Category Archives: Fitness Friday
Fitness Friday: Lung Busting Full Body Workout
Happy Fitness Friday!! Instead of nagging you about form this week, I’m instead sharing a new workout. It’s “intermediate” and one I’ve used for torture in the gym. I do not put down weight recommendations as it’s different for everyone. I will however tell you what range of reps you should be aiming for, that will give you a good idea of what weight is appropriate for you. If anything, just make sure you’re working yourself hard, but not doing anything that could hurt you. Kapeesh? ;)
Lung Busting Full Body Workout
Warm-up: 5-10 minutes walking/jogging on the treadmill. Enough to get your body temperature raised.
Alternating Sets #1: Complete 3 times through
| Burpees | 10-15 reps | Cardio |
| Walking lunge with alternating dumbbell shoulder press | 20-24 reps | Quads, glutes, hips, shoulders |
| Ab roll-up holding on to a medicine ball | 10-20 reps | Abs, chest, upper back |
*If you can’t do push-ups in the burpees, just come down to a plank then jump up
**For the walking lunges, press the dumbbell up with the opposite arm of whatever leg is forward. Then switch arms as you lunge forward with the other leg
Cardio sprints on the treadmill:
| Time | MPH | Incline | Difficulty |
| 0:00-0:30 | 5.5 | 1 | Easy |
| 0:30-1:00 | 6.5 | 1 | Moderate |
| 1:00-1:30 | 7.5 | 1 | Hard |
| 1:30-2:00 | 5.5 | 1 | Easy |
| 2:00-2:30 | 6.5 | 1 | Moderate |
| 2:30-3:00 | 7.5 | 1 | Hard |
| 3:00-3:30 | 5.5 | 1 | Easy |
| 3:30-4:00 | 6.5 | 1 | Moderate |
| 4:00-4:30 | 7.5 | 1 | Hard |
| 4:30-5:00 | 5.5 | 1 | Easy |
*Depending on your skill level, you’ll need to increase or decrease the suggested speeds. Just make sure the difficulty level is on par with what’s written here. The “easy” part is your recovery and should feel like a slow jog. The “hard” part should leave you unable to formulate words.
Alternating Sets #2: Complete 3 times through
| Traveling push ups | 10-20 reps | Chest, front of shoulder, triceps |
| Inchworm | 15-20 reps | Hamstrings, abs |
| Lunge jumps | 20 reps | Quads, glutes, cardio |
Cardio Sprints on the treadmill:
Same as above
Alternating Sets #3: Complete 3 times through
| Inverted row | 12 reps | Back, biceps |
| Split squat with overhead tricep extension | 12 reps each side | Quads, glutes, hips, triceps |
| Wall squat with hammer curl | 12 reps | Biceps, quads, glutes |
*If you let your elbows float away from your torso during the hammer curls, I will personally come to your gym and yell at you.
Cardio Sprints on the treadmill:
Same as above
Stretch
And try not to hate me too much for making you do this. Have fun!! :)
The Perfect Tricep Dip
Happy Fitness Friday friends!! Today’s post is a continuation of my “Perfect Series.” This is where I choose one tricky exercise and go over how to execute it properly. Here are the exercises we’ve already covered:
The Perfect Push Up
The Perfect Plank
The Perfect Squat
The Perfect Lunge
We’re continuing with the bodyweight exercises to one move I constantly see people butcher – the tricep dip.
I love this exercise because it requires no weights, just a flat elevated surface. It works those smaller arm muscles using your bodyweight, and as a result gets your heart rate up a little too. Much more fun than just standing there swinging a small dumbbell back and forth.
The above is the beginners version of the exercise. Honestly, most people are at this level. Your triceps are a group of small arm muscles that for the most part haven’t yet been built up to support your bodyweight. Yet!
Things to remember when doing a tricep dip:
- Put your hands behind your butt, and not next to your hips.
- Keep your elbows parallel. They should be the same width apart as your shoulders. Never let them float to the sides.
- Again, make sure your elbows are pointing to the back wall – not the sides!
- Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears.
- Stop when your elbows are at 90 degrees and come up until your arms are straight, but don’t lock your elbows out.
- Don’t force this move. If your triceps are failing, stop doing the exercise. Other muscles will pitch in to help and this is where people risk injuring muscles in their neck or back.
For the most part, the dip is an isolated tricep exercise, hitting the small group of muscles in the back of your arm (you know, the part that waves at you when you brush your teeth). However, your chest, front of shoulders and upper back are players in this exercise too.
Once you’re strong enough to get through 15 reps try lifting one leg off the floor. This will put a little more weight into your arms. If you’re feeling risky, lift one arm up too.
Eventually you’ll graduate to having straight legs. Make sure you’re on your heels and not the soles of your feet. This will distribute the weight more into your hands and not your feet. Bend at the hips and bring your butt to the ground without actually touching the ground. Keep your legs straight during this variation.
Once you’ve got that mastered, it’s time to add some height and instability! Pull two benches together or grab an exercise ball to put your feet on.
If that is still too easy, place a plate on your thighs to add extra weight to the exercise. By this point you have triceps made of steel.
Finally, you can to full dips! This is for advanced people only!! Or you can try this out on the assisted machine, which has a loaded step to help you out.
Same rules apply here. Shoulders are down, elbows are parallel and not floating to the side. You’ll definitely feel this one more in your chest and your tris will be appropriately destroyed ;)
Question of the Day: What are some moves you’d like to see highlighted in the Perfect Series?
How To Tie Your Shoes
Happy Waffle Wednesday!!!
Have I got a good one to share with you this week…
Rosemary Buttermilk Waffle with a Parmesan Crust.
Serves 1 hungry girl.
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup egg whites (or 1 egg)
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp shaved parmesan
Combine ingredients except the parmesan. Pour batter into waffle iron then sprinkle parmesan on top. This is for the cheesy crust on the top.
I added a little fat + protein in the form of two soft-fried eggs.
Who needs syrup when you have runny yolks? Omg. SO. DANG. GOOD. The buttermilk made it fluffy, which contrasted with that crispy cheesy crust. And for those of you who say waffles are too decadent – this breakfast including the eggs came up to 371 calories, 12 g fat, 33g carbs and 29g protein. Bam.
How To Tie Your Shoes
A recent e-mail exchange with Deb gave me the idea for this post. She just bought a pair of new running shoes that has her toes slightly rubbing against the tip of the shoe. This is a big no-no in sneakers. Especially because your feet can swell up a half-size when working out. That’s how people lose toenails!!
Deb’s problem however was that her heel was slipping out of the larger shoe size. This is a pretty common problem that prevents people from buying the larger shoe size they need.
Well I’m here to tell you there’s a handy-dandy shoe tying trick that can fix that slipping problem. It will lock your heel into place and give your toes the extra space they need.
Please welcome my new Brooks Ghost 2’s as today’s shoe model. They’re my first foray into Brooks and I LOVE them. You’ll notice that all running shoes have this extra shoelace hole at the very top that no one ever uses. Today we’re going to learn how to use it!
Take the end of the shoelace and bring it through that hole on the same side. Don’t cross it over like you’re used to.
Do it on both sides so you’re left with “bunny ears.”
Then take the end of each side and bring it through the opposing loop.
Your loops will get a little smaller to allow enough length to get the laces to either side.
Then, take the ends of both laces and pull up.
Shimmy the two laces up, bringing the loops together. You’ll immediately feel your ankle slide back into the shoe.
Then tie! I always double knot.
Voila! It will feel like you’re in a different shoe. I do this for people all the time at the running store and the difference in feeling never ceases to amaze them.
I’m not sure what it is about certain feet, but some people are just doomed to always having a sliding heel in slightly larger shoes. This will hopefully cure that slipping problem and keep you from getting blisters! I personally never have this problem, so I don’t use this tying method. It’s not for everyone.
Remember, you should have around half an inch space in the top of your sneaker to allow for foot swelling and the forward motion of running. Let’s be kind to our toes :)
