Fitness

1 Year Later! (Workout Included.)

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Happy birthday to youuu, happy birthday to youuu, happy birthday dear blog-that-I-love-so-much-and-simply-couldn’t-live-without, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU!

GUYS. Can you believe it’s been a whole year already?! Where has the time gone? Chinups & Cupcakes is officially 1 year old! It all began on Valentine’s day of 2015. My then boyfriend > now fiance 🙂 built it for me after listening to me blab on and on for months as to how cool it would be. If you’ve been with me the entire year, I want you to know how thankful I am to you. Without readers I would just be talking to myself (which I do all the time anyway) but knowing that you guys have stuck with me makes me feel a little less crazy. Let me share some stats with you… this is crazy: We’ve had readers from a total of 27 different countries (including freaking Tanzania) and we’re just shy of 20,700 post views (that’s A LOT of reading). The most shared post was this one with 112! The highest viewed post was this one with 2147! In the first year, I was able to publish 37 posts. My goals for the next year… I want to reach further (40 countries total) I want to reach 50,000 post views and I want to publish another 50 posts. It’s been an incredible year, and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds.

Since this is a “fitness” blog, after all, I’ll keep my promise and share one of my new workouts with you guys. I told you last week that I switched up my schedule and workouts so that I’d sweat more and get more out of it. When you have a short amount of time, you want to get in as much as possible. With that being said, I’ve become a huge fan of active rests. Active rests are the periods between strength training sets where instead of doing a set on the leg press and then just waiting for the next set, you’d get up and do something! Keep that heart rate up! (Do you guys have a FitBit? I do! Try to hit your target heart rate during your active rests. Don’t know what your target heart rate is? Just subtract your age from 220!) I never have a moment where I’m just idle while I’m working out anymore and I couldn’t be happier! Here’s Tuesday’s workout…


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Warm up: 5 minutes on cardio equipment of your choice

Note: When you’re doing cardio, instead of a steady pace, try interval training. Not a fan of running? You don’t have to. Upping that incline or resistance will do the job of getting your heart rate up.

Example: 1 minute at a moderate pace, 30 seconds at a quick pace, 1 minute at a moderate pace, 30 more seconds at a quick pace, finish with 1 more minute at a moderate pace, 30 more seconds of sprints and then 30 seconds at a slower pace.

Stretch! It’s leg day so be sure to stretch out those hamstrings, quads, calves, hips and glutes! (Perhaps I’ll demonstrate in a future post, yes?)

STRENGTH TRAINING WITH FUNCTIONAL ACTIVE RESTS:

Back Squats- light warm up, followed by 4 sets of 8 reps (70% of 1RM)

*If 225# is your 1 rep max, 155# would be 70%

Active Rest: Weighted High Knee: Holding a medicine ball in both hands out straight, bring one knee up at a time to the ball. Alternate knees. Perform for 30 seconds in between each Squat set.

Leg Curl- 3 sets of 12/10/8 reps (The first is the lightest with 12 reps, heavier at 10 reps and heaviest at 8 reps.)

Active Rest: Smash ball: Raise the smash ball up over your head and slam it down to the ground as hard as you can. Perform for 30 seconds in between each leg curl set.

Leg Extension- 3 sets of 12/10/8 reps (The first is the lightest with 12 reps, heavier at 10 reps and heaviest at 8 reps.)

Active Rest: Kettlebell Deadlift to High Pull: Grab a Kettlebell that is moderately heavy. Start with it down on the floor. Maintaining a straight back pull up until you’re standing up straight. Once you’re standing immediately pull the Kettlebell up towards your chin until your forearms are level with your shoulders. Lower back down to the floor and repeat. Perform for 30 seconds in between each leg extension set.

Glute Press- Per Leg: 3 sets of 12/10/8 reps (The first is the lightest with 12 reps, heavier at 10 reps and heaviest at 8 reps.)

Active Rest: In and outs: Pretend that you’re standing in a doorway. Step both feet in and then both feet out (repeating “in, in, out, out” will help you keep pace.) Repeat for 30 seconds in between Glute Press sets (After both legs have performed glute press).

(Hanging) Calf Raise- 3 sets of 20 (body weight) Perform on a step. Let heel hang over edge (dorsiflexion) and go to your toes (plantarflexion).

Active Rest: Kettlebell Swings: Grab a moderately heavy kettlebell. Sink into the squat position with the kettlebell resting between your legs on the floor. As you stand up, swing the kettlebell out, straightening your arms as they come out and up to shoulder level. Control it as it comes back down. Sink back into starting position. Perform for 30 seconds in between Calf raises.

TRX Squat with Burnout- 3 sets of 15 squats immediately followed by a 15 second burnout. (If you don’t have access to a TRX you can do this with just bodyweight.) Grab TRX and perform 15 normal squats. Immediately sink back into squat position and pulse up and down within 3-5 inches. Don’t come all the way up. Pulse for 15 seconds. Stand up, shake it out for 20 seconds and repeat. You’ll DEFINTELY feel the burn.


That’s what I did on Tuesday. Needless to say, my legs feel quite tired today 🙂 Job well done, I suppose! If you try it out let me know. You don’t even have to do the same exercise… just attempt the active rests next time you’re strength training! You’ll love it! Not to mention you’ll feel like you exerted yourself and got more out of your workout. What’s your favorite active rest?

Again, thanks for reading. I love my blog, and I love that so many of you do too! Stick with me guys, I’ve got a lot in mind for the next year. If you’ve never visited Chinups & Cupcakes before, or if you’re a returning visitor, please subscribe! You’ll get a heads up every time a post is published (which is like once a week, so you don’t get pummeled…). Also, if you could use those handy sharing buttons up at the top there (Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) it would be greatly appreciated! Help me grow this thing!

Until next time…

birthday

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I'm an NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist. I worked in a gym setting back in Florida for over 2 years, training one-on-one clients and leading group fitness classes. I absolutely loved it, but once we moved across the country to Colorado, I decided to take the opportunity to pursue a slightly different career! My obsession with exercise and love for writing collided, which is how I became a fitness lifestyle writer.

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