Fitness

It Takes Two to Tango Workout

Working out is always more fun when you have a workout buddy. My best friend and I always work out together so that we can motivate each other and push ourselves to the limit. Grab a friend and give some of our favorite partner workouts a try!

Medicine Ball Pass-Off 

Amp up your ab workout! Grab a medicine ball and toss the ball back and forth (as seen above) to add a little twist to your crunches. 

Around the World 

Using the medicine ball, pass the ball around as shown above. Keep your core tight to get a good ab workout!

Leg Drops

This twist on leg drops amplifies your workout. Have your partner stand behind you and push your legs down. Engaging you core, keep your legs from hitting the floor. Bring back up, and start again.

High Five Push-Ups

Test your strength and balance with these push-ups. Lower into push-up position. Upon coming up, lift one arm and slap your partner on their hand (as seen above). Do another push-up and switch hands. 

Grab your partner and get to work! 

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Spicing Up Your Workout

It's easy to develop a workout routine. BUT sticking to the same routine prevents you from getting the best results! 
These are my go-to rules:
1. Always increase the intensity of your workout as you become stronger and more fit
2. NEVER workout the same muscles two days in a row
3. Only workout up to 5 days a week. Let your body recover!
4. And lastly, spice it up and try new workouts

So, how do you spice up your workout? Think of creative ways to change up exercises! It is always fun learning new ways to use machines or coming up with different variations to exercises. 
Here's a few examples:
Reverse Push-Ups

It's time to add some flavor to your push-ups. Start on your stomach with you arms in front of you. Bring your arms in, by your shoulders (as shown in picture 2). From this position, push your body up. Make sure your arms are in line with your shoulders and that your body is flat. Squeeze your core. Lower back to position 1. Give this a shot by starting with 10 sets :)

Booty Action

Give your booty a little burn with this exercise. Start with legs straight and together. Extend your leg behind you, as high as you can, while keeping it straight. Make sure your body stays in line (as shown in picture). In this picture I have the weight set on 17.5, but set it on the weight where you feel most comfortable. REMEMBER: it's more about the reps and being correct, not the weight. Start with 10 sets 3x per leg :)

Side Shuffle 

Who says a treadmill is only for running? Give your treadmill routine a switch-up by giving this a shot. With the treadmill on a low speed, turn your body to the side and do what I like to call, the side shuffle. I feel it targeting my booty and calves the most. I typically set the speed to anywhere from 4.0-5.0. Do it for 1 minute, 3-5x per leg :)

The Bend and Snap Kick

Add a little kick (no pun intended) to your squats. Grab a weight (I used 30 pounds in the picture above). Start with your feet together. Then, do a squat (ensuring that your body is in line as shown above). As soon as you come up, kick your leg behind you.  ***Kick the same leg back before switching to the other leg***. This is a great booty and leg workout that also helps with balance! Kick you workout up a notch and try 10-15 sets, 3x per leg :)

Spice it Up, Add Some Flavor, and Go!

Now it's your turn! Enjoy!

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15 Minute Total Workout
No time? No excuses!
Between work, school, and other activities, finding time to workout can be tough. But there is always time to squeeze in a quick circuit! So, this week's post is for you busy bees that need a quick workout for those busy days. This 15 minute total body workout is a great way to get in a workout that targets different areas. This is great to do before your day starts, during your lunch break, or after your day ends!

Want to know the best part? It can be done ANYWHERE and it requires ZERO equipment. 
Let's break it down:
Warm-Up
Jumping Jacks- x50
This is a great way to warm up and get your heart rate up.

Legs

Lunges- x20 each leg

Arms

Push-ups x25

Abs
Crunches- x50

Bicycle Crunches- x20

Side Plank Dips- x15 each side

Plank- 1 minute

Glutes 

x20 each leg

All done!

Go get fit! Enjoy (:

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Diamonds Fitness bands are a girl's best friend

Fitness bands have become the latest fashion trend. Even non-athletes are sporting the new accessory. But what is the big hype?
There are many great features of a fitness tracker. First, I will break these features down. Then, we will take a look at the top 3 fitness trackers!

Features
For those who are trying to adapt to a healthier lifestyle, a fitness tracker is the best way to track all of your progress. This band can track exercise, calories burned, sleep patterns, eating habits, blood pressure, and more. It is a great way of determining if you are meeting your fitness goals and how healthy your lifestyle is. It all starts with you entering your height, weight, age, etc. in the band. Then the band does the work from there. 

Exercise: This band will track your steps throughout the day to calculate how much you have walked and how many calories you have burned. It also allows you to enter workouts to track your fitness progress. At the end of the day, it will tell you where you succeeded, and what needs work. It will also give you goals to meet for the next day/

Sleep: The most important element of staying healthy is recharging your body. This band can track how much sleep you received, and a chart will show your exact sleeping patterns. It tracks when you were in light or deep sleep, how many times you woke up, and if you received enough sleep. Are you getting enough sleep?

Food: Fitness trackers allow you to enter your meals throughout the day, and then breaks down how healthy each meal is. It starts by giving you a food score from 1-10 (10 being the healthiest). Then it breaks it down further to look a calories, sugars, fat, protein, etc. The band will tell you (based on your meals) what to stay away from, and what to eat more of. It's like having a personal nutritionist!

Added bonus: Some fitness trackers also have the ability to measure heart rate and blood pressure. While this feature isn't completely necessary, it is still nice to have. 

Top 3 Fitness Trackers
1. Fitbit

2. Jawbone  

3. Nike 

It's more than an accessory; it's a nutritionist, fitness buddy, trainer, and motivator.

My verdict- it's worth the investment!

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We all want to reach our target goals and become healthier and fit, but is there one MAJOR thing that you're missing in your workout?

Foam roller, meet muscles. Muscles, meet foam roller. 

This post is EXTREMELY important to me (as well as you all) because this is something I had to become introduced to very recently. 

Why foam roll?

 For the past few months, I have been having severe knee and leg pain that has gotten progressively worse. I finally caved in and went to see a trainer. I learned that my IT band was super tight and that was the cause of all the pain. She explained that after working out, it was crucial that I foam roll my IT band and other muscles to loosen them and stretch them out. Progress can't be made if you are not 100% healthy. Not only should you be putting good things into your body, but you should be making sure that your body gets the recovery it needs in order to become stronger. Foam rolling is one of the most important steps in the recovery process. 

What is foam rolling?

Foam rolling is easy, but it also has a specific technique (you want to ensure that you are rolling the correct way). Below I am going to break down how to foam roll different muscles. 

Lets get started:

IT band:

This is the most important! 
Lay on your side (as shown) and keep one leg straight with the other bent and placed in front of the straight leg. Roll for 60 seconds going from your knee to your hip. This exercise can be the most painful if you IT band is tight, but it is the most crucial! Make sure to do BOTH sides. 












Hamstrings:
Place roller under the back of your leg. Keep that leg straight and the other bent and crossed. Roll for 60 seconds and switch to the other leg. 

Calves:
Keep both legs straight in front of you with the roller underneath. Cross one leg over the other, roll for 60 seconds, and switch. 















Glutes:
Place the roller under your booty and keep one leg bent in front of you and the other leg bent and crossed. Roll for 60 seconds and switch.














Back and shoulders:
Place the roll under your shoulder blades. Lift your hips and cross your arms. Roll for 60 seconds from the top of your back to the middle of your back. 








Foam rolling takes only ten minutes. PLEASE use this time to give your body the recovery it needs. 
Find a spot where you are most sore and roll it out (yes it's painful, but it's worth it).

Happy rolling 

Questions? Comment below!