Low Impact Tabata II

Another low-impact (no plyo) but still very hard Tabata-style workout. Complete for a total of four rounds.

Lake House Workout

Going to the lake or beach this summer? Don't have any equipment or gymspace? Use this simple, yet tough, bodyweight exercise to keep yourself in check on vacation.

I did this last time I was at my boyfriend's lakehouse on the docks...it was probably the most relaxing intense workout I've ever done! It also didn't hurt that the neighbors on their boat were staring at me--it kept my motivation up!

Make sure to maximize your surroundings and use it to your advantage during a long stretch session afterwards! Also make sure to use some (gentle, natural) bug spray if necessary!

Enjoy :) I know I will this weekend.

Lifting for Core Strength

The most important chunk of your body is by far your core. I hardly think anyone could dispute that--having a strong core is important to maintain form while doing cardio such as running, stair-climbing, rowing, and biking. It's also very important to have good core strength while doing lifts that are primarily for your lower body, since most of your those moves are going to impact your spine if your core muscles aren't in shape. Have you ever seen someone trying to do dead-lifts with a hunched back? It's almost as painful to watch as it is to do. At least it'll hurt in the long-term.

Here's a workout that's sure to help your core strength. Make sure you focus on pinching your back while doing the facepulls, to keep the work out of your biceps. My ballet teacher would always say "keep your wings down and back" That's pretty much right on the money. Making every rep slow and deliberate also helps work the core, especially on those single arm dumbbell presses--you'll feel the pull while you struggle to keep everything in line.

Do these as circuits, so that 1a, 1b, and 1c are done consecutively without rest. Rest in between sets, but only from 30 seconds to 2 minutes MAX. For the 2a and 2b, do not rest at all. Use this a a burst of cardio for some extra fat burning, and make sure your weight is light enough that you can do at 5 reps on at least the first 4 sets.

Enjoy!

Kick-Ass Cardio

I did a good HIIT last night... a little kick boxing style routine! It was so fun, and I felt like a badass doing it in front of the mirror. I was also listening to some intense daft punk, which helped the mind-set! Here it is:

Adapted from the "Combat Montage" workout on dailyhiit.com

My lats are sore today from all the hooks!

Buns and Delts

I don't know about where you live, but here has been rainy all week. Last night there was a break in the rain, so I tore at the opportunity to take Sadie for a job. She really needed it. Afterwards she rolled around on the carpet and did a dance of joy. Afterwards, I threw in some laundry and did a HIIT workout, since it had been a while. I didn't think I would make it through all three rounds, but I pushed myself and I felt GREAT afterwards. I used dumbbells and held them on my shoulders for the jump lunges and prisoner squats, so there was added delt work.

This workout was adapted from  the "Fit Sweat" workout on dailyhiit.com 

Afterwards I made a mango, melon, pineapple smoothie to reward myself. It was glorious.

Catch Your Breath Workout

I decided I've been lifting heavy for a few weeks now and it was time to do another tough HIIT routine to shake things up. Well, I got what I asked for because almost killed me. It is supposed to be done three times through, and I got through it 1.5 times with...breaks.. Maybe my stamina wasn't great because it's been a while, but my legs are STILL sore and I did this two days ago. Possibly I just used too much weight...12lb ball and 25 lb bar. In any case I'm definitely going to do this again later in the week so I can actually finish it three times through.

This workout was adapted from the "Thrift Shop" workout by dailyhiit.com 

Buns O'Plenty

Here is a workout that I did last night. Switch Jump Lunges are SO hard for my body. It's my achilles heel. I ended up only completing the weighted version with actual jumps for about the first 20 seconds of the first round. Then I dropped the weight, and modified so I could keep going without having to just cut them out completely. I'll get better :)

This workout was adapated from the "Pusher Girl" workout on dailyhiit.com

Full Body Workout

Here is another full body workout with heavy weights. I did this one last night, and my traps are sore from the clean and presses. You do feel like a badass doing them though. Especially when the gym is full of men and you're like "Yeah I'm a woman and I'm doing clean and presses with correct form. GET AT ME SON." At least that's what I'm saying in my head.

Upper Body for a Cloudy Day

Here is an upper-body oriented workout for a cloudy day. Repeat twice. Low in the cardio department; I went on a run afterwards with the pup. Something about warm rain that just makes my legs feel invincible. :)

This workout was adapted from the "Make It Hot" workout on dailyhiit.com

Legs and Abs

Here is a nice 12-minute workout adapted from dailyhiit.com's "Twelve Minute Killer Curves". Not too cardio-intensive, but make sure you're drinking lots of water (especially if it's 95 degrees there all of a sudden like it is in MD and you work out outside like me :) ). I used my Ugi ball for the weight in the abs exercises, and two 8 lb dumbbells for the others. Heavier would have been better, but that's what I've got!

Happy sweating!

If It's Worth It Workout

Ahh I can smell the spring grass this morning. Which is weird since it was raining ice last night while I was walking Sadie... My tendoniitis is still not completely better, but I'm sorta over it. I did some higher impact stuff last night (meaning I flexed my feet to do push-ups and elevated ball planks) and I'm still alive! Miracle of miracles! So here's a workout intended to bring your heart rate up and crank up the fat-loss sweat.

Complete this Tabata as 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest. Go for 4 rounds.

If it's worth it to you, you'll make it happen.

Enjoy your sweat!

Low-Impact Tabata Workout

Here's another tendon-friendly workout (since my foot is still not back in perfect working order).

It seems like a pretty good total-body circuit...abs, shoulders, glutes, quads, obliques, Hip flexors. I'm likin' it :) 

Plantar Fasciitis Strikes Again

When I was a ballerina I had a lot of issues with Plantar Fasciitis flaring up, especially during weeks leading up to a performance. After this past month of intensive HIIT exercising I am now feeling the effects of a flare-up in my left foot. It's pretty annoying, but I know it's my body's way of telling me to calm down. It also didn't help that my New Balance Minimus shoes pooped out around March 20, and I had to suddenly switch back to the good old Vibrams without warning my arches beforehand. Probably a bad choice.

Anyways, I took yesterday off and now I'm craving some gym-time so I'm going to try and make a Plantar-Fasciitis friendly routine for this evening.

I'll let you know if this is truly gentle for my painful appendage tomorrow!


UPDATE:

Alright, so I did this workout last night, and I have to say it was actually pretty easy on my aching tendons :) The only thing that still hurt was walking around the gym to get to the weights, stretching area, elliptical...etc. I didn't get to do the bent-over rows or flies because it was so darn busy in the gym and I wanted to get home to see my man, but I added in two rounds of a previous ab workouts I've posted. I signed up for a 7 day challenge with Dailyhiit, and that was their workout for day 1! Good thing it was abs since I still can't jump around right now :/

Death to Adductors

Alright, here's another workout in the Tabata format. It's pretty cardio intensive, and the leg lifts are KILLER. Good luck ;)

Also, I just realized it but this should say "ADDUCTORS" in the picture title. Darn.

{This workout was adapted from a workout from dailyhiit.com}

March 5th Workout 

Today's workout was a little calmer in terms of me dying and sweating all over my carpet, but it was definitely still hard. I'm sure my abs, hip flexors, and hip abductors will be feeling it tomorrow!

These moves have strange names, and I couldn't think of anything more descriptive that was short enough for artwork, so if you have any questions as to what they are, visit Bodyrock.tv for the Sweet Nothing workout to see a breakdown. They are all moves that you can do without weight, and I don't even have a Ugi ball, I just used two big firm pillows for the balance moves.

Have fun!

Ever wondered what "Tabatas" are?

High intensity intervals are good for your heart. They also don't do your waistline any harm, either. Here's a beginner's guide to Tabata intervals. Adding these little gems to your workouts can help your body become a more efficient metabolizer!

Have you gotten a ticket?

TO THE GUN SHOW.

Outside Workout

It looks so beautiful outside from my desk! It's just a trick, however, since my computer screen reads a chilly 32 degrees F. Lies. Anyways I thought it would be nice to post a little guide for an outside workout. Have you ever tried a segmented mile? It's a lot harder then it looks on paper. Give it a try, use a track if you don't have a watch with mileage capabilities.

The picture in the background is right outside of Sugarloaf Mountain, MD. A few friends, Sadie, and I went hiking there last summer with a backpack full of beer. It's actually a really hard trail, and we ended up hiking for about 4 hours, so the beer wasn't as fun as we thought it would be... It did get easier, however, as the beers were finished, since we didn't have extra weight on our backs! 

There's also a great winery, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard, right next to the trails, which of course we couldn't pass up after we were done our sweat session!

This is from the peak of the mountain: 

Lower Body Workout for tonight

I used this awesome webiste, PicMonkey, to create this little lower body workout guide.

The picture behind it is a picture I took of the Eye of London. So pretty!