Who is sharing a circuit workout ...

 It is here - Friday Friday Friday!  And not only is it Friday ... it is .... FITNESS FRIDAY!!! 

First I want to say that I had an AMAZING birthday! I felt very loved and lucky all day and then I got to share an incredible meal with my hubby at Real Seafood Company in Ann Arbor. 

Shoutout to Ann Arbor readers - I want to make sure you all know about the birthday deal at all Mainstreet Venture restaurants .... any restaurant owned by MainStreet Ventures (Real Seafood, Chop House, Gratzi), lets you have 50% off your meal if you are dining with 1-2 people ... amazing!!

The birthday continues this weekend because my parents are coming to visit and we are going to the Michigan football game and more eating =)

Back to the workout!!! It has been awhile since I have shared a bodyweight workout on the blog, so I am here to share a doozie!

The temperatures are starting to drop (starting to feel like FALL!!), which means it is the PERFECT time to take your workout outside. This workout involves a tiny bit of prep - but then once you write out the exercises, you can do the workout again in the future without prep. It is a great workout to do with a group or a partner.

Equipment Needed:
- Yourself (bodyweight)
- 11 Flashcards or pieces of paper

1) Before you start the workout, take time to write out the following 11 exercises out on flashcards or pieces of paper. You can click on the exercise to see a demonstration to make sure you know what you will be doing and you do each move with good form (maybe soon I can link to myself doing a demonstration?!?). Hopefully I introduce you to some new exercises that you can do anywhere!!

• 10 Burpees
• 20 Alternating step back lunges 
• 20 Froggers Jump 
• 10 Walkout Push Up with Swivel 
• 15 Squat Jumps
• 10 Kick Downs
• 10 Tuck Jumps
• 20 Arm Circles both forward and backwards
• 15 Jumping Jack Planks
• 20 Tricep Dips on the ground
• 16 Skater Jumps 

2) Go outside and form a large circle with the 11 pieces of paper (large enough that running around all of the paper would take you 10 or more seconds) - and keep them in the order listed above because I tried to alternate between cardio and strength.

3) Once you probably warmup (by running or doing something to get your heart rate up and muscles warm) ... you are ready to begin the workout! The workout is made up of 3 rounds.

1st Round: 
- You set the timer for 16 minutes. For the whole 16 minutes you will continuously complete the exercise at a certain station and then run (or sprint) around the circle and then complete the exercise at the next station and then run again and so on.

Give your self a 2 minute break after the 1st round to grab a drink and catch your breath

2nd Round: 
- Set the timer for 8 minutes. This round you run after every other exercise or station, therefore you will complete an exercise, complete an exercise and then run and repeat for 8 minutes.

Give yourself another 2 minute break

Last Round:
- Set the timer for 4 minute. There is no running this round, you will simply complete each exercise and move onto the next exercise.

And you are done!! If you are pushing yourself - this is an intense workout! Make sure you take the time to stretch out your muscles!

Also, if this workout seems too intense - you can make modifications by decreasing the repetitions you do for each station, or decreasing the time of each round.

Good Luck!!!

Have you done any good workouts this week?? Or what weekend plans do you have??

Who shares a "Crossfit" style workout ...

Happy Friday Friends!
Can you believe it is the end of July already ... I can't! This summer is flying by, but a short summer vacation is coming up, so I am very excited!!

I wanted to pop in this Friday and share a workout with you for FITNESS FRIDAY! This is a full body workout with no equipment! You can do it anywhere ... so no excuses =)

I am saying this workout is inspired by Crossfit ... but I have actually never tired Crossfit. I am uneducated about Crossfit because of my lack of experience - but I just do not think it is the right fit for me.
BUT - the following workout is inspired by Crossfit because it uses the AMRAP method. AMRAP stands for As Many Reps As Possible. Therefore, below you will find 3 separate circuit workouts, and you will try to go through each circuit as many times as possible (with good form) for the allotted time. This allows you to really push yourself for a certain time period and also allows you to really target certain areas with repetitive moves.

Also - you can keep track of how many rounds you get of each circuit and write it down. Then - go back and do this workout again and see if you can improve. Compete against yourself!

Let's get to it! Click on the exercise to take you to a link that will demonstrate the move.

AMRAP Bodyweight Workout

First, warm up with either a short run or dynamic warm up drills - make sure your body is nice and warm and you are starting to sweat!

Round 1
6 minute round

1) 20 alternating lateral jumps (total)
2) 20 basic squats
3) 20 knee hug crunches
4) 10 pike push ups

** Take a 3 minute break, but keep moving

Round 2
6 minute round

1) 20 mountain climbers (10 on each side)
2) 20 side tricep pushups (10 on each side)
3) 10 sea turtles (bent arm)
4) 15 plyo jacks

** Take another 3 minute break, but keep moving

Round 3 (put it all together)
12 minute round

1) 20 alternating lateral jumps
2) 10 basic squats
3) 20 knee hug crunches
4) 10 pike push ups
5) 20 mountain climbers
6) 20 side tricep pushups
7) 15 plyo jacks
8) 10 sea turtles

If you want a really intense workout you can go through the circuits again, or do a cool down and stretch!
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What are you up to this weekend?

Who hates the treadmill ...

Celebrate! Celebrate! You made it to Friday!
I am a big believer in celebrating accomplishments big and small (it makes life fun - and it is an excuse for champagne), and I try to not always celebrate with food -- so instead I will celebrate with.....

Dreadmill Cardio Workout

I truly hate the treadmill, I find it boring and time slows down when I am on the treadmill, because one mile feels soooo long! But - this past Monday morning I woke up for my usually AM run and there was a horrible thunderstorm. Therefore, I had to move on to plan B - which was running on the treadmill in the little indoor gym at our condo complex. Since I simply cannot run 4-5 miles straight on the treadmill I made up a workout that left me sweaty and tired ... so I thought I would share it with you.

1) Run 1 mile on the Treadmill (with the following pacing)

• 2 minutes at warm up pace (varies for everyone, conversational, easy)
• 2 minutes at race pace (breathing hard but not sprinting - could sustain for a whole race)
• 1 minute sprint 
• Repeat time cycle until you have run a full mile

2) Step off the treadmill and do the following cardio/strength drills (click on the exercise for a demo)

• 1 minute star jumps
• 1 minute up up down down elbow pushups
• 1 minute alternating jumping lunges
• 1 minute tricep dips (30 seconds right leg lifted, 30 second left leg lifted)
• 1 minute forearm plank hold

3) Repeat the mile on the treadmill and the drills (each round will be around 15 minutes depending on your running pace)

• Keep alternating the paced mile and the drills until you reach your desired distance     

** Once you have finished, make sure you leave time to stretch, because this workout is tough on the legs! **
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This workout broke up the monotony of the treadmill running and managed to give me a quick arm workout too! I ran 4 miles total and ended with running, so I did 3 rounds of the drills.

Also, if it is a beautiful day outside and you still want to do a similar workout - you can modify this workout and just run outside. It would be like a running boot camp ... run a mile (or pick a time if you do not have garmin, such as 8 minutes) and then stop and do the drills, and then start running again. 

Since it is Friday, it means it is weekend time! Any fun weekend plans? 
We are in town this weekend and I have multiple random activities planned - such as a tour of the Big House (Michigan's Football Stadium), and possibly going paddle boarding or a long bike ride with B! I have never gone paddle boarding, so I will obviously report back! 

Who wanted to share a workout...

I thought starting the day with a picture of Yosey would be appropriate - especially since it is Friday!!

I was on my morning run today, and I got the idea for a theme for Fridays (I am a big believer in working out in the morning, but that will be another post). I love alliterations, I love Fridays, and I love sharing workouts - so welcome to FITNESS FRIDAY! I will not have an alliteration theme for every day of the week, but on Fridays I will try and share a new workout - hopefully it will give you some inspiration to stay active over the weekend.

So drumroll please ... welcome to:

The picture for this Fitness Friday is appropriate because I will be sharing a "Deck of Cards" workout today.

Deck of Cards Workout

Preparation:
1) Get a deck of cards and take out all Aces, 2's,3's,4's, and 5's
2) Find a hill and put your deck of cards filled with 6's - K's on top of the hill

• First, you will need to warm up before you begin this workout. I think one of the easiest ways to warm up is to go for a run - 1- 3 miles. 
• Once you are warm, you will start at the bottom of the hill and run to the top and grab one card and run back to the bottom
• At the bottom of the hill you will perform the exercise that the suit tells you and do the number of reps that the number on the card tells you (Face cards = 11). Please click on the exercises listed below and that will take you to a video that demonstrates the proper form.
• Hearts - Burpees
• Diamonds - Marine push ups
• Spades - Jumping lunges
• Clubs - Plank Jacks 
• Once you are done with the exercise on the card, you will lay that card to the side and run up to the top of the hill and grab another card and come to the bottom and complete that exercise. 
• Completing the whole deck of cards could take a long time, so I usually set a time limit around 15 minutes and do as many as I can with good form in that time. 
• After your time is up (or you finished the desk - impressive!), you can cool down and stretch

~ This workout is very flexible and each time you do it, the suits can be a completely different exercise, or the suits could just represent what part of your body you want to hit and you could do different exercises each time. For example:

• Hearts - Arms (tricep dips, push ups, bicep curls ...)
• Diamons - Legs (squats, step ups, skater jumps ...)
• Spades - Cardio (high knees, sprints, jumping jacks ...)
• Clubs - Abs (sit-ups, russian twists, V-ups ...)

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Let me know if you try the workout or if you have any questions! It is a great workout to do in the summer because it gets you outside!

I want this blog to be interactive, so please leave comments and ask questions! Since it is Friday, do you guys have any fun weekend plans - especially any active plans? 
For me - we are staying in Ann Arbor this weekend and do not have too many big things planned! It will be a great catch up weekend. On the active side, I think B and I are going to take a bike ride tonight to a summer festival in downtown Ann Arbor and tomorrow B is busy, so I am filling the day with activity: a workout class, a hike with new friends, and a cookout!

I will leave you with a little quote because even if they are cheesy, I love them! Today is fitness themed for Fitness Friday!