BRACE YOURSELVES; SUMMER IS COMING!

Hello! Today I come with a quite hard session, but the results are amazing (at least for me :D). Mostly it is a leg work out, but not forgetting other parts of the body too. For this work out you might need a Kettlebell and something not higher than 15 cm to jump over.
Each set lasts 10 minutes, and the breaks you take in between should not be longer than five.
Here we go:

1 set

-Kettlebell double arm swing 20 x

-Side jumps 10x

-10 cross sit ups

2 Set

-one arm kettlebell squat 4x side

-Front jumps 20x

3 set

-4 push ups

-10 mountain climbers  (if possible, holding low push up pos)

-Side jumps 10x

4 set

- 20 Kettlebell sit ups

- side sit ups, 20 per side

Dance Dance Dance!!!

Hiiii!

Just to let you know, yesterday was the national "Sports day of your dreams"-day in Finland. It was  a new nation wide cmpaign to get people to move more and try new things with discounts to gyms and other sports. I measured my body composition in one of the gyms. Huiiii :D My body-mas index is normal (23 normal lying anywhere between 19-25)! So yeeyy :) But hehe, could still lose some kilos... Or gain some if those would be muscle! (I guess you already knew that muscle weights double the mass of fat?) 

Anyway, if there was any extra in my hips, I hope those were burnt in the dance lesson that we tried with my friend :D Hihi, we started with lady Marmelade. It is great to see when people really fel the music and express themselves and let them free^^ Respect! Dacing is also super awesome sport, burning almost as much calories as running, if you really dance "hard". I would also like to point out, that I have burnt 1000-2000 calories when clubbing, if I have been constantly dancing for several hours (which happens quite easily...) So, partying and especially dancing are good for the soul and body :)

Burn baby burn

 And for those moments when you feel like dancing, but there are no dance lessons offered next to you:

There are some really nice Youtube dance-lessons! 

One of my favorites is Keaira LaShae :) Try this out and see it yourself! 11 min, yeah yeah^^

Best,
Sara

Heyyya!!

It has been a long time since the last entry, therefore I bring you a quite hard session :D
Todays workout will be a cardio session in 3 sets. Due the weather became very good here (25°C) I made a plan that can be done outside. The only thing you will need is a bench for dips and a jumping rope.
Every movement should be done for 1 minute, with a little rest between every set.

SET 1

Jump Rope - 1 min
High Knees - 1 min
Butt Kicks - 1 min
Jumping Jacks - 1 min
Burpees - 20 reps

Run 10 minutes


SET 2

Jump Rope - 1 min
High Knees - 1 min
Butt Kicks - 1 min
Jumping Jacks - 1 min
Push ups - 10 reps
Triceps Dips - 10 reps

Run 10 minutes


SET 3

Jump Rope - 1 min
High Knees - 1 min
Butt Kicks - 1 min
Jumping Jacks - 1 min Mountain Climbers - 1 min
Burpees - 20 reps

Run 10 minutes


Sooo give your best, and stay strong!!!!

Regards,

R

Getting ready for the summer season- Better gym plan + beach volley inspired warm-up routine

Time went so fast! We had a two week membership to Holmes Places. This time was well spent, while we visited the gym about 5-6 per each week! We also took our gym training to next level, and started to try out new program to build more muscle. *Specially for Robert* Now we can show you how we modified the plan to suit us both. The idea was to increase the amount of weights and decrease repetitions, to improve the maximum power. It is also beneficial for the runners, just to let you know!
We used the app called Loox, to have a proper workout plan with videos. It is in German, but the videos are great. You may find it here:Loox

 
Since we are also starting to play beach volley, we took some exercises from here: which we (I, and sometimes Robert) included to the workout plan. For example, we did a warm up with the agility ladders and other slalom jumps. When we did arms, it was easy to combine jumps in between, since while the hands  were resting, we could use the time to improve the jumps (and still have enough time to rest!)

Beach Volley  training plan:



Including the jumps increases explosive power and coordination and burns calories as well! ​
For example we  made a warm up combining
3x 30s slalom jumps

10 x different kinds of in and out jumps (left side first, right side, with only one leg, etc)

And 3 x10 tuck jumps

Let the summer come and games start :D

Best,

Sara

Breaking the routine

Hi :)

Back to Berlin! :)

Little check up for what we have been up to!

We got a 2 weeks test membership to Holmes place! Wow, I must say, love it :) Because: They have a big nice pool, big modern gym, several saunas and variety of different lessons.
For example, we have tried:
Abs express,
Body Pump
Swimming training,
Capoeira
and going to try: Balletand hatha yoga :)

Holmes Place

But we  were not lazy in Finland either :D Sometimes it is so releaving to break the routine and just go and try out new things. You learn new skills and hehe.. find muscle pain in suprising places :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were fencing in Finland

10 reasons to add plyometrics in your workout and a sample leg-day workout

Robert came to visit me in Finland <3 First thing we did, was to visit the gym. Ah, so romantic... hehe :D So today, we had anti-chicken-leg workout! Today, we incorporated plyometrics to our workout, because we want to not only stronger, but also faster and jump higher. Summer is coming and so is the beach volley season! Plyometrics will bring incorporate features common from HIIT-trainings to your normal workout. 

Plyometrics: "One of the most effective ways to increase power. Unlike typical strength training exercises that involve long, slow movements designed to increase muscular strength and mass, plyometric training consists of quick, explosive movements designed to increase speed and power. This can be achieved through performing multiple exercises that focus on training our bodies and brains to activate more muscle fibers." (Box life magazine)

10 reasons why to do plyometric training

1. It burns more calories (650 kcal per hour)
2. It it a good stimuli for the muscles -you will get faster legs (good for running, basketball and volleyball etc.)
3. It is more exciting than normal training :D
4. Good training for your heart, you will improve the blood circulation
5. You will more burn more calories afterwards
6. You are training the explosiveness of your nerves/muscles,
7. You are not totally dead afterwards, because you are training the maximal speed and not the maximum strength. You will feel the burn the following day.
8. Plyometrics help to build muscle:

"The body’s muscular system is made up of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. The fast-twitch fibers are our largest, strongest fibers in our body. They are trained through heavy lifting, anaerobic efforts, and explosive movements. This is contrary to their slow-twitch counterparts, which are typically geared towards endurance, and aren’t as high in absolute strength." (Men's fitness) 

9.You can substitute some of your cardio training with plyo-training
10. Plyotraining is very versatile, the amount of different jump training compilations is almost endless

You can do normal 3 sets of 8-10, but we also wanted to challenge our squat routine with the pyramid sets!

1. Squats


Pyramid sets

12 repetitions -(rest and add some weight)
10 repetitions (rest and add more weight)
8 repetitions  (rest and take some weights away)
10 repetitions -(rest and decrease the amount of weights)
15 repetitions

Don't load too much weights to the last sets, since the aim is to do the movements as fast as possible correctly.

2. Plyometrics: Box jumps

3-4x 10 jumps

Me doing box jumps

3. Leg press
3x10 reps
Do the sets fast and remeber to rest in between.


3. Burpee and high pull
3 x 10

Me doing burpee and high pull

4. Leg curl
3x10 (you can do normal sets or plyo sets)


5. Leg extension
3x10 (you can do normal sets or plyo sets)

6. Last 3 minute grande finale
Do a final set of  30 seconds of jump lunges and 30 seconds of push ups for 3 rounds

30s Jump lunge -no changing time- 30s Push ups
x Repeat 3 times!

Boost your cardio workout with this 30 min leg workout

Hi,

I guess this goes for all the ladies who love to go to lessons in the fittness centers. Yes, so do I! So I guess you might have been dancing, doing aerobic or bodycombat before. With this extra 30 minutes, you can easily get the full benefit out of the visit to gym. :) A little extra will take so much faster to the summer body :)


I did it after bodycombat, so I was a bt out of breath afterwards. There is no harm to do heavy whole body movements, like deadlifts, I usually incorporate those movements to all the workout. But with this workout, I played safe, because I di not want to risk to be injured because of bad form. Usually the more tired the body is, the less power it has to maintain the correct technique. This workout will keep your body burning the calories while increasing power :) Do not let super long breaks, about 30-45 seconds between sets.

1. Warm up: Cardio of your choice (for me 50 min of bodycombat)

12x3 leg press. If you can, increase weights with every round!



2. 3x12 leg extensions

Now you can do the following two movements either as separate movements, or continue to the movement 4. directly after movement 3 without a break and then combine the two.  In this way, you make it extra hard for you! So: first 12 back extensions. then directly 15 kettlebells swings, then a small break and repeat his cycle three times :)

3. Back extension 12x3



4. Kettlebell swing 15 x 3


5. Lunges on the stepper
    1. first round, do 10 per side with light weights
    2. Repeat again 10 per side, but now raise your knee when you are standing on the stepper
    3. Repeat again 10 per side, but now do it with a jump!
    4. Do still 15 small pulses per side, without a step





6. 12 x3 sumo squats (with a heavy dumbbell, kettlebell or bar on your shoulders)


Yees!!! :D I counted that this workout only burned more than 400 kcals, without any cardio included, which is quite good for a gym workout :)

And then to relax in the sauna <3 well deserved!


By,
Sara