Big hair, Big care. Caring about you getting that feel-good workout in that is!

^ They talk about Dad jokes, but can I get a Mom joke?

But seriously, I need motivation to keep up those workouts!

Consequences: a big thing for me.

🔎What happens if I don't workout?

🔑I know I'll feel blah. I know I won't be as focused nor energized for the rest of the day.

Over time, I'll lose strength, I'll feel worse in my daily tasks, I'll be more at risk for injury and/or take longer to heal from issues.

💡See, there's an interesting thing about exercising: we feel 'too tired' to do it, yet in doing it, we get more energy (*caveat being over training etc, so if that's you, then we need a different conversation to give that body some proper TLC).

🔎 What happens if I do workout?

🔑 Increased energy, happiness, focus, productivity for the day. Strength, safety, ability to do more, and for longer.

And while I love working out in the mornings, whenever you can get in the habit of making it happen that works for you is great.

**What's your main motivation for working out??**

[If you feel like you could use some guidance & foundational work, check out The 101 Series orBBK On-Demand}

From the show notes by Laurie:

During our conversation, Kate and I discuss: 

• The power of consistency
• The impact of removing the word “only” from your vocabulary 
• How our relationship with fitness evolves and changes over time

I vividly remember being a busy mom with younger kids trying to navigate motherhood, career and a household. During those years, the first thing that I abandoned was working out. 
Looking back now, I wish I had a different perspective on what fitness looked like and how I could fit it into my life. 
​
​
​Hope you enjoy this discussion. There are so many parallels between a calm home, our mental health, and taking steps forward for our physical health. 
Would love to hear your comments. Reach out to me on Insta @be.bykate or by the contact form above!

LATERAL LEG WORK

While I wanted a more straightforward exercise name here, since two of these progressions involve more than the standard side leg lift, I went with the more generalized title. Here, find that classic and good for us side leg lift, but also see variations that involve more muscles in the legs, hips, and glutes, as well as an addition of a resistance band to make the classic exercise much more challenging.

Important details:

-Keeping hip stacked-- aka don't let the top hip roll back, especially challenging when doing a circle or forward/back movement. Contract the glutes and think 'forward' with that top hip.
-Leg lift is parallel not turned out-- aka your knee faces front not up, and it's the side of the leg pressing toward the ceiling
​-Control--Tempting to rush and 'plop' in between. Don't! 
-Breathe. Always breathe.

BRIDGES

Great work for the glutes (butt) and hamstrings (back of upper legs) as well as bonus feel good work for back and  release in shoulders and neck.

Important details:

-Only add the variations below if you can maintain the contraction of the glutes when pressing the hips up
-Think about lengthening the hip flexors as you press up
-Back is neutral on ground in between, no flaring up of rib cage/popping up of low back

​Disclaimer: ​𝑨𝑳𝑾𝑨𝒀𝑺 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌. 𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑨𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑶𝑾𝑵 𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑲.

"Looking for a killer workout that builds endurance and improves cardiovascular fitness? The answer to this is only a hop, skip, and a jump away — literally. 

Enter jump rope. Most of us left it behind on the school playground, which is why it's one of the most underutilized fitness tools. It's an incredible cardio workout that gets your heart pumping.

"Doing this exercise consistently will strengthen your cardiovascular system and build muscle throughout your full body," says Christine VanDoren, Personal Trainer and Nutritionist.

Before you jump in, come learn the ins and outs of this workout that you don't want to skip. "

"Jumping rope is a quick and efficient cardio boost."

"If you try to do too much too soon, you risk soreness in the lower legs, ankles, shoulders and lower back, adds Kate Cherichello, NYC Certified Fitness Professional and Founder of Be. By Kate. Personal Training & Coaching (not to mention, you don't want to get slapped in the face with the rope).

So, depending on your fitness and goals, 10 minutes of jumping rope may be enough, or it may be too much. And, don't feel like you need to jump for 10 minutes in a row."

"Cherichello recommends that beginners jump rope every other day, or a few times per week, but not every day. This allows enough recovery time for your body, which is essential to reduce injury risk."

"While you're at it, you could make it as part of a cardio workout. "For instance, a 10-minute run, right into five minute of jump rope, into two minutes of jumping jacks, into 30 seconds of squats jumps, then repeating from the top two more times,"  Cherichello tells Lively. "That will be an intense and fast-moving workout!""

"Try this jump rope circuit by Chakoian.

How to do it: Combine this jump rope workout with one of your typical weekly workouts, or complete it on its own. Complete the circuit twice twice. On the second round, start with Round 4 and work backward. You can do the entire workout all at once, or complete one round between sets of your workout. Rest for the recommended amount of time or as needed. 

Round 1: 45 seconds on with 20 seconds rest
Round 2: 60 seconds on with 30 seconds rest
Round 3: 90 seconds on with 60 seconds rest
Round 4: 120 seconds on with 60 seconds rest"

The above excerpted from article put together by Sarah Kester for Vital Proteins.

If you are trying a jump rope workout this week, share on Insta and tag me @be.bykate so I can cheer you on!