I found the base for this workout on Pinterest. There are so many simple, at home workouts on there! It’s like a treasure trove for crazies like me. At this point, I can look at a list of exercises and know if it will be the right level for me. I had to beef this one up a bit. Continue reading
I’m still sick. On day 4 of this wicked flu. I have some awesome coworkers that covered the work I had to do in the office, thank goodness, but there’s no one else who can teach my workout class.
So I taught it in sweats with very little voice. I was much nicer than I normally am but they better not get used to it! I didn’t join them for the workout because my body is already trying so hard to recover that it really doesn’t need any extra strain. For an idea of when NOT to workout, check out this post by a great blog I read: The Guide to Knowing When to Workout or Not While Sick.
Anyway, I figured that I’ve posted enough of a variation of workouts that I could repeat a few every now and then. So this workout is the same as the post on February 13. It was a good one and every person in that room left sweating! I hope you enjoy.
Beginner through intermediate (12 minutes)
– 20 seconds on/ 20 seconds off
– each exercise 3 times in a row
Advanced (16 minutes)
– 30 seconds on/ 10 seconds off
– each exercise 4 times in a row
Exercises:
1. side hop (jump fast and high)
2. good mornings (with or without weights)
3. leg lower (lose the ball on this one)
4. swimmers (looks funny but man does it work your core)
5. diamond pushup (do this on your feet, knees, or standing against a wall)
6. sit & pray (get low and put your weight in your heels)
Enjoy your day! Lots of love – Ash
These workouts I post are amazing. I have to be a little conceited in this because I’m making them for other people. You! They are literally 12 minute workouts that can build muscle and burn fat for at least 24 hours (more like 48). I thought it was a crock of you-know-what until I actually factored them into my workout schedule. And now I can tell you from experience, THEY WORK.
The best part is that you don’t need a gym. Or weights, or resistance bands, or a fitness ball. You just need a timer and a clear spot on the floor (and maybe a yoga mat if you have hardwood). Oh yeah, and you need some will power.
A patient did ask me the other day what I use to time my workouts. Why an interval timer of course! You can find free ones on the internet and run it off your computer or, if you have a smart phone, there’s an app for that. Just search “interval timer” and voila! It should be free or at most $1. So worth it.
Beginner through intermediate (12 minutes)
– 20 seconds on/ 20 seconds off
– each exercise 3 times in a row
Advanced (16 minutes)
– 30 seconds on/ 10 seconds off
– each exercise 4 times in a row
Exercises:
1. side hop (jump fast and high)
2. good mornings
3. leg lower (lose the ball on this one)
4. swimmers
5. diamond pushup (do this on your feet, knees, or standing against a wall)
6. sit & pray (get low and put your weight in your heels)
How did it go?
Last night’s class was awesome. We had our largest number of people there (20!) because patients are starting to bring along their friends and family. The room was full to overflowing and the energy in there was incredible. It made me realize…while working out, there is power in numbers.
If you can find two or three people who are as committed to health as you are, workout with them! Not everyone has to be available for all workouts but if you can find a couple people to help motivate you when your will power is all dried up, it’s like having extra ammo in the tank. You’ll see better results and develop stronger, healthier relationships. Encouragement is not something that needs to come only from yourself.
So, without any further ado, here’s today’s workout:
Beginner through intermediate (12 minutes)
– 20 seconds on/ 20 seconds off
– each exercise 3 times in a row
Advanced (16 minutes)
– 30 seconds on/ 10 seconds off
– each exercise 4 times in a row
Tip: As always, you’re the only one who can make this exercise hard. It’s only 12/16 minutes so just grin and bear it, push yourself to fatigue, it will all be over soon.
Exercises
< beginner
< advanced
1) toe taps
2) side lunge
3) tri dips (advanced- keep legs straight)
4) low jacks (jumping jacks with bent legs)
5) hip raise
6) calf jumps
Are you sweating yet? Let me know how it goes 🙂
My workout class is growing as it’s wonderful. We’re getting lots of guests of patients and they’re starting to show up even when their original friend isn’t there! That class is my favorite hour of the week because I get to see people progress and get stronger right before my eyes. I love it. Maybe they can feel it and that’s why they keep coming back. Or maybe all they feel are their muscles burning the next day, who knows…I’m just glad I keep seeing their happy, sweaty faces every week.
Last night I kept yelling “Do you feel that in your bum?” Haha. I couldn’t post that in the title because my brain is just a little too dirty…anyway! This workout seems to workout the glutes more than usual. So enjoy it!
Beginner through intermediate (12 minutes)
– 20 seconds on/ 20 seconds off
– each exercise 3 times in a row
Advanced (16 minutes)
– 30 seconds on/ 10 seconds off
– each exercise 4 times in a row
Tip: As always, you’re the only one who can make this exercise hard. It’s only 12/16 minutes so just grin and bear it, push yourself to fatigue, it will all be over soon.
Exercises:
1. Speed Side Hops (beginner-side steps, advanced-jump very quickly over an obstacle, if it’s easy, use a bigger obstacle)
2. Frog Squats (only go as low and high as your flexibility and strength allows)
3. Pike Push Up
4. Jump Knee Tucks (land as softly as possible, if it hurts your knees, quickly tuck one leg at a time)
5. Fire Hydrant
6. Mountain Climbers
Your bum is going to be sore tomorrow but, in a week, it will be even more shapely. Yay!
Happy Wednesday everyone! 🙂
Gooooooood Morning! This weekend was Mike’s birthday. We decided to drive three hours up to Madison, Wisconsin to see some friends race and check out the city. What an awesome 48 hours it was.
Mike’s best friend, Kevin, decided to make the 5 hour trek from Cincinnati, Ohio to surprise Mike and spend the weekend with us. I have never seen Mike genuinely surprised and it was so wonderful. After a few awkward moments of, “What the heck are you doing here??” They were both so happy. The sarcasm and inside jokes started immediately and lasted all weekend. Luckily I know them both well enough that I could be included.
Madison is a really great city. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. Wisconsin University has 42,000 students. In a city of 250,000 residents, they have a huge impact on the fabric of the city. Their downtown is full of hippie dippie restaurants and shops and we all felt right at home 🙂 On top of that, I love the urban design and architecture of Madison and would love to spend some real time there.
After we woke Mike up with Happy Birthday and cupcakes, we spent all day Saturday watching Cyclocross bike races. They are a combination between road racing and mountain bike racing. Basically racing in parks and on hills and through mud and over obstacles. Unfortunately, Wisconsin in January is very wet and very cold. The mud was about 6″ deep and it was 20°F. Mike, Kevin, and I were SO happy to be spectators instead of racers. We got to watch our friend, Katy race. She’s incredibly strong and came in 6th! Not bad for collegiate nationals!
We also got to spend some time in the indoor pool and jacuzzi and our hotel. It came in very handy when our hands and feet were completely frozen. Can you imagine how the racers felt??
Some awesome businesses we visited in Madison: The Great Dane Pub and The Old Fashioned Restaurants (cheese curds with garlic sauce and grass-fed beef burger, YUM)
All in all it was a fantastic weekend. Mike’s birthday was a success. We were all reminded how awesome bike racing is and are starting to get excited about the upcoming road racing season. I also, thankfully, remembered that there is life outside of Peoria and that I have friends! Haha. I’m struggling a bit here but looking forward to being able to plan some of our future over the next couple months.
The brace: anyone heard of it? Not like for your teeth or a broken limb, for your abs silly! It’s this position that you should be aware of no matter what type of exercise you do. It strengthens your core, supports your back, AND helps give you that awesome 8-pack you’ve been dreaming of.
Brace: tighten your lower abs. Tighten so you feel like your attaching your abs to your lower back. Now keep your abs there and breathe. This is how you should be exercising. There are exercises where the brace is more important but if you can learn to do this throughout your exercise routine you’ll start to see huge differences. This applies to weight lifting, riding bikes, running, swimming, EVERYTHING!
Finally for today’s workout:
Beginner through intermediate (12 minutes)
– 20 seconds on/ 20 seconds off
– each exercise 3 times in a row
Advanced (16 minutes)
– 30 seconds on/ 10 seconds off
– each exercise 4 times in a row
Exercises:
1. Tricep Dip
2. Speed Lunges (hold your feet in place. quickly straight then bend legs into lunge. switch sides half-way through each set)
3. Russian Twist
4. Swimmers
5. Fire Hydrant (switch sides half-way through each set)
6. High Knees
Now I have a question for all of you: How many times a week do you workout? Once, Twice, 6 times? And for how long each time?
Hope you’re all having wonderful Wednesdays! 🙂
How much do you work out? I was prepping for the fitness class I teach on Tuesday nights and I realized that, for some of my “students”, it may be the only time they workout that week. While I applaud their effort to make it a weekly habit, that amount of exercise really WON’T DO ANYTHING. So seriously, how much do you workout?
I was raised by a mom that had intense dedication to her mental and physical health. She manages to make time to workout for an hour 6 days a week. What?! That’s a lot of working out. When I lived at home, I used to get super stressed about making enough time for that. Since I’ve moved away, I’ve discovered my own rhythm and it’s working awesomely.
Some basic rules for getting results and staying healthy:
1. SET UP A ROUTINE – determine what is manageable for your schedule and energy levels and slowly work that into your daily life. I know a lot of people who write down their weekly or monthly routine, put it on the fridge so everyone can see, and then cross off the days. Then everyone knows when you’re not sticking to it.
2. INCLUDE VARIATION – I know people who can do the same workout everyday but most people need some variation. So pick a few activities like walking/running, riding your bike, swimming, weight training, etc, and give yourself options for which workout you will do.
3. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE – find a way to punish yourself if you don’t stick to you routine. My punishment is no dessert the night that I fail to stick to my guns. Works for me and my sweet tooth!
4. MAKE IT MANAGEABLE – don’t push your limits so hard that you burn out, make sure your routine is relatively easy to stick to and that you don’t feel like you’re spending your whole life working out.
5. did I say MAKE IT MANAGEABLE? – working out hard and often is really difficult. Ease your way into it and make sure you can sustain it.
For the past 3 months my workouts have looked like this:
3x a week – 12 to 20 minutes of the bodyweight/circuit workouts that I post here
2x a week – 20 to 40 minutes strength yoga to calm my mind, strengthen my muscles, and detox my organs.
I was resting after bike season. Now the pre-season winter training begins and I will be trading 1 yoga and 1 strength training for an hour of intervals on my bike trainer. Combine this with a healthy diet and I’m in the best shape of my life.
The Wednesday Workout for this week:
– 20 seconds on/20 seconds rest
– each exercise 3 times
– total of 12 minutes
– this workout requires you to push yourself. hard.
1. ^ butt kicks (standing in place or running)
2. ^ hip raise (if you can, lift one leg up to the sky or put your legs straight out on a fitness ball)
3. ^ pike pushup (if you can, do it with your legs elevated on a step or fitness ball)
4. ^ 45° Lunge – one direction then the other (just adding some variation to tone those small twitch muscles)
5. ^ plank (if you can, do it on hands and/or with little kicks)
SQUAT AND HOLD YOUR HAND OUT IN FRONT. quads parallel to the ground.
6. ^ sit & pray
Back to the subject: How much do you workout?
Our lives were becoming stale. Wake up groggy and still tired, go to work, come home and eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed, repeat. It’s even boring writing it! So Mike and I decided to institute date night. For those of you that know us, you know that we didn’t go on our first date until we were 4 months into our relationship and living together. The whole graduation/moving to Illinois thing meant that we did things kind of backwards. SO, we have no idea how to date each other!
Of course, we are very short on money, so we have been exploring Peoria in a frugal way. Last Friday we went out to dinner (ordered only appetizers because they’re cheaper) then went ice skating! I told Mike that he had to arrange this one and, considering that he’s the romantically challenged of the two of us, he did a fantastic job.
There’s a rink right around the corner from us and it cost $6 each for ice time AND rentals. WOOHOO!
^ As far as I’m concerned, humans were not meant to have blades on their feet so I stumbled across the ice like a dancing baboon. Mike, however, is one of those people who is good at everything and he jumped on the ice and started skating backwards and doing turns and hockey stops and blah blah blah. I was slightly envious but also very proud of my man 🙂
‘Twas a great way to spend a Friday night. Cheap, cheerful, and sweat-inducing.
What do you do for a cheap date night?
Well hidey ho there blogosphere neighbors! Yesterday I led another great workout class. It was a 12-minute workout, just like last week but I remembered to tell the class about my Two Basic Rules.
Rule #1- BREATH. I learned this from lots of weight training and lots of yoga. Make sure you establish a breathing rhythm right along with your perfect form. If an exercise is a huge challenge for you, focus on (imagining) that you’re breathing into that part of you body. Better breathing means more oxygenated blood and muscles=better workout.
Rule #2-BRACE. Ok, put your hand on your lower belly, now flex it. Flex it so that you feel like it’s reaching back to your lower back. It should sorta feel like you’re (excuse my language) pooping. If you can hold this position throughout your exercises, especially when they get really difficult, then it will support and strengthen your back, belly, and the entire rest of your core.
Now that we have those out of the way. Here was the workout we did yesterday.
– 20 seconds on/20 seconds rest
– each exercise 3 times
– total of 12 minutes
– if you don’t push yourself, this doesn’t work. if you do, holy cow it’s amazing!
1) Side Hop – jump over something, or just step side to side as fast as you can.
2) Good Mornings – do it without a barbell, just with your hand on your head
3) Push Ups – plank position or on your knees or even on the wall if you have shoulder problems
4) Crunches – don’t bend your neck! Just lift your head and shoulders towards the ceiling
5) Plank – with speed kicks if you’re extra awesome
6) Frog Squat
‘Twas another great workout with so many people! I beginning to love teaching this class.
What workout will you do today?
🙂
A Happy Lass 