You can immediately feel the effects of the Goblet Squat in your glutes and quads, but it’s Ab day….how does this move help us strengthen and tone our core? And what are these many other benefits of this simple move?

After doing some additional research on the exercise, I was pleasantly surprised to find that done correctly, there are lots of benefits from adding weight to our squats!

1. Good for beginners – Great exercises for those who are trying to master the squat correctly. The dumbbell/kettle ball position helps to keep the core tight, the legs aligned and the back straight. It’s also an easy exercise to do on the go as all you need is a heavy object and a little room to perform it.
2. Burns calories – The Goblet Squat engages multiple muscles simultaneously making this exercise ideal for burning calories and aiding in weight loss.
3. Core Strength – The added weight requires us to maintain a proper poser and engage our core to keep us upright, resulting in a multi-utility workout that is more effective than crunches
4. Workout for lower body – Perform this exercise and you will quickly see that it is a great lower body workout, giving us a great burn and strengthening our hips, quads, lats, flexors, hamstrings and gluteal muscles.
5. Reduces risk of injury – A lot of injuries occur due to weak ligaments, connective tissues and stabilizing muscles. The Goblet Squat helps us strengthen the structures of the body giving us a strong sturdy foundation.
6. Boosts our ability to jump – Goblet Squats build the hip strength that allows up increased power exploding off the ground and improving our vertical leap. Squats allow us to gain power, and they also give us the ability to absorb it. For runners, this absorption strength is key as we are continually pounding the ground with each footstep.
7. Increases flexibility and mobility – The full motion of the Goblet Squat helps us add muscle to the entire lower body and improves our overall mobility and flexibility by increasing the motion in our ankles, hips, knees and lower back. This improvement further helps in reducing injury and improves overall performance.
8. Builds muscles – Many exercises help stimulate the entire body, but many people get stuck by just piling up volume of a singular exercise. Adding heavy weight allows us to continue to build muscle.
9. Improves spine position – The Goblet Squat keeps the spine vertical, reduces the stress on our spine and helps lengthen our lat muscles. The weight requires us to work to keep upright which forces us to stay upright and in position.
10. Minimum space and equipment needed – The Goblet Squat can be performed just about anywhere and all you need is a heavy object you can hold with both hands. Exercises don’t need to be complicated to be effective!

Now that you know how effective this exercise is for so many parts of our body, how abut adding an extra round to the end of today’s routine?!

Day 14 Plan:

• Meatless Monday!
• Morning Workout Routine and/or Coffee Break Workout
• Day 14 exercises +1 extra set of Goblet Squats
• Bonus – The Fitness Marshall’s “Feel It Still”
• Plan out your weekly speed work

Day 14 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10 + 1 extra set of Goblet Squats 

• Goblet Squats
• Dumbbell Swing
• Helicopter
• Suitcase Carry
• Forearm Plank (3 x :30 or more)

Day 14 “how to” videos: If you need reminder for these exercises, please click here and check out last Monday’s post where you will find the videos for each move.

Bonus: The Fitness Marshal’s “Feel It Still” – This will be interesting and fun! You can thank Jan Peischel for finding this one for us. Laugh your way through it and keep your core tight! 🙂

Click here and follow the video.

Speed Work: Last week at track we did a BEAST of a workout and we all felt it when it was done. The workout consisted of 600’s on the track but since many of you don’t do your speed work on the track and 600s (.38 mile) can be tricky to do on the road, we are going to simplify it just a bit. Here’s the workout.

1. Warm up – 1-2 miles easy
2. 400 x 4-6 @ 5K – 10K pace
3. 200 (.13) x 4 faster than 5K pace
4. 800 x 4-6 @ 5K – 10K pace – It is important to run these at the same pace as the first set so DO NOT go out too fast on the first set
5. Cool down – 1-2 miles easy

You can see that this is quite a few miles when you put it together. Warm up + 1.5 – 2 miles + over .5 mile + another 1.5 – 2 miles + cool down. If you are able to program this on your watch or GPS device, that would be very helpful. Otherwise just try to keep the distance in mind when you are running, or better yet, find a track to do the workout on!

The key to this workout is CONSISTENCY. You want all your splits to be the same from start to finish except those middle 200s which should be faster. If you go out too fast in the beginning, you will have trouble holding the pace in the later set. This workout is great because it teaches us how to push through tired, heavy legs which is necessary during our races.  DO NOT run the 400s faster than 5K pace. If you aren’t sure what that pace is for you, PLEASE reach out to me and let’s figure it out!

You have the plan and the “why” behind the plan. Time to DO THE GOBLET Crew! 🙂

Remember it’s Monday….and here in the #CoreCrew we….

I listen to a lot of podcasts…some good, some just ok. Today, I was listening to the new Another Mother Runner episode and it is a good one!

In AMR podcast #272: “Prehab: The Secret to Avoiding Running Injuries”,

Sarah and co-host Molly are joined by two guests who offer valuable insight into prehab: the simple moves that can help you with avoiding running injuries. First is Britny Fowler, a personal trainer who leads education session on TriggerPoint Therapy products.  This mother runner speaks from experience: After getting talked into running several races by friends, she qualified for Boston Marathon—then ran the race 23 weeks pregnant! Britny provides enlightened advice for starting a prehab routine (just one minute a day!) and how to make it successful. Find out why she suggests we take cues from cats and babies, and how the ABC’s enter into the picture. She answers all sorts of foam rolling questions—including why, when, how long, and how intensely. (And why adding vibration is a game-changer!) Next, the BRFs welcome on MK Fleming, the Train Like a Mother Club heart rate coach and multi-time marathoner. Pregnant with baby #4, MK talks about how her workouts are morphing along with her body. In answering questions culled from the AMR Facebook page, MK explains how to let attitude be your guide on workouts plus the importance of making easy days easy enough. This leads to intriguing side conversation about what constitutes true “rest” on a training plan—and why us mother runners have such a tough time doing it. Coach MK stresses the importance of a short pre-run warm-up and why to ditch an all-or-nothing mentality.

Whether it’s Britny’s analogy of training for a fight before getting beat up or MK’s sage advice about the importance of continuing to ask questions, we guarantee words from this episode will reverberate in your head for miles to come!

There are tons of ways to listen to this podcast and they’re all free. If you’re not sure how to listen, check out the Another Mother Runner podcast page to find lots of options from listening on your computer to listening on your phone when you’re running or on the go.

Either way, this is a great episode and definitely worth the listen! Strength training, stretching and rolling! We talk about this stuff in #CoreCrew ALL THE TIME, but I know it’s important for you to hear it from others too.

It’s good stuff y’all, I hope you take time to listen to it! I’d love to start a thread in Strong to the Core with thoughts and opinions on this podcast. Let’s inspire each other to use strength, rolling, and stretching as PREHAB rather than REHAB!

Another Mother Runner – Episode 272: Prehab: The Secret to Avoiding Running Injuries

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Ok Crew…it has already been a long day and I have a VERY long run tomorrow (21 miles with a 5K at the end starting at 3:45am) so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

Time to go LONG!! 🙂

It’s the weekend and you know the drill. If you go long on Saturday, get in your active recovery and/or yoga on Sunday. If you get your long run in on Sunday, take time to stretch out and give your muscles some love before you pound the pavement!

Switch it up if you need to and make it work for you….just be active!

Day 12 (Saturday OR Sunday):

• Warm up with dynamic stretches like leg swings and hip hurdles
• Long run
• 7 Key Stretches for Runners
• Wall Sit :60
• Legs Up the Wall (5-15 minutes)

Day 13 (Saturday or Sunday): Active Recovery + Yoga for Runners – Options below

• Yoga for Runners – “Unknot Yourself”
• Yoga for Runners – “Tight Hips & Legs” 
• Yoga Poses for Runners

That’s all for now Crew. Have a fun, active weekend! xoxoxo

Stand up and take action on those abs! In order to stand tall and run strong, our core must be able to take on the weight of our body and our thoughts.

Without a strong core, we slump, hunch and slouch; we deteriorate into a smaller version of ourselves. As we sink in stature, our determination to continue moving forward also begins to falter.

So not only is it necessary to physically carry us through the miles, a strong core helps us stand tall with a positive attitude and demeanor! Sometimes, that positive outlook will be the difference between giving up and finishing what we started.

Stand up, stand tall, and take action with a positive attitude today! Every step we take results in positive changes in our mind and body…strength gives us hope, pride and determination!

See where this is going? Stand up, stand tall…it’s time for Standing Abs! 🙂

Day 11 Plan:

• Fruity Fridays – Fruit for breakfast, lunch & dinner! Make sure you have fruit at every meal.
• Morning Workout Routine (#MWR) & Coffee Break Workout (#CBW)
• Day 11 exercises – 2-3 sets 10 of the exercises listed below (watch the 2nd half of THIS VIDEO to see how to do the exercises – or just do the whole video….it’s quick. 🙂
• Bonus: 200 Russian Twists – Break into sets of 50. You can do this with or without additional weights. See “how to” video below.

#MWR & #CBW – One or the other…or both! Your choice should be based on your day. If you workout at night, throw in the Morning Workout Routine when you wake up to get moving. If you get your Day 11 workout done in the morning then sit at a desk all day, throw in the CBW to make sure you are combatting the effects of being immobile for so many hours.

Day 11 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Figure 8 with Twist
• Sumo Squat with Side Bend
• High Side Kick
• Standing Dirty Dog
• Forearm Plank (3 x :30 or more)

Standing Dirty Dog – This one is not in the video and we skipped it last Friday. But I want to throw it back in today, because it looks kinda fun! The Standing Dirty Dog is a great butt-toning move and since this is a standing variation, rather then being on all fours, you are going to work your core a lot more too. Here’s how to do it.

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips.
• With your core engaged and a solid standing right leg, lift your left leg out to the side, keeping the left knee bent. Squeeze your waist and hip. Do not lean to the right as you lift the leg — really focus the work in your waist and hip.
• Lower the left leg down, barely touching the ground with your left toes, then lift that leg up and repeat for a total of 10 reps.
• Keep the leg lifted on the last rep, and make 10 small pulses in a one-inch range to concentrate the work in your glutes and obliques. Then switch sides. Do 2-3 sets on each side.

Forearm Plank: By now, even if you are new to the Crew, you know how to do a plank. Same thing today, stick with a regular forearm plank shown below, or if you’re really comfortable holding your plank for a minute or longer, step it up a notch and plank on a stability ball or try a side plank or throw in some plank jacks!

Today we work on standing up tall, strong and proud. It all starts with a strong core!

 

Last Thursday was a tough day. Lots of complaining and excuses. Why? Not sure…but I know these exercises are doable. They are not super difficult and not all that time consuming, but they do require some effort. But I don’t think there was a whole lot of effort put into these exercises last week. Was it that you just didn’t want to do them? Or thought you couldn’t?

Whatever the reason, today we are going to push through these leg exercises. We are going to DIG DEEPER and do what we thought we couldn’t do last week, because we build mental AND physical strength by overcoming the things we once thought we couldn’t!

Day 10 Plan:

• Thirsty Thursday – How much water can you drink today? Shoot for 8+ 12oz glasses of water!
• Morning Workout Routine and/or Coffee Break Workout
• Day 10 exercises – 2-3 sets of 10
• Bonus: Donkey Kick Workout!! – Since there was a lot of slacking last Thursday, it’s time to pay the consequences. Our first bonus workout of August! This one is a tough 10 minute workout that will make your booty burn and build strength in your hips and glutes!
• Legs Up the Wall & 7 Key Stretches for Runners! – Give your legs some love they deserve it!

Morning Workout Routine and Coffee Break Workout – Pick one or do both. Whatever works better for you and your lifestyle. Just make sure you are finding ways to be active during the day when you’re not working out.

Day 10 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10 (“how to” videos below)

• Metabolic Up and Downs
• Backward Heel Walking
• Pistol Squats
• Ankle Jumps
• Wall Sit (3 x :30 or more)

Bonus: Donkey Kick Workout! An oldy but a goodie! 10 minutes y’all we got this!

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Day 10 “how to” videos:

Metabolic Up and Downs: There are several modifications for this exercise so before you just write it off, watch the how to video again and find a way to make it work for you. Start with bodyweight and add weights if it feels too easy. Great for hip flexors, quads, ankles and even good core work! Watch the video below for several modifications that will help you make this exercise work best for you.

Backwards Heel Walking:

What it does: Strengthens the muscles in the shins, ankles and feet, and helps develop balance. Building strength in the ankles, feet and shins is especially important for walkers and runners, as weak muscles in this part of the body can cause muscular imbalances and even tripping and falling (if they are very weak).

How to do it: Just like it sounds. Walk forward on your heels (flex your toes all the way off of the floor) for a few steps or so, then walk backward for 10, allowing arms to move as needed to help with balance. Repeat as many times as possible for 1 minute. Note: You may need to take a brief rest at some point during this interval if these muscles need to be strengthened, so just go for as long as you can.

Pistol Squats: My all time favorite how to video for Pistol Squats. These are not easy, but there are tons of ways to modify them so you can get started and work towards a lower one legged squat. The video is a little long but the info is great. If you haven’t done these before, please watch the video all the way through!

Ankle Jumps: When it comes to speed training, most people immediately think of the major lower-body muscle groups like the quads, glutes and hamstrings. And although those muscles are extremely important to developing speed and explosiveness, other important areas—such as the feet and ankles—often get lost in the fray. That’s a problem, because your feet and ankles actually play a crucial role in your speed and overall athleticism.

Your feet strike the ground to propel you while you’re running, and flexing your ankle to push off your toes is a major component of countless athletic movements. Having strong, flexible feet and ankles won’t just make you faster and more explosive—it’ll leave you less susceptible to speed-sucking injuries like sprained ankles.

Ankle Jumps are a plyometric exercise that work on ankle and foot strength by forcing you to explosively jump via ankle flexion. Initially, it might feel awkward to jump while keeping your legs straight and your arms by your side, but stick with it for a few sets and you’ll get the hang of it.

Wall Sits: Find a wall and sit! If you are strong enough to go longer thank :30 that’s great but I still want you to do 3 sets. Engage your muscles, let them rest, then do it again! 🙂

There are lots of standing abs workouts out there…a few we’ve done and plenty more too. But this month we are sticking with on workout that stands out, is quick and super effective!

Technically there are only 4 exercises on our calendar today. Those 4 exercises are the first 4 in the standing abs video below. If you only do the first 4 (2-3 sets of the first 4), that’s ok. But it would be even better to go through the whole routine and finish it strong! Still need 2-3 sets though so make it work for you!

Day 9 Plan:

• Weigh In Wednesday – Weigh yourself to see where you’re at and if you’ve made progress this week. Progress doesn’t always mean losing weight. Sometimes it just means maintaining and working on toning and sculpting those strong muscles!
• Morning Workout Routine (#MWR) – Get up and get moving! Especially if you do the bulk of your workout in the evening, get up 5 minutes early and go through this routine to get your metabolism revving!
• Coffee Break Workout (#CBW) – This is for those of us who sit a lot during the day. If your job has you moving around and staying active, this might not be something you need to throw in. If you tend to sit a lot, this is for you! Only takes a minute and can be done on your break. It will help you avoid the pitfalls that come from sitting at a desk all day.
• Day 9 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10 (or follow the video below 2-3 times)
• Speed Work – If you haven’t gotten this done by Wednesday, you’re running out of time! Make a plan to get it done Wednesday or Thursday so you have time to recover before our long runs this weekend!

Morning Workout Routine & Coffee Break Workout – You should already have copies of these, but if not, here you go. No excuses for slacking. 🙂

Day 9 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10 (or follow along with THIS VIDEO 2-3 times but don’t forget your planks!)

• High Knee Print with Dumbbell
• Standing Rainbow Crunch
• Wood Chop with Knee Raise
• Straight Leg Kicks
• Forearm Plank (3 x :30 or more)

Speed Work: Ladder Workout – Tough but fun workout! Click here for Monday’s post and scroll down for the workout.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get moving!

From the T-Rex Runner Blog….

While perusing some of my favorite blogs over the past few weeks, I came across two that kind of left an impression on me that I didn’t really recognize at the time. My friend Kelsey, who I ran the Med City Marathon with back in May, wrote a blog recently about making small changes that add up to big results. Kelsey has made an amazing lifestyle transformation over the past 6 years, losing an incredible 100+ pounds through diet and exercise – and now she is a marathon runner! Anyway, this particular post was about ways you can make small changes in your diet to start eating healthier without doing a complete overhaul and becoming overwhelmed. It made me think of running, because so many people start out running way too fast and trying to do way too much too soon, forgetting that getting in shape takes time!

So it was with Kelsey’s list in mind that I ended up reading Anele’s blog a few days later. Anele writes a blog called Success Along the Weigh, which chronicles her weight loss journey. She started out weighing 494 pounds and has since lost over 200 with again, diet and exercise alone. It’s pretty amazing, but I’ve never met her – I just secretly stalk, as I like to do. Her blog focused on an article that came out recently that says sitting is as dangerous as smoking. I won’t regurgitate the whole article (because I’m too busy doing that with my stomach acid, heyyyoooooooo), but basically, prolonged periods of sitting increase your risk of stroke, heart disease, and other bad things, regardless of other activity levels. So it’s all well and good for me to go run for an hour after work, but it’s not completely undoing the damage I’m doing from sitting all day at my desk, like many of us with desk jobs are forced to. Kind of a scary thought! (Yes, I know this is based on a few studies and my death is probably not impending, but go with me here). Anele decided to solve the problem by putting a reminder in her Outlook calendar to tell her to get off her ass and do 10 squats every hour, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

Of course, it took me a little while to decide to actually implement this idea. I thought about Kelsey’s concept of small changes, and Anele’s suggestion of doing 10 squats an hour definitely fit that description. I figured it was worth a try, and my thighs could definitely use a little toning up, so why not? Because Anele is much smarter than me and I did not read her blog very carefully, she put one appointment in her calendar and then just clicks “remind again in 1 hour” every time it pops up. I failed horribly and now have a million reminders in my Outlook calendar, which awkwardly pop up anytime someone tries to schedule a meeting with me and looks for conflicting appointments.

Of course, I figured out that doing 10 squats 9 times a day would only come out to 90 squats, which is unacceptable. Therefore, I had decided to do 11 squats per hour with 12 on the last set. That now seems too wimpy, so I’m presently shooting for 22 per hour and 24 on the last set, for a total of 200 per day. Not sure what I’m going to do once my thighs are too muscley for my jeans, but I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

So far, the experience has been great. I’ve actually started to look forward to the little “ding” coming from my computer and I enjoy the chance to move around, get my heart going, and inevitably go get some more water, since apparently I’m dying of thirst at all times. I think this is a change I could keep going for quite awhile. I’ve even started to think about how to incorporate some other small movement during the same time – maybe a 1 minute plank or something. Ok, you’re right. That would be ridiculous. Point being, if I can incorporate some tiny little bit of strength training into my day, anyone can. It sucks considerably less than you might think.

A super cute story, and this is exactly what we are doing! Our calendar says 20 squats and 20 push ups per hour. But if you do 10 per hour, that is awesome! Do what you need to do to make it work for you, to get up and move during the day, and to spread your strength work out throughout the day. It’s all about activity and movement.

Get up and get moving!

Day 8 Plan:

• Tiny Tuesday – It’s all about tiny portions today!
• Morning Workout Routine (#MWR)
• Coffee Break Workout (#CBW) – This might be a good day to skip this one since we are already moving every hour! 🙂
• Day 8 exercises

Morning Workout Routine & Coffee Break Workout:

Day 8 exercises:

• 10 – 20 Squats + 10 – 20 Push Ups per hour
• Wall Sits (3x :30 or more each)
• Side Splits – I totally forgot about this one last week. This is just a split. The purpose is to stretch those legs out after tons of squats and to work on your flexibility throughout the month. I would love to see some side splits today to see how low you can go! I know it’s hard…just do your best!

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Speed Work: If you didn’t get a chance to check out this week’s speed work, please click here for Monday’s post and scroll down. 🙂 As always, let me know if you have any questions about the workout or about the pace you should be running for it.

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I know it seems like a lot and I know some of you are overwhelmed this month. But if you break it down into smaller pieces it really is very manageable. Squats and Push Ups are the name of the game today Crew! Remember…

Small Changes Bring BIG Results!

After an epic weekend of running and activity, that blaring alarm clock always seems to wake us up far too early. The temporary relief from seven minutes of snoozing quickly turns into half an hour.

Arriving fifteen minutes late to work – using the side door, of course – your first few hours are spent messing around on the internet rather than getting anything productive done.  Your food (or drink ) hangover from the weekend carries over to your meal choices for the day, and “just this once,” fast food is your choice.

After work, working out is the last thing on your mind as the day has already felt like a waste.  Come 11 pm, you are lying in bed, and you finally come to the realization that you know all too well:

“I didn’t really DO anything today!”

No more.  

Today I’m going to issue a challenge that will change the outcome of your week, every week.

Always dominate Monday.

Never underestimate the power of momentum!

Momentum will work FOR you if you let it, but it will also work AGAINST you if you let it.

If you skip your Monday workout, it will be so much easier to skip your workout on Tuesday.  Monday quickly becomes the most important day of the week.

You didn’t really eat healthy on Monday, which means it’s easier to tell your yourself “I can start tomorrow” and not eat well on Tuesday or Wednesday.

When your Monday routine is thrown off, you might forgo your routine for the rest of the week, which results in, “well I already missed a day, no point in starting a day late…I’ll try again NEXT Monday.”

If you snooze on Monday, then snoozing on Tuesday is just a little bit easier.

You were unproductive on Monday, you’re stressed out and you have to play catch up during the rest of the week.

Instead…

You dominated your Monday workout, setting the tone for workout domination for the whole week.  “This week I am going to hit new records with my workouts. I already kicked ass on Monday, let’s keep it up!”

You dominated your Monday with healthy food choices and meals, setting the tone for continued healthy eating all week.  Your brain permanently stays in “I’m making healthy choices this week” mode.

You popped right out of bed on Monday without snoozing, so snoozing becomes less of an issue with each passing day.  It’s not a question of willpower, it’s just “what you do.”

You were incredibly productive on Monday, which makes the rest of your week much less stressful.  

Stop sucking and start dominating.

Look at Mondays differently. It’s not the start of a long week.  It’s not the worst day of the week. Monday is the most important day of the week, so do it right!

Day 7 Plan: Core Focused Workout

1. Meatless Monday – Go the whole day without eating any meat! Make sure you check your labels! It’s only one day, you can do this!
2. Morning Workout Routine (#MWR)
3. Coffee Break Workout (#CBW) – for those who do a lot of sitting during the day
4. Day 7 exercises
5. Plan your speed work day

Morning Workout Routine & Coffee Break Workout:

Day 7 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10 – New exercises that we are ding every Monday. Don’t get discouraged or overwhelmed. What the “how to” videos below TODAY and make it easier to DOMINATE MONDAYS!

• Goblet Squat
• Dumbbell Swing
• Helicopter
• Suitcase Carry
• Forearm Plank (3 x :30) – Regular forearm plank on floorer grab your stability ball to make it a little more difficult.

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Speed Work: Ladder Workout – This can be a tough workout but it is a GOOD workout. Basically we are going to climb up the ladder, then back down the ladder. The overall distance you go depends on what you are training for. If you are training for a 5K, 10K, or 15K – you will run 3 miles of speed work. If you are training for a half or full marathon, you will throw an extra mile in the middle and make it 4 total miles of speed work.

Here’s the workout:

• Warm Up – 1-2 miles – Be honest with yourself on how much warm up you need. If you skimp on your warm up, your workout will suffer!
• 400M (.25 mile) run @ 5K pace + 1:00 rest
• 800M (.5 mile) run @ 5K pace + 1:00 rest
• 1200M (.75 mile) run @ 10K pace + 2:00 rest
• 1 mile @ 10K pace + 2:00 rest (add this extra mile if you are training for a half or full marathon, otherwise skip the mile and go to the next set.
• 1200M (.75 mile) run @ 10K pace + 2:00 rest
• 800M (.5 mile) run @ 5K pace + 1:00 rest
• 400M (.25 mile) run @ 5K pace + 1:00 rest
• 1-2 mile cool down – Again, this is where we can tell if you are serious about your fitness, or just rushing through it. Giving your body a chance to cool down is part of the workout. MAKE time for it.

Total of 5-8 miles depending on your warm up and cool down and if you add the middle mile.

THIS IS A HARD WORKOUT! It is supposed to be HARD! If it was easy…it wouldn’t challenge you and it wouldn’t change you! Pace is up to you. If you don’t know your 5K or 10K pace, reach out to me and let’s figure it out.

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Day 7 “how to” videos:

Goblet Squat: The goblet squat is a lower-body exercise that increases strength throughout the legs. Due to the position of the weight, the exercise also strengthens the shoulders and core while improving posture and hip mobility.

Dumbbell Swing: This emphasis of this exercise is on core & arm strength, endurance and balance. The exercise also targets your hamstrings and glutes, but you also use your back, quadriceps and shoulders. If strength improvement is your focus, try a lower rep count and heavier weight.

Helicopter: What this video to learn how to swing both legs in unison for a deep stretch and to obtain greater core strength. This is a long video, but the main portion of the move is shown in the first minute or so. We want to keep a strong core while focusing on the leg movement.

Suitcase Carry: This is a core strength move. Brace your core as if expecting a punch don’t compensate to one side as you are walking.

Forearm Plank: Build strength in your core, lower back, arms and glutes by doing the plank core exercise on the forearms.

Today exercises are all new. I got them from a Pop Sugar Fitness video Jan sent me. I originally broke the video up into Wednesday and Friday so we were only doing 4 exercises per day, but I just went bak and watched the video again. It’s only 5 minutes and it goes through the entire routine. Instead of just doing the last 4 exercises (our Day 4 exercises. I thought, “Why not do the while video?”

So here it is! Run this video 2-3 times for a SUPER CORE! workout today! 🙂

Day 4 Plan:

• Fruity Friday! – Your breakfast and lunch should consist of a serving of fruit. If they already do, make it 7-8 servings throughout the day.
• Morning Workout Routine / Coffee Break Workout
• Day 4 exercises – Fallow long with the Pop Sugar Fitness video – link is below
• Forearm Planks (3 x :30 – On floor or on stability ball)
• 7 Key Stretches for Runners
• Hydrate and get ready for weekend long runs!

Morning Workout Routine & Coffee Break Workout:

Day 4 exercises: Click here for Pop Sugar Fitness Video – Here’s some of the exercises you’ll see (from our calendar)

• Figure 8 with Twist
• Sumo Squat with Side Bend
• High Side Kick
• Standing Dirty Dog
• Forearm Planks – (3 x :30 – on floor or on stability ball)

That’s it for Friday Crew! Give us and your buddy a shoutout on Strong to the Core when you’re done and let us know what your long run or racing plans are for the weekend!

Today is going to be fun! Some new exercises and some familiar ones…all great exercises that will help us make strides towards stronger hips, quads, calves, ankles and feet!

Let’s get right to it! 🙂

Day 3 Plan:

1. Morning Workout Routine (#MWR)
2. Coffee Break Workout (#CBW)
3. Day 3 Exercises – 2-3 sets of 10
4. Bonus – Modern Mom/Dad Hip Strength – Scroll to bottom for video (4 min per leg)
5. Food Challenge – Thirsty Thursday!

Day 3 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Metabolic Up and Downs
• Backwards Heel Walking
• Pistol Squats
• Ankle Jumps
• Wall Sits – (3 x :30 or more)

Daily Workout Challenges: #MWR & #CBW

Food Challenge: Thirsty Thursday! – Today is all about hydration! Ok so the “rules” say water only…no coffee, soda, diet soda, tea, etc…but I’m not going to tell you absolutely no caffeine. Just try to keep it to a minimum…and drink AT LEAST 8 glasses of water. At least means that is the minimum. Go for more…much more because our weekend long runs are coming up!

Day 3 ” how to” videos:

Metabolic Up and Downs: Start with bodyweight and add weights if it feels too easy. Great for hip flexors, quads, ankles and even good core work! Watch the video below for several modifications that will help you make this exercise work best for you.

Backwards Heel Walking: I saw a girl doing this at track after her workout. Looked like a great way to stretch out the legs and build strength!

What it does: Strengthens the muscles in the shins, ankles and feet, and helps develop balance. Building strength in the ankles, feet and shins is especially important for walkers and runners, as weak muscles in this part of the body can cause muscular imbalances and even tripping and falling (if they are very weak).

How to do it: Just like it sounds. Walk forward on your heels (flex your toes all the way off of the floor) for a few steps or so, then walk backward for 10, allowing arms to move as needed to help with balance. Repeat as many times as possible for 1 minute. Note: You may need to take a brief rest at some point during this interval if these muscles need to be strengthened, so just go for as long as you can.

Pistol Squats: My all time favorite how to video for Pistol Squats. These are not easy, but there are tons of ways to modify them so you can get started and work towards a lower one legged squat. The video is a little long but the info is great. If you haven’t done these before, please watch the video all the way through!

Ankle Jumps: When it comes to speed training, most people immediately think of the major lower-body muscle groups like the quads, glutes and hamstrings. And although those muscles are extremely important to developing speed and explosiveness, other important areas—such as the feet and ankles—often get lost in the fray. That’s a problem, because your feet and ankles actually play a crucial role in your speed and overall athleticism.

Your feet strike the ground to propel you while you’re running, and flexing your ankle to push off your toes is a major component of countless athletic movements. Having strong, flexible feet and ankles won’t just make you faster and more explosive—it’ll leave you less susceptible to speed-sucking injuries like sprained ankles.

Ankle Jumps are a plyometric exercise that work on ankle and foot strength by forcing you to explosively jump via ankle flexion. Initially, it might feel awkward to jump while keeping your legs straight and your arms by your side, but stick with it for a few sets and you’ll get the hang of it.

Wall Sits: Find a wall and sit! If you are strong enough to go longer thank :30 that’s great but I still want you to do 3 sets. Engage your muscles, let them rest, then do it again! 🙂

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Bonus: Modern Mom/Dad Hip Strength: We have a lot to do today, so if you can’t get to this one, that’s ok. If you do have some time, this one is quick and super effective for our hips!

https://youtu.be/Ebc11SrkqWk