13 Exercises I Love

Happy Friday the 13th! It is the day before Valentine's Day and 13 is my favorite number. So I thought I would share 13 of the exercise I love!

Core Work
Core work is always an essential part of my programming. A strong core allows you to maintain more effective posture in your lifts and your daily activities. These are 4 of my favorite variations of core work.

13. Full Get Up (Turkish Get Up) 

12. Plank 

11. Hanging Leg Raises 

10. Ab Roll Out 

The Back Exercises

During bodybuilding season I became obsessed with building a big wide rippling back. I love all of these exercises because I can really load on the weight and feel the work starting at rep 1.

9. Seated Rear Delt Row 

8. Lat Pull Down 

7. Barbell Row 

6. Sgl Arm DB Row 

My Top 5

Here are my all stars! I can't go a week without programming in at least 1 of these.

5. Deadlift - I have learned to love this lift. I used to hate dead lifts, but the stronger I got the more I loved it. Great multi-joint move to build strength in the lower body.

4. Hang Clean - Ever since I met this lift during Crossfit I fell in love with it. A power move that hits the shoulders, back, legs, and core. As my shoulder mobility and overall strength improved so did this lift. If I had more space in my home gym I would do these way more often.

3. Push Press - My fave way to work my shoulders and sneak in some cardio and lower body work. The dip drive requires hip flexion and extension to press the bar overhead. The press works my delts and chest. The explosive total body movement elevates the heart rate.

2. Alt Rope Waves - Cardio and Shoulders, Win Win! Ropes were in the Top 3 of 10 for ACE exercises for the anterior deltoid. They also serve as a great way to get the heart rate up for people with lower body limitations. A great alternative for those of us with hip. knee, or ankle issues. Try a Tabata set of Rope waves and see if you like it, I love it!

And my Number 1 spot goes to............................

1. KB Swings - The swing is one of my favorite moves because with proper execution it has the ability to activate Glutes, Hamstrings, Core, Shoulders, and Cardio all in 1 low impact move. The KB is one of my favorite pieces of equipment because of its diversity of use: strength, power, muscular endurance, core, and intervals. Really what more could you ask for. 

These are the exercises that always find their way into my workouts and the workouts I design for clients

Did any of your favorites make the list?

Share on twitter and tell me the top 3 exercises you love.

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Health and Happiness,

Larissa

Within this post are links to:

ACE Research Kettlebells

https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednews/images/article/pdfs/ACE_Kettlebells.pdf

ACE Research Shoulder Study

https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednews/images/article/pdfs/ACEShoulderStudy.pdf

NSCA Deadlift Series

http://www.nsca.com/Videos/Exercise_Technique/Deadlift_Series/

USAW Instructional Video - Clean from the Hang Position

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNumRCjCjE8

USAW Instructional Video - Push Press

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-I5kwcM_sc

2.8.15 Weekly Fitness Goals

Cardio 

I have slowly been building my cardio back up, aiming to run a 1/2 marathon with Alicia later this year. Since I pretty much do zero cardio outside of Just Dance and walking the dog, I started the year meeting ACSM recommendations at 150 minutes a week. Each week adding 20 minutes to my regimen. This week I'm up to 225 minutes. I don't run anymore so my cardio is usually airdyne, dancing, circuit training, and HIIT. I figure I'll work on building my cardio endurance first before I start hitting the pavement.

Strength

The first 8 weeks of the year I am focusing on cardio and monitoring my nutrition. However, I do aim for 2 days a week of weight training. Either heavy lifts or circuit training depending on my mood. My lift of choice is Deadlift and I love a solid Overhead Press set. My next phase I'll be moving into Strength and Hypertrophy, I can't wait. I love my lifts!

Flexibility 

I am #bringingyogaback with the PrAna 12 day yoga challenge.

When I Yoga I usually practice Hatha Yoga to increase my flexibility and mobility, but enjoy challenging myself with other styles of Yoga. I used to practice weekly, but I have really fallen behind in my practice. So I am excited to take on this 12 day challenge. I'll be posting my attempts at each pose on Instagram, and following up on my experience here on the blog.

What is on your weekly fitness goal list?

Have a great week,

Health and Happiness,

Larissa

A Morning Ride with Vibe Ride

I started my morning with a 55 minute ride with The Vibe Ride team.  A great way to start the day!

It has been a while since I have made time to take a cycling class. So when I was at Whole Foods a few weeks ago and saw the sign for a FREE ride I signed up, and signed up my sister too. 

Every bike had a rider and a few riders on standby. The instructors helped me get set up on my bike and after a quick warm up our ride began. It was my first time using a bike with a built in feedback system, it was great to be able to see my RPM, Watts, and resistance level. Our instructor Maurice was awesome. He had great energy and did a great job encouraging us to find the cadence and push through the sprints.  

The music was a mix of my favorite club hits and when the workout got hard I could lose myself in the music. High intensity and low impact a great crosstraining option for me to keep my knees and ankles healthy while meeting my cardio recommendations. By the end of the workout I was dripping sweat but it felt great to be done with my cardio for the day.

VibeRide is a brand new fitness experience opening in Midtown in March. They will be offering cycling and fitness classes. If you're looking to work with a boutique cycling studio in Atlanta reach out to their team I believe they're still auditioning instructors. I like cycling but I definitely push myself harder in a group cycling class. If all of there classes are as good as this one I will definitely take more classes with them.

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Health and Happiness,

Larissa

Get Moving with a Gigabody Giveaway

This post is sponsored by GigaBody through their partnership with FitApproach.  
I was not compensated monetarily, but was provided 2 months free access for review.  
As always, all opinions are my own.

What is Gigabody?
Gigabody is an online fitness membership that offers convenient and affordable fitness anytime and anywhere you have your laptop, iPad, or SmartTV.

Gigabody.com screenshot of supported devices

They have an extensive library of professional videos that range from intermediate to advanced and cover a variety of styles including barre, strength, cardio, and dance.

Gigabody.com screenshot of featuring a variety of classes

The workouts also come in various lengths so whether you only have 10 minutes or you have over an hour you can find a convenient workout. At $8.99 a month it is also affordable for most budgets. If you can't find anything that fits your needs you can cancel at anytime.

Convenient
There are days when I just don't want to leave the house to workout. Sometimes I am in a funk, or the classes around town are too early or to late for my taste. So when that happens I can choose an on-demand option.  One day I really wanted to do yoga, but I did not want to make the 30 minute drive to my 2 free yoga options. That's right even if it's FREE if it's not convenient I probably won't be there. That is what happened when I chose to try the Xen-Strength program.

Gigabody.com screenshot of Xen Strength sequences

Xen-Strength was not like any yoga I had done before. They combined strength training and core balance drills with yoga movements. I didn't know what to expect so I opted for light weights during the workout. I was able to complete my workout right from my laptop and I definitely felt the extra burn in my shoulders by the time I was done.

Affordable
What is the cost of membership at your gym? Is there an additional cost for drop-in classes? So I am lucky and the gym I teach at allows instructors to drop in for classes, but if I had to pay, monthly membership is $24/month 2 hours of parking is $3 (1hr and 1 min counts as $2 in the lot I use), additional $10 fee per drop-in class, about $14 per class. A whole month of Gigabody is $8.99 a month and you can take any class you want as often as you want, and you can cancel at anytime.

Fun

I viewed a few of the different videos, but my favorite was Bombay Jam!

Gigabody.com screen shot that includes clips of Bombay Jam

I love to dance and Bombay Jam gave me something truly unique to try. I loved it! I even had a little dance party with my sister and fellow SPA Alicia. We were just saying we would like to try this style of dance class, so we were really excited when we were able to try Bombay Jam.

Top image is from Just Dance 2015 bottom right is from Bombay Jam

Final Thoughts and A FREE Month of Gigabody
When I started my fitness journey it was with videos. My first fitness memories are of my mom doing the Jane Fonda VHS and me trying to follow along with "Let's Get Physical" playing in the background. Then there was Denise Austin, the Reebok step videos, Turbo Jam, and Insanity. So I definitely appreciate the convenience of video fitness and the comfort of getting to try something new at your own pace at home. I love the feedback and customization that comes with in person classes but you can't deny the convenience of online viewing in the busy lives we lead. So let me share with you the opportunity to try Gigabody for yourself.

Gigabody is allowing me to offer 1 free month of service to a fellow fitgeek! Here is what you need to do to be eligible:

• follow Gigabody on Twitter (@gigabody) and Instagram (@gigabody)
• Like Gigabody on Facebook 
• Tweet about the giveaway 

That's all it takes! Be sure to complete all the steps above and you may be selected to win a FREE month subscription to GigaBody. You have from now until 10:00PM EST 2/2/2015. A winner will be selected and notified via twitter DM on 2/2/2015.

Updated 2/2/15, 11:00 PM/EST : This giveaway is now over. A winner has been selected and notified via Twitter. Thank you for participating.

Health and Happiness,

Larissa

Race Ambassador for MLK DAY 5K Drum Run/Walk

This weekend I volunteered as a Race Day Ambassador for the MLK DAY 5K Drum Run/Walk in Atlanta. Earlier in the month I was looking for a MLK volunteer opportunity. About a week ago my fitness coordinator sent out info for the Drum Run and I snagged a volunteer spot.

It was a cooooold start to the day there was still frost on the ground when I arrived. My day started at 6:30AM; My volunteer shift started at 8AM but if you have ever tried to find parking near Piedmont Park you know why I got started so early. I registered and met with our volunteer coordinator Herman.

As an ambassador I helped direct runners to registration and helped distribute shirts at the end of the race.

Volunteers and Runners at the registration tent at Park Tavern.

I was impressed by how many runners were in attendance. 

Even "Batton Bob" was spotted along the race route (middle left photo)

The vision of the Drum Run is "to foster fellowship and fitness in celebration of the Beloved Community that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned".  Some of the things that make the Drum Run unique:

• A portion of your teams registration is donated back to the organization to assist in community projects
• A diverse group of runners
• Babies and Dogs welcomed
• Beautiful route through Piedmont Park
• The drummers! 

The race is in its 4th year and continues to grow each year.

The highlight of the race was the drummers. 

Drum lines from local schools were distributed along the race route and formed the finish line for the runners. Post race I was able to watch a drum battle between 4 schools. These kids are so talented!

I really enjoyed giving back to the fitness community and working with some great people. I look forward to participating again next year.

How are you celebrating MLK Day?
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Health and Happiness,
L

#IAmAFitGk

Weekend Recap and #NoExcuses Challenge

I had a great time hanging out with family and friends this weekend.

On Friday Anthony and I had a free dinner with The Fundamental Kitchen(TFK). TFK sells high end cookware and in an attempt to show you the value of their cookware they serve you a 3 course meal. A 3 course meal with champagne and wine. The meal itself was very carb heavy, I would have preferred an additional green vegetable instead of all the starch. I didn't know what we would be eating so I ate low carb most of the day so it balanced out.The most impressive part of the demo was their stove top pineapple cake. It was so tasty I forgot to get a photo. We also walked away with a free bottle of wine. Not bad for a free demo!

Then on Saturday my Dad took Alicia and I out to Bikram Yoga Decatur for 90 minutes of Hot Yoga! It has been years since I took a hot yoga class and this was Alicia's 1st time. I was pouring sweat just working through the prana breathing exercises during our warm up. The heat felt amazing and really helped me stretch deeper into each position. Our instructor was great. The class was packed but he called us by name, gave thorough instruction, and gave us a variety of options for each position. He truly taught to all levels and made us feel comfortable working at whichever level we chose. I would definitely come back again.

Sunday we received our 1st week of prompts for the #NoExcuses movement with Fitapproach. I am excited to kickoff the New Year with a new Sweat Pink Challenge! 

You can join me by registering for the #noexcuses movement. Then you'll be eligible to win cool prizes each week. Some of our sponsors are @AugustaActive @ShowerPill @ActivMotionBar 
@FlipBelt @BeamingwHealth. If you're interested in participating and being eligible for prizes use the following link to join me #noexcuses movement 

Below is this weeks schedule of events:

I hope you'll join me, my fellow SPAs, and the sweatpink family for our 1st fitness challenge of the year.

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Have a great week!

Health and Happiness

L

#IAmAFitGk

Fitness Testing and Fit Goals for 2015!

One of my 2015 resolutions is to make my fitness a priority again. So, Last week I focused on completing my baseline tests to help me design my personal fitness program for the next 20 weeks!

I usually follow ACSM recommendations when I test my lifts. I will do a warm up set of just the bar or 50% of what I think I will lift. If I have a spotter I will go for a true 1RM(repetition max); If I am lifting solo I'll use an estimated 3-5 rep max. Then I give myself at least 4 opportunities to max out. I tested Deadlift, Front Squat, Floor Press, Assisted Pull Up, Push Ups, and Curl Ups. Today I will just focus on my big 3.

Deadlift

I had a pretty solid Deadlift back in my crossfit days. I maxed out at just over 200lbs. I would like to surpass that kind of strength. I want to achieve a lift of 1.5 x body weight. I maxed out at about 20lbs shy of what I thought I would be able to lift. I have about 50 weeks, even if I only increase by 5lbs every 3 weeks over the entire year I can reach a 250 lb lift, every 2 weeks and I could hit 295! Increased strength is all about consistency and safe progression.

Front Squat

Pick a squat any squat. I chose front squat because it is easy to test alone, workout specific, and I don't have access to a squat rack at home. So if you have ever had to bail out of a squat you know that it can be loud and a potential hazard in a small gym. In front squat position I set the rack and if I can't finish the lift it is an easy release. My workouts will include cleans and squats, so I can use a percentage of the front squat to estimate the weight. One day I want to add a squat rack to my home gym, but right now I don't so my back squat is limited by what I can safely clean and press. I am aiming for body weight on this lift. So I'll either need to get stronger, or lighter. I choose stronger!

Floor Press
I went to the gym with every intent of maxing out on bench press like a beast! Alas, no one was there to spot me, so I took my testing home. I have a PVC rack set up and with my husband as spotter I was able to test floor press. I have plenty of room for improvement on this one, my previous best lift was about 75% of body weight. When I can hit a body weight press, that will be a great day!

Those are the major lifts I'll be chasing this year. The past few years were about helping others meet their goals and lifting for fun and stress relief. Now it is time to set and crush some new personal goals.

How will you reach your your Fit Goals in 2015?
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Health and Happiness,
Larissa