Category Archives: Workouts

20 Min HIIT Treadmill Workout

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I am always looking for new workouts to try, and I found a gold mine of workouts on the blog Meal and Moves. She has a ton of great stuff! I tried her “go-to 20 minute HIIT” this morning, and I loved it.  The speeds are a little high for a beginner/intermediate runner, so I changed the speeds for someone who might not feel comfortable going above an 8.0 on the treadmill.  The set-up is the same as Janetha’s, so I credit her for this.  I just tweaked it a bit for a client that I am currently working  with. Check the workoutt on her website for the higher speeds.

I am a firm believer that you don’t have to spend hours running/working out to achieve results. High intensity interval training is a great way to challenge your body in a shorter amount of time.  20-25 minutes is all you need to get in a great calorie burning workout when you work at higher intensity!

Enjoy!

Full Body Basic Circuit Workout

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I admit that I have finally joined the world of Pinterest. For the longest time I vowed that I would not join it because I did not want one more time suck on my hand.  I caved though, and to be honest I don’t regret that decision one bit.  It has been a huge resource for me as I plan workouts, look for new recipes, and try to find fun things to do with my kids.  I seriously love that site!

One of my favorite things to look for is new workouts.  I have found myself feeling lately that there are too many workouts, but not enough time to do them all! But that is a good thing. :)

I want to add my little mark to that website by posting this workout for others to “pin.” This workout is a basic workout in the sense that all the moves are basic moves.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t challenging though.  These just build the foundation to more advanced moves.  Sometimes getting back to the basics can be refreshing. If you have any questions on how to do any of these exercises, you can google the name and you will find videos/ images of the move. Oh and as a side note, if you have dumbbells at home, you can complete this in the comfort of your own home!

Complete this workout 1-2 times/week.

Let me know if you do this and what you thought!

Have you joined Pinterest? If so, what are some of your favorite things to search for on there?

 

Cardio Interval Workouts

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Including cardio into a workout routine is important to help burn fat and calories, but it doesn’t have to come in the form of 60 + min of running on a treadmill to get the work done.  The key is to split your cardio routine into intervals; high intensity to low intensity.  This will keep your body working hard to keep up with what you are throwing at it, and you will burn mega calories!

Here are a few of my favorite intervals that can be done on any piece of cardio equipment:

  • Pyramid

1-5 min: light cardio for warm up

6-7 min: 1 minute at high intensity

7-8 min: 1 minute recovery

8-10 min: 2 minutes high intensity

10-12 min: 2 minutes recovery

12-15 min: 3 minutes high intensity

15-18 min: 3 minutes recovery

18-20 min: 2 minutes high intensity

20-22 min: 2 minutes recovery

22-23 min: 1 minute high intensity

23-24 min: 1 minute recovery

24-30 min: light cardio for cool down

  • Incline Pyramid
Time Speed Incline
0-5 4.0 3.0
5-6 5.0 2.0
6-7 6.0 1.0
7-8 5.0 2.0
8-9 6.5 1.0
9-10 4.0 4.0
10-11 6.5 1.0
11-12 5.0 2.0
12-13 7.0 1.0
13-14 5.0 2.0
14-15 7.5 1.0
15-16 4.0 5.0
16-17 6.5 1.0
17-18 5.5 2.0
18-19 7.0 1.0
19-20 5.5 2.0
20-21 8.0 1.0
21-22 5.5 2.0
22-23 7.0 1.0
23-24 5.5 2.0
24-25 6.4 1.0
25-30 4.0 6.0
  • Basic Interval

Warm up 5 minutes

1 min high intensity

1 min recovery

Repeat until you have reached desired time

Cool down

  •  Song Intervals

Warm up 5 minutes

Go at a medium pace and then sprint or go at full intensity through the chorus of the song.

Repeat for 5-8 songs

  •  Ladders

Warm up 5 minutes

10 sec of work, 10 sec of rest

20 sec of work, 20 sec of rest

30 sec of work, 30 sec of rest

OR

10 sec of work, 10 sec of rest

20 sec of work, 20 sec of rest

30 sec of work, 30 sec of rest

30 sec or work, 30 sec of rest

20 sec of work, 20 sec of rest

10 sec of work, 10 sec of rest

OR

15 sec of work, 45 sec of rest

30 sec of work, 30 sec of rest

45 sec of work, 15 sec of rest

60 sec of work, 60 sec of rest

Another way to get in your cardio is to do plyo moves between 2-3 different strength moves.

Ex: Perform a set of lunges and then a set of bicep curls until you have completed the desired number of sets.  Then add one of the below plyo moves to get your heart rate up!

Here are some plyo moves you could do:

  • High Knees
  • Butt Kicks
  • Burpees
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Jump Squats
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Jump Rope
  • Sprints
  • Speed Skaters
  • Fast step-ups
  • Air Jacks
  • Long Jumps
We are all busy and have a million excuses about how we don’t have time to workout, but it is possible to get some serious work done in a short amount of time! Try these out and let me know what you think!
What are some of your favorite ways to get a good workout done quick??

Weightless Upper Body Workout

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I am currently helping a friend of mine lose weight, and she is doing so awesome! One of my biggest desires is to inspire women to live a healthy life, so seeing her enjoy the workouts we are doing and seeing some serious results makes me beyond happy and eager to help more people!

She is a very busy mom, as are many of my readers, so I put together a workout that busy moms (or person for that matter!) can do because it requires no equipment and you can do it anywhere.  The first workout I will post focuses on your upper body, and will post the lower body workout later.

As a disclaimer, as much as I would like to be, I am not a fitness expert. I claim no responsibility if injury occurs while performing these moves. Perform this routine at your own risk.

Weightless Upper Body Workout

Fitness Level: Intermediate to Advanced

**The key to getting the most out of this workout is to do the moves in a superset. (completing consecutive sets of an exercise until you have reached desired number of sets with little to no rest in between moves)**

Also, to up the calorie burn, add a plyometric move between each superset to keep your heart rate up.  

Superset #1: (Up your reps by 2 each time you do a set)

  • 10 Push ups (you can modify by doing these on your knees)
  • 10 Chair Dips (works your triceps)
Do these two moves back to back until you have completed 3 sets of each.
Superset #2: (Again, up your reps by 2 each time!)
Do these two moves back to back until you have completed 3 sets of each.
Superset #3: (Up reps 2 times each set)
  • 20 Weightless Standing Rows (I kind of made up this move, but stand with one foot in front of the other in a ready stance.  Raise arms so that they are parallel to floor; hands in fist shape.  Pull your arms back towards your chest and really focus on contracting the muscles you are using.  Think about pulling a band back and forth to visualize.)
  • 10 Up-Down Planks
Do these two moves back to back until you have completed 3 sets of each.
Your upper body should be nice and tired by the end of this workout!  I hope you enjoy!
What are some of your favorite upper body exercises?

Treadmill Hill/Speed Workout

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Another early morning workout success! I have really struggled to get up early the past few weeks, but have made it a goal to get my behind out of bed before my hubby leaves this week.  I always feel better when I do this, so why don’t I do it more often? I am my own worst enemy I tell ya.

I completed a 25 minute treadmill hill/speed interval workout that looked this like:

  • 1-3 min: warm up jog at 6.0
  • 3-4 min: run 6.5 at 4.0 incline
  • 4-5 min: walk 4.5 at 4.0 incline
  • 5-6 min: run 6.3 at 6.0 incline
  • 6-7 min: walk 4.5 at 6.0 incline
  • 7-8 min: run 6.1 at 8.0 incline
  • 8-9 min: walk 4.5 at 8.0 incline
  • 9-10 min: run 5.9 at 9.0 incline
  • 10-11 min: walk 4.5 at 9.0 incline
  • 11-12 min: run 5.7 at 10.0 incline
  • 12-13 min: walk 4.5 at 10.00 incline
  • 13-14 min: run 5.5 at 11.0 incline
  • 14-15 min: walk 4.5 at 11.0 incline
  • 15-16 min: run 5.0 at 12.0 incline (I was having to hold on to the bars at this point, so I was done with the hills!)
  • 16-17 min: walk 4.5 at 12.0 incline
  • 17-18 min: walk at 4.5 at 1.0 incline
  • 18-19 min: run 6.0
  • 19-20 min: run 6.5
  • 20-21 min: run 7.0
  • 21-22 min: run 7.5
  • 22-23 min: 8.0
  • 23-23:30 min: run 8.5
  • 23:30-24 min: run 9.0
  • 24-25 min: walk 4.5 at 1.0 incline

When I got home, I completed the ab routine that I have posted a few times lately.  This has become my favorite ab routine, and I recommend that you do it too! You will love it! (At least I hope :) )

That treadmill workout killed me this morning, and I feel really drained now.  Hopefully I will get an energy boost soon since it is supposed to be a lovely summer day with hardly any humidity and I hope to spend as much time outside with the kids as possible.

Should be a good day :)

 

Another Meatless Meal and a New Weight Routine

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This day is already off to a much better start than yesterday! The biggest difference is that I managed to get up early and work out before the kids woke up! My early AM workout ended up like this:

Workout

I only had about 20 minutes to workout at our complex gym before my hubby had to leave for work, so I made the most of my time by going high intensity intervals in that 20 minutes.  I was happy to be done after 20 minutes because it was tough!

I then came home and completed a push (meaning that the moves I did involved a push motion compared to a pull) weight routine that looked like this:

  • Dumbbell squats (legs)
  • Reverse Lunges with weights (legs)
  • Push ups (chest)
  • Chest Press (chest)
  • Overhead Press (shoulders)
  • Front Raises (shoulders)
  • Tricep Kickbacks (triceps)
  • One-arm Tricep Push Ups (triceps)

I did 2 sets of each exercise with 12-15 reps of each.  I also incorporated some plyo moves between each body part I worked.  It was a great workout, but I am glad I am done!

I am so glad I got this out-of-the-way early because now we will have time to get out before it is too hot! This is going to be a great day :)

Meatless Monday

I didn’t post our meal last night, but here it is:

Meatless Black Bean and Corn Burritos

This is a common meatless meal for us in this house since it is quick, easy, and yummy! We put refried beans, black beans, corn, and a bit of cheese in a tortilla and then grill it on our foreman.  This meal did not disappoint again!

I really love going meatless once in a while, and I have even thought of maybe doing more meatless meals.  The hubby is not really on board with that right now, so I guess once a week will work for now :) He is a meat man through and through! I have read a few blogs such as Peas and Thank You where they don’t eat meat at all, and I am amazed at their recipes because they all look so yummy! I am really inspired by other non meat eaters because I definitely want to be more like them.  I think I am on my way with Meatless Mondays, but I definitely could do better.  Baby steps though right?

The boys are awake now and are currently fighting over a wooden block. Gotta go!

Have a great day and try to do something active!

What was your workout today?

Did you go meatless yesterday? If so, what recipe did you use?

 

Grocery Budget Update

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Well, Monday came and went and I am glad it is about over.  What a rough day! Thank goodness for a fresh start tomorrow!

Workout

I was super unmotivated this morning, but managed to get a good workout in once the baby was down for his morning nap:

  • 5 minute warm up

Part 1:

  • Jump rope interval (20 seconds double hop, 20 seconds single hop; repeated 3 times)
  • 10 sprints up the stairs in our breeze way

Repeated 3 times

Part 2: (I was inspired by some plyometric moves that were posted on Faith, Fitness, Fun a few days ago)

  • Burpees
  • Bench Jumps
  • Speed Skaters
  • Squat Jumps
  • Pop Lunges
  • Tuck Jumps
  • Power Kicks

I used pretty much all the moves she posted but used them in an interval workout format.

ex: 30 secs move, rest 30 secs, 45 secs move, 45 secs rest, 60 secs move, 60 secs rest

It took about 30 minutes to complete the moves above in this interval pattern, and I was so glad I made it to my target time goal because this was SO hard! Plyometric moves are very intense but are very effective for trying to get the most out of a short time.  I love working my body like!

I felt 10 times better after this workout mentally, and was reaffirmed once again that you will never regret moving your body.  It just does the body good!

Grocery Budget Update

I posted last week that I am trying to stick to a grocery budget of $500 this month, and I am realizing that I this is going to be hard for me! I don’t consider myself a high spender, but I do like to shop and try new things.

Last week I spent $28 on groceries, so I ended the week with $472. 

This past weekend we decided to do a Costco run and stock up some things that we like to have in bulk.  We took out some cash before we went, and planned on spending $120.

But Costco has a weird way of making you spend more than you anticipated.  We ended up spending $190. That seems like a lot because it is, but we stocked up on a ton of fresh fruits and veggies that will last us for 2-3 weeks so I will not have to buy any more fruits or veggies until the end of the month.  We also bought some meat that will last us through the month and even into next. We don’t get absolutely everything that we need at Costco, but we do get stuff in bulk that we know we will eat.

So even though it was a big trip, I think it will even out in the end since we will not need to buy any of this stuff again for a while. (At least that is what I am telling myself.)

I started this week with $282.

There were just a few things that I did not want to buy in bulk that I needed, so I went to the store this afternoon and spent $19 on a few random things.

As of now, our balance for the rest of the month is $263.  

I think we can do it since we will shop out of what we already for the a while now.

Sticking to a budget like this is hard for me, and I have found that using cash really is the best way for me to stay to what I am going to spend.  I just need to keep up with it and not get discouraged!

I will post our Meatless Meal tomorrow since this is already a long post, and I have a ton of things I still need to do tonight! Until then, have a great night!

-What was your workout today?

-Did you suffer from the Monday blahs as well today? (Please tell me I am not the only one)

Strength Training Plan for Beginners

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Do you ever eat a salad or something and by the end you kind of feel like gagging? I know that might not be the most pleasant way to start a post, but that happened to me at dinner tonight and I have felt sick ever since. Yuck!

The only thing that feels like would help to get rid of the feeling is chocolate for some reason.  Isn’t that weird?

I caved in and went to the store and spent about $28 dollars on some produce, yogurt, cracker, etc.  The kids pretty much live off of yogurt for breakfast and I pretty much live off of veggies, so I felt like we had to get SOMETHING to hold us off until we can do a big trip this weekend.  I made the mistake of going to one of those “budget” grocery stores. (Not Aldis. I LOVE that place!)  The prices might be good, but the produce is less than good.  I thought I picked out the best looking heads of lettuce, but just knowing that there were other not so good looking heads of lettuce there kind of grossed me out and I couldn’t get it out of my head I guess.  What was I thinking?? All that money wasted, and of all months to do it!

Lesson learned.

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I mentioned last night that I was going over to help a friend set up a weight training program. It went well I thought, and I just realized how much I love this stuff.  Good thing right since I should be taking the CPT test THIS WEEKEND! Ah!

Before I went, I put a few exercises together to set up a beginners strength training program that looks like this:

The thing that I think is cool about this is that you can change it to fit your fitness level:

-If a basic squat is too easy, add some weights to it, or go deeper.

-If a basic  hammer curl is too easy, try it standing on a Bosu ball or on one foot.

-If you can hold a plank longer than 30 seconds, then by all mean do it!

There are a million variations to this, so add and take off what you want.  One of my favorite things to do is to add plyo moves between a few of the moves to get my heart rate up.  It helps to burn more calories and to make your weight training session much more efficient in my mind.

If you are new to strength training, I would recommend starting out on some of these basic moves to help you get comfortable with the whole weights thing.  And of course, getting a personal trainer would definitely help too ;)

I am off now to see if I can find some chocolate to kick my gagging feeling.  I think it will do the trick!

-Have you ever had a meal like that before; where you just kind of feel sick afterwards for  some reason?

-Are you new to strength training? What are some of your favorite strength moves?

 

Bypassing the heat and humidity

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The past few days have been insanely hot and humid. So hot that on the news this morning they said that if you don’t have to go out this afternoon, don’t. And since I am a total baby when it comes to heat, I am taking this advice very seriously. My poor kids. They don’t seem to mind the weather outside at all, but I just can’t grin and bear it today. It is TOO hot!

Picture 4

The early AM has actually been pretty bearable; only mid 70s! (That is too hot for 6 am don’t you think?) And since my kids are both early risers, we have been taking full advantage of the milder weather and have ventured out a bit. We found a cute little baseball field the other day not too far from our place, and both boys have loved playing there. I didn’t wake up in time to workout before my husband went to work yesterday, so I just took the kids on a run with me when they woke up. (Around 6:30; like I said they are EARLY risers.)

I ran for about 40 minutes and then did a few things at the field while the kids played.

I started with some step-ups in the dugout. (Inspired by Trainermomma)

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Followed by some sprints between the bases. My son even joined in!

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(This was taken by me while running so excuse the weird angle.)

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Followed by some lunges between the bases as well.

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I then tried to work on my upper body a bit by doing some tricep dips and push-ups in the dugout. (My son was the photographer again in this one, but if you look to left of the photo you will KIND of see me doing some tricep dips.)
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I then finished it off by doing some calf raises up the bleachers. My achilles tendon has been feeling weird lately, so this really helped to stretch that out.
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By the time I was done, it was getting quite toasty. I was ready to sit in the shade for a bit. I let the kids play for a bit longer, and my oldest took his turn taking some more pictures.

Here are a few of my favorite he took:

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I love his shadow in this one!
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Can you see the squirrel?

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I loved the angles in this one!

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Both kids’ faces were beat red, so we called it good and went home. I was so glad we took advantage of the early morning weather. It was around 9 by the time we got home and it was in the high 80s. With the humidity and heat, we were all spent. I hope to continue playing outside early in the mornings during the summers here because I have a feeling that will really be the only time that it will feel somewhat nice to be outside.

Question:

-How do you survive the heat and humidity?

Running but getting nowhere

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As I am writing this, there is thunder so loud and intense that it is shaking our apartment, and there are tornado warnings in surrounding areas.  I am currently home by myself with the kids while my husband is at work, and the kids are asleep.  Kind of a scary situation here! Pray for us please! (Well, more for me I guess since I am the one freaking out here!)

Why am I blogging then? Good question! But this has literally been the only free minute I have had all day to do something besides take care of everyone else, and by golly I am not about to let a storm get in the way! Unless of course I hear sirens go off and then well this will have to wait…

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I went to the mall this morning with a friend of mine and her son. Her son is a year older than my youngest, so we had three kids under the age of three with us as we shopped. I am not sure why we made ourselves endure that, but we did and despite it being totally crazy, it was fun.

We were sitting down at lunch and she made a comment that totally expressed how I have been feeling lately.  She said, (I can’t remember her exact words now) “I feel like I am going in slow motion but running at the same time.”

That is how my life feels right now; I feel like every day I hardly get anything done but I feel like I spend all day running around like a crazy woman trying desperately to get stuff done and my house seems to get messier and messier and I fall further and further behind on laundry and the basic house-keeping things.

With our move in the really near future, I feel this enormous pressure to get started on packing or getting rid of stuff we don’t need anymore. But I find myself feeling really incapable of being able to be productive at all. Frustrating!

But I have found the cure in these situations; EXERCISE!

My husband came home from school and we loaded up the kids in the double jogger for a nice run in the hot afternoon sun.

This is how we roll...

The kids ready with their essentials; toys and drinks

I instantly felt better about everything when we got back.  Even though I had not made any progress on the home front, I felt much more positive about life! Isn’t it amazing what a workout can do for the soul? Really, it is just lovely.

We were all starving by the time we finished, and since it felt like a hot summer day, we grilled up some hamburgers and served them with delicious sweet corn.  Yum! This just tastes like summer!

I have the biggest sweet tooth in the world, so in hopes to indulge my sweet tooth a bit but still stay healthy at the same time, I made a blended concoction of skim milk, chocolate syrup, and banana. It hit the spot and was a great post-workout recovery snack!

This little one is always stealing a sip from my smoothies. He hears the blender turn on and he comes running to the kitchen to get a taste.

Yum!

My oldest for some reason really wanted to go outside and spit water on the ground all afternoon.  After dinner, he was begging me to go outside and while the only thing I wanted to do right then was put the kids to bed because I was seriously done with tantrums and fights, I felt a twinge of guilt when he said, “But you promised me I could go outside and spit water on the ground.”

How can you say no to something like that?

My husband capturing my "good mom" moment.

Outside with only one shoe on. I still don't know where that shoe is...

Getting his spitting on!

The kids are in bed now, and I am on my own for the night with a to-do list a mile long, but the humidity from the rain is a little stifling and all I want to do is be lazy and watch some kind of romantic comedy or something. But knowing that I have so much to do is pulling me into reality.

Does anyone want to come pack up my place? It would have to be all volunteer work because we are poor college students, but hey it always feels good to serve right ;)

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I hope I am not the only one out there who has times like this; of feeling like you are moving at 100 mph but still not getting anything done.

How do you get over the slump? Is exercise your “cure” or do you have other hobbies you turn to??