Resistance Band Workouts

One of my new absolute favorite workouts has been anything with resistance bands. They are so great for toning  and do a serious number on those hard to work muscles. They also do not create bulky muscles, but instead, help to elongate the muscle we are building. Seriously, they are the best thing ever. 

The Pilates reformer works in a similar way (except about a billion times better), but not all of us have Pilates reformers available on a moment's whim. I am still trying to find a good studio near me with quality reformers and great teachers. So far, the YMCA seems like one of the best options. Why must the Y be so great and also soooo expensive? One day, one day. 

For now though, here are some great resistance band exercises via YouTube! I would recommend a resistance band that has no handles and is simply a long piece of rubber but not a tube. The tube resistance bands with handles are great for certain activities, but not all. This one is a great option. 

Beginner Pilates Workout

This one is great for beginners in the Pilates world. It goes over how to hold resistance bands and starts pretty slow for any not-too-sure about what is going on. Don;t get me wrong though, it is still a super great workout for anyone who wants a resistance band workout. For the more advanced, this could be a great option after a cardio session! 

Upside Down Pilates has lots of other great Pilates workouts for anyone interested :)

Resistance Band Cardio Workout

Who does not love Pop Sugar, right?! This one is quite short being about 10-minutes long. The workout, however, is a great combination of cardio, Pilates, and ballet. This is just a super fun, effective, and quick workout with resistance bands. 

Denise Austen Lower Body Workout

This Denise Austen Lower body workout is simple wonderful. I have been a fan of Denise for a long time, and this workout is no exception. Like the Pop Sugar workout, this one is only 10-minutes long. Both the Pop Sugar and the Denise Austen workout could be done together to make a slightly longer and way more intense resistance band sequence. Just get ready, your everywhere will be feeling it tomorrow! 

Three YouTube Workouts to Do This Weekend

Happy Friday! To all those who came to the blog yesterday and found no new post, I am sorry. My day started early and I did not even think about a post until it was far too late to write. Usually, there are a few extra posts laying around for the uploading in case of a situation like that, but after Greece, I am all tapped out. I guess we all know what my next week will be full of ;)

Anyway, to make up for it, I will be writing a special post on Sunday all about my first GRIIT class. It was so fun and there will be plenty of calorie counting and heart rate monitoring along with a run down of why (or why not) to try it out! For now though, we have a few YouTube videos that I found this week and have either been dying to try or just plain love.

A Capoeira Workout!

Ok, we have all seen those crazy Brazilian fight/dancers. They have incredible muscle tone and now we can too! This is a great online intro video to Capoiera that is sure to get your heart pounding! It also just looks like fun. Like A LOT of fun!

Look Good Naked Workout

This is a ballet workout but I just get a kick out of the name. Hehehe. If you are wanting to work the upper thighs, inner thighs, and bum, you should try this. Ballet is a great workout for your core and arms as well. This one is a bit of a ballet mix so you will get some non-ballet elements to kick-up that muscle growth. This is one I would recommend to people who maybe have a harder time building muscle and do not want a major cardio sequence.

10-Minute Bum Workout

The bum is my absolute favorite area to work and, also, the one of my biggest problem spots. Do you remember when you were young and gravity had no impact on your body? Yea, me too. Ha! However, in this bod's defense, there is also waaayyyy less ballet going on and that seemed to give me the best bum ever.

Thankfully, we have workouts like these that bring in elements from dance and cardio workouts so you get the best benefits. It is also by Kelly Ripa and Sarah Jessica Parker's trainer. Not too bad.

A Squat-tastic Workout

The July Squat Challenge officially comes to an end today and I have been LOVING IT. Have you noticed a difference in your rear? I have. It seems to be a little less giggly and a little more apt to defying gravity... Which, like the song, will get a standing ovation from fee any day!

There are two things I have been considering since this July Challenge began. The first is to keep it up and start all over in August. Sure, my glutes may be stronger than they were when we began doing six reps of each, but they could always use the reminder. The second thought has been to simply do a massive squat workout that would set fire to the muscles of our bum, thighs, and heck, core. For now, let's go with the second option.

The entire squat workout will take about 15-minutes and leave your legs quaking. Get ready, 15-minutes of squats may not seem like much now, but it is! By minute three I was dripping sweat and convinced this workout was a bit too crazy. Then, it ended and all was right with the world again :)

If you are really feeling good, try doing this on top of the final day of the Squat Challenge. You will have quite a few squats under your belt, my friend. If you are not sure what something is or how to do it, I have linked how-to's for each squat below :)

Jump Squat

Calf Raise Squat

Split Squat

Goblet Squat

Pistol Squat

Narrow Squat

Side Leg Lift Squat

Second Position Plie Squat

Frog Squat

The Original Squat

Narrow to Wide Jump Squat

Wall Squat

This Week in Workouts: Injuries, Blogs, and New Goals

This week was both a fantastic week in workouts and a not-so-great one. First off, I accomplished my weekly goal of doing yoga at least once per day. You see, last week I realized that my yoga routine had taken a major back seat to jogging and not working out. This left me feeling groggy throughout the day and my balance, coordination, and athletic abilities were suffering as well. The goal of completing more yoga more often was also spurred on by a bit of a running injury.

You may remember me talking about the run where I knew my shoes bit the dust on last week's TWiW; well, turns out that it got that pesky plantar facialis all kicked up in both my feet. The kicker though was when I got a bit over-excited about some new running shoes and went on a 4-mile run the next day. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Needless to say, this week has had a bit less running and waaay more strength and stretching in its schedule.

The daily yoga has massively helped my plantar facialis and my overall fitness. The injury has also helped me remember that sometimes we need to give our bodies a break. These things do a lot for us and listening to our bodies and our pain is super important. Too bad about that hindsight thing, not running those 4-miles could have saved me some serious pain and inconvenience.

Sunday: Easy bedtime yoga flow

Monday: 4-mile jog that k-i-l-l-e-d me toesies and footsies followed by an old routine but favorite, the Twist and Detox Flow by Yoga Journal.

Tuesday: Baron Baptiste's Standing Hip Opener Flow that I soooo needed!

Wednesday: This Strong Yoga Flow that I will definitely be doing again. Also, is anyone else noticing handstands and headstands are becoming a serious trend for every yoga class? I am loving all these inversions!!

Thursday: 1.5-mile warm-up run followed by this Yoga For Runners flow by Lesley Fightmaster. I loved this flow and would completely recommend it to any runner out there.

That night I also did a super awesome yoga flow for spine flexibility and strength. This spine flow will definitely need to be shared soon- I felt like I had just been to the chiropractor and masseuse when it was done!

Friday: Tum, Tush, and Legs Interval Workout. Yoga flow for flexibility.

Saturday: In the morning I did this Bum and Thighs Yoga Flow with Adriene. It was ok, but not my favorite. Before bed I did the Lesley FIghtmaster Yoga Flow for Runners again!

Blog Housekeeping

Now, for some housekeeping! I wanted to give a quick update to a new, weekly, installment we will be having on the blog. Since so many people are finding out and following P+K daily, it just made sense to me to start doing a Throw Back Thursday for the rest of the summer. This means that once a week (on Thursdays) P+K will be showing one of its most popular blog posts from the past. Since P+K has been going strong for about 2-years now and many posts in that time were pretty informative, it just makes sense to share them again.

From next week until the first week of September, Thursdays on P+K will be a total walk down memory lane that I am soooo excited to share with you!!

Also, I have been in the habit of making a weekly fitness goal every Sunday and think it would be nice to share on these TWiW's as well. Below is this week's workout goal :)

Weekly Workout Goal

Run 12-miles and continue my goal of doing one yoga flow per day! Also, go to one hot yoga class this week.

12-miles over a week may not seem like a lot, but I want to get back into jogging slowly to avoid any more unneeded injuries. The yoga has also been such a great help that I do not know why I would not continue it. I have also been seriously missing hot yoga and found a good place for it in Grand Rapids. That is a must for this week!