Wednesday Workout: Sweat, Tone, Sweat!

Good morning everyone!  Here’s your Wednesday Workout.  I tested this bad boy on Monday night and it’s definitely GRIT by Brit worthy.  The workout requires a stationary bike and 2 light hand weights.  The key is to stay on the bike and cycle for the entire duration of the workout.  It takes about 1 hour to complete and you can expect to burn 500-700 calories.  You can also expect to sculpt some lean sexy arms in the process.  Try it out and let me know how it goes.  Lots of luv, Brit 🙂

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NEW 4-week challenge: Chi-town shape up w/Lakshmi

I’m kicking off a new 4-week challenge with my friend, Lakshmi.  Ordinarily, I’d give you my usual song and dance about how we became friends, blah blah blah.  But I think a picture is a worth a 1,000 words when it comes to describing our friendship.  So get to know her, check out her diet and exercise plan (maybe even try it for yourself) and check in every week for her progress reports!

Luv, Brit

Our friendship…

Meet Lakshmi a.k.a “Lak-sheezy”

I’m a girl with good intentions, but I am easily swayed off course. I try to work out each day and am able to eat well until the mid-afternoon. Then I find temptation taking over and a handful of miniature chocolates in my hand. I’ve got some major love for starch and sugar – and I need help curbing the cravings.

My goal is to not change in the short-term, but change in the long-term. I want to fix bad habits. It would be amazing if I could drop some lbs. But mostly I just want to get tone, feel confident about my body, and feel some control in my life.

I’m a consultant with unpredictable hours and very last minute travel. I make it a priority to get to the gym. It’s not always possible, but by in large, I’m there 4 – 6 times a week. My hours are long, which makes cooking and planning meals tough.

Help me!

Exercise – I’m a class girl. Unless someone tells me what to do, I will convince myself it’s okay to stop. The meaner the teacher, the better in my world.

Also, I walk to and from work (25 minutes each way) while listening to a live stream of NPR (how yuppie is that?).

As for my diet…

Breakfast – I try to do oatmeal and coffee. Sometimes I do museli with fruit.

Lunch – Salad or sandwich and a diet soda (I know, I know). On a bad day, I add in chips. And chocolate…

Snack – This is where I falter. My company is really good about supplying snacks. No good deed goes unnoticed, so I find myself often in our snack cabinet foraging for sugar and/or salt. Lately our miniature Hershey chocolates have been by downfall.

Dinner – I like starch, especially potatoes. Today I had some leftover gnocchi. Sometimes it’s a frozen dinner. I am tired when I get home from work (usually 8 or 9), so I’m in no mood to cook for one.

Dessert – I will have a tablespoon of PB. Or chocolate covered bananas from Trader Joe’s (4 pieces)

Here are things I don’t like: Running, chicken (it’s a dirty bird), cold meat on salad (unless it’s tuna), pork, ham, lifting weights

Here are things I’m allergic to: Shellfish, walnuts

Here are things I like: Spinning, yoga, potatoes, french macarons

Also, I’m awesome at taking my vitamins everyday.

Brit’s 4-week shape up plan for Lakshmi

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So…hows your “Personal Vitality” these days?

This week I had to take my annual IBM health assessment to get a  rebate on my health insurance premiums.  I figured it was worth my time to save $150 bucks.  Usually, I breeze through these things because they seems like such a formality, but this time I was intrigued by the survey questions in my “Personal Vitality Assessment.”

I got to thinking…rather than always focusing on my fitness or nutrition, I should frequently take a step back and think about my overall vitality.  Personal vitality measures overall health in 4 key areas:

  • Physical
  • Mental
  • Emotional
  • Purpose – INTERESTING!  (I very much believe that having a sense of individual life purpose is absolutely fundamental to personal happiness and contentment – read more)

Here’s a snap shot of (what I thought) were the most interesting parts of the Personal Vitality assessment.  As you can see, some of my responses are included.  I was going to hide them, but figured you guys would appreciate the honesty/transparency…

PART 1

 

PART 2

I think we could all benefit by asking ourselves these questions on a regular basis.    Doing so may help us understand the areas in our life and in our health habits that need more attention.

Give yourself a Personal Vitality assessment and let me know how it goes – don’t forget an action plan!

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Where Da Ballers At?

  • Workout Name: Basketball Court Workout  by Brit
  • Duration: 45 min – 1 hour
  • Calories burned: 400 – 700
  • Commentary: The fact of the matter is pro basketball players have HOT bodies.  Whether you’re a “pro hooper”, “ex-hooper” or “wanna be hooper,” the basketball court is ALWAYS a great place to get a super effective workout.  The workout I’ve put together incorporates many of the drills I did back in my day plus some basics to burn calories and build endurance.  No matter your skill level, you should be able to get through this workout and increase your fitness level in the process.  Change up your routine and try it out.  Let me know how it goes!

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4-week challenge ‘Euro Style’ COMPLETE: Sexy, Sexy, Sexy

Jenny has officially completed my 4-week challenge and she looks SMOKIN’ HOT!  Below you can read her final update and see pics from her challenge completion photo shoot.

Lookin’ FIT 50’s style – way to go Jenny! 

Jenny’s biggest lessons of the 4 Week Challenge:
  1. At 28, diet is much more important than it used to be, and all the changes that I used to see so fast take more time.
  2. Also, it is so important for me to keep my workouts fresh, so I don’t burn out or lose motivation.
  3. And finally, slow down a bit – getting sick really sets one back with regard to working out, so it is important to make sure that i’m not pushing myself too hard and wearing myself down.

Regardless, this past four weeks have been great – I look better, feel better  and have done some great new workouts that have really re-motivated me!  I’m more toned, but I still have my curves as you can see above 🙂

If you missed any of Jenny’s earlier updates, you can catch up here: 

Kick Start – Full PlanWeek 1Week 2Week 3

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Fitness for the SOUL: Power of Positive Energy – Reflections on a wonderful weekend in San Fransisco

I very much believe in the Law of Attraction. The energy we cultivate is the energy we attract, be it positive or negative. That said, I’m eager to jump into environments that exude positive energy. These are opportunities to fill myself with optimism, hope and encouragement. As a result, I’m able to attract positive people and life circumstances.

Last weekend I headed to the West Coast to visit one of my best friends from business school. We spent most of our time in Palo Alto and one evening San Fransisco. I had a great time just catching up, eating good food, enjoying a long run and walking around the Stanford University campus (my 1st time there). Few places inspire me more than university campuses – oh the possibilities! Especially, Stanford considering its academic excellence and athletic superiority. I’ve watched several Olympic athletes the past 2 weeks who are Stanford Alumni. Anyway, I felt very inspired while I was there so I wanted to share some pics from my “positive place.” Today I’m pumped up and eagerly anticipating a wonderful week 🙂

Where’s your positive place?

How are you going to surround yourself with positive energy this week?

How can you be a source of positive energy to others?

Below: Some fun shots of me representing’ for the GRIT GIRLZ and being a Stanford Soccer Groupie 😉

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Bye Bye Jiggly Thighs!

Let me get something straight, BIG thighs do NOT = FAT thighs.  You CAN have very sexy BIG thighs as long as they are firm and toned. I hate hearing girls complain to me about their big thighs, which I think look great!  Our thigh muscles give us strength, power, explosive movement and stability so let’s appreciate them and treat them well.  I challenge you to be happy with what you’ve got and do my Extreme Thigh Burn workout (below)  to make your thighs the strongest, firmest and sexiest they can be!

Showin’ off my big, toned, thighs on a night out 🙂

  • Workout: Extreme Thigh Burn
  • Duration: 30 minutes
  • Calories Burned: ~300
  • Focus: Hamstrings, Quads, Glutes, Abductors, Adductors, Overall endurance
  • Instructions: For best results, do this workout at least 2x per week for 4 weeks.  Make sure to do each exercise continuously without rest.  Challenge yourself to get the full workout done in 30 minutes or less! (click on the workout image below to maximize or print and save)

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