Strength is a choice. I choose to wake-up daily and select Superwoman vibes.
Through a relentless pursuit of self improvement in my refusal to be defined by setbacks, after showing up, putting in the effort after all the sweat and tears. I showed anyone that might be misunderstood for wanting more out of life that yes you can choose to give life everything and in return your wildest dreams are in fact possible and they will come true one by one so long as you promise to never give up on yourself.
Just as you would build a booty with weights, or a home with bricks, I hope you put lots of love into the things you do so you can learn to lead others with positivity and purpose.
Train Hard. Love Hard. Inspire Greatness.
You can have both, build a booty and an empire, no matter where you started.
A Bosu Ball has many more benefits than you may realize.
Increases Flexibility: many exercises on the possible involves stretching which can help improve range of motion and your joints.
Enhances Coordination: the ball forces you to coordinate muscle groups which enhances your neuromuscular coordination.
Improves Balance: your body has to overcompensate to work hard to balance, due to the fact that the Bosu ball has an unstable surface. Consistent use can help improve your overall stability as well.
Get you a Bosu ball, and go to town reaping the health rewards in the process.
My personal favorite way to recharge after strenuous physical activity is to take a stroll with Mother Nature. Take a leisurely walk in nature to help flush out toxins and facilitate muscle recovery.
Stress Reducing Benefits: This helps with overall stress reduction reducing stress and anxiety levels. The fresh air, calming natural environment trigger the release of endorphins, which are the chemicals that promote you to feel good and relaxed.
Mindfulness: going for a peaceful walk, will promote you becoming more mindful, and therefore being present in the moment. This type of relaxation can help reduce tension and muscle fatigue.
Connecting to Mother Nature: this will have an overall positive impact on your sense of well-being. This can lead to enhanced happiness and improved mood.
Parasympathetic Nervous System Activation: taking these walks out and about help your rest and digest system. This system actually helps to counterbalance our nervous system, which is responsible for our fight or flight response throughout engaging in intense exercise. By activating this the body will then go into state of relaxation which is going to help tremendously for muscle recovery.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by going the extra mile in nature.
5 Ways to Grow Your Glutes
1) Bulgarian Split Squats with a Pulse- the continuous tension from the pulse enhances glute activation.
2) Isometric Glute Contractions- you may sit or stand, squeeze hint glutes as hard as you can for about 15 seconds. Repeat these sets throughout the day to enhance muscle activation.
3) Stairmaster or climbing stairs: use this as your cardio instead of running.
4) Single Leg Hip Thrusts: perform single leg hip thrusts with one foot elevated on a step or platform. This variation increases your range of motion and allows you to create a deeper glute activation.
5) Kettlebell Swings: involves a powerful hip hinge movement that is going to effectively target the glutes, hamstrings and your lower back.
With that being said, it’s time to grow.
Mission get happy is in full effect while making healthy living a priority. There’s pretty much never a wrong time to fit in a little extra physical activity. It may be a stretch to do lunges while shopping. However, it’s very common to see people power walking around the mall while browsing storefronts. You might be surprised how many steps you get in while planning out your next outfit. Take your pick and power it out anyway you choose.
Was in the best mood yesterday during a Luau themed party. This was probably partially due to the outdoor workout I had earlier in the hot sun. The endorphins were flowing big time and my mood was elevated to reach higher peaks because of the vitamin C and running sprints combination. Towards the end of the day we even added in extra physical activity by putting a night cap on with some outdoor activities hula hooping. Let the games begin and find new ways to keep fitness fun again.
Doing sprints outside during the summer is a 2 in 1. You get a reviving combination of the vitamin D from the summer sun mixed with releasing of endorphins from doing sprints. Who wants to join in on the summer fun. Let’s get hot sweaty & sexy together. 🔥
Who else gets excited to workout? I do!
If you’re lacking motivation, currently, there are several things you can do to change that in order to turn things around in a healthier way.
You can set new goals, and when you hit them reward yourself with a new gym outfit to help you push yourself even harder next time.
You can train with a workout partner, spouse, friend or family member to help encourage each other to step into a better quality of life.
Setting up a new playlist that will inspire, you will really help you go the extra mile. Believe me my workouts aren’t even the same without my tunes. Even getting a membership for YouTube music or Spotify. Something that takes the ads out while listening to music while you workout will help eliminate distractions, especially when it comes to the abundance of fast food commercials. Eliminating the temptations will help with that too if you find yourself craving those kind of munchies a bunch.
Hope these tips help give you a lil’ extra mojo for the gym.
Strawberry Smoothie for Todays Afternoon Protein Pick Me Up
8 oz coconut milk 🥛
1 serving of your desired protein powder
1/2 cup frozen strawberries 🍓
1 tbsp ground flax & chia seeds
Pour over ice 🧊
Serve & Enjoy!!
Sissy Squat Machines are great for assisting you through this exercise to help keep you balanced. This is a great pick of an exercise when trying to build quad strength while also working on your core simultaneously. As a bonus this exercise will also help you work on your hip flexors. So if you’re anything like me you want to work on keeping those in alignment as much as possible.
When you’re on the go. It’s a smart idea to work with what you’ve had and get a workout in with your suitcase. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
Exercises you can do with a suitcase or backpack when traveling:
1 Squat Press
2 Bent Over Row
3 Front Raises
4 Backpack Push-ups
5 Upright Rows
6 Backpack Squats
7 Step Ups
8 Oblique Twists
9 Lateral Lunge and Curl
10 Single Leg Deadlift
Hope you try and enjoy some of these exercises that you can easily do on the go without having to worry about getting to a gym incase you’re short on time. When in a pinch, make the best with what you have while working towards the goals you want to accomplish.
Dumbbell Glute Bridges for the Win 🏆
Let’s get these glutes round and perky. It’s going to work your hamstrings, lower back and abs. It specifically targets all three glute muscles including the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. The next time you have a lower body workout planned make sure to include this powerful exercise in your regimen. You can thank me later :)
Hope you’re having an incredible weekend! I know I am spending some quality time with friends, eating some good food and making memories. I always usually take one day off of training which was yesterday. So today I’m back at it simply because my body is craving a good sweaty workout.
If you listen to your body it will tell you what it needs. Feeling parched, drink more water. Need a nap, don’t overwork yourself or overstimulate, give your body a cat nap or rest day. Feeling like you want to put your body in overdrive? Push yourself to go ham in your training session today and go until failure on your sets and reps. You’ve got this! 💪🏽
Lunge with Me! We can work on our balance and coordination. It’s one of the best parts to practicing this move more often.
It allows you to strengthen so many muscles in the lower body including your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. You ready to get stronger on leg day then adding lunges to your routine is a big YES from yours truly Gym Goddess.
Happy Lunging 😊
Back attack… who’s with me?
Make sure to feel the mind to muscle connection. Squeeze as you bring your shoulders back, and make sure to keep them tucked in as well. This ISO lateral rowing machine is a great way to safely isolate the muscle groups while allowing you to maximize the weight used while applying a natural lifting motion. The primary muscles worked are your lats known as latissimus dorsi.
Let’s Go 💪🏽 Happy Lifting
🍑 Squats make things hot. When building a beautiful physique it helps to be a little bit basic. Doing a smith machine squat especially with weights is a regular move that’s going to make a not so regular looking 👀 body.
We’re going to raise the bar just as I am pictured here. Since the smith machine is on a fixed bar path, you need to place your feet a little forward in front of your body. To be precise it would be about 3 to 6 inches forward from where they would be in a regular free range barbell squat.
Position yourself correctly, align that spine and neck, don’t look up while lifting. Act as if you’re sitting back into a comfy chair, and squeeze on the way up!
You’ve got this! Let’s shoot for 5 sets of 8-12 reps depending on how heavy you’re going. If you’re using heavier weights then aim for a few less reps, and vice versa.
Let’s take it on down to the ground.
Ready to go all in on your goals? Good because if you don’t use it you lose it. Afterall exercise will give you more energy even in cases when you’re feeling tired. Ever notice how the days you don’t want to workout, when you decide to go anyways to show up for your sweat sesh. You end up feeling like a new person totally refreshed and more amped up afterwards?!
Also fun fact did you know? For every pound of muscle gained the body burns an extra 50 calories per day on average.
The more you know, the more you’ll grow. 💪🏽
Let’s go! Lunge with me.
But first off what is it and why should we do them?
A lunge is a unilateral exercise. This means you are training one side of your body at a time. This is great for collecting any muscle imbalances that you may have between your left and right side. It also challenges your overall stability while improving your core. It is a solid go to move in order to work your major muscle groups in your lower body including your quads, glutes and hamstrings. So let’s get to it.
🎵 How’s that song go? To the window, to the wall… (I’m going to change it up here) … to the leg raises make a body fine. Leggo!
Weighted Standing Side Leg Raises are going to help strengthen the hip abductors, tone the thighs, enhance, balance and coordination. In addition to all of that it will also improve your core stability. Overall these things will help contribute to having better physical performance and overall well being. Try it out, even from the comfort of your own home, just grab a dumbbell or even milk jug and start raising those legs.
Time to get sweaty at the gym, even after this fresh hair blowout. Last time I checked nobody ever regret getting in a good workout.
Tips for having a better more affective workout:
Create a gym playlist that gets you focused and in the zone.
Drink enough water, you don’t want to pull anything simply from being dehydrated.
Put on a cool gym outfit that boosts your confidence naturally and pushes you to lift extra hard getting in that last rep.
Eat within 1-2 hours before the gym so that you have an adequate amount of fuel in you to lift but also enough time to digest it.
Remember to give yourself grace, this is your time to shine, don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s.
Single leg glute kickbacks are a powerful way to achieve that extra bit of glute growth.
How To:
Figure out which leg you want to work first, get into position then grip the handlebars firmly. You’re going to push back and up with your foot on the foot bar and extend your leg upwards. Then lower your leg back down to the starting position. Continue for the desired amount of reps and then switch legs. Another helpful tip is to make sure that you are in control of the momentum on the downward part of the exercise.
Bring it on up buttercups, with the weights that is. One of my favorite things to do when in a pinch for time is to do a quick tri set for a shoulder workout.
This is an example of what I’m doing today and some of my go to’s you can try out.
Dumbbell Upright Rows 4x12
Alternating Dumbbell Front Raises 4x10 (each arm, 20 total)
Alternating 1 Front 1 Lateral Raise (making an L-Shape) 4x10
Try this out next time you’re in a crunch for time and let me know what you think?!
So you want to take things up a notch? Expedite the process with high intensity interval training. Choose one from below and let’s go.
Circuit training- is a design that includes a series of different exercises targeting different muscle groups. Each one you complete for a certain period of time with minimal rests inbetween.
Tabata training- is a high intensity interval training workout which involves 20 seconds of pushing your max effort then immediately after followed by 10 seconds of rest.
Treadmill sprints- these were one of my favorites and I highly recommend if your goal is to lean out. Switching it up between short quick bursts of sprints followed by walking really gets your metabolism revved up. Repeat this cycle for about 10 times or 10 minutes with each sprint being about 30 seconds to a minute each.
Your body will thank you later for completing these high charged and effective workouts. Get ready to run it up!
It’s my birthday 🥳 another year around the sun, and I couldn’t feel more blessed to spend this day with the best friends anyone could ask for.
As I blow out the candles reflecting on another year, I reflect upon the never ending journey of personal development continuing to evolve into the woman I am today. This past year, through the ups and downs, the power of growth and health and fitness has transformed not only my body but also my mind and spirit. I hope you are able to do the same as it’s a very fulfilling feeling. Time to raise a toast to an even better chapter that’s about to unfold, unveiling the best version of myself yet. 🥂
All smiles as tomorrow is my birthday. 🎉 I’m about to finish my last workout at this age. It’s time to age like fine wine. Where are all my July Cancer birthday babes at?
Time to crush this gym sesh… are you feeling my excitement?! I hope so. Cheers to the health and happiness that we receive from our boost of endorphins and pep in our step from living an active lifestyle. Hope you go as hard in your workout as I’m about to. :)
Let’s get down to business with some fitness poolside. One of my faves is grabbing a mat, pair of dumbbells, a water, some music and getting straight to it. Even though this weekend I was focused more on productivity I fit in about a 30 minute sweat sesh. It truly felt so much longer with the intensity of the heat and some of these more challenging moves such as this one.
Remember to keep your head in line with your spine, as well as a neutral back. Keep your elbow in tight as you glide it on up towards your side. You can move the weight over as I did here to make it more of a compound movement. You can knock out training some abs as well as arms with this power move. The renegade row plus dumbbell ab glide is a gem, try it out with me.
For the love of compound exercises. You become stronger together for a better you. It’s like a two in one. It gets your metabolism, fired up faster and get your results quicker than just doing basic movements. Although basic moves are good, I do find that compound movements are more effective overall in a shorter time span.
Get ready to drop it down low to the floor.
Squats make a booty hot 🥵 not to mention especially in super high heat. It’s like working out in a sauna, taking it up several notches to increase the intensity level. You can also add a resistance band to make it more challenging as seen here. If you have a lighter weight like I do, try completing a higher rate range going until failure which means until you can’t complete anymore. If you happen to have a heavier dumbbell or kettlebell around try aiming for a lower rep range. Ready, set, squat it out!
Had to fit my fitness in this morning before todays photoshoot, did you? It’s essential to get in at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity daily to keep you primed to function at your very best. I want the best for you, so get to it, let’s do this. 💪🏽😊
Knowledge is potential power. So use it or lose it. There is so much to learn when it comes to health and fitness, but to be honest most of it boils down to the basics.
1) Don’t over complicate your workouts. However, switch them out in order to prevent plateaus.
2) Practice progressive overload so you can continuously challenge your muscles to grow.
3) Watch your form to prevent injuries, and don’t worry about overtraining. A solid workout can be done in just 30 minutes to an hour and a half, anything more than that is unnecessary.
4) Read food labels to watch which ingredients you’re putting into your body which is far more important than most people realize. We literally are what we eat, as it nourishes and shapes the cells in our body.
5) Hydration is so key!! Make sure you’re drinking enough water.
Hope these tips helped you place more importance and fine tune your fitness routine for the future. Have a great day! 💪🏽
