tummy tone – GRIT By Brit

Melt the Muffin Top: Complete workout for your CORE

March 27, 2013 6 Comments

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 🙂

muffin top

Total Body

Spring in to Shape! 10 min Total Body Toning Workout Video

March 20, 2013 8 Comments

Happy 1st day of Spring! Here’s a new YouTube video that I shot last weekend. I choreographed the exercises to some of my favorite jamz to get you pumped up and excited for Spring.

The workout lasts exactly 10 minutes. Expect to burn ~70-100 calories and really tighten your core, arms and legs. Hope you like it!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-bhTyUDMwk]

Inspiration & Motivation

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

August 14, 2012 2 Comments

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:

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.
Also, it is so important for me to keep my workouts fresh, so I don’t burn out or lose motivation.
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 Plan, Week 1 , Week 2, Week 3

Inspiration & Motivation

4-week Challenge Euro Style: Jenny’s Week 1 Update

July 20, 2012 2 Comments

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

Inspiration & Motivation

NEW 4-week tone up challenge: Euro Style with Jenny!

July 10, 2012 5 Comments

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:

“Get into those damn jeans – bought them last year when I was about 7 kilos lighter – they are too cute to just sit in my closet! Yes, “kilos” this is the EURO 4-week challenge”
“I have a long-weekend in Malaga with a friend coming up at the end of July – so I’d like to feel super sexy in my bikini!”

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!

Brit and Jenni 7 — Me and Jenny in 2006 – getting ready to graduate from college!

Workouts by Brit referenced in this plan:

Inspiration & Motivation

4-week tone up challenge: COMPLETE

June 5, 2012 3 Comments

“Done and Done! The 4-week tone up challenge was truly a great mix up to my winter workout rut. I appreciated having set days to work out and set days to recover. Also, the structured workout plan gave me goals and checklists which were extremely helpful when fitting workouts into my busy schedule. Overall, I am loving the results so far and will continue to use Brit’s workouts ALL summer. This is just the kick-start I needed to get beach body ready. After only 4 weeks my “six-pack” is starting to show and my legs are significantly more toned! I’m looking forward to some new workouts for my post Italian vacation in a couple of weeks to help me get back on track after a little R&R with a great friend (Brit).” – Jan

Wanna try the challenge? Missed one of Jan’s updates?

Kick Off: 4-week tone-up challenge
Week 1: Jan’s Gettin’ In the Groove
Week 2: Jan Falls In Love with Flywheel
Week 3: Jan Proves There’s No Excuse to Skip Workouts
Week 4:That’ s a WRAP 🙂

Photography provided by Anna Jane

Abs, Home Workouts

Abs & Core Workout: Beyonce 6 Pack Abs Workout

May 28, 2012 10 Comments

beyonce abs — 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

GRIT 056 — Plank Jacks – jump toes out and in

GRIT 052 — Mountain climbers – switch feet fast

PART 2

GRIT 050 — Bicycle crunches – alternating

GRIT 047 — Single leg toe touches (example: right hand/left toe)

PART 3

GRIT 068 — Plank Hip Dips – with elbows on the floor, twist torso alternate hips down

GRIT 060 — Plank side to side jumps – keep feet together

GRIT 055 — Froggers – jump both feet up and back as fast as you can

PART 4

GRIT 065 — Leg Circles – take legs all the way around, almost touching floor

GRIT 049 — Flutter kicks – kick feet up and down fast

GRIT 062 — Punch through crunches – alternate the arms

Inspiration & Motivation

Tone Up Challenge Week 1 Report: Jan’s gettin’ in the groove

May 7, 2012 1 Comment

So, you guys remember my friend Jan from our 4-week Tone Up Challenge – well she has officially completed her 1st week and is kicking butt and taking names. Here is an update on her “toning up” progress.

JAN’S WEEK #1 PROGRESS REPORT:

Jan after week 1 — Jan gettin’ ready for her SPIN class this morning!

“So good 1st week! I changed up the days a little bit because I was sick, so did your #1 and #2 workouts and will do #3 on Tuesday, so I’m a little off. Felt really good doing a 5 day workout this week, but knees are swollen. So, I took Sunday off but went to Spin class this morning and feel really good about it. The #1 workout was good, did the AB portion twice (the 2nd 1/2). The standing up stuff didn’t work me out as much as I liked. The workout #2 was good, a little tough on my knees with the 1st 1/2 squatting etc, but still good to tone up my legs. I already am feeling good results, bc my body changes pretty quickly so LOVING IT!”

– Jan 🙂

BRIT’S WEEK #2 ADVICE FOR JAN:

Don’t get complacent. Jan did a great job on getting in 5 workouts in 1 week. Often when have a successful exercise week, we get complacent and think we deserve a “break.” This is also the case we we lose the 1st 5 pounds…we get excited and gain ’em back the next week. While you should feel good about yourself and proud of your accomplishment, make sure to keep up the hard work. This week, I’m continuing to push Jan to get her 5 workouts in!
Jan’s doing a good job of listening to her body to prevent over training; however, she is still pushing herself and ensuring that she gets ALL of her workouts in. It can be hard to balance the two, but she’s doing a great job!
Don’t forget your diet. This week, I challenged Jan to focus more on her 3 diet change ups: 1) protein at breakfast 2) healthy afternoon snack 3) and no eating after 9pm. She did pretty well the first week but there is ALWAYS room for improvement.

Stay tuned for Jan’s Week 2 update next Monday, WISH HER LUCK – Go Jan!

Legs

Tummy and Thighs and Booty…OH MY!

May 3, 2012 10 Comments

Here is a workout I put together to zap our problem areas – yes, the tummy, thighs and booty! Reality is, these areas are the hardest to transform because it takes a lot of GRIT. The workout is hard but you CAN do it! Dig deep and don’t give up. Enjoy 🙂

Workout: TTBOM by Brit
Duration: 45 minutes
Calories burned: 400-600

Instructions: Do the following circuit 4X. In between each round, jump rope or run in place with high knees for 2 minutes WITHOUT stopping. Burn it out and get it RIGHT!