April is for Abs

You may have seen quite a few ab workouts already this month everywhere. That is because almost everyone has set aside April for abs. It makes sense though, doesn't it? We are all trying to get those flat abs before bikini season comes and what better way than to start up some great April challenges this month! If you are looking for some fun challenges, I would recommend Fitnessista's April plank challenge. It is not too late to start and it is sure to bring some great results! 

For me, yoga really works my upper abs, but my lower abs are the area that need some help. Thankfully, running keeps things where they should be, but sometimes a girl (or guy) just needs an ab-centric workout to get that definition again. Both of these workouts below will help tone, tighten, and define that core so we are ready when summer [finally] comes! 

PopSugar Ultimate Ab Workout

This one was made for us today! It is all about getting abs ready for bikini's and has some pretty fun moves that you may not have done before. This will be a serious workout, and all in 10-minutes! This would be great to complete after a cardio workout, or, on it's own when the day it just. too. busy. 

POP Pilates Intense Ab Workout

This Cassey Ho workout is an intense 10-minute workout that will leave your lower abs screaming as well. Seriously, if we do not have some serious toning after these, we may be dead. This one will be great after a cardio workout, or, how I will be using it is as a yoga warm-up today. Both will give you a great workout and get us closer to that bikini body. 

Shape Magazine Workout Review: Naomi Campbell's Yoga Flow

The April issue of Shape magazine has Naomi Campbell as their first-time cover girl. Most of us remember Naomi from our childhood, looking at magazines and runway shows with her face everywhere. My step-sister's and I use to pretend to be models and I always chose Naomi Campbell or Tyra Banks... My sisters were always Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss. As we got older, we heard more about Naomi's temper than anything else. Now, she seems to have taken her temper out of the public eye. Well, except for those little hints of we we get from The Face- but I would be upset if my girls got voted off too...

For those that do not know, Naomi Campbell is turning 44 this year. First off, that is ca-razy considering she is still one of the highest paid models. The Shape interview promised lots of info about how Naomi has been so successful and stayed looking so young. Yes, I would happily take a detailed list of every workout and piece of food she has ever eaten and maul over it like the crazy person I am definitely not. 

Sadly, most of the interview sounded very rehearsed and not too real at all. Most answers were exactly what you would expect from any publicist and made Naomi out to be the saint we all wish we were. Thankfully, there were some bits of realism hidden throughout, like the fact that Naomi does juice cleanses and that she did not get all the hype of yoga at first. Funny, considering that she is now a massive yogi doing an average of 1-hour of yoga a day. That being said, it is no wonder that her workout is a yoga flow for the morning that will take about 10-minutes. It looks super fun, so let's get to talking about it! 

The Workout

First things first, massive props to Naomi for doing her own workout. She looks fantastic in every pose and I can completely see her doing this every morning; unlike the cover girls who have a fitness model show their workouts. I'm sure they do that workout all. the. time. 

Naomi's workout is comprised of six yoga flows done for anywhere from five breaths to twenty-five. There is also an inversion at the end to keep things interesting! Of course, a 10-minute yoga session is not going to burn massive calories, so don't expect anything fantastic there. The really question is if it helps tone and if you feel more energized afterwards. 

For 10-minutes, this is a fantastic yoga flow! I was seriously surprised by how much I enjoyed this. The length you hold each pose gives you enough time to really work on form and to get all those muscles (from the usual big ones down to the tiniest) all fired up. My already sore muscles are going to be ridiculously sore tomorrow after this. Everything gets worked from the core to the arms to your legs. 

I will also say that the person who wrote the directions did a fantastic job. Yoga directions can be very difficult to get a flow with, but these are great! Very simple to understand and super easy to remember. The entire workout took about 11-minutes and left me sweating by the end! 

Also, I am dying to know where she got those yoga pants from. Swoon. 

Confessions of a Workout-aholic

So, confession time. Although I love, love, love working out, sometimes it is a bit difficult to do. The past two weeks have been super difficult for me to workout during, and like most people, I keep finding excuses not to workout. Two weeks ago I accomplished my big workout goal for this year by getting back down to my happy weight (yea, I hit those holidays BIG TIME) and by accomplishing a few of those fitness bucket-listers like handstands and massive running. Now, I have taken it slow and boy has that been a mistake.

Of course, only running once to twice a week has made running more difficult, and yoga has not been done as much either. I write this because we all go through ups and downs. It is normal and thinking me or any other blogger out there is any different is silly. Sometimes, the internet can make everyone else's life seem glamorous and make us feel like the only ones battling anything.

For me, the past two weeks have been a major up-hill battle to workout. For others, the battle could be mental, a relationship, or anything else. This post is a bit late today because writing about short comings and hard times can be a bit difficult. But, it is ok to have them. Whatever hardships we are having, we can get through them.

For me, it is about not making excuses or procrastinating. It is about choosing to get new goals and strive for new things instead of being happy being stagnant. So, here is me getting back on that fitness post and preparing a few future posts for all those people who are also finding pretty darn good reasons to not hit the gym. 

We are all part of the P+K family and we can all get through things together. For all those who, like me, have been slacking in a certain area of life, let's get to tackling it again! Here's to workouts, and self improvement, and all those other incredible things that we are trying to do.

Spring is for Abs

Danica McKellar, you know, Wendy from The Wonder Years, is currently on DWTS and showing off some massive abs. Seriously, This lady will inspire anyone to complete the Pilates 100. Oh, and did you know she is also 38-years old. What??!?! If that is not inspiration, I do not know what is. I think Cassey Ho was a bit inspired by this since she is doing a complete ab overhaul and just released this ab workout. 

The workout is about 15-minutes long. A week ago we did her Waist Whittlers workout that I completely felt the next day, now, it is all about getting bikini worthy abs! Get ready though, this will be a pretty intense 15-minutes of your life. I plan on doing this today after my usual run. Ahh, no one make me laugh tomorrow!