A blog by Brit Rettig Wold, CEO of GRIT Fitness
Image: Kelly Green Infinity Scarf (Nordstrom), Black cross back tank (Athleta), Black leggings (TJ Maxx)
Happy Fitness Fashion Friday. Coming to you today in a simple black ensemble. I added my kelly green scarf and fuchsia Nars lipstick for little pops of color. I like this outfit so much I don’t wanna get sweaty in it, hehe. Maybe I’ll wear it to dinner instead of to the gym. What do you think?
Here’s your workout of the week! This workout is all about Plyometrics (jumping). I love jumping exercises because they really get your heart rate up and strengthen your legs. However, if you have knee problems, be careful as jumping is NOT advised for you. This workout requires no equipment so it’s great to do during commercial breaks – enjoy;)
Alright y’all. Summer time is quickly approaching. While I’ve learned to love my “love handles” and opt for high-waist pants rather than low-rise ones, I still feel a need to address the much dreaded “muffin top.” Now, we all come in different shapes and sizes and we should embrace our natural curves. However, excess belly fat and fat storage around the hips is neither HEALTHY nor SEXY. Belly fat, which is called visceral or intra-abdominal fat, is linked to high cholesterol, high insulin, high triglycerides, high blood pressure and other health problems. You can click here to read up on more health risks of excess belly fat.
Below is a workout I designed that will strengthen your core and lower back and also help provide some definition to you lower waist. For best results, do this workout 3 times per week for 4 weeks along with 30-45 minutes of high intensity cardio intervals. I’ve also included some pics of me doing the workout this morning to help guide you. Try it out and let me know how it goes. Enjoy! Luv, Brit 🙂
Happy March everyone! The NCAA Men’s bball brackets are out – who you got? I love college hoops. This past weekend my lil’ bro came to visit me for his college Spring Break and we hit up the Big East final four at Madison Square Garden (a good look). Also as a former D1 basketball player, I’m inspired by March Madness because ANYTHING can happen. May the team with most #GRIT win!
In the spirit of Basketball & Bracketology, I made a basketball court workout for you to enjoy. Expect to burn a ton of calories and have a ton of fun during this anaerobic workout. Try it for yourself and let me know how it goes. Happy Monday!
Lots of luv,
Brit
SO… along with cutting back on the booze, for my 28th b-day I also committed to wearing a pedometer everyday. In case you don’t know, a pedometer is a little device you can attach to your body and it counts the number of steps you take. I got the idea from my friend Megan who consistently wore her pedometer every single day of our vacation in Italy.
Basically I’m on one of these 10,000 step plans. Recent studies show that it takes 10,000 steps (equal to 5 miles) per day to manage your current weight. As many of you know, I’ve lost over 20 pounds in the last 2 years and I REFUSE to gain it back. So the 10,000 step plan is my new method of ensuring I don’t slowly pack back on the pounds.
First off, using the pedometer is cheap and simple. I bought mine at Academy Sports & Outdoors for about $20 and I simply clip it to my belt or bra strap every day. Altogether, I didn’t realize how sedentary I am every day. It’s cray cray! My daily step count was all over the place – literally. On an average day when I do not workout, I only walk about 3,000-4,00 steps. YIKES!
Getting my 10,000 steps in each day is still work in progress, but I’m constantly improving. Overall, I think this is legit so def try it for yourself! Here’s a little photo diary of my pedometer experience:
1st day with the pedometer, sitting at my desk all day and only at 4,693 steps at 8pm – not a good look 🙁
Feeling very eager and determined on day 2 – walked/jogged on the treadmill for 30 min and walked around my office multiple times for over 12,000 steps!
Lazy day working from home. Had to head to the gym to make up for a LOT of steps!
After teaching 1-hour Turbo Kick class +6,000 steps putting me well above 10,000 by 6:15pm – a good look 🙂
Morning run and Psycho Gym workout got me over 8,000 steps by lunch time. YAY!
Sunday church + brunch left me with a major step gap 🙁
Went for a Sunday afternoon stroll around my neighborhood to get my extra steps in. Mission accomplished!
Here are a few ways that I incorporated more steps into my day to make may daily 10,000 step quota:
How do you get your steps in? Please do share!
If you missed last week’s 4-week challenge kick off, make sure you check it out to see the full plan. Below is Jenny’s week 1 progress report. She’s doing a great job – KEEP IT UP JENNY!
“Week One: DONE! It’s been great! I did all the workouts this week + added a few Pilates classes #motivationbaby! I have been pretty intense about my workouts, so I really needed my off day. My pants are definitely looser on me. I never usually weigh myself (I think inches are a better indication, rather than kilos), I did this week. According to my scale, I’m down 1.2 kilos (American translation: 2.6 pounds), which is pretty good! SO, I will try to really focus on the diet this week. I have been good about not eating after 9pm, but since I’m going to bed around 10/10:30pm every night (gotta get up early for those workouts!), I think I should try to not eat anything after 7:30/8pm. Brittani has also recommended that I trade my breakfasts of fruit to one of protein, and I have a feeling this will be my ‘game changer’ this week. Let’s see! I have 10 more days until I’m in sunny Malaga, Spain – so I’ve gotta really focus!”
– Jenny
Meet my friend Jenny. Like Jan from my previous challenge, Jenny is one of my best friends from college. Unlike Jan, Jenny and I bonded while working as TA’s for a brutal Labor Law professor, not over our love for football players. We would drag our butts to the gym after long study sessions and keep each other accountable for going hard!
Jenny now lives in Denmark working hectic hours in the Banking sector. However, the Danes focus much more on work-life balance so she DOES have adequate time to workout 🙂 Over the years, she has become very interested in nutrition and has tried almost every diet in the book (sometimes for a reason, sometimes out of curiosity, but usually because she likes the challenge – we clearly have the same neurotic tendencies). Still, she has had a very ad-hoc workout and diet schedule this past year and would like to re-focus.
Already having several fitness certifications and a long history of sports involvement, Jenny is looking to me for an effective push! Unfortunately, she’s also suffered from over training, which I had to keep in mind when making her plan. Her gluten allergy and lactose intolerance also had to be considered. In her own words, her goals are to:
Below is her plan and of picture of her today on DAY 1 – we will get an update from her next week!
Wish her luck – GO JENNY!
Workouts by Brit referenced in this plan:
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:
Learn more about FlyWheel at their website: https://www.flywheelsports.com/
INSTRUCTIONS: Do 4 rounds of the following circuit. Between each round, do a 1 min cardio interval (i.e. jumping jacks, squat jumps, high knees, ski jump side to side, etc.) You can do this workout at home or at the gym after or before your cardio training – ENJOY 🙂
Let’s be honest, some days you just AREN’T feeling it. And when that happens, you have to be your own cheerleader and pump yourself up out of that funk. Look, life will always throw you curve balls, your mood will swing up and down and people will wear you out. BUT ONLY YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. When I’m having “one of those days” I find that one of these positive affirmations usually get me back on the up and up. Sometimes you just gotta fake it until you make it. See if any of these statements work for you!
NOW go hit the gym hard, get that promotion, achieve that goal and CRUSH this day!