Friday Funny!

Workout 110 - Gold Digger!

As I'm typing this post the good U.S. of A has won 81 medals.
This post is in honor of their successes so far!  Congrats athletes in going for the GOLD!!!
Today it's one more Olympic-themed workout (at least for another 2 years when we have the Winter Olympics again).

Equipment needed: dumbbells

Warm-up:
jog / march in place or use your space
side plank lateral walks (2 steps over, 2 steps back)
sumo squats
side shuffle


Workout:
Hold one dumbbell in athletic stance (squat position) and draw a large "figure 8" for 30 seconds using your abs then reverse for another 30 seconds

Dumbbell swings (1 minute)

Reverse Plank (30 seconds)

Push-ups (1 minute)

Squat Jumps (30 seconds)

DB shoulder presses (1 minute)



Rounds = 5 GOLD
Rounds = 4 Silver
Rounds = 3 Bronze

Go for the Gold!  You, gold digger, you!

Wednesday Wisdom - water 10 different ways

Water is important!

Drinking those 6-8 glasses of water during the hottest days of the summer is even more imortant than normal if you spend time outside.  However, drinking water can get sooooooooo boring.

Today we are sharing wisdom of 10 (yes 10) different, ways to drink water. 
...We're thristy just posting all these!!!


1.  Water with Lemon

2. Water with cucumber slices

3. Water with pineapple

4. Water with a squeeze of fresh orange juice

5. Brew a cup of herbal tea

6. Float some blueberries in your glass.

7. Carbonated

8. Water with Crystal Light

9. Water with a splash of cranberry juice

10.  Drink it straight up

Olympian Motivation

“If you’re not having fun, then what the hell are you doing?” It reminds me to find the reason why I’m doing it and why I’m out there, which makes things more manageable when I’m stressed and fatigued.


—Allison Jones, six-time Paralympian (has competed in both the summer and winter games)


                          If you think you’re done, you always have at least 40 percent more.

—Lauren Crandall, captain of the 2012 US Olympic field hockey team







One word: Fight. Anyone can do it when it feels good, but when you’re hurting, that’s when it makes a difference, so you have to keep fighting.


—Erin Cafaro, 2008 rowing Olympic gold medalist in women’s eight

Workout 109 - Just Another Manic Monday

Boo!  The weekend is over...time to get back to work...your workouts that is!

Materials needed:  weights

Warm up

1 min Standing Oblique Twists, Butt kicker run, jumping jacks, Lunge with chest press, plank walk

Complete the following circuits starting at 25 sec intervals, then repeat for 30 sec intervals, and finally 40 sec intervals.  During the rest areas, only rest for 25, 30, or 40 secs (which ever round your are on).  You may not feel like you need it in round 1, but by round 3 you'll be looking for them! 

Alternating DB Squats with press

Dips

     Rest

Push-ups with half burpee

Alternating Side Squats

     Rest

Star Jumps

Plank Hip Dips

     Rest

Plank Rows

Squat Curls

      Rest and on to next 30 sec intervals, then 40

Friday Funny!!

This should give you a good laugh...Happy Friday!!

Workout 108 - Go for Gold!!

The Workout
Once again, we have an olympic themed workout and we are going to push you towards earning a gold medal.  You've most likely been watching the olympic athletes compete, but just think about the hard work and dedication it takes for them to participate in these games.  Let's adopt that work effort for just a few minutes out of today and gain a gold!!

Warm Up (remember how important it is from yesterday's post.  Don't skip!!)

1 min each:  standing oblique twists, butt kicker run, lunges w/ chest press, inch worms, walk on tip toes (30sec) on heels (30 sec)

Exercises:
30 sec Volleyball Blocks (squat down, jump up with arms overhead)
30 sec Pushups (all athletes do pushups!!)
30 sec Swimming (click for video demo, no pool required!)
30 sec Wall sit  (because we all like to sit and watch the olympics!)
30 sec Plank (have you seen the core on those gymnasts?  plank!!)

Gold = 7 rounds
Silver = 6 rounds
Bronze = 5 rounds

Wednesday Wisdom - Why Warm Up?

We are going to share some exercise knowledge with you in the upcoming weeks to explain the "why" behind some basic exercise components.  Often, exercise professionals are great at telling you to do something, but sometimes leave out the "why" or the science behind it.  We are here to help!  We also encourage you to feel free to ask us questions at any time by leaving comment or emailing fit4a6pack@gmail.com. Here's the topic for this week!!

Warming Up
Have you ever taken off for a run or started a workout at full-speed without a proper warm up?  We are all guilty!  Chances are you felt very fatigued, short of breath, and might even have experienced a stabbing pain in your lungs.  You probably felt you were out of shape or the workout was a bad idea.  This is actually your body letting you know it wasn't ready!  Think about it, you went from a resting status where blood is easily distributed to your lungs and muscles and then you take off and increase the demand without letting your heart know you need it to work harder.  It's kind of like warming your car up in cold weather and trying to floor it, it just doesn't work as well until it is warmed up!

The purpose of a proper warm up is to prepare the body for exercise.  Specifically, you are priming your cardiovascular system for increased cardiac output, your metabolic system for energy production and enhanced oxygen delivery, and your musculoskeletal system becomes more elastic and nerve conduction is improved thus reducing your risk for injuries.  In addition, warming up is very important for anyone with heart disease and/or heart abnormalities as it helps prevent irregular heart beats.

Warming up can be as simple as performing the activity that you are preparing for at a slower pace or doing 5-10 minutes of dynamic activity (this is what we put in our workouts for you!).  Skipping it can really hurt your performance during the workout so make sure you take the time (5-10 minutes) to help enhance your workout!!