Hey Gang! Hope your week is going well. I started a new project in Chicago this week. My team is full of CrossFit junkies and this morning they hit up a 5:30am CrossFit session. Unfortunately, I overslept and missed it 🙁 But on the bright side, I made a back up “Endurance Pyramid Dumbbell Circuit” workout and did it in my hotel gym. After the circuit, I got a quick 30 minutes in on the elliptical. My entire workout took 45 minutes (so I’m guessing the circuit only takes ~15 minutes). Try to power through it with minimal rest to focus on building your endurance and to get a good sweat going – post a comment if you have questions. Enjoy! xoxo, Brit
Keeping on the trend of upper body workouts for women, here’s a new chest workout I designed with the ladies in mind (although men will enjoy it as well). For best results, complete the entire circuit using 8-20 pound dumbbells, depending on your strength. You’ll notice that this workout has bench press “negatives” in it. Just perform a basic, lying dumbbell bench press but push the weights up quickly and then bring them down to starting position very slowly, controlling the resistance on the way down (count to 3 slowly to make sure you are moving at the right pace.) As always, add a little cardio and stretching to the end of the workout.
Enjoy and let me know how it goes. Lots of luv, Brit
Happy Saturday Ladies and Gents! While I love you both equally, I designed this workout especially for the ladies. I think many of you can empathize with the how hard it is to find a challenging shoulder workout that isn’t catered towards bulking up (i.e. 4 set of 5 military press at 50 pounds). Come on, I don’t want to look like I can pick up my date, I just want to be able to rock a nice sleeveless blouse during my date. However, let me caveat my last statement by clarifying that even if we don’t want to bulk up, we must still lift a weight that challenges us. If it doesn’t challenge us, it doesn’t change us! Don’t be afraid to pick up a pair of 10-20 pound dumbbells when doing my “Sexy Shoulders” workout.
While I created this shoulder workout just for the ladies, it’s a great workout for men as well. Unlike my other arm workouts, this routine solely focuses on the shoulder muscles instead of the entire arm. It’s a great way to isolate the shoulders and really build some definition. For best results, do this workout 2 times per week along with 30 minutes of cardio for 4 weeks. Enjoy and let me know how it goes.
Hey Guys! Hope you had a great weekend. So my “fit friend” and fellow blogger Laura (author of http://www.50by25.com/) gave the great suggestion of creating a weekly resistance workout plan for my blog followers. The plan incorporates very targeted workouts that each focus on a specific muscle group. None of the workouts are full-body circuits (i.e. my infamous Tummy, Booty & Thighs circuit that you guys love so much).
So, the idea is that you need to complete the entire weekly plan in order to get a complete, total body workout. At the beginning of the week, you work the larger muscles groups and then later on in the week you work the smaller ones. This sequencing allows you to get some fierce fitness going on by really exhausting and fatiguing one muscle group at a time. Doing so requires greater muscle repair and consequently, the development of more lean muscle mass.
For best results, complete the following plan in addition to 2-3, 30 minute cardio workouts. Enjoy and let me know how it goes! Lots of luv, Brit
I hope your answer to this question is, “AWESOME!” While that may be true in the short-term, the day after a tough workout can often be pretty painful – muscle soreness anyone? Sore, achy muscles are a natural part of getting stronger, leaner and fitter. When we life heavy weights or take on a new workout regimen, we get micro tears in our muscles. Now don’t worry, these tears are actually beneficial because they force our muscles to rebuild, which burns a lot of calories and increases lean muscles mass. On the downside, we also feel the aches and pains – not so fun.
The good news is that you can effectively prevent and manage muscles soreness so that you don’t find yourself on the sidelines. Here are some of my “tried and true” tips for keeping the pain at bay:
Keep Moving – Contrary to popular belief, the worse thing you can do is be still. When we stop moving altogether, our muscles build up lactic acid and get stiff. Even though you may feel sore after a booty-kickin’ workout, try to do some light cardio the next day to keep blood flowing and prevent stiffness.
Eat Bananas – Bananas are full of potassium which prevents muscle soreness and cramping. Eating 1 banana post-workout will help prevent aches and pains.
Stretch – When muscles are repairing, they contract. Make sure to stretch and lengthen your muscles often. Fitness experts recommend at least 2 days per week of stretching. Remember to do dynamic stretching (stretching while moving/light stretching) before your workouts and static stretching (stretching while being still/deep stretching) ONLY after your workout. You should NEVER do static/deep stretching before a workout because your muscles are not warmed up and you’re likely over-strain your tendons or pull a muscle.
Stay Hydrated – Sufficient hydration is the magic answer to almost all body issues. Your body needs a lot of water to refuel after a tough workout so make sure your are giving it an adequate supply. Muscle pain is often a result of dehydration.
Ice & Ibuprofen – As a former college basketball player, Ice & Ibuprofen was my ultimate remedy after tough games. If you experience inflammation after working out, place an ice pack the swollen area and take some Ibuprofen. Remember, swelling is often a sign of overexertion or injury, so you may want to take it easier next time or consult with your physician if you experience continuous swelling.
Hope this tips are helpful. Now go get your workout on! Lots of Luv, Brit
Happy “Tone it up Tuesday” – here’s the workout I did before work this morning. Be ready to blast some calories and feel tight and toned! Try it for yourself and let me know how it goes! Lots of luv, Brit
I hope you guys had a great Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend. I spent my weekend in California celebrating a friend’s wedding – it was amazing! The sun was shining and I finally got to wear some of my favorite sundresses. On that note, nothing looks better in a sleeveless sundress than nice toned arms. So, check out this arm workout that I designed to get you on a “Michelle Obama level.” You’ll need 2 medium dumbbells to complete the exercises. This is a nice workout to tag on to the end of a cardio sweat session. You can workout with me in real-time by watching the video (click play above) or do the workout on your own(follow the instructions below). Either way, be sure to try it out and let me know how it goes!
Commentary: Given my extensive experience evaluating celebrities walk the red carpet in sleeveless dresses, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are 3 keys to sexy toned arms:
Reduce Body FAT – The reality is, the only way to look lean and sculpted is to get rid of excess body fat. You know what that means – eat LESS and move MORE! You can’t show off your sexy arms if excess fat is covering them.
Sculpt Shoulders – The shoulders are the first part of the arms that people usually notice so it’s key to do several exercises that target the front, side and rear shoulder muscles.
Tighten Triceps – The back of your arms are the areas that tend to look the flabbiest. So, always make sure that your arm workouts make your triceps feel strong and tight!
Below is my complete “Sexy Arms Circuit.” I made this workout to tone my arms WITHOUT bulking them up. You need to use light weights during the workout (1-2 pounds in each hand) – soup cans are great for this 😉
Make sure to stand up with your back straight, feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent. Do each exercise in the order below WITHOUT resting between exercises. Repeat the entire circuit 3X, take a about 1-2 minutes of rest in between each circuit. ENJOY and get ready to rock your sleeveless sundress!
