6:30pm: Is your workout like your relationship? Get ON IT (Fat burning workout provided)

We see it all over the news – divorce, split-ups, general  frustrations. Once you get into a rut, the magic is lost.  Workouts work the same way. By repeating the same elliptical workout and the same 5-mile run – the weight loss magic is lost. The purpose of intervals is to confuse our bodies by mixing high-intensity movement and a much slower, easy-going pace. Aside from interval training, there are many ways to confuse your muscles, which will in turn result in more fat-loss and more muscle tone.

This workout circuit will take your workout to new heights!

Warm Up (Repeat two times)

High Knees (:30)

Butt Kicks (:30)

Squat Jumps (:30)

Set  1 (Repeat 2x for a total of four minutes)

Frog Jumps (1 min)

Alternating Lateral Lunge (1 min)

(Run laps OR Run on treadmill)

Set 2 (Repeat 2x for a total of four minutes)

Pushups off a box or bench (alternate: pushup to left side, pushup to middle, pushup to right side) (1  minute)

Jump Squats with weights (1 minute)

(Run laps or run on treadmill)

Set 3 (Repeat 2x for a  total of four minutes)

Ab leg climb (1 minute)

Russian twist (1 minute)

Set 4 (Repeat 2x for a total of four minutes)

Travel burpees (1 minute)

180 twists (1 minute)

Finish It Off:

50 Sit Ups

50 Mountain Climbers

50 Plyo Lunges

And you’re done!

Have a great day guys. I’d appreciate comments and suggestions 🙂

7pm Celebrate Earth Day – Bake A Healthy Kale Inspired Recipe

Happy Earth Day! As many of you have the environment in mind, I wanted to inspire you with a new green food I recently discovered at the local market: It’s fresh. It’s crunchy, and it’s all the rage with fitspo bloggers and health enthusiasts around the world – kale.

I discovered the new green when I was at the local market. A man took a heaping mound of kale and placed it in his basket when I asked how he would suggest preparing it. He suggested using it for juicing, but has seen others use it as a lettuce alternative in salads since it packs in more nutrients. I thought it was worth a try and took some home myself.

I later learned that kale was not only more nutritious, but it also had the following benefits:

• It’s high in vitamin K – a necessity for preventing various cancers
• It’s great for cardiovascular support and can lower cholesterol levels
• It’s filled with fiber and sulfur and can detox your body and keep your liver healthy

And so much more!

It’s very easy to prepare and add to various dinner dishes. However, this versatile food also makes a great snacking alternative. Kale chips are growing in popularity as a healthy, low-cal alternative to potato chips and other high-carbohydrate snacks.

This Parmesan kale chip recipe from Do It Delicious is easy to make and requires ingredients you probably have sitting around at home. It requires kale, olive oil and Parmesan cheese! Simply place kale on a baking sheet and cover with olive oil, bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes until crisp, let cool, then sprinkle with salt and Parmesan!

Have you ever made anything with kale? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear!

Jordana

7pm: Add some kickboxing plyometrics for faster calorie burn

 

There’s been a lot of change on this side of town – starting with a new job! Since my last post, I’ve been busy acquainting myself with a new work environment, a new city and new workout routines. I guess you can say I’ve been re-discovering myself in a way and creating new goals for myself. WIth these new goals in mind, I’ve been trying new activities and discovering new hobbies. One of those newfound hobbies – kickboxing.

It’s my new love and my new passion. Not to mention it’s most likely the greatest stress-reliever known to mankind (in my opinion at least). Although I have to say my weight gain has been inching to new heights, I have discovered a drop in body fat percentage as well as an increase power and strength. 

Although the classes are a bit lengthy, I discovered that a large portion of these workout routines consists of plyometric exercises. Plyo consists of powerful, intense movements in a short amount of time. In between kicks and punches – plyo gives us a burst of energy – making the metabolism kick into gear. 

If you don’t have enough time to fit in a full kickboxing routine, adding the same plyometric moves from class can give you a burst of energy and result in a higher calorie burn. 

I challenge you to add the following exercises into your next 10-15 minute workout routine. Simply do one exercise between weight sets for great results!

• 1) Squat jumps
• 2) Plyo lunge
• 3) Mountain climbers
• 4) Tuck jumps
• 5) Burpees

Add them in and let me know what you think! Keep up the great work 🙂

– Jordana

6pm: Reflect on Runs For The Agenda- 2013

The Color Run is in Orlando tomorrow. I’m sad I missed it this year but it’s definitely on the agenda for years to come!

Here are my running goals for 2013:

1) Complete a super sprint triathalon- I haven’t trained or even thought of doing a triathalon until this month! I know I can do a super sprint but my goal is to do a sprint series of some sort.

2) 10k by July 2013

3) Half Marathon by November 2013

Wish me luck!

12:30pm: Do A 10 Minute Victoria’s Secret Angel workout (keeps you on track)!

Today I had what others might call “computeritus.” After sitting at the Macbook  glaring at the ever so interesting spreadsheet, the last thing I wanted to do was sit down during my lunch break.

I found this FitSugar workout over the weekend and decided to give it a shot. It may only be 10 minutes long but it will get your heart rate racing within the first three minutes.

If you’re looking to target trouble zones such as your midsection, this may be a good start. I’m not sold that it’s a model workout, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

Give it a try. What do you think?