Catch up!

Okay so I've missed a couple days blogging, so I'm going to catch up in this post. So I have two ab days I missed, and a leg day from yesterday.. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little upset that instagram crashed. But just because that is down doesn't mean the blog is! So first of all, happy Ab Day Swag Day! :) I Hope you all are going to kill your workouts today!

Killed abs and cardio really early this morning. So a lot of people have been asking what I do for my an workouts, so I'm going to post my ab circuit from today. Mind you, my routine changes every time I do abs, so this was just for today. First I want to say that no matter how many core workouts you do,you will see no results if you don't eat clean.I am the biggest supporter of eating clean and training dirty. I use to work out and train hard, but eat whatever I wanted to, and didn't see much results, but as soon as I started eating clean and lean, the results were great. Also cardio is a major part in seeing results. So remember, abs are made in the kitchen!






 So my workout today was a 2 mile run for cardio, and here's my circuit. When I do each one, I pair it with another exercise, and alternate them four times non stop, then take a minute break and start on the next pair of exercises four times.
 1st pair
50 crunches
20 leg lifts

2nd pair
1 min plank
1 min boat

3rd pair
40 bicycles each side
20 oblique twists

 4th pair 20 straight leg V ups
25 straight leg hip raises

5th pair
30 physio ball oblique crunches each side
25 lateral barbell bends each side

6th pair
15 physio ball pass offs with weight ball
20 physio ball knee to chest rolls

Finish with a minute and 30 second plank.

So that was my an circuit from this morning, got those abs cookin'! Try it if you're up for it!

 Here is a clean eat for you guys to try. It's a great post workout meal! So the protein shake is vanilla whey Protein, peanut butter, flaxseed, oatmeal, natural honey, skim milk and ice.So good, and full of protein, good fats, and complex carbs. The bowl is steamed Brown rice for more complex carbs, then Greek yogurt with almonds (more protein and good fat), and water in my straw cup. Clean eats for training dirty!

Upper Body!

Alright, so I haven't been giving my upper body the attention it needs, especially for being a beach volleyball player, so today I completely beat up my arms, shoulders, and back. My little noodle arms were shaking so bad when I was done, it's a miracle I didn't drop a tray of food at work!

 I had a whole page of things I did, but here are a couple from today.

Preacher Curls

For those of you who have a bench, this is a great Bicep Challenge. Kneel down, and put your armpit over the top of the inclined bench. Take a dumbbell that is a challenge for you, and extend your arm straight as your would a regular curl. 

Then curl your wrist up and squeeze your bicep to bring the weight towards your face. This form of curls takes away any leverage you might have if you are standing doing curls and your elbows hit your sides, or you lean back on your last rep to pull up the weight. This exercise eliminates all of those aids. 

Try them! 

Next were Chin Ups and Pull Ups. 

 For those of you who get Chin Ups and Pull Ups confused, chin ups are the ones with your grip facing you, and pull ups are with your grip facing away from you. So these are chin ups. I find these much easier than pull ups, but that's only because I'm much stronger through my biceps than I am my triceps and shoulders. So for chin ups, although I find them "easier" than pull ups, they still aren't that easy. I can't do that many consecutively, so to make them more of a challenge, once you get to the top of the bar, slowly lower yourself down in an 8 count. This makes it more of a challenge, for those of you who can't just bang out 15 or 20 chin ups. 

So for pull ups, as you can see, the grip is wider and facing away from you. Again with these, I can't just bang them out like some of the guys I know can, so I do a pull up, and and 8 count on the way down. 

Get those arms and backs burnin'! 

Enjoy your workouts! :)

Ab Day Swag Day!

Happy ab day swag day everyone! Killed my abs today after a 2 mile run and kickboxing circuit. Kinda bloated, but can't wait to see what it looks like under that! So there are some pictures from my kickboxing circuit. Each section is two minutes long.

Here are some oblique workouts to try. So start neutral, standing up with the bar on your shoulders for both of these exercises.

 On the left are marches. So you bring your opposite knee to your opposite side with the bar, squeezing your abs. Then do the other side, and that's one rep. Do as many as you can!
On the right, is lateral bends with the bar. Once the bar is on your back, drop your shoulder to one side, don't stick your hip out, and use your obliques to pull the bar back to neutral position. Do your other side, and that's one rep. As always, do as many as you can!





















Last is oblique crunches on a physio ball. Find a wall and station yourself so that your feet are on the wall with your leg that is on the bottom staggered on front. Stretch all the way over on the ball, and bring yourself up squeezing your obliques. Do this to each side.

Enjoy your workouts today! :)

Breakfast!

So this morning I decided to actually wake up and make breakfast, so I made protein pancakes with Greek yogurt and strawberries on top! :)
So I used all natural pancake mix, it only has 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of sugar, and 27 grams of carbs! Add a scoop of your favorite whey protein, and cook up your pancakes! I didn't want the sugar and fat that OS in syrup, so I topped mine with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. Delicious and super healthy. Enjoy :)

Legs Legs Legs!

Tonight was Leg day! I had another late workout because I was running errands all day with momma for girls day. :)
Anyhow, I've got something going on with my back, and I'm not sure what yet, but it's really hindering any kind of lift that involves me having the barbell on my shoulders which is quite irritating. So I started squats...

But they didn't last very long thanks to my back. :(
So I compromised and did squat jumps supersetted with single leg squats.

Next were burnouts. These are miserable to do, but are such a great workout!

So you do these with both quad extensions and hamstring curls.
You add at least 5 plates of some sort of weight, so you have 5 sets to do.
So put the weight on, and start your leg extensions.

 Quads are cookin! ;)

Do as many as you can stand, really push yourself, and when you feel like you can't do any more, take one plate off. Then do as many as you can again, until you can't do anymore, and take another plate off. Do this until there are no more plates. Such a killer workout!! Your quads will be burnin' so bad! 

For the hamstring curls, the same rule applies....

Do as many as you can for each plate, push yourself!! 

So there is some new stuff for you guys to try if you'd like. :) Enjoy your workouts! 

Ab day and cardio!

So this morning was my 3.5 mile run for cardio and of course my ab workout. Definitely had those abs burnin! On the right is a new protein shake I tried and I loved it. Protein packed! So I put a scoop of my new Titan vanilla whey protein, two tsp of natural honey, literally from the bee hive down the street, 2 tsp of peanut butter, and a scoop of flaxseed. It might be my new favorite protein shake! If you're craving ice cream or anything, this will definitely help your craving because it tastes like dessert, but is 100% healthy :) Kill your workouts today!

Strength

You are stronger than you think. Never doubt yourself or what your body is capable of.

Breakfast! :)

Tired of wanting coffee and not being able to have the sugar, creamer and flavor to make it taste how you like because its not worth the calories, fat content, and sugar to put all the junk in it? Try this! Just take your black coffee and your favorite protein, throw a scoop of it in (mine was vanilla) put it in the blender, and then throw it in a cup of ice! Delicious and super healthy :) I just had oatmeal and strawberries to go with it. Enjoy! :)

My challenge for today!

So after my abs and arms, I needed to do cardio. What better way then sprints! I, did 6 110 yard sprints, and then pushrf my car to finish up cardio, so we did! :) This is not only cardio, but a full body workout. Throw your car in neutral and try it! For an extra challenge, you can push it up the drive way like I did, the incline makes it much harder! Enjoy! :)

Today's Workout, Legs!

Okay, now that I have filled my blog up with my other recent stuff, now I can get to today's workout!

Today was leg day! I worked out in my garage, so don't mind the random things in the background. Here are some examples of some of the lifts I did today. 

So first is deadlifts! These are great for your quads, inner thighs, hamstrings, butt, lower back and traps from holding the bar, so they cover a lot of muscles. :) For those of you who work out at the gym, use the most weight that you can! Really challenge yourself, and check to see if the gym you workout at has hexbars, they are much easier to hold then a barbell for deadlifts. For those of your who are at home like me, and might not have a ton of weight, compromise, and add more reps. I normally deadlift around 145lbs for 3 sets of 12, but since I only have 95lbs of weight, I compromise and up my reps to 3 set of 20. So once you get your weight and reps set, squat down low enough to pick the bar up. DO NOT BEND AT YOUR BACK. Bend at your knees to pick the bar up. Then.... 

Stand up!

That is one rep. Now squat back down to the ground and stand up again. Finish your set. :) 

Next are Physio Ball Hamstring Curls! These are awesome for your hammies and butt! ;) 

Start out with your calves on the ball and the rest of your body raised, balancing on your shoulders and arms.  This pulls in your core for stability too! Once you get balanced.... 

Pull your feet towards your butt, rolling the ball. Make sure to keep your core tight so your back stays straight. Then push your feet away from you, going back to the position in the first picture. That is one rep. Too easy? Switch from double leg to single leg curls. Get those hammies and bum burnin'!! :)

Last ones I'll show you are Split Squats! 

Also great for quads, hip flexors, and butt.

So for this exercise, again, pick a weight that challenges you, and get it on your shoulders. Take a step with which ever leg you want to start with first, and get a nice wide stance. This is almost like an exaggerated lunge, but instead of walking forward, you just keep squatting in that stance for all your reps, then switch legs and do it again. Keep in mind, unlike lunges, both of your legs will burn doing this, no matter which leg is forward, they both will burn like crazy. This can be done with dumbells in each hand if you do not have access to a barbell. Get after the Split Squats guys!

So that was just a few things I did for my workout, hope they are something you can incorporate into your workouts. :) 

Ab Day!

Alright guys! This was from my ab day workout a couple days ago. This is a new ab workout for you guys to try! It is called a Lateral Oblique Bend with a weighted bar. Absolutely great! Pick a weight that is challenging for you and put the bar on your shoulders. Once it is there, drop your shoulder and lean, stretching out your opposite side, and do not stick your hip out! So for example, in my picture, I'm starting to lean to my left, but I am not sticking out my right hip in the process. Then use your obliques to pull the bar back to neutral position. Repeat to the other side, and that's one rep! Do as many as you can, enjoy! :)

Sore Today, or Sorry Tomorrow

You Can be Sore Today, Or Sorry Tomorrow. You pick. So many times I'm sure it has run through your head, "ohhh, I really don't feel like working out right now", or "I really don't want to run today..", I, myself, am quite guilty of this on those days where you just don't feel like you have the energy to do anything. But I know for a FACT that I will completely regret skipping my workout the next day, which is what motivates me to do it. I would rather workout and be sore, than regret that I was lazy tomorrow. So get up and do your workouts guys! :)

Strong is the New Skinny

Strong is the New Skinny. Girls, don't get obsessed with being rail thin and doing everything you can to be small and "skinny". It makes me sick to see all these "Thinso" and "ProAna" things on the web. It is totally unnecessary and encouraging acts that can potentially put girls in the hospital. Don't worry about your workouts causing you to bulk up and not be skinny. Trust me, I've been there, obsessed with being small, to the point where it was not healthy, and it's much better to be healthy and strong which still looks "skinny", if you will. As opposed to starving yourself to be small. Eat the right foods, and train right, and you will not only be skinny, but strong. :)

Train Insane

Train Insane or Remain the Same. You can not expect to see great results with just going through the motion in your workouts, and not pushing yourself. If you want results, train the hardest you can! Train Insane.

Push Through.

Push Through The Pain. Pain is only temporary guys, give it your all.

Don't Stop.

Don't Stop When You're Tired, Stop When You're Done. Push through your workouts and training guys! Your body is so much stronger than your mind leads you to think.

Motivation!

Okay, so above are some of my motivational posters I made with my workout pictures. Those of you who follow my instagram account have probably already seen these, but don't worry, there's plenty more to come! :) I just wanted to get these on my blog.

Physio Ball!

Okay, so I had a lot on my agenda today, between coaching and beach practice for my tournament tomorrow, so my ab workout was a little later than usual, but nevertheless, it still got done! So my favorite toy for abs today was my new weighted physio ball! This can be used for multiple exercises with many variations. That is what is so great about it! So, a few of the exercises I did tonight with it were leg lift ball pass offs, and physio ball knee tucks. How to do these? Well, let's start with the leg lift ball pass offs. For those of you who know what a leg lift is, this will be easier for you. Those who do not, here is what to do! Start laying on your back, legs fully extended with the ball between your feet and your arms extended to the ceiling. Squeezing the ball between your feet and making sure that your lower back is pushed to the floor, raise your legs up holding the ball, and pass the ball over to your hands. (Hence, pass offs!) Lower your legs back down right above the ground, but not letting them touch the ground, then raise them back up and retrieve the ball from your hands with your feet. That is one rep. Do as many as you can!
Now for physio ball knee tucks. This is a balance and stabilizing exercise. Crawl up on the ball with your shins on the ball and your hands on the floor in front of you. Walk your hands out until your body is extended and you are in a plank/pushup position with your shins still on the ball. Keeping your balance, slowly pull your knees in to your chest, the ball will roll with you and then extend your legs back to plank position. That is one rep.
Give these a try guys, Enjoy! :)

Squats and PR!

Okay, so I'm a little late, but I'm super stoked because in April, my 3 rep max was 155lbs, and my 1 rep max was 185lbs. For my last workout, I did a pyramid, and for the last two sets (on the left) I did 185lbs for 4 reps, and (on the right) I did 205lbs for my one rep max! Hard work really does pay off! After tearing all the ligaments in my left ankle a couple months ago, I was worried that I would never be able to play or train the same again, but now I'm stronger than ever. So even through injuries, keep your head up and push through!
As for squats in general, they are great for you posterior chain! On leg day, make sure to include these in your workout. Either do a higher weight that challenges your for low reps, or like I did in a pyramid (10,8,6,4,1), or you can do lighter weight for lots of reps. Sometimes I'll do only 95 pounds, but I'll do that for 3 sets of 20. So make sure you pick a weight that really makes those last couple reps a burn and a struggle, and get after those squats! Have a good workout! :)

Finally Entering the Blogger World!

Hello all! So not only is this my first post, but this is my first blog too, so bare with me! I'm super excited to start my blog though. As you can see in my About Me section, I am a beach volleyball player who loves all things fitness and health! I'll be posting everything from my motivational pictures (like my background), to workouts I do for you to try, and healthy foods and recipes for you to try! It's just a rundown of my fitness journey. If you have any questions, just ask! Enjoy! :)