Weekend Workout: The Dominatrix
Ready to get whipped?
This is a BRUTAL total body workout for beginners to advanced alike. You don’t need equipment, but advanced exercisers can add more of a challenge by adding dumbbells to the movements.
YOU NEED to push yourself through this workout! The Dominatrix requires nothing but your undying servitude. Imagine you have someone there cracking the whip as you move through it. It goes fast, but the more effort you put in, the more you’ll get out of it.
You’ll complete all 10 exercises (no breaks) for 69 seconds each (I know, I couldn’t help myself!). Rest 69 seconds & repeat the circuit twice.
Do your best and make modifications to YOUR level (I added modifiers to each of the descriptions below). Beginners who find it challenging can add a short 30 second breaks when needed. Advanced exercisers can add a third circuit or add weight to each of the exercises.
Time: 30 minutes including warm up.
Equipment: Chair, timer (or stop watch), a mat. Dumbbells are optional.
How To Do It
Warm Up: 5 minutes. Jog in place, squats, jacks, jump rope etc. Don’t stop moving for 5 minutes, then take a quick water break before starting.
Set your timer for 22 rounds of 69 seconds each. Hit ‘Start’ and complete all 10 exercises for 69 seconds each. Rest 69 seconds & repeat the circuit.
Cooldown: Walk in place for 2-3 minutes, then stretch.
Exercise Details & Modifications
Crack The Whip Leaps
(a.k.a. Sassy Skater Jumps).
From standing, get low in an athletic stance (knees bent). Pushing off your left leg, leap to the right landing on your right foot & crossing your left leg behind you (tap to the floor or stay balanced). As you land, bring your left arm in front and imagine you’re cracking a whip 10 feet in front of you. Repeat alternating sides.
The deeper and faster the movement, the harder it is. Go your own pace.
Modifiers: Beginners can step from side to side & reduce range of motion. Advanced can hold a medicine ball or dumbbell tight to the chest as they leap, or simply get lower/faster in the movement.
Ass Kickers
(a.k.a. Butt Kick Runs)
From a standing position, run in place, bringing your heels as close to your butt as possible. Squeeze the glutes & hamstrings as you hop from foot to foot.
Speed & intensity are key here. Pump your arms as you run for a bonus burn, and only go as fast as you can while maintaining proper form. Contract the abs to keep from swaying from side to side.
Modifiers: jog in place or high knee runs.
X-Rated Plank Pushups
(a.k.a. Pushup With Swivel)
Drop down into a plank or pushup position. Keeping your hands directly under your shoulders and core tight (get that butt DOWN), rotate your right knee to your left elbow (see pic). Twist through the core, and repeat on the other side (like drawing an ‘X’ with your knees). Return to plank and do 1 pushup. Repeat.
Modifier: come to your knees for the pushup, and reduce range of motion & speed. Advanced people: try the pushup on one leg, alternating sides.
Butt Burners
(a.k.a. Step-Ups with Reverse Leg Lift)
You’ll need a chair, bench or step for this one. Plant your right foot in the center of your chair and push through the heel to lift yourself up, drawing your opposite knee into your chest as you step. Step down, stay standing tall and lift your right leg out behind you. Without replacing your right foot to the ground, swing it through back to the step up. Repeat.
Note: the photos have you facing different directions, but I want you to face the chair as though you were stepping on it, and balance for the lift keeping your posture tall. You don’t need to lift high, just enough to feel the contraction. Keep your core tight so you don’t over-extend your lower back & tap down for balance (or use the chair) if you need to.
Modifiers: Beginners can just do the step up without the lift. Advanced? Add dumbbells.
Torture Table Crunches
(a.k.a Crab Crunch)
Sit with legs in front of you, knees bent, and feet hip-width apart on the floor. Place hands shoulder-width apart on floor behind you, with thumbs forward and fingertips at a slight diagonal. Lift your hips off the floor and extend right leg just barely off floor; bring left hand behind head.
Crunch forward, bringing right knee toward chest and rotating left elbow in to meet it; for more challenge, simultaneously bend right elbow to dip toward floor.Alternate sides for each rep, or do 30-ish seconds per side (since you’re doing the circuit twice, you can opt for once on the right, and once on the left).
Modifiers: Come to table top, and simply alternate bringing your knees to your chest. If that’s too difficult, beginners can also do bicycle crunches instead.
Assassin Lunges
(a.k.a. Lunge With Rotation)
From a standing position, lunge your right leg forward and lower your body down (weight in the heel of the lunging foot). Clasping your hands together (I recommend making a “finger” gun) & keeping your hips facing FORWARDS, rotate towards the right wall. Imagine you’re shooting someone directly to the right of you. Rotate back to center & push through the heel to return to standing. Repeat alternating sides.
Modifications: Use a dumbbell instead of a finger ‘gun’ for added intensity. Beginners can reduce range of motion (just do regular lunges) and reduce speed.
Squat Hold
(didn’t need a more painful name. It’s painful enough right?)
Feet wider than shoulder width apart, sink down into a squat. Keep your chest open, and push your butt to the back of the room. Weight should be in the heels of your feet, and thighs parallel to the floor (or past parallel if you’re advanced). Make sure your knees stay over the top of your toes but not beyond. Arms out in front of you for balance, or behind your head for a challenge. Hold it here.
Modification: you can do a wall sit instead, or take mini-breaks when you need to. If you get tired, try simple body weight squats until you can hold it again.
Advanced? Add pulses.
Kill it. Don’t let it kill YOU.
I GOT THE WEIGHT BENCH FOR $5 AND THE TREADMILL (THAT FOLDS UP AND HAS WHEELS) FOR $35!!!!!!
EDIT: My friend’s dad wants to sell me cheap an OLYMPIC WEIGHT BENCH WITH OLYMPIC WEIGHTS because we were so “generous” to them and because the one I got isn’t really that good. (Even though it was a steal.) All because he owns an apartment complex and students leave A LOT of stuff behind. College-size fridges (w/ freezers, meaning I’ll buy one from him instead since it’s so cheap), expensive clothing, really nice furniture… They’ve even found iPod touches and Nintendo DS’s in the crease of some couches people left… It’s ridiculous. He also has to do a lot of work and repair, but he has SO much stuff. He needs to get a commercial, because he has MAAANNNYY STORAGE LOCKERS with TONS of stuff that’s left behind, and he has so much he’s willing to sell it super cheap.
But… Damn. I feel sooooo lucky right now. I’m just SUPER grateful. I can’t even express it. Just… Wowwww!!!! If he ever puts all this GREAT stuff online to sell really cheap, then I’ll let you guys know if you’re interested. It’s great stuff if you have an apartment or are going to college.
So the real question is… Could my fitness life be any better right now? I’m jumping on these things TOMORROW. Soooo excited! We might even make a fitness room out of our exchange student’s room since she’s going back to Korea for the rest of her schooling.
I just. I just can’t. God is being so generous to me right now. I guess I should be even more grateful to God because I think all of this proves I have really good karma and that I truly am a good person, despite all the misunderstandings I get into.
SO happy! I could talk about it all day but I’ll stop. Expect to see many fitness and happiness posts very very soon! :)
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
Warm-up: 0.5 miles
It was a really fast pace, because I did it with my pup. Nuts.
Run: 1.5 miles
I think the fast paced warm-up wore me out a little too much. I mean, it’s expected for my first run after being injured to be kinda crappy. But I felt like throwing up. Sigh. Just gotta keep pushing so I can get back up to speed.
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
I thought I did it before, but I guess not. Started out with the Cinch That Waist Workout. She said to do it 4 times, but twice took 14 minutes and I’m doing more than just obliques today. The first move was hard mostly because it put an uncomfortable force on my shoulders. Other than that I felt the video was pretty easy.
Next was Hot Abs. This one was refreshingly challenging! Woohoo! Especially the boat pose one with the arm circles. Crazy! But even craziest was the bicycle crunches (3 crunches, then lift up)… For basically the entire song of Edge of Glory. Damn. It burned and I was sweaty, but I did it all! Certainly satisfied.
Last was the Beyonce Bootylicious Bum Butt Bedonkadonk Bonanza. (Whatta mouthful, haha.) Man did the pulses and leg circles at the beginning burn my quads. Pheeewww. Shaky and sweaty for sure. But really… All of the workouts in this video were rough. I did them all, but they were challenging.
Go try these, guys!!
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
- Side-ups (20 reps, 5 second hold, leg lift pulses, 10 reps) x2
- Side plank dips (20 reps, 5 second hold) x2
- Rockies (50 reps)
- Leg circles for butt (200 reps) x2
- Push-ups (30 reps)
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
Gonna do some back work in the car on my way to see Drewy! :)
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
Now to look up some more moves for my video! I found some of them were a bit too hard for me to properly demonstarte, so I’m looking for some alternative moves!
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
The basic formula to lose weight is simple: move more, eat less & keep your metabolism up while doing it. How we go about accomplishing these things gets a little more complicated, but in all cases, that’s how it works. Move more to burn calories & strengthen the body, eat less and eat cleaner foods that the body can USE efficiently, and keep your metabolism up by eating enough to keep your body going strong.
Millions of people lose weight each day and can give you every detail about how they did it. But very few would be able to answer the question “where did the weight go?”
So… where does fat go when we burn it off?
Well, it doesn’t really ‘go’ anywhere - rather it gets used. And to understand how that happens, I’ll explain a wee bit more about calories & fat.
CALORIES & FAT CELLS
So Wednesday… Eh. In the beginning my feet were in pain more than my shins, but I ended up being able to run a few 100 curves and 150 buildups… Being last or second-to-last in the fastest heat. Which is embarrassing. I’m so slow at the 100m, but I’m one of the fastest 400m runners on my team. Even when I had shin splints last year. My PR was faster than this girl who went to section IV on my team. What. Sorry, haha. She’s really cocky and I generally don’t like her. Not to mention, her name is also Melissa. -__-
So yesterday was much, much worse. I couldn’t even get through all the warm-ups and it was just too painful. So I stopped. And hobbled around since, well, it wasn’t just my shins. It was also my feet. Which I have no idea about. Sigh. But I did find a dollar in the grass when I was walking back to the locker room… Is this a sign? Haha
I’m gonna try to do whatever I can to work on my shins and stop the inflammation/pain. I’ll go to Monday’s practice and see what happens. :/
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
Happy World Physical Activity Day!
Make sure you get up and get active today! (Well, today and everyday!)
Take your dog for a walk, take yourself for a walk, ride your bike, play your favorite sport, take the stairs, go for a hike… do active things! The possibilities are endless!
Ready, set… go!
What’s one thing you will do to be more active today? And, what’s one thing you can do to motivate others to be more active too!?
People tend to overestimate the amount of calories they burn. Period.
Ever been to a spin/zumba/fitness class and overheard this: “I just burned 600 calories on the elliptical and now I’m going to burn another 600 in this class!” I have. These same people in my life tend to complain about their inability to lose weight, barely break a sweat during these exercises and/or become frustrated that despite their hours at the gym nothing is budging. I was one of these girls once. I would hop on the elliptical and plug away for an hour then subtract 600 calories from my daily intake, and eat that 600 calories back.
Problem? Machines lie. Yep. I did this exercise above wearing a heart rate monitor and I clocked 21 calories. 21! That’s a far cry from 100 calories. This lies the same way that an elliptical says that the girl reading Cosmo without breaking a sweat burns the same amount of calories as the girl going HAM on the machine next to her. There has to be a conspiracy here.
These machines do not know how hard these exercises are for you. They’re also automatically set for a 150 pound female. They also can’t judge your heart rate. They can’t tell that you’re a marathon runner and you’re cross training on the elliptical, or that you’ve never so much as run a mile in your entire life. Without knowing your heart rate these machines are, at best, a guestimate.
This is a very common theme. It may not seem like a big deal to overestimate how many calories you burn going to a spin class or just running around the block, but over time it can be. Take me for example: I burn about 342 calories during my spin class, according to my HRM. I’ve heard an instructor claim, “How was that for a 600 calorie burn!” after a class. What? First of all, there is no way everyone was at the same level of fitness. Second of all, no. And I know for a fact that some people take these words as law and go home and subtract 600 calories from their intake for the day then eat it back. That’s almost 300 calories overestimating. 300 calories 3 times a week = 900 calories a week. That’s detrimental to weight loss and maintenance.
Machines, websites and people always will overestimate how many calories they burn. Invest in a heart rate monitor or pay attention to how you feel when you exercise if you’re tracking calories. If you’re not sweating during cardio, if your heart rate is not up, chances are you’re not working as hard as the machine thinks you are.
FINALLY.
So since not all of us can afford fancy schmancy heart rate monitors, here’s a trick to gage the intensity of your workout.
- Low intensity: you can easily sing and carry out a conversation. (Note: “easily sing” is unrelated to being tone deaf. Just means you can do a little tune.)
- Moderate intensity: you can’t sing, but you can talk mostly. Though talking may start to become a struggle. (There will be heavier breathing as you speak.)
- High intensity: screw talking. Your full energy is going to breathing, getting enough oxygen in your body while you workout. If you were to talk right now, it would be barely a couple words, and they would be more so gasped than spoken.
This is how I measure my workouts. It was taught to me by both doctors and the wonderfully sciencey folks at Weight Watchers alike. It is a great way to estimate the intensity of your workout when you can’t afford gadgets.
I just did this with my heart rate monitor on and only burnt 19 calories haha. I did it with a pretty cracking pace too! Calorie burn is different for everyone people!
Reblogging because I think this is a great discussion going on here! If people would clean up their dietary habits, they wouldn’t need to stress over burning X amount of calories. There’s an app out there that calculates how many calories you’ll need to burn for eating a specific food and gives you a corresponding workout. I think it’s an okay idea if it’s just a one-time cheat meal, but I would never download the app. Why? Being a slave to calories is ridiculous. Living a calculation free life eating-wise has only given me more happiness and less stress.
Just as the video said, I did it four times. Man, did that get my heart rate up! But I loved it! It was super fun. For whatever reason it made me feel like I was in a video game, haha. Try it, Hunger Games fans!!
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
First up was the Super Butt Workout. I figured short but high intensity would be good, since pilates butt moves look weird to onlookers. Figures Mr. Stanko, one of the chaperones, walks by while I was doing a clamshell. Awk. Haha. But woo! I like the burn. Wish I brought my mat, but I wouldn’t have been able to carry it with all the other crap I have.
Last was the Muffin Top Meltdown. A big muscular guy walked past for that one. While I was doing this weird twisted plank lift thing. He looked at me like I was insane, hahaha. But that move is definitely killer. Love it!
I planned to do three pilates videos, but I had to stop and go to a meeting thing and it was getting late, so I went right on to the elliptical. I didn’t know how to work that specific machine, but all I know is my thighs were burning after about 10 minutes. Then I did my little shin splints thing and yeah… Sad that I couldn’t figure out how to properly work the machines. Tomorrow morning I’ll probably wake up early and do some plyo or some form of cardio.
(Source: healthylivingforyou)
