le's leg day circuit

man my heart rate was already up as i walked into the gym today!  i got into my fat burning zone right away as i warmed up on the elliptical for about 10 minutes before hitting the weights.

to get the blood flowing in my legs, i did:

leg extensions / leg curls superset -  4 sets of 12-15 reps using med-heavy weight.

next, 4 sets of 12-15 reps of seated leg press with heavy weight.

1st heavy set w/ feet shoulder width apart,

2nd heavier set with feet shoulder width apart

3rd heaviest set with feet shoulder width apart

4th burnout set with light weight (kept going until it buuuuuuuuuuurned) with my feet shaped in a v (heels together).

now for the fun stuff!!!

 i went into my gym's empty group fitness room (take advantage if your gym allows it and there's no class going on) and did the following 3 times each: (burned over 500 cals after all this!)

*****le's leg circuit*****

using 25 lb. dumbbells,

and a step bench w/ 5 risers on each side,

*i mentioned on IG that you can add more risers if you'd like, but i'm super clumsy and went with 5 today.  it was still a nice height, trust me.*

do the following straight through w/ no breaks.

• 1. 20 squats holding the dumbbells in each hand and squeezing your glutes the entire time.
• 2. walking lunges going forward (i used the length of the room, bout 30 ft i guess!?! i'm horrible with estimations), then backwards ( no, don't turn around, stay facing forward but just lunge backwards. do your best to push yourself up back up to standing and maintain that balance.)
• 3. 20 deadlifts (feet shoulder width apart (1st set) narrow stance (2nd set) wide stance (3rd set))
• 4. 20 box jumps onto your bench. drop the dumbbells first please!  be careful and land softly by putting all your weight into your heels.  drop your glutes as low as possible and get into that squat before you jump back down.

 after a round of that, my heart rate was easily over 170 according to my watch!  i walked in two big circles around the room and let my hr drop to around 130 before i started again.

lastly, i finished up legs with 3 sets of 20 reps of jumping lunges.  make sure you drop that back knee down- no slacking.

i said i'd do abs at home (i always say that lol) cause i had to hit the grocery store before i could even get home.  making progress, but i need some separation in my upper abs since i have NONE.  that's my goal for this week.

 1hr of fat burning cardio on the elliptical later, leg day was over.

startin' the week off right!!! have a GREAT evening and try this workout and lemme know what you think!

booty work

just two of the many glute exercises i do to keep mine nice and lifted. get down on all fours and engage your core by pulling your belly button into your spine.  in layman's terms, suck in your gut.

1st move: 8 heel ups - flex that foot and press up strong through your heel while keeping your leg bent at 90 deg.   squeeeeeeeeeze whichever glute you're working.

2nd move: 8 hydrants - the name explains itself!  from the starting position (90 deg angle in that leg), take that knee down and up.  get it up nice and high for every rep.

3rd move: 8 kick outs - hold that leg up there, flex that foot,  and kick it out straight for 8.

4th move: 8 glute circles - wide, exaggerated circles.  bring your knee up over the top and to your elbow, then straighten that leg back out. the wider and bigger your circle, the better.

nice and round. the circles AND your glutes!!!:)

are you still squeezing? don't let it go.

now, do the left leg, same thing.  that will be 1 set. i usually do 3 sets in a row, then take a stretch break. remember to keep correct posture the entire time.  if you haven't worked your glutes in a good while, you will feel this RIGHT away, guaranteed. and yep, it's normal to feel the right glute/leg tingling if you're working the left and vice versa.

next, squats w/ side leg lifts.

again, squeeze your glutes the entire time and really get that leg up with a flexed foot.

squat nice and low into your imaginary chair either holding your hands up and bent at 90 deg.,

or down touching the ground.  either way, make sure your knees stay BEHIND your toes at the lowest point of your squat.  if they go forward, you are asking for a knee injury..

push up from your squat into your leg lift and keep a soft knee (slightly bent in both legs). make sure all your weight is in the heel that's on the ground. NOT your toes.

squat it nice and low back in the center,

then keep it even and work that other side.  an advanced move would be to pulse that leg up in the air 3 times before you come back down to your squat.  work your way up to it.

more to come; give these two a try.

le

250 cals in 20 min

i walked into the gym this morning and there were a cluster of stairmasters both to the left and to the right of me.  i counted 12 people total marching like crazy.  i also noticed that every single one of them were hunched over with either their hands or forearms resting on the rails.  why do we do that?  i think it's a combo of seeing others do it, and because they are just there.  let's be honest..it makes it easier too.

stairmaster tips:

• rails are there for balance- don't abuse them.
• watch your posture. no hunched backs or shoulders. stand up straight and tall to elongate that spine. muscle imbalance doesn't look good on anyone.
• no hands!! the more you involve your upper body and tip forward, the less work your legs do.  that would be cheating. keep the weight in your heels so your quads, hams, and glutes feel the full effect.
• stay centered-  in the middle of the step, AND in the middle of the stairmaster itself.  if you feel like you're sinking and might fall off, slow down and warm up to high speeds gradually.  in retrospect, if you are at the very top and darn near tipping over waiting for the next step to appear, SPEED UP!
• either put your hands on your hips or in front of you with your elbows bent and fists up, like a boxer.  you can also swing your arms naturally (while they are still bent @ 90 deg.) with each step. opposite arm with opposite leg, just like walking.

that said, i have a quick, effective interval stairmaster workout i like to use.  i can't stand looking at the time and thinking 'dang, only ___ minutes have passed!?!?' that's another reason i love intervals because they make the time go quicker.  you are constantly switching speeds and movements.  plus, doing the same boring speed the entire time is such a motivation killer. (60 and 90 are speeds, fyi)

0:00 - 2:00 straight step (warmup) 60

2:00-2:30 straight step 90

2:30-3:00 left side step 90

3:00-3:30 right side step 90

3:30-4:00 straight step 90

4:00-5:00 skip a step 90

5:00-6:00 straight step (active recovery...heart rate is coming back down) 60

REPEAT 3x's (sans the warm-up).  when you get to 18:00 min., slow down to 40 and cool down for the last 2 min. with a straight step.

* side note: if you have the interval option on your stairmaster machine, use it! makes it so much easier to push one quick button to toggle speeds instead of having to hold it down each time to go from 60 to 90 and back. 

i start craving my oatmeal smack in the middle of my morning workouts- couldn't get home fast enough this morning!  today i did an egg white/turkey sausage scramble with 1 laughing cow cheese wedge and some salsa for around 275 cals.  staying within the 250-300 calorie range satisfies me until my mid-morning snack.

here's to a productive Thursday!

le

what's is your go-to elliptical machine?