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 :)

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!                 

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

Simple leg day workout

Hi!

Huh! You know, I tried to check something ready-made that I could just easily copy-paste here. But when I was googling in the gym after a dance lesson lower body workout for runners, I found a lot of motivational talk, but not so many easy and simple workout-sets. So, I created one by combining all the all-time favorites and basic movements!

And, no matter, what is your goal, run faster, be stronger or have a booty that will amaze others later, they are all valid sources for motivation! Yes, you heard correctly, runners too benefit from good muscles.






























If you are a beginner, it is better to do with a little bit lighter weights and a bit more reps to build up some strength. But! When you handle the movements, and you have already done some weightlifting, you should go for more weights! :D
:D




Have about 30-60s breaks between each sets. You can stretch your muscles or for example do abs.

1. 3x 12 Squats
2. 3x 10 Romanian dead lifts

-remember to have straight back! And keep your abs and whole body tensed!


3. Alternate these movements
a)jump to a box (40cm-80cm depending on your fitness level) 10 times
or step to a box with 10-20kg extra weight


b)do 20 bicycle abs

4)Alternate these movements for 3 sets

a) 12 lunges per side with 10-20 extra weights
b) 12 push ups

5) 3x 12 Barbell hip thrust

6) 3 x30 calf raises



Enjoy, remember to stretch :)

Best,
Sara

Run Forrest, run! -5km!

Hi,

greetings from Finland :D It is nice and crispy -12c outside. Therefore, the challenge for today, 5 km run, was quite tough for me! You can just imagine how cold my legs got after the half an hour! But afterwards, it was really worth it :) I moved back to Finland last week, and the semester already started in the uni, so therefore it is great to go back to basics and do something that releases the stress. Like running. Aaaaaaand, one step closer to the summer body! :D

Make these trainings count. Motivation from Time to kick buts



So 5km in about half an hour. Goal is to get it under 25min! So.. More running! :)




Have fun running :)


XXX,
Sara

Workout bingo

Hey there!!!
Use your full name, and choose a movement for every letter in your name.  That's the workout of the day, and repeat if necessary :)

A- 50 jumping jacks

B- 20 crunches

C- 30 squats

D-15 push ups

E- 1 min. wall sit

F- 10 burpees

G- 20 sec arm circles

H- 20 squats

I- 30 jumping jacks

J- 15 crunches

K- 10 push ups

L- 2 min wall sit

M- 20 burpees

N- 25 burpees

O- 40 jumping jacks

P- 15 sec arm circles

Q- 30 crunches

R- 15 push ups

S- 20 burpees

T- 15 squats

U- 30 sec arm circles

V- 2 min wall sit

W- 20 burpees

X- 60 jumping jacks

Y- 10 crunches

Z- 20 push ups

If you have to do the same movement twice, you can also choose another ;)

Have fun!!

Short cardio and core training from our Krav Maga lesson

Hey!

Today's challenge will be a bit different to the ones I posted before. Usually, the warm up should be done running, but if you are at home, you can also do it stepping.

Warm up:

(stepping/running)
Every position at least 60 seconds
Make circles with the arm, alternating left and right.
Raise your knee until it touches your shoulder, change leg every 3-5 steps.
While stepping, make boxing movements. Raise the rhythm the longer you do it.
Jumping Jacks

 

This was the warm up, hold every position  for 1 minute!


1.  Go to squat position and hold. After half of the time, start raising repeatedly your heels and go down again.

2. Go to plank position and hold.

3. Upward dog position

4. Back to plank and bring your knee to your triceps and hold (one side)

5. Downward dog position

6. Back to plank and bring your knee to your triceps and hold (other side)

In 30 seconds, do the max. amount of push-ups (elbows next to body) you can do 

Lay in sit up position, do sit ups, but u cant be faster than 5 seconds for every move (5 sec. to get up, 5 seconds to get down)


So folks, have fun doing it! It will be a quite fast workout, so you can repeat it at least 3-4 times!

Running challenge

Helloooooo!

These last days were very cold here in Germany, but after yesterdays and todays temperatures all the snow melted, so finally after a long time I had the chance to go to park for a jogging challenge.

My goal were 5 km, to run under 25 minutes.

To make it a bit more exciting, i made small challenges for myself, consisting of short 30 second sprints in between. The intervals can be set as you want, depending of the fitness level.

Sometimes jogging can be a bit boring, even if you go with someone else. Therefore, we found a very funny way to make it more interesting. Next time you go, take a football with you, and pass the ball to each other. The more skills you earn, the faster you will run with it. And you can challenge the partner by passing the ball faster and longer!


Have fun!!!!

Challenge 1.

Today was a long day, for both. We had so much to do, and still didn't finish. Therefore, today's challenge will be a short but (hopefully) hard pilates session. Easy to do, because you can practice at home, and the only thing you need is a yoga mat and your body.

We will do three sets, with four different plank positions.
Every position 60 sec, 10 sec rest time. If you have enough time, repeat the whole session ;)

Set 1
- Normal Plank
- Side Plank (lift hips) left
- Dolphin Plank
- Side Plank (lift hips) right


Set 2
- Plank and bring knee to elbow, alternate left and right
- Stand with legs in 90° without touching floor and rotate 3x one direction and change
- Plank and bring knee to the opposite elbow (left to right, right to left)
- Swimming, laying on your belly and raising arms and legs at hte same time



Set 3
- Side Plank arm in the air and go down until elbow touches floor (left)
- Lying on your back on the floor make circles with straight legs in the air
- Side Plank arm in the air and go down until elbow touches floor (right)
- Lying on your tummy, lift arm and leg (e.g. left arm, right leg)


Have fun :D