8 Week Transformation

Tomorrow starts my '8 Week Transformation' through Ryan Spiteri. Tomorrow I begin a rigorous training and meal plan. I'm going from working out before food, having a protein shake for brunch, and a large meal for dinner, which was almost always accompanied by alcohol. My dinner wasn't always healthy, either. Eating out quite often just because I was too lazy after work. What am I doing now? Eating before AND after gym sesh. Eating a morning snack. Lunch. An afternoon snack and dinner! This doesn't include alcohol (which I'm kind of excited about, to be honest.) 
My training plan will be updated in one month based on my results.
What are my first impressions? 
There's quite a bit of smith machine exercises in my plan, which honestly seems weird to me, mostly because your squatting form isn't going to be entirely correct. However, from what I've heard/read, it's a great way to add more weight which will help you build muscle.
There is also a lot of exercises that used to refer to as "stupid girl exercises" (mostly exercises that focus solely on the glutes I.e. Cable glute kickbacks). They've always come across as pointless exercises that only work the booty, which is what girls tend to focus on. Maybe I'll learn to like them, and appreciate their use. Who knows?
What are my hopes for this program?
I honestly signed up for a body coach because I had been considering it for a long time, but I figured it would be great for me to get the experience and knowledge since personal training and body coaching is something I would love to do. Fitness is my passion and I would love to help motivate others, and help them live better lives. I also want this blog to hold me accountable. I figure the more people who know I am taking on challenge, the more likely I am to actually follow through with it until the end.

It'll be nice to see a Transformation, gain the knowledge and experience and challenge myself. Here's to an exciting, but scary, 8 weeks!

Burpees! Burpees! Burpees!

I love burpees. It's a full body workout! With cardio! Although many people hate them, I can never get enough. They are challenging  but well worth it. They actually burn more calories than you would think! In case you don't know what they are...

• Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you 
• Kick your feet back to a pushup position (...and do a push up)
• Immediately return your feet to the squat position
• Leap up as high as possible from the squat position 
• Repeat, moving as fast as possible

They sound much easier than they are! As if burpees weren't challenging enough, you can spice things up a bit by adding some variation which can make them much harder. Some examples include...

• Do 10 mountain climbers while in a push up position
• Do one push up, lift your right arm and left leg of the ground and hold for 5 seconds. Do another pushup then repeat with the other side
• Do a jack push up or clap push up instead of a normal pushup (or some other push up variation!)
• Add 5 high power jumps instead of just the single jump up 
• Single leg while in pushup position
• single arm while in pushup position

My goal for the end of the summer is to be able to do 100 burpees a day! How many can you do?

Give it a try!


...Remember, make it fun! Listen to some rockin' music and just think of how good you'll look in your rockin' beach bod! :) 

xoxoashleyanne

Make these few changes to your workout routine and step up the intensity!

http://fitbie.msn.com/slideshow/weight-lifting-exercises-build-muscle-fast

^^This link above has absolutely been my lifesaver. Some of the exercises have been harder than I'd like to admit but they really do work! Give it a try! How many of the exercises do you currently do? How many of them will you add to your current fitness routine?


xoxoashley






borrowed from fitbie.msn.com