Toned and Tight Tuesday: Dumbbell Skull Crusher

Alright...who is tired of those bat wings?! Raise your hand! Wait...don't. Those bat wings might come into action. :)

Just kidding..but seriously, you know what I'm talking about? That flab on the backside of your arm that keeps waving after your arm stopped moving? Yeah, not real cute.

Luckily, I've got a great exercise that can help you battle those bat wings!


Dumbbell Skull Crusher

Start by sitting on your stability ball and rolling out till just your shoulders, neck, and head are supported.

This could also be done on a bench or even just flat on the floor. Using the stability ball just adds a little more challenge and engages your core.

Next, take your dumbbells and extend your arms straight out above you. Be sure to keep your butt raised to form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders for the duration of the exercise.

Then, lower the dumbbells down on each side of your head till they are even with your ears. You want to make sure you are only moving your forearm in this motion. By only moving your forearm, you are forcing your triceps to engage. Allowing your whole arm to move will engage...something other than your triceps. :) Also, be sure to keep your elbows in and don't let them point out to the sides. 

Go for 10-12 reps and say adios to the bat wings!! :)

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Toned and Tight Tuesday: Bulgarian Squat

It's that time of the week again! This Tuesday I have a great exercise that is going to really work your butt, thighs, basically your whole lower half! If you choose to add weights to this exercise like I have, you will really feel "the burn!" :)

Bulgarian Squat:

You will need a sturdy chair, bench, couch, some sort of sturdy piece of furniture to place your foot on.

Start by standing in front of the chair facing away from it. Take a step or two forward and bend your left leg back so that the top of your foot is resting on the chair or bench. Take a weight in each hand. I'm using 15 lb weights in each hand. You might need to use more or less depending on your fitness level.

You will then bend your right leg and drop straight down like you are doing a lunge. Keep the weights at your side and try to keep your back as straight as possible. This will require some balance so you might try a few without weights so you can get the hang of it first.

Push back up to the starting position. That is one rep. Aim for 12-15 reps. Switch legs and do the same thing with the opposite leg.

As always, go as slow as you need to maintain good form. If you try it out, let me know how it goes! :)

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Toned and Tight Tuesday: Point and Shoot Abs

Per the request of a frequent reader of my blog, I am giving you a great exercise to really work those obliques and your whole core! This is an exercise I call the Point and Shoot (I doubt that's the official name but it's my blog so I'll call it what I want!) :)

Point and Shoot Abs:

You are going to start by sitting on the ground, bringing your legs off the ground bent slightly until you almost have a 90 degree angle, and leaning back slightly to engage your abs.

It is important that you find that "sweet spot" to engage your abs. If you're not leaned back far enough, you won't feel it.

Extend your arms out to the right side of your legs like you're holding a gun, leaning your legs over to the left slightly.

Then take your arms up and over your legs to the left side, leaning your legs slightly to the right.

To the right and then to the left is one rep. Aim for 20 or so reps.

Don't try to go too fast! You want to maintain good form and make sure you continue to work in that "sweet spot." You should feel your abs engaged the whole time! Also, be sure to keep your legs up and off the ground the entire time!

As always, try this out and let me know how you like it! If you have an exercise you would like to see or a specific area you'd like to see an exercise for, let me know by emailing me or connecting with me on my Facebook page! I would love to know what you all would like to see or read about! :)

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June: A Month of New Beginnings

It's June already...June! Can you believe it?! Oh, how time flies!

Well, with a new month comes a new start. And it just so happens, this month I am starting something very new that is a huge step towards my dream in becoming a personal trainer!

Drum roll please...

 I was recently hired at the Anytime Fitness gym in Forney! I am so excited to start this new journey training people, bettering myself, and pursuing something I love! I'll be working part-time and will be starting sometime next week. So if you're in the area and want to become a member of a great gym or need some personal training, come see me! :)

With the coming of a new month, I've also decided to partake in something else. I recently saw on another blog where they did this thing called "Say it, Do it" at the beginning of every month. It's simple...you say what you're going to do and you do it! Sounds easy enough, right? But you don't just DO anything...you set goals for yourself and you do your best to achieve them.

So I want to share with you the goals I have for the month of June.

• PUSH MYSELF!
• As you may remember reading in my 18 Minute HIIT workout post, I realized I have not been pushing myself hard enough when it comes to my work outs. To see changes, you have to challenge yourself. Hence the inspiration for this post! I'm not usually ones to set goals or make out a plan but it's always easier to gauge yourself when you set goals. So in everything I do, I want to push HARD!
• Work out 6 times a week.
• I usually average 4 or 5 days a week but here lately, it's been hard for me to get in 6 days of working out per week. Since I will have alot more time now that school is out, I want to get into a groove and really make this happen.
• At least 3 or 4 of those days, I want to do a workout in the morning and one in the afternoon.
• I am bound and determined to get in the best shape possible this summer. Not just for summer but for life. I want to look and feel the best I've ever felt. One of the tips I got from my cousin and mentor, Stewart, was that the way you look is is one of the bigges selling points when it comes to being a personal trainer. I rememer a Zumba teacher having a conversation with one of my friends and she asked how much weight she has lost...the teacher replied, "that's it? If you've been doing it that long you should have lost a lot more!" Meanwhile, the Zumba teacher, who had been doing it much longer than my friend, was A LOT bigger than my friend. I've always said myself, "you can never trust a chunky trainer." 
• I'm also a big believer in "practice what you preach." Therefore, I want to be able to do anything and everything I might ask my clients to do, and at a superior level. Working out two times a day 4 days a week might seem like a lot but I'm going for it! After all, I will have 24 hour access to an excellent gym...no excuse not to take advantage of it.
• Go hard on the weights!
• I do lots of body weight exercises but to get to where I want to be, I know I need to really get on the weights. And ladies, don't waste your time on the light weights and lots of reps. So many women think they will bulk up if they lift heavy weights(or take large amounts of protein)...NOT TRUE! Lighter weights and more reps only help with building endurance while heavier weights and fewer reps help build muscle, burn fat, and help to get a more defined look.
• Eat more vegetables.
• Since realizing I had fallen into the diet food trap, I've really upped my intake of vegetables and whole foods. But I still want more! I have no problem eating lots of fruits but vegetables aren't as easy. So I'm going to make it my mission this month to find new ways to eat vegetables and stuff myself with them.
• Run a total of 80 miles for the month of June.
• This is ambitious. Very ambitious. But I figured with working out two days a week for the majority of the week, this can be done.
• Eat a grapefruit every day.
• Grapefruit has so many health benefits, some of which you can read about here. Plus, I really like them but for some reason don't eat them as much as I do other fruits.
• Take a multi-vitamin every day.
• I've fallen by the way side on this one. I need to get back to taking a multi-vitamin every day. Our body needs vitamins and nutrients to perform correctly, why deprive your body of something it needs to function properly?
• Study as much as possibe.
• I hate studying and I'm no good at it. But I've got to start studying for the CPT exam...my job depends on it!

And that concludes the list of my major goals for June! I'm excited for everything this month will bring...not to mention, my one year anniversary with my wonderful husband, Omar! :)

Enjoy your summer and make this June the best ever!! :)


Question: What are YOUR goals for June???


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18 Minute HIIT Workout

Some of you might remember me putting on Facebook one day last week that I would "get some ab exercises in since that's the only part of my body that wasn't sore." Well what prompted that soreness was a super intense class I took the day before. It was basically 40 minutes of HIIT, super intense cardio and strength training with minimal rest. I was dripping sweat, red-faced, and soo tired after that class! It made me realize I was definitely not pushing myself nearly as hard as I could. So I decided to make my own little HIIT workout.

I didn't have alot of time to get a workout out in so I wanted something high intensity that would make me feel like I got a great workout in much less time. Remember my Pee or Get Off the Pot post...not having enough time should never be an excuse! After all, who can't find 18 minutes in their day to get in a super effective workout?

These are the exercises I did in my workout:
Jumping Jacks
Mountain Climber Jump In
Side Lunge Touchdown
Pushup to Frog Squat
Heisman Shuffle
(To do the mountain climber jump in, you do 10 counts of mountain climbers, jump your feet up to where your hands are on the ground and stand up and squeeze your glutes. Each time you bring your knee in on the mountain climber that counts as 1.)

This is how you break it down:
1 Minute- Jumping Jacks
1 Minute- Mountain Climber Jump In
1 Minute- Side Lunge Touchdown
1 Minute- Pushup to Frog Squat
1 Minute- Heisman shuffle
1 Minute- Rest

Repeat 2x

There is NO RESTING in between each exercise! It's going to get hard and it's going to hurt but just push through! You are going for as many reps as possible within each minute!

In my class last week, we did 3 more sets of 5 other exercises in addition to this, so you can imagine how intense it was! These types of workouts are very similar to those you see on the Insanity DVD's. It's all about HIIT, HIIT, HIIT! These types of workouts are the most effective and will get you great results when you pair it with good eating.

So try out this little workout and let me know what you think! Be prepared to SWEAT! :)

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