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

Heyyyy!!!

Long time no see, I know... This last month was a bit hard: first, i got a broken rib, and I had exams in university and had to spend most of the time studying. Therefore now I think the time has come for a short backflash for the last months.

For the last 60 days, i have been doing sports almost every day. Combined with my food diet (never stop eating) I have now gained about 7 (!!!!!) Kilos. At the beginning I thought that I would maybe gain 1 or 2 Kg, therefore I was even more flashed when I saw my new weight!!!

The really hard thing for me was the food diet, due at every meal I ate the double amount of what I would have normally eaten. If you are not used to it, it can become really hard :D
I also had always some fingerfood with me, like nuts or raisins, for every moment that I was free...
For everyone who is in the same position as me I have to say: do it, even if its hard, and you will not regret it!

For our training plan I have to say that I loved it, never got boring, having always new challenges to do (weighht, running, bit of yoga, fightsport, condition, ... )

Now my rib is already getting better, I had to stop going to Krav Maga (it happened there XD), and had to be really carefull with every movement I did. Now I made a short training session, to get again used to our training plans.

We have a latter system for the sets, so we start with 15, then 20, and then 25 reps. Feel free to do even more ;)

Set 1

-Squats (preferable with extra kilos)
-Bicicle Sit-ups


Set 2

- Push ups

- Lateral leg raises

Set 3

- Russian rowing

- Sumo squats

Set 4

- Wall sit (1 - 1,5 - 2 minutes)

- Plank (1 - 1,5 - 2 minutes)

Have fun and regards,

R

Choosing Your Gym + Full-Body Workout in the Gym

Hi!

Today is an interesting day, since we go to the gym first time together! We are going to the test a new gym, in order to check if it would be beneficial to take a monthly card there. I love it, that usually you can test the gyms before, sometimes even a few times, before you have to decide. Since, if you are going to invest your tiem and money for going to gym, better make it worth the value.


Most of the times, the gyms would like you to commit for a long time. this would mean a yearly contract or even 2-year contract. It is a very good decision adn commitment, if you will make it, but it is also decision that should be seen as an investment. So, when you are thinking seriously about a gym with a nice smiling trainer who has just offered you a nice cup of coffee and maybe even 2 personal trainer visits vwith the contact, keep in mind the facts:

• Distance from home/work
• Athmospehere
• People
• Price
• Any friends there?
• Equipment
• Space
• Any lessons offered (les mills)
• Changing rooms
• Music
• How to get there (parking lot, easy acces with public transport)

Or even if you need a gym, maybe you would prefer crossfit or working out at home?

If you are choosing a gym, remember, that if it is a new place, it will take some time to form a habit of going there regularly. Therefore, the closer to you it is, the easier it is to go there. If you have already friends there, they might motivate you to go there too. You need to also know, what you really value, the lessons together with a trainer or a big gym area. Of course, the whole athmosphere affects your decision. I think price should be compared to the quality offered and therefore it is relative.

You can test your gym for example with this simple but effective workout.

The Full-Body Workout that we did with a classic movements for all the major muscles:

1. 10x 3 Squats
2. 10x3 Deadlifts
3 .3x10 Bench Press
4. 3x15 dips
5. 3x12 Dumbbell presses
6. 3x30 Standing calf rasies
7. 3x15 hanging leg raises
8. 3x12 Barbell curls

Check the movements here

Good luck with choosing your gym :)

First day of 12 week Half-Marathon Project -link to the program

Hi!

I found a plan for a beginner, like me, and now going to make the first run! I just wanted to post the already now. I can't say how excited I am, since it sounds something achievable, but challenging. Secondly, many of my sisters and friends have already successfully run the 21 kilometers, so I would be happy to join that group! :D I guess, this will greatly support also my summer body wishes! It will also be convenient program, because even though I will be travelling back and forth between Finland and Germany, and having irregular schedules, it does not matter, since one can do running anywhere. :D

I found this free training plan from running.competitor.com The instructions can be found from the website, but for the first week, you need to only know the meaning of strides, which is: "Strides are 20 to 35-second sprints at 85 to 95 percent of top speed. Strides help you work on your running mechanics in short increments and serve as a speed maintenance session."

So, here we go! First run is only 6 km and 4 sprints, so not so bad! Join me now, and run a half marathon in 12 weeks!

Best,
Sara
H

Maximum speed

Yuhuu,

my friend asked if I would like to join to run in Helsinki City Run in May! :D Maybe, I could do a half marathon... ?  My longest run ever was 14 km, so it would be interesting to test. The idea of having a clear goal for running would really motivate, so next week, I will start to run in an organized way (I will post the program here).

Today, we made a little test runing fast speed 3,5km (19 min) with Robert. So very short, but intensive :D
I was little afraid of running fasr, since I was not sure, how far I could keep the pace, or if I would be lagging far behind Robert. Awful thought! :D

On the other hand, if you learn to push yourself sometimes over your normal limits, it will get easier in the real life too, developing also the mind. It also increases the metabolism and increases your speed even when you run longer distances. So you could also try, what is your fastest 3km or 5km, just to know your level and to better find out how you should define your goals. Next week, we will test the 10km time.

So, starting small, but powerful! I guess this Spring could bring some nice new challenges!

Best,
Sara

Helsinki City Run

Let's do it!                 

Killer functional kettlebell/dumbbell workout for legs and core.

Hey!
    
Never skip leg day!

Todays challenge will be focused on legs and core. We will do three rounds each pattern, trying to minimize the breaks in between! Between is pattern pair, have a 1-2minute break. We combine leg movents with abs, in order to hold the legs up, so that they can regenerate. While your legs will recover like this faster, you can do the whole workout untill the end. Even though, I must say that it was brutal! The idea of the workout is to improve the functional movements and power of legs, but to avoid the stiffness and tiredness with the active recovery for the legs in between. We did it with dumbbells (5kg and 10kg) you can also do with kettlebell. Good luck!

Always alternate between these two sets

1- A) 50 front kicks (25 per side)       B) 20 Kettlebell swings

 2- A) Lunges (10 per side)                 B) Bicycle abs (40)

3- A) 15 Front squats (as low as possible)  B) 30 russian twist

  

4- A) one legged romanian deadlift and row (8 per side)       B) 16 leg raises

5- A) 10 kettlebell high pulls             B) 15 Rower Sit-Up

      
                                                

6- A) Wall sit (1 minute)                   B) 100 toe raises

 

 By,

Robert

 

Decrease stress, run faster

Hi,

I was (once again) busy and stressed. It was also raining and icy outside, so the weather was not the motivation for my jogging. My motivation was to be a faster runner.  Robert is faster than me, with his long legs, so I have to little practice, if I want to keep up with my boyfriend's speed :D  Secondly, I read that the sprints not only make you faster and increase your metabolism, it is also good for the stress hormone cortisol levels (National Institute of Health) When compared to my normal 5km jogging route with a steady speed, sprinting does not raise the cortisol levels, whereas steady speed does according to the studies. (Long, 1-2 hour running does not increase cortisol levels)
(KuntoPlus)

Stress fools your brain to think that you need to save all the energy that you can get and store it to your stomach area "just in case". So... Not so good, when thinking about the goal to be healthy and fit! Haha, and already having enough stress :D Just leaving to Germany and packing my stuff.



So therefore I did today a simple running workout consisting of:

Warm up 5-10 jogging

10 times 
1 minute sprint + 1 minute slow jogging
(=16 minutes)

5 minute cool down

and strecthing afterwards.


Huh! Sometimes one minute can feel extremely long! :D This is also funny exercise, because you can again test your limits and then there is the slow minute to recover. 

For the people who are interested in calories:

Burnt about 375 calories during this time :) Should have measured also the after burn, because it is supposed to also contribute quite a lot! ( I did 12 minute HIIT training and burned 125 calories and then afterwards another 200kcal in 30 minutes just by chilling!)

HOw did you feel like after your run?


Best,
Sara

Faster! Stronger! Harder! I bet u can do this 12 min arm +cardio workout!

Hi,

writing my thesis, but then got distracted. Seriously needing some sports now! I want to make it intensive, to gain the benefits but also to save some time today (In a hurry, so less than 15 minute workout really beats the +2 hour "go to gym -do sports -come back" project.

Since you are only competiting against yourself, you decide your pace. Try your max! :)



So do this twice, altogether 12 minutes :) 50sec work per movement with 10 sec break.

1. Jumping jacks

2. Push ups and side plank

3. Burbee

4. Push ups with narrow grip


5. Shadow boxing

6. Hindu push up


During the first round, try to set your bar to the max. The second round you already know the movements, so break the record from the first round! Okay, if your hands are not dead... Do one extra round :D

Best,
Sara

Effective upper body workout

Hi dear,

Today is upper body day! It is so important to train the body evenly and keep the whole body strong. For example the Women Running.com commented how the elite runners use their whole body to run faster, therefore, strong upper body improves also your running performance. Aaaaaand, for guys, chest, shoulders and abs are the hottest body parts. Yes, true story. So, let's do it.



I have been talking with lots of friends, and the friends who do not like gym, most probably are not sure what to do. If you haven't been in the gym, you can test these movements first at home, to check how does it feel to do them :) You can do this workout also at home, if you have 3-10kg dumbbells.


So!

1. 3x 12 clean and press with 30-60s breaks

2.4x 10 squats with 30-60s breaks


3. Alternate these two movements for three rounds

a)12 push-us
b)20 bicycle abs

4. 12x3 Incline bench press
 

5.Alternate these two movements for three rounds
a)12 arms raise (front)

b) overhead extensions


6.Alternate these two movements for three rounds
a) 10  bicep curl

b) 12 arm raise (sides)




Last thing!

Alternate for 3 rounds (altogether 3 minutes)

a)side plank (left) 30s
b)side plank (right) 30s



Yey :D

And stretching 2-3 hours after :)

Perfect!

by,
Sara