Friday Fitness Tip - CORE

So its been about a month since my last fitness post. If anyone tried doing any of the suggestions I made, let me know your story so I can feature you in my next friday fitness post!

Still can't find the time to do any sort of workout? Well I have some suggestions that you can do ANY time!

Stand in front of a mirror, and lift up your shirt so you can see your belly. Yes, just lift it up. Now tighten up your stomach and flex your abs. Hold it for 5 seconds and then release. If you're tightening it and holiding it in you should feel it tighten not in just your stomach area but around your waist and in your lower back. That my friends is your core. Your core is the center of every movement you make day in and day out. Stand in front of the mirror at least once a day and work from holding it in 5 seconds to 10 seconds and then to 15 seconds. Do about 3 "sets" of these. Don't have the time to just look in the mirror, don't worry, I got more. LOL!

Have to vaccum today? Tighten your core every other room you have to vaccum. Cooking dinner? Tighten your core for 5 seconds every 5 minutes. Washing dishes? Do the same thing as if you were cooking. Grocery shopping? Tighten your core as you push your cart. And here's a good one: sitting at the computer? Yes! Sit up straight and tighten your core for 10 seconds every 10 minutes. You can work your core do ANYTHING! Now if you are able to get to a gym or workout at your home, keep your core engaged during your entire workout. The benefits are endless. Building a stronger core will even help you carry that sleeping child from the car to the bed!

Another thing to try...get on the floor in a push up position. Make sure your body is straight as a board, no booty in the air. LOL. Now engage your core and lower yourself onto your forearms, slowly. You may have to slide your feet back the first time to get the perfect position. Breathing deep and slowly, hold for 10 seconds. This is the infamous plank position. Then raise yourself back up to the push up position slowly. Do 3 sets. As you get stronger you can cross your legs and put one foot on top of the other. Remeber do to both sides. Now another thing you can add...when you are down on your forearms, after 10 seconds take your booty up to the sky. Remember to keep your core engaged and your forearms on the ground. Just hold for 3 seconds and come back to plank.

Remember your core controls all your movements. The stronger it is, the better your body will feel. Not to mention you will see those abs again.

My Friday fitness tip

I haven't been around much lately because of my crazy, ever-changing, work schedule. But in my busy schedule I always make time to work-out. And I owe it all to big daddy! He is super into working out and being fit. "I may not be the tallest or the biggest guy around, but I am pound for pound strong." 

After I had tank I was blessed to have dropped my pregnancy weight and then some almost instantly. Now when I say instantly I mean like 2-3 months. I don't want to lose weight...I just want to be fit and lean...pound for pound strong. I am not, nor was I ever, the dreaded F-word (fat). But I am what some would call skinny-fat. I have a little extra on my arms, thighs, and midsection. With 4 children the thought of working out for me was as foreign as speaking mandarin chinese! LOL. I was tired all the time and whenever I looked into the mirror, images of my former cheerleading self would flash next to the image that was looking back at me. So I asked big daddy what I could do to at least start trying to get back into working out. And he gave me the best advice ever! From that I am the person I am today: on my way to a leaner, fitter, healthier person. So what was this great advice you ask? Well here it is.....

3 sets of 10 pushups

3 sets of 10 squats

3 sets of 10 crunches

Is that it? Unbelieveably yes. 3 times a week for about a month. It takes no more than 20 minutes. Between each set, you rest 30-60 seconds. Do it as soon as you wake up, in your pajamas if you want. Thats what I did. If tank was awake, I would lay him under me when I did pushups, and lay him in between my legs when I did squats. I would kiss him or tickle him when I came to the ground. 

Now it does take some discipline. Some days I thought, OMG I'm just too tired. Or I'll just do it tomorrow. But as the weeks went on it did get easier and I was really starting to notice the changes in my body.

Once you get used to the workout, change it up. I would do a set of pushups, then squats, then crunches...rest...2nd set of squats, then crunches, then pushups...rest...last set of crunches, then pushups, then squats. You can change it up however you want. You can even add weights.

This is the perfect beginner workout if you ask me. I started to even add jumping jacks in between sets to get some cardio in and get my heart pumping. 

My workouts have grown since then, but I wouldn't be where I'm at if I didn't start out slow. You don't need a fancy gym membership or fancy equipment. You just need determination and drive. The drive to a fitter you. So try it out. What have you got to lose? And please...let people know...Let them know your goals of becoming a fitter you. You need a support team. Blog about it, tweet about it. Email me and I'll be your personal cheerleader here in Louisiana. (mommybeautiful [at] att [dot] net)

So long for now moms (& dads). And here's to a fitter (and healthier) YOU!!!!!