20/10 Maddness

I've had alot of really great changes happening over the past few weeks, which is the reason for the delayed postings.  Anyway, I wanted to share a workout that was BRUTAL from tonight's bikes & bells class. It was a tough workout!!  Pull out your GymBoss timers for this one, folks!

I put both of my classes through this workout tonight. One group made it through 5 rounds; the other to 4. We scaled appropriately. For those of you warriors, take it up to the next level by completing all 8 rounds.

Enjoy!

FitGirl's 20/10 Maddness Workout

Warm-Up: 5:00 bike

Circuit Rounds:
Complete as many rounds as you can from round 1 up to 8. Use your Gym Boss timer to seamlessly execute the 0:20/0:10 rounds.
* 2:00 Bike
* 0:20 work/0:10 rest for 8 rounds of the given exercise listed below

Cool-Down: 5:00 Easy Pedaling or Walking

Round 1: Swings {Try doing 1H swings, switching sides for each 0:20 work period}
Round 2: Push-Ups (if 8 consecutive rounds of push-ups is too advanced, do 4 rounds push-ups, 4 rounds planks)
Round 3: Mountain Climbers
Round 4: Snatches or {Dead Clean & Press, switching sides for each 0:20 work period}
Round 5: Body Weight Squats
---------------------
If you make it this far, you're entering warrior zone!!
Round 6: Tricep Dips
Round 7: Shoulder Presses
Round 8: Swings

Notice that I did not call the "off-bike" sessions Tabata drills. They are based on the same time intervals as Tabata (20 seconds work, 10 seconds active rest for 8 rounds [4:00 total] ), but a true tabatata is done at 100% effort.  If we were doing true Tabata drills, we'd only pick 1 of the 8 drills to complete.  So, this workout would be more appropriately coined metabolic conditioning.  Anyway, no matter what category you give it, I call this workout HARD (in all caps)! :-D

Let me know if you give it a shot!

Not So Bad...

I took a group conditioning class on Saturday, my first one in about 2 years actually. It was so nice to be the student instead of the teacher. I absolutely loved it!  Anyway, I actually caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror during the session.  I was actually NOT disgusted by what I saw. I realized that I am probably my own worst critic.  Even though I mentally thought that I was out of shape and de-conditioned, I still kept up well with the rest of the class and even exceeded most. I also realized that I still have very beautiful, full muscles. When I caught that glimpse, I didn't see what I thought I looked like in the mirror (i.e. carrying excess body fat with no visible evidence of being a consistent exerciser). Instead, I saw a strong, athletic woman...I didn't see all of the flaws that I see when I look in the mirror at home.  I had an "a-ha" moment and realized that I am my own worst critic. Yes, there are still areas that I want to improve, but the current state ain't that bad!  I know that I'll reach my other goals with consistency and dedication. I just need something from time to time to encourage me to keep going.

Anyway, I share this because if any of you deal with body image issues, realize that you are probably your own worst critic.  I encourage you to really try to look at your best features and (mentally) play to those.  Every person is beautiful, and I encourage you to find your own inner beauty and let that eminate on the outside. You will be much happier and the little things/negative thoughts will be defeated.

Anyway, I hope that eveyone is doing well and enjoying the festivities of the 4th of July holiday weekend!  I just focused on my own exercise and diet for the weekend (i.e. getting the kitchen cleaned, meals prepared, exercise routines on the books, etc). Honestly, when I'm working out and/or planning for my workouts, I feel that I'm my happiest.  The weather has been gorgeous, and all I've wanted to do is go out, enjoy the weather, soak in the sun, and just be H-A-P-P-Y!

Looking forward to tomorrow's workout.

Another great workout!

Tonight I diversified my bikes & bells class slightly...It was a great workout!

Warm-Up: Bike 5-10 mins

Circuit Workout
Complete 3 Rounds of the following:
Cardio (Bike/Treadmill/Elliptical): 10:00
Corresponding Bells Round

Bells Round 1
Mixed KB Swings x 100
KB Snatches x 10/side
Mountain Climbers x 30

Bells Round 2
Mixed KB Swings x 50

TRX Squats x 15
KB Dead Clean & Push Press x 10/side

Bells Round 3
Mixed KB Swings x 50
KB Lunge & Press x 5/side
KB Squats x 10

Round 1 was my favorite bells round, hands down!  I had everybody mix up their work in each bells round. Meaning, instead of doing 100 swings consecutively, do as many as you feel comfortable doing, then do 5 snatches per side, resume swings, then do 15 mountain climbers, etc..  It was pretty great! We didn't use the timer in the bells rounds, and focused on everybody being creative and getting the work done as quickly as possible, but safely.  Loved it!

Coming Fall 2011: P90X2 (aka P90X:MC2)

Get ready, people.  P90X2 is coming this fall.  I am so ready!

Recipe Post: Sunday Morning Primal Pancakes

Oh. My. Goodness.  I made primal pancakes for breakfast this morning. They were so fantastic. I modified a recipe that I found on Mark's Daily Apple. 

Fitgirl's Sunday Morning Primal Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

1 small ripe banana

1/3 cup almond flour

Splash almond milk (unsweetened)

Dash cinnamon

Capful vanilla extract

Sugar-Free Syrup (I like Carey's)

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

4-5 pecans

Directions

1. Preheat griddle to 400 degrees.

2. Mash 1/2 of the ripe banana in a bowl.

3. Add cinnamon & vanilla to the mashed banana, and stir together until well incorporated.

4. Add almond flour and mix together.

5. Put splash of coconut oil or PAM onto hot griddle.

6. Pour pancake batter onto hot griddle.  It is best to keep pancakes small in size so that they cook well.

7. Wait until the pancake edges turn brown in color and then flip the pancakes.

8. Top with butter, sugar-free syrup, remaining 1/2 banana, blueberries, and 4 crushed pecans.

The original recipe called for 1 egg, which I omitted since I already had a side of scrambled eggs ready to go with breakfast. I was in heaven eating this breakfast! My batter yielded 2 small pancakes. I also used the wrong measuring cup for my blueberries, and wound up topping with 1/3 cup instead of 1/4 cup.  Oh well :-).  My batter seemed to need to cook for quite some time in order to cook fully (maybe because of the missing egg) and were kind of dense.  Next time, I will try to add an egg white, beaten to stiff peaks to try to make them more fluffy.  My nephews are visiting for the summer, and I can't wait to give these a try for them.

If you are interested in the original recipe, follow this link to see the original recipe & article from Mark's Daily Apple : http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-many-uses-of-almond-meal/

Enjoy!

Bikes & Bells - Hill Circuits

Tonight's Bikes & Bells class was alot of fun (as they all are).  I was pretty tired going into it, and I wasn't quite sure that I'd have the energy tonight. However, once we got on the bike and started spinning, it was all good!  After a 5-minute warmup, the rounds were designed as 5:00 on the bike and 2:00 on the bells. Tonight's bike portion was focused on hill climbs. We pushed heavy resistance and even hit a few breakaways, which were left us winded and working anaerobically for short periods of time.

Warm-up: 5:00 Bike

Round 1
5:00 Bike - Seated Climb
2:00 KB 1H Swings (0:30 L, 0:30 R, 0:30 L, 0:30 R)

Round 2
5:00 Bike - Standing Climb
2:00 OH Squats (0:30 L, 0:30 R, 0:30 L, 0:30 R)

Round 3
5:00 Bike - Run with resistance; Jumps on Hill
2:00 KB Snatches (0:30 L, 0:30 R, 0:30 L, 0:30 R)

Round 4
5:00 Bike - Breakaways
2:00 Racked KB Squat/Presses (1:00 L, 1:00 R)

Round 5
5:00 Bike - Sprints on Hill
2:00 Dead Cleans (0:30 L, 0:30 R, 0:30 L, 0:30 R)

Round 6
5:00 Bike - Freeform Climb
2:00 High Pulls (0:30 L, 0:30 R, 0:30 L, 0:30 R)

Cool-Down: 5:00 Bike

Enjoy!

Awesomely Difficult...

The title of this post is how I describe tonight's workout. It was incredible!  Our objective was to complete as many rounds as possible in the 45-minute class period.  It was fantastic! We did substitute one Bike segment with Treadmill walking, as my clients felt they were reaching anaerobic segments.

Warm-Up & Cardio 1: 13:00 Bike

Main Workout: 5:00 Bike followed by Bells Circuit (as outlined below)

Bells Circuit
0:45/exercise (per side side), 0:20 rest
Racked KB Squat & Kick
KB High Pull or Snatch
1H KB Swing
Racked KB Lunge & Press
KB Dead Cleans

Stretch

Our timings weren't exactly precise, so we completed 2.5 Rounds total. We also used the last cardio round as a 5-minute cool-down. This was TOUGH and fantastic all at the same time!! If you give this a shot, make sure to emphasize quality over quantity. If the 0:45 seconds per exercise per side is too aggressive, drop it down to 0:30 seconds per exercise per side. If you need more rest in between exercises, take it!  We put in extra rest before each Lunge & Press.

Enjoy!!