100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 19

Day 19 has one of my FAVE lower body moves: Lateral Lunges!!

• they work the inner AND outer thigh, along with the booty of your bent leg
• they stretch the inner thigh of your straight leg
• and they challenge your core stability b/c it’s hard AF to keep your posture in check when you’re moving sideways [“laterally”] AND each side of your body is doing all kinds of different stuff [LOL!!]

Here’s what you need to do in order to make sure you’re loading your muscles & not your joints/back so that you’re building strength, not creating tension that could cause you pain:

• the foot that steps side is the knee that bends - the other leg stays completely straight
• as you step side, hinge your hips: booty back, head forward, spine straight
• if you hinge your hips correctly, your upper back shouldn’t round over, nor should your shoulders collapse down in front of your chest
• hinging your hips while keeping your abdominals pulled tight also keeps your lower back from arching & your rib cage from “puffing out” excessively
• sticking your hips back for the hip hinge will also load the heel of your foot that you stepped on - which is great for engaging the booty
• if your knee is poking forward excessively/you feel the majority of your weight shifting into the ball of your foot, stick your butt back farther!!
• drive through the heel of your foot [of the knee that’s bent], to initiate standing back up again. Push with power & move with enough speed to give you the momentum to move that foot back beside the other & stand all the way upright again

Here's the demo video so you can see what I'm talking about:

There you go! Time to give it a try!! Get it, Fit Fam!!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 18

Day 18 is the perfect workout for #motivationmonday!! It’s tough enough for the motivated souls & quick enough for the unmotivated [LOL!!]

There's a “Plank Drill” today so here are a few notes to make sure your form is on point each step of the flow:
Side Planks

• when you open to each side, you want to create a straight line from one hand to the other so that all your joints in both your arms are stacked perfectly
• keep your lats engaged [unshrug your shoulders]
• keep your hips stacked - avoid letting your top hip open so far that it falls back behind your bottom hip
• keep your hips lifted away from the ground - avoid letting your body “sag” so that your bottom hip moves toward the floor

Cross Under Crunches

• begin with your feet 1.5-2 feet apart
• when you cross one knee toward the opposite elbow, the heel of your supporting foot falls to the ground, allowing you to completely rotate your pelvis & work your obliques [take a look at the pic above if you’re not sure what I mean]
• be sure to square your pelvis back up with the ground & rotate back to the ball of your foot as you return your crunching leg back to the plank position

Downward Dog

• poke your butt up AND press your chest back toward your toes at the same time so you create a pyramid shape with your body
• press your heels toward the ground to feel a stretch in your calves & hamstrings [back of thighs]
• press your chest back so that you feel a stretch through your armpits & back [your shoulder girdle], but be sure to keep your lats engaged & avoid letting your shoulders cover up your neck
• to come out of the downward dog, lower your hips AND move your shoulders back to stack over your wrists so you’re in a proper plank

That’s the plank drill for ya!! Now give them demo vid a watch so you can see it in action:

That's all, folks!! Time to get movin'!!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 17

It's Day 17!!
Switch lunge jumps are on the menu, which means your legs are bout ta BURNNN!

Now, 1 week ago, on Day 10, I wrote up a whole checklist of tips for proper form when it comes to lunges. All of that applies here each & every time you land in a lunge. So go back to Day 10 & read over that list if you need a refresher! And now that we’re jumping remember that:

• you’re moving straight up & down - moving forward as you jump may feel natural, but it’ll likely throw off your alignment
• when you land, immediately start bending your knees to return to a lunge again so that your joints don’t take a beating
• jump just high enough to scissor your legs in the air. There’s no need to be a hero! The higher you go, the harder you’ll land - which isn’t exactly what our ankles, knees or hips need
• also, when you land, bend each knee equally - to 90-degree angles - as we covered in Day 10’s post about lunges 😉

Alright!! Let’s get to work!

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 16

A super chillax 100 reps for Day 16 - good for the hamstrings, hips & soul :-)

This one is a beautiful blend of strength & mobility - something I incorporate into all of my warm-ups for clients & classes. Give it a try to boost blood flow & energy!

Remember to breathe. Let yourself slow down. And enjoy ;-)

100 A Day to B Strong Fitness Challenge: Day 15

WE’RE HALF WAY! Day 15!!

This one will get your heart pumpin, skin glistenin, legs burnin & booty poppin ;-) LOL

You can use a chair, [propped against a wall so it doesn’t move on you], a bench outside or, as I'm doing in this video, the 2nd step from the bottom of a staircase - none of which are hard to find, so NO EXCUSES on this gorgeous Friday!