realized they were spending nearly every weekend there to feed Simon's addiction to the Australian surf. It's been a love affair ever since, with weekends spent cooking, surfing, gardening, and enjoying the relaxed coastal lifestyle. Their daughter, Mali, has only ever lived on the Great Ocean Road, and now they can't imagine going back to the city. Their home is a tapestry of textures, fibers, and gathered natural and vintage ephemera and is a tribute to their dedication to sustainability.
Name: Eva, Jack, their 3 year old Eleanor and Robin Williamson the cat Location: Dorchester — Boston, Massachusetts The basics: Four years, owned 1,100 square feet
Eva and Jack's space is like a cozy and welcoming art gallery. After bouncing back from a fire that destroyed most of their belongings, they've created a home that feels stylish and exceedingly personal.
Mortgage rates were unchanged today, holding onto modest improvements seen yesterday. In many ways, the past 2 days have confirmed that rates are in limbo near the lower end of the post-election range. To be sure, they were definitively lower in mid-April, but they're much closer to recent lows than highs. More importantly, current levels have acted as a line in the sand that divides the year's lowest rates from everything else. In other words, we'd really like to remain in this zone. Whether or not that's possible may depend on next week's Fed Announcement (Wednesday afternoon). While the Fed isn't expected to hike rates this time around, investors will nonetheless attempt to pick up on clues about future policy potential. The average lender continues offering conventional 30yr fixed rates...(read more)
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Mortgage rates were unchanged today, holding onto modest improvements seen yesterday. In many ways, the past 2 days have confirmed that rates are in limbo near the lower end of the post-election range. To be sure, they were definitively lower in mid-April, but they're much closer to recent lows than highs. More importantly, current levels have acted as a line in the sand that divides the year's lowest rates from everything else. In other words, we'd really like to remain in this zone. Whether or not that's possible may depend on next week's Fed Announcement (Wednesday afternoon). While the Fed isn't expected to hike rates this time around, investors will nonetheless attempt to pick up on clues about future policy potential. The average lender continues offering conventional 30yr fixed rates...(read more)
Forward this article via email:Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Having an outdoor kitchen is nice, but, in my opinion, what's even more nice is having a kitchen that morphs into an outdoor kitchen whenever you desire. From awning windows to disappearing walls, there are plenty of ways to open up your kitchen to the out-of-doors — here are some of my favorites.
You’ve heard the desperate tactics in those late night infomercials. The crazed fitness models who tell you to do endless crunches on useless gizmos to get the abs of your dreams.
You’ve gone to the gym and heard “hardcore” lifters insist that you don’t need an “abs workout” at all, and that a steady diet of compound exercises like squats and deadlifts will do the trick. Still, others say you can simply plank your way to abdominal greatness.
The first goal of any good abs workout must be injury prevention.
With all of the conflicting theories out there, it’s no wonder you are still searching for a clear answer on how to design an abs workout that will actually work for you.
What you want seems simple: a sturdy core that allows you to live the life you want…and it doesn’t hurt if you also look good shirtless on the beach. But it’s hard to know what to do when you spend so much time filtering through misinformation, outdated methods, and marketing hype from a fitness industry that knows everybody loves a six-pack. No one could blame you for feeling overwhelmed, hopping from program to program, or even giving up entirely.
Learning to train correctly will help you perform better, avoid back pain and other injuries, and be stronger in everything that you do—whether you’re squatting seriously heavy weight, shoveling snow, or picking up your child. You can learn how to do all of that and also drop unwanted belly fat, while finally answering the question, “what’s the right abs workout for me?”
What People Mean When They Talk About “Abs”
Your abs are really just one muscle—the rectus abdominis (RA).
The RA is what gives people that six-pack (or eight-pack) look. But functionally speaking, the muscle is just one part of a larger web of tissues often referred to as “the core.” Your RA works along with your obliques (you have both internal and external ones), a bunch of deep internal muscles like the transverse abdominis, quadratus lumborum, and multifidi, and even the lats, which play an important (and underappreciated) role in supporting your back.
Do you need to know all these names? Not unless you’re a fitness pro. But what you should know is that these muscles are like the cables of a suspension bridge keeping that all-important center column—your spine—in alignment. They also make it possible for you to stand upright, swing a golf club or baseball bat, chuck hay bales with a pitchfork, and do so many of the other cool things you can do as a uniquely awesome human.
Maintaining an appropriate balance of strength among these stabilizers is crucial to your health and performance. Every muscle matters, which is why most abs workouts are inherently flawed.
Training your abs directly through a movement like sit-ups or crunches (not the best bang-for-your-buck exercises) won’t accomplish what you want. Creating a great abs workout means progressing through 3 different phases. Follow the steps, and everything will function (and look) the way you want. Take shortcuts, and — well — you probably have a good idea of how the more basic approach falls short of expectations.
The 3-Phase Approach to Abs Workouts
It sounds funny, but you need to make sure that all of your core muscles are awake and not asleep at the switch. That’s why there’s a progressive approach, which puts you in control of your abs. Think of it like math. If you skip to calculus before you learn addition and subtraction, odds are you won’t be very good. But when you build up to the more difficult stuff, that’s when you really see great results.
Phase 1: Injury prevention
Here’s where you reinvigorate tissues that are often deactivated by your lifestyle. This is a way bigger deal than you think.
To understand why, look no further than your typical workday.
Your commute begins with you sitting in your car for 15 to 30 minutes (or waaaay longer if you’re one of 3.6 million “megacommuters” out there doing an hour and a half or more each way).
From 9 to 5 the routine is more of the same: You’re in a seat. You shoulders are rounded forward. Your back and spine hunch toward your screen. When all of the TPS reports are filed, it’s time for the drive back home.
Rinse and repeat this for eight to 12 hours per day, 260 or so workdays per year.
When you spend this much time sitting, deep core muscles like your transverse abdominis weaken from inactivity. Even very big, very visible muscles like your glutes can essentially shut off and stop working as they should (a condition the world’s leading spine health researcher, Dr. Stu McGill, calls “gluteal amnesia”). The result is bad posture, worse gym performance, and far greater risk of back pain. Let’s prevent that, shall we?
With the help of exercises that train the core functionally, you’ll re-engage those underused muscles and build a better balance of baseline strength. You’ll find these exercises in the section “Core Training for Injury Prevention,” below. You can include these movements as part of your warmup before a workout, or it can be a targeted program for 4-8 weeks if you find that these exercises are very difficult (because your small stabilizers and glutes are “turned off”).
Phase 2: Training for performance
Once you know you’ve brought all your core muscles back online and protected your body from the demands of the daily grind, you’ll kick things up a notch. Here you’ll work on exercises that will help you be stronger in the gym, play better
Once you know you’ve brought all your core muscles back online and protected your body from the demands of the daily grind, you’ll kick things up a notch. Here you’ll work on exercises that will help you be stronger in the gym, play better in any sport, and more able to carry heaping piles of grocery bags in a single trip. You’ll find these movements in “Core Training for Performance,” below. Follow this phase for another 4-8 weeks.
Phase 3: Training for aesthetics.
As we’ve discussed, building a shrediculous set of chiseled abs is the icing on the cake. (And yes, you can still eat cake and have abs.)
Here’s where you’ll re-integrate some of the ab-specific work that most people overdo. Rather than endless sit-ups or crunches, you’ll perform far more potent (and safer) moves. You’ll also learn some techniques for getting a leaner look that will help those abs really pop.
Note that element here builds off the previous one. You can’t just skip down to the third section of this article, do those moves and voila! 8-pack.
Be patient. Trust the process. You will wind up with a core that feels, performs, and yes, looks way better.
Core Training for Injury Prevention
Back injuries can be debilitating. A hurt back can make it difficult to stand up from a chair, much less train with the proper intensity to change your body. So the first goal of any good abs workout must be injury prevention.
Your dose of prevention takes place at the front of your workouts. Before you lift, you’re going to do what’s called core activation work. Core activation is essentially a series of core exercises that “wakes up” all of the muscles in your trunk by asking them to perform the type of tasks they actually do.
Your abs workout injury prevention focuses on the three “anti-’s”:
Anti-Rotation: One of your core’s main jobs is to prevent you from toppling over when you move in one direction, or an outside force acts on you. Think about how often someone accidentally bumps into you, and the next thing you know your back is in tremendous pain. Or when you rotate and something feels “off.” You can prevent these aches and pains. Anti-rotational exercises help you develop stability from the ground all the way up your trunk. Some of the moves we like here are pallof presses, half-kneeling iso-holds, and half-kneeling chops. Compound exercises like a single-arm dumbbell row also fit the bill.
Anti-Extension: When it comes to your spine, the term “extension” refers to a rounded back (think: the “cat” position of cat-cow). Anti-extension exercises train your core to resist this extension —something that will come in handy when you do an exercise like a deadlift, where “don’t round your lower back!” is a commonly heard cue. Try front planks, ab wheel rollouts, and stability ball rollouts.
Anti-Lateral Flexion: That’s the scientific way of saying “resisting sideways bending.” The quadratus lumborum and obliques are the key muscles responsible for this action. To train it, perform side plank variations, single-arm farmer’s carries, and carrying your groceries all in one hand.
There’s one other crucial factor here: Glute engagement. Your glutes are the biggest muscle in your body. They’re responsible for driving hip extension—the main muscle action for moves like sprints, jumps, deadlifts, and squats. Don’t do those exercises? It’s still important because you need hip extension for the simple act of standing up straight.
The only problem, as we mentioned earlier, is that most of us sit on our glutes all day, which leads them to effectively “forget” how to work (hence McGill’s term “gluteal amnesia”). When this occurs, your body can still manage to achieve hip extension, but it does so by compensating with your lower back. Improving glute activation is far and away one of the best things you can do to reducing back pain, improving performance, and building a strong, resilient body.
To activate your glutes, try quadruped hip extensions, frog pumps, clamshells, lateral band walks and x-band monster walks. For strengthening your glutes, go with compound exercises like squats, hips thrusts, deadlifts, and lunges with a focus on full hip extension and a glute squeeze at the top of a movement.
The above list should give you plenty of options for compiling a core and glute workout or warmup. But we’ve taken things a step further for you and built a couple of examples you can use before an upper-body or lower body workout. Try these before your next strength session:
Dr. McGill will tell you that “proximal stiffness enhances distal mobility and athleticism.” Translation: When your core is strong and you can make it as stiff as a board, you can move your arms and legs faster and more powerfully. That means a stronger push off the ground when you sprint, a harder throw when you hurl a baseball, and a better ability to leap from the ground to snag rebounds at your local YMCA.
Why? Think about the difference between walking across concrete and walking across a row of pillows. The hard surface allows you to push off forcefully, while the soft one causes that force to be deflected in a bunch of competing directions. That lost force is known as an “energy leak” in biomechanic terms, and it will occur at any point in your body that lacks sufficient strength and stiffness. A weak core is a big energy leak. (But with the help of this article, you won’t have that problem.)
There are three components of training your core for better performance.
First, activate deep muscles with the “anti-movements” we discussed above. They’ll help you resist unwanted movements, button up any energy leaks, and prepare your body to perform.
Second, integrate total body compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, overhead presses, lunges, and weighted carries. Upper body pressing exercises like push-ups and pulling exercises like rowing are also your friends. They develop power and strength and help you develop core stiffness that won’t buckle under load. Your core should remain braced as you move, providing a rock-solid foundation that holds your spine’s position and doesn’t buckle during exercise. In other words: a great abs workout means doing more than just abs exercises.
When it comes to weighted carries, there are almost limitless options. Heavy dumbbells, a trap bar, or (if your gym is really cool) farmer’s walk handles are some the best tools for building a strong, high-performance core.
Whatever type of carry you use, brace your abs for the entire set. You want to stand tall and pretend like you’re about to take a punch to the gut. Hold this position, stay tall, and breathe into your stomach for the set. The carry will force your deep intrinsic core muscles to stabilize your hip and spine with every step. The muscles of your back lower back and abs tighten to prevent unnecessary movement in your spine.
Third, add sport-specific core strength movements. If you’re an athlete who trains for a specific sport, you need to train movements that are similar to those that you’ll perform in the sport that you play. For example, if you play golf, tennis, or baseball, you’ll want to work on your rotational strength, since that’s what powers your swing.
Athleticism requires muscles, joints, ligaments, and nervous system must work together as a complete unit to be strong and powerful. One of the best ways to develop this power is with a medicine ball. It allows you to train the movement patterns specific to your sport at full speed, which helps you achieve the best-possible training response. Here are four rotational strength-building exercises that use a medicine ball:
Rotational Scoop Throw, 3 sets x 5 reps per side
Stand perpendicular to an open area or a solid wall with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. From this position, while holding the ball to your back hip, shift your weight to the back leg before explosively shifting your weight to the front leg and throwing the ball as hard as possible. Repeat for three sets of five reps per side.
Medicine Rainbow Slam, 3 sets x 5 reps per side
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart while holding a medicine ball overhead with your arms extended. Rotate and slam the ball outside your opposite foot. Catch the ball and reverse the range of motion for three sets of five reps per side.
Overhead Medicine Ball Slams, 3 sets x 5 reps per side
The overhead medicine ball slam builds incredible power through your shoulders and lats while preventing flexion through your spine. Stand up tall with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the medicine ball in both hands. Raise the ball overhead, then slam it as hard as you can on the ground. Catch the ball on the bounce and repeat. Try the overhead medicine ball slam before doing upper body lifts like shoulder presses or chin-ups.
Medicine Ball Back Tosses, 3 sets x 5 reps per side
The medicine ball back toss builds explosive hip extension power, such as exercises like jumps and cleans but with less joint stress. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, holding a medicine ball overhead with your arms straight. Start the rep by squatting down and lowering the ball between your legs. Then explode upward to jump out of the squat while you raise your arms overhead to throw the ball behind you. This explosive movement works best to build explosive hip extension power and works well before lower body training lifts like a squat or deadlift.
Designing a Better Abs Workout
Now that you’ve earned your way to phase 3, it’s time for an abs workout that will prepare your core for the display case. To do so, you need a combination of two things:
You need to be lean. Men will start to see the outline of their abs around 12% body fat, while women will notice definition when around 17-18% body fat. For reference: magazine cover model types are often at 5-7% for men and 14-15% for women.
You need well-developed, muscular abs. Without a certain level of lean muscle, your abs won’t push through remaining body fat and give you the dense, toned look you’d like. So here’s where some of those “icing on the cake” exercises that emphasize the rectus abdominis come in handy (although, as you’ll see below, you’ll still be using safer and more functional moves than sit-ups or crunches).
Losing Fat to Reveal Your Abs
At the most basic level, creating a caloric deficit is the only thing that matters for fat loss. Despite what supplement companies or sketchy infomercials might tell you, research shows you can’t “spot reduce” and tell your body to only lose fat on that annoying spot just below your belly button. But what you can do is “spot enhance,” or build a muscle up in specific area while you lose fat throughout your entire body.
There are a lot of ways one can create that needed caloric deficit. The by-the-numbers approach is to determine the daily caloric intake required to maintain your body weight, then eat a few hundred calories fewer. (You can do this on your own using a body weight calculator, or under the guidance of a coach who can help you specific targets based on your wants and needs.) Assuming you’re moderately active and working out three or four times per week, a reasonable ballpark figure is a reduction of about 500 calories per day for men and 300 calories per day for women.
Don’t get carried away here. While most of us want to ditch fat in a hurry, those “lose weight fast” plans are deceptive. Despite what the latest diet fad will tell you, research shows the maximum rate of “healthy” fat loss is about 1-2% body weight each week. (That said, the more weight you have to lose, the quicker you can lose it.)
Another tricky factor here: The leaner you are, the slower your rate of fat loss will be. Using the percentages above, you can see how someone who weighs 250 pounds may be able to drop up to 5 pounds per week, while someone who’s 180 pounds may struggle to drop one.
For almost everyone, fat loss feels like it’s taking place at a rate that’s slower than you would like. But it’s better to go slow and sustainable than try and do it fast and then crash. (Some studies show that the average person spends 6 weeks sticking to a strict diet—then spends 14 weeks off of it.) So if you have a vacation 12 weeks from now and want to lose 20 pounds so that you look hot in your new bikini or when you’re standing shirtless at the beach, the time to start is now.
The Ultimate Abs Workout (AKA looking good without a shirt)
Your abs are like any other muscle—they need time under tension, metabolic stress (that nauseating yet delightful burn you’ve felt during sets of crunches), and muscular damage (something that sounds bad, but actually just refers to the process of creating microtears in muscle tissue so that they come back stronger) in order to grow.
Here’s how to make all of that happen:
First, you’ll continue to lift weights three to four times per week with compound movements. These big movements like squats, rows, and deadlifts build strength from head to toe, stimulate your abs, and provide the training response necessary to transform your body.
Second, keep doing “anti-movements” in your training to build a strong, stable and injury-resistant core.
Third, you’ll add in exercises that specifically target your abs to create the deep muscular separations needed for visible abs.
But as you’ve read over and over again in this article now, sit-ups and crunches aren’t your best options for achieving point #3. Why? Because those movements wind up bending your spinal discs over and over again, which McGill describes as a “potent injury mechanism.” So instead, here are five better exercises that focus on your abs without putting you at risk, which will help you build lean muscle for beach season:
1. Hollow Body Hold
A gymnastics move by nature, the hollow body hold teaches you to brace and hold neutral spine while contracting your entire rectus abdominis muscle.
Lie flat on the ground, looking up. Flatten your lower back and flex your knees, pointing your toes away from you. Straighten your legs while you lift your arms so that they’re perpendicular to your torso. Keep your back flat on the floor and lift your head and shoulders off the ground. Aim to do these twice a week.
2. Hanging Leg Raise
The hanging leg raise is a popular exercise for targeting your lower abs. By keeping your elbows slightly bent and shoulders retracted (i.e. held down and in, rather than creeping up toward your ears), you’ll also stretch the lats, build a stronger grip, and develop more muscular forearms.
Grab a pull-up bar with a double overhand grip, squeezing the bar as tight as possible and keeping the elbows slightly bent. Retract your shoulders, as if tucking them into your back pocket and holding them there.
From this position, lift your legs up just past 90 degrees, forming an L shape with your body. Pause at the top for two seconds, then lower with control. Too tough? Then try them with your knees bent, lifting and holding for 5-10 seconds if possible.
If you struggle to hold on to the bar, feel free to use the Roman chair version in which you’re supported by your elbows and upper body.
3. Stability Ball Rollout
Stability ball rollouts are a great way to build strong abs while preparing your body for a greater challenge: the ab wheel rollout.
To start, kneel on the floor (it may be helpful to place an Airex pad or yoga mat beneath your knees) and face a stability ball with your arms extended in front of your body. Your hands should sit atop the ball. Brace your abs to prevent your back from arching, lean forward, and roll your arms over the ball as far as possible, so that your entire torso lowers toward the floor. Then reverse the motion and pull your arms and torso back until you return to the starting position.
4. Ab Wheel Rollout
Ab wheel rollouts are an absolute killer for building strong, dense abs. Beyond building muscle, they force you to resist unwanted extension in the lower back.
Kneel down and hold the handles of the wheel with your arms locked out beneath your shoulders. Brace your abs and roll the wheel as far forward as possible without shifting your hips or arching your lower back, then roll back.
5. Cable Crunch
Remember the day when crunches and situps were all the rage? There are still effective ways to perform the crunch (see McGill curlup), but this is another variation that puts you in a position where you are less likely to hurt your back and you can add some load to increase the difficulty. Just like any exercise, progressive overload (adding weight) can help you build stronger abs — that pop.
Kneel facing the pulley and hold the ends of a rope attached to the high cable along the sides of your face. Bend forward, aiming your chest at your pelvis. Return to the starting position, then repeat the movement.
Here’s how it looks when you put all of those exercises together into a single workout.
Sample Abs Workout Routine
Perform this sample routine 2-3 times per week for 4-6 weeks.
Ab wheel rollout OR stability ball rollout, 2 sets x 8-12 reps, rest 90 seconds
Hollow Body Hold 3 sets x 45 seconds, rest 45 seconds.
Hanging Leg Raise 3 sets x 12-15 reps, rest 45 seconds.
Cable Crunch 3 sets x 15 reps, rest 45 seconds
The Takeaways
Think “core” before you think “abs.” Focus on anti-extension, anti-lateral flexion, anti-rotation, and glute activation exercises first. This helps prevent injury.
Next, comes performance. You’ll develop core strength along with full-body strength by performing compound lifts with your core properly engaged. Train rotation and other movements as needed for the sport of your choice.
Finally, build show-worthy abs by adding in some level of direct ab training while also continuing to develop the core’s ability to prevent movement. Follow a gradual approach to fat loss that helps you reveal your hard work to the world with a lean, defined midsection.
Above all else, you need a well-balanced training approach to build your best looking and best performing body.
Eric Bach is a personal trainer who works directly with clients in Denver, Colorado and around the world online. Eric specializes in helping busy men eliminate nagging injuries, get stronger, leaner and more athletic without living in the gym. To access his FREE five-day fat loss challenge, join by clicking here.
Resources
Alpert, Seymour S. “A limit on the energy transfer rate from the human fat store in hypophagia.”Journal of Theoretical Biology233.1 (2005): 1-13. Web. 2017.
Spaniol, Frank J., EdU. “Developing Power to Turn.” NSCA Strength & Conditioning Journal 34.6 (2012): n. pag. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.
Ramírez-Campillo, Rodrigo, David C. Andrade, Christian Campos-Jara, Carlos Henríquez-Olguín, Cristian Alvarez-Lepín, and Mikel Izquierdo. “Regional Fat Changes Induced by Localized Muscle Endurance Resistance Training.”Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research27.8 (2013): 2219-224. Web. 6 Mar. 2017.
