Sexy Strong Core!

It is so important to have a strong core. Your core helps to maintain balance and posture. Not to mention how great it feels to have a solid core and abs! These are four of my favorite ab workouts. They really target your entire core and you will feel the burn if done properly. Do the workout in the order written, one through three and we will end it with thirty seconds of scissor kicks. All of these workout are meant to put an emphasis on the lower abs, while still targeting your entire core. 

Workout one: Start as position one, raise your shoulders up into position two, hold position two but lower your legs a few inches off the ground into position three. Bring your legs back to position two, lower your shoulders back to position one and that is one rep. Repeat 10-15 times. 

Workout two: Start out in the position shown in the image, and bring the ball up towards your toes with your shoulders lifted off the ground. This is one rep. I am holding a 6lb medicine ball, you can go lighter or heavier and even skip using the ball until you are able. Repeat this 15-20 times. 

Workout three: Start is position one, lying on your back and your right arm raised past your head, using your opposite leg, raise it up to meet your arm and back down again. This is one rep. Repeat this 10-15 times, and switch to your opposite side. 

End with 30 second scissor kicks

Repeat 3 more times!

Gorgeous "tank-top worthy" toned arms!

We all long to have been born with those toned and beautiful arms like Jennifer Aniston, and Shay Mitchell but even they had to work hard to achieve them! I want to share with you a few simple arm workouts that you can do from your home or in the gym to really tone those arms. I use resistance bands and a medicine ball for a few of these, if you don't have them they are not too pricey. You can buy them at any sports or fitness store. I paid about $13 for the handles and $8 each for my 10lb and 20lb resistance bands and about $20 for the 6lb medicine ball. If you have small weights that work better for you, feel free to use them! I'll include the link to where I bought mine at the bottom of the post! Its really good to interchange the equipment that you use when working out because each one will target your muscles differently! I also use a kitchen chair for one of my workouts, but I'm sure you all have one handy :) I have included Six different sequences for arms, and I will explain how to do each one!

Sequence One: Start from position one (The center of the resistance band is under your feet, and you hold the handles with equal amounts of the band on each side), and curl one arm at a time, always returning to the first position before curling the next arm. I am using a 20lb resistance band, but you can use whatever works for you. Curl about 10-15 times each arm (or more if you can). Then proceed to Sequence Two.

Sequence Two: Start from position one again, and cross your arm over your chest to the opposite shoulder. Return back to position one and switch arms. Repeat this about 10-15 times on each arm (or more if you can), then proceed to sequence three.

Sequence Three: Start from position one again, and curl both arms at the same time 10-15 times (or more if you can), then proceed to sequence four.

                                            These first three sequences will target your biceps.

Sequence four: Lay on the ground, like in position one, with your knees bent and your arms raised above your head with the weight in your hands. While keeping your triceps straight, just bend at your elbows, bringing the weight behind your head and slowly straighten it back up to position one. Repeat this 10-15 times (or more if you can). Then proceed to sequence five.

Sequence five: Start at position one holding the kettle bell, (or weights if you prefer), by your side. Then curl it, like in position two, and fully extend it above your head, while turning your fist outward. Then bring it back down to position two, and back to position one. Repeat this 10-15 times (or more if you can). Then proceed to sequence six. 

Sequence six: Start at position one, with your legs extended and your arms bent behind you on the edge of a chair. (I have secured my chair on the yoga mat and against the wall so that it doesn't slide) Then extend your arms, and dip down again with your elbows at a 90 degree angle and repeat about 10-15 times (or more if you can). 

Repeat from sequence one through six approximately 3-5 times. 

 Sequence's four and six are targeting your triceps, and sequence five is targeting your biceps and shoulders.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4417784&sr=1&origkw=kettlebell

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=fitness%20gear%20medicine%20ball&origkw=fitness+gear+medicine+ball&sr=1


http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=sklz%20chrome%20resistance%20cable&origkw=SKLZ+chrome+resistance+cable&sr=1

Burn several muscles at once with this squat!

This squat is so much fun and you will feel the burning in your thighs days after! It is a simple squat with a lateral leg raise to the left, another squat and a lateral leg raise to the right! I repeat this sequence as many times as I can until the burn is too much. I have added ankle weights for optimum muscle strength in the lateral leg raises and a 6lb medicine ball for some resistance in the squat! You can do it without the weights if its too much for you, but as it becomes easier I definitely recommend adding the weight and resistance! The squats are great for your glutes and quads of course, but this leg raise is really going to target those inner and outer thigh areas that are really hard to reach! TRY not to do this too quickly, feel the burn as you go in and out of each movement. I definitely worked up a good sweat at home with this one! Trying several different variations of squats are great because you don't want your muscle to get used to the same things. Changing it up will help target different areas, and push your muscle harder.