W.O.W 3/26

It's been a while since I've done Workout Wednesday, so I thought I'd share the back/ bicep workout I've been doing....

Warmup: 5-10 min cardio of choice

3 sets 8-12
(sets/reps vary depending on your goals)

Back:
Assisted Pull-Ups

Cable Seated Row
T-bar Row
Lat Pull Down
Single Arm Dumbell Row

Biceps:
Alternating single arm bicep curl- Dropsets*
Cross body hammer curls
21's


*Drop Sets means starting with a heavier weight (that you can still get atleast 6 -10 reps with) and then dropping the weight, and continuing until failure with the lighter weight. This really fatigues the muscle, and improves strength! 

Happy Wednesday! 

W.O.W: Leg Day

Happy Workout Wednesday! 

In honor of Hump Day I'm sharing my most recent leg/glute workout. I started doing legs on Fridays a few weeks ago. I switch up my other workouts, but I always do legs on Fridays because I get off early and don't have to be anywhere after my mid-day workout....which is good because I'm always a hot mess after leg day. You will be seriously sweating after this workout..... 

Enjoy!! 

W.O.W

Happy Wednesday! I can't believe the week is already half over! Can I just say, Monday should just be part of the weekend? I LOVED this long, lazy, labor day weekend. Spent plenty of time lounging and watching netflix, and was able to find some great deals at the labor day sales. 

And....we took the plunge a couple weeks ago and bought this baby! We don't have a TV, but we have a nice blender haha....I guess we have our priorities straight ;) 

This week I am linking up for Workout Wednesday! 

Ironically, I left my gym bag at home this morning (fully packed, and waiting by the door....) so I didn't make it to the gym for a workout. BUT here is the back/bicep workout I did yesterday. 

only girl in the weight area and wearning pink pants, naturally. gotta love lulu.

Warmup- 10 min elliptical/ cardio of your choice 

Back:

cable seated row 

one arm dumbbell rows

barbell deadlift

wide grip lat pull downs

Biceps:

dumbbell curls

cross body hammer curls

21's

[I did 3x 8-10 on all of these-- remember, weight, reps and sets depend on your individual goals!]

By the time this was over, I was wiped out! 

matchy-matchy in all pink in the locker room....



Happy hump day!!!

Workout Wednesday: Shoulders and Abs

This week I am linking up with Skinny Meg for Workout Wednesday! 

Tonight was shoulders and abs for me- one of my favorite workouts! Strong shoulders are a very important part of sculpted arms-- it's not all about the biceps!


shoulders

3 x 8-10

[remember to always do a few warm up sets first!]

standing front dumbbell raises
dumbbell arnold press
dumbbell lat raise
dumbbell upright row
standing dumbbell press
dumbbell shoulder shrug



abs
when doing abs i usually do a circuit of 4 movements
repeat circuit 2-4 times, with 20-25 reps

tonight I chose:

mountain climbers
crunches w/ heels on swiss ball
plank 
russian twists w/ medicine ball 

annnd  my shoulders ;) 

happy hump day!!

Back and Biceps

Today was my favorite workout of my split- Back and Bi's. I've seen progress much quicker on my upper body than on my lower body....unfortunately I fall in to the category of women (which is most) who lose weight from the top down. My trouble spot has always been my legs, and it's going to take a lot of work to get to where I'd like to be. Fortunately I continue to see progress in my upper body and that really keeps me motivated.

Tonights Back and Bi's workout:

(I always start with a few warm up sets for each body part.)

cable seated rows 
one arm dumbbell row 
wide grip pulldown behind the neck 
dumbell incline curl 
cross body hammer curl
dumbbell alternate bicep curl 
21s  


Reps and sets are different depending on the weight used, and of course what your goals are. I did 3 sets and my reps varied depending on the exercises-- at this time I am doing lower reps and higher weights (except for 21's, obviously).

Now that it is summer time, I'm enjoying tons of fresh salads and fruit and I'm loving every minute of it! 

Happy hump day! 

The Rest Day & This Weeks Workouts

Today was my rest day and it felt amazing to sleep so long. I went to bed super early last night which made it even better! This is my first rest day of the week- my second will be on Sunday.  Here is this weeks workout plan:

Monday: Legs
Tuesday: am- chest/tris   pm- cardio/ abs
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: am- shoulders/abs  pm- cardio
Friday: back/bis
Saturday: cardio
Sunday: Rest

Rest days are so important because your muscles need time to repair themselves- this is also why it's important to get plenty of sleep at night! Working out is when you break down muscles, but they recover outside of the gym! I usually feel antsy on rest days like I should be in the gym, but today it felt great because I am so sore (which is a good thing).

obsessed with these new nike shorts!

In other news my husband and I are now health coaches for Herbalife- if you are interested in improving your health, let us know! 

my hardworking husband!
(also don't mind the costco recycling in the background....)

Switch it up!

The body is an amazing thing and adapts easily to workouts. To see improvement and make gains, switch up your workouts regularly and keep your body guessing! 

Cardio 
I used to be one of the cardio bunnies in the gym, spending a good 45-60 minutes at a steady pace. There is a reason I wasn't seeing results! Doing cardio at a steady pace for a long period of time is not an efficient way of burning calories or changing your body. Unless you are training for a race (or you just love to run) I really don't see the point in logging hours and hours of cardio per week. 

ways to switch it up:

-intervals: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a very efficient way to do cardio. Not only are you burning more calories in a single workout, but your body will continue to burn more calories when you are done. Interval training is a combination of full intensity and recovery. Another benefit of HIIT is that the workouts are shorter! You can complete a great HIIT workout in 25-30 minutes. HIIT can be done on any type of cardio machine and even outside! 

-inclines:  Walking at a high incline (10+) will keep your heart pounding and is a great workout for your legs too, you can also run at smaller inclines for a great sweat 

-circuit training:circuits are a way of performing exercises one after the other with no break in between to keep your heart rate up during the whole workout. I posted a circuit workout here

Strength
Muscle memory is an amazing thing and if you want to make progress, don't do the exact same workout more than 2 weeks in a row

ways to switch it up:

-change your reps/sets 
-increase weight 
-change up the exercises performed
-rearrange the order of exercises
-muscle groups (i.e back and biceps vs triceps and biceps)


A great tool to keep track of workouts is the Jefit app available for free in the app store! 

gorgeous sunset after the gym the other night 

trying to make progress on my stomach/abs!

Early Morning Workouts

Brian and I started getting up at 5 am to workout last week. I love the feeling of getting home around 6, and having plenty of time to have breakfast and get ready for work. I also love that my workout is done when I get home, and I don't have to rush to the crowded gym- overall a win-win. I'm hoping to get in at least 3 morning workouts per week. 

This morning I did chest and triceps:

3 sets of 10-12

pushups
cable one arm extension
machine incline chest press
cable tricep kick back
cable cross over
dumbell tricep extension

(check www.bodybuilding.com  or use the jefit app which I previously posted about here if you don't know how to do any of these exercises)

It was a nice workout and a good burn! I seriously love the peacefulness of the empty gym in the morning. It makes for such a positive start to the day. Lately I'd been in the habit of hitting snooze and feeling groggy in the morning, but I surprisingly feel better getting up earlier. "Early to bed, early to rise", right??

I have never been a morning person, so it seriously shocks me how much I'm enjoying this. Always push yourself and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish!