100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 14

Efficient **check**
Effective **check**
It's what #100repsadaytobstrong & the B Strong Method are all about!!

Here’s what you’re working:

• Hip Thrusts - one of my absolute FAVES! - for a strong, round booty & less low back pain!
• Tricep Dips are also a fave of mine. They work the back of our arms [triceps] while simultaneously stretching our pecs & shoulders. If you know me, you know I love a good lengthening & strengthening exercise!!

I hope you like this workout as much as I do. Simple, yet challenging & totally worth your time.

100 A Day B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 13

Here's #100repsadaytobstrong Day 13!!
“More Core”
This one is a fun one.. the first 90% is easy as the sea breeze & the last 10% is... well you’ll see ;-)

Now what exactly is today’s workout benefiting?? Lemme tell ya!

• Alternating Bird Dogs: are an anti-rotation core training exercise. I love them because they’re a great way to build body awareness around core engagement - which can be a whole lot harder to focus on when you’re laying on your back struggling through crunches or leg lifts. They’re also great - when done correctly, of course ;-) - for people who struggle with lower back pain. Just be sure to squeeze the booty of the lifting leg & engage the lat [unshrug the shoulder] of the reaching arm.
• Bird Dog Hold + Crunch: is a progression of the alternating bird dogs. You get all the same benefits PLUS more focus on strengthening your abdominals because of the crunch that’s thrown in there.
• Plank Drill: we get all the benefits of the bird dogs except now we’re throwing in crunches for our obliques while doing plank marches - which work our shoulders, chest & triceps!

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