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We aim to inspire and educate our community through the promotion of fitness, proper nutrition, optimal fertility, and healthy pregnancy...
Recently, we came across a really intriguing workout program, called the 10,000 swing kettlebell workout (http://www.t-nation.com/workouts/10000-swing-kettlebell-workout). It was featured on the Strongfirst website and seemed like it would be challenging and effective.
One line at the outset of the article really caught our eye, "Every person who has completed this 20 workout plan has increased lean muscle mass while dropping body fat." The thing that solidified our decision to try it was seeing that the author was Dan John. He's a bit of a legend in the strength and conditioning world. We figured, what did we have to lose if we tried it out for a month? It seemed that we had a lot to potentially gain...
For our third Caribbean Workout, we decided to change things up a bit and try a Tabata Workout. Tabata is a very efficient, yet challenging way to workout. After this quick workout, we headed back out into the sun...
Here is the second of our travel workouts we did in the Turks & Caicos. Again, we used a time-based workout, completing each exercise for 5 minutes, with 2 minutes rest between each exercise.
While we were away in Turks & Caicos, we made sure to fit in a few workouts. While there was not a huge selection of equipment in our resort's gym, we were easily able to put together some full body workouts using dumbbells and a cable machine. All of our workouts were full body and time-based, so we could get them done and head back out into the sun!
The other day we came across this great fitness challenge on the Men's Health website called "The Insane Burpee Challenge". Knowing how tough burpees can be, we were intrigued to try it out...
This fitness challenge is great if you only have 15 minutes to exercise, or alternatively as a finisher to your workout. No equipment is required, so you can basically do it anywhere (i.e. try it when you are travelling).
For this workout, set your timer to 45 seconds of work, followed by 30 seconds of rest, for 9 cycles. We used the kettlebell swing timer to keep us on track (you can download this for free on iTunes). You complete 3 sets each of 3 different burpee variations, for a total of 9 sets. Below is a basic summary of what you do (if you want detailed instructions and a video, check out: http://news.menshealth.com/the-insane-burpee-challenge/2013/01/18/).
The Insane Burpee Challenge
Sumo Burpee - start in standing position, place your hands on the floor (between your knees), kick your legs out to pushup position, jump back to where your hands are between your knees and stand back up
Sumo Burpee with jump - same as 1, but add a jump after each rep
Sumo Burpee with pushup to jump - same as 2, but add a full pushup with each rep
If at anytime you cannot complete the allotted 15 reps in 45 seconds, stay at that level until you can.
This workout includes just over 11 minutes of work and 4 minutes of rest. It goes by very quickly, but is super intense (especially once you reach level 3!). We were gasping for air by the end! Give this insane burpee challenge a try and see how fit you are!
For this workout, we only had about 30 minutes, so chose to do a timed workout to keep us on track.
We chose 7 lower body exercises, with a focus on the kettlebell swing, and completed them circuit style for a specified amount of time. Specifically, we did 40 seconds of work, followed by 20 seconds of rest and then moved onto the next exercise. Each circuit took 7 minutes to complete, followed by 3 minutes of rest. We completed the circuit 3 times in total.
To help with timing, we downloaded a kettlebell swing timer that counts down the time for us. This is helpful, so you're not constantly checking the time, as it beeps with each new cycle. We downloaded this free app from iTunes onto our iPad (check it out at: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/kettlebell-swing-timer-2.0/id421780090?mt=8).
Here is what we did:
Kettlebell swings (heavy - I used 24 kg)
Kettlebell deadlifts (32 kg)
Kettlebell roundabout swings (16 kg) - for these, do one left-handed swing, then a two-hand swing, then a right-handed swing, etc.
Kettlebell goblet squats (12 kg)
Kettlebell swings (lighter weight than that used in exercise 1 - I used 16 kg)
Alternating kettlebell deadlifts (24 kg)
Kettlebell one-hand swings (12 kg)
Video Demonstration - Part I
Video Demonstration - Part II (after a short interruption!)
As you can see, our workouts have become a bit more challenging with little Makoto wanting to get in on the action! If you have a pet around while you're exercising, make sure they are in a safe place (especially if you're swinging kettlebells around). We put him on a leash during our actual workout so he doesn't get hurt!
We completed the circuit 3 times, but if you're really short on time, you can cut down to 2 or even 1 circuit. Even a short workout is better than nothing! Give this workout a try and let us know what you think!
During the past week, we had several evening commitments. Thus we switched to morning workouts. This can be difficult (and a shock to the system), especially when you need to be at work by 7:30am! Even a quick workout, however, is better than nothing. When we are short on time, we try to choose exercises that will recruit the major muscle groups and challenge our cardio too, maximizing the fat-burning benefits!
We chose a simple Tabata-style workout format for efficiency on the days that we had the least time available. As a reminder on Tabatas, each exercise is completed for 4 minutes (20 seconds work, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 8 cycles). After each exercise, you have 2 minutes of rest. We chose three different exercises, to complete this workout in 18 minutes.
As a follow-up to our previous post "Tight on Time" Workout, here is another variation with upper body exercises. This workout is great for those tight on time, as it can take as little as 5 minutes to exercise (and surely everyone has at least 5 minutes to devote to their health each day)!
Are you looking for a quick workout that can be modified depending on how much time you have to exercise that day? Check out our new lower body kettlebell workout...
For this workout, we had the opportunity to workout with Alex's sister, Sarah. We chose a Fight Gone Bad style workout, and created a circuit that would allow for three participants. We found that working out in a small group can be very motivating as you cheer each other on!
The other day we came across an intriguing new kettlebell workout, at http://www.liftkettlebells.com/Workouts/Easy-Kettlebell-Workout.aspx. There are actually two workouts available, with or without music (one is 20 minutes and the other 30 minutes). We tested the 30 minute workout, called the Easy30 Kettlebell workout. With that title, how hard could it be?
To change things up a bit for this workout, we decided to return to an old-favourite workout style: Tabata! For those who are unfamiliar with this workout style, it was originally developed for training Japanese Olympic athletes. Each exercise is completed for 8 blocks of 20 seconds all-out activity, followed by 10 seconds of rest. For a full description, check out our "Workout Styles" tab at: http://couplefit.blogspot.ca/p/workout-styles.html
We were looking for a challenging workout. We wanted something that would be short duration, high intensity and require some real dedication to complete. When we selected our workout, we designed it to include only bodyweight exercises and no special equipment.
We recently received a request from one of our readers to suggest a workout that can be completed every day, in a very short amount of time. Even if you only have 5 minutes to spare, you have no excuse to not exercise today!
Last week we completed back-to-back full-body workouts and found that completing them on consecutive days was quite tiring and did not allow enough time for muscle recovery. This weekend we decided to do things a bit differently. We split the exercises into pulling (i.e. back and hamstrings) on the first day, and pushing (i.e. chest, quads and shoulders) on the second day.
After Tuesday's full-body density workout, we decided to try another one on Wednesday. We did switch up the exercises, to target our muscles differently.
We got home from work and were in a rush to fit in a workout. Due to an evening commitment, we only had 45 minutes available. In these situations, we usually turn to one of our favourite workout styles - density training. It allows us to accomplish a significant amount of high-intensity exercise in a short amount of time, without sacrificing the quality of exercises or the amount of weight lifted.
With a successful strength training + FGB workout for our upper body (see previous post), we were excited to try out this format for a lower body workout. It turned out to be another great workout!
In recent workouts, we have really enjoyed the combination of strength training and conditioning work. Both aspects are uniquely challenging and taxing and support our overall fitness goals. This week, we tried out a new workout format which incorporates both strength training and conditioning, though a mini-Fight Gone Bad (3 FGB 5-minute circuits).
On days when we're in a rush but want to fit in a good workout, we consider our high-intensity time-based workout options (e.g. Tabata, FGB, and density). This time, we chose to do an upper body density workout. This type of workout has several advantages. First, it is completed in 33 minutes - always a plus! Second, it includes 10 different exercises, allowing for a great variety of physical challenges and the ability to customize/adapt it to suit your goals and capacity. These workouts are also a conditioning challenge, as you don't have the luxury of time for much rest (excluding the two-minute rest periods). They also allow you to maintain your strength, as you can stick with heavier weights and just reduce your reps as you cycle between the two different exercises in any set.
