Squats are an absolutely incredible exercise! They build full body strength as you use your core to stabilize and keep everything aligned. The glutes and hamstrings are very large muscles so buy utilizing them you tend to burn a lot of fat. Squats invigorate your nervous system and help your stress response since the squat is a naturally defensive position. They can even help your digestion and the regularity of your bowel movements. Squats are essentially the swiss army knife of exercise.

Don’t wear much make up…but I sure know how to squat! We’re doubling down on squats with yesterday’s frog burpees and today’s frog jumps! Oh…and there’s an extra credit challenge for squats throughout the day. Make sure you get low….but don’t go below parallel. Watch your form and work those glutes Crew!

Day 27 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Squat Frog Jumps
• Calf Raises – 2-3 sets of 10 per side
• Clams – 2-3 sets of 10 per side – use a resistance band if you have one 
• :60 Wall Sit
• Pigeon Pose – My favorite stretch! After you complete today’s extra credit, you’ll want to take a few minutes before bedtime to stretch out those hips and glutes! Get down into position while your watching TV or scrolling through FB and hold that position for at lest :30 per leg.

Bonus: The Runner’s Must-Do Workout – Follow the exercises below for a great Runner’s bonus workout! It says one set all the way through, but I know you can do two!

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Extra Credit: #SquatsAllDay – 20 squats per hour throughout the day before you go to bed. We have a set time we workout and are committed during that hour, but I would love to see you being more active throughout the rest of the day as well. Some of you might have that Garmin notification thing that tells you to move an hour or so after a tough workout. You probably roll your eyes and think, “no way I’m done for today” but that little notification is there to get you moving more all day instead of just through your daily workout session. If you see this post by 8am and commit to 20 squats per hour until you go to bed at 9pm, you will have 12 hours for extra movement. If you do 20 squats per hour you will have done 240 squats throughout the day! Who’s up for the 20 squats per hour challenge with me today? Every time you see a new hour roll over on the clock, get up and drop it to parallel for 20!

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Speed Work: Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually the ideal days for speed work. You’ve had enough time to rest and recover from your long run, and you have enough time to rest and recover before your next long run coming up this weekend.

Click here for Monday’s post and scroll down for this week’s speed workout.

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July Challenge: I’ve gotten very little feedback on our June Challenge and only a few exercise requests for July….that must mean you are good with whatever I choose for the month! 🙂 Still time to get your ideas in!

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Day 27 “how to” videos:

Squat Frog Jumps:  Muscles worked – Glutes, hamstrings, thighs, inner thighs, quads, abs, back

https://youtu.be/6voFQTee0g8

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Calf Raises: Strengthen, lengthen and create more flexible calfs with calf raises.

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Clams: Lying on your side hips at roughly 45 degrees bend and knees at 90 degrees. Slowly lift your top knee up but make sure you keep feet together and keep your back straight. Slowly lower then repeat. You should feel the hip ( gluteal muscles) working at the side of your hip.

Good morning and happy Monday Crew! Up early and ready to attack the day! I have a lot of work to do to catch up to all the awesomeness from this past weekend. I didn’t get a chance to run, but we did lots of walking and TONS of floating. I don’t think floating counts tho… so today I will squat!

I will also be working on our July Challenge so please keep the ideas and new exercises coming.

Monday is all about getting our minds in the game and setting the tone for the week. And today’s full body workout does not disappoint. Of course we have your favorite 5 minute rolling plank, that awesome burning bridge exercise and SQUAT BURPEE HOLDS!

This exercise is going to fire up your thighs and glutes AND give us some great cardio to start the week. NO JUMPING UP in this so NO EXCUSES Crew. Let’s get it on!

Day 26 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Squat Burpee Hold
• Burning Bridge
• Jumping Rope – (50 x 2)
• 5 minute Rolling Plank

Bonus: #CardioStregnth

Adding an additional circuit workout for today that includes a little more cardio and a little more strength. I need it…and I hope you will join me. 1 round, 2 rounds, or 3 rounds. Do whatever you have time for.

Extra Credit: #FavoriteBurpee – Only 1 set of 7 burpees in this extra workout and since you have lots of new burpees in your workout arsenal, pick your favorite from this month and tell us which one you liked best!

Your choices with links to the “daily post” where you can see the how to video again: Sprinter Burpee, Combat Burpee, Frog Burpee, Squat Hold Burpee (today).

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Speed Work: This week we are pushing ourselves but keeping the math simple. The workout is 1/4 mile repeats, or 400 meters. How many should you do? That depends on where you’re at in your training. Start with 4 (1 mile of speed + 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down = 3 miles total) and work your way up. If you regularly run more than 3 miles then do more 1/4 mile (400M) repeats to get in a good workout. I love seeing you push yourself but be smart about it!

• 5K Training = 400M x 4 or 4 (3-4 miles total – 1 mile fast)
• 10K Training = 400M x 8 (4 miles total – 2 miles fast)
• Half Marathon Training = 400M x 12 (5 miles total – 3 miles fast)
• Marathon Training = 400M x 16 (6 miles total – 4 miles fast)

The speed you should shoot for always depends on your on abilities and level of training. These 400M repeats should be done a little faster than 5K pace. That means you should run the  quarter mile a little faster than the pace you would run for a 5K. It is hard, but remember you have a recovery built in. Take :60 – :90 to rest (stand still and breathe) in between each 1/4 mile sprint.

If you run a 5K in 30 minutes your pace is about 8:42 per mile. So you should run each 1/4 mile faster than a 8:42 pace. Cut that number into quarters to find out what the time should be for that distance. A 8:42 pace should translate into around 2:10 for 1/4 mile speed work.

The paces below are a little faster than I’ve pushed you in the past…but remember these are short sprints and you get a rest in of :60 – :90 between. The key here is not to start out too fast. Ease into your speed work…you don’t want to burn out before you complete all the intervals. I would rather see you start on the slower side and get a little faster with each interval repeat.

400 meters (1/4 mile) is considered a “short interval” so the pace is faster than 5K pace and the time listed is the top of the time limit you should be hitting. ****If you can’t reach these paces at first, don’t get discouraged. These are paces to shoot for. If you ran a 30 min 5k 6 months or so ago in cool weather, you may have lost some speed and be slower in the heat. Just do your best and keep working towards your goal!

Here are some pace guidelines along with a time that you should aim to beat for each interval:

• 21 min 5K ≈ 6:05 pace (under 1 min :30)
• 22 min 5K ≈ 6:23 pace (under 1 min :35)
• 23 min 5K ≈ 6:40 pace (under 1 min :40)
• 24 min 5K ≈ 6:58 pace (under 1 min :44)
• 25 min 5K ≈ 7:15 pace (under 1 min :48)
• 26 min 5K ≈ 7:32 pace (under 1 min :52)
• 27 min 5K ≈ 7:50 pace (under 1 min :56)
• 28 min 5K ≈ 8:07 pace (under 2 min)
• 29 min 5K ≈ 8:25 pace (under 2 min :05)
• 30 min 5K ≈ 8:42 pace (under 2 min :10)
• 31 min 5K ≈ 9:00 pace (under 2 min :14)
• 32 min 5K ≈ 9:17 pace (under 2 min :18)
• 33 min 5K ≈ 9:34 pace (under 2 min :22)
• 34 min 5K ≈ 9:52 pace (under 2 min :27)
• 35 min 5K ≈ 10:09 pace (under 2 min :31)
• 36 min 5K ≈ 10:27 pace (under 2 min :35)
• 37 min 5K ≈ 10:44 pace (under 2 min :39)
• 38 min 5K ≈ 11:01 pace (under 2 min :44)
• 39 min 5K ≈ 11:19 pace (under 2 min :49)
• 40 min 5K ≈ 11:36 pace (under 2 min :55)

If you are new to speed work or just need a little more guidance to find pace for this workout, please reach out to me by PM and I will help you find your sweet spot for this workout.

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Day 26 “how to” videos:

Squat Hold Burpee: Basically, you are going to do the burpee without the jump and hold the squat position for a couple second count. Don’t rush through the squat. You want to feel the burn in those glutes and quads!

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Burning Bridge: I think everyone has come to like this full body exercise, Glutes, core, chest, triceps….squeeze, tighten and feel the burn!

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5 Minute Rolling Plank: This seems to be the new “burpee” in that whenever Monday rolls around, I hear more grumbling about this plank than the daily burpees.

Make it work for you. This image is just a guideline….today I want you to make up your own 5 minute rolling plank. You know how to plank, and you know lots of plank variations. So pick the ones that work best for your body and roll into a new position every :30.

One of the runners most important workout…hips and glutes!

Hips and glutes play a major role in keeping runners healthy. Numerous scientific research studies have proven that runners routinely suffer from weak, tight, and under-developed hip muscles.

These hip muscle groups are particularly important because they’ve been implicated in a range of running injuries. Weak hips can often be the cause of IT band pain, patella tendonitis (runner’s knee), piriformis issues, sciatica, and a myriad of other common running injuries. EEEKKKK…every runners worst nightmare!

Here’s the thing…we can do all the exercises and stretches we know are good for us, and still get injured. BUT…our chances of injury go down with strengthening these areas. Personally, I’ll take all the help I can get to keep me on the road doing what I love!

How about you?

Day 22 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Donkey Kicks
• Fire Hydrants
• Bridge with Leg Lift
• Wall Sit – :60

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Speed Work: Unless you are going long during the week, Thursday is the last day you should be doing speed work. Not everyone does their long runs on the weekend, but most do, and we need time to rest and recover from speed work. If you haven’t gotten yours in this week…today is the day! Click here for Monday’s post and scroll down for this week’s “speed play” workout.

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Bonus: Hurdle Drills and Hip Hike – 2-3 sets of 10

These 2 exercises are great ways for runners to help us open up and strengthen our hips. They are new and fun….and if you like them, they’re easy exercises to use as dynamic stretches for pre-run warm ups! Let’s try give them a try!

Hurdle Drill: The video below uses a hurdle as a prop to swing you leg over, but it’s not necessary. You can use a chair, the side of your bed, anything that you can reach up and around, or you can just “pretend” there is a hurdle there. Just don’t go super easy…pull your leg up to the side as high as you can!

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Hip Hike: This exercise is designed to strengthen our glutes and shape your derriere. The hip hike gives us a great stretch and opens up our hips….and helps us get closer to the coveted “runner’s butt”. 🙂

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Day 22 “how to” videos: If you’re not sure how to do today’s main calendar exercises…check out these videos.

Donkey Kicks: Targeting your Glutes and Lower Back, this movement also helps us strengthen our core.

Fire Hydrants: One of my favorites for opening and strengthen our hips! Here’s how to do it.

Bridge with Leg Lift: Gain glute and leg strength with single leg bridges. Watch Michelle Trapp show us how it’s done. You are welcome to hold it as an isometric exercise for a full minute and add the pelvic thrust for 10 reps each set.

 

Ab day…and Arnold V-Sit Day! If you want those nice abs and toned arms…and a strong core that will carry you through tough races, the just DO IT…DO IT NOW! 🙂

Remember to take the time to feel each move and how it affects your arm and core muscles. If you don’t feel it working, you’re not doing it right.

Day 7 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Mountain Climbers (slow these down and feel the burn)
• Kettle Ball / Dumbbell Swing
• Arnold V-Sit
• :60 High Plank

Bonus: Rocky Abs – Since we’re doing the Arnold, I thought it was appropriate to throw in some Rocky too! Bonus workout today is the Rocky abs below. How many rounds do you have in you?

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Speed Work: Still plenty of time to get in some speed this week. Click here for Monday’s post and scroll down to see this week’s speed play workout.

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Day 21 “how to” videos: Just reminders in case you forgot. See below for today’s how to videos.

Mountain Climbers (slowly): I love mountain climbers, but I know I feel them more when I slow them down! Slowly Bring your knees to the outer elbows instead of straight up the middle. This variation will activate those core muscles, build strength in our shoulders and help us learn to control the movement.

Kettle Ball / Dumbbell Swings: No need to go out and buy a new piece of equipment for this exercise. The swing can be done with a kettle ball or a dumbbell. Of course if you have a kettle ball you can use that too.

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Arnold V-Sit: Hot arms & abs – this exercise targets our core, biceps, shoulder and triceps. Same 2-3 sets of 10. Hold that core tight and open up your arms and chest.

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High Plank: Arms, shoulders, core – GETTT ITTT

https://youtu.be/nXfGD86YZBc

We are runners…and runners need strong legs!

What more needs to be said?

Let’s do this!

Day 20 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Squats (this is way too easy – double up and make it 3 x 20!)
• Single Leg Balance
• Weighted Hip Lift
• :60 Wall Sit

Bonus: Modern Mom/Dad Hips – Hope to see everyone tackling this awesome hip strength workout today. 4 minutes per leg. You have time!

https://youtu.be/Ebc11SrkqWk

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Extra Credit: Since today is leg day and we’re getting in some great hip work too…AND I know our 7 Key Stretches for Runners get boring…let’s throw in some yoga!

Yoga for Runners: Tight Hips and Legs

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Speed Work: Have fun with fartleks this week Crew! Click here and scroll down Monday’s post for our speed play workout.

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Day 20 “how to” videos:

Squats – Great for quads, hamstrings and glutes!

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Single Leg Balance: Balance exercise to improve neuromuscular function, balance and coordination.

Originally, I was thinking of the single leg balance exercise that is basically the same as the single leg deadlift. Then I found this video and decided to switch it up a bit. Let’s try this single leg balance reach exercise and work on balance, coordination and core strength.

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Weighted Hip Lift: For this exercise, find a bench or use the side of a low bend or couch. You can use a dumbbell in place of the barbell. Lift as high as you can using your hips and glutes and squeeze at the top. Hold your core in tight!

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Wall Sit: You know how to do this one, right?? Here it is again…just in case. 🙂

Burpees almost always cause moaning and groaning, eye rolling, and even some under the breath cursing…not today Crew! These burpees are fun!

I ate horribly yesterday, so I woke up ready to kill this full body exercise day and work off some of the gluttony. Hope you’re all ready to join me. Let’s get sweaty and burn some calories!

Day 19 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Frog Burpees
• Burning Bridge
• 100 Jumping Jacks – 2 sets of 10 or 4 sets of 25
• 5 Minute Plank

If you’re like me, and went overboard this weekend with Father’s Day celebrations, end of the school year parties, or just didn’t pay attention to the “moderation” rule at dinner, then it’s time to burn some extra calories today!

On average, we burn around 100 calories per mile when we run. There’s not many other ways we can burn calories quite that quickly. Here’s the deal…you can run through the exercises below and burn around 100 calories…OR you can run 1 more mile than you planned today. No run planned? Head out for 1 mile. 3 miles planned? Add 1 more! Whatever you plan was for today….add a little extra burn!

Bonus: Burn 100 Extra Calories – Your Choice or do the workout below

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Speed Work: Fartleks – Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play,” and that is exactly what it’s all about.

Unlike tempo and interval work, fartlek is unstructured and alternates moderate-to-hard efforts with easy throughout. After a warmup, you play with speed by running at faster efforts for short periods of time (to that tree, to the sign) followed by easy-effort running to recover. It’s fun in a group setting as you can alternate the leader and mix up the pace and time. And in doing so, you reap the mental benefits of being pushed by your buddies through an unpredictable workout. The goal is to keep it free-flowing so you’re untethered to the watch or a plan, and to run at harder efforts but not a specific pace.

Fartleks for weight loss and calorie burn – While running an easy three-miler a few days a week is better for weight loss than doing nothing, there is a smarter approach. Break out of your routine by boosting your intensity and doing different types of workouts, like this week’s fartlek speed workout. Sprinting is like starting and stopping a car, it burns more gas than a steady pace. Throwing some sprinting at higher speeds into a 45 minutes workout makes your body work harder and burns up to 30 percent more calories to keep up with the demand!

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Day 19 “how to” videos:

Frog Burpees – This video shows you several ways to do this exercises. The key is to stay low and keep moving!

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Burning Bridge – We’ve been doing these every Monday so you should have a good handle on them but watch the video below for a quick reminder.

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Jump Rope – with or without jump rope. Remember, you don’t need a jump rope to get a good burn from this exercise. The video below shows you how to do it with a “pretend jump rope”.

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5 Minute Rolling Plank: Take short breaks if/when you need too but get through these five minutes!

Monday is the day to work off those excess calories we consumed over the weekend, and set the tone for the week. Do nothing today…and burn nothing. Instead of making excuses, choose to do a little more than you planned today and let’s start the week off right!

Build positively powerful arms with slow negative repetitions.

When you were a kid playing with bottle rockets, you learned quickly that what goes up must come down. The same goes for lifting. However, oftentimes we put all of our energy into propelling the weight upward, then just let it drop.

Unfortunately, that approach doesn’t take advantage of the strength and muscle building powers of the eccentric contraction, the negative half of the rep. It’s during this portion of the repetition that a lot of the micro-damage occurs within the muscle tissue, damage that’ll be repaired and replaced with thicker muscle fibers, which translates into stronger, more powerful muscles.

So while it’s much easier to let gravity take over and just speed through the negative portion of the exercise, you’re cheating yourself out of muscle-building results.

For today’s arm exercises, make the negative repetition (down movement) last three seconds. You have to consciously fight the descent of the weight, meaning you’ll make the set significantly harder than when you focus only on the lift (positive repetition).

Slow it down and and focus on form and control!

Day 16 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Slow Push Ups
• Slow Tricep Dips
• Slow Bicep Curls
• :60 High Plank
• Arm Stretches!

“How to” Videos:

Slow Push Ups: You can add variety to your push-ups by simply by changing the speed or the tempo of the movement. Take your push-up really slow and work more on stability and control.

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Slow Tricep Dips: For this move, slow down the up portion of the move. This video doesn’t show it, but make the up movement a :03 count.

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Slow Bicep Curls: This video is a little too slow…don’t slow down this much but the same movement. Fast up…slow down for a :03 count.

https://youtu.be/UfRj7BsG7zI

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High Plank: From standard plank position, making sure your shoulders are directly above your hands, slowly lower yourself until your body is in line with your arms. Keep your elbows touching your ribs and your core tight so nothing touches the floor except your hands and toes.

https://youtu.be/nXfGD86YZBc

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Arm Stretches:

Bicep Stretch:

Tricep Stretch:

 

Great buns, strong, agile, powerful legs and balance and stability….all products of today’s workout! Just make sure you steer clear of thunder storms… 🙂

In these 4 exercises, we’re working our glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves and ankles. They also help us develop agility and balance.

The workout won’t be easy. Take it one move at a time and do your best. The lunge series has 3 moves per leg in one repetition, so it you can’t make it to 10 reps for each set, that’s ok. But don’t quit early if you know you have more in you. Push yourself and see how far you can go.

Proper form is very important with lunges! Make sure you’re not going over that front knee. 90 degree angle then stop. “How to” videos are below.

Day 15 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Lunge Series (Multi-directional lunges)
• Step Ups
• Single Leg Deadlift
• :60 Wall Sit

I really want you to push yourself today. Do your best to get the full sets in on these exercises, and make sure you are doing them correctly.

Bonus: Stretch & Roll – The best way to end the day. Stretch those sore legs and roll out the lactate built up with all the weeks hard work. Long runs are right around the corner…let’s get ready for them! – 7 Key Stretches for Runners

Day 15 “how to” videos:

Lunge Series (Multi-directional lunges): It’s best to start lunges without any weights. Perfect your form, then add some weight to challenge the leg muscles.

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Step Ups: The “step-up” targets the muscles of your glutes, quads, and hamstrings. It’s considered one of the best exercises for building strong, lean legs. This move also raises your heart rate, which helps increase your calorie burn. “Step-ups” are a great way to build leg strength, develop explosive power, and improve the symmetry of your leg musculature. You need some form of step for this exercise. If you don’t have a step, try a bench, or use stairs. Avid using a chair or something that will fall over easily.

Start with just your bodyweight. If that feels easy, add some light weights.

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Single Leg Deadlift: The single-leg deadlift strengthens the gluteus muscles, hamstrings, and adductor muscles while working to extend the hips. Our lower back functions as a  stabilizer promoting strength and stability in our core. This exercise, often referred to as the non-surgical butt lift, is unique in that it allows you to fully appreciate the beauty of learning how to stabilize on one leg, while training each side of your body without favoring or over-compensating.

https://youtu.be/mG-Stc3c7N0

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Wall Sit: Finish off today’s workout (or do this exercise immediately after your run) with a wall sit. Hold for :60 or longer!

 

Good morning crazy Crew! Loving this quote today, because we are a little nuts about our heath and fitness, but we love it and attack our days with enthusiasm and FUN!

Today is Arms and Core day and MAN…do we have a fun day planned! I have a feeling some of these exercises will be new to you so PLEASE watch the “how to” videos to learn how to do them correctly. Pay attention, do your best, and you might just find some new exercises to add your workout arsenal!

The crocodile rows and the Ab-Fab Press are both simple exercises that pack a big punch and can be done in high reps. Try them and let me know what you think.

Day 14 exercises: 2-3 sets of 10

• Mountain Climbers (slow these down and feel the burn in your arms and core
• Crocodile Rows
• Ab-Fab Press
• :60 High Plank

Bonus: Ab Pyramid (1 round) – Remember this one? Bringing it back today! Today’s workout is pretty quick and this month is a little light on core work, so I would love to see you take some extra time and gives those abs some extra attention.

Day 14 “how to” videos:

Mountain Climbers (slowly): We’re going to do this a little differently then in the past. I want you to slow them down and bring your knees to the outer elbows instead of straight up the middle. This variation will activate those core muscles, build strength in our shoulders and help us learn to control the movement.

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Crocodile Rows: This exercise works our back, shoulders, biceps, and abs. This is a quick exercise, but great for back strength. If 3 sets of 10 feels easy, do more reps!

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Ab-Fab Press: Shoulders and Abs! Sit up tall and use those arms to press upward. Come back down slow and controlled.

We’re half way through the week…and almost halfway through the month. Let’s get up, get moving and attack the day with enthusiasm!

Sending you happy thoughts and wishing you a great day!