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No-equipment workout: shoulders, legs and core
This is a circuit of 10 exercises. Perform each exercise for 50 seconds with a 10-second break (use the free Gym Boss app; if you don’t want to use a timer, you can also perform each move for 10 to 12 reps instead):
1. In-and-outs on the right leg
2. In-and-outs on the left leg
3. Bear to squat
4. Low plank to high plank (both arms at the same time if possible; on your knees if too difficult)
5. Plank walkout with right leg up
6. Plank walkout with left leg up
7. Down dog knee-to-elbow, right leg up
8. Down dog knee-to-elbow, left leg up
9. Bridge-up (substitute with a glute bridge if this move is too difficult)
10. Dancing crab

(Exercise descriptions on www.fitnesstreats.com/2013/03/bodyweight-workout-shoulders-legs-and-core-but-without-push-ups)

Repeat circuit for a total of 3 rounds!

Nice tutorial to learn how to do this yoga pose. But be ready to fall on your butt several times!

Interesting “Living room workout” in November Shape Magazine (US edition with singer P!nk on the cover. There’s also a nice ab workout featuring her www.radaronline.com/photos/image/195065/2012/10/shape-magazine-pinks-ab-workout)

Animal-inspired bodyweight workout
A circuit of 5 moves:
- 1 min Bear crawl (5 steps forward, 5 steps back)
- 1 min Duck walk (5 steps forward, 5 steps back)
- 1 min Bunny hops
- 1 min Frog jumps (5 jumps forward, 5 jumps back)
- 1 min Cobra push-ups (also known as dive bomber push-ups) 

For 5 rounds! (=25 min)
Exercise descriptions: www.fitnesstreats.com/2012/10/animal-inspired-bodyweight-workout

A 45 minute Hip Opening Yoga Class
There are many Yoga gurus on Youtube, but what I really like about Esther is that she doesn’t make yoga intimidating for “non-yogis” like me :) And she offers full-length classes

Some of my favorite videos from her Youtube channel:

No-equipment “hands up” workout
This workout can help strengthen your spinal muscles while working on your balance using your core, glutes and legs. And maintaining your arms up during the whole workout will make your shoulders burn. Take your time to perform each exercise in a slow controlled motion.

  • 20 squats
  • 20 alternative backward lunges
  • 20 walking lunges (or alternative forward lunges if you don’t have enough space available)
  • 20 bird dogs
  • 10 warrior III yoga poses on right leg
  • 10 warrior III yoga poses on left leg
  • 10 get down & up starting with right leg (stay in a squat position when you’re up, make those legs burn!)
  • 10 get down & up starting with left leg

It will take you around 25 minutes to perform this circuit 3 times. Keep your abs engaged to protect your lower back!

For more information and ideas to warm up and stretch before and after this workout, please check out the whole post on my Wordpress-blog: www.fitnesstreats.com/2012/04/hands-up-workout

A few push-ups variations

Level 1 (in blue): Beginner

  • Child’s pose push-up: start in a child’s pose position and slide forward extending your legs, keeping your nose only a few centimeters from the floor. It is normal for you butt to stick out on this one.
     
  • One leg up knee push-up: a knee push-up maintaining one leg in the air. 
     
  • Bent leg push-up: a push-up on your toes but with your legs bent.

Level 2 (in red): Intermediate/Advanced

  • Push-up jacks: jump the feet apart as you bend the elbows into a pushup. As you push back up, jump the feet back together.
     
  • Tricep push-up: focus on holding your elbows against your sides.
     
  • Power push-up: Do a push-up and pop yourself back up trying to keep your feet together (not like me in that animated gif -my form sucks on this one :)

Busy Thursday Tabata Training
Tabata training is an interval training protocol that only lasts 4 minutes, but can help increase stamina as well as amp up fat burning.

A tabata training protocol consists of 8 rounds of 20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest (i.e. a total of 4 minutes per exercise). 

Here are two free tabata timer apps for your iPhone/iPad:
Tabata timer: a simple Tabata timer
Gym boss 2: an exercise timer (Tabata protocol is already built in)

Find an exercise pace that you are able to maintain throughout all 8 rounds, but only with great difficulty. Ideally, there shouldn’t be any 20-second work period with a significant drop-off in reps performed (I know, it’s easier said than done when you’re doing burpees!!).

If you want a great workout, select just 3 different exercises that work the same muscle group, and do 3 tabatas with a couple of minutes of rest in between exercises. For example:

image

Lateral burpees
for 8 rounds of 20 seconds work / 10 seconds rest.

image

Wide leg jump squats
for 8 rounds of 20 seconds work / 10 seconds rest.

image

Jump lunges
for 8 rounds of 20 seconds work / 10 seconds rest. 

That’s only around 12 minutes total workout time and you’re done! (ps: but don’t forget to warm up before and stretch after your workout.)

“The roof is on fire” - Shoulder Challenge
From Marc Lauren’s book “You are your own gym”. It seems like a piece of cake… Until you actually try it.

Do a single, perfect push-up.

Get on your knees. Push your hands straight up into the air 4 times, as though you’re raising an invisible weight from your shoulders.

Do 2 push-ups.

Push your hands up into the air 8 times.

Continue adding one push-up at a time, and multiplying the amount of push-ups by 4 for the amount of hand raises you do in the air after each set. So:
- 3 push-ups, 12 hand raises
- 4 push-ups, 16 hand raises
- 5 push-ups, 20 hand raises
- 6 push-ups, 24 hand raises
- 7 push-ups, 28 hand raises
- 8 push-ups, 32 hand raises etc.

When you can no longer do another push-up (and your deltoids are burning like hell), pyramid back down to one, again doing 4 times the amount of hand raises as push-ups. So if you were able to get up to 6 push-ups but then barely failed on your seventh, follow that with 28 hand raises, then go back down to 6 push-ups, followed by 24 hand raises, 5 push-ups, 20 hand raises and so on until you get down to a single push-up and 4 hand raises and you’re done!

If you can get up to 10 push-ups this challenge will take about 12 minutes total. The stronger you get, the longer it’ll take.

“Strong like Suzan” is one of my favorite fitness Youtube-channels. She always comes up with new exercises. You’ll feel the ‘kick-outs’ in your arms, shoulders and abs!   

Simple yet effective: Sprawl and Jump
A good burpee variation. And you can skip the jump and just do a squat instead if you want a low impact move or if you’re performing the move inside and don’t want the house trembling or the neighbors downstairs complaining. There is no excuse not to try this move :)

No equipement workout - How to make your legs burn like hell in 6 min
Do the following circuit 6 times:
- 15 sec of jump squats
- 15 sec of bunny hops
- 15 sec of hip thrusts
- 15 sec jumping lunges

This workout is brutal but pretty simple to remember: 

  • Blaster push up max. reps
  • Jumper max. reps

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