{Fitness Friday}

It's Fitness Friday again! I know I missed last week and kinda dropped off the grid for awhile (I do that...I know. I try not to but life just kinda happens..sorry) but I'm still doing P90X and as a matter of fact, just completed the 3rd week of Phase 2, which means next week is my rest week!

The hubs and my schedule got a little wonky this week, so we ended up doing Back and Biceps last night instead of Wednesday. As a result, I can't do Legs and Back tonight because my back needs the day of rest. The hubs birthday is tomorrow so pushing Legs and Back back a day won't work either. To remedy this, I decided to do a lower body workout I found on the web to see how I liked it.

Here is the workout I followed:

Move 1:  Squats (15 - 25 reps depending on fitness level. Add weights if you would like for extra resistance)

Stand with feet hip-width apart, feet facing forward, arms by your sides. Sit back and lower down slowly, as if you were sitting into a chair. Keep your back straight and lower yourself as far as you can. Keep your eyes looking ahead. Immediately rise out of the squat and return to standing.

Move 2:  Forward Lunges (10 - 20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level. Add weights if you would like for extra resistance)

Stand with feet hip-width apart. Step a wide step forward with your right foot, and bend both knees as far as you can without losing your balance until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your left thigh is straight up and down. Your back foot will be flexed. Press off your front foot and step back into starting position. If you can’t go all the way to parallel, start by going partway down. If you need to, stabilize yourself with your hands on your hips, or a stable object.

Move 3:  Plie Jumps (15 - 25 reps, depending on fitness level)

Stand with feet wide apart, with your feet turned out, and hands on hips. Stand tall with abs in. As you squat, press knees wide over your feet. You should feel a stretch along your inner thighs. In one explosive movement, push from your feet to straighten your legs and hop into the jump off the floor. As your feet come back to the floor, try to land softly, absorbing the landing from toes through heels.

Move 4: Fire Hydrants (10 - 20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level)

Start on all fours, knees directly under your hips, and hands directly below your shoulders. Keep your back and neck straight and look forward. Keeping your knee bent, raise your right leg out to the side, until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep your pelvis stable. Slowly lower your leg back to starting position. (You'll feel this in your shoulders and core, too.)

Move 5: Quadruped (10 - 20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level)

Start on all fours, knees directly under your hips, and hands directly below your shoulders. Keeping your right knee bent to 90 degrees, lift right leg until thigh is parallel to floor. Your foot should be flexed. Pump the sole of your foot toward ceiling in a small movement. (You'll feel this in your shoulders and core, too.)

Move 6: Bridge Lift (10 - 20 reps, depending on fitness level)

Lie on your back on a mat, knees bent, feet flat on the floor near your buttocks. Place your arms along your sides with palms flat on floor. Contract your abdominal muscles and slowly lift your hips off floor so that your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders. Squeeze your glutes tight, as you press your hips toward the ceiling. Hold for a second, then lower slowly back down to the floor.

Move 7: Clams(10 -20 reps on each side, depending on fitness level)

Lie on your side on mat with your hips and shoulders in a straight line, head lying on your outstretched arm. Bend your knees so that your thighs are at a 90-degree angle to your body. Stack your hips, shoulders, and knees directly on top of each other. Use your core muscles to hold this alignment as you do the exercise.

Keeping your big toes touching, open your top leg up like a clam shell opening. Press your knee open only as far as it can go without disturbing the alignment of your hips. Slowly return your knee back down. Repeat. You should begin to feel a burn in your upper hip muscle

I repeated the circuit 3 times and was very happy with the muscle burn I felt. I achieved a nice jello feeling in my legs from this and I will definitely keep this in the rotation. As many of you know, I become bored quickly with workouts and often look for the quickest, yet effective ones to do.

Nutrition has been going pretty well for me too. I had a few slip ups here and there but that's life and I no longer beat myself up over stuff like that the way I used to. I have a few recipes that I tried and plan on sharing soon!

What have you been doing to get fit and healthy? Do you have any workouts or recipes to share? I'd love to hear about them if you do.