fitness kick start

Fall Fitness.

October 20, 2010 · 24 comments

Remember when I decided to log my daily workouts? Oops.

But I’m here to share what I did today. It is such a gorgeous day out!

After being inside the gym (my membership isn’t up until November) and noticing how gorgeous it was outside, I decided to finish up my workout on our driveway. I broke it up into 4 squares, doing each square 3 times for 30 seconds.


First round

Square 1: lunges

Square 2: pushups

Square 3: squats

Square 4: overhead presses


Second Round

Square 1: squat jumps

Square 2: planks with dumbbell rows

Square 3: step ups on a short table

Square 4: plank hold


This is my idea of perfect weather. I wish it was like this all year round.

What was your workout like today?


After exercise and eating, I did some work on this:

Never fail? It must have been opposite day.
Have a great night!

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Fitness Kick Start: 3 Full Body Workouts.

September 8, 2010 · 7 comments

To continue with my workout ADD, I wanted to share these full body workouts that I did a few weeks ago.

Because, heavens forbid I do the same workout in a row. I might lose my mind. Or crave veggies. Or something.


Here’s what went down:


Day 1: 4 sets x 10

alternating lunges & pull-ups

step ups & pushups

seated rows & overhead presses

side raises & triceps dips


Day 2: 5 sets x 8

leg presses & lat pulldowns

deadlifts & incline chest presses

rear delt flys & biceps curls


Day 3: 3 sets x 15

walking lunges & prone dumbbell rows

stability ball squats & overhead presses

leg exts & incline pec flys

front raises & overhead triceps ext


All over the board , eh? I used to think that I had to do 10-12 exercises per workout just to get a good workout. If there is anything I have learned over the last few years it is quality over quantity.

In all of these workouts, I usually move back and forth from exercise to exercise. I love strength training, but I hate just waiting around to “rest” in between sets. I enjoy moving the entire time, but if I really need the rest I will take it.

I’m also glutton for suffering.

Not really. But I thought it sounded cool.

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My Top 5 Favorite Workouts.

September 1, 2010 · 21 comments

What workouts are floating your boat right now?

The ones below will always a have a place in my heart.


1. Full body workouts

I love full body workouts because mostly they are quick and dirty. My most common full body workout almost always includes 4 sets of 10 of the following:

walking lunges

squats

pullups

pushups

seated rows

overhead presses

triceps dips


2. HIIT

Bigtime love/hate relationship here. I despite HIIT, but it is over and done with so quickly and leaves me dripping with sweat more than being locked in a room full of green veggies would.

My favorite HIIT combo: 20 seconds of “full out” intervals, 40 seconds of recovery, for 20 minutes.


3. Functional/Plyo Mix

There is also a love/hate relationship here. Ok, more of a hate/hate relationship. Functional workouts are hard and leave me out of breath and feeling helpless. But they also make me feel more in shape that any other workout. I did these kind of workouts 3 days a week when training for a fitness show and was definitely in the best cardiovascular shape of my life.

To me, these kind of workouts include but are not limited to:

burpees

box jumps

squat jumps

mountain climbers


4. A long steady-state cardio session

By long, I mean about 45 minutes. My attention span won’t last any longer. But there is no better stress relief for me other than a good, long cardio workout.

My torture machine of choice: the elliptical.


5. Yoga

It may sound cliche, but I love how yoga makes me feel. It makes me feel at peace and confident, even though I still don’t really feel like I am doing *much.* However, my yoga is probably a joke compared to others.


Are you loving any of the above? Link up below!

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Fitness Kick Start: Typical Monday.

I think it’s commonly known in the gym world that Monday is the day for new beginnings. It’s the day when big, burly man try to bench press way to much weight and grunt as loudly as they can. It’s the day when woman do a 45-minute leg workout to make up for the spoonful of frosting they ate over the weekend. On Mondays, you won’t find me working chest or legs. At least not most of the time. Mr. How Sweet had such a tough leg workout on Saturday that he could barely walk. And he whined and told me a 15-minute-long story about his leg workout. I think I was eating bon-bons or something. Needless to say, this leg workout is based on Mr. How Sweet’s. It is what I will be punishing myself with later this week. Have-fun-walking-up-the-stairs-the-next-day-leg-workout 5 minute warm up Front squats: 4 x 12 Leg presses: 5 x 8 Walking lunges: 3 x 40 (total) Deadlifts: 4 x 10 Have fun!

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Fitness Kick Start: Workout Routines.

Over the last few months my workout routine has been all over the place. I attribute this to getting bored quite easily, and having a “been there done that” attitude about most strength training routines. But then I did yoga this morning instead of waiting until this evening, and I fell in love. I adore yoga, but used to practice much more regularly than I have. And I almost always used to do it in the later afternoons and evenings. This morning, doing yoga made me feel alive. I loved the bit of meditation before starting my day – I felt more calm, more at peace, and more positive than most days. I want to share with you my current workout routine, which I am loving: Mon: cardio, yoga Tues: strength training: upper Weds: cardio, yoga Thurs: strength training: upper Fri: cardio, yoga Sat: strength training: legs If there is anything I’ve learned after 10+ years of strength training, it’s that in order to see results, you must do something you love every single day. Or… something you can at least tolerate. I am loving this routine! And I’m curious – what is your current workout routine like? Are you [...]

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Sweet Leftovers.

No, not these. But a delicious meal made from Sunday’s leftovers! But first things first: workout time. Laying around and drinking wine and not doing a darn thing really took everything out of me on vacation. Gotta get back into it with a favorite full body workout – want to make sure everything is workin’ right. Keep it simple. Easy peasy. Ok, I’m just annoying myself. I-Hate-Being-Back-From-Vacation Workout 4 sets of 12 Lunges Incline chest presses Deadlifts Pull ups Shoulder presses Triceps dips Just the basics. Sometimes those are my most favorite workouts. Back to dinner… I roasted veggies. It is no secret that I need more veggies in my life. I ate some tonight. Now it will be approximately 11.3 days before I decide to eat more. And when I do eat them, they must be roasted. And then after eating them, I will never want them again. Ever. I roasted the corn from Sunday’s leftovers. So the corn was not only grilled, but then roasted. It was fabulous. Loved the texture. Also roasted some sweet onion, yellow pepper, and tomatoes. They were tasty. But yes, I needed to force them. No love for the veggies. In this bowl was [...]

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Fitness Kick Start: Driveway Workout.

No gym – no problem! You need: 1 jump rope, 1 set dumbbells (If you don’t have a jump rope, simulate it.) Driveway Workout 5 minute warm up – jog or walk high knees run across the drive 25 squats high knees run back across the drive 25 plie squats long jumps across the drive 15 push ups long jumps back across 15 pushups squat walks across the drive 15 overhead shoulder presses squat walks back across 15 overhead shoulder presses walking lunges with biceps curls across the drive 30 seconds jump rope walking lunges with biceps curls back across the drive 30 seconds jump rope 6 sprints – 3 across; 3 back – as fast as possible 60 second plank 6 sprints – 3 across; 3 back – as fast as possible 60 second plank REPEAT ONCE

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Fitness Kick Start: Drop Sets.

Drop sets are torturous. I love them. What does that say about me? I am a freak. A freak who loves to feel the burn. I often use drop sets when working on machines. I don’t use many machines when it comes to strength training, with the exception of the lat pulldown and miscellaneous leg machines. It is easy to drop the weight on machines, as long as they are not plate-loaded. However, when it comes to doing drop sets with dumbbells, I literally throw drop the weight. Working out in the morning provides the benefit of having the gym to myself, so it you are about to go throw some dumbbells around, make sure no one gets hurt. If you aren’t familiar with drop sets, they simply require the ‘lowering’ of weight, immediately followed by more repetitions with less weight or no weight at all. No rest involved. Drop sets are a fun way for me to keep my strength training spicy. Dumbbell Drop Sets for Legs Walking lunges: 20 reps with 20lb dumbbells, 20 reps with no added weight Side lunges w/ tap to the floor: 20 reps with 20lb dumbbells, 10 reps with 10lb dumbbells Squats with [...]

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Fitness Kick Start: Fitting It In.

I have a busy week. My head hurts. I am out of bacon. The above is stressing me out. Even fitting in exercise this week is difficult. But I must fit it in a few days or else I will lose my marbles. Perhaps they are already lost? The I-Don’t-Have-Time-For-Anything-Workout 30 minutes on the treadmill: 1 minute at 4.0 1 minute at 6.0 1 minute at 8.0 REPEAT until 30 minutes is up. 40 lunges (whatever kind you want!) 30 pushups 3 60-second planks Only takes 40 minutes. We all have the same 24 hours in the day so I promise you can find 40 minutes, or 20 if you cut it in half. Even if it means waking up at 4:30am. Rise and shine!

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Fitness Kick Start: Mr. How Sweet’s Interval Workout.

I don’t know if you are aware, but Mr. How Sweet is a runner. I am not. I tried running a race with him when we were dating. He almost dumped me. Let’s just say that patience is not his strong point. And running is not mine. The thing is… he is fast. He ran his first marathon in 3:40. We have a treadmill in our basement. When Mr. How Sweet goes downstairs to run intervals, I always get excited about having some peace and quiet to myself. But then the screaming starts. The man coaches himself. He yells at himself. Not so peaceful. But his workout kicks butt. Mr. How Sweet’s Treadmill Intervals 5 minute warm up at 6.5 1 minute at 7.5 1 minute at 9.0 1 minute at 7.5 1 minute at 9.1 1 minute at 7.5 1 minute at 9.2 1 minute at 7.5 1 minute at 9.3 1 minute at 7.5 1 minute at 9.4 1 minute at 7.5 1 minute at 9.5 2 minutes 6.5 5 minute cool down This is just the beginner workout. Do this workout 3 times a week. Each week, add on one more interval. The second week, the next [...]

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