Have a Wonderful Monday!

I hope you have wonderful plans for this Memorial Day Monday! The hubs and I will be catching up on some work we were not able to do this weekend since we were at a fantastic business conference! The conference went great and we were able to see tons of friends, eat lots of food, and even got a movie showing in last night. Yea, pretty darn great! 

Something that did not take place, however, has been working out. I am hoping to get a little double session in for the next few days, especially since we are going to Disney for our niece's birthday later on in the week. This Fitnessista circuit caught my eye last week and I just might have to do it today! What about you... Any fun workout plans for the week?

5 Tips for Getting Into Side Crow Pose

Thanks to my wonderful yoga instructor, I was able to get into a full side crow pose on my first (well, almost) try. It was incredible; something I have pinned the junk out of and wished to learn was actually attainable. Hand stands are still a hot mess that need mass amounts of work, but crow and peacock, I have locked down. 

The main reason I was able to do it, and do it well, was because of some fantastic tips Angela gave me. Let's face it, sometimes pictures and YouTube videos do not cut it. Sometimes, we need real tips from, gasp, real people who have done it before. Here are five great tips for how to get yourself into a successful side crow pose. 

Read along, look at some pictures, and you will be doing a pin-worthy pose in no time! 

1. Start from Mountain

Do a few vinyasas before getting down and dirty with your side crow. After 3-4, you should be warmed up and ready. Start in mountain, then forward fold so your hands are touching the ground. If your hands do not touch naturally, that is ok, just bend your knees till they do. 

Next, crouch down so your knees are bent and your hands are flat on the floor. 

2. Hand Positioning

Hand positioning for side crow is different than crow pose. For the left side, move your hands to the left so your left hand is next to your hip and your right hand is in front of your left knee. Again, you want to be in crouching position with palm flat on the floor and fingers spread. Every finger should have weight and be helping support that body.

3. Elbow to Hip

This is key. This is the difference between success and not-success. Position your left elbow so it is in the groove of your left hip joint. Having you elbow to hip connection right will help keep your balance when those feet come off the floor. Be sure that the right elbow is also lined up with the outside of the left knee. Both should line up so your knee and hip rest just above the elbow joint. 

4. Shoulders and Fingers

It is all in the details. Be sure that shoulders are back and arms are rotated outward. This will give you optimal strength and balance. Again, fingers should be grounded; if it helps, bend fingers so the tips are pushing into the ground. 

5. Lift Off

You are ready. Slowly shift your weight forward while keeping the right leg stacked on top of the left. Feet should be flexed and you should have some serious yoga toes going on. It may take a few tries, but slowly start to find you happy spot of balancing on your arms. Once you have lift off, hips should be stacked and knees and feet should be like glue together. If wrists hurt, come back down and continue doing wrists strengthener exercises before attempting again. 

Feet and knees should be together and tucked into the midline. The back should be straight with those shoulders staying down. If your head elevation comes down slightly, that is ok, just be sure your face does not touch the ground. 

Be sure to look 2-3 feet ahead of your on the floor. It is always better to look ahead than where you are. I think there may even be a life lesson in that somewhere ;)

Full Side Crow Pose

Once you have your balance, get ready to go into a full side crow! This may take a few tries before your are ready, but when your balance is good, give it a go!

Slowly extend the left leg out straight so that it is parallel to the floor. Be sure that your head stays even distance from the ground. Flex your foot and straighten that leg. When your balance is good here, you can begin to extend the right leg out straight behind you. In full side crow, your lower leg is the only connection to your supporting arms. Keep those arms rotated outward and your fingers grounded. And, of course, keep those hips stacked! 

For best results only try once to twice a week. We want those wrists to stay healthy! 

Bum Workouts From YouTube

We all have our problem spots. For me, it seems to be my bum at the moment. To get ready for bikini season, I will be massively kicking-up my bum workouts and doing a bit extra cardio. These workouts are all new and about the bum and great for us to do! Because, sometimes we just need a new workout to switch up a routine and help get those muscles reactivated for even better results! 

3 Minute Thighs- POP Pilates Son Challenge

Sexy Swimsuit Sweat Session with Amanda Russell

Poolside Abs and Bum with Tracey Mallett

The New BMI

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Have you ever wondered how your BMI, or Body Mass index, accounts for changes in height? Well, according to Oxford mathematician, Nick Trefethen, it does not. Trefethen does not believe our current BMI calculator takes into account that we live in a 3D world, saying that our current BMI calculator does not alternate for changes in height. Meaning the calculator does not show that tall people call take up more space without being fat. 

Unfortunately, the BMI calculator is still flawed since it does not take fat percentage into account either. This means that a person who is naturally thin but never works out could be seen as healthy and a performance athlete can still be seen as overweight or obese. 

Current BMI standards say that a healthy range is between 18.5-24.4, overweight is 25-29.9, and 30+ is obese. The main change that Trefethen's new calculator does is make alterations according to height. With the new BMI calculator he created, height is not measured on a linear scale alone. This change is good news for those who are taller since their BMI just might go down; but, shorter people will likely have an increased BMI. 

My BMI went up about 0.5 from it's usually old BMI standard to the new Trefethen alternative. Did yours change?