Household Objects

12-Minute Full-Body Slider Workout (+Giveaway!)

October 12, 2016 by Nicole 4 Comments

I have a challenging workout for you guys today (my legs were quivering by the end!) and a giveaway to reward you for your efforts. 🙂

I’ve teamed up with daniel glass on today’s post and one lucky winner will get one of their super cute glass water bottles. They come in a bunch of different fun colors and are BPA-free, which is so important. The colorful silicon sleeve that’s wrapped around the glass makes the bottle easy to grip during sweaty workouts.

So yes, there are lots of other BPA-free glass water bottles out there, but what got me excited to work with daniel glass is that the company donates 10% of its proceeds to ocean pollution clean-up charities. I love it when companies give back!

Enter to win. If you win you’ll get to pick out the water bottle color of your choice. You’ll notice they all have fun names–I had to go with Fuchsia AF because “AF” is my favorite unit of measurement. 😉 The below link will bring you to the entry page. You’ll just need to enter in an email address so that daniel glass can contact you (so to be clear, I’m not collecting your email address, DG is).

ENTER TO WIN

The winner will be chosen October 31st.

Alright now that we’ve covered hydration, it’s time to get your game face on for today’s workout …

12-Minute Full-Body Slider Workout

Equipment I Used

Sliders (dish towel works for hardwood floors and paper plates work on carpet)

This workout flows one move right into the next–it’s short, but it is continuous work with the exception of a 30-second breather in the middle. Think of the sequence as being broken up into three progressions. With the progressions, we add in moves every 30 seconds, building up a combo, and then take away moves in a similar fashion. Writing out the description makes it sound confusing so I’d highly recommend just following along with the video or at least watching it before doing the workout on your own–everything will make much more sense! That being said, here’s the general flow:

Lunge Slides –> Lunge Slides + Crunch –> Crunch
Lunge –> Lunge + Swan Dive –> Lunge + Swan Dive + Single Leg Bear –> Swan Dive + Single Leg Bear –> Single Leg Bear
Twisted Push Ups –> Twisted Push Ups + Thread the Needle Pike –> Thread the Needle Pike

This workout is no joke–I was trembling getting through the second side. That being said, if you need to take more breaks, just pause the video occasionally. Listen to your body–remember there’s a difference between hurts so good and hurts. As with any workout, make sure to warm up beforehand.

WEARING | Movement Intuition Leggings by Free People c/o Shopbop // Nike Sports bra (old but this bra top is similar) // Adidas neo sneakers (also love these similar all-white sneakers from Nike)

Let me know how it goes if you try this workout! Were your legs burning as much as mine were?? And good luck to everyone entering the giveaway!

This post was sponsored by daniel glass. All opinions–as always!–are my own. I appreciate your support of the brands that make this blog possible. 🙂

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Btone, Full Body, Giveaways & Discounts, Household Objects, Sliders, Video, Workouts

15-Minute Towel Core Workout

July 28, 2016 by Nicole 8 Comments

Today’s workout is a mix of sliding plank work and kneeling core exercises. It’s broken up into blocks so that the upper body gets relief here and there from holding a plank position. The structure admittedly looks confusing, but I promise it’s not. And that’s the beauty of this whole YouTube thing–just follow along with me as I do it!

If you’re a megaformer lover, this workout has your name written all over it.

As with all workouts, make sure to warm up beforehand. Always listen to your body and modify when needed.

Towel Core Workout

So I messed up right and left a little in the video (rookie mistake!). The whole straight-on mirror image vs. profile view screwed me up so just make sure to do as I say not as I do (only the case during Block 3).

Block 1

Do each of the three exercises for 30 seconds. Do that twice, resting for 15 seconds in between.

Bear | Start in a plank position with your feet on a towel. Keeping your hips level with your shoulders, back flat, slide your feet forward, bending your knees in towards your elbows. Slide feet back out, straightening your legs into plank position.

Plank to Pike | Start in a plank position with your feet on a towel. Keeping your legs straight, pike your hips up into the air, bringing your body into an upside down “v” shape. Try to keep your heels lifted as you do this, sliding on the balls of your feet. Once you hit your peak (if you have tight hamstrings, you may not be able to get your hips up very high—that’s ok!), slowly lower back down into plank position.

Combo Bear + Pike on Forearms | Combo the two moves down on your forearms.

Block 2 (right)

Do each of the three exercises for 30 seconds.

Mermaid | Come to a kneeling position with your left knee down and your right leg extended straight out to the side. You want your left hip stacked over the left knee. Grab the towel by it’s ends and extend your arms straight up overhead. From here, lean over to the left, lowering your torso so that it forms a diagonal line with your right leg–if you can comfortably go lower, do so. Lift back up by contracting the right side obliques.

Mermaid Twist | Same position as the previous exercise, you’re just going to bend the elbows out wide, bringing the towel behind your head so it’s out of the way (you could also just ditch it–not important here). Lowering your torso so that it makes a diagonal line with your outstretched leg, twist towards the floor and then back to face forward. You stay low as you twist, wringing out your waist like a wet washcloth.

Mermaid Pulses | In the same position as the previous two moves, extend your top arm up towards the ceiling, hold your torso at that low diagonal and pulse up an inch and down an inch.

Block 3 (right)

Do each of the three exercises for 30 seconds. Do that twice, resting for 15 seconds in between.

Twisted Bear | In a plank position, feet on a towel, hands stacked under shoulders on an exercise mat, cross your right foot in front of the left with toes pointing towards the left. You’ll twist through the waist, slightly lowering your right hip to do so. This is your starting position. From here, start bending your knees in towards your left elbow, sliding your feet forward. When you’re in as far as you can go, slide the feet back out, straightening your knees back into your starting position. As you do these, try to keep your hips level with your shoulders (don’t sit your bum onto your heels as you slide the feet in; engage your right sidebody to keep them lifted).

Twisted Pike | In a plank position, feet on a towel, hands stacked under shoulders on an exercise mat, cross your right foot in front of the left and drop your heels so that you’re heel-to-toe with toes pointing towards the left. You’ll twist through the waist, slightly lowering your right hip to do so. This is your starting position. Maintaining this leg position and keeping your knees straight, pike your hips slowly up into the air. When you’ve reached your peak, slowly lower back down to that twisted plank starting position.

Combo Twisted Bear + Pike on Forearms | Combo the two previous moves down in a forearm plank position (right foot still crossed in front of left).

Block 2 (left)

Block 3 (left)

Finisher

One move, 30 seconds. The purpose is to center the core work and stabilize (I hate ending on one side of the body!).

Over-Under Towel Crunch | Start sitting on your tailbone holding the towel by its ends outstretched in front of you. Legs are extended out straight and hovering a few inches off the floor, torso is leaning back at an angle. Crunch your knees and chest up and in towards each other and as you do, scoop the towel under your feet. Extend back out to starting position, now with the towel under your legs. Continue crunching, bringing the towel over and under your legs as you go.

WEARING | leggings c/o Sweaty Betty (old but shop current selection here) // Lucy tank (old but shop current selection here)

Since this workout is like a megaformer ab series without the megaformer (kinda?), I figured I’d share my teaching schedule next week for any local readers/Btoners–I’m subbing a ton!

TUES 5:45 AM / 6:40 AM / 7:35 AM / 12 PM North End

WED 6 AM / 6:55 AM / 7:50 AM Back Bay

THURS 6 AM / 6:55 AM Back Bay + 6:20 PM / 7:15 PM North End

FRI 6 AM / 6:55AM North End

SAT 8 AM / 9 AM Back Bay

Filed Under: Abs, Bodyweight, Btone, Household Objects, Video, Workouts

Stair Pyramid Workout

July 20, 2016 by Nicole 14 Comments

Heads up: If you’re local, make sure to read through to the bottom of this post–I’m giving away a bib to run the Falmouth Road Race!

This workout was a no-brainer–I have to take advantage of the stairs in my apartment while I’m here! No equipment is needed and you can get creative–if you don’t have a staircase, you could go outside and replace the stair sprints with hill sprints and just use a bench for the other exercises.

Stair Pyramid Workout

You’ll complete 10 reps of each exercise, then 9, then 8, and so on, finishing with one rep of each exercise. Go through the pyramid circuit as quickly as you can without sacrificing proper form.

Stair Hop Burpees | Start standing about a foot and a half away from the bottom of your stairs. From here, squat down, bringing your hands to the floor. Hop your feet back out into a plank. Hop them back up towards your hands, releasing your hands from the floor and coming upright into a low squat position. From here, hop both feet onto the bottom step, landing in a low squat and quickly jump back down to the floor in your starting position. That’s one rep.

Stair Step Taps (RIGHT) | Start with your right foot on the second step and your left foot on the floor. Squat down, sliding your hips back as you bend your knees. Your goal is to stay this low on the right side throughout the entire exercise. From this starting position, shift your bodyweight into that right heel and tap your left foot to the first step, back down to the floor, to the second step, and back down to the floor. That combo is one rep.

TAP FIRST STEP-FLOOR-SECOND STEP-FLOOR = 1 REP

Stair Step Taps (LEFT)

Stair Push Ups | This is just a traditional push up but with your feet on a step. The higher the step, the harder the push up.

Stair Sprints | Sprint up, jog down. That’s one rep. On the even-rep rounds (10, 8, 6, 4, 2), take the stairs two at a time on the way up. On the odd-rep rounds (9, 7, 5, 3, 1), take the stairs one at a time as you run up.

UP + DOWN = 1 REP

WEARING | tank c/o Athleta (old – shop current selection here) // Booty by Brabants leggings // sneakers c/o PUMA

Enjoy your day! I went to see Guns ‘N Roses last night at Gillette Stadium so I’m off to a slow start–totally worth it though! I rarely go to Patriots games because Gillette is such a pain to get to but to see Slash and Axl in person … hell yes I’ll sit in traffic until 1AM.

And before I end this post, I’ve got an exciting giveaway for local readers!

Falmouth Road Race Giveaway

One lucky reader will win:

Bib to run the Falmouth Road Race August 21, 2016
2 Month Supply of Chia Bars and Chia Protein Bars from Health Warrior
1 Performance SPIbelt + 2 Race Bib Toggles

Enter using the widget below. Winner will be randomly selected this Friday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I’ve run the Falmouth Road Race once before and it’s so fun! Great excuse to get down to the Cape for the weekend (as if you need one). 😉

Good luck!

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Cardio, Full Body, Household Objects, Pyramid, Video, Workouts