Goals for a new year - train HARDER #1

What is your #1 goal for 2012 - mine is to train HARDER!  If I get more out of my workouts, I will be more efficient which equals better results. 

My #2 is to eat better - I have found that since I started living with my partner, who is now my husband, it has been harder and harder to eat right.  That is going to change.  Some nights I can see us making 2 separate meals - and that is OK.  I know this is a struggle for a lot of people and I am determined to give you as many tips as I can to make this a non issue.

My #3 is to be happy - I am happy anyways, and I plan to stick to this - positivity is the name of the game.  I can accomplish anything I set my mind to - and so can you!

Feb 1st is the start of our next blogging challenge!  It costs nothing, and the help it gives is priceless.  Mark your calendars and email me your address so I can add you as an author - DO IT! 

My training partner and I are training tonight - OH MY - this is gonna hurt!  We will post our workout when we are done!

All the best to you in the last days of the year!

Cher
gingerandcrew.com

Happy Birthday! Double Whammy Workout!

So my birthday is no time to slack off.  My training partner and I have been super busy this past week, but we still trained on Saturday and will meet again on Friday.  My workouts since then have been walks with the family, and quickies between clients.  It's not my ideal scenario, but I am rolling with the Christmas punches :)

Onto tomorrow, my birthday!  I am doing a double whammy workout day!  At noon I will be hitting up Moksha Yoga Kelowna for my free birthday class :) now before that we will be doing something - what that something entails I haven't planned yet.... jog? weights?

The thing about doing doubles is that you do not exhaust the main muscles you are working in the second workout in the first one.  So we will come up with the opposite muscles we can train and hit it!

Have a great Christmas everyone - don't forget that the training you do over the holidays means it will be that much easier in the New Year!!

xo

Cher
gingerandcrew.com

Upper body workout - using your arms is overrated right?

We went HEAVY today.  Ladies you should know that it isn't such a bad thing to lift heavy!  You are not going to look like Arnie in his hay day if you lift heavy, it's just not going to happen.  We went hard and did the following:

3 sets, 10-14 reps depending

Equipment: Free Weights, Mat, Fit Ball
Location: Home

1. Chest Fly/Press on Ball - we did our heaviest today - 20lbs on the press :)
2. Reverse Fly standing
3. Front/Side Raise - Front, out to the side and down, repeat in opposite direction
4. Static Biceps Curls - One arm stays at 90 degrees while the other arm curls, switch after 7
5. Laying X Triceps Press - Single hand comes down to opposite ear, then up to press - do full set on one arm then switch
6. 21's Biceps
7. Kickbacks

Reverse Fly standing (#2)

It might not look like much, but I am finding it hard to type so we must have fatigued our muscles.... I feel awesome!

Make sure to get your training in this weekend - now more than ever with the holidays amoung us!

Stay healthy!

Cher

We might pass out while doing this workout...

So today my training partner and I are going to go back to when we started together (a month or so ago now) and do a workout we had a hard time with....and hope we got better!!

It is so important to evaluate your progress - can you do more reps now than you could?  Can you use more weight?  These are all great tools in checking in on your journey thus far.

I would also like to congratulate my training partner on losing 3 inches at her last measuring!! 

I am going to be doing mine soon to get my benchmark - Don't forget to do yours too!!

Here's the workout - ENJOY!

Location: Home
Equipment: Dumbbells, chair, med ball, BOSU, Mat

All exercises are timed 40 seconds, with 20 seconds rest in between (use a timer on your phone or a GYMBOSS timer).  We count reps (I will post those when we are done!) 4 Rounds (with a bonus round if we can!)

#1: Kneeling to standing (start kneeling on one knee, hop up to standing, and do a tuck jump - alternate legs)
#2: Push Ups with medicine ball or chest press
#3: Monkeys (modified for the wrist issue)
#4: Leg Drops
#5: Dips or Skull Crushers (one of us has a bum wrist)
#6: 6 high knees with 1 burpee (burpee modified for the wrist - done on a chair that forearms can rest on)
#7: Squat with Curl to Press

Remember that sometimes there are movements that require control, therefore the numbers may not increase much - that's OK!  The fact that we are doing it is what matters - in a safe environment, with proper form.

If you are unsure about any of the movements above - shoot me an email or comment below!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Cheers,

Cher
Ginger & Crew Personal Training Kelowna
www.gingerandcrew.com

Planning a week of training!

Mondays are rough for everyone - the worst is when you haven't planned out your week of training. I have found over the years that it is so important to book your training times - life can so easily take over and make fitting in a work out very hard & almost impossible to do. Bring out your day timer and book your workouts in... And feel awesome when Sunday comes along and you can say 'I did all of my workouts!!!' rather than 'I feel like a slug... Should have worked out'. Which would you rather say at the end of this week?

Yours in health!

Cher
www.gingerandcrew.com

Arms, Arms, Core Core Day!

So I have been plugging along - cardio days mostly, but last night my training partner requested arms, and so arms she received.  Here is what the workout looked like - currently I can type, but I feel that will be short lived as the day goes on!

Location - Home
Equipment - Dumbbells, TRX, Mats, Fit Ball, Bosu

1. Chest Fly & Ball Knee Tucks (we alternate)
2. Alternating lunge with curl to press (heavy weight) & 30 second squat with fit ball push outs (fast)
3. Single arm TRX Biceps Curls & Side plank with straight arm raises
4. TRX Triceps & held Squat with Punches
5. Full Sit up TRX & plank to pike on gliders

We had a great workout - not as sweaty as usual, but definitely like jello.  I think we accomplished the mission!

If you have that dusty equipment sitting at home, don't forget that a great in-home program is just a call away - check out Ginger & Crew - we have some evening spots available (but they go fast!)

Have a wicked weekend!

Cheers,

Cher

Muscles just stopped aching....

Today is a good day - after my 4 days straight of training and taking Sunday off, my muscles have finally stopped screaming....almost.  My Hamstrings are ringing a bit, but I will power through.  Yesterday i thought my body was going to give me a huge 'F'U' when I got out of bed.  WOW was I sore.  It's all good though - I knew to give my body some time off to recoup. 

So now it is Monday and time to get back at it - I am thinking some Tabata'a are in my future.  Not only do I have to do them, but I think most of my clients will have to as well!

Tabata's are great - get the heart rate up quickly and are very time effective - 20 seconds of intense work with 10 seconds of rest.  You are training at 90% of your max - and sometimes want to chuck your cookies :)

I will report on my soreness tomorrow, I am sure I will have some, and always willing to share!

Have an awesome Monday!

Cher
www.gingerandcrew.com

Awesome Outdoor Workout!

So my training partner and I both overindulged last night (me wine, her rye - separate parties) and felt a little like donkey poo today.  We were troopers and stuck with our plan to train and here's what we did:

Location: Mission Creek Park, Kelowna
Equipment: Mat, Med Ball, Band

We did a circuit that involved running hills, walking lunges, stairs, band work, abs, burpees, calf raises, LOADS of squats and core.  We did the circuit 7 times and only almost tossed our cookies about 4 times (the burpees did me in).  What lesson did we learn?  Limit your alcohol content this holiday season - not only will you feel better, but your workouts will go much smoother!  We also learned that if you do over indulge, there is nothing like a good workout to make you feel better :)

I was so super sore from my workout yesterday that I was smart and didn't work any of my super sore muscles.  Split routines are my favorite - upper / lower split was what I did these past 2 days.  If you are training 6 days per week, a split routine might be something for you to play around with - if you are only training 3 days per week, total body might be for you.

That's all for today - I will be sipping my tea and watching the Ultimate Fighter with no bad snacks tonight :)

Till next time, stay healthy!

Cher

Don't push through injuries....

Injuries suck!  My MVA has been plaguing me from the start.  So I had high hopes for today (as I confessed earlier) - Cardio & Weights.  My workout went as follows:

Equipment: Band & Ball
Location: Home

I started with some shadow boxing - jabs, combos etc for 20 minutes - started getting a good sweat on, but I felt a little twinge between my shoulder blades....so listening to my physio (and my) advice, i stopped.  Weights at this point, maybe not such a good plan.  Physio exercises for the day - good plan.  I went through my movements (which are still tough because I haven't been able to train since June) and finished with my stretches.  I think I am good for today.  I have an outdoor workout with my training partner tomorrow so I want to be able to complete it :)


Training with injuries is not ideal, but working within my limits allows me to still feel like I am training however making my body an even better specimen - It knows how to heal itself, and doing my recommended stretches/exercises is the only way to make it happen.

Quote for today:

"Clear your mind of can’t." -Samuel Johnson

Have an awesome weekend!

Cheers,

Cher
www.gingerandcrew.com

Happy Friday, Happy Blogging!

So now it's my turn :) yesterday was good! No workout, but I was super sore from my workout with my training partner on Wednesday. Today is another story - throwing in some weights and cardio today. Gonna try for another run - very excited to be able to run again!

You will be hearing lots from me - including my own workouts.... So stay tuned!!

Cheers,
Cher
www.gingerandcrew.com