muscle tone – GRIT By Brit

Reach for the Stars! Plyo Workout

June 27, 2013 2 Comments

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;)

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars! Lots of luv, Brit

Total Body

Bandz Make Me Dance: Total Body Resistance Band Workout

March 13, 2013 2 Comments

I recently started working with a client in Buffalo, NY, which means I’m back on the road and back to my trusty hotel gym workouts. Along with the usual cardio equipment, this hotel gym has some fun “fitness toys” like medicine balls, kettle bells and resistance bands. In the spirit of keeping things interesting, I decided to make up some new workouts that don’t use standard dumbbells.

First up is a resistance band workout that I did this morning. (Below, are some action shots of me – please don’t be cruel as I’m sans make-up and #nofilter.) The circuit needs to be completed 3 times for adequate resistance training. Keep in mind, that 2 resistance/weight training workouts per week are recommended to develop and maintain an adequate fitness level. Try it out and let me know how it goes – enjoy! Luv, Brit 😉

Abs

Lose the POOCH! Complete workout for your LOWER ABS

March 5, 2013 35 Comments

FUPA = Front Upper Pubic Area

(aka “pooch”)

Alright, you guys asked for it so here it is – the ultimate workout for our biggest problem area: LOWER ABS!

Now, if you truly want to lose your pooch you have to minimize belly fat. That means you have to eat clean & sweat. That’s right folks, hit that treadmill, drink that water and eat those apples – just keepin’ it real.

Also, keep note that there are 3 key mistakes we often make that cause our tummy to look super saggy. Avoid these!

Slouching – Stand up straight, puff out that chest and suck in that tummy. Just standing up straight can make us look up to 10 pounds lighter, no joke! Also, walking around like a hunchback makes us look sloppy and insecure…not cute.
Too much sodium – Salt makes us retain water and causes stomach bloating. If you need to slim down for a big event, cut back on the salt!
Not enough water – Dehydration causes “bowel issues” which also causes bloating. Drink up and flush out 😉

Try the workout along with some CARDIO and let me know how it goes. Once you get the exercises down, repeat the circuit up to 5 times for a #hardcore burn – enjoy!

Lots of luv, Brit

(Note: You can click on the image above, to maximize size and print.)

Inspiration & Motivation

Super Simple 4 week Slim Down

December 4, 2012 3 Comments

Meet my lovely cousin Chasity, our newest 4-week challenge chick on GRITbyBrit! We are just coming off of a very successful 4-week challenge story with Alex who lost 7 pounds and rocked a sexy new dress for her 29th b-day. Now Chasity is taking the challenge up a notch and striving to lose 12 pounds! I tried to make her plan very SIMPLE because it can be really challenging to be disciplined on SO MANY areas. Hopefully, many of you can try the plan for yourself and share your success stories with me.

Be sure to check back for Chasity’s progress report. Let’s go Chasity – wish her luck!

Chasity’s Goals:

Lose 12 pounds

Healthier eating habits

Tone upper body/ thighs

Increase Stamina

Tone lower abs/ muffin top

Workout Schedule: 1 hour M/Tu/Th/Sat/Sun
Workout Likes: Yoga, Pilates, Cardio/Dance style workouts
Workout Dislikes: RUNNING
Eating Habits: “I eat breakfast daily usually oatmeal during the week and a “country breakfast” on Saturdays 🙂 Frozen dinners for lunch during the week or sometimes I will eat fast food-raising canes is my often my choice. Dinner is just whatever I can get fast because I’m usually starving by the time I get home (meaning I tend to go for unhealthy food). I do snack a lot on like chips, pickles, cheese its, gummy bears, Oreos, cheese. I have Starbucks very berry coffee cake – my weekly treat. I don’t drink soda or coffee. During the week I don’t eat after 7 except on weds (eat after I get out of church around 9ish)” – Chasity

CHASITY’S 4-WEEK PLAN:

Home Workouts, Legs

Bye Bye Jiggly Thighs!

July 26, 2012 1 Comment

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)

Home Workouts, Total Body

Brit’s Ultimate DIY Boot Camp

May 24, 2012 4 Comments

GRIT 013 — 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)

+ “Booty Kickin” Finale (~10 minutes anaerobic cardio = sucking air!)

= 100% effective FREE personal boot camp

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 🙂

GRIT 019 — squat w/ should press – part 1

GRIT 020 — squat w/shoulder press – part 2

GRIT 017 — side squat walk (get it KORT – LOL)

GRIT 028 — leg lowers on back (Tasia is clearly in pain-LOL)

Inspiration & Motivation

Tone up challenge week 3 report: Jan proves there’s NO EXCUSE to skip workouts

May 22, 2012 1 Comment

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!

Back, Home Workouts

Bringin’ Sexy BACK!

May 16, 2012 3 Comments

Backless-Dresses — 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 😉

Deadlift aka "Good Morning" — Dead lift aka “Good Morning”

Bent-over-Row-WomensHealthMag.com_ — Low Row

rear dealt fly — Bent over rear delt fly

Inspiration & Motivation

Tone Up Challenge Week 2 Report: Jan falls in love with Flywheel

May 15, 2012 3 Comments

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!

Learn more about FlyWheel at their website: https://www.flywheelsports.com/

Home Workouts, Legs

Get KILLER Legs in your Living Room

April 23, 2012 4 Comments

Get sexy J-Lo legs with my “At Home Leg Tone” workout

Workout: At Home Leg Tone
Duration: 30-40 minutes
Calories Burned: about 250
Focus: Strengthen and toning of quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus maximus
Brit’s Commentary: Alright, you guys asked for it, so here it is – the complete AT HOME leg sculpting workout. GOOD NEWS – the quadriceps are large powerful muscles, so you’ll also get a good calorie burn while doing this lower body shape up. For best results, do the workout at least 2 times per week for 4 consecutive weeks. Enjoy your tight, sexy thighs and keep the workout requests coming – you guys are the best! (P.S. click on the workout/picture below so it’s bigger – you can also print it off)