How to: lower body exercises

 i loved this workout i found on pinterest. for this and more workouts and fitness tips that i love, check out my FITNESS PINTEREST BOARD.

i had a cousin (my husband's cousin) who wanted me to help demonstrate how to do each of the exercises. so here it finally is victoria! hope this helps!

SQUAT

from here



PLIE SQUAT 



from here



DONKEY KICKS



from here



SPLIT JUMPS

from here

LUNGES

from here

WALL SIT

from here

Fit n' Firm Friday: It's been too long!!

Ok, welp... I am in fact alive! I have to find balance in my life, or my anxiety goes through the roof. So, I had to put a pause on blogging for a while. With being a full-time, stay-at-home momma with two kiddos at home, one crazy monkey in school, two amazing callings at church, teaching a bootcamp at our church for women twice a week, a couple rounds of sickness in our house, and a husband who goes out of town for work every so often, blogging was the last thing I wanted to do! : ) Anyway, so here is the workout we did this past Wednesday at bootcamp. It was very fun and a great total body workout!

Fit n' Firm Friday: Tabata x 12

*12 Tabatas stations, with two exercises per station. Rotate performing each of the two exercises at the station until the full 8 rounds of the tabata are over. Exercise high intensity for 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest. Continue until you have reached the 8 full rounds, thus, each station lasts 4 minutes total.

*if any of the exercises are unfamiliar to you, you can always google them, or shoot me a comment and ask me to demonstrate for another fit n' firm friday.


Station 1: Explosive push-up and Exercise ball chest fly (place your upper back and neck on the exercise ball and keep your hips up in a bridge position while you perform the flys.)

Station 2: Plank and V-ups

Station 3: Body weight squat and Body weight jump squat

Station 4: Kettle bell squat into cross leg jump and Tricep extensions

Station 5: Cross body toe reaches (laying down, feet in air, arms straight holding light weight dumbbell) and Side burpee

Station 6: Body weight alternating lunge and Body weight split squat jumps

Station 7: Spicy burpee and L raises

Station 8: Bicep matrix and Sit up/hip raise combo

Station 9: Body weight squat and Body weight jump squat

Station 10: Plank with weighted lateral raise and Sliding mountain climbers (our gym is a carpet flooring, so I used two paper plates to place the feet on)

Station 11: Bent over row and Prone Y raises

Station 12: Body weight alternating lunge and Body weight split squat jumps

We did a workout finisher called ROXANNE... I found the idea online here and I knew we had to do it 'cause we have a girl named Roxanne that comes to bootcamp. : )

Play "Roxanne" by The Police. Start in extended plank position, and everytime they say "roxanne" do a pushup, and everytime they say "red light" do a squat thrust. It gets crazy!!!

After the roxanne bit, we did roughly 8 minutes of abs. Great night!

I'll tell ya what... the women that come to bootcamp are beasts! I am going to brag on them for a minute... Almost every single one of them is a mother, they come to workout late at night, and they bust their behinds! I will not name who, but we even have a 59 year old woman who comes, and goodness gracious, she is a hard worker! They all are! I am thankful they let me teach them. : )

Try this workout and let me know what you think! I'll guarantee you will feel a step closer to being FIT N' FIRM! : )

Fit n' Firm Friday: Why do resistance training?

image source

Playing sports as a teen definately gave me the chance to officially meet a dumbbell or two. Training has always been one of my favorite parts of participating in athletics. While many girls might scoff at lifting weights or other resistance exercises, I LOVED and still LOVE doing them. A lot of women think they will get bulky if they lift weights. That is not true! Well, unless your goal is to body build. But, normal women seeking a healthy lifestyle can receive soooo many benefits by including resistance training in their fitness routines.  Without getting huge and bulky and masculine, just toned and firm!

In the Vol. 22 Issue 4 of ACSM's (American College of Sports Medicine) Certified News Journal, I found some awesome proof that I just wanted to share regarding resistance exercise!

*15 research supported health benefits of resistance training:

1. Increased lean weight

2. Increased resting energy expenditure

3. Decreased fat weight

4. Reduced low back pain

5. Reduced arthritic discomfort

6. Increased functional independence

7. Enhanced movement control

8. Increased insulin sensitivity

9. Improved glucose control

10. Reduced resting blood pressure

11. Improved blood lipid profiles

12. Increased bone mineral density

13. Improved cognitive ability

14. Enhanced self-esteem

15. Reversed aging factors in skeletal muscle

image source

Can I get an amen, Hallelujer? Who doesn't want all of that? So, strive to do resistance training 2-3 times a week to get the most benefits. Allow a day of rest in between resistance training days because you are, in fact, tearing your muscle fibers when you challenge them. Tearing them down builds them back up stronger!

*ACSM's Certified News, Oct-Dec 2012, Vol. 22, Issue 4, Page 9