KettleBell:KraZe

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Happy Monday!
it’s day 17!
21daystillsummer

Monday-schmonday-back-to-reality. This past weekend flew by. Camping was a blast! Saturday was super hot and sunday was super rainy. Got the best of both worlds I guess. We managed to pack up Sunday morning and get out of there before the rain hit. It was a great idea because it poured all morning.

I realized today that this week will end the 21 days ’till Summer workout challenge. Including today’s workout, there are only 5 workouts remaining. Then – It’s Summer!! :)  
Today’s workout is a kettlebell workout. If you don’t have a kettlebell but have dumbbells, they will work too! This is a short workout, you don’t need much room to get it done. Have a mat? That’s enough space. Let’s get it done.

The Workout:

KettleBell KraZe

5 Get Ups – right side
10 Triangles – right side
15 Push Ups &Pull
20 Front Jump Squats
15 Push Ups & Pull
10 Triangles – left side
5 Get Ups – left side

KettlebellKraze

The Exercises Explained:

GET UP: Standing tall, hold the kettlebell with one arm straight above your head, bend your knees to bring yourself to the sitting position, keeping a straight back and arm above your head at all times. Once seated, lower your upper body to the floor so you are lying on your back, legs straight and arm still holding the kettlebell straight above you. Pause. Raise your upper body up off the floor and go back into the standing position all while keeping your arm straight above you, holding the kettlebell.

TRIANGLE: Hold the kettlebell in one hand with arms down by your side. Raise the kettlebell straight in front of you to shoulder height, then swing it over to the side, still maintaining shoulder height and a straight arm then lower the kettlebell back to starting position.

PUSH UP & PULL: Begin in the push up position with the kettlebell in front of your right hand. Bend your elbows, bringing your chest to the floor and push yourself back up. Using your left hand, reach over and grab the kettlebell and pull it towards your left arm.

FRONT JUMP SQUAT: Holding the kettlebell with both hands in front of your chest, bend your knees pushing your hips back and jump up into the air as high as you can – keeping the kettlebell in front of your chest the entire time.

This workout is a great way to kick off the day!

Enjoy! & Come back for tomorrow’s workout! There are only 4 more workouts of this challenge.
I’ve been feeling great so far - what about you?

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‘effin ChestPUMP; T-Plank Challenge

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~ Good Morning Lovelys ~

What a great day to be alive!
Today we are packing up and going home. By late afternoon I’ll be back at home with Mark & Zoey, exhausted from an exciting weekend of camping!

I <3 Camping!

You know what else I love? A great chest pump! 
Remember when I posted OMG 21′s ??
If not, this workout will help ring a bell. 
& with that I bring you the T-Plank & Push Up Challenge.

21daystillsummer

This is a timed challenge. Set your timer for 6 minutes & find a place on the floor; no mat needed!
It’s time to get down and dirrty!

The Workout:

Complete 1 Left T-Plank & 1 Right T-Plank & 1 Push Up.
This counts as one rep.
Complete as many reps of possible.

TPlankPushUpChallenge

The Exercises Explained:

Begin in the plank position; click here to learn how to perform a plank.

T-PLANK: Lift your left arm up off the ground, reaching as far as your can while pointing your fingers to the sky. Keep your toes on the ground, only allowing your core to twist with your arm. Lower left arm back to starting position and repeat with right arm.

PUSH UP: Bend your elbows, bringing your chest to the ground while keeping your back flat and tummy tight. Push your upper body back to starting position.

After 6 minutes of this workout, I will die.
Ok, maybe not die. But for sure I will be so purple-chested from all the push ups. I am going to push this workout so hard. As you know, I prepared this post before we took off for camping, but I am planning on doing this workout the same time that it’s posted; 6am on sunday morning! Waking up with the sunshine is always amazing!!

If you follow me on twitter you will probably soon find a few tweets on your timeline with me complaining of my soreness :) I am not a huge fan of push ups, I suck at them. I perform them only because I know they are one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do and knowing the results they can cause, I’d be stupid not to do them. I enjoy doing challenges like these rather than bore myself with push ups during my regular weight training session. Gotta do whatever and however I enjoy, otherwise I wouldn’t workout.

What do you do to keep yourself from not being bored with your workouts?

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The Jump Squat Countdown {Its Bitchin’}

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Saturday Morning, it’s 6am, I’m Camping and it’s time for the whaaa?

The Jump Squat Countdown!!

Can I get a Whooo Whooo!?!?!?!!!!

Don’t mind me but this workout is bitchin’  21daystillsummer

If you’re ever looking for a quick butt lift & lean leg look, I’ve got your answer.

The Jump Squat Countdown

It’s quick. It burns. It works.

When you wake up in the morning & you’ve decided to go to the beach; complete this workout.
When you are going out at night before slipping on your dress; complete this workout.
or If you’re camping and want your butt to look good for your hubby while wearing your short-shorts; complete this workout ;)

This is your answer to strong, lean, sexy legs & a purk-y butt - at least I think so! The Jump Squat Countdown is very quite challenging, it may not sound so, but try it.

The Workout:

Complete 12 rounds of jump squats:

Begin with completing 12 jump squats, once completed all 12, bend down with your butt almost touching the ground in a super low squat, hold this position.
Count 12 seconds;
1 mississippi, 2 mississippi, 3 mississippi ….12 mississippi…
EXPLODE UP
Then complete 11 jump squats, once completed all 11, bend down in the low squat and hold.
Count 11 seconds;
1 mississippi, 2 mississippi, 3 mississippi ….11 mississippi…
EXPLODE UP
Then complete 10 jump squats, then 9, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Each time counting to the number of reps you are completing.

Complete this sequence until you have completed all rounds.
12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

The Jump Squat Explained:

Begin in a standing position, bending both knees to at least a 90 degree angle, while pushing your hips back and keeping back straight & core tight. Explode upwards, jumping off both feet into the air as high as you can while landing softly on both feet. I normally keep my arms straight out in front of me, or bent in front of my chest – do whatever works for you – just keep them outta the way!

Obv the longer you go, the lower the reps but this doesn’t mean it makes it easier. This workout is a real leg burn. After each round, when you are completing that first jump squat EXPLODE as high as you can into the air; that jump squat always seems the hardest!

Good Luck!

JumpSquatCountdown

The best part of this workout, is that it will always be a challenge. I have been doing this workout for 2 years now, but it never seems easier and why? because I don’t perform it often – maybe once every 8 – 10 weeks. I train all styles to not allow my body to become custom to anything. I want to train; make those muscles learn, not remember. If you want to give this workout an extra boost hold a light barbell on your shoulders or dumbbells by your side.

Happy Weekend!

Today is our first full day of camping with Zoey! Expect to see a million bengal pics upon our return!

What are you doing this weekend, besides the 21 days ’till Summer Workout Challenge???

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4X4 Cardio vs Strength: Upper Body

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 Hello & Happy Fridayyy!

How did you all feel after yesterday’s workout?

21daystillsummer

It was a tough one, that I know but today’s is even tougher! Today we are solely focusing on upper body strength, and boy-oh-boy does this workout show your strength. When I took these pictures I was at home and used a resistance band, but I actually did this workout at the gym using dumbbells, a band for the push ups and a lat pull down machine – brutal I know! Why would I recommend using bands but then go ahead and do this workout at the gym? Well…because #1 - all workouts are versatile – change anything according to what you have available #2 - I wanted to use heavier weight for a few of the exercises & #3 – Mark and I are off to go camping today (eekk!!) and I won’t have any time after work to do today’s workout, so I did it in the gym early at 6:30am! :) & it was great!

This is workout #2 of a two-part series of 4X4 workouts – to check out workout #1, which is a lower body workout click here.

This workout is known as the 4X4 workout. It consists of 4 rounds, each at 4 minutes, 4 exercises & 4 sets. I have focused the first round on cardiovascular exercises and the second round is composed of strength exercises. Then the third and fourth rounds are repeated from the frist two.

The Workout:

Set your timer for 4 rounds of 1 minute. Complete the following exercises in the order below, each for one minute. Rest for 2 minutes in between each set.

Round 1: Cardiovascular

  1. Skipping
  2. Mountain Climbers
  3. Burpees
  4. Skipping

Round 2: Strength

  1. Hip Bridge Chest Press
  2. Lat Pull Down
  3. Resisted Push Up
  4. Bent Over Row

Round 3: Cardiovascular

  1. Skipping
  2. Mountain Climbers
  3. Burpees
  4. Skipping

Round 4: Strength

  1. Hip Bridge Chest Press
  2. Lat Pull Down
  3. Resisted Push Up
  4. Bent Over Row

4X4UpperBody

The Exercises Explained:

SKIPPING: Skip as fast as you can! Skip! Skip!

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS: From a standing position, bend down, knees in your chest and place both palms on the ground in front of your feet. Push one foot backwards, straightening your leg and jump into the air off of both feet while switching foot positioning in the air.

BURPEES: From a standing position, bend down, knees in your chest and place both palms on the ground in front of your feet. Push both legs back, keeping feet together and immediately bending your legs bringing your knees back into your chest. Jump into the air as high as you can from this position.

HIP BRIDGE CHEST PRESS: Lay on the ground on your back. Bend your knees, keeping your feet flat on the ground. Place the resistance band underneath your shoulders. Holding both handles of the resistance band bend your elbows to the ground and push upwards bringing your hands together directly above your chest.

*When taking this picture, I had to wrap the resistance band around my wrist a few times in order to make it tight enough – so try doing so when performing this exercise

LAT PULL DOWN: In a standing position, hold the middle of the resistance band with one hand. Use the opposite hand to hold the handle of the band and pull down, bending your elbow using your back muscles to complete the movement. Pull the resistance band as far as you can (usually to ear level) and return back to starting position. Alternating hands after each rep.

RESISTED PUSH UP: Begin in the push up position (palms on the ground, arms straight, hips up, back straight, toes to the ground) placing the resistance band underneath your arms (almost in your armpit) holding just above the handles. Bend your elbows bringing your chest into the floor and push your body back into starting position.

*for a closer pic click here

BENT OVER ROW: From a standing position, place middle of resistance band underneath your feet. Hand on to each handle and bend your upper body forward slightly. From this position, bend your elbows pulling the resistance band to the ceiling. Keep your arm tight to your body, and do not allow your elbow to point away from your body. Keep it in line with your back.

This ends my 2 part series of 4X4 workouts. Did you like? If so, let me know and I can def do some more in the future. Maybe a different muscle group for each day of the week?!? Just a thought.

Now that workout #14 is over, I can look forward to the weekend. As of 12:30 today I will be off work walking into a weekend full of camping fun!! I will be posting the next two workouts of my challenge around 6am on sat & sun. This is the time I am planning on doing my workouts, so if you’re awake, do them with me! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter or Facebook & watch for camping pics throughout the weekend!! & I’ll be sure to share pics upon my return!

Have a super fun, super safe weekend everybody!! xo

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What’s in my glass tonight?

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Havana Club.

HavanaClubDrink2

Tonight officially marks the beginning of a wonderful weekend away, camping with my two besties! I am packed. I have all the camping groceries bought. Sub box is outta my car and the trunk is ready for wood. I only have a few hours of work tomorrow then it’s time to finally do something summer-like. This weather has sucked. Officially & its def time for some summa-summa fun.

Bring It!

HavanaClubDrink

I’m going to enjoy a nice drink with my hubby and watch the sunset.

Linking up tids+bits

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