Neuromuscular stretching and Kettlebell interval fun

I completed a great course through NASM (my personal training certifying organization) on Neuromuscular stretching. It's a great course to show ways of assisted stretching for clients who wish to improve their flexibility. I am excited to begin implementing some of what I learned with my clients. 

Georgia has been sleeping the days away after our walks and hikes this week. But he's so cute!!

My husband and I went to work out this evening and I wanted to do some cardio intervals. This was a great routine!!! 586 calories shredded!! 

Butt burner

Friday's are Kettlebell class days in the morning but I also get to teach two stretch classes.  D wanted to go to the gym after work so I decided to join him. I warmed up on the rower and then completed three sets of 10-12 of the following:

I finished up on the treadmill while the husband finished his workout. I can already feel the burn!! 

30+ Cardio intervals

I was tied up working on stuff today during the daylight hours and I hate running on treadmills so to mix up my cross training a bit I did a great interval workout this evening. Even though I taught kettlebells this morning I wanted to do some cardio cross training to supplement my half marathon training. 

For this workout, I set up all of my stations so I could move quickly from one to the next. 

For the first part, I did 45 sec of Kettlebell swings, 15 sec off, 5 times in a row (five minutes), then did the rower (or jump rope or stairs or whatever) same thing, 45 on, 15 off, 5x. Repeated for battle ropes and mountain climbers. 

I took a quick 30 sec water break then the next three rounds are going from one station to the next in each round. So 45 sec Kettlebell swings, 45 sec rower, 45 sec ropes, 45 sec mountain climbers. Repeat 3x. 

32 minutes of awesome. 

Here's my Vivofit data for this evening's workout: 

Average heart rate: 157

Maximum heart rate:178

Calorie burn: 425

Weekend long run magic

Anyone have a long run this weekend? How far? Do you have a favorite course to do? Do you take a buddy with you? 

My long run is tomorrow and hopefully my running buddy can come too if our schedules mesh. It's going to be hilly so it's always nice having company and accountability. 

I try to pump myself up for cold weather runs with "this half marathon isn't going to train for itself" and "you're building mental toughness" mantras. 

Dress warm and hydrate!!

Chilly Morning Kettlebells!

Holy chilly mornings!!! I don't know about you but it's fairly unmotivating to get out of bed when it's so cold! But do it. Here's a great Kettlebell workout to give you a reason!! 

If you have any questions on the exercises just let me know! I am happy to show you or explain them whether you are local or far away!! 

What gets you out of bed in the mornings? Kids? Workouts? Coffee? Let me know!! 

Welcome!

It's January. In a gym. And you know what that means. Tons of new people in the gym who have no clue where things are or what they are doing. I see the Facebook posts and the eye rolls from the "regulars" all the time. And you know what? It's stupid. Stop it. You were new once too. 

What if we took a second to appreciate that these new members are here to take a positive step towards improving their lives. It takes a lot of courage to come into this environment. So the next time you see someone wandering around or standing in your way, try SMILING at them and seeing if you can help (or get a staff member to assist). Help them set up their equipment for a class or show them where to toss their towel. Try saying "hi". 

Spread some love yall.