Dumbbell Swing Squat Time
1st Setup: Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell with both hands, stand with your feet shoulder, width, apart or slightly wider.
2nd Squat: Start by squatting down, keep your chest up shoulders back, and core tight. Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
3rd Swing: As you reach the bottom of the squat, maintain a strong core, and use the power from your hips to explode upward.
4th Stand: As the weight reaches chest height, stand up by fully extending your hips and knees without locking them. Keep the dumbbell or kettlebell close to your body throughout the movement.
Now you know, so let’s go.
What’re you doing this weekend? Hopefully a little relaxation at its finest mixed with a little fun. This weekend I’ve been doing a bit of both. It’s called balance you’ve got to practice that to live a life that you can unwind from yet also enjoy and appreciate without getting overworked. Now go enjoy yourself!
Let’s talk about muscle tissue and what 7 things are major contributing factors to how they’re built when lifting weights 💪🏽
1) Progressive Overload- gradually increasing the weight you lift overtime challenges your muscles, and encourages them to adapt and grow.
2) Muscle Fiber Recruitment- lifting heavier, engages more muscle fibers, hence leading to more muscle, activation and growth.
3) Mechanical Tension- tension placed on muscles during exercising creates micro-tears in your muscle fibers, which will then be repaired and rebuilt resulting in muscle growth.
4) Nutrition- consuming sufficient proteins and calories provides the building blocks necessary for both muscle repair and growth.
5) Hormonal Response- lifting stimulates the release of anabolic hormones such as growth hormone and testosterone resulting in muscular development over time.
6) Metabolic Stress- there are certain factors that will promote sell, swelling and hormonal responses which will enhance your muscle growth such as higher reps and shorter rest sets.
7) Rest & Recovery- getting a good amount of rest between workouts allows your muscles to adapt, repair, and then it will ultimately lead to growth.
If you know what’s good for you then let’s get to lifting, shall we!
Life has its ups and downs, we call them squats. Build a better booty with a dash of effort, spice it up real nice with some muscle. Before you know it you have a recipe for a fat burning machine aka body upgrade. It’s not as hard as you think you just have to be CONSISTENT.
Today was such a relaxing day. Had to let the mind unwind. If you ever feel overworked from life’s day to day duties or like you’re exhausted from a bit of overtraining in the gym. Allow yourself permission to rest up buttercup. Why? Because you will come back stronger after giving your body what it needs versus over doing things and running yourself into the ground. Sometimes the best solution is to just freaking chill, coming from a workaholic that’s hard to say, but necessary to practice. Hope you have an amazing rest of the day!
Showering your happy, hormones with experiences and activities that ignite your passion is important when maintaining emotional well-being, and overall satisfaction.
Happy hormones include dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin all play a major role in regulating your mood, reducing your stress, and helping you to feel content.
You can engage in activities that bring you pleasure and has a profound impact on your brain chemistry. Indulging in hobbies such as spending time with your loved ones, running or allowing yourself to get creative with a new project, these will allow your brain to release dopamine. This is considered to be the feel good neurotransmitter.
In a world often characterized by fast paced routines rewarding yourself by choosing to focus on your happy hormones and getting involved in activities that light you up become an essential part of self-care that will contribute to a better quality of life.
Choose to be happy with whatever that looks like for you. We all have different definitions of what it means to be happy. The key to long term happiness is finding out what that looks like for you, and consistently choosing that to be a part of your regular routine.
Ready, set, action.
So you’re ready to grow your upper body?! Let me share some of the top things to focus on to help you master stacking some strength on your upper body.
Compound Movements- for example bench presses, pull ups, and rows. These exercises engage multiple muscle groups for enhanced overall upper body development.
Varying Rep Ranges- switch things up when it comes to your repetition ranges try lowering them from 4-6 to focus on strength and high reps 8-12 for hypertrophy. Switching things up will help to give your body and muscles the variation it needs to keep adapting and growing.
Isolation Exercises: Incorporate these exercises like tricep extensions, bicep curls and lateral raises to hit specific muscles to enhance its definition.
Frequency & Volume: focus on increasing the total number of (sets x reps) which refers to the volume.
Mind to Muscle Connection: make sure you are paying attention to the muscle contraction to put in the effort to engage it fully. What you focus on grows so if you’re in tuned with your body and focused on its growth while putting forth the effort, that’s most likely going to be the result you get.
Exhaust thy Muscle: perform a set until failure, rest quickly, then complete a few more reps. This is going to intensify the workout and can lead to greater overall muscle growth.
Hope these tips help the next time you go to workout and let me know if incorporating them did. The more you know the more ya grow. 💪🏽
Cheers to resting on the weekend. Are you a live it up partier always doing something wild, or do you prefer a more chill relaxing time to recharge in the sun with maybe a light workout like me?
Ready to break it down and bust out some push ups today to help build some upper body strength. What are you planning to do today yes even on the weekend to help prep you for a better tomorrow?
Excited to be planning some OFTV’s for you guys. Can’t wait to share all that’s in store. Are there any specific exercises you would like to see me do let me know as I’m planning them out. Hope you have a super productive day yourself! :)
Ready, set, kettlebell squat.
Both kettlebell squats and regular squats are effective. However, when choosing the one you prefer to perform you can keep your goals in mind, as well as all of the additional benefits kettlebell squats offer.
They help to:
Increase your range of motion
Integration of upper body muscles
Offers versatility of exercises
Helps guide for proper squat form
Increases engagement of stabilizing muscles
These are just some of the reasons why you might want to grab a kettlebell for your next workout.
Booty to the ground if ya know what’s good for ya.
Squats help to strengthen the muscles around the knees, hips, and ankles. The muscle support can potentially reduce strain on these joints, if you have any. This also promotes better joint stability, as well as reducing the risk of potentially injuring yourself.
You may find you have recently improved your posture, due to the fact that you’ve been squatting more. This move mimics our every day movements such as standing up, sitting down and lifting objects around your home. So because of that, it’s going to help you function more efficiently throughout your day once you start implementing these in your workout routine.
It feels amazing to be back home! Definitely got my sweat on lugging these two heavy suitcases around! Ready to embrace workout number ✌🏽
Did you get your workout in today?
Did you know that a pound of muscle burns three times more calories than a pound of fat? Also more muscle mass = burning more fat while resting. So with that said let’s get to burning those calories and building that muscle. 💪🏽
Does anyone else prefer to get their steps in at the mall? I sure do!! It’s one of my favorite ways to rev up my metabolism while having fun and browsing for nice new stuff to add to my wardrobe. Love putting fitness and fashion hand in hand.
Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
Feeling on top of the world 🌎 if on top of the world was about 40 stories up in Texas. Helping friends move out of their spot can certainly be considered a workout.
1) Make sure to wear comfy shoes when moving and to also protect them if something falls unexpectedly.
2) Wear workout clothes so nothing gets caught on anything and you can move around more efficiently.
3) Engage your core when lifting heavy items and wear a belt if necessary. I especially recommend you wear a lifting belt if you’re moving heavy furniture, this is super key to not injuring yourself.
4) While moving items around you can perform some extra reps before setting the item down to work up a sweat and towards an actual workout. This helped for me and I’m sure it will for you too.
By the end of it I was exhausted.
5) You can pick and fill up suitcases then turn around and use them as a solid weight afterwards for a variety of different exercises like I mentioned previously.
Hope this helps the next time you relocate or help a friend or family member move!
Strength is a choice. I choose to wake-up daily and select Superwoman vibes.
Through a relentless pursuit of self improvement in my refusal to be defined by setbacks, after showing up, putting in the effort after all the sweat and tears. I showed anyone that might be misunderstood for wanting more out of life that yes you can choose to give life everything and in return your wildest dreams are in fact possible and they will come true one by one so long as you promise to never give up on yourself.
Just as you would build a booty with weights, or a home with bricks, I hope you put lots of love into the things you do so you can learn to lead others with positivity and purpose.
Train Hard. Love Hard. Inspire Greatness.
You can have both, build a booty and an empire, no matter where you started.
A Bosu Ball has many more benefits than you may realize.
Increases Flexibility: many exercises on the possible involves stretching which can help improve range of motion and your joints.
Enhances Coordination: the ball forces you to coordinate muscle groups which enhances your neuromuscular coordination.
Improves Balance: your body has to overcompensate to work hard to balance, due to the fact that the Bosu ball has an unstable surface. Consistent use can help improve your overall stability as well.
Get you a Bosu ball, and go to town reaping the health rewards in the process.
My personal favorite way to recharge after strenuous physical activity is to take a stroll with Mother Nature. Take a leisurely walk in nature to help flush out toxins and facilitate muscle recovery.
Stress Reducing Benefits: This helps with overall stress reduction reducing stress and anxiety levels. The fresh air, calming natural environment trigger the release of endorphins, which are the chemicals that promote you to feel good and relaxed.
Mindfulness: going for a peaceful walk, will promote you becoming more mindful, and therefore being present in the moment. This type of relaxation can help reduce tension and muscle fatigue.
Connecting to Mother Nature: this will have an overall positive impact on your sense of well-being. This can lead to enhanced happiness and improved mood.
Parasympathetic Nervous System Activation: taking these walks out and about help your rest and digest system. This system actually helps to counterbalance our nervous system, which is responsible for our fight or flight response throughout engaging in intense exercise. By activating this the body will then go into state of relaxation which is going to help tremendously for muscle recovery.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by going the extra mile in nature.
5 Ways to Grow Your Glutes
1) Bulgarian Split Squats with a Pulse- the continuous tension from the pulse enhances glute activation.
2) Isometric Glute Contractions- you may sit or stand, squeeze hint glutes as hard as you can for about 15 seconds. Repeat these sets throughout the day to enhance muscle activation.
3) Stairmaster or climbing stairs: use this as your cardio instead of running.
4) Single Leg Hip Thrusts: perform single leg hip thrusts with one foot elevated on a step or platform. This variation increases your range of motion and allows you to create a deeper glute activation.
5) Kettlebell Swings: involves a powerful hip hinge movement that is going to effectively target the glutes, hamstrings and your lower back.
With that being said, it’s time to grow.
Mission get happy is in full effect while making healthy living a priority. There’s pretty much never a wrong time to fit in a little extra physical activity. It may be a stretch to do lunges while shopping. However, it’s very common to see people power walking around the mall while browsing storefronts. You might be surprised how many steps you get in while planning out your next outfit. Take your pick and power it out anyway you choose.
Was in the best mood yesterday during a Luau themed party. This was probably partially due to the outdoor workout I had earlier in the hot sun. The endorphins were flowing big time and my mood was elevated to reach higher peaks because of the vitamin C and running sprints combination. Towards the end of the day we even added in extra physical activity by putting a night cap on with some outdoor activities hula hooping. Let the games begin and find new ways to keep fitness fun again.
Doing sprints outside during the summer is a 2 in 1. You get a reviving combination of the vitamin D from the summer sun mixed with releasing of endorphins from doing sprints. Who wants to join in on the summer fun. Let’s get hot sweaty & sexy together. 🔥
Who else gets excited to workout? I do!
If you’re lacking motivation, currently, there are several things you can do to change that in order to turn things around in a healthier way.
You can set new goals, and when you hit them reward yourself with a new gym outfit to help you push yourself even harder next time.
You can train with a workout partner, spouse, friend or family member to help encourage each other to step into a better quality of life.
Setting up a new playlist that will inspire, you will really help you go the extra mile. Believe me my workouts aren’t even the same without my tunes. Even getting a membership for YouTube music or Spotify. Something that takes the ads out while listening to music while you workout will help eliminate distractions, especially when it comes to the abundance of fast food commercials. Eliminating the temptations will help with that too if you find yourself craving those kind of munchies a bunch.
Hope these tips help give you a lil’ extra mojo for the gym.
Strawberry Smoothie for Todays Afternoon Protein Pick Me Up
8 oz coconut milk 🥛
1 serving of your desired protein powder
1/2 cup frozen strawberries 🍓
1 tbsp ground flax & chia seeds
Pour over ice 🧊
Serve & Enjoy!!
Sissy Squat Machines are great for assisting you through this exercise to help keep you balanced. This is a great pick of an exercise when trying to build quad strength while also working on your core simultaneously. As a bonus this exercise will also help you work on your hip flexors. So if you’re anything like me you want to work on keeping those in alignment as much as possible.
When you’re on the go. It’s a smart idea to work with what you’ve had and get a workout in with your suitcase. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
Exercises you can do with a suitcase or backpack when traveling:
1 Squat Press
2 Bent Over Row
3 Front Raises
4 Backpack Push-ups
5 Upright Rows
6 Backpack Squats
7 Step Ups
8 Oblique Twists
9 Lateral Lunge and Curl
10 Single Leg Deadlift
Hope you try and enjoy some of these exercises that you can easily do on the go without having to worry about getting to a gym incase you’re short on time. When in a pinch, make the best with what you have while working towards the goals you want to accomplish.
Dumbbell Glute Bridges for the Win 🏆
Let’s get these glutes round and perky. It’s going to work your hamstrings, lower back and abs. It specifically targets all three glute muscles including the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. The next time you have a lower body workout planned make sure to include this powerful exercise in your regimen. You can thank me later :)
Hope you’re having an incredible weekend! I know I am spending some quality time with friends, eating some good food and making memories. I always usually take one day off of training which was yesterday. So today I’m back at it simply because my body is craving a good sweaty workout.
If you listen to your body it will tell you what it needs. Feeling parched, drink more water. Need a nap, don’t overwork yourself or overstimulate, give your body a cat nap or rest day. Feeling like you want to put your body in overdrive? Push yourself to go ham in your training session today and go until failure on your sets and reps. You’ve got this! 💪🏽
Lunge with Me! We can work on our balance and coordination. It’s one of the best parts to practicing this move more often.
It allows you to strengthen so many muscles in the lower body including your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. You ready to get stronger on leg day then adding lunges to your routine is a big YES from yours truly Gym Goddess.
Happy Lunging 😊
