Strength to Run

Really, this title could be "Strength to do Anything" because I'm about to give you some exercises to strengthen the muscles of your legs - feet, hamstrings, hips, etc - that will help prepare your body to exercise with more intensity and not get injured. So let's get to it! 
(these ideas come from Runners World)

Single-Leg Directional Hops
Standing on your left leg, with the right knee raised to hip height, hop forward, landing softly. Hop back to start, then hop diagonally (to the left) and back to center, hop to the left and return to start. Do 12 reps; switch legs.

Forward Lunge
Stand with shoulders relaxed and back. Step forward onto one heel, then your whole foot. Do not lean sideways. End with the knee above the midfoot and the thigh parallel to the ground. Return to start; repeat 10 times on both legs.

Squat Jacks
Standing in the bottom of a squat position with feet hip-width apart and shoulders stacked over hips, shoot your legs out to the sides and your arms out to shoulder height (like a regular jumping jack) without moving your upper body. Do 16 to 24 reps.

Single-Leg Bridge
Lie on your back with knees bent. Squeeze your glutes while lifting your hips. Once you have your balance, rest one ankle on top of the other knee. Hold for five or more seconds; repeat five times on both legs.

Reverse Step-Up
Stand, facing forward, in front of an eight-inch step. Step backward onto the step, setting only one foot down. Don't let the knee turn in. Balance, then return to start. Repeat 10 times on both legs.

Reverse Hip Raise
Lie face-down on a Swiss ball with your hands flat on the floor. Keeping your legs straight, lift them until your thighs are in line with your torso. Squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips. Pause, then lower to the floor. Do 10 reps, rest, and repeat.

Far too often injury occurs because of tight hips and weak muscles in our legs. And once one muscle is too weak, our body then compensates and puts too much pressure on another. So be sure to take time to build strength in those legs that carry you throughout the day!

Cardio Killer

Try this cardio killer sequence before or after your next lift session. It's a good way to get the heart rate up and burn some fat without stepping on to any exercise machine. Let me know if you try it!

*click on the exercise for a demo

Cardio Killer

1 minute jumping jacks

1 minute alternating froggers

1 minute single leg hops (30 seconds each leg)

30 seconds squat jumps

30 seconds recover

30 seconds burpee (with or without pushup)

30 seconds russian twist

1 minute bunny hops (with or without medicine ball)

30 seconds jog in place

repeat 2 or 3 times

 

Friday's Letters

Dear Baby Allison, Thanks for joining our family! You came as a surprise 3 weeks early, but we sure do love you. Dear Fall, I'm so excited to watch the leaves change and the weather get cooler. Bring on the season change! Dear Medicine Ball Pushups, Who knew putting your feet on a little ball could make a hard move harder! The burn felt so good. Dear Classes, It's fun to go to school when you learn about things you love and are important to you. Who knew a 5 class day could go by quickly?

Heart Pumping Quickie

School is back in session (for most) and some times we just have barely enough time for a workout. Try this HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout for a heart pumping quick one, or if you have some extra time, repeat it up to 4 times for a long one! Always remember to only do what you are comfortable with and stop if it is too much.

*During the "rest" times, you can either walk/march in place or jog in place. You can also shorten the easy and lengthen the hard if you are up for it! Be sure to really push yourself for the hard sections!

 

30 second warm up (easy jog in place)
Hard - 30 seconds body weight squats
Easy - 1 minute rest
Hard - 30 seconds jumping jacks
Easy - 1 minute rest
Hard - 30 seconds hook and upper cut punches
Easy - 1 minute rest
Hard - 30 seconds lunges
Easy - 1 minute rest
Hard - 30 seconds push ups
Easy - 1 minute rest
Hard - 30 seconds quick feet in place
Easy - 1 minute cool down

Commercial Sweat

The average hour-long television show has about 17 minutes of ads. Instead of using that time to channel surf or raid the fridge, hop off the couch and do some of these exercises. You can either pick one exercise and do it the whole commercial break and switch the next time, or go through each exercise for 20 reps and move on until your show is back on!

Body Weight Squats:
Be sure to not let your knees go in front of your toes, and keep your weight back.

 

Jumping Jacks:
Try different kinds, such as regular, sumo jumping jacks (get low in a squat), skiers (side to side) and scissors (cross legs when they come together). 

 

Tricep Dips:
Use your coffee table for this exercise. Grab the edge of the tabletop and bend your elbows to let your body drop downward until your triceps are parallel to the ground. 

For beginners, keep your knees bent. More advanced, keep legs straight. 

 

 Push-ups:
You can do these on the ground on your toes, on your knees, against a wall or against a sofa. Make sure you are lowering your chest to get a full range of motion. 

 

Enjoy the show! :)

 

Interval Circuit

I first saw this workout through a few other blogs, and it originally comes from the magazine Men’s Health. But that doesn’t mean only men can do it! Because I tried it.

It is called the Spartacus Workout and it is intense, but doable. The basis of the workout is to go through a series of 10 exercises for 1 minute each with 15 seconds of rest between each workout. Then after completing the 10 exercises, you get a 2 minute rest before starting again. You go through it 3 times.

I started out with a 10 minutes warm-up on the treadmill to get my body warm and ready to work, then moved on in. Through the magazine they give you the 10 workouts to do. However, you can TOTALLY make them your own and to fit your own needs. They can be completely body weight exercises too, so you can do them at home. My list looked like this:



In order to make this even easier for you so you don’t have to keep looking at the clock while exercising, there is a website where you can download a playlist to iTunes that goes through the whole workout, telling you when to work and when to rest.




It really is fantastic, and completely free! You can find the download here.
So when I head to the workout room, I just take my laptop and my note card and I am good to start working.



I used weights for several of the exercises, and also a treadmill to warm-up on. So I decided to re-vamp the program with a no equipment spin. That way, everyone can do it at their home or gym, any time!

Here are a few pictures of some of the exercises that might be a bit confusing. If you have other questions, feel free to contact me!

3 – lunge with rotation (without the weight)

5 – Russian Twists (without the ball if you don’t have one, and to make it easier keep your feet on the ground)

7 – Chair Dips

8 – Wide Squat
I can’t find a decent picture of this, but you do a normal squat but with your toes pointed out and a little further a part, and keep your hands on your waist as you squat and come up.

Let me know if you try it!

Pyramid Workout

Who's ready to burn some calories?! I think we all should be after a nice, and probably indulgent, holiday weekend.

Here's a quick but tough workout to try out:

1 push-up
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats, 3 chair dips
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats, 3 chair dips, 4 min incline walk
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats, 3 chair dips, 4 min incline walk, 5 min jog
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats, 3 chair dips, 4 min incline walk, 5 min jog
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats, 3 chair dips, 4 min incline walk
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats, 3 chair dips
1 push-up, 2 body weight squats
1 push-up

Totals: 26 minutes of cardio
10 push-ups
16 squats
18 chair dips

To modify if you aren't near a treadmill for the walk and jog here are some replacements:
stair stepping or climbing, jumping rope, jumping jacks, plank jacks, high knee jumps, long jumps

You can repeat it multiple times to increase the difficulty, or add weights to the squats, increase the incline, or increase the jog to a run.

Let me know if you try it!

Body Weight Workout

Don’t have a gym membership?

Don’t have time to leave the house for the gym or a run?

Don’t have weights or at home gym?

Have no fear. There are TONS of things you can do to get a good sweat going at your home, with just your body. You can mix and match any of the exercises, or increase or decrease amounts…but here is just an example:

• Warm-Up: 5 minutes of jump rope (with a jump rope, or imaginary!)

• Circuit 1: repeat 2x
• 20 body weight squats
• 30 mountain climbers
• 10 push ups
• 2 minutes of high knees, 2 minutes of butt-kickers

• Circuit 2: repeat 2x
• 10 walking lunges, each leg
• 20 plank jacks
• 20 chair dips
• 3 minutes of jumping jacks

• Circuit 3: repeat 2x
• 1 minute plank
• 20 sit ups
• 20 Russian Twists
• Stretch!

Let me know if you try it!

Also, the blog world is full of yummy recipes recently! So many to try. Check them out!

Peach and Chicken Salad

Tortilla Soup

Lasagna Cupcakes

Chicken Taco Salad

Steamed Salmon and Veggies

Avocado Corn Soup

Taco Muffins

Have a great weekend!