Ab blaster

With summer coming up, I know that everyone is focusing in on their problem areas. For most of us, we start to look at our abs. Today, I'm going to give you a workout to start you on the tract to toning.

• 3 rounds (no stopping) 
• 10 suicide planks 
• 25 mountain climbers 
• 10 leg raises 

After that, 

• 30 second plank 

Finally, 

• 3 rounds (no stopping) 
• 20 crunches 
• 30 flutter kicks (15 each side)
• 10 lemon squeezes

Healthy Doesn't Mean Nasty!

Let me start by saying, healthy doesn't have to taste bad! I'm a foodie at heart and eating healthy has always been a challenge for me. Because of this, Ive leaned to make healthy, delicious, satisfying meals that I'll continue to share from time to time. Stay tuned for more of my recipes!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Shake

This shake is both filling and delicious! Here are the ingredients:

• 4-5 oz water
• 1 scoop peanut butter chocolate protein powder (I use Progenex)
• if you don't have this, sub. vanilla protein with 2 tbsp peanut butter and 2 scoops cacao powder
• 1 tbs peanut butter (I really love pb guys)
• half of a medium banana, sliced
• 6-8 ice cubes
• about 5 oz of plain yogurt 
• 1 tbsp chia seeds 

Blend until you have a smooth constancy. If its too "watery" for you, add more ice.

Just Some Motivation

Consistency is key. I know that after about a week of training, you'll start to get tired and bogged down. Kids, college, your job, and almost anything else will start to tire you out, but I promise you, you're going to look back at past photos or habits in a year or even a couple months and be SO incredibly proud of yourself. Its a learning process, and not one that comes to you quickly. Be patient. Be proud. Be consistent.

Dead Lifts

For this movement: Your feet should be under your your hips and hands about shoulder length apart. You should be bent over the bar somewhat with your core engaged (no rounded backs). When you pull up, the barbell should trace the length of your shin. Once it reaches your knees, that's when you move knees back and your hips come forward, letting the barbell trace your thigh to full extension of the hips. 

This is probably one of my favorite lifts. It works lower back and legs although you need to keep all of this in mind when lifting:

• Keep your core engaged! I know ya'll like to flex, and now is the time. This goes for almost every movement you will do, however I'll stress it every time.
• Keep your head neutral. When I say this, I'm asking you to keep you neck and head in line with your back. You should refrain from straining your neck upward or pushing your chin into your chest. 
• Pace yourself. Start with a blank barbell and practice the movement up to or even more than 10 times to prepare your muscles for the movement. Then progress to a moderate weight, working up to a 75% max by your last round. Increase the weight on your barbell by 5-10 lbs each round. (DO NOT MAKE 20# JUMPS) This means that the weight you start with should be moderately heavy, not incredibly easy. 
• Don't go too fast. You should leave at least 2 minutes between each round to give your muscles a quick chance to recover from the strain. This is a rule during your strength training to make sure your muscles wont give out during your next round.
• Don't be afraid to let the weight bounce. You'll notice in my video that i let the weigh bounce off the floor in order to let gravity help me in pulling it back up. You can choose to let the weight become stagnant (it's really no big deal) but I like to keep the movement fluid, so I allow my deadlifts to bounce off the floor. My only caution is that you keep your core engaged and don't round out your back when you let gravity bounce the weight (again, thats BAD).

Tire Flips

Rope Slams

Tips for this movement:

• Keep your arms in front of you. Don't let your elbows stick out on either side.
• Keep a slight bend in your knee. It will help with balance and power.
• Keep your core engaged! Can I stress this enough?
• Don't round your back.  This will cause your back to hurt in the morning, when it should really be your arms doing all of the work.