100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 12

HEY I HEARD YOU WERE A WILD ONE!

This total body workout is a fun one - you increase the # of reps you’re doing by 5 each time you start a new exercise: 5, 10, 15, 20... repeat.. then you’re done!

• Gorilla hops are a pretty advanced movement. I broke it all down for you underneath the demo vid - so scroll down to check that out to make sure your form is on point.. or to learn how to modify ;-)
• Prisoner squats are... “fun”.. HA! With these you never stand up all the way until you’ve completed your set. You start in a squat position, then kneel back from there. Then when you step your feet forward to stand again, you keep your hips down in a squat position. Yeah. It’s suppose to burn like that ;-)
• Frog jumps are a jumping sumo squat. Make sure you keep your chest upright, especially when you reach for the floor! If touching the floor means you have to round your back, don’t actually touch the floor - just get as low as you can with a straight spine!
• Curtsy lunges are kinda your active recovery for this mini sweat sesh.. the big thing with these - in addition to proper posture - is to swing your leg back at an angle. It should move diagonally back, not directly sideways, so that your front foot stays flat [don’t let that heel lift] & there’s a gap between your back thigh & front calf. You don’t want them to actually touch like in a real curtsy!

Ok, so here's the deal with Gorilla Hops: 1st off, if jumping is no good for your joints/back, walking your feet forward & backward is a perfectly good modification! Whether you’re walking or jumping, here’s everything you need to keep in mind in order to nail the correct form:

• when you bring your feet forward, they should land just outside of their respective hands so that, essentially, your feet & hands are all in 1 straight line with both hands inside of your feet. [You should be squatting like a gorilla. Ya know.. like the name ;-)]
• your feet should be flat & beside your hands when you’re squatting! Landing on your toes/lifting your heels is not amazing for your joints & doesn’t allow you to ease into the squat in a way that opens up your hips - which is what we’re going for
• when you land in a squat, keep your legs engaged! Don’t let your butt just fall toward your heels. If you’re keeping your heels down so your feet stay flat you should already be doing this though ;-)
• keep your lats engaged! If your neck is disappearing every time you’re jumping, you’re not as in control of the movement & things are more likely to go haywire. Go back to Day 3 to learn more about proper lat engagement if you’re unfamiliar
• when you walk or jump your feet back to a plank position, nail that proper plank! Especially if you’re jumping - don’t let your hips jolt/sag downward. Your back will not love that.. and your core isn’t being worked to it’s full potential

That’s it, y’all! Time to get WILD!!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 11

Day 11 of #100repsadaytobstrong is readyyyyy! Are you?!

Here's what we're working on:

Cross Over Crunches: abs & obliques! If these bother your neck, go back to Day 3 [the pic of me doing a crunch & reaching for my toes] to make sure you’re properly engaging your core!!
1-Leg Hip Hinges: core stability & ankle/knee/hip stability [aka "balance"] + hamstring & glute strength & flexibility. Scroll down to read up on all my tips for proper form & keeping your balance!
Plank marches: pecs, triceps & shoulders + core stability. Like the hip hinges, keep your hips squared up with the floor & avoid letting them twist around as you march up & down! A wider stance in your feet helps with this.

Here's your demo vid:

Here are those tips on proper form & keeping your balance during the 1-leg hip hinges:

• while your foot is flat, most of your weight is in the heel of your standing foot because...
• just like a hip hinge with both feet on the ground [a #deadlift], you’ve got to counterbalance the weight of what’s moving up & backward [your butt & leg] by leaning an equal amount of your body down & to the front [your chest & head]
• focus on your posture. Your goal is to keep your spine neutral. Pull your lower abs in tight so that your lower back doesn’t arch & squeeze the glute of your lifting leg so that it’s not dead weight straining & rounding your lower back
• engage your lats!!! Go back to my posts from Day 3 to read some in depth info on what this should look & feel like
• keep your hips square!! Your pelvis should be facing the ground & neither hip should lift higher than the other!!! Make sure the hip of your lifting leg isn’t twisting toward the sky!

THAT’S IT! Have a great workout!!!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 10

It’s already Day 10!! Finish this workout & your 1/3rd of the way through the #100repsadaytobstrong challenge!

Today’s workout is all about the legs & booty - dem hips & thighs ;-) For all of the jumping exercises [“plyometrics”], focus on landing softly. It works your core more AND is less of a shock to your joints. A win, win as they say ;-)

Here's your demo video so you can see each movement you're about to tackle:

Here are some tips on form to ensure you’re getting the most out of the reverse lunges we’re doing today:

• both knees bend to about 90-degrees [a little smaller than that, if anything] so that the shin of your back leg & thigh of your front leg are parallel to the ground
• front foot: is flat & you’re driving your heel down into the ground as you use your hamstring [back of thigh] to pull your body forward to stand upright
• back foot: only your toes are on the ground, but make sure it’s all 5 toes & that your foot isn’t twisting out so that only your big toe is on the ground. In addition, actively lift that heel & bend your shoe because...
• back knee: should tuck forward so that it’s directly beneath your hips. When you push off your back toes to tuck your back knee forward you’ll feel your quads on that leg [front of thigh] & abs engage rather than your hip flexors hyperextending
• keep your hips square: just as you’re pushing off your back toes to tuck that back knee forward, you should also actively pull the hip of your front leg backward so that each hip ends up side by side. Avoid letting the hip of your back twist back behind you & open your pelvis to the side - it should always face forward

And that's it! Remember to BREATHE!! :-D

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 9

Day 9 & we're feelin' FINE!

I love this core workout because we’re alternating back & forth from a slow, controlled movement that works our backside of our core, to a quick, explosive movement that works the front side of our core. It’s the perfect HIIT combo when you’re looking to CRUSH your core!

Oh & don’t be fooled!! It’s lower impact than the past 2 days.. but boy does it burn!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 8

It's Day 8, mate!!

Like yesterday, this will give you a great total body burn, but we are focusing on some different muscles:
Tricep Dips + Knee Lifts: work our triceps, the back of our arm, while building stability in our core by challenging our abdominals, toosh & back. Scroll down for some tips to help you master your form!
Lateral Lunges: work our legs - specifically our inner & outer thighs - & our booty! The most important thing to do with this exercise is to hinge your hips: booty back, head/chest forward, spine straight! Booty back so that you load your heel with most of your weight instead of your toe. That’s super important!!
Heel Click Frog Jumps: work our inner & outer thighs along with our booty also - but with more emphasis on developing power, while the lunges develop more strength & stability.

Here's a little guidance on proper form for your Tricep Dips:

• fingertips face your body
• bending your knees to flatten your feet on the ground will make the dips easier if needed [yes, you can do that even though we’re throwing the knee lifts into the movement for this workout ;-)]
• the more you extend your feet forward, the more challenging it’ll be
• keep your lats engaged & your neck long! [see how my neck hasn’t disappeared in this photo? neither should yours!]
• hug your elbows toward one another so that they point back behind you as they bend. avoid letting them bow out to the sides - not great for your wrists & elbows..
• make sure you’re bending your elbows to 90-degrees with each rep. humping the air is NOT a tricep dip HAHA [refer back to the 2nd & 3rd tips if you’re struggling with this!]

That’s all folks! Enjoy!