Monday's Weekly Challenge

I bring you this blog from a place of pain!!! My back is KILLING me!!! I have a bad back anyway & am used to it hurting often but today has been pretty bad. The only thing i can think of that brought it on is that i hand washed my car yesterday?! Anyway, I didn't get to work out at all today & I probably should have just laid around on a heating pad all day!! I didn't..... But I have one on my back now as I blog & am going to go to bed with icy hot on & pray it feels better tomorrow do I can hit the gym in the morning! Tomorrow I have something really exciting going on! I can't tell you what it is now but I am super excited about it!! It's something I have been wanting to do for a long time!! 

Don't worry!!......I'll be blogging about it soon!!

So, on with the challenge!! 

It's time to step it up! 

This week I have a complete body circuit for you! Complete each exercise in order back to back only resting for a minute or two after you have completed the entire circuit before starting the next round! Repeat up 2-4 times every other day!

Glam Circuit

25 jumping jacks

15 push ups

15 bicycle crunches (each side)

25 jumping jacks

15 lunges (each side)

Plank for 30 seconds - 1 minute

*This is a great circuit that will hit all your "glam muscles"..... The ones that make all those cute, sassy summer clothes look a lot better on you than they do on the rack!! Your arms & shoulders, abs, legs, glutes & hamstrings & the jumping jacks for that cardio burst! Want a little inspiration?! Cameron Diaz is one of my all time favorite female celebrities! I swear if we met we would be best friends! Sometimes I daydream about just chillin' & hanging out  with her & all the goofy stuff we would do because we are soooo the same with being silly & goofy I think! But back to reality where unfortunately she & I don't know each other personally...... she is a beautiful gurl with an amazing physique! All I have to do is take one look at her arms & I feel instantly motivated!

Glamorous!!

 If this is the only exercise routine you are doing then do it 3 times every other day this week! If you already have a routine, throw it in wherever you want as many times as you want! If my back wasn't hurting so bad I would jump up & do it right now!

I can't wait to try it tomorrow!!

TGI Love Fabulous Food Friday!

FOOD FOOD FOOD!

It's everywhere! It's what our lives are centered around for the most part if you think about it...... so it just makes sense to figure out how to make the foods that you love work for you! We all crave things at times & have our favorite meals, snacks, etc. Different things appeal to us at different times of the year as well. When it's warm like it is now, 

 I crave light, cool, refreshing things, as I am sure you do too.

So, with that in mind, I have been making a lot of frozen things lately! 

Which is why this edition of TGI love Fabulous Food Friday is totally FROZEN!!!! 

Tummy flattening Lemon-Mint Ice Cubes, Fro-gurt  Dibs &  Frosty Fruit Slices!
I hope you all try & enjoy these easy to prepare frozen treats that are perfectly figure friendly & so fabulous for snacking on during the HOT days that are upon us!

Lemon-Mint Ice Cubes

Mix about a glass full of H20, lemon juice & Stevia to taste - you can drink what you have left so don't worry if you make too much.... Then pour in tray & add a fresh mint leaf to each one & freeze!

I saw this on the Dr. Oz show this week & he recommended adding a few cubes 3 times a day to your water & it helps beat belly bloat! They are really pretty too!

Fro-gurt Dibs

Take a container of Carb Smart yogurt (I used strawberry & there are a few leftover Vanillas in this picture too!) or Greek yogurt that you have jazzed up to your liking (if you add fruit it will have to be blended). Take the yogurt & put it into a ziploc bag & squeeze all the air out of it then cut a tiny hole in one corner then start squeezing just a drop onto a cookie tray covered in wax paper. 

Freeze until hard & enjoy! 

Got this sassy idea from Pinterest & I love these little things! They are tiny but mighty & one container of yogurt makes a TON!!!! 

Frosty Fruit Slices

I used oranges, bananas & strawberries. I sliced em, put em in a bowl & froze em! That's it! 

I always knew frozen grapes were awesome but I had no idea about other fruits! Who knew?! YUM!!!!! SO GOOD!!!!! let me just add that the bananas are so tasty frozen like this then dipped in natural pb! Shut the front door & your mouth!!!!!.....After you pop some frozen fruit in it that is .......cause it's delish! :D

These are all great weekend ideas because they are such great snacks to have while watching movies which most of us love to do on the weekend! So much better than a candy bar or butter covered popcorn or ice cream or any other unhealthy, sugar covered treat that is the normal "staple" movie food! Who wants to be normal anyway?! It feels a lot better to wake up the next day not feeling totally bloated & guilty doesn't it?! 

Hope your weekend has been nothing less than fab!  Be sure to do something refreshingly healthy &  frozen for yourself this weekend!

Monday's Challenge For The Week

I have a confession to make......I am in love! It's true! I have been wanting this for so long & it feels so good!! It's all I can think about!! When I'm done, I can't wait to do it again!!! This is the real deal!!! I know that if I just stick with it,

 it will just get better & better!!!

I have totally fallen in love with

YOGA!!!

I have been wanting to get into Yoga for sooooo long!!! 

So last week I did a yoga circuit in Oxygen magazine & I loved it! I wanted more!! So, I found some videos on You Tube & did those then stumbled upon a website called Yoga Glo that I absolutely LOVE!!!!! It is filled with all things yoga! For $18 a month you can take yoga classes in the comfort of your own home!! They have everything from beginner's classes to really advanced!! It came with a free trial so I am currently on that right now. But I really want to actually go to yoga classes too, so today I found one that's not far from my house & I'll be going to my first class tomorrow morning at 9! I am so excited!! I know some of the poses & transitions from what I have been doing online but I am still very much a newbie & have a lot to learn so I am a little nervous! Wish me luck! This will be a totally new experience for me & quite a change form my normal weight lifting circuits & cardio. I am going to have to figure out how to work it all in!
Yoga is so interesting to me because of the way it teaches you to connect your body & mind with the universe. I have been doing relaxation yoga at night & it is very calming. I find it really helps me connect with my inner being & push the rest of the world out. I love that!  The stretching in my muscles feels so good & I am really looking forward to growing more & more flexible ( and hopefully being able to do poses like the one above)! My hamstrings are already so sore from the 6 times I have done it!!! That says a lot!!!

Wanna see a picture of me doing a yoga stretch?! 

That's me! :)

So, on with the challenge for this week! 

By now you should be used to working your abs & drinking your H20 so keep it up! Keep working your abs & drinking your H20!!! This week, in honor of my new  yoga romance, i challenge you to plank at the end of your ab circuit!

Hold it for  a minimum of 30 seconds but try to hold it for 1 - 2 minutes. Rest & repeat 2 - 3 more times. Planking is hard work! Especially at the end of an ab routine! You will feel it all through your core! Just remember to breathe! You can do it!! Your core is a lot stronger after all the ab work you have been doing!! Planking is a great way to challenge your muscles in a different way!!

For those of you who are interested in doing some yoga, too........... check out Yoga Glo right here.

  Keep calm & yoga on!

Monday's Challenge For The Week!

So, how have you been doing on these weekly challenges? 

Are you doing them or just reading them???

 Don't be a slacker!! 

Find ways to fit them into your schedule & 

use them to get or stay motivated to move! 

Do them first thing in the morning or at night when you are

 watching TV during the commercial breaks! 

Whenever works best for you!

The past 2 weeks I have posted exercises that focus on the abs. This week, I want you to continue the ab circuit I posted last week but increase your reps, shorten your rest between sets or increase the number of days you perform the circuit. Customize it for your fitness & activity level!

But, the actual challenge  for this week is to increase your daily water intake!

 Water is a key factor to whittling your waistline! 

So, start guzzling! 

While you can find different formulas for how much water you should be drinking, such as an ounce per every pound you weigh or half your body weight..... There really is no set rule of thumb. But, an easy way to determine if you’re drinking enough H20 is to look at the color of your urine. If you’re drinking enough water, it'll urine be clear or pale yellow. A darker yellow means you aren’t drinking enough water. People who exercise require more water & it's also important to increase your water intake in warmer weather too. Water makes up 60-70% of our total body & is vital to all of our organs performing correctly. It keeps our body temperature regulated. It's crucial for shedding belly fat, overall weight loss & even having beautiful skin, hair, nails & teeth!!!! 

So, go pour yourself a glass of premium H20 then read what Web MD has to say on the importance of drinking water here! 

And what Jillian Michaels' s says about it here!

Monday & A Challenge for the week!

I don't know about all of you, but today was a super busy Monday!! It's late so I'll spare you all the crazy details from my day except the highlight ..... I finally got a new camera! I'm so excited!! Thank goodness for insurance because Best Buy replaced my broken camera w a brand new one! So now my pictures will be better since all I've had for the past couple of weeks has been the camera in my phone which isn't do hot!
Anyway, I'm going to try to become more organized & scheduled w my blog. When I started it not long ago I just blogged about whatever, whenever so I know now that it needs more structure. I'm going to send it out the same days every week & I haven't decided which days yet......And I am going to have a theme for each day so you all know what to expect! I'm starting tonight.... Though its a little late. And I'm hoping you all can see the improvement!! I'm keeping up with this blog because health, fitness & beauty are passions of mine & I do it for you too! I want it to be a blog you love so let me hear from you!! I'd love to hear your feedback!
Every Monday I'll post a challenge for you to do for the next 5 days, or any 5 days that work for you or you can do all 7 days of the week! They will be small things that we can all find the time to do if we just commit ourselves to incorporating the challenge of small fitness goals into our daily routines!
Here is the first challenge!
Do 3 sets of 20 (or more) crunches every day! You can do them all at once only resting no more than a minute in between sets, you can do one in the morning, one at lunch & one in the evening, you can do them during commercial breaks when you are watching tv..... Whenever you can get your crunches in!! Just do em!! If you are more advanced & want to do more then go for it! If you are just starting out exercising, go for just 3 sets of 15! But summer is upon us & most women I know complain about their bellies so lets target them with this first challenge & see how much better it'll make you feel!! I'll guarantee if you commit & do this every day this week that by the end of the week, your abs will be stronger & they will feel tighter!!! And that sounds pretty ab-tastic doesn't it?!

Monday's Challenge For The Week!

It's just another manic Monday for me! 

Usually Mondays are one of my favorite days of the week but I have to say that 

lately that hasn't been true. I can't really say why for sure but I am ready

to get my usual Monday mojo BACK! So, if you see it.... 

will you please return it?! 

Thank you! 

So, today I am posting our second weekly challenge! Did you all do last weeks?? I did! I added a minimum of 3 sets of 25 exercises my abs every day last week other than Saturday & Sunday! So, I thought since the first challenge was on abs, that I might just keep that theme for this week, too......only change it up a little!  Having a strong core is important! It affects everything you do! If you didn't do last week's challenge, that's ok! Start with this week's! I am not making these challenges too extreme because I know some of you, myself included, have your own training routine going. And if you do, then these challenges can just be a little add on bonus & you can pick the higher reps & shorter rest periods.! For those of you who don't exercise regularly, then go for the lower number of reps & a longer rest between each set & circuit. 1 - 2 minutes should do the trick! You don't want to rest too long! Also be sure you are getting in some form of cardiovascular activity at least 3 to 4 days a week! Work these challenges in however you like! They are just to encourage & challenge you to work in a little fitness into your every day life!

This week's challenge is an ab circuit! One of my faves! It's best to complete each set f exercises back to back, resting only 15-30 seconds between circuits or not at all. But, if you can't do that just yet (don't worry, you will get there if you keep going!) then space it out -only if you have to- & over 3 different times during the day. But, try to aim to leave shorter periods of time every day, until you can complete the whole circuit 3 times with no longer than a minute rest in between!!

* Remember- it's going to burn! That doesn't mean stop! That means it's working! Push through the burn! YOU CAN DO IT!

Ab Circuit

complete all exercises in a row with minimal rest between-depending on your fitness level

15 - 25 regular crunches

15 - 25 oblique crunches (side crunches)

15 - 25 reverse crunches

15 - 25 bicycle crunches

*Rest 15-30 seconds (no longer than 1-2 minutes if you are new to exercise)

*Repeat circuit 3 - 4 times