Happy Tone it up Tuesday! Here’s the arm workout that I plan to do tomorrow morning – it’s sure to be a doozy 😉 Try it for yourself – enjoy!
Have a great week, lots of luv, Brit
Amazing Arms Workout
BeachBody #OperationTahiti
Meet my friend and former business school classmate, Brandon! During a Twitter convo last week, I learned that he’s about to go on an amazing vacation to Tahiti on April 16th!
Since, I LOVE “beach ready” workouts AND many of my male followers have been requesting some “dude focused” plans, I thought this was perfect timing for my 1st official “get right for the summer” workout plan #OperationTahiti.
Brandon’s #OperationTahiti Goals
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Add 7 lbs of muscle and get back to 170 lbs (currently at 163 lbs)
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Get back to an 8 pack and tight core
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Tighten upper body (chest and arms) definition
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Restore base of strength in shoulders, back, groin, quads, hamstrings & calves
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Improve cardio endurance (not my favorite thing in the world)
Brandon’s GRIT by Brit Workout Schedule
A few things to note about Brandon’s workout schedule…
- This is ~2 week workout and diet plan which requires training 2 days on and 1 day off, alternating.
- All of the cardio workouts are in red text, strength is in blue text and abs are in gray text
- I tried to incorporate 3 days of cardio each week
- I want Brandon to lift as HEAVY as POSSIBLE during his strength workouts
- Here are links to detailed GRIT by Brit workouts included in his schedule:
- Tummy, Booty & Thighs (yes..it’s okay for dudes to do this workout)
- Abs for Days
- Flex & Pump
- 15 Minute Cardio Fix
Now, we all know you can’t out exercise a bad diet, so here’s Brandon’s diet change ups to go along with his workout schedule…
Stayed tuned for Brandon’s progress report and “after” pics! I’m sure he’s gonna kill it! #OperationTahiti – Leggoo!
Love Your Body Day #2: FLEX & PUMP
Show your body some love today by hitting the weights! Your body is resilient, efficient and thirsty for a challenge. Include weight lifting in your exercise regimen to ensure your muscles are strong and able to support your body. Resistance training helps prevent injuries, increases muscle definition and accelerates the rate your body burns calories while resting (a good look)!
In honor of Love Your Body Day #2, I put together this total body weight lifting workout for you to enjoy. After your workout, take a moment and be grateful for your body – 2 good arms, 2 good legs a heart and lungs that work!
Love your body today by FLEXIN’ those sexy muscles and PUMPIN’ some iron #GRIT
4-week tone up challenge: COMPLETE
“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
Bringin’ 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 😉
5 Tips to Spice Up Your Workout Routine: Variety is the SPICE of life and the FUEL for fitness
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
- 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.
Les Mills Body Pump Review: Pump ON = Fat OFF
- Workout: Body Pump, Les Mills
- Duration: 1 hour
- Calories Burned: 350-550
- Focus: Total body muscle strengthening and toning
- What is Body Pump?: A total body weight lifting class using a bar with weighted plates on each side. There are about 8-10 music tracks and each one has a choreographed weight lifting routine to work a specific muscle group (i.e. legs, chest, back, biceps, triceps, etc.). You can also buy the DVDs and equipment to do the class at home.
Commentary: I try to go to Body Pump at least once a week and when I do, I always feel tight and toned. The music is okay, def not amazing, but the workout is sick – it’ll get you right. I like this class because it’s an efficient TOTAL body strength workout. I appreciate that I don’t have go searching for a weight lifting routine for each body part, I can get it all at once – 1 hour and done. Also, you do a ton of reps for each muscle group so bulking up is not an issue. Instead, your muscles gain endurance and you even get a good sweat!
The Facts: Building lean muscle mass is not only great for your overall health and fitness, it’s also a great way to speed up your metabolism aka BURN FAT! Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the rate that your body burns calories while at rest. RMR is directly related to your ratio of lean body mass. This means, the more lean body mass you build, the more calories and fat you burn while at rest. So get your PUMP ON and get the FAT OFF 🙂
Resistance training has been perhaps the most under emphasized component of the comprehensive weight loss program. – Paula Besson MEd