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!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 7

We're officially 1 week in! Day 7 Heaven ;-) Here's your workout:

Wondering what each of these exercises are good for? I’ll tell ya ;-)

  • Push-up + Oblique Crunch Combo: works our arms, [specifically chest & triceps], & of course our obliques. I love that push-ups are a moving plank & I love to play around with creating flows of multiple plank exercises - which you’ll notice as we get deeper into the challenge ;-) Oh! And Day 2 has tips for perfecting your push-up, so go back & take a read if you missed it & aren’t feeling confident about the push-ups in this workout!!
  • Step-ups: work our legs & booty! Just make sure that you step your entire foot onto the chair/bench you’re using. Don’t let your heel hang off the edge. The most important part of this exercise is to drive your heel down into the step as you stand - that way you’re engaging your glutes & not straining your knee.
  • Skip-ups: work everything that step-ups do in addition to your calves because it’s a jump! They also work all those muscles a little differently than step-ups do because step-ups develop more stability & strength while skip-ups develop your power [explosiveness], which is great for building a round booty ;-)

If you struggle with push-ups, go back to my Day 2 post to learn how to perfect your form & build up your strength so that you feel more confident with this exercise - which should be a staple in any training regimen, particularly an equipment-free, at-home one!!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 6

 

Whattup B Strong Clique! It’s Day 6!
#100repsadaytobstrong 
Today we’re CRUSHING our abdominals & obliques ;-)

Here's a video demo of each exercise for you:

Does your lower back often KILL when you’re doing ab exercises where you lay on the floor & move your legs?? I’ve got some tips for you ;-)

  1. Keep your pelvis properly aligned! When the front of your pelvis drops down, your butt sticks out & low back arches. When the front of your pelvis lifts up, your stomach crunches & your butt tucks underneath you. If the 1st one is happening, that’s when your back is going to strain... When laying on your back, before you begin the movement, 1st pull your belly in & press your lower back toward the floor to tilt the front of your pelvis upward. From there, your goal is to hold your pelvis in that position as you go through the motions with your legs!
  2. Squeeze your butt!! Squeeze your butt cheeks right now & see what happens. I'm serious! LOL. The front of your pelvis tilts upward! Exactly what we just went over above! So... use your abs AND your booty at all times & definitely remember to use your butt as your legs get lower to the floor - that’s when keeping your pelvis neutral is most challenging.
  3. Your range of motion should be as big or small as your strength will allow!! Does lowering your legs to hover just inches off the ground make your lower back arch no matter HOW HARD you try to do steps 1 & 2? [Super frustrating, I know.] But don’t lower your leg as low! If you can only keep your abs engaged up until you’ve lowered half way, then that’s how much you can move for now! And your range of motion WILL get larger! I promise!! So long as you commit to proper form so that you actually strengthen your abs ;-)

Applying these techniques is not only a game changer, it’s CRUCIAL in order to earn results from your hard work!! Send this along to a workout buddy who needs to see these fit tips!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 5

Day 5 we workin’ for the a$$ to match our sass [HAA!]
#100repsadaytobstrong

This workout couldn’t be ANY more simple. As long as you have stretchy pants on you can do this anywhere, anytime! #teamleggings [LOL!] Take as much rest as you need between rounds & time yourself to see how long it takes to complete. Then drop your time in the comments below when you’ve finished!


Here’s what we’re workin out today:
Sumo Squats: work your legs & booty with an emphasis on your inner & outer thighs [adductors & abductors]. Start standing with your feet wide & toes turned out. As you squat down, press your knees open wide so that you feel your hips working. As you stand up, act as if you were trying to glide your legs together like Michael Jackson!! Just don’t actually let your feet move haha. The intention is to feel your inner thighs engage as much as possible!

Sumo Squat Hold + Pivots to Lunge: builds endurance in your legs while improving core & hip stability. Always keep your lower abdominals pulled tight so that your pelvis stays neutral & your lower back doesn’t arch - especially when you pivot to your lunges. When you drop your knee down to a lunge, be sure to twist your whole torso to face that direction. Your shoulders & pelvis should always move together! ALSO! Whichever knee drops down when you lunge - squeeze that butt cheek nice & tight 😉 That’s another way to ensure that you’re keeping your hip stable & posture in check!