The week before last I worked from home – yay! On Thursday morning, I made and ate breakfast immediately after I woke up. I was so proud, I took a pic of my breakfast and posted it on Twitter 🙂 This got me thinking, “I’m going to commit to eating breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up for the next 5 days. Not only that, I’m going to take a picture of my meal and post it on Twitter for accountability.” Well, turns out that what our parents say is TRUE, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. Studies show making breakfast a daily habit can help you lose weight – and keep it off. Personally, I felt the following changes/benefits that week:
I wasn’t starving at lunch which helped me make better food choices
My digestion was more “regular” 😉
My energy level was higher during the day, especial during my workouts
I felt lighter and leaner
Based on my fitness experience and nutrition knowledge, I have created a formula for what I consider to be a complete “GRITTY” breakfast:
FYI – a “KICK” is little bit of caffeine to get my body going full speed. Remember all the benefits of Coffee that we learned about earlier?
Below, are pics of all of my breakfast meals that week. All were prepared in less than 5 minutes, making them excellent options for those of you rushing to work in the morning. Try out the breakfast challenge for yourself. You may just take on a new healthy habit!
Thursday
Greek yogurt + mixed berries + 1 crumbled crunchy granola bar + hot green tea
Friday
Quaker instant oatmeal + 1 large orange + black coffee
Saturday
1 Van’s whole wheat waffle (comes frozen, just put in toaster) + peanut butter + strawberries + hot green tea
Sunday
2 crunchy granola bars topped w/peanut butter + 1 apple + hot green tea
Monday(up in the air, breakfast at the airport before a 6am flight…the life of a consultant)
2 small apples + 1 small bag of almonds (not pictured) + black coffee
After doing my ab workout , you’ll be on your way to a sexy stomach like Beezy!
Alright, you guys asked for it so here it is – “Six Pack by Summer Vol. 2” If you missed Vol. 1, click here to check it out.
Vol. 2 is no joke and will definitely get your tummy tight! Do the entire circuit which consists of 4 complete parts. For best results, do the whole circuit at least 3 times per week AND up the intensity and duration of your cardio workouts (can’t forget those). Once you get it down, try to lengthen the duration and reps of each exercise. The entire workout should take about 20 minutes.
I’ve also included some pictures of the exercises below (compliments of my lil sis who I used to test this out) – Enjoy 🙂
PART 1
Regular plank holdSide PlankPlank Jacks – jump toes out and inMountain climbers – switch feet fast
PART 2
Bicycle crunches – alternatingSingle leg toe touches (example: right hand/left toe)Toe touches – both handsRegular crunches
PART 3
Plank Hip Dips – with elbows on the floor, twist torso alternate hips downPlank side to side jumps – keep feet togetherFroggers – jump both feet up and back as fast as you can
PART 4
Leg Circles – take legs all the way around, almost touching floorFlutter kicks – kick feet up and down fastPunch through crunches – alternate the armsFull Sit Up
Tasia, my sister Kortani and me after my DIY boot camp – 05/24/12
Focus: Total body conditioning Calories burned:500 -800 Duration: 1 hour Commentary: While the last few days of Spring linger around, head outside and enjoy this lovely weather! You Texans know that our summer heat is NO JOKE . 110 degrees outside = indoor treadmill running for us.
My lil’ sister is home from college – yay! This she week she wanted to go to the gym, but as a typical poor college student, couldn’t afford a membership (and I’m not spottin’ her any $$$). Instead, I taught her how to make her own boot camp. This way, she can work out anytime she wants at a local park or track . This evening, I did the boot camp with her and her friend, Tasia. They really enjoyed it so I figured I share my “formula” with you guys.
To get started, you will need:
2 light/medium hand weights (1-10 pounds each for ladies; 5-20 pounds each for gents)
Yoga Mat or large towel
At least 100 yards of flat land and/or 1 standard running track (400 meters around)
Tasia and Kort after we finished – they are too young to be this tired! LOL
Brit’s Boot Camp Formula:
+Warm Up
+ 2 Cardio circuits (3-4 cardio exercises in each)
+4 Resistance circuits (4 strength and toning exercises in each)
Here’s the complete boot camp that we did today. Print and save or create your own – enjoy!
Here are some pics of us doing the exercises in case you are unfamiliar with some of them 🙂
squat w/ should press – part 1squat w/shoulder press – part 2Triceps kick back on 1 legside squat walk (get it KORT – LOL)lunge w/ bicep curl – part 1Lunge w/ bicep curl – part 2frog/star jump – part 1Frog/star jump – part 2plank rowdonkey kickside lunge w/ torso twistback flyberry pickersleg lowers on back (Tasia is clearly in pain-LOL)side to side leapsfront shoulder raiseside shoulder raisewood chuck jump – part 1wood chuck jump – part 2plank – mountain climbers
At my high school, in the lovely town of Mesquite, TX, you had to run a mile in 8 minutes or less to be on ANY sports team at ANY level (Freshman, JV or Varsity). No matter how talented or skilled of an athlete you were, no 8 minute mile = no spot on the team. So let me give you a little background as to why the 8 minute mile requirement, to this day, is the most stressful personal challenge I have ever confronted…
Me in 5th grade, my 2nd year playing organized basketball. Of course my mom made sure the entire team had matching hair bows 😉
At the start of 7th grade I weighed about 165 pounds and wore a size 14 in women’s clothing (see pic below). BUT, I still LOVED sports! Luckily, I landed a spot on the 7th grade girls basketball B-team- YAY! On the first day of practice, I ate my usual ham and cheese Hot Pocket for breakfast. This was also the first time, in my life, that I ever ran (mostly walked) a full mile. HOWEVER, I did finish that mile in 11 minutes and 55 seconds. As soon as I crossed the finished line I puked that entire Hot Pocket right in front of all of the 8th graders. Long story short, my middle school years were definitely not my best.
On pee-wee drill team right before 7th grade, although there was nothing “pee-wee” about me…
After a year of puking, stressing about conditioning workouts and just trying to fit in, I actually saw progress. On the last of day practice that 7th grade season, our coach made us run the mile again. This time I finished in 9 minutes and 6 seconds – WOO HOO! BUT, my world was crushed when the high school coaches came to visit on the last day of middle school. During their high school preparation speech, they broke the news about the 8 minute mile requirement. At that very moment, my world fell apart. I mean, seriously, did they realize how much torture I had to endure just to get down to 9 minutes and 6 seconds? I was officially in panic mode.
My 8th grade yearbook picture, 1997
All summer I ran and prayed and ran and prayed in hopes that I would be able to run the 8 minute mile on August 16th. My mom even put me on the prayer list at church; I think she was just as nervous as me. This was also the summer that my dad and I established a special bond which still holds today. He would run with me in the blazing Texas heat and always encourage me. “Hard work ALWAYS pays off,” he’d say. The week before the official high school timed mile test, he and I did a trial run. I was feeling good and ran my butt off! But the minute I crossed the finished line my dad shouted out, “8:15 – almost sweetheart, you’re just 15 seconds away.” At that point, I literally broke down and cried. What more could I do? I ran every day and pushed myself to the limit yet still had not reached my goal…
Finally, the big day came. I was so nervous I could hardly sleep the night before. I wanted be on the high school basketball and volleyball teams SO very badly and had actually become pretty good at both sports. The 8 minute mile was the only thing standing in my way. As we all walked up to the starting line, I said a prayer and took a deep breath. When coach yelled, “GO” I ran as fast as I possibly could. It was like something came over me. The only thing I could think was, “just don’t slow down, just don’t slow down.” Finally, I rounded the last curve and thought to myself “SPRINT!” That’s exactly what I did. When I crossed the finish line coach hollered out “7:56”! I broke down and cried, the same way I did during my trial run, only this time they were tears of joy! My teammates couldn’t understand why making the 8 minute mile meant so much to me, but it was the first time in my life that I truly understood my own strength. This accomplishment marked a new phase of self-confidence and personal pride that I still hold at 27 years old.
After making the JV basketball team my Freshman year, 1999 = PROGRESS!
I went on to have a successful high school athletic career earning 1st team all district honors in both basketball and volleyball. I even went on to play basketball at the NCAA Division 1 college level for 4 years. I was co-captain of my college basketball team at Cornell University and made the Big Red Power Wall of Honor for 2 consecutive years. The wall of honor is for the top 2 athletes on each varsity team who ranked the highest in a variety of strength and conditioning tests. Who would have ever thought my name would be on that wall? Definitely not me!
Senior year of high school, 2002
So, from a size 14 , 11:55 mile running, 7th grade “B” team basketball player, I’m telling you, there is NO SUCH THING AS IMPOSSIBLE!
Cornell vs. Army 2004 – my Junior year of college
“What is impossible with men is possible with God.'”
Hey guys, I hope your week is going well! Jan is back on the scene with an update of her home stretch on the 4-week tone up challenge. Only 1 week left, so let’s root her on!
JAN’S TONE UP CHALLENGE WEEK 3 UPDATE: “Week three was a challenge but ended up pretty well. I was traveling at the end of the week so I had to push all of my workouts up to the front part of the week. As Brit says, ‘NO EXCUSES.’ I worked out pretty hard-core the first 4 days . I did spin class 4 days straight for my cardio. I also, took Brit’s advice from last week to ‘up the intensity’ so I added her leg workout after my 1st day of spin and Brit’s medicine ball workout after my 2nd day of spin. But that’s not all, I also did at least half of Brit’s ab workout all 4 days – yeah! I was feeling pretty good at end of the week and took the weekend to recover and rest. I think I am starting to want a little more variety in my workouts each week. So, Brit you’ve got some work to do 😉 ” – Jan
BRIT’S FEEDBACK FOR JAN
When workout boredom starts to set in, seek Variety NOT Excuses: Jan did a great job of keeping with her workouts despite them starting to feel redundant. Next week, I’m going to give her a few new workouts to change things up. In the meanwhile, she should check out my unique treadmill workouts or my top 5 tips to spice up your workouts.
Be flexible with your workout schedule: Mentally, it’s very easy to set rigid workout plans and eagerly want to abide by them. However, when we miss a workout or fall off course we get disappointed, beat ourselves up and lose motivation . Jan did a great job of being flexible with her workout schedule. Since she knew it would be tough to workout during her weekend travel, she planned ahead and pushed her workouts up to front of the week. Likewise, if something comes up and you miss a workout, don’t beat your self up! Just schedule some time later in the week to make up for it 🙂
Extra diet discipline during extended recovery periods: Since Jan compressed her workouts to the front of the week, this means she went 3-4 days with no exercise. During this extended down time Jan really needs to watch her calorie intake as she is not burning as many calories as she usually does on workout days. Also, studies show that it only takes 48 consecutive hours to start losing cardiovascular endurance, therefore Jan should try to be as active as possible on her off days (i.e. walk instead drive when possible, take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.)
Stay strong to the finish: How bad do you want it? Jan has already made it through 75% of the tone up challenge, so now she has 2 options: 1) Bust her butt this final week to get the most out of the effort/investment she has already made 2) Coast/slack off this final week and risk falling short of her tone up goals. NEVER let all of your hard work go unrewarded!
Stay tuned, next week will be Jan’s final report and completion of the 4-week tone up challenge. You don’t wanna miss her awesome body transformation photo shoot, by the one and only Anna Jane!
Me gettin’ a sweat going on the hotel treadmill, Thursday 5/17
This week I had to travel to Cleveland for a client workshop, meaning my only option for a workout space was my “lovely” hotel gym. Unfortunately, this hotel’s gym consisted of 1 treadmill, 1 broken elliptical, and a yoga mat…that said, I had to make the best of an unfortunate situation. This got me thinking, I need to have options for effective and engaging treadmill workouts to hold me over in times like these. So, I put together these 3, 20 minute treadmill workouts. Each one burns 200-350 calories – NOT BAD! Hopefully you find these exercises helpful. If you are trying to get more into fitness but don’t have a treadmill at home, then you might want to check out something like this FitnessVerve. What’s not to love about having you own home gym?
Feel free to print, try out for yourself and keep handy when you’re looking to shake up your treadmill routine. Also, don’t forget that a jammin’ 20 minute playlist ALWAYS gives you a boost – Enjoy 🙂
What Goes Up…Must Come Down (walking) – Walk at a speed of at least 3.0/mph. Start at 0.0 (zero) incline and increase the incline by 1.0 every 1 minute. After 10 minutes (when you reach level 10 incline) lower the incline by 1.0 every minute until you get back to 0.0 (zero).
Walk, Sprint … Repeat (sprinting intervals) – Start by walking at least 3.0 mph and 1.0 incline – NEVER GO BELOW 1.0 INCLINE. After 3 minutes, sprint at least 7.0 mph for 2 minutes. Repeat the walk/sprint cycle 4 times for a 20 minute workout.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race (jogging) – Start by jogging at least 5.0 mph with an incline of 1.0. After 2 minutes, increase your incline to a level that is “challenging” (i.e. makes you breathe heavy, difficult to talk). Keep the incline here for 3 minutes, then take it back down to the starting 1.0 level. For the next minute, increase your speed to a faster jogging pace, at least 6.0. Repeat this 5 minute cycle 4 times.
Hilary Swank is def a fit chic – I’m sure she pumps iron for this sexy back!
Workout: Sexy sculpted back workout by Brit
Calories burned: about 200
The facts: Strengthening your back enhances your posture which makes you look taller and leaner – YAY! However, when working your back, it’s critical to work the opposing muscles which are your pecs (chest). Therefore, I’ve included some push ups to work your chest. Most importantly, if you want results you must PUSH yourself and PUMP UP the weight during this workout – YOU WILL NOT GET BULKY! You need to choose a weight heavy enough that you can only get through 8-12 reps. If you can easily do more than 12 reps, you are not lifting enough weight and your muscles are not getting enough resistance to actually change shape!
Instructions:
Use medium to heavy hand weights to complete this workout (5-15 pounds for the ladies, 10-30 pounds for the fellas)
Complete 3 cycles of each super set alternating between the 2 exercises in each set. For example, in Super Set 2, go back and forth completing the low row and bent over fly 3 times each, then move on super set 3
Do this workout 2-3 times per week for 4 weeks along with your moderate/high intensity cardio workouts at least 2-3 times per week
Click on the workout below to make it bigger, also feel free to print and save 😉
In case you’re unfamiliar with some of the exercises in this workout, here are some pics to guide you 😉
We’re half way there – Jan has officially completed her 2nd week of my 4 Week Tone Up Challenge. Here’s her update along with my advice to get her through the home stretch with maximum shape up results – enjoy!
Week 2 Update from Jan:
“Wk #2 was great! I started going to Flywheel Spin and it was a ‘game changer.’ I have been spinning for years and love the energy and intensity of Flywheel more than than any class I’ve ever gone to. I worked out 5 days last week, but 1 day was without cardio. I added Brit’s Six Pack by Summer ab routine to all of my workouts last week (the plank and seated portions). I also did Brit’s Killer Legs workout after spin one night and was really in the hurt box – in a good way 🙂
So far I’ve been seeing some good results in terms of my muscle definition . My ‘six pack’ is on its way back for sure. I’m feeling leaner and just more fit in general. However, my knees and ankles are quite sore from all of the exercise, so I’ll need to be careful with them.” – Jan
Brit’s Advice for Jan:
Diet, Diet, Diet – Jan continues to get her 5 workouts in per week; however, slipping up on her diet could completely wash away her results. Many top resources claim that weight loss depends 80% on diet and 20% on exercise.
RICE – Jan has a history of knee and ankle injuries so it’s critical that Rests, Ice, Compress, Elevates her knees and ankles after workouts to keep inflammation down. However, you should ALWAYS refrain from exercise and get clearance from your doctor before starting any new workout regimen.
EVEN more discipline – Jan must push herself through the home stretch and commit to having a PERFECT last 2 weeks. That means every workout is completed with max effort and she sticks to her diet change ups 100%. Jan needs to give it all she’s got these last 14 days for maximum results.
Stay tuned for Jan’s 3 week report and special edition final report which will include a post challenge photo shoot of her smoking hot body, compliments of the lovely Anna Jane!
“I’m going to shoot a workout video on May 12, 2012”
– Brit on 1/24/12
Guess what? I did! In less than 5 months, with help of the most amazing friends and family, yesterday we shot GRIT Ultimate Body Burn Vol.1 – WOW! Let me preface this by saying that I have ZERO video or audio production experience, I’m not a full-time fitness professional (I’m a management consultant by day) and I’ve only been a group fitness instructor for 1 year. However, a simple statement that I made to a friend on Jan 24, 2012 became a reality due to enthusiasm and the amazing power of the tongue!
Now let me keep it real, there were SEVERAL bumps in the road: getting legal clearance for music was a nightmare, writing choreography took many sleepless nights and my credit card is suffering from underestimating the cost of video equipment rentals. However, I feel more alive and energized than I have in years because I did something that most, including myself, considered impossible – and it all starting with SPEAKING out my goal. Even though we still have a lot of post production work to do, this is one of most challenging and inspiring experiences of my life so I wanted to share it with you. Now, I challenge YOU to BELIEVE in whatever it is that you want to achieve. You ARE what you SAY you are. So, NAME it, CLAIM it, and DO it – GRIT!
“Death and Life are in the power of the tongue…” (Proverbs 18:21)
Me and my GRIT girlz chillin’ in between cuts
The amazing Phil Wall to the far right (www.philwallproductions.com) my buddy and partner in crime – the genius one man crew who made the shoot a success!
Got free labor from my lil’ bro – he was our “audio technician”
Standing AB work – yeah buddy!
Celebrating (silly pose) after we finished the shoot!
Hopefully you’ve found a workout that you absolutely LOVE , which is GREAT! I’m a firm believer that you’ll never consistently exercise until you find a workout that you TRULY enjoy and that makes you FEEL GOOD about your body! However, it’s critical that we constantly change up our workout routines. This doesn’t mean we have to give up the exercises we love, but we DO have to SPICE things up. So you are probably wondering…
WHY SHOULD I VARY MY WORKOUTS?
Avoid the plateau – Our bodies are super efficient – WE ARE STRONGER THAN WE THINK WE ARE! Once our bodies get use to a certain workout, they don’t require the same amount of energy (calories or strength) to get it done.
Prevent injury – If we do the same workouts all of the time, we run a significantly greater risk of chronic injuries (shin splints, etc.) Changing it up makes us work a variety of muscles and develop balanced strength and endurance.
Stay interested – New workouts keep us engaged in exercise. High mental and emotional engagement makes us more energized meaning we work harder and reach greater fitness levels.
BRIT’S 5 TIPS TO SPICE UP YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINE
Burn up to 1,000 calories in 1 hour of Title Boxing!
Do 3 DIFFERENT types of cardio exercises every week – At a minimum, its most important to ensure that you get 3-30 minute cardio workouts in each week. However, you can maximize results by doing a variety of cardio workouts. For example: Monday – Treadmill, Wednesday – Elliptical, Friday – Boxing class.
Add Intervals – Intervals in terms of speed and incline/resistance are a great way to keep your body in the “cardio zone” and make sure you don’t get complacent. For example: when on the elliptical, ride at level 5 resistance for 3 min then level 10 resistance for 1 min, continue alternating for 30 min to 1 hr.
Power walk instead of running/jogging – Power walking is not as natural of a movement as jogging/running which means you have to engage more muscles. This is a great way to shock your body and even burn more calories – add light hand weights for an extra burn!
TRX Suspension Resistance Training
Switch up your resistance regimen – Instead of your usual back/biceps and chest/triceps workouts that you have been doing for years, change it up! Try the new TRX suspension training or an endurance body weight routine (like several posted on this site). Remember, if you do what you always done, you’ll get what you always got!
Get moving with a group – Working out with a group makes you push harder and leverage the energy of those around you. I encourage you to try some of my favorite group exercise classes: Title Boxing Club, Boot Camps (any one), Bar Method, Cycle classes and TurboKick.
