Hard CORE: BOSU Sit-ups

I love using the BOSU for Sit-Ups with clients because it helps you feel how to engage your core correctly and understand what it should feel like.

Notes on form:
- Sit on the front of the Bosu
- As you lay back, press your lower back into the Bosu and maintain that pressure as you sit up.
- Don't throw your arms back and front for momentum!
- Pull your shoulders down from your ears, even when you reach your hands up.

In the video I'm reaching both hands straight ahead, then both right, then both straight ahead, then both left. Perform 5-8 sets of this 4 sit-up combo for 2-4 sets. Laying back over the BOSU allows your abdominals to extend longer than they would on the floor, so you'll feel the burn quicker than you anticipate. Enjoy!

Share how you incorporate this into your workout on Instagram/Twitter @cassiebstrong #BStrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

Momma B: Living With Chronic Pain

For all of you that suffer from chronic pain and argue that what you eat and drink doesn’t make a difference, I’m here to tell you - it does. I know you don’t want to hear that, because I didn’t want to either. For 30 years I wanted to prove that what I ate didn’t make a difference - mostly because I felt that preparing whole foods was just too much work. I was wrong about that too. But thanks to my stubborness, I suffered chronic headaches/migraines and extreme neck and shoulder pain for the majority of my life so far.

I went from doctor to doctor seeking relief. Once I realized that the meds caused me more grief than the migraines did, I started playing around with things on my own. I learned how to decode nutrition labels and had eliminated a lot of headache-triggering ingredients, so I thought I had things figured out. I was eating shredded wheat for breakfast - no artificial preservatives in that. I ate protein bars for lunch - I sit at a desk all day, so I wanted to watch what I ate so I wouldn’t gain weight. 

“Planning and preparing does take some time, but when you start to feel better it motivates you to plan and prepare for success.”

I had my system down, I was settled into my routine, but the frustrating thing was: none of it was working for me. The daily headaches continued and the migraines got worse. I was at a point where I was taking 7 Aleve a day for my neck and shoulder pain. I was also taking 20 Midol pills a month for headaches because they worked better than Tylenol. I used 15-20 migraine pills a month, and pills for acid reflux to top it all off. Turns out, the acid reflux was caused by the medication I was taking combined with the crappy foods I was eating. And oh yeah, I was anemic too. My body was SCREAMING at me, but I wasn't wise enough to listen. 

I just couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong until IIN taught me how important whole foods are for our bodies.  Now, I've traded my shredded wheat for Quinoa and my protein bars for vegetables. I've also discovered that preparing whole foods isn’t that difficult. Planning and preparing does take some time, but when you start to feel better it motivates you to plan and prepare for success.

Within four months, eating whole foods had created change!  It’s now been a year and a half since I made drastic changes to my lifestyle and diet. I no longer take Aleve for my neck and shoulders, I've stopped taking Midol, my daily headaches are a thing of the past, and I haven’t had a migraine in the last three months! I've also lost 10lbs and I’m no longer anemic. 

If you suffer daily from chronic pain, I encourage you to start creating a healthy sustainable lifestyle one step at a time. What you eat will either fuel the pain or relieve it. I started in the same place you did. If I can do it, you can too.

Hard CORE: BOSU Walk Around + Mtn Climbers

This movement targets your obliques while challenging your shoulder stability. Make sure you're on a surface where the BOSU can twist! Walk half-way around, do 5 mountain climbers, then reverse it.

Notes on form:
- Hips remain at shoulder level
- Step your foot side & twist the Bosu at the same time.
- You'll really feel it in the oblique of the foot that pushes!

How many times can you do this before you collapse?! Share on Instagram/Twitter @cassiebstrong #BStrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

Hump Day Booty Move: Unilateral Suitcase Deadlift

This movement was in last month's lower body Lift program I ran at BFX. The reason I love it was the same reason the class loved it - yes, you're working your legs and glutes, but you feel your entire core from back to front in a way you've never felt it doing sit-ups or planks.

Add this movement into Leg Day, performing 8-12 reps for 3-4 sets. If you plan to do 3 sets, hold the weight in one hand half your reps, then finish out your set holding it in your left hand. If you're planning for 4 sets - you animal! - hold the weight in each hand for 2 entire sets.

Lift heavy to get the true benefit of this unilateral lift in your core! I'm using a 45lb. Kettlebell in the video, but my weight recommendations for people vary based on their strength and experience level. Just watch for these things to tell if the weight is too heavy: shoulders are not square and/or knees are knocking together. Your shoulders should be side by side; the arm holding the weight should not be pulled any lower than the other. Your feet and knees should be shoulder width apart through the entire movement. Holding this proper posture, you'll feel it through your back, around your ribs, and into your obliques and abs - score!

Try it, then tell me how much you love it on Instagram/Twitter @cassiebstrong #BStrong!

B Strong,

Cassie B.

Hard Core: Ladder - Jumping Jack/Plank Jack

I've busted this movement series out in Fusion and Burn lately, and I'm loving it!

It's a ladder, so each rep, add another 1 to the movement (1 jumping jack, 1 plank jack; 2 jumping jacks, 2 plank jacks; 3 jumping jacks, 3 plank jacks; etc). Choose the number of reps, (steps up the ladder), you want to perform - just be sure you can go all the way back down again ;-) That means: if you go up 5 steps, once you do 5 jumping jacks and 5 plank jacks, then you'll do four of each, 3 of each, and so on until you're back to 1 of each.

This is a fantastic drill to add to a HIIT circuit to get your heart rate up and get a good sweat on.

Share when you try this in your workout on Instagram/Twitter @cassiebstrong #BStrong.

B Strong,

Cassie B.