Outdoor Fitness Fun for Earth Month: 10 Minute HIIT Workout then #ParkYourThirst with Honest Tea

In honor of Earth Month, I’m encouraging you to spend some time outdoors especially at your local parks!  Here’s a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout I filmed in Central Park – NYC around this time last year.  Try it for yourself during your next park visit.  Outdoor workouts provide  several added benefits over working out indoors.  Not to mention, in great weather they’re just more fun!

Also, here’s a cool info-graphic I received from my sponsors at Honest Tea.  They surveyed over 2,000 people across the US seeking to learn how our parks (both local and national) impact us today.  They learned over 54% of Americans wished they spent more time outdoors, and 41% said they go to the park to get away from the hustle and bustle, and restore mental clarity.  With that knowledge, me and my Honest Tea sponsors are challenging you to return to the parks this spring to refresh—mind, body and soul.  Our goal is to see people empowered to become advocates for their park—be it a national park, or the one just around the corner.   Honest Tea will be rewarding people for taking a “selfie” at any park via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and tag it with #ParkYourThirst.

ParkYourThirst_InfoGraphic-FINAL4Have an awesome time outside! #ParkYourThirst

xoxo, Brit

 

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Living Room Workout: Brit’s Head 2 Toe Tone Up!

Spring 2014 GRIT by Brit Pics 014

Hey Gang!  Here’s your workout for the week.  I made up this routine while chillin’ at my parents’ house.  Lately I’ve been all about multitasking.  So while we were watching the Winter Olympics I simultaneously cranked out these 5 super effective, body sculpting moves.  This is a great workout if you’re short on time, have no equipment and want to focus on strength and toning.

Like most of my workouts, this routine is “circuit style” which means you need to move through each set of exercises fairly quickly with minimal rest.  Doing so helps elevate your heart rate and ensure you burn max calories while building muscle strength.  These exercises work all of our “problem zones” (i.e. thighs, abs and arm flab).  For best results, do my Head 2 Toe Tone Up 2-3 times per week for 4 weeks along with your cardio workouts.  Enjoy and let me know how it goes!  Lots of luv, Brit

Head 2 Toe Tone Up

Instructional Images

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Single Leg Lunges
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Plank Knee Pulls
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Decline Push Ups
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Tricep Dips
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Slow, assisted calf raises
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15 Minute Fat Burning Barbell Workout

Hey gang!  Hope you’re enjoying a wonderful weekend full of relaxation and sweaty workouts.  I am!  Today I went to Turbo Kick class (my fav) for 1 hour of high intensity cardio exercise.  I usually stay for the Body Pump class for strength training after my cardio workout.  Today I was running low on time, so I got to the gym early and did this super efficient 15 minute Fat Burning Barbell workout instead.  This workout is considered “fat burning” because it’s designed to efficiently fatigue the some of largest muscle groups – glutes (booty), quads, hamstrings (legs), lats (back) and delts (shoulders).  It’s great to add to the end or beginning of your cardio workout.

Before Turbo Kick class gettin’ my strength and toning on!

When weight training, most of us ladies immediately crank out  crunches or grab light dumbbells and do arm exercises.  This is great for toning, but if you want to transform your body into a fat burning machine you must fatigue your large muscles.  The large muscles exert the greatest amount of energy and burn a ton of calories in the process.  Better yet, post-workout they continue to burn calories to repair muscles, thus increasing your metabolism! FYI – metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories.

So without further or do, here’s the workout – I encourage you to try it.   I also included some instructional photos from this morning 🙂

Enjoy transforming your body into a sexy, strong fat blasting machine!  xoxo, Brit

Instructional Images

Deadlift
Squat
Shoulder Press
Low Row
High Pull (Upright Row)

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Holiday Travel Hotel Room Workout

Hey Gang –  Happy “Tone it Up Tuesday!”  Work travel has been crazy busy for me recently, which means I’ve had to get creative with workouts that I can do in my hotel room.    I designed and tested this workout a few days ago and I really liked it.  Better yet, I was able to hammer it out while listening to a conference call (wink wink).

Like most of my workouts, this one requires no equipment and blends a nice mix of cardio and strength training.  Warning – there are 90 push ups – prepare to pump them out!  I HATE push ups because they’re challenging, but I LOVE them because they simultaneously strengthen our upper body and core.  Overall, the workout takes about 20 minutes and you can expect to burn ~200 calories. Let me know how it goes!

Hotel Room WorkoutEnjoy staying fit on the road! xoxo, Brit

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Give your Body Some Love on #GivingTuesday with this 3 by 3 Custom Cardio & Strength Training Circuit

Hey gang!  In honor of #GivingTuesday, here’s a legit total body workout that you can do as a gift to your mind, body and soul.  I designed the workout and tested it  this morning – I loved it!

Note, that you will need a Bosu Ball to complete this workout.  The 2nd set of exercises includes Bosu Planks and Bosu Burpees.  Here are links to some instructional YouTube videos in case you’ve never done these exercises.

The entire circuit, including the cardio warm up, should take you about 45-50 minutes.  You will be sweaty!  Overall, expect to burn about 500 calories. Enjoy and let me know how it goes.  Lots of luv, Brit

3 by 3

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5 Day Resistance Workout Routine! 5 days, 5 unique workouts to work each specific muscle group

5 Day

Hey Guys!  Hope you had a great weekend.  So my “fit friend” and fellow blogger Laura (author of http://www.50by25.com/) gave the great suggestion of creating a weekly resistance workout plan for my blog followers.  The plan incorporates very targeted workouts that each focus on a specific muscle group.  None of the workouts are full-body circuits (i.e. my infamous Tummy, Booty & Thighs circuit that you guys love so much).

So, the idea is that you need to complete the entire weekly plan in order to get a complete, total body workout.   At the beginning of the week, you work the larger muscles groups and then later on in the week you work the smaller ones.  This sequencing allows you to get some fierce fitness going on by really exhausting and fatiguing one muscle group at a time.  Doing so requires greater muscle repair and consequently, the development of more lean muscle mass.

For best results, complete the following plan in addition to 2-3, 30 minute cardio workouts.  Enjoy and let me know how it goes!  Lots of luv, Brit

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

piclab

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Buddy Boot Camp! 5 Super Effective Partner Exercises to do with your Fit Friends

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kpxvRHar4c&w=560&h=315]

Hey GRIT Gang! I hope that all is amazing in your world.  Very sorry for my sporadic blog posting – I’ve been doing lots of traveling the past 2 weeks.  On a positive note, last weekend I went to the Bryson City, North Carolina to a enjoy a weekend “ruffing” it with some of my best friends from business school.

In the midst of hiking the Great Smoky Mountains, cooking homemade meals, sitting by the camp fire and reminiscing on the good old days, I designed this “buddy bootcamp” workout.  During our vacation, my friends and I did this super efficient HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) circuit to ensure we got some strength and anaerobic training in .  Not only is the workout effective, it’s also very fun!  So next time you are looking for some fierce, fun exercises to do with your fit friends, keep these 5 exercises in mind…

5 Super Effective Partner Exercises

Before I leave you, I encourage you to not only enjoy the workout itself, but to more importantly enjoy and love the friend that you do the workout with.  And on that note, I leave you with this quote that one of my dearest friends, Lakshmi (staring in the front row of the instructional video above) shared with me:

“A friend is one to whom one may pour out the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that gentle hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”  – George Eliott

ENJOY!  Lots of luv, Brit

Enjoing a nice hike in Great Smoky Mountains - Nothing says true friendship like matching beanies
Enjoying a nice hike in Great Smoky Mountains – Nothing says true friendship like matching beanies

Takin' it all in - life is good!
Takin’ it all in – life is good!

A picture is worth a 1000 words #breathtaking
A picture is worth a 1000 words #breathtaking

Grateful for good times and great friends! #blessed
Grateful for good times and great friends! #blessed

I love you and hope you have a great week! -Brit :)
I love you and hope you have a great week! -Brit 🙂

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Puppy/Dog Friendly Park Workout

puppy park workout

So… 2 of my best friends have recently gotten puppies and I’m obsessed with them.  One of the puppies, Hank (chocolate lab pictured above) is especially sporty.  The first time we met we worked out together. It was awesome.  Hank’s mom is a Cross Fit superstar (thus the Again Faster equipment and dumbbells in the photos).  However, it’s hard to regularly attend CrossFit  or  fitness classes if you want to spend time with your dog.  Since I figured many of you may have dogs yourself, I decided to create a “dog/puppy friendly” outdoor workout.  This way you and your dog can work out together and stay in shape while strengthening your bond 🙂 Even if you don’t have a dog, this is a great workout to try on a nice summer day.  Enjoy!  Lots of luv, Brit

grit by brit dog workout
Me and Hank workin’ out back in April this year!

puppy park workout

Yay for "fit" puppies!
Yay for “fit” puppies!

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Tips for a healthy, yummy, skinny 4th of July BBQ!

healthy 4th of july dessertHappy Monday!  4th of July is around the corner!  As we American’s celebrate our independence, let’s not go overboard and throw our bikini bodies out of the window.  Here are some 4th of July healthy BBQ tips from Darya Rose at summertomato.com.  I also designed a custom workout for you to do on Independence Day.  It doesn’t take too much time.  So just wake up, sweat and head to your BBQ!

GRITbyBrit_US_Workout

6 Tips for not regretting your 4th of July BBQ

1. Use small plates
Research clearly shows that people who choose smaller plates and utensils eat less without even noticing it. The difference can be as substantial as 50% fewer calories consumed, yet everyone reports the same level of fullness and satisfaction. Try borrowing a plate from the kids table or the dessert tray.
2. Eat slowly and mindfully
People who eat more slowly eat fewer calories over the course of a meal. BBQs are a perfect opportunity to pace yourself as you mix and mingle with friends and family. The more you’re chatting, the less you’re eating.
3. Eat healthiest foods first
If you are eating slowly and off small plates, you may as well fill up on the healthiest stuff first. Salads are a great place to start because watery vegetables slow digestion and have very few calories. Try to choose something with oil and protein as well, because these will help you feel full sooner.
4. Skip the chips, crackers and bread
Refined carbohydrates are the worst things you can eat because they offer little satisfaction, loads of calories and dangerous insulin spikes. BBQs are filled with wonderful food, so do yourself a favor and save your calories for the really good stuff.
You don’t have to eat your burger without a bun, but pass on the pointless chips and other snacks that lure you when you’re not thinking. If you’re feeling bored, grab a Frisbee instead.
5. Keep dessert small
The difference between a large slice of cake and a smaller slice of cake can literally be hundreds of calories. And to reiterate, sugar and refined carbohydrates are the most dangerous foods. You don’t have to pass on dessert completely, but keep your portion sizes in check for this course.
6. Think before you drink
There is a place for alcohol in a healthy lifestyle, but making smart choices can be the difference between losing or gaining weight (not to mention your self-control). One sugary margarita can have 600-800 calories. That means 3 margaritas is more food than you should be consuming in an entire day. Is that really worth it? Stick with wine or beer, drink plenty of water and remember to pace yourself.

Happy 4th of July!  Lots of luv,  Brit

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