Sliding Workouts

Have you ever tried a towel or skateboard workout? Boy, are they intense! If you have done these before, you know that it is a massive ab and glute workout. If you have not, I would highly recommend trying it! Skateboard workouts are my personal favorite, but if you do not have a skateboard available, towel workouts are fantastic as well! For either of these workouts, the goal is to use your leg, abdominal, and arm strength while any other portion of you is sliding around on the floor. This takes lots of balance, coordination, and strength- and because of that, is a great whole body workout!

Although skateboard workouts are not as big of a hit yet, there are still a few YouTube videos out there with them. I may just need to do a workout with the skateboard on the blog soon, because there are simply not enough good resources for a full workout.

As for towel workouts, there are PLENTY! These are a few of my favorite towel and skateboard workouts. I have also heard of using paper plates and added a Cassey Ho workout where she does just that! Let me know which is your favorite!

A Full [and Intense] Skateboard Workout

Pumps and Iron Towel Workout

This workout is very quick and VERY effective. My favorite part is that Nicole goes over proper posture. Towel workouts can be much more intense than a regular workout, and for that reason, can be a lot easier to get something wrong and get hurt from. Back strain is a big part of that. The goal is to have other parts of your body making up for the lack of resistance and support the towel gives. If you are feeling lower back pain, take a minute to readjust, something is not right.

Cassey Ho Plate Workout for Abs

Let's Talk Core

Did you know that this will be the first fitness post of the week?! My, how this week and these posts have flown by! Well, we can, at least, end the work-week with some fantastic core workouts that I know we all are dying to have. Whoever said the a sore core is a bad thing was definitely wrong! That hurt-to-laugh bit is the part I sweat for :) And, speaking of sweat, these workouts are sure to make you.

Yoga for Core

I found this video by stumbling upon Candice's blog, Yoga by Candice. She of course, also has a YouTube channel and updates it with a complete yoga video once a week. The Yoga videos are wonderful, informative, and the yoga flow is fun. Her blog is also fantastic and I am super addicted now!

This yoga video was how I welcomed back working out after my long break. It is great! The core work at the beginning is super helpful and the balances make the flow seem short and fun. I would highly recommend this video to anyone who is an intermediate yogi or higher :)

Belly Bootcamp

Does you belly need a bootcamp? Mine sure does! Funny, but a mashed potato diet does not really do much for chiseling those abs... Neither did the 16+ hours of sleeping/laying around I was doing every day.

Anyway, this belly bootcamp looks like lots of fun and has moves all of us can do at home. It also seems perfect to do after a run or before yoga as a nice warm-up. This could even be done in the morning for a quick wake-up to get that metabolism going :)

4-Minute Abs

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Yes, I just spoke the words that every person loves to hear. Abs in 4-minutes may be a pipe dream, but Brooke Burke-Charvet's ab plan  (in the September issue of Shape) could get us those abs a wee bit faster than otherwise. This 4-minute plan is a well-rounded ab routine that will work all areas of your core. It is also way easier to do in the morning upon waking, before a big meal, or while watching some TV.

I hope your weekend is absolutely wonderful and you have something super fun planned! We will be checking out a local Mexican restaurant with the family and maybe even making it out to the beach for the second time this week! Ahh, going to the beach twice in one week makes me feel like it's high school again. Hey, with weather this nice, there is really no reason not to :)

Happy TGIF!

10-MInute Isometric Ab Workout

I first did this 10-Minute Isometric Ab Workout back about 2-weeks ago when I, knowingly, was about to eat some pretty bad food that was guaranteed to make me bloat. Since my experience has been that I bloat less when my abs are stronger, it just made sense. What also made sense was doing isometric ab workouts. This form of exercise will make your muscles quake while still being quiet and avoiding running around... Considering is was 12 AM and I was in a house full of people, the not running around like a crazy person bit was important.

Isometric exercises are also great to do when you cannot sweat a ton or are too tired for that pesky exercising thing. Really, these workouts will feel like you are working out, but in a completely different way that the usual circuit or HIIT workout.

Tums, Tush, and Legs Interval Workout

Yes, an interval workout that covers almost every person's problem areas. My biggest issues seem to be the tush and legs. But, of course, I will never say "no" to a good core workout as well! This workout uses cardio and body weight exercises to create lean, toned muscles- and it only takes 25-30 minutes! 

After I fell in love with last week's 1776 workout, it just made sense to do another interval workout that used running as one key portion. This workout can be completed outside or using your gym treadmill. Either way, you will get a great sweat going and need minimal to no equipment! Like the 1776 workout, this one uses running as a massive cardio buster, then keeps those muscles working with body weight exercises. I have been loving the 1776 workout and am so excited to share this one with you now!