I love Burpees!

Yes, you read that correctly…I just love burpees.
I think they are one of the most perfect exercises out there, they incorporate the whole body, get the heart rate up, and improve strength!
But if you know me, you know I get bored with the same exercise too quickly, and need to find ways to mix things up.
SOOOO without further ado…Here are some BURPEE VARIATIONS!!! (aka the most fun you’ve ever had in your life 😉 )

1. Traditional Burpee (without a pushup)
-Begin standing, squat down, place hands on ground, jump feet back into plank position. Jump feet back in towards hands, and jump up!

2. Burpee w/ Pushup-Complete the traditional burpee, but while out in plank position, complete 1 pushup.

3. One-Legged Burpee
-Begin standing, squat down, place hands on ground, jump one foot back into plank position with other leg lifted off ground. Jump back in on same foot. Make sure to alternate sides after each set.

4. Tuck Jump Burpee
-Complete the traditional burpee, but when jump feet back in towards hands, jump into a tuck jump, then land squatting down ready to go into your next burpee.

5. Dumbbell Press Burpee
-Using a dumbbell in each hand, complete a traditional burpee, but when you stand back up, bring dumbbells with you and do a shoulder press up. You can hold onto the weights as you place hands on the ground and jump into plank, as well (it even helps some people because it keeps your wrists straight when you’re down in plank).

6. Modified Burpee
-Have no fear, anyone can Burpee! To take out a jumping component and make it lower impact, squat down, place hands on the ground, step one foot back, then the other, into plank position, then step one foot in towards hands, then other foot in, and come to standing.

7. Side Burpee
-Complete a traditional burpee, but instead of jumping feet straight back behind you in plank position, jump them out to the side, and then back in towards your hands.

8. Lateral Jump Burpee
-I like to place something down as a guide for doing these (sometimes I’ll use a body bar or even a resistance band just laid down on the ground straight). Standing on one side of the line (made by a body bar, band, jump rope, whatever you find), place hands to ground, jump feet back into plank, jump feet back in towards hands, and instead of jumping straight up, leap to the side over the bar/band/rope/etc. and complete a burpee on that side. Keep leaping from side to side between burpees.

9. Plank Jack Burpee
-Complete a traditional burpee, but while feet are out in plank complete a plank jack (jump legs out wide and then back in together), and finish the burpee.

10. BOSU Burpee (My personal favorite)
-Holding a BOSU, flat side up, bring BOSU down to ground while you squat, jump legs back into plank, jump feet back in towards BOSU, and jump up lifting the BOSU overhead as you jump up.

11. Superman Burpee (I suggest doing this one on a mat, if you’re picky about laying on the ground)
-Squat down, hands to ground, jump legs back, lay body completely down on ground, reach arms up overhead & lift chest off ground while simultaneously lifting legs off ground (you will be in a “Superman” position), lower arms and legs, return hands to ground, jump feet in, jump up, and repeat.

12. Frog Burpee
-Squat down, bring hands to ground, jump legs back into plank, jump legs in WIDE keeping hands to the ground and squatting the booty down to the ground, jump legs back out into plank, jump legs back in wide, jump up, and repeat.

13. Around-the-world Burpee
-Complete a standard burpee, but as you jump back up, jump with a 90 degree or 180 degree turn (depending on the intensity and impact you want with the jump). Keep turning with each jump up at the top of the burpee. (Don’t get dizzy 😉 )

14. Side Plank Burpee
-Bring one arm down to the ground, jump legs back and to the side into a side plank, jump legs back in and then jump up. Don’t forget to alternate sides. (This ones tough!!!)

AND I think that’s it for now! I know there are SOOOOO many other variations you can complete on the standard burpee, so this may absolutely be something I will come back to with more ideas for ya in the future!
I’ll update the blog when I get a Youtube video of each of the above BURPEES 🙂

Have fun and stay strong, friends!!!

Abs in August Week One Part 2

AND my friends also completing this Abs in August Challenge, here are the exercises to be done on the even dates on the first week of August (8/2, 8/4, and 8/6).
Please see my post from 7/31/13 further detailing the challenge.

Who’s doing this with me?! 🙂

Drink Up!

Do you drink enough water each day?

It is SO important to stay hydrated, for SO many reasons, especially in the summer months.
Why you may ask?

-Help fuel those workouts and lets your body produce the proper amount of sweat it needs to cool.
-Rid your body of toxins.
-Calorie control. Lots of times we think we’re hungry, but we might just be bored, or thirsty! Make sure you have enough water, and then have a snack if you’re still hungry.
-Fuel those muscles! Muscles need water, too! When our muscles aren’t properly hydrated, they don’t work as well and your strength performance will suffer. Water carries oxygen to your body’s cells, cells of your muscles included! We need that oxygen to work harder during our workouts, and just in daily functioning, as well.
-Fresh, clear skin! Dehydration can make your skin look more tired, dry, and wrinkled.
-Prevents fluid retention. Your body won’t be trying to retain and hold onto its fluid if you’re continuously drinking water throughout your day. Get rid of that awful water retention feeling…Swollen ankles anyone? No, thank you!
-Keeps your joints lubricated and healthy! Joints need water and moisture to stay strong and flexible. Keep those joints young and moving easily!
-Relieves fatigue! Wake up and drink some H2O! When you’re dehydrated, instead of water being used to flush our the waste and toxins from your body, your heart needs to work harder to pump oxygenated blood to your cells, and while this happens the other major organs of your body are also exhausted. All of this makes you feel much more tired, so let water do the work, instead of your bodily organs!
-Prevents headaches and migraines.
-Just makes you feel better!

But even with all of these benefits, sometimes its HARD to get in all the water you need.
Here’s a tip to make it a little easier:Take a gallon of water, mark off time periods on the jug, and by the time each time frame is over, make sure you’ve drank at least down to that time marker.

And how do you know how much water to drink?
Here’s a quick way to calculate: **Please note, I am not a doctor, and what works for me may not necessarily work for you…Try it out and see if its a good judge of how much water intake you should have in a day**

1. Take your weight and multiple it by 0.67.
2. This is a base amount of water (in ounces) you should have if you are not exercising on a particular day.
3. For added activity, you need added water intake.
Add an extra 12 oz of water for every 30 minutes of exercise.
For example, today I’m having a crazy workout day, teaching as well as taking two classes.
So here’s my breakdown:
I weigh roughly 130lbs.
130 x 0.67= 87.1 oz
And I’ll be working out for 3.5 hours today (Eek), so that’s an additional 84 oz

All together: 87.1 + 84 = 171.1 oz <- My rough total of water I should be consuming today.

Hope that helps! And as always, stay STRONG, friends!!!

Goals

Goals.

Goals are some of the most critical components of recovery.

Before I got help, I had no worries about the future (not in a living-free positive kind of way). It was more like I was very much in the present anxieties. Only worried about being stronger than food and getting skinnier. Being in control of the now. I knew (or so I thought) that this would be my forever lifestyle.

I was not aspiring for anything more. I knew I lacked the energy for anything more.

But with recovery came goals. And more importantly, action towards those goals.
Ana was going to take away my education, make me put off college, ruin my relationships, make me lie to people I loved, get sicker and sicker, wither away without achieving things.
But I wouldn’t let her.

Quite the contrary. The healthier I got, the more I wanted to accomplish.

Goals force you to look ahead. To think about life in the future (long or short-term).
Goals mean change. No one makes a goal on something they already do. Change means moving forward. Overcoming struggles.
Goals can be ANY size you want. No one can tell you, “your goals too big. You need to dream smaller.” Or “your goal isn’t big enough, you need to tweak that goal.” Or rather, no one should tell you that. It’s your goal.
Furthermore, goals create ownership and strengthens self identity. It takes reflecting on your own life to create goals and think about where you want to be.

Tips for setting goals:

Be specific. Determine when you want this to be accomplished. Not just “in the future,” but a specific date, ie November 7, 2013.
By doing this, you create accountability. A deadline to be proud of when you accomplish.

Note your goals. Don’t just think them, actually write them down. Keep them somewhere important. Put post-it notes reminding you of your goals on your mirror, in your car, at your desk, etc. Physically visualize these goals.

Purposeful goals. Don’t just make a goal because you think it’s something you should do. Don’t make a goal for someone else. Make it for YOU and because its something you believe in. Something important and meaningful to YOU.

Measurable motivation. Make your goals things you can track. Just “being happy” is harder to achieve than “get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.” You can physically track how you are doing and your progress towards meeting your second goal. How do you track happiness? What steps are there for “being happy?” But for sleeping 8 hrs, you can take steps to make it possible. You can make sure you eat dinner by a certain time, take a shower by a certain time, wake up early the previous day so you’d be tired at night, etc.
If its not measurable, how do you determine when it’s been met?

Never stop making goals. Once one is accomplished, make more! O start out with more than one to begin with. This keeps you changing, improving, growing.

Stay strong, friends💪