Tag: workout

Wednesday Workout: Quickie 20 minute body weight AMRAP

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Hi! I’m popping in this morning to share a quickie workout I did while I was in Maine a few weekends ago. When I got up, I got changed right into my workout clothes but just wasn’t sure I was really feeling a workout. This rarely happens to me, so I decided to just go with it and if I decided to workout later, great. If not, great. I ended up offering to vacuum and mop for my parents, which, in a 3,000 sq. foot house is quite a workout in and of itself! I loveeee those types of active chores so even though I was helping my parents, I was really helping myself get more movement in 😉

However, after I finished cleaning I found myself feeling more motivated to get a little workout in. The sun was shining and I had the privilege of working out outside in private, so I came up with a quickie 20 minute body weight AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) workout that left me sweaty, newly tanned and sore the next day. Win, win, win in my book!

20 minute AMRAP body weight workout
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Wednesday Workout: Lululemon Window Performance

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Hey guys! Happy Wednesday. I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve done a Wednesday Workout post for you, right?! Today’s is fun because it’s a shortened version of the workout I did in the window at Lululemon over the weekend. Although it was a little awkward doing my workout thang in the window of Lulu on a busy Saturday, the awkwardness went away fairly quickly and I got in my groove- in my happy place.

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When coming up with the workout, I knew I didn’t want to include cardio because I A. didn’t want to sweat too much and B. didn’t know how much space I’d have. I ended up sweating a lot because of the lights and exercises, but oh well. that’s just what happens when you work out!

lulu window workout

The workout for you today is 20 minutes of the workout I did while I was at Lulu. I was there for an hour and did about 50 minutes of a weight and resistance band focused workout (including warm up), then spent some time playing around with yoga poses. These are what got people to stop and watch me- it was funny!

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Wednesday Workout: Hotel Gym Full Body Circuit

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I’m a big believer that just because you travel, doesn’t mean you have to give up your normal routine. Sure, things will be different- that’s a given- but when I travel I really try to stay on track with eating well and keeping active. Well, I guess this is more true when I travel for work because personal vacations should include indulgences and living off your normal schedule, right?! Last week I had to travel for work and since I was traveling alone, I was able to eat when, where and what I wanted and also go to the gym when it was right for my schedule- this was awesome!

I’ve been to a lot of hotel gyms- some are good some are not so good. Luckily, the gym at Le Joule had a pretty nice gym- full set of weights, cable machines, kettlebells and cardio equipment. I ended up working out twice in my very short stay because I enjoyed the gym so much (ok, and the shower in my room was amazing and I wanted to use it again…). The first day was a little cardio and then the full body circuit in this post. The second was a 5K run on the treadmill and some abs. All in all, I was really happy that I was able to get some physical activity in, especially since the flight was so long each way!

Hotel gym full body circuit
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Wednesday Workout: The “Back & Forth” Workout

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Last week, I decided to take my normal lunch break workout outside, rather than to the gym. Since I knew I was teaching cardio kickboxing the next day, I didn’t want to do anything too crazy, especially in terms of cardio, but I also knew the weather was so nice and I wanted to get some movement in, which is when I came up with this workout.

Well, this workout doesn’t exactly mimic the workout I did, but that’s only because I didn’t write anything down and have since forgotten the exact workout. However, I think what I have for you today is still a pretty good workout; I definitely plan on doing it the next time I do a lunch break workout outside.

The back & forth workout

I’m a big fan of traveling workouts because I like the idea of knowing that I have to go to X spot before finishing- it motivates me to move faster than I normally might otherwise. It’s also just a fun way do something different from the standard time or rep format. Here are some explanations for the exercises:

  • Frogger jump squats- Use your arms to help you get momentum as you leap forward, landing softly in a squat position. Repeat until you get to the end mark, and then do the same thing back to the starting line.
  • Inchworm Push-Ups- Start in a standing position and walk your hands out to a high plank. When you get in the high plank, do 1 push-up and then walk your feet up to meet your hands. Stand up tall and then repeat.
  • Bear Crawl- Begin in a table-top sort of position. Engage your core and lift your knees up from the ground. As you move forward, your right arm and left leg will be in sync. Try to stay as low as possible rather than sticking your butt in the air, in other words, keep hips and shoulders at the same height. (the 1:50ish mark in the video in this post will help)
  • Lunge w/oblique twist- Hold your arms out in front of you and step forward in a lunge. As you’re in the lunge position, rotate through the core so that your arms are twisting over the bent leg; if your right leg is forward, rotate to the right, feeling a nice stretch/twist throughout your core. Repeat there & back.
  • Crab walk- Start in a seated position with your hands on the ground & finger tips pointing towards your toes. Engage your core and lift yourself so that just your feet and hands are on the ground. Move like a crab to get to the end and back.
  • Frogger burpees- This is exactly like the frogger jump squat except rather than landing in a squat, you’ll land in a chest to ground burpee position.

Let me know if you have any questions- I hope you try this next time you’re looking for a way to get a workout in without actually going to the gym 🙂

Questions for you: Do you like to take your workouts outside?

Wednesday Workout: Upper Body Resistance Band Workout

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Good morning! I’m back with a short, but effective upper body workout for you that requires just one piece of equipment: the resistance band! This is a piece of equipment that you don’t see me using much on the blog (I think this workout is the only other one on the blog that uses the band), but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think it’s a great, it just gets pushed to the back for some reason. However, while I was working from home on Monday, I was looking around at my fitness corner, thinking about what I wanted to do for a workout and the bands were calling to me!

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So, I decided to create a few workouts that use the band that I’ll share with you over the next few weeks. One of the things I love most about resistance bands is that they don’t take up much space so it’s super easy to take them on the road with you- in your car, carry on, suitcase, laptop bag… you get the idea. While I’m not planning on letting workouts get in the way of my time in Italy, I do plan on bringing one so that if I feel like getting in some movement (other than walking) and time permits it, I’ll have something to use. When I traveled for work I would always bring a band with me to use for my hotel room workouts.

For this workout, we are doing just 4 moves, but if your band is tight enough, you’ll feel it by the end of the 3-5 rounds! I’ve got a video in case you want to workout with me, otherwise you can just take the image below and do the workout on your own time 🙂
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