Wordless Workout Wednesday

What Workout?

Somewhere in the midst of last minute packing and lugging of furniture I sort of slacked off on my workouts.  I swore up and down that I would be hitting it hard when we got moved in but between unpacking, a one year old that is struggling to sleep in her new room, and a husband that actually has to go in to an office EVERYDAY versus working from home, my workouts have stunk for the last two weeks.  I have gotten in two runs, seriously two!  The only weights I have lifted have been boxes and kids.  

Here we are in January where most people are busting out insane workout schedules and chugging freaky looking detox drinks and then there's me.  Does this make me a failure?  No, not at all.  It makes me real.  

If I wanted to get seriously real with you I would admit that I didn't even make goals for 2014.  I know your world just tipped a little.  It'll be okay.  

Here is my reasoning, yes I want to continue on this healthy whole food living and exercising lifestyle however, I am moving and having child #5 so I am not going to make a list that I struggle with and then beat myself up in February or March when I haven't worked on them AT ALL!  

No, I haven't quit working out I just haven't been consistent.  What am I going to do about it?  I am going to get a schedule and stick to it.  This afternoon I sat down and planned out my workouts for the rest of January and will show them to my husband when he gets home.  I have on my workout clothes so when Rusty gets home I will be leaving for my run.  I might have to change my workouts to night workouts because lately I have needed more sleep but who cares about the time of the workout as long as it happens right?  I will also be posting more about my workouts on the Mom 4ce Facebook page.

I hope that my honesty and posts encourage you to not beat yourself up but to pick up and go from where you are. 

What's My Workout?

One of the first blog posts I did was about what my workout was.  However, that has changed as my life has changed so I thought I would fill you in some.  I have been VERY honest with you guys and my motivations since May has been *ahem, cough, cough* lacking.  However, I still try/attempt/strive to get moving at least five days a week.  Here's how that looks. 

Monday/Wednesday/Friday (really whatever days end up working): A friend and I meet to walk/run for an hour.  We normally get 3 to 4 miles in.  Some days we are slower and some days we are faster.  I love it because we also get to catch up so the time flies.  

Tuesday/Thursday (really the opposite days of my walk) I attempt to do a dvd with either weights, Pilates, or Yoga.  I honestly LOVE this workout and have asked for this set for Christmas.  

Picture by Amazon

I have also just used several of the weight workouts that Lynette and I have posted here on this blog!  

My workouts have obviously changed as the challenge of looking for a house to buy added some stress.  Now the stress of packing and waiting on a closing date has settled over the house.  Added to that, my bootcamp membership expired and I didn't want to renew while things were up in the air.  Then, I bought a Groupon for a yoga studio and that expired.  So now I am just winging it, and I LOVE it!  I am working out at my own pace, whenever I have the time.  Some days I only have thirty minutes; other days I have longer, and that's okay!  

What are your workouts looking like?

This post contains affiliate links that Mom 4ce receives compensation for.  This money is used to keep our blog up and running and one day if we ever have excess money from these affiliate links we plan on buying more fitness equipment.  We will NEVER post a link for something that we wouldn't use or do use in our own homes.

Find Your Love

Today I am going to step onto my soapbox and address something that drives me crazy.  I will try not to get too pushy, or mean, or controversial.  (Okay, fine you got me; I don't really care if I'm controversial.)

Have you ever found yourself doing a certain exercise because you "are supposed to"?

Do you find yourself hating to workout?

Do you ever want to take somebody's temperature because they go on and on and on about how much they love to workout?

If you answered yes to one of those questions then listen up...  Exercise can be fun and enjoyable.  

No, I'm not kidding!  

First of all, there is no perfect exercise for everybody.  Some people LOVE to run, others love to dance, and some weirdos like both.  That's OKAY!  How do you know what you love?  Try out lots of different types.  Go to a Zumba class, try out a Crossfit box, go to a bootcamp, visit a Pilates studio, the list goes on.  There are all kinds of different types of workouts.  Go figure out what you love.  We can call it speed exercising.  Most gyms and studios will let you try out a class for a small fee and some will even let you try it for free.  

Second of all, don't be afraid to admit to yourself (and others) that you don't enjoy working out. By admitting it you are also giving yourself permission to stop what you are doing and find something else.  I don't love to workout on my own but I love doing it with others.  Right now I am walking/running with a buddy, by having that buddy I love my morning workouts!  Ask yourself what you dislike and what you do like.  Figure out how to change what you are doing.  

Third, don't stop changing it up.  If you get tired or frustrated with your routine; mix it up a little!  I go through phases and that's okay.  When I first started working out seriously I went to gyms.  However, for me the gym is intimidating and so I always quit going.  Then, I found bootcamp which I loved.  Then I went to Crossfit, which was a little too intense for me at the time.  Now I am doing Pilates/ Yoga and running/walking.  I have also tried out Zumba, Kickboxing, circuit class, biking, swimming, and numerous others.

Fourth and most importantly, don't worry about not doing "it right".  I remember stressing about weight day and cardio day and making sure I got in enough time on my legs/arms/core/ or whatever else.  Here's the truth though as long as you are moving and enjoying yourself you are "doing it right".  Yes, you need to mix up your strength and cardio but you probably are already and don't realize it.  

So, in closing I just want to say: Find what you love and keep at it!

Breakin' The Streak...AGAIN

Well, once again I have broken my streak.  I didn't even make it a week.  I got really sick and broke it after five days!  I'm frustrated but have chosen to not restart the streak right now. 

I LOVE exercising!  Really I do.  However, I hate piling myself up with quotas, plans, challenges, and other things that make myself crazy. 

I have decided that with moving that I should not stress myself out with a streak.  I am meeting my running/walking buddy two to three times a week and I am going to do weights or Pilates on the other days. 

Normally I would have made a calendar of workouts but right now I am cutting myself some slack.  

Once I get moved I will get back to scheduling my workouts and getting more strict with my goals.  

So tell me, what's going on with you?

Time Is On Your Side

 

When I first started working out I felt like the longer I worked out, the better my workout was.  

Then I fell into the time trap and wouldn't workout if I didn't have an hour to an hour and a half to my workouts.  Well, here's the deal; you don't NEED an hour or more to workout.  In fact some of my best, body shaking, sweat dripping workouts are done in fifteen to twenty minutes.  That's right, you heard me.  

I know that we have all heard that thirty minutes is optimal and I will agree with that but an occasional short workout here and there are fine.  

Let's be real for a minute.  If you are working out for an hour; unless you are a machine like Lynette, there are times that you are not truly focused on your workout.  There are probably even minutes here and there that you have stopped and are getting a drink, checking the time, standing still to catch your breathe, and whatever else you can do to make time pass faster.  We all do it and that's fine.

Now, let's take a crazy day.  You oversleep and only have twenty minutes.  That is too short of a time to pop in a dvd.  You can run around the block but it's raining.  Well great, you might as well just skip your workout today or try to get it in tonight.  NO!  Crank up the stereo and let's get to work.  

You will need your HEAVIEST weights for this. You might need to double up your weights to really push yourself, the end of each move should be a struggle.

Start off with some light jumping jacks to warm you up.  

Once your heart starts to pump do one minute of  fast jumping jacks.

20 push ups (do not modify if at all possible, push yourself)

30 sit ups (not crunches)

30 dumbbell curls (get on your knees and do each arm separately, really focus and use control)

1 minute of mountain climbers

30 squats (go as low as you can, stick your bottom as far out as it can go.  Make sure your knees don't go past your toes!)

30 chest presses

30 toe touches (lie on your back and take your arms above your head with a weight in each hand.  Put your feet in the air and try to touch your toes with the weights.  Keep your hips on the floor!)

30 walking lunges 

30 tricep extensions

30 plie squats

15 forward arm circles with weights (make sure there is a slight bend in your elbows)

15 backward arm circles with weights

GOOD WORK!  Now stretch it all out. 

Stretchin' It Out

The last couple weeks I've given you reason why you want to lift heavy weights, a weight workout and a cardio workout.  That leaves stretching for this week.

What are the benefits of being flexible?  And no, I'm not talking about being able to do the splits.

Or fold yourself in half to sleep.

I'm talking about being flexible enough for your joints to move through their entire range of movement without causing pain or discomfort.  Or being flexible enough to decrease your risk of injury.

How do you do that?

There's a couple different ways to improve your flexibility.  First is a dynamic warm up before you workout followed by easy stretching after your workout.  The other way is to take a yoga or pilates class.  I'm going to show you a dynamic warm-up and some after exercise stretches.  

A dynamic warm-up coordinates all of your moving parts—muscles, ligaments, and joints—by challenging your flexibility, mobility, strength and stability all at once.

You'll want to perform each exercise for 15-30 yrds.  

High Knee Walk

As you step forward, grasp just below the knee on the opposite legs and pull the knee towards the chest. Extend the stepping leg, and rise on the toes. Keep the chest high, don’t lean back.

 High Knee Run

Start by running in place, keeping the knees high. Slowly progress forward. Focus on landing on the ball of the foot.  Do not lean back or round the shoulders. Pump the arms.

 Butt Kicks

Quickly flex the knee bringing the heel of the foot towards the buttocks. Pump the arms in sync with the legs.

Straight-leg Walk

March with straight legs, and reach for toes with the opposite hand. Keep the chest high, don’t lean back. Do not kick the leg up, actively raise it until you feel tension in the hamstrings.

Backward Run

Literally run backwards. Take large steps, reaching as far as possible with the lead leg. Lean forward at the hips, keep the eyes looking forward.

Backward and forward lunge walks

Take one giant step forward; drop down into the lunge position, and then using the forward leg rise out of the lunge position and step forward with the opposite leg.  For the backward lunge, do the same except you are walking backwards.

Jumping Jack

Stand upright with the hands by your side. Jump and raise your arms up from your side overhead and land with feet wider than shoulder width apart. Jump and return to the start position. Repeat for 15 repetitions.

 Ski Jack

Stand upright with the hands by your side. Jump and move arms and legs in a cross-country ski motion. Repeat for 15 repetitions.

Once your warm- up is complete, you are ready for your workout.  

When you're finished with your workout, you'll want to do so static stretching.  These include hamstring stretches, quad stretches, tricep stretches...  The most important thing to remember when doing static stretches is DO NOT BOUNCE!  You want to hold each stretch at the point that you feel the stretch without injuring yourself for about 15-30 seconds.  Move slowly through each stretch, stopping when it hurts.

There you have it.  An easy stretching routine for before and after your workout =)

Run Away!

Some days I really do want to run away.  But I know I can't =)

Today I'm going to give you an easy cardio workout that you can do at your own pace.  If you're not a runner, walking is fine.  Just make sure you're pushing the pace where it says to run (or even try running!).  If you're a runner, walk the warm up and then pick up the pace- really push yourself- where it says to run.

easy 10 minute warm- up

(run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes) x 4

easy 10 minute warm down

Ok, so what does that mean?  I want you to walk easy for about 10 minutes.  At the end of that 10 minutes, I want you to run (walk fast) for a minute followed by 2 minutes of walking.  Repeat that 4 times.  And then walk easy for 10 minutes.  Follow this whole workout with some easy stretching.

You can repeat this workout 3 times this week.  Just make sure you leave a day of rest in between each workout day.  Your day or rest could be an easy 30 minute walk, biking, swimming...  As long as you are taking it easy.

Why Weights?

Last week I debunked some of the myths about women and lifting weights.  This week, I want to tell you why it's important to lift weights and then give you an easy weight workout that you can do in the comfort of your own home.

Building muscle has implications on the quality of your life- for your entire life!

The most obvious benefit is an increase in muscle size and strength.  The stronger you are, the easier it is to do things.  

You can change how your body looks!  If you take the same weight of fat and muscle, muscle will take up less space.  

Your body burns more calories in the hours after a hard weight workout than you do a cardio workout.  Even thought the calorie burn during the workout, your body continues to burn calories as it repairs muscle damage.

Weightlifting can help increase your flexibility.  As you take the weights through your full range of motion, your muscles respond like they do during a dynamic warm- up.

Lifting weights increases bone density.  This is especially important as you age- when most people start to lose bone density.

Weight training can help reduce your risk of injury by making your bones, joints and muscles stronger.

With a properly designed (and executed) program, weight training can improve your posture and balance.

Weight training improves strength, body composition, flexibility, bone density... Feeling better and looking better can lead to improved self- confidence.  

And now for your workout =)

Warm- up for about 10 minutes before your start.  Jog in place, arm swings, leg swings...  Some sort of dynamic warm- up.

Then you're going to do 3 sets of the following.

50 walking lunges (25 each leg)

10- 30 burpees (fewer if starting out, more if you've been working out for awhile)

1-2 minute plank

25 squats (add weight if needed)

10- 30 unmodified push- ups (on your toes!  no girly push- ups allowed!)

After 3 sets, cool down.  Easy walking and stretching.

Mythbusters: Mom 4ce Style

There's a lot of myths out there about women and weights.  You've probably heard a lot of them.  And a few of them have probably kept you out of the weight room.  But you know what?  Most of them are untrue.  And I'm here to bust a few of them.

The biggest myth is "If I lift heavy, I'm going to get all big and bulky."

Source

This is the biggest lie.  The truth is, unless you have abnormal amounts of testosterone, take steroids and work out for ungodly amounts of time, this will not happen to you.  Even for guys, it can be difficult to put on this much muscle mass.

Why is this a myth?  Because women do not have as much of the correct type of muscle to build strength and size.  There are two types of muscle tissue.  Type I which is responsible for endurance type movements and Type II which is responsible for strength and power.

In your average woman, she will have about 45% Type I muscle fibers and men will have about 35%.  What that means is that the man will have two thirds type II fibers and the woman will have just over half.  The man will have more potential to build size and strength as compared to the woman.

Which leads me to the second myth.  "Women should lift light weights with high reps."

This myth originated because women have more type I muscle fibers...  You know, the ones responsible for endurance type movements.  Most trainers figured if women have more type I, then they should use programs that *develop* those muscles.

But the problem with this is that you're not building muscle by lifting *Barbie* weights for lots and lots of reps.  All you're doing is building your endurance.

Let's think about it this way.  As a runner, I can run for miles and miles because I work on my endurance- by running miles and miles.  But, if I want to run those miles faster, I have to work on my speed- which means doing work outs that develop those type II muscle fibers.  The benefit is then I can run those miles and miles faster.

Same goes for lifting weights.  If you want to get stronger, you have to lift heavier weights.  Which means decreasing the number of reps you're doing.

All this talk about endurance leads me to needing to clear up a few definitions.  These words are used to sell thousands of fluff fitness magazines.  The words that need to be redefined (or at least have the right definition used) are tone, shape and sculpt.

Tone is what your muscles are like when you're not doing anything.  Sweet Pea has really low muscle tone.  When you hold her, she feels soft and floppy.  A baby with normal muscle tone seems solid.  The purpose of muscle tone is to keep you primed and ready for action.  Muscle tone also creates heat and keeps your muscles healthy.

The myth that women's fitness magazines are selling you is that you can change your muscle tone by using light (*Barbie*) weights and high reps.  But the truth is, you can't change your muscle tone.

Shaping  your muscles seems to imply that you can target specific muscles and give them a different shape.  But, the truth is, your muscle shape is determined by your genetics.  The only thing you can do by working your muscles is make them bigger or smaller.

And that leaves the term sculpting.  How many of you want to sculpt the perfect body?  Many of us have been lured into thinking that by doing certain workouts we can sculpt a lean, long dancer's body.

Really?  You can make yourself taller, longer?  The truth is that unless you already have that dancer's build (or runner, or swimmer or whatever type build you can think of) you cannot sculpt your body into it.  You can only work with the build you've been given.

Instead of falling for the routines that the fluff fitness magazines are selling, focus on what your goals are and find a program that works for you.  My favorite weight lifting program can be found in The New Rules of Lifting for Women.  The workouts are challenging, but the results are amazing (or so I've been told ;) )

So, there you have it.  Some of the most popular women and weights myths busted.  Now, get out there and start lifting heavy to look like a goddess!

Sidelined

Yeah, this doesn't look normal...

I stepped in a fire ant nest the other day.  Five bites on the one toe, one on another, a bite on the top of the foot and one in between two toes.

Needless to say, my foot swelled up and was pretty painful for a few days.  Because of the swelling, I couldn't put a shoe on and could barely bend my toes.  Not to mention the itching...

But I still managed to get a workout in.  I had to get creative about it.  But I got it done.

What do you do when you're sidelined by an injury?  Do you just throw in the towel and tell yourself you'll work out when it's healed?  Or do you find other ways to get your heart rate up?

Going Streakin'

I may or may not have written about it being hot and lacking motivation to exercise. 

I have decided to remedy that problem...I am going streakin'!

No, not that kind of streaking!!!  

I am going on a running streak. 

I plan on running or walking every day for at least fifteen minutes, everybody has a spare fifteen minutes somewhere. 

My plan is to see how long I can go with a goal of ninety days.  

A normal person would start on the first, but I'm not normal so I am starting on August 26th and I would love some company so feel free to join me.  In fact, I will make a group on Facebook called The Mom 4ce Streakers so join us there and get ready to STREAK!  

The group will be free to join and will just provide encouragement and fun...who knows, I may even have some giveaways!  

Who's with me?

Fit Tips

Starting a fitness program can be overwhelming.  Everyone has an opinion of what you need to do, need to eat, need not to eat...  It can be tough to figure out what's best for you.  

To make it easier for you, we've scoured the latest research and taken the top essentials you need to get fit.  Are you ready?

1.  Find a workout partner that is committed and won't let you slack off

2.  Sign up for a race or competition and let everyone know.  They'll help keep you accountable!

3.  Set 3-5 goals each morning that you can accomplish each day.  Make them reasonable and smaller steps towards your bigger goals.

4.  Commit to 30 minutes of intense exercise at least 4 times a week.  Make it an appointment with yourself.

5.  Add weight training to your weekly work outs

6.  Make a food journal.  Be honest about what you're eating.

7.  Drink plain unsweetened teas- green, black, oolong, white, rooibos...

8.  Make sure you're getting enough sleep every night- aim for 7.5 hours.

9.  Eat foods that are spicy.  The spice helps boost your metabolism.

10.  Never go to the grocery store hungry.

11.  Include your kids in your fitness activities as much as possible.

12.  Try a new activity.

13.  Teach someone else what you're learning.

14.  Connect with Mom 4ce every day for support and motivation =)

15.  Spend as much time outside with your kids as possible.

16.  Write down 10 reason why you deserve to be fit and healthy

17.  Focus on berries for fruit.  Frozen they make a wonderful addition to your water.

18.  Stop complaining or making excuses.  Take responsibility for your own actions and create change.

19.  Write a 1 year goal that seems so impossible that you think you'll never reach it and then challenge yourself to do it.

20.  Create a new habit by doing it everyday for 21-28 days.

We hope these tips help get you started or challenge you to continue with your healthy lifestyle changes!

Pilates

I have started going to this yoga studio and they have a lot of different classes.  

One of the classes is Pilates.  

I have done several Pilates dvd's and so when I saw that they offered Pilates I thought it would be no big deal for me to go try out a class.  Boy was I WRONG! 

First of all, I found out that I had been holding my feet wrong.  

Second of all, I had been holding my stomach wrong. 

Oh, and I had also been breathing wrong. 

All of these things combined make for a very different workout than what I was expecting. 

I left that class a little sore (I was REALLY sore the next morning!).

More importantly though, I got a good workout and a much needed form change.  

This is one of the things I love about working out in a class or with a trainer.  They are there to help you with your form, technique, breathing, and to motivate you when you feel like stopping.  

Don't get me wrong, I love workout dvd's!  However, it is important to make sure you are performing the moves right so that you don't injure yourself. 

Have you ever tried out a Pilates class?

The Art of Patience

A friend recently posted an article about what running harder won't help you get faster (Running Harder Won't Help You Get Faster) and it got me thinking.

Having run competitively through high school and college, I was trained hard for 3-4 months to *peak* for the big races at the end of our season (track and/ or cross country).  And most of the time I ended up with some nagging injury that kept me from optimal performance at that race.

Would I have been in better shape at the end of the season if my coaches had taken a more moderate approach?  Or if my coaches had trained me to my ability and not to the ability of the top runner?

An excerpt from the August 2013 issue of Running Times from Ryan Hall

As I've gotten older, I've realized that I cannot train at high intensities anymore.  But that doesn't mean I can't improve my race times.

Please include attribution to RunnersConnect with this graphic.

High intensity workouts usually lead to an injury which then sets back your training.  If the cycle is continually repeated, you'll end up behind the person who trained at a moderate intensity.

What does this mean for you?  It means that by slowing down and taking a more moderate approach to your training (and your weight loss!) you will end up further ahead than if you had gone all out from the start.

As I start the journey to an ultra marathon, I've taken a different approach.  I'm slowing down my runs and I'm adding in more strength training.  I'll still hit some longer runs, but I'll make sure I'm running those on fatigued legs.  I'll be running 3 days in a row with increasing milage each day so that the last run more closely resembles the last miles of the ultra.

My strength training will focus one more functional moves: push- ups, pull- ups, squats, lunges.  I'll mix up my routines so that I'm not following the same weight workout each week.

And I'll make sure that I'm taking my rest days seriously.

Including The Kids

I've had a stressful week.  My husband had surgery a week ago and my workouts have been sporadic.

On Monday my boys decided they wanted to run a 5k with me.  Those words were a wake up call to me, I should just include my kids in my workouts!  Typically I enjoy working out on my own but when your husband can't lift anything over five pounds and is out of it on painkillers you have to be flexible.  

I expected the kids to whine about the heat and I expected Anna to scream in her stroller but neither of those things happened.  In fact, I enjoyed myself.  We were S-L-O-W but we had fun and that was what really mattered.  

I'm not doing as strenuous as a workout as I would normally do, I'm not getting my "alone time" however, I am building memories and strengthening relationships.  In fact, the boys want to exercise with me; "forever."

Anna is even joining in on the fun! 

Shh...

I slept in this morning.  I had every intention of getting up early and getting a workout in, but my body had other ideas.

Do you know the importance of rest when you're working out?  

I know many people, when they start working out, they go 7 days a week.  Then they end up frustrated a couple weeks into their program because they're injured or they have no motivation to continue- no energy.

If they had approached their program differently, they would have had different results.

It is too often thought that if you rest or take a day off from working out, you're not doing any work.  And for most people that means that you're not making any headway on your goal to lose weight, get in shape...

But, it's when your body is resting that it's doing the most work.  When you work out, you are damaging your muscles, depleting their energy stores.  If you don't take the time for them to repair and replenish, you're depriving your body of the chance to get stronger and to burn fuel more efficiently.

Don't be afraid to take a day or two a week off of your program.  Even the elite athletes take time to rest and let their bodies recover.  You'll come away from a rest day feeling stronger and with more energy to tackle your next workout.

HIIT Me Baby

one more time...

Now that you have that song stuck in your head ;)

Have any of you ever done a HIIT workout? 

What's HIIT you ask?  It is High Intensity Interval Training.  

A HIIT session often consists of a warm up period of exercise, followed by three to ten repetitions of high intensity exercise, separated by medium intensity exercise for recovery, and ending with a period of cool down exercise. The high intensity exercise should be done at near maximum intensity. The medium exercise should be about 50% intensity. The number of repetitions and length of each depends on the exercise, but may be as little as three repetitions with just 20 seconds of intense exercise.

So now that you know what it is, here's one that you can do at home without any equipment (or you could add weights if you're really hardcore like Kelli).

Sprint (or move as fast as you can) 100 meters

10 push- ups

Sprint (or move as fast as you can) 100 meters

10 lunges (5 each side)

Sprint (or move as fast as you can) 100 meters

10 pull- ups (or overhead lat pulls)

Sprint (or move as fast as you can) 100 meters

10 burpees

Sprint (or move as fast as you can) 100 meters

10 squats

Sprint (or move as fast as you can) 100 meters

30 crunches

It's a quick workout that gets your heart rate up and hits all the major muscle groups.

Every once in awhile I can get my kids to join me for a HIIT.  They don't always run the full distance, but they try their hardest to keep up on everything else.

This is Junior and me after the HIIT I listed above.  Some day I might get a serious picture out of him =)

Let us know when you try this workout and what you thought of it!

Pilyo

I was playing around on Groupon a few weeks ago and found a deal for three months of unlimited classes at a local yoga studio for sixty-nine dollars.  I checked out the website and saw that they had a ton of different classes including Pilates, Zumba, weight training, and so much more.  So I bought it!!!  

The first class I tried out was Pilyo; a Pilates Yoga fusion.  

I have done some Pilates DVD's and I have taken one Yoga class and I have suffered through P90X Yoga so I thought that this was no big deal.  

HOLY ABS!!!  This class left me with shaking arms, jiggly legs, and my abs were SCREAMING!  

However, I felt good.  I felt relaxed when I left.  

I wasn't panting, my heart wasn't beating out of my chest.  

I can't wait to go back next week.  

I really enjoyed it and loved the fact that it wasn't what I call "Hippy Dippy" you know the ones that tell you to find your inner goddess?  I always end up giggling my way through those workouts.  

The best part of Pilyo is that it will help strengthen your whole body and build flexibility.

For those of you with joint problems, this is definitely the workout for you! 

Reader choice here, what other workouts would you like me to try out? 

Kelli's Quick Workout

As I have told you all, I don't like to workout for a long time in the heat. 

Okay fine, I don't like to workout for long periods of time at all but especially in the heat!

However, I am not going to let Summer derail my fitness goals.  Therefore, I have created my "Quick Workout".  The Tuesday night gals have also titled it my "OMG Workout." 

 Please do not do this workout dehydrated and make sure that you have eaten about an hour beforehand!!!

Start with a 5 minute warmup jog.  

20 jump squats (Go from squat position into a jump.  The power should come from your legs)

1 minute run

20 walking lunges

30 high knees (Keep your chest up and bring your knees as high as possible)

30 butt kicks (Keep it fast)

1 minute side shuffle (squat position and use your feet to shuffle, keep your chest up)

1 minute side shuffle on the other side (If you need to switch sides every 30 seconds)

2 minute run

10 push ups

20 walking lunges

10 push ups

20 jump squats 

20 crunches 

20 bicycles

***Bonus*** 25 extra push ups***

Cool Down and Stretch (Your body just worked hard so give yourself a good stretch)

This is a workout I have used on days that I am pressed for time.  It works your body and gets your heart pumping.  If you are interested in other workouts like this consider joining our challenge that starts on July 1.  For more information message us at mom4ce@gmail.com or check out our Facebook page.