It'a all in the BEEF!
Why would a vegan blogger be talking about BEEF I hear you cry?  Well BEEF actually stands for Balance, Elbow, Eye and Follow through.  These four components are key to the perfect Basketball shot.  So with all those hints, on with today's Basketball inspired fitness treat!!  Don't worry, you don't need to find your nearest court, just a little imagination!

Basketball Jumps

How to;

• Start with your feet shoulder width apart and lower down into a squat position (Balance)
• Visualise your target - i.e.  where you want your imaginary ball to go into (Eye)
• The elbow of the shooting arm holding the ball should be straight (Elbow)
• ​Jump up to release the ball and follow through with the wrist (Follow through)

Now that you know about BEEF, lets time this activity and see how many jump shots we can do in 1 minute.  For those that want to challenge your self, keep going until your body tells you to stop!

A time to stretch!

A gentle stretching routine should be an essential part of your daily routine, as it helps you loosen and lengthen our muscles. So today's fitness treat is a good old stretch combo!!

How to;

We will be doing 8 reps of the following moves.  You can either choose to be in a standing or seated position.

-Neck Rotations 

-Shoulder Rolls (lift shoulders up, back and down)

-Chest Pumps  (push chest forward, then retract backwards)

- Grandfather clock sways  
(Keep your legs shoulder width apart as lower your upper body down towards your hips as you swing from left to right like a pendulum swing)

-Hip Circles 
(Think hula dancer but in slow motion!!)

-Knee Raises

-Ankle Circles
 
This a great combo to do at the start and end of the day. Remember, take your time with each of the moves and try to connect with the muscles that you are stretching.


xoxo

Press Ups
 
How are your abs feeling following yesterday's 100-ab challenge? Well today we are going to be working the upper body muscles with the classic press up.

Now it's not essential for you to get down in a high plank position to really work these muscles, as you can do the same movement standing (pressing into wall), on the back of a park bench or in a table top position on the floor.

So with all these variations, let's aim for 3 sets of 8-12 reps in a position of your choice!

Remember, it's not about speed, but the quality of the movement. So keep your arms shoulder width apart with your fingers pointing foward and breathe throughout the movement.

xoxo

100 Ab Challenge

It's Ab-Friday and today we are going to be doing the 100 ab-challenge!!! Yes I said 100!!  It's not as scary as it sounds, as you get to choose the most effective ab exercise for you; from a standing crunch to V-Sits!

For those that can, aim for one long set!!  Otherwise, you can always break up the 100 reps throughout the day. Here is an example;

x25 Basic Crunches
x25 Reverse Crunches
x25 Toe Reaches
x25 Bicycle Crunches

Whatever ab exercise you choose, remember to keep the core muscles engaged throughout and don't hold your breath!!!

What is your favourite abdominal exercise?

xoxo

Table top kicks

I don't know about you, but 2015 seemed to be the year of the butt!!  Certainly a trending topic on twitter, with people investing in shapewear to achieve the J.Lo curve or the Kim Kardashian! Well whatever sized behind you have, today's fitness treat will help to give it a naturally healthy lift!

How to:

-Begin on all fours, hands underneath your shoulders, arms straight and knees hip width apart.

-Now kick your left leg back (leading with your heel) and hold before returning to the start. Easy!!!

Start with 12-15 reps on each leg and build up the number of sets as get stronger.

Remember, you can come down on to your elbows if you can take the weight on your wrists.

Tricep Dips

One of the biggest complaints I have from my female clients is "how can I get rid of all that jiggle at the back of my arms?" Well today's fitness treat is a classic move for tightening your tricep muscles move time (coupled with the right nutrition of course!!)

How to:

• Sit comfortably on a chair or bench with the palms of your hands on the seat of your chair for support, with your finger tips pointing towards your feet.  Throughout the whole of this exercise, keep your shoulders AWAY from your ears!!!
  
• Lift your bottom up and away from the chair/bench, with your legs out in front of you

• Slowly bend your elbows to lower your body toward the floor until your elbows are at about a 90-degree angle. 
• Once you reach the bottom of the movement, press down into the bench to straighten your elbows, returning to the starting position. This completes one rep (we are going to do 3 sets of 12-15 reps).
• Keep your shoulders down as you lower and raise your body. You can bend your legs to modify this exercise.

Too easy?  Trying combining this move with a single leg raise.  Too hard? Keep the legs bent rather than straight out in front of you

Killer Calves!

We all want to look good in our party outfits, so why risk wobbling around in your Jimmy Choos, as opposed to strutting with style?!  So to help us strengthen those lower leg muscles, we are going to be doing a killer calf raise combo!  Who says being on your tip toes was easy??

How to:

Stand tall with your shoulders back, chest up and abs.  Feel free to hold on to the wall or a stable surface, then repeat the following;

-x8 Calf raises (feet together)
-x8 Calf raises (toes together, heels apart)
-x8 Calf raises (heels apart, toes together)
-x8 Calf raises (feet shoulder width apart)

Take a 30 second break and see if you can a few more rounds (if you dare!!).

You can perform the calf raises sitting down also, so choose the appropriate stance that works for you.


On a serious note, let us spare a thought for our feet this Christmas!  They carry us wherever we want to go, so they don't deserve to be squeezed into shoes that clearly are not our size and we can't even walk in them!!  Poorly fitting shoes and excessively high heels can lead to poor posture, corns and even bunions!   So do yourself a favour and be shoe smart.  My mantra is, if the shoes don't fit you in the shop, then they won't fit you at home either!! LOL


xoxo

Boxercise

Its a boxing inspired cardio day, so lets get ready to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee in just 7 rounds!!

Here are the moves;

x4 Jumping Jacks forwards

x8 Jab and Cross (punch left arm towards the right side of the room and then reverse the move by leading with the right arm punching towards the left side of the room)

x4 Jumping Jacks backwards

x8 hook punches (punching with a bent arm this time, palm facing you)

x4 Jumping Jacks on the spot

x8 upper cut punches (the power comes from your legs on this move as you have to squat down and then throw the upward punch, keeping your elbows close to the body - no chicken wings!!)

Now repeat for 6 more rounds!!!

Remember you are in control of the moves, so punch faster if you want to make it harder or take out the jump and just do 4 step touches instead to lower the intensity.

xoxo
 

6 minutes of positive affirmations

When was the last time you looked in the mirror and said something nice about yourself?  Chances are, it's been a while!!
It seems we not only find it hard to receive compliments, but we are very good at highlighting our flaws so much, that eventually we become the flaws that we choose to see!

So what's the point?

Well taking the time to confess positive affirmations is similar to giving your body a detox - getting rid of the old mindset and making way for the new.

On with the challenge... 

-Find a comfortable place to sit/lie down with your eyes closed.

-Take a deep breath and start to think about all things that you are thankful for in your life

- when you are ready, start to declare some of those positive affirmations about yourself. Some words may sound strange because we don't believe it yet, remember to get rid of the old, we need to make way for the new by speaking it out; For example;

"I am wonderfully made"                                                      " I am hard working"                   "I am worth it!"
                                                       "I am loved"
                  "I am unique"                                            "I am a queen" 

One of my friends wrote a beautiful song and there is a line in the song which I often use to pick myself up when I am feeling less than all the positive affirmations that I can think about.;
"Be you, be unique, be outstanding, let your light shine bright"

Killer Calves

 I'm so excited about today's bite size move as we are going to be targeting those lower leg muscles so that we all can look fierce in our heels during the holidays (and I LOVE me some heels all year round!!).

Calf Raises are fantastic, as they can pretty much be performed everywhere and anywhere.  Now, don't be deceived by how easy it is to perform a calf raise, as its simply lifting your heels of the ground and coming back down.  HOWEVER, after a few reps, you will see why I'm calling today's move - Killer Calves!!

How to;

-Stand tall with your shoulders back and abs pulled in and complete the following combo;
-x8 Calf raises (feet together)
-x8 Calf raises (toes together, heels apart)
-x8 Calf raises (heels together, toes apart)
-x8 Calf raises (feet shoulder width apart)

 You can rest your hands against a wall or a sturdy object for balance, or if you are unable to stand, try the same moves, but sitting down!!

See how many rounds you can do!!

xoxo