12 Days of Workouts, Day 9

December 20, 2016December 20, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

It’s December 20th, so today we will play off of that 😉

20 exercises, at 20 reps each. See how fast (with good form!) you can get through all 20 exercises!

Go through it once and you’re done, or work yourself harder and go through again!

Workout:

Vertical or tuck jumps
Push ups
Narrow to wide squats
Mountain climber switch
Tricep dips
Straight leg side sit up-R
Straight leg side sit up-L
Shoulder push ups
Front kicks each
Squat to leg abduction (count the squats, 20 squats, 10 abduction each leg)
Elbow plank walk
Plank jacks
Childs pose push up
Curtsy lunge-R
Curtsy lunge-L
Standing mountain climber each
Speed skaters each
Walking plank
Rolling side plank each
Burpees

Exercises:

A1&2: Mountain climber switch
B1&2: straight leg side sit up
C1,2,3,&4: elbow plank walk
D1,2,3,&4: child’s pose push up
E1,2,3,&4: rolling side plank

Exercise tips:

The goal is to challenge yourself, so we are thinking speed here, but more importantly we are thinking safety and good form!
Straight leg side sit up- feel free to use your outstretched arm (the one that is in contact with the ground) for assistance
Elbow plank walk- simply begin in an elbow plank, place right hand on the ground (picture C2), then place your left hand on the ground (picture C3), then return back to an elbow plank by placing your right elbow on the ground (picture C4)
Child’s pose push up- as you are pushing up from the bottom of the push up, you also aim to push backwards as if you were going to do a child’s pose. The catch your knees never touch the ground, so you hover the whole time and squeeze your abs!
Rolling side plank- simply go from straight arm plank, open to right side plank, back to middle plank, open to left side plank

12 Days of Workouts, Day 8

December 19, 2016December 19, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Day 8:

Squat reps to failure

Push up reps to failure

Quick burpee reps to failure (burpee no push up)

then:

AMRAP 20 MINUTES

50 total wacky jacks (25 each side)
Wall sit with 100 total front jabs (50 each hand)
Plank with 50 shoulder taps (25 each hand)
25 lunge pulse each leg
Low push up hold to failure

Exercises:

Wacky jacks: look like a standing oblique crunch in fast time. You take your right knee up and out to the side at the same time you are bringing your right elbow down to meet the knee. You then hop and switch to the other side- it truly looks wacky
Wall sit with front jabs: hold a wall sit and pretend you are jabbing or hitting someone in front of you, do 100 of thouse
Plank shoulder taps- in a plank position, lift one hand at a time and tap the opposite shoulder- 25 each hand
Lunge pulse- hold yourself at the bottom of the lunge and pulse up and down 25 times each leg. These are the same concept at a squat pulse which has been done in previous days
Low push up hold to failure- hold the bottom of the push up and hold until you can’t anymore

From left to right: wacky jacks pictures 1&2, low push up hold picture 3

12 Days of Workouts, Day 7

December 18, 2016December 17, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Core

Round 1: 20 seconds each, 5 second transition /rest (6 minutes)
45 second rest in between round 1 &2
Round 2: same moves, 30 seconds each, 10 second transition/rest (10 minutes)
45 second rest in between round 2&3
Round 3: same moves: 40 seconds each, 15 second transition/rest (14 minutes)

Mountain climber get up
Plank jacks
Birddog-R
Birddog-L
Side plank leg lift-R
Side plank leg lift-L
X-crunch
Butterfly crunch/sit up
Ab tuck up
Rope climb-R
Rope climb-L
Elbow plank hold
Side plank hold-R
Side plank hold-L
Straight arm plank hold

Exercises:

A1&2: Birddog
B1&2: side plank leg lift
C1,2,3&4: rope climbs
D1&2: ab tuck up
E1&2: X-crunch

Exercise tips:

Mountain climber get up: do about 2-4 total mountain climbers, then hop both feet in to your hands, and stand up
Birddogs- make sure you are using opposite hand and opposite leg. This is great for both balance and ALL over core, meaning abs and low back. Stretch your hand and foot as far in each direction as you can
Side plank leg lift is a hard move- to modify, just hold a side plank 🙂
X-crunch- lay on your back with hands and feet extended out so your body makes a big X. Then crunch up opposite hand to opposite foot
Butterfly crunch- simply lay flat on your back, then pull your legs in so they are in butterfly position (sometimes also called pretzel) but with the bottoms of your feet touching, then just crunch your shoulder blades off the ground
Rope climb- actually use your leg as if it were a rope. Climbing up it with your hands, touch your leg in 3 different spots (each one higher than the last) and then return to starting position to repeat

12 Days of Workouts, Day 6

December 17, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Today’s workout will show you how you can use some at home furniture pieces to add to your workout 🙂

Lower body HIIT

30 seconds work, 10 seconds rest

Sumo squat
Inchworm
Side step ups- right
Side step ups- left

Narrow to wide squat
Plank with leg lift
Box jumps or step ups

Seat squats
Lateral hops on one foot- right
Lateral hops on one foot- left
Alternating step back lunges

Split squat- right
Split squat- left
Pulse squat

Exercises:

A1&2: side step ups
B1,2&3: step ups
C1&2: seat squats
D1&2: split squat

P.S. sorry for the poor quality of these pictures, I worked with what I had 😉

Exercise tips:

For all lower body moves, make sure your knee stays behind your toes!
Seat squats- the goal is to lower yourself controlled, as soon as your butt touches the surface you explode up to standing by squeezing your glutes
Split squat- are a huge balance test! Beware 😉
Step ups are seen in B1,2,&3 but as noted in the workout, you can make these box jumps where you jump up onto the surface and jump or step down!
Pulse squat- when you hit the bottom of the squat, stay there, and pulse up and down for the whole 30 seconds. It feels like you are doing a squat hold, except your bottom is bouncing up and down slightly. Keep your pulses to 1-2 inches only!

12 Days of Workouts, Day 5

December 16, 2016December 16, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

One & Done- 500 reps 🙂

25 jumping jacks
25 squats
25 high knees each
25 side lunges each
25 speed skaters each
25 lateral tuck jumps
25 calf raises each direction (toes forward, toes in, toes out)
25 quick burpee (burpee no push up)
25 push ups
25 mountain climbers each
25 tricep dips
25 grasshoppers
25 glute bridges
25 glute bridge march each leg
25 V-ups
25 crunches
25 leg drops
25 spiderman plank each
25 side plank hip dips-right
25 side plank hip dips-left

Exercises:

A: squats

B: side lunges

C1&2: speed skaters

D1&2: tricep dips

E1&2: glute bridge march

F1,2,3&4: grasshoppers

G1&2: leg drops

H1&2: v-ups

i1,2,3&4: modified v-ups

Exercise tips:

Some moves are from previous workouts (push ups, mountain climbers, etc.) go back and look if needed!

Side lunges- think of sitting to the side and back. This gets you into the side lunge position while also keeping your knees behind your toes

Lateral tuck jumps- tuck jumps while hopping over an imaginary line. Modification: step up and over an invisible line instead of jumping

Tricep dips- can also be done on an elevated surface. Make sure your finger tips point toward your toes instead of pointing behind you. Bend at the elbow, not at the shoulder

Grasshoppers- think “plank, tuck, plank, jack”

Spiderman plank- look back at day 3 🙂

12 Days of Workouts, Day 4

December 15, 2016December 15, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

AMRAP 30 minutes:

1 tuck jump
2 wall walks
3 inchworm to plank jack
4 froggers
5 burpees
6 jump lunge each
7 diamond push ups
8 lateral hop squats
9 mountain climber each
10 shuffle touch total

Exercises:

A: tuck jumps

B1,2,3,&4: inchworm to plank jacks

C1,2,&3: froggers

D1&2: lateral hop squats (not pictured the squat)

E1,2,&3: Burpees 😉

F1&2: Shuffle touch

Exercise tips:

Not pictured: Wall walks, diamond push ups, jump lunge, & mountain climbers

Wall walks- please google how to do these, I did not have a place to demo these, since my only available “wall” space was the door seen behind me here 🙂

Diamond push ups- place your hands with your finger tips pointed towards each other (normal push ups your fingers face forward). Your fingers do not have to touch, start with your hands far apart and as you get stronger move them in closer and closer until you can actually touch your fingers (the inside of your fingers will look like a diamond at this point)

Jump lunges- are alternating lunges with a jump in between if you can

Inchworm- take your time on the bend over and walk out, you will feel your hamstrings stretch here and then your abs will be contracting to keep you steady on the rest of the walk out

Froggers & tuck jumps- be careful on the landing, keep your knees safe (not locked out), and keep the knees behind the toes when necessary

12 Days of Workouts, Day 3

December 14, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Day 3! You are introduced to a new “fitness term” today, “EMOM”, which stands for Every Minute On the Minute. The idea of EMOM’s are that you work hard on the designated exercise(s) whenever a new minute starts, and rest until the next minute starts.

For example: the first set has 30 jumprope, 5 sumo squats, and rest for 6 rounds. I would do 30 invisible (or real if you have one) jumpropes, and right in 5 sumo squats (pictured below). If it takes me 35 seconds to finish my jumprope and sumo squats, I have 25 seconds of rest until the next minute (round) begins. Think of it as a reward for your hard work- you work hard and at an efficient pace for the designated exercises, then rest with your remaining time for your ‘reward’

EMOM: Every Minute On the Minute: 6 minutes (6 rounds)

30 jumprope
5 sumo squats
Rest with remaining time

Rest 60 seconds before next round

EMOM: 6 minutes

10 front jacks
10 power jacks
Rest with remaining time

Rest 60 seconds before next round

EMOM: 6 minutes

6 balance hop each
20 calf raises

Rest 60 seconds before next round

EMOM: 6 minutes

10 spiderman plank
5 push ups
Rest with remaining time

Exercises:

A1&2: Sumo squats
B1&2: Front jacks
C1&2: Power jacks
D1&2: Balance hop
E: Spiderman plank

Exercises explained:

Sumo squats- your feet need to start one whole shoe length wider than your normal squat stance. From there, point your toes outward to the side, so your toes and knees are facing more out than in. This stance helps activate your inner thigh muscles as opposed to a traditional squat
Front jacks- instead of your hands going up like a normal jumping jacks, they start overtop of your thighs and lift straight up until parallel to the floor
Power jacks- start with your feet together, and as you jack out like a normal jumping jack, you jump out into a squat. NOTE: you can step your feet out into the squat instead of jumping to protect the knee joint
Balance hop- start standing, then balancing on one foot, with a slight/natural knee bend, bend forward and reach toward your toe with the other hand. As you stand, pull the leg that was in the back (not on the floor) through and bring the knee up to the ceiling- either standing in a balance, or hopping in a balance
Spiderman plank- the pictures above are showed in a mirror format, BUT you do not rotate 180 degrees at all in this move. Start in a plank, lift one knee at a time out to the side so that your inner knee and inner foot are facing the ground (as seen above). Return that foot to starting plank position, and then bring the other leg up and out.

12 Days of Workouts, Day 2

December 13, 2016December 13, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Day 2: Lower Body

Round 1: 3X through

Squats
Speed skaters
Line hops

Rest 60 seconds

Round 2: 3X through

Step forward lunges
Jump twist
Plank w/ glute lift

Rest 60 seconds

Round 3: 3X through

Squat to leg abduction
Lunge with glute lift
Elbow knees

Rest 60 seconds

Round 4: 3X through

Hurdle hops
Standing leg extension
Crunch to glute bridge

Exercises Part 1:

A: Squats

B1,2,&3: Jump twist

C1&2: Lateral line hops

D1&2: Speed skaters

E1&2: Step forward lunges

F1&2: Standing leg extension

Exercises Part 2:

G1,2,3&4: Squat to leg abduction

H1&2: Lunge with glute lift

i1&2: Hurdle hops

J1&2: Elbow knees

K1&2: Crunch to glute bridge

Exercise tips:

In squats, make sure you sit backwards and down, not just straight down. Sitting back keeps your knees behind your toes at the bottom of the squat and keeps the weight in your heels- this is GOOD form! Think of squeezing your glutes to stand up

Jump twist- the driving force of the move is moving your hips by squeezing your abs

Lateral line hops- find a line, or imagine a line and hop side to side over it with your feet together

Speed skaters- the images above indicate the side motions of the movements, try to have 1-2 feet of distance in between each side

In lunges, your knees need to be behind your toes at the bottom of the range of motion, just like squats 🙂

Standing leg extension- squeeze your abs to help with balance! Never let your leg drop lower than a 90 degree angle with your hip, if your leg is not high enough, you will not feel the burn 😉

Squat to leg abduction- you squat, and on the way up from the squat starting kicking your leg directly out to the side (not forward, not backward), and only lift your leg as high as you are comfortable with. As you lower the leg you return to a squat and then on the way up you lift the other leg out to the side. This move is good for the outer butt muscles, so focus on feeling the burn there!

Lunge with glute lift- similar to the move above. As you come up from the lunge kick your leg backward and upward, keeping the leg straight. This lunge is to be done stationary, meaning you do not step forward or step backward into the lunge, rather you split your legs to set your stance and bend your knees from there to start the lunge

Hurdle hops- You begin by doing 2-6 high knees (not pictured) and then you lift your legs ‘up and over’ think of how you would hop laterally over a hurdle or a fence- one leg has to lead and one leg has to follow

12 Days of Workouts, Day 1

December 12, 2016December 13, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

It’s snowing, it’s too cold, it’s too early, I’m busy this time of year, it’s to dark to get up for the gym, I don’t feel good, I just don’t want to drive, I don’t have enough time.

Common excuses used this time of year, something about the winter is just less, motivating. BUT you can do anything from the comfort of your own home right? You don’t even need that much space!

So here it is, Day 1 of The 12 Days of Workouts.

All bodyweight exercises, all 30 minutes long (except for Day 12) and all easy to do, with easy to follow pictures!

DAY 1

See how many reps of the folowing 3 exercises you can do in a row, with good form. When you start to lose form, slow down or perform half reps- stop there. Use this as a baseline to compare at the end 🙂

Squat reps to failure
Push up reps to failure
Elbow plank hold to failure, for time

HIIT: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off:

Round 1: 3X through

Jumping jacks
Push ups
Mountain climbers

Rest 60 seconds

Round 2: 3X through

High knees
Tricep dips
Plank jacks

Rest 60 seconds

Round 3: 3X through

Vertical jumps
Shoulder push ups
Side plank hip dips –EACH!

Rest 60 seconds

Round 4: 3X through

Front kicks
Small shoulder circles
Plank with glute raises

DONE!

Exercises Part 1:

A1&2- Jumping Jacks
B1&2-Push ups
C1&2- Mountain climbers
D1&2- Tricep dips
E1&2- Plank jacks
F1&2- Plank with glute raises

Exercises Part 2:

G1&2: Shoulder push ups
H1&2: Side plank hip dips
H3&4: Modified side plank hip dips
i1&2: vertical jumps
J1,2,&3: Alternating front kicks
K: small shoulder circles

Exercise tips:

In any plank position, focus on squeezing the abs tight. Think of squeezing your belly button to your spine. Also think of pinching a penny in your butt checks (Serious!) this helps keep your hips down and in alignment with the rest of your body. Your back side should look like a straight line while planking, even in plank jacks or mountain climbers!
During squats, focus on squeezing your glutes on the upward motion to stand. Keep your knees behind your toes when in the down position, and your heels always in contact with the floor. Think of squatting over a port-a-potty- you have to sit back far enough and down far enough to go 😉
Moves like tricep dips and push ups can be done on elevated surfaces such as a chair, bedside, couch, etc. Doing tricep dips with your hands elevated makes it harder, doing push ups with your hands elevated makes it easier
Exercises like jumping jacks, high knees, vertical jumps can be done in a stepping format instead of jumping to protect injured knees
Small shoulder circles should be just that- SMALL! Keeping the up and parallel to the floor the whole time, while also making tiny circles will burn
If you have weights, feel free to use them where it is possible to make it harder!

An At Home Challenge Workout For Thanksgiving

November 22, 2016November 22, 2016 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Eat the turkey, work off the turkey, I know that’s what we’re all thinking. Here’s a butt-kicking, next level challenging workout to try at home!

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 15 minutes- and I’m not kidding, physically see how many rounds you can do- no cheating- you are here to challenge yourself right?