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!

Too often neglected by women: back and chest workouts!

Too often women tend to skip working out their backs and their chest. I hear so many women say," I don't want to bulk up, or lose my boobs." This will not happen to you, unless you are training to bulk, and that is very difficult to do. Woman body builders take supplements, and have strict diets to help them achieve those bodies, a little chest and back workout will only be beneficial to you. Ours bodies start to deteriorate into old age, and our backs are one of the first things to go. Working out your back will only help you to prevent injury and slow down the progression of back pain. Working out your chest is very similar, its really just great for your body. A few of the workouts are very common, but work great and I find them to be the most beneficial, and I have included images for those that may not be as common to you. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me! 

Back and Chest

Start with back workout one: The resistance band (20lb) is wrapped around my feet twice for maximum resistance. With your legs straight out, and your back straight, pull the handles as far back as you can. Try to keep the form presented in the photo. 

15 pushups

One Minute Plank

Back workout two: Find a wall to lean toward and use for balance. Take the same resistance band and stand on the band with the opposite foot of the arm your using, allowing enough leeway for resistance. With your back slightly bent towards the wall and your arm straight down, pull your arm up into a bended position. If the resistance isn't enough, step on the band closer to the handle. 

15 Pushups 

30 Second Plank

Repeat Three more times: Challenge yourself!

Super fun and fast-paced cardio on the elliptical!

I love cardio! I love it because the results are always awesome. If you keep up with a good diet, and regular exercise regime, you will see results from cardio. Don't expect to see results from cardio, if you aren't willing to cut elsewhere as well. The workouts I come up with and ALWAYS do myself, are made to make you sweat and to increase your heart rate. If you aren't physically able to do so, then you can always modify them to suit you, but don't modify them just because they are too hard. Push yourself, the strongest of people are those who push themselves to the limits, so that their limits are rewritten. I have labeled rows 7 and 11 only because the only reason you will have to pay attention to them, is if you are stopping at 7 or stopping at 11. For those of you who aren't ready for a full 30 minutes, you can stop at 7 and for those of you who are very familiar with a fast paced cardio workout, then you can skip row 7 and proceed to the end. During the three minute intervals you will sprint 30 seconds, jog 60 sec, sprint 30, and jog another 60 before going up in resistance. Make sure your keeping track of the time and resistance and have fun with it! You can pretend your racing yourself, or the people around you. Listen to fast paced music to keep your head in it, and make sure to have water on hand, I recommend taking small sips during your jog to keep hydrated! Good luck and your comments are always welcome! If you enjoyed it, let me know! :)

Row 7 is only for those stopping there, and Rows 8-11 are for those who plan to move from 1-11. 

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

My favorite super healthy and guilt-free way to eat yogurt!

I really wanted to be able to talk about my favorite way to eat yogurt! Anyone who knows me, knows that for years I have been trying to find ways to be able to fit yogurt into my diet. I am very pro yogurt, but have never been able to choke it down, or justify eating the yogurt brands with tons of added sugars! It was a lose, lose either way for me. The reason I have tried so hard to incorporate it into my diet is because of the tons of nutritional benefits it has, not to mention its preventative tendencies against bacteria! Yogurt has a ton of healthy bacteria, which can help aid in digestion and it is packed with vitamins, and high in protein! I am very aware of labels when I buy products, and you should make yourself aware as well. Always check the ingredients list before buying anything you put into your body. Always steer away from yogurt that has sugar in the ingredients list. I will make a post on why sugar is our enemy on another day but for now, just try to find yogurt that has no more than 7 ingredients. This would be an ideal label, and this is is Danone yogurt labeled here. Ingredients include: Skim milk, cream, active bacterial cultures. That is it!

Now, as I stated above. I hate yogurt! haha, I just cannot stomach the flavor at all! That it why I wanted to share my favorite way to incorporate it into my diet: Smoothies! for starters smoothies are a great way to incorporate yogurt because you can mask the flavor with any fruit you would like! That is only part of the secret though, I love to make a large batch of my favorite smoothie, then I will pour it into small 8 oz tupperware containers and freeze them! My very own little frozen yogurts with tons of flavor and I know exactly what each one contains! My typical Smoothie would be: 

1 large banana

A handful of frozen strawberries

A handful of frozen mango chunks

1 cup of Danano yogurt

a few ice cubes

1/2 cup skim milk

2 scoops of total lean protein (completely optional)

Add all of the ingredients to the blender, blend it up, pour in containers and enjoy now or later! The purpose of putting them in small containers is to have several little snack sized portions of the frozen yogurt for after workout or just when your craving something sweet without all of the guilt! For anyone else who just dreads the taste of yogurt, but would like a clean way to eat it without adding tons of sugar to get it into your system, I definitely am recommending trying this! I hope this was helpful ;)

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.

Tone your legs with this awesome treadmill workout!

I absolutely love the incline on the treadmill. It triggers muscles in your legs and butt that you don't use on a daily basis, and this is definitely what you need in order to tone those legs. When you walk, your using the muscles that you use every single day, but when your on an incline, your muscles have to work twice as hard to get you going. I love this workout, it is very intense and you will feel it for a week after your first time! Don't be afraid, work at your own pace and just have fun with it! There are so many things that you can do on a treadmill aside from just running!  Share with a friend that will motivate you, and get to the gym together!