Circuits

I have recently been asked what type of Circuits I do. Here are a couple of the ones I do and love. There are days that I switch out Elliptical for Treadmill. You could easily run in place or do anything cardio in it's place. The goal is to get your heart rate up. You could also modify the workout to do at home w/o gym equipment. 

#1 Circuit est. 35-40 minutes total time.

Total Body

Crunches on stability ball

Step up's with weights

push-ups on stability ball

10 mins Elliptical warm up

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball
3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball
3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

15 step up's with weights
1 min crunches on yoga stability ball
15 push-ups on yoga stability ball

10 mins Elliptical cool down

#2 Circuit est 40-45 minutes total time. 

Lower Body Focus

10 mins Elliptical warm up

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

30 lungs with 8 lb medicine ball twist

2 mins step up's w/o weights

15 reps leg press

10 mins Elliptical cool down

#3 Circuit est 35-40 minutes total time

Upper Body Focus

10 mins Elliptical warm up

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

3 mins Elliptical level 5 or higher

1 min crunches on yoga stability ball

15 reps lat pulldown machine

15 reps dumbbell bicep curls

10 mins Elliptical cool down

**Most days I add a little extra floor stuff before my cool down. I do leg lifts with a 15 lb weighted bar on my leg. I do bicycle crunches. I do planks. I do about 15 minutes worth. I have shin splints now so I add stretching at the end now with a foam roller.

Eye of the Tiger

It's Tuesday... There is nothing fun or exciting about Tuesday's. The are actually pretty boring. I decided today to blog about what's all going on in my life this week.. Let's start off with things that directly affect me and my weight... I have two weight lose contest coming to an end this week. We have Biggest Loser with my Aarons co-workers. I am currently down 1.16 % so that means I need to drop 2 pounds plus whatever that woman loses this week. I am shooting for a 3 pound lose. Currently I am down 1 and only have until Friday AM. The second contest is the DietBet I am doing. For this one I needed to lose 4% of my weight in 28 days. I need to weigh in on Monday and as of today I am good/if I can keep this lose off until weigh in. I feel like Rocky. I need to be running up and down some stairs singing Eye of the Tiger.. Okay for those of you who have never seen Rocky or do not know the song; here are the lyrics.

Risin' up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance

Now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast

You trade your passion for glory

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past

You must fight just to keep them alive

[Chorus]

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Risin' up to the challenge

Of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the

Eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat

Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry

They stack the odds 

Still we take to the street

For the kill with the skill to survive

[Chorus]

Risin' up straight to the top

Had the guts, got the glory

Went the distance 

Now I'm not gonna stop

Just a man and his will to survive

[Chorus]

The eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger 

The eye of the tiger 

The eye of the tiger

To top of my Rocky impression I decided to add some additional cardio to my workout. I picked up an old DVD my little sister lent me and thought I would give it a shot; Jillian Michaels Kickboxing Fastfix. It was wonderful! Some of the moves were on the tricky side but felt good during and after.