Workout 'Power Through'

Want a workout that is challenging and yet does not require going to the gym? Here is one for you. Actually this one is for everyone! I love such workouts. The idea of AMRAP workouts it to do as many reps as YOU can for the time given. This means you are challenging your own capabilities. 

The 'Power Through' workout consists of 2 sets of exercises. Each set is repeated 3 times with 30 seconds rest in between the rounds. And each exercise goes for 45 seconds so set your timers! Do as many repetitions of each exercise as YOU can. Do not make it easy for yourself! But if you really need a break, you can stop for 5 - 10 seconds. 

Sequence 1

1. Switch kicks - Start from standing position. Elbows are bent and close to your body. Imagine there is someone in front of you and you have to kick him in the stomach. Kick with a straight leg, heel comes out. Switch legs in the air. To do that you need to use your core power. Therefore, keep your abs contracted! If you find switching legs in the air way too much for you, you can modify. Straighten the leg out and high, putting it back on the ground and repeat with the other leg. Do not forget to keep the core contracted

Do as many reps as you can for 45 seconds

2. Jump Squats - Get down in a squat position. Your feet are spread at least shoulder width apart or a little bit wider (depending on how flexible you are). Bent your knees until you come to 90 degrees. Make sure your knees stay behind your toes and not leaning in front. Your back should be flat, chest open and you are gazing in front of you. Chin also parallel to the floor. The centre of your weight is on the outside of your feet and on your heels.

From this position, push yourself off the ground with your feet, squeezing your gluteus and abs to help you with the jump. Jump with straight legs and land softly in the same squat position. AMRAP (as many reps as possible) for 45 seconds !

3.Oblique plank - Get down in a plank position. Your wrists are below your shoulders. Your body is in a straight line. (*Note: Make sure your butt is not too high or your hips are not dropping to the ground) Your core and inner thighs are contracted. Bring your right knee out and towards your body. Take the leg back to straight plank. Take the left knee out and towards your body. Take it back. Repeat. Do as many reps as you can for 45 seconds and do not forget to keep the right form !

4. Floor runs - After you are done with the oblique plank, keep the plank position. Bring one knee to your chest, put the leg back and repeat with the other knee. Like you are running with your palms on the floor. Do as many reps as you can for 45 seconds.

Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat the sequence 3 times in total

Sequence 2

1. 20x high knees + 4x push ups - From a standing position lift your right knee up above your hip. Switch with the other knee. Use your lower abs to lift the knees up. Always land softly to prevent injury. Do 20 repetitions and get down on the ground for 4 push ups. If you need modification of the push ups, perform them with knees on the ground. 

2. Burpees - From a standing position place your hands on the ground close to your feet. Jump your feet out and lay down on the ground. Jump your feet back in and jump up clapping your hands above your head. Make sure you are using your abs to help you jump. Do as many reps as you can in 45 seconds !

3. Triceps dips - Get yourself a chair next to a wall or use a step or something that can hold you. If you cannot find anything you can also do it on the ground. Place your palms on the chair (or floor) behind you with fingers pointing towards your body. Knees are bent and elbows straight. Bent your elbows as low as you can (without your butt reaching the ground) and push yourself up to straight arms again. Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) for 45 seconds.

Rest 30 seconds. Repeat the sequence 3 times in total. 

Enjoy your workout and we are waiting for your comments !

Bodyweight Interval Training

What I love about interval trainings is that it can never be too easy. Why? Because you have to go as fast as you can. So the stronger you become, the more reps you do. You get it? Now go get ripped with this 50:10 protocol bodyweight workout and nothing more !

4x Exercises 4x Rounds 50:10

The workout consists of only 4 exercises. Each exercise goes for 50 seconds followed by 10 seconds rest (the 50:10 protocol. We've done that before!) .You've got to go as fast as possible in these 50 seconds, kicking your heart rate go up. Make sure you breath a lot during the exercise and the 10 seconds of rest to get enough oxygen to your muscles. This is  very important when you are doing HIIT (Read more about High Intensity Interval Training).

Repeat the sequence for 4 rounds. Trying to score higher reps on each round. Together with the warm up it should last for about 20 minutes. It is also a good idea to stretch for 3 -5 minutes after the workout.

1. Jump Squats

Get down in a squat position. Your feet are spread at least shoulder width apart or a little bit wider (depending on how flexible you are). Bent your knees until you come to 90 degrees. Make sure your knees stay behind your toes and not leaning in front. Your back should be flat, chest open and you are gazing in front of you. Chin also parallel to the floor. The centre of your weight is on the outside of your feet and on your heels.

From this position, push yourself off the ground with your feet, squeezing your gluteus and abs to help you with the jump. Jump with straight legs and land softly in the same squat position. AMRAP (as many reps as possible) for 50 seconds ! Write down your scores.

2.Jump Lunges

Set up your lung position. From standing make step out with your right foot and bent your knees. The front knee is about your ankle at 90 degrees. The back knee is below the the hip also at 90 degrees. Do not bring the back knee too much to the back or to the front.

From this position, push yourself off the ground with your feet. Switch legs and land softly in the same position. The only different is that now your leg foot is in front and your right foot is back. Repeat the jump and switch. AMRAP for 50"! Write down your score

3. In&Out Abs

Get down in a plank position. Your shoulders are above your wrists. Neck is long. Your back is flat. Your legs are straight, so you are on your toes and palms. Maintain your body line straight. If you look yourself into the mirror, fro your head to your toes your body should be aligned in one line. Do not lift your butt or collapse your hips. In order to maintain straight body line you need to contract the abs. Work those abs ! They should be contracting during the whole time.

From the straight plank position, jump with your feet in, between your arms. Then jump them out, back into the straight plank position. Do as many reps as possible for 50" ! Write down your score

4. Triceps Dips

Get yourself a chair next to a wall or use a step or something that can hold you. If you cannot find anything you can also do it on the ground. Place your palms on the chair (or floor) behind you with fingers pointing towards your body. Knees are bent and elbows straight. Bent your elbows as low as you can (without your butt reaching the ground) and push yourself up to straight arms again. Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) for 50". Write down your score


Try to perform better with every round. Even one rep more is an improvement! For a maximum recovery, take some good protein.

Full Body Workout

I just love to perform total body workouts that include exercises for basically (almost) every muscles group in your body. You can do them quickly and there is always a way to adjust the exercises so that you can do them at home. They also burn more calories than workouts that try to isolate separate muscles. Now get up and try this workout and start feeling good today!

Repeat routine 3x times. Aim for no rest

1. Squats - 20x reps

Begin in a standing position with feet a little wider than hip-width. Your chin should be parallel to the floor and chest should be lifted. Contract your core and start bending down your knees. The weight should be shifted to the back and outside of your feet. Lower down withour arching your back. Keep the knees behind your toes always. Get down to 90 degrees (or even a little bit lower). Then, start raising pushing your feet into the floor and squeezing your butt cheeks. Keep the chest up and the back flat. When you get back to standing, push your hips a little forward. 

*Include weights if you feel you need an extra challenge. 

2. Forward Lunges - 15x reps per leg

From standing position bring one of your feet one step in front and bend down so that the knee of your front leg stays above the ankle (do not let it go forward!) and the hip of the back leg stays in line with the knee. Come back pushing off from your front leg, using your tighs and glute. Repeat with the other leg. Keep your core contracted throughout the whole exercise to find balance. 

*Include weights if you feel you need an extra challenge

3. Chest press - 15x reps

Lay down on your back with equal weights in your both hands. Shoulders are parallel to the ground and elbows are bent 90 degrees. Push-up the weights contracting your core in the same time. Straighten your arms and go back to the initial position.

4. Triceps dips - 20x reps

Sit down on the ground with your knees bent and place your palms on the floor behind you. Fingers pointing towards your body. Your toes should be looking up the ceiling. Lift your butt using only the power of your arms as much as you can. Then lower your butt down without releasing it to the ground and repeat again. Keep your core tight.

*For extra challenge, you can perform this exercise leaning your palms on a bench / chair. 

5. Superman - 15x reps per arm/leg

Get down on all-fours - shoulders above wrists and hips above knees. Neck stays long and relaxed so you are looking down to the floor. Contract your core. Lift and straighten one arm and the opposite leg. Hold for 2 seconds. Get back to the initial position. Lift and straighten the other arm and its opposite leg. Hold for 2 seconds and get back to all - fours. Repeat the exercise. 

6. Boat - 15x reps

This exercise is known by many names but I like to call it 'boat'. That's how we used to call it back in the primary school! Yes, I have known it for a long time and this is why I used to see it as too simple. However, recently I realised how tremendously important it is for lower back strenght! 

Lay down on your belly with your arms long, reaching in front, and your legs straight. From this position, try to lift your arms and legs off the floor as much as you can, contracting your core. At the moment when you lift your arms and legs as much as you can, hold it there for 2 seconds and release down to the initial position. Repeat. 

7. Up & Down Plank - 15x reps

Get into a lower plank position. Your forearms are on the ground. Elbows are below the shoulders. Your hips are off the floor and you are on your toes. You are contracting your core and keeping straight body line. Your body should be flat and perfectly aligned. From this position, come into a high plank by placing one of your palms on the floor, then the other one, straightening up your arms and coming to a high plank. After you are in the high plank, lift one of your palms and place your forearm on the floor, followed by the other one, coming back to the low plank. Your body stays aligned and core contracted all the time.

8. Side Plank - 15x per side

Lay down on your side, leaning on your forearm. Legs are straight. Push yourself off the floor using your core power. It is very important to contract your core and do not shift your weight onto your arm. Lift off until your body aligns in a straight line and release down. Repeat 15x times and turn onto the other side. 

Now repeat two more times and keep it strong ;) 

References: http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness_programs_core_workout.aspx?workoutid=21
http://www.myfitstation.com/2013/10/20/mega-bodybuilder-hiit-full-body-workout/ (picture)

High Intensity Interval Trainings (HIIT) or Why you should quit long-lasting gym workouts?

A few years ago I used to spend around an hour and a half in the gym working out. That was sometimes without the time for going there and coming back. Now my workouts rarely take more than 30 minutes of my time. I do them at home or in the nearby park (so I save money) and I am loving the results. Read more about High Intensity Interval Training and its benefits...

What is HIIT?

High Intensity Interval Trainings are short workouts, that might last from 4 to 30 minutes. It is a form of
workout that alternates high intensity anaerobic exercises with lower intensity (or recovery) periods. A warm up is required before the workout and is recommended to be followed up by some stretching to cool down. 

The Tabata method

Probably the most famous kind of HIIT is the Tabata method. After a study, Izumi Tabata found, according to him, the most effective regime of training. The Tabata method alternates 20 seconds of a maximum- intensity exercise with 10 seconds of rest for 4 minutes, or 8 cycles in total. According to the study, this method performed 4 times a week produces the same results as a steady state training performed 5 days a week.

Benefits from HIIT

1. Fat burner cardio effect

Actually HIIT trainings burn more calories than regular cardio exercises such as jogging ! Apart from being a great fat burner during the workout, this regimen kicks off your metabolism so good that you burn more calories also in the 24 hours after the workout!

2. Metabolic kick

The fact that you keep on burning calories up to 24 hours after the workouts, means your metabolism is constantly working like a Swiss watch. It keeps on burning calories from fat and you do not lose any muscle unlike regular cardio activities! Moreover, it stimulates your body to produce more of the human growth hormone, which is an awesome anti-ageing effect.

3. Aerobic / Anaerobic benefits

Most of the people find it hard to keep up when they are in the anaerobic zone. This is the moment when you feel like your heart is going to jump out any moment and you are gasping for breath. With a few weeks of an intensive interval training, you can improve your anaerobic abilities and your sport performance in general raises to higher levels - also when it comes to aerobic exercises. 

4. Efficient

Apart from being very effective, HIIT workouts are the best regimen for a busy schedule that most of us have. The workouts are short - they take between 4 - 30 minutes -  and you can perform them anywhere you want - in the gym, in the park, at home. This means you can do it Anytime and Anywhere! 

4. Cheap - No gym equipment needed

To do HIIT you do not really need any equipment. Many variations of HIIT use only the weight of the body. So, you basically need to get some comfortable shoes and sweaty pants and you are ready for an awesome workout. If you do want to add some weight, you can equip yourself with a set of dumbbells or a bar at home, which is still quite cheaper than a regular visitation at the gym. 

Example of a HIIT workout

An example of an awesome HIIT workout that uses the Tabata regimen will show you the super cardio effect of interval trainings. 

Now enjoy sweating and getting lean! 

 Sweat is fat crying :)

Resources:

http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/8-benefits-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit

Strong Legs and Buttock HIIT

The workout this week is designed to shape up your leg muscles and gluteus and get rid of some of that  bit of unnecesaary fat. Apart from that I have shown an adjusted routine also for people with pain/operation, etc in their knee joint. 

I am very excited about this latest workout. From personal experience, I know it sucks to have pain in your knee joint and that it takes a long time until it can recover completely. For this reason, I came up with this workout. These exercises will help your knee heal faster so that you can go back to your normal lifestyle and more intense workouts.

What is really important on the way to total recovery, is to be very careful with exercising and do not push it to levels that will slow down your progress. Therefore, although I know you might be willing to cardio exercises, may not be the best idea. The best way to know that is just to pay attention to how your knee feels with every movement you make. 

Workout breakdown

For the shape builders
3 rounds, 50 secs train and 10 secs rest:
High knees
5x deep squats + 5x squat holds
High kness
One leg bridge elevated (switch half way through)
High knees
Jumping lunges

To strengthen knee joint
3 rounds, 50 secs train and 10 secs rest:
Normal squats
Bridge feet down
Alternating lunges


Interesting facts about knee joint: 

• it is the most complicated joint in the whole body
• supports almost the whole weight of the body
• it is the biggest and most flexible joint

The Jump Workout

Recently I have found I do not perform well on jumps so this became my knew goal - learn jump techniques and jump higher. I realised we do not have much the need to jump in our daily life and when we have to, we do not feel comfortable doing it (at least us ladies ! ). And one of the many reasons why we workout is to feel comfortable with ourselves at all times and advance, right?! 

The Workout

10 x Tuck jump & Push up Burpees

20 x Go-unders & Leg raise

15 x Jumps 

Beginners - 3 rounds

Advanced - 5 rounds

Important elements

Warm up well your knees, ankles and muscles! With jumps, it is more likely to get injuries if you do not prepare well. 

During all jumps, try to jump softly with bent knees, relying more on your muscles than on your joints. It might be a good idea to jump a few times before the workout to practice it. 

For the burpees - if you are a beginner, instead of the tuck jump, just jump up with straight legs, clapping your hands over your head. 

For the push ups  - keep your body line straight. You can also do the push ups on your knees. 

For the go-unders - keep your back straight, do not bent over to prevent back pain. 

For the jumps at the end - swing yourself using your hands and land properly with bent knees. Try to jump as far as possible BUT so that you do not fall. The exercise is only finished when you get up ! If you fall, do an extra rep ! You should learn how to do it properly. 

Now  go and keep it strong !

Sweating in the Summer Cardio Workout (Video)

Vacation is the time to rest and take off your mind all worries from your daily life that have been piling up throughout the whole year. It has proven that exercising is one of the best way to rest your mind so I hope you do not forget to workout during your holiday!

This workout is designed so that it effectively burns those calories you want to get rid of it, and it also shapes your body. It basically trains the whole body.

The Workout:

3 rounds
4 exercises + Cardio section in between
NO rest

35 x Jumping jacks
20 x Crunches
35 x Jumping jacks
20 x Triceps dips
35 x Jumping jacks
10 x Jump squats
35 x Jumping jacks
10 x Push ups

15 Mins Intensive Workout

Hey guys,

Here's the workout for this week. It is designed to train almost every muscle in your body: abs, hips, gluteus, shoulders, triceps. Here's how it goes and check out the video below for more explanations

The Workout

3 rounds: 5 exercises x 1 min 
AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
Aim for no rest

Sequence of the exercises and muscles trained:

1. Eights - arms

2. Squats - legs, gluteus

3. Shoulder-touch plank - shoulders, abdominals

4. Triceps dips - triceps

5. Touch-toes - abdominals

Equipment needed:

A weight to hold with both hands
Exercise mat

Workout: "Drop for 20"

"Drop for 20" workout is an intensive workout which works on your cardio and muscle endurance.
It consists of 2 circles , 5 rounds each. Every round has 5 exercises. The pace have to be as high as possible but always keep the correct form of the exercise.

Here is the routine:

Every exercise is done for 20 seconds, without having rest between them. Take just 2 minutes rest between the circles. No equipment needed.

Circle 1:
1. Prisoners Squat
2. Burpees
3. Push-ups
4. Jumping Jacks
5. Crunches

Circle 2:
1. Prisoners Squat
2. Burpees
3. Push-ups
4. Seal Jacks
5. Bicycle crunches

I recommend everybody to try it!
Keep it strong!

New HIT workout you can do quickly at home for free

Hey, guys,

Here's a new workout I made for you. The best thing about these workouts is that they are very quick and you can do them at home so they are for FREE. This means that you being in a good shape DEPENDS ONLY ON YOU. 

Here it is:

3 rounds, 3 exercises, 15 reps each exercises

Aim for no rest or as less rest as possible

Overheads (with a dumbbell/weight)

Triceps dips

Push ups with leg cross






In the video below there is modification of the push ups, in case regular push ups are too hard for you. So, choose your level and a good weight and start. Do not forget to always keep your back flat to prevent back pain and also to be able to workout different muscle groups effectively.

Enjoy your workout and post your scores! 

Love and smiles,

The 100 REPS Workout! Quick Home workout

Hello all,

Today I decided to show you a really quick but very effective workout that you can do wherever you are without using any weights or other equipment.

Here's how it goes:

100 Push ups
100 Crunches
100 Squats

When you finish with all 100 reps then you can go to the next exercise. 100 reps might look too many, but don't worry. You do as many reps as you can, then take a short break (10 to 20 seconds) then continue. The idea is to make as many reps as you can with as less rest as possible.

However, I know that some of you (especially women) might have problems doing 100 push-ups, that's why you can start by doing push ups on your knees.

Note: Try to do this workout for a time. Record it everytime and watch your progress.
I'll be glad if you share your time with me here in the blog.


Cheers,
Iavor

Introduction of myself + a really nice abs workout!

Hi everybody,
I just joined Lora's blog. We both decided that it will be cool for me join the blog so I can share my experience with you and help you as much as I can.
Oh and by the way... she's my sister ;)

So to introduce myself.
I'm training and competing in martial arts. Currently I'm training MMA, Muay-Thai and Grappling.
I used to train and compete in Karate-do for about 10 years.
Along with all that I have a 10 years experience in the gym, doing all kind of fitness workouts, crossfit, high intensive workouts, cardio, strength and explosiveness and so on.
That's it about me in short.

I will try to motivate you and help to progress in your trainings!

Now LET'S BEGIN with the first workout that I will give you today!

It will be specifically ABS workout!
Just to warn you that it might be a bit difficult for most of you in the beggining
This workout will help you to put some muscles on the abs.


ABS workout #1


1. Toe Touchers with weights - grab a 5-15kgs weight and try to touch your toes with it. Try doing 20 reps.
immediately after this do
2. Alternate Heel Touchers do 10-15reps at each side
3. Stretch for a minute and rest for another one
- repeat 2 more times

4. Scissors kick On Parallel Bars do about 10-15 reps for each leg by alternating them. Usually scissors are done lying on the ground, but I prefer them on the parallel bars :)
immediately:
5. Barbell Side Bend - grab the barbell, put no more than 10kgs on it and do 10 reps each side for
repeat for 3 more times.
6. Stretch for a couple of minutes

This workout is really close to the one I did the last time. However I do not stick to the same workout twice. I change it everytime. Sometimes I change the reps, sometimes I add or exclude an exercise or add more weight.

Here is a recent photo of my abdominals :)

That's it! If you have any questions do not hesitate!
Keep going Strong :)
Iavor