5 Minute Abs!

two women planking at the seashore — Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.com

You’re no longer dreaming of a white Christmas and instead envision six-pack abs. You’ve moved on from the holiday madness and are perhaps planning your tropical vacation where you will be in the best shape of your life! You’re reading up on diets and nutrition, meal-planning tips, beginner workouts and more. You’ve added the Rocky soundtrack to your gym playlist. You’re ready to do it right this year. And you can!

Abdominal exercises don’t require additional equipment beyond your own body weight. Training your entire core will serve you well for your life in anything you do, so don’t neglect your back by only doing crunches and sit-ups. You’ll get more out of your workout by doing some simple exercises that burn out your abs but also hit your entire core.

Add to your routine or if you are short on time and just want to hit your midsection hard, here is a great place to start. And, if a minute of each of these seems just out of the question at this point for you, then start wherever you are and work your way up. You will get better with consistency as long as you push yourself.

So, here is your 5 minute ab routine that will leave your abs screaming (and have you coming back for more!)…

1) 1 minute sliding plankjacks

2) 1 minute supine bicycle

3) 1 minute Russian twist

4) 1 minute tummy tucks

5) 1 minute plank

A quick word of advice…don’t compromise your form just to get to a certain time. Focus on your form and doing the exercise correctly to avoid injury and to ensure you are working the muscles the way these exercises are intended to work them.

Now, it’s time to put this into action! No need to wait until tomorrow to start. It’s only five minutes, so dedicate that time to getting started now. You’ve got this.

Here’s to YOUR health!

Your New Go-To Workout…When You Don’t Have Time To Work out!

“I just don’t have time!”

This is a phrase I hear quite often. It’s true. It seems like life goes spinning out of control so quickly. Our minutes and hours flash before our eyes and boom, another day comes to a close.

man in white shirt using macbook pro — Photo by Tim Gouw on Pexels.com

We’ve talked about how preparation is the key to success in any endeavor, and your health and fitness is no exception. But there are times when we plan and plan and plan, and well, LIFE HAPPENS. There are emergencies, interruptions in our well-thought plans, hiccups along the path of good intentions. A last minute call from the school, a presentation due at work, meetings added to our calendars, traffic holds us up, our families need us, our friends need us…I could go on and on. This is life. And if we choose to, we can easily give up and exclaim, “I just don’t have time!”.

But since you’re taking the time to read this message of encouragement, you must be seeking a change, or at least some motivation and have determined that this time will be different. And you may have said that many times before. What you need to engrain in your mind is that life WILL HAPPEN, and we can choose to walk away and make excuses, or we can choose to find a way to make this work…FOR our families and FOR OURSELVES.

active adult athlete body — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Perhaps it’s time to simplify. Do you find that if you can’t find an hour to workout that you just don’t bother? I have found myself guilty of this at times. I really want to be able to take my time at the gym, but realistically, I’ve found that doesn’t always happen. I’m at the gym all day….training everyone else, and sometimes neglecting myself!

Today, I want to provide you with a workout that is customizable for anywhere from ten minutes to however long you may have! This workout will be a full body workout with a little cardio in the mix to keep your heart rate up as well.

And because time is precious, and I’m writing about the lack of time, I’ll keep this post short and to the point!

Here is your go-to workout for this oh-so-busy holiday season, because we all need a workout that doesn’t require hours at the gym (or at home for that matter). Especially this time of year when we are running in a thousand different directions with family gatherings and shopping trips, a workout like this is just what the doctor ordered. Or in this case, just what the trainer ordered!

5 Burpees
10 Bent Over Rows (use dumbbells or omit if you don’t have access to weights)
15 Pushups (modify if necessary depending on your fitness level)
20 Standing Donkey Kicks (per leg)
25 Glute Bridges
30 second Side Plank (30 seconds per side)
40 Mountain Climbers
50 Supine Bicycles
60 second Plank

Circuit through this as many times as your time allows! 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes! Try to do this every other day for the next couple of weeks and track to see how you improve over time. Remember that even when we feel that we don’t have the time, if we can make the decision to simply take 10 minutes to workout, it can make all the difference. And it’s true you’ll only regret the workout you didn’t do.

Here’s to YOUR health!

10 Minute “Rise-n-Shine” Full Body Circuit!

With the holiday season upon us in full force, (seriously, on Halloween, there was an enormous inflatable Christmas tree at the Wal-Mart entrance next to their newly discounted pumpkins!), I wanted to share a “quicky” workout for you to kick off your Thanksgiving Day (or any other morning for that matter)!

You wake up. It’s Thanksgiving morning. The plan is to hit the ground running (probably not an actual jog, but more like running around the house) getting kids ready, food ready, etc. to travel to wherever your destination may be. It may be that you’re staying home hosting this dinner. Either way, this will still be applicable to anyone and everyone!

Take an extra 10 minutes to get in a workout, and you’ll feel so much better…especially on a day when you plan to take in, perhaps, a few extra calories. (If you didn’t already catch it, check my post last week “Healthy Swaps! Your Thanksgiving Survival Guide” for some tips!) And since this is a day where we are to pause and reflect on all that we are thankful for, take this time to also count your blessings. I can’t think of a better way to start the day!

This workout is customizable for the time that you have. Circuit through the exercises below once and then make it a goal to repeat a couple more times, resting for one minute between circuits. Complete in ten minutes, twenty minutes, etc. just depending on how many times you choose to repeat!

Here’s to this past year and memories we’ve made. Here’s to the new year and adventures that await. Here’s to family and friends. Here’s to the failures that made us stronger, and here’s to the successes that reminded us we could do it.

And here’s to YOUR health!

1 min sliding mountain climbers10 Pushups20 squat jacks15 Dips20 Standing Donkey Kicks (per leg)12 Renegade Rows (per arm)30 Tummy Tucks