#axfit

[benchpressabear]

Workout of the Day

Warm Up, Tabata: Chair Lifts / Low Lunge with Isometric Abduction (4 min)

Circuit Warm Up: 3-min of Overhead Lunges 10 1-min rounds with no rest in between

3 Burpees to start the round Weighted Squats until the end of the round

Bonus Class FitSugar: Supermodel Butt Workout (10 min) Song Workout: Alternating Abs to "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men AXFit, Fit Week Challenge: Plank Drills POP Pilates: Amazing Upper Back and Leg Stretches WORKOUT BREAKDOWN You have seen this circuit before. I always come back to it because, in short, it kills me. It is the twin sibling of death of ZWOW #27: same moves, but in reverse order. Every round lasts for 1-minute: starting with 3 Burpees, and then squatting as fast as possible and with good form until the minute is up. The killer factor is that there’s no rest in between rounds. *cue to the ominous music* I set my timer for 10 rounds of 1:03 minutes --3 extra seconds to write up my reps for each round and take a sip of water, if I can-- with the ultimate goal of resisting the temptation of stopping before the circuit is done. (Seriously, this is intense.) Equipment

10-lbs dumbbells: Overhead Lunges + Weighted Squats

My rep count for the entire circuit was: 40 Overhead Lunges, 30 Burpees and 150 Weighted Squats. That is: 22 Squats more than last November! Win. (I think I need to go heavier next time...It's HARD to even think about it NOW,  but I think an upgrade is due.) In other topics: my delts are still a bit sore from Tuesday's workout. Today in particular, with those Overhead Lunges, my arms gave up before my legs did.  After a water break:  (1) Booty-centric Class FitSugar; used a long tube resistance band, tied in a loop, for that one. Awesome burn, as always. (2) Song workout of Alternating Abs (alternates a crunch with a hip lift). Awesome burn, as well. (3) Fit Week Challenge! I'm hating the pushup side of it! But well, I'm doing it. Day 4 in the bag. 3 days to go.

[benchpressabear]

Workout of the Day

Fit Test, February: 1-min Squats Tabata, Warm Up: Plank to Stand Up / Wide Second Punches (4 min)

ZWOW #53 (4 rounds)

20 Jump Squats  2 sets of 15 Side Lunge Hops 10 Cross-Legged Pushups

Bonus 4 sets of 4 interval rounds of 30-secs/15-secs of work/rest each, alternating 

Isometric Lunge Screamer Lunge 

AXFit, Fit Week Challenge: Plank Drills POP Pilates: Amazing Upper Back and Leg Stretches (11 min) WORKOUT BREAKDOWN Squat Fit Test, February: 37 Squats Same score I got back in January. ZWOW 53: My time was 15:41 mins. This ZWOW combines strength training, cardio and some stretching/isometric holds. I chose to hold each stretch/isometric hold for a mental count of 10 (sometimes 12, depending on how I felt). This was tough. My heart rate was ridiculously up throughout, so please insert a huge water break after this one. Bonus, Interval Training rounds: See, sometimes I schedule things for my workout---because, you know, paper can hold anything--- and then when I'm ACTUALLY doing them, I had to reconsider and creatively adjust it. This was one of those times. My compromise was to break down the circuit into 4 separate sets--- each of 4 interval rounds (2 rounds per leg)--- and took a mini-breaks in between sets (around 30 secs long). What I did exactly: (1) hold the isometric lunge for as long as possible for 30-secs, (2) do as many power skips lunges as possible during the next 30-secs, and then (3) do the same with the other leg. Rep count: 50 (right leg) + 48 (left leg). Results: lots of leg burn. Fit Week Challenge: This week I'm going to be doing AXFit's Plank Drill Challenge---I blogged about it earlier today)---and it felt quite challenging at the end of routine. Especially those 30 pushups. I did them in sets of 10, momentarily stopping for a breather count of 10 in between sets. Wide Pushups were my choice of pushups. If anyone feels like joining the Fit Week challenge for this week, let me know so I can follow back!

[1livelovelaugh1-blog]

if you want join me!!I start tomorrow :)this is gonna be a had-core week:P

[benchpressabear]

Workout of the Day

Warm Up: AXFit Fit City Workout 5 | Legs (6 min) Fit Test, Week 2: 1-min Pushups

Tabata: Push Press (4 min, alternating arm per round) FOUR-ROUND CIRCUIT 1-min of work/15-secs of rest for each move

Frog Jumps Jump Shot & Squat Reverse Lunges

1 set of 20 Weighted Jackknives (alternating sides for 10 reps each)

POP Pilates: Amazing Upper Back & Leg Stretches (11 min) WORKOUT BREAKDOWN  I just killed my quads. On purpose.  Equipment

10-lb kettlebell: Push Press + Jump Shot & Squat 5-lb dumbbell: Weighted Jackknives

I started with AXFit's ass kicking Fit-City Workout for Legs. I use it as a warm up because it's short and to the point, but I'm pretty sure it made me sore the first time I tried it (darned Wall Sits!). So, let's call it a VERY INTENSE "warm up", OK? (In fact, I think I handled the Wall Sits intervals way better than before, even though they still burned like hell.) Through that routine, I did 41 squats: 12 regular stance, 12 wide stance, 12 narrow stance and 5 wall sits. Pushup Fit Test, Week 2: 22 pushups.  I intended to do it before the warm up, but I forgot. Still: a two-rep increase! I really pushed for those 22 reps... *awkward silence*... By that I mean "I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA of how I'm going to increase that number over the next two weeks." So, as you probably can tell by now, Tabata are one of my favorite ways to get my squat reps down. It's fast and intense and efficient and straight-up business. I chose Push Press as my squat variation. I completed 27 reps per arm, for a total of 54 squat reps. After a water break, I ventured into some interval training, performing 3 moves for 1-min and resting for 15 seconds in between them. For the Reverse Lunges, I did 30-seconds per leg. I took 1-min breaks (approx.) in between rounds.

Frog Jumps are a combination of a squat + broad jump. They are quite fun to do. The Squat & Jump Shot were hard as ever. I went for the 10-lb kettlebell this time and boy, did I feel it. By round 4 my jumps were looking pretty miserable, but hey, I made sure those squats looked good. I originally wanted to use weight on the Reverse Lunges but, after seeing how the others two moves felt, I opted not too. I aimed for speed instead.

Frog Jumps: 14+14+14+15 = 57 reps Squat & Jump Shot: 16+17+19+18 = 70 reps Reverse Lunges: 12/12 + 11/12 + 12/11 + 12/12 = 47/47 reps

Squat total for the day: 222. Overall: 905. 95 to go. 

[benchpressabear]

Workout of the Day

Warm Up: AXFit Fit City Workout 5 | Legs (6 min) ZWOW #41 (3 rounds)

10 Burpee to Chair Step Up 10 Row and Twist 10 Prisoner Squat Jump 10/10 Leg Swing Pike Pushup 

Class FitSugar: POP Physique for Legs and Butt (10 min) Challenge Circuit

Blogilates: Drive By Inner Thighs (4 min) 50/50 Side Lying Kickback 50/50 Spider Step to Kickback

POP Pilates: Amazing Upper Back & Leg Stretches (11 min) WORKOUT BREAKDOWN  Equipment 

ZWOW 41, Row and Twist: 15-lbs of free weight

Modifications

Challenge Circuit, Side Lying Kickback: I modified the kickback style. Instead of fully extending the top leg behind me, I kept my leg bent at the knee, pushing my leg UP and BEHIND me, with the bottom of foot reaching toward ceiling. (The "new" kickback looked similar to THIS ...sort of...except I was lying on my side rather than on all fours.) I did this because I really wanted to hit the side butt.

First, awesome warm up sequence by AXFit. It's a short beginners routine, really, but it works great as a warm up. They are in the middle of a project called "Fit LIFE" on which they'll train 5 contestants and document their journeys. Check them out on YouTube. They also have tons of full-length workout videos, some of which I have previously done. The entire routine was crafted to hit booty and legs Zuzana completed ZWOW 41 in 15:35 min, so my goal was to completed under the 20-min mark. It took me 19:42 min to complete all 3 rounds. Gawd, I barely made it. Ha. I made it, though. Those Row and Twist were not easy at all. In fact, between those and the Leg Swing Pike Press, my arms got their fair share of work. The Class FitSugar and the Side Lying Kickbacks really hit my obliques as well. Overall, I think I got more than I initially signed up for. Not that I'm complaining. 30 Burpees down on the Movemeber Challenge, Week 1. 70 to go this week!

[benchpressabear]

Workout of the Day

Warm Up: AXFit's Firm Body Workout (9 min)

Full Body Circuit (4 rounds)

10 Lunge Press to Flyback 10 Decline Pushup to Kicks 10 Cleans 20 Side Plank Crunches

Bonus:  Blogilates: Abs All Night (4 min) + Jump Rope (5-min) POP Pilates: Stretching for Flexibility (10 min) 

WORKOUT BREAKDOWN  Equipment

10-lb dumbbells for Warm Up, Lunge Press to Flyback and Cleans

Monday workout. After a week of intensive moodiness, I figured I ought to. The routine itself targets the whole body, but my arms somehow got the worse part of the deal. Well, not "somehow". I know exactly why. It was because I ad the brilliant idea of using 10-lb dumbbells for the circuit. I think that might have been slightly thoughtless of me....I should have gone lighter on the warm-up at the very least... That is one intense total body warm-up routine. IT WARMED ME UP ALRIGHT. So keep that in mind if any of you guys ever use it.  I kept using the 10s for Lunge Press to Flyback ... which is an INSANE full-body move... and then I scheduled 4 rounds of that thing!?! Geez. I thought I was going to stop on every round after the second one. My arms were burning. I stuck to the plan and competed all 4 rounds...barely... and without dropping the 10-lb dumbbells (because I'm that stubborn!). DEATH. It took me longer than anticipated (around 35 minutes), but my heart rate was going FAST and I felt it everywhere. Modifications

- Decline Pushups to Kicks: I did all 10 reps with one leg and alternated legs per round. To modify, alternate legs on every rep for all rounds.

- Side Plank Crunches: I did all 20 reps on one side and alternated sides per round, 10 reps planking with my arm fully extended (as shown in the link) and 10 reps planking on my forearms. (I like doing planks on my forearms more so than with a full arm extension. With the full arm extension, I usually feel that the emphasis of the moves shifts to my arms and shoulders rather than my core. I rather maximize the feeling in the core.)

[benchpressabear]

Workout of the Day

Today was one of those days when the humidity sucks the life out of me. I kept the workout on the mat (for the most part), focusing on core and upper body.

AXFit: Firm That Body + 25 Half-cobra Push Ups BlogilatesTV: Super Swiss Ball Workout + 25 Diamond Push Ups POP Pilates: Lower Belly Pooch Attack + 25 4-second count Wide Push Ups Interval Circuit (1-min of work/30-sec of rest, 10 min)

Up and Down Plank Shoulder Taps Butt Ups Reverse Plank Hold Flying Locust Spidermans Chatarunga (Low Plank Holds)

+ 25 Tricep (Close Grip) Push Ups

WORKOUT BREAKDOWN

I picked out a few videos and threw in push up variations in between. I did 25 reps per push up variation, doing as much reps as I could on my toes and finishing whatever number of reps I'd left on my knees. The AXFit is a little warm-up video for the upper body and abs. Danielle (the trainer) uses a weight plate in this video. I don't own one, so I settled for a 10-lbs dumbbell. Worked just the same and got my heart rate going a little bit. I continued with some POP Pilates core work and then made up a little circuit of my own. I did each move for 1 straight minute (as many reps as possible), resting for 30 seconds before moving on to the next one.  My arms felt tight by the end of this routine. Burn, baby, burn! 

[benchpressabear]

Workout of the Day

Last week wasn't my best week overall, so I'll be trying to make up for it on this one. I started it off with a new interval circuit (10 rounds) inspired by the moves featured on Women's Health 2009 Ultimate Fitness Workout Plan. This a full body workout. I used the interval format of 1 minute work/10 seconds of rest and did the circuit 4x with 1-2 minute water breaks in between.  Started with AXFit: Dynamic Warm Up (~4 min) Rising Sun Hamstring Curls on Stability Ball Renegade Row Raise-the-Roof Squat (30 seconds per side) Scorpion Cross Body Chop (30 seconds per side) Walking Lunges Swimmers Hindu Push-Ups Seated Tuck  MODIFICATIONS  I used 10-lbs dumbbells for all exercises that required some weight. Since I don't own a Body Bar nor a Medicine Ball, I held a 10-lbs dumbbell on the nape of my neck for the Rising Sun (aka Good Mornings) and in my hands for the Cross Body Chop. I did use the Stability Ball for the Hammy Curls and the resistance tube for the Swimmers. I modified the Scorpion move. Instead of extending my arms to the sides as the circuit originally calls, I did the move holding plank position. Like Blogilates' Cobra Toe Taps. I'm really liking the Swimmers. It's a full body movement in a one quite smooth movement... once you get the form down, of course. The Hamstring Curls in the Stability will live on as my favorite, though. Uff, talk about instant burn/challenge. CARDIO BURST The Ultimate Fitness Plan calls for an cardio interval at the end (just like I like it, anyway), so I went with  insanehomefatloss' (Mike Chang's new channel) Explosive 9 min Home Workout. It is a high intensity interval circuit using the 30s work/15s of rest interval format.

Push-ups w/ Leg Raise + Air Jacks for 4 rounds REST and HYDRATE Body-weight Squats + Tuck Jumps for another 4 rounds

I counted the reps I got in on each round for future reference. If you go as hard a you can for those 30 seconds of work on each round, one should feel pretty dead (as if you weren't feeling quite dead already) by the end of the 9 minutes. Modifications: I only did the leg raises (for the push-ups) in the first round. Then just forgot about it. Also, I did my squats Prisoner-styled. I collapsed on my yoga mat for a moment and then, after I regained my consciousness, tried something I plan on doing for at least the next two weeks. On THIS VIDEO, Sarah said that "if you do planks everyday for a minute each and do that 3x, you'll noticeably see that your stomach is flatter in 2 weeks." I'm curious, so I'm doing that. I set up my timer for 1 min/20 sec intervals and planked my way out of today's workout.