See You In a Week!

I will be taking a week off the blogging world to join my family in the ever amazing Lake Powell! 

I'm taking my daughter and ditching the boys (poor Jon has to work!) to enjoy a week of skiing, 

wake boarding, boogie boarding (knee boarding), and the ever dreadful tubing!  

Hopefully I'll come back refreshed and tanned and full of fun new workout ideas!

ENJOY!

A "hill" of a time!

Treadmill Hill Routine

(this is one of those routines that I care more about incline than speed!)

((I do most at speed 4--for a speedy walk--until indicated))

Incline 0: 5 minute warmup

Incline 2.5: 2 minutes

Incline 5: 2 minutes

Incline 7.5: 2 minutes

Incline 10: 2 minutes

Incline 12.5: 2 minutes

Incline 15: 2 minutes

Incline 10: 1 minute

Incline 5: 1 minute

Incline 0: 1 minute

(Slow down to 2-3 speed)

Incline 0: Shuffle Right: 1 minute

walk straight: 15 seconds

Shuffle Left: 1 minute

walk straight: 15 seconds

Incline 5: Shuffle Right: 30 seconds

walk straight: 15 seconds

Shuffle Left: 30 seconds

walk straight 30 seconds

Incline 10: Shuffle Right: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Shuffle Left: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Incline 15: Shuffle Right: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Shuffle Left: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Incline 12.5: Shuffle Right: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Shuffle Left: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Incline 7.5: Shuffle Right: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Shuffle Left: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Incline 2.5: Shuffle Right: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Shuffle Left: 30 seconds

walk straight: 30 seconds

Incline 0: 5 minute Cooldown

ENJOY!

Tabata Time

We know the drill of Tabata's now. 

20 sec on, 10 sec off for a total of 4 minutes.

Take a 1 minute break between rounds.

Today's Rounds:

ONE

Skaters

TWO

Plank Jacks

(move breakdown)

THREE

Pushups

FOUR

Jump Rope

FIVE

Prisoner Squats

(move breakdown)

Plank Jacks

Planks are such a great move to attack your core and give you some amazing results.

I love a good plank variation, and Plank Jacks are some of my favorites.

When Googling a picture for this move, this is what came up:

(Get it?! "Plank Jack"! I thought that was funny!)

Anyhoo, this is the REAL move:

Start out in a plank position. "Jack" your legs out and in. The key is to keep your

booty low and stick in the plank position. 

Do 3 sets of 10 and call yourself amazing!

ENJOY!

Staggered Elevated Pushups

I love a good variation of an old classic, and what's more classic than a pushup?!

One of my favorite variations is a staggered elevated pushup.

(I promise it sounds scarier than it really is!)

You start with one arm on the floor, and one arm elevated on something.

This can be a step, a stair, a medicine ball, a buso ball, a stack of books . . . you get the idea!

Do a number of these on one side, then switch sides to even it out.

Easy Peasy!

Here's a Pyramid Challenge:

8R (right arm elevated)

8L (left arm elevated)

4R

4L

2R

2L

4R

4L

8R

8L

Rest when needed.

ENJOY!

Lower Abs Trifecta

I know I have posted this before (check it out here), but I did this routine this morning and holy toledo my abs were BURNING! Here it is again, because it's THAT good!
The Lower Abs Trifecta: (That's a link to the site I found it on, but here's the breakdown)

Abs Pulse Ups:

Lie flat on your back, on top of a flat bench or on the floor, hands under the behind.

Focus–tighten your core. Brace your abs. Do a leg lift until you legs are 100% vertical. Your body should form a 90 degree angle. That’s your starting position.  SQUEEZE your butt & lower abs and use your hips to push your legs directly upwards. Hold at the top for 1 second, slowly lower and allow your butt to touch the bench, and then immediately pulse back up for the next rep.

Repeat for a set of 15.

Reverse Crunch:

Lie flat on your back, feet at tabletop, arms out to the sids. Bring the knees toward your chest, lifting with the lower abs. Return to start.

(I also add the upper body to this after the first rep where you bring your elbows to your knees! Say "burn baby, burn!")

V-Hold:

Keep your back straight, abs engaged. If you need to simplify the move, bend your legs, or hold the sides of the knees for support. Hold for 30 sec.

TRX Pike

If you have access to a TRX Suspender, USE IT! This crazy contraption

is an amazing tool to define and sculpt your body! 

One of my favorite ABS move is the PIKE. It is very challenging, but awesome!

Start in plank position. Pull your feet in while your booty goes up (like the picture!)!

Then you return to the plank. 

You can also do this move with one of those huge workout balls, 

but I like it on a TRX Suspender better!

Shoot for 3 sets of 8!

ENJOY!

Lower Abs Attack

Sticking with my ABS week, here is a favorite of mine for YEARS now! I originally

saw it in SELF Magazine as a move to lose the belly joy after having a baby.

You can use a ball for this, or something that slides on a wood or tile floor (like paper plates or a towel

under your feet while in plank work really well. Same idea of the move just a little different!). The key

is to keep in a plank position and use those abs to pull your knees towards the chest.

I either shoot for 16 reps, or 1full minute. Repeat this 3 times!

ENJOY!

Park Play

It's officially summertime and I've already found myself at the park MULTIPLE times

and I've come to the conclusion that I get BORED at parks.

As a mom, I generally get to sit on the sidelines and just relax. 

As a mom to a TODDLER however, I now actually have to follow him around 

making sure he doesn't hurt himself (or let's be honest, others.)!

So here is a move to give you something to do as you stand next to your child to make

sure they don't take out another child . . . and it's done on the MONKEY BARS!

HANGING KNEE RAISES

I would shoot for the middle picture for most of us out there. If you can get to picture

three, you are a ROCK STAR and should try it with your legs straight.

The nice thing about monkey bars is the fact that most of us are tall enough that our

feet will touch the ground so if we need a little "umph", we can jump into

it. The key is to NOT have to do this though and use your abs to do the knee lifting.

Just imagine the 6-pack that you are creating . . . one park trip at a time!

ENJOY!

Oldie but Goodie

I have the tendency to look for the newest and greatest move when planning out my classes, 

but every now and then I pull out and old classic and FEEL it for the next couple days.

The latest OLDIE but GOODIE: Basic Crunch on a Ball.

I remember when these balls were crazy popular a few years ago, and 

I know thanks to that craze, must of us have these floating around our house, 

and most gyms have a collection.

Lie back with your lower back on the ball, and perform a crunch.

The added bonus of a ball, is your head will go lower than if you were just on the ground

which makes the crunch deeper. I feel it throughout my entire stomach region,

which is a total bonus for more bang for your buck (or more burn for your crunch!)!

Try it out (again) if it's been a while. Do as many reps of 16 as you can or just shoot 

for 100 total crunches. I almost guarantee you will feel it tomorrow!

ENJOY!

Front Squats

With Front Squats, you hold the weights to the front (obviously), and tighten your core.

Squat back, keeping knees over your toes, and sit back like you are sitting

down into a chair. Keep the weight in the whole of your feet as you come back up to standing.

You can use a bar, dumbbells, or cross your arms with hands resting on the shoulders. 

If you are doing the CHALLENGE, it's 70 squats today! Make 'em count!

Prisoner Squats

I've only recently learned about Prisoner Squats thanks to that bootcamp class I participated

in last month, and I am now a big fan!

Because I'm new to it, I decided to let Men's Health tell you how it's done!

• Stand as tall as you can with your feet spread shoulder-width apart.
• Place your fingers on the back of your head (as if you had just been arrested).
• Pull your elbows and shoulders back.
• Your lower back should be naturally arched.
• Brace your core and hold it that way.
• Lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees. The tops of your thighs should be parallel to the floor.
• Pause, then slowly push yourself back to the starting position.
• Keep your weight on your heels, not your toes, for the entire movement. Your knees should stay over the centers of your feet as you squat.
• Your torso should stay as upright as possible. Don’t let your lower back round.

ENJOY!

Plie Squats

We know I LOVE plie squats! What other move works so many muscles?!

(inner thigh, outer thigh, hamstrings, quads, behind, and add a toe lift for calves!)

I think I've gone over this move a billion times so here's the key reminders:

1-Keep your booty tucked under NOT out like a BASIC SQUAT.

2-Keep feet WIDE. Otherwise your knees create a diamond look which is wrong.

3-Sink down LOW. Your legs can take it!

4-Keep chest LIFTED. Don't allow it to lean forward.

Okay. We busted out 60 squats today, right?!

See you tomorrow!

ENJOY!

Your Generic Squat

In honor of our SQUAT CHALLENGE I thought I would run through some different 

squats to make this challenge a little less repetitive! 

Today, we are just going to cover your generic, Basic Squat.

I found this stellar picture from the blog He and She Eat Clean and thought it was perfect!

To do a basic squat, you don't need heavy weights or fancy equipment (although that stuff is

fantastic!). Spread your weight throughout your whole foot, not just you heels. If you wonder why,

just try it out! It engages your whole leg (verses just the backside) which makes the move more significant!

Imagine yourself sitting back into a chair, chest lifted. When your knees are about at 90*, make

sure your knees are aligned with your toes, and then push back to standing.

I'm usually at a loss at what to do with my hands. You can do just like these lovely pictured

ladies are doing, or hold them straight out in front of you. If you have a bar or

dumbbells, hold at your shoulders.

Ready to knock out 55 squats today?!

ENJOY!

30 Day Squat Challenge!

As I was looking for a picture of squats with what I WAS going to do for my post today, I came across this 30 day squat challenge and figured that looked fun!

So here we go! 

I figured that since I taught a lifting class today, that I AT LEAST did 50 squats.

(One of these days I'm going to actually count.)

I think I will mix these up with the type of squats I do. 

I'll see what fun types I can find and this week will post them to change it up!

For our BOOTY's sake, lets do this thing!

ENJOY!