We are excited for summer and working out harder to get swimsuit ready! 👙 ☀️ Elena decided that I should come up with a 30 Day challenge for March three days before March. 🙄 So between working on Friday, basketball on Saturday, and church on Sunday I was finally able to finish it late last night.
We will be working out our abs and booty for the month of March. We pinned a lot of different workouts on Pinterest to help us come up with different things to try to get the best results for those areas.
I went with the Plank and Full Body Extension for the abs. For the Full Body Extension do as many as you can without bending your arms or legs. 3 sets resting 1 minute between sets. For the booty it’s all about the squats and lunges. Below is the 30 Day challenge if you would like to join in with us.
It’s no secret that I love to read, I’m kind of obsessed. I feel like there are so many books I need to get to and just not enough time in life to read them all. I’ve written about how I read everywhere…in bed, in the car, waiting rooms, kids practices, pickup lines, traveling, seriously I bring a book everywhere! I’m even rubbing off on those around me. My daughter came home today excited to tell me about two new books she got at the library and I even bullied Erin into becoming a reader 💁🏼♀️ 🤣 But my family thought it was nuts a while back when I told them I’d been reading on the treadmill 🏃♀️
I don’t think it’s that crazy. I mean I’m in one spot and I speed walk more than I run anyway. But I was having difficulty propping my book or e-reader up in place. I knew there had to be something out there that worked with a treadmill and other workout machines. So I found this on Amazon:
This is a game changer!! I can use it to hold actual books, magazines or my iPad/Nook/Kindle whatever it is I’m using to read with at the moment. And if you’re not a reader but need to catch up on some Netflix shows while you workout, well then this works for you too. It is two sided and each side has a different sized lip for different machines and/or depending on what you’re using it to hold. No matter how fast I go or how high I incline this stays put! And it comes in different colors, but I ordered the clear so I can see through it and still read my time & stats. And it’s under $20 🙌🏻
I can watch a show on the iPad or get into a good book and not even realize I’ve been on the treadmill for almost an hour! And when I’m reading no one bothers me at the gym 🤣 #homegym 😜
The votes are in and it sounds like we are doing an Ab Challenge for the month of May!! Who’s excited??? 😳😬 🙋🏼♀️
Seriously though, in the past I’ve always been more motivated to do these when I know I’m not doing it alone. Accountability! And the last few summers I’ve done challenges every spring and really notice the difference, plus it keeps me motivated even after the challenge is over. I also print them out and keep them in our workout room to reuse and my kids even pull them out from time to time.
I switched up the exercises a bit this time. I wanted to make sure we are hitting different areas instead of just focusing on the middle section. I also threw in a rest day after every third day but sometimes I move those around for myself depending on my schedule for that week. You can switch things up also and make things harder by adding weights. I usually use a 10 lb medicine ball for the Russian twists and my daughter uses a 5lb hand weight. So adjust to make it work for you.
Let’s get started. Tomorrow’s the first day! Let us know if you’re joining in.
I cannot believe in less than a week it’s going to be May!! This year is flying by already and bathing suit season is quickly approaching! 👙So we thought it would fun to help each other out with a little challenge.
When the spring comes I usually work a little harder on abs and booty.(To be honest I’ve neglected my squats quite a bit lately 😫) Both Erin and I try to consistently do abs and squats with our regular workouts but it’s time to kick it up a notch. So we thought we would throw it out there for a vote. Once we decide we will post the challenge on the blog page, instagram and Facebook.
Let us know what you would prefer to work on……A 30 day Ab challenge or squat challenge?? Comment your preference.
Misery loves company right 🤣 Just kidding, let’s motivate each-other and we’ll all look amazing this summer! 💁🏼♀️
For the last couple of months we’ve taken a hiatus from our monthly fitness calendars for a few reasons. First of all there are a ton of health & fitness coaches out there and that’s not who we are or intend to be. We both enjoy working out and are totally all in. We aren’t on any kind of weight loss journey or in need of lifestyle changes, so we want that left to those of our friends and followers who focus on that. We also get a lot of messages from people asking us to join their teams or programs, also not what we’re looking for…and lastly because we weren’t doing the exact calendar we were putting out there. We were doing a bunch more and didn’t want to type that up and overwhelm people. Also the holidays were cray cray!!!
That being said, lately a few people have asked what happened to our calendars. Also and most importantly, my daughter wants to know my workout routine daily and it’s exhausting having to remind her all the time!! lol. So this time around I’m going to type up roughly what I’m doing when I workout. And I say roughly because it changes a tad on any given day. If I have time, no kids bothering me and am really feeling it I will do an extra 15 mins of cardio or 30 extra squats, etc.. Then on days when I’m rushing or trying to workout while my kids want me to watch them do 75 cart wheels I might do 5 mins less of cardio. You get the point. Therefore we are jumping in to February with a workout calendar!!
Arms are hard to put in to small text because that may look different for all of us based on what equipment we have. For example Erin uses her dumbbells for a bunch of different exercises. I use mine but also use a weight bench and a pull down machine. As far as squats go, both Erin and I have started doing alternating side-step squats, which are AMAZING!! I’m actually really starting to feel them in the booty! 🙌🏻 And abs can be intimidating because we do a lot….I often do close to if not two hundred(+) each time. After having 3 kids this was the one area I was self conscious of so I started working them hard. Once they got to where I wanted them it just seemed easy to keep it up. Below I’ve included the ab exercises I’m doing daily and some ideas for arms if you only have hand weights.
I’m really excited to get back in to these calendars because it makes me search up different exercises and try out new things. It sounds crazy I know, but both of us really do try new workouts and are constantly sharing with each other what works, doesn’t work and what we want to try next . The one thing I need to emphasize to anyone who’s new at this kind of lifestyle is that it does get easier and less dreaded over time. I wasn’t always this excited about working out. And the best part is that now I’m always looking to focus on a different muscle or part of the body when I’ve achieved one goal. So it never gets old. Ok, so below is the February calendar….I hope you workout along with us!
Abs- 50 Russian twists with 10lb medicine ball, 25 standard crunches, 25 crunches with knees up, 25 crunches elbow to knee, 20 flutter kicks, 20 scissor kicks, 50 punches (slightly reclined, knees up)
*I use 2 rest days throughout the week whenever needed. Often not on the weekends but during the week on hectic days. SO move them to where you need them. But I keep it at 5 days and try to remain consistent with that.
Are you working out with us??? If not you need to. Both of us have gotten so much stronger and fitter by doing some simple & traditional daily workouts. It doesn’t have to be crazy or hard, just consistent. Seriously, we’ve seen some workouts posted and people are doing crazy things that just aren’t a right fit for us. So we decided to make our own monthly workouts with simpler, tried and true workouts that really work if done with consistency.
Summer is winding down and I cannot believe it’s August already!! I certainly indulge a lot more in the summer since I’m out and about with the kids all the time. I’m so thankful these challenges have kept me feeling good though. On the weekdays I’ve been getting up and working out before the kids are out of their rooms and asking for breakfast, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to find the time so easily. The other day we went out to dinner and I ate way too much!! At some point I joked that I had a food baby. Yesterday while I was getting dressed to exercise my 5 year old asked if I had to go to the hospital to get the food baby out😬 🤣😂 Oh my Goodness!
Last month we changed the challenge up a bit and this month I switched things around a little also. I really like the Sunday rest day…some weeks I’ve even used it for a different day if I wasn’t able to get a workout in so I like that flexibility. Instead of different counts every day I kept the numbers consistent but alternated workouts from day to day. I tried to focus on the workouts that I’ve noticed work the best for us. Both Erin and I started incorporating flutter kicks and ankle touches in to our workout mid month and we both agree we really feel them the most. With the flutter kicks I don’t lay flat, but hold my upper body up of the ground a bit and 🙌🏻 oh I can feel those abs working!
So we hope you join us for the month of August. Whether you are new to working out or just want to incorporate the challenge into what you already do please let us know what you think.
Summer is here!! ☀️🌻 I’m enjoying lots of treats with my kids and a fruity cocktail here and there 🍹 So I need to make sure I’m working out consistently these days. But I’m feeling the daily challenges are getting a little monotonous for me. I’ve been doing them but I just feel like a little change will be more motivating. So Erin had this bright idea that we change up our workout days instead of doing the same routines daily. Easy for her to say when I’m the one who actually does the typing up of these things 🙄🤣
I figure most of us ladies want to work on one body part more than the other, so I tried to cover the bases …. arms, legs & abs. I’m totally out of my league talking about arm workouts but over the last 2 months I’m excited about how my arms have changed with the simple workouts we’ve been doing, so I’ve kept those going on arm day. I’m a total rookie so I started with 5lb. weights and have moved up to 8lbs. For the legs I picked lunges to take a break from all the squatting and jumping we did last month, lol. The abs are my absolute fave! I love the sitting punches and always finish my workouts with them. I do them sitting with my legs off the ground and can feel them working so much better.
I also decided to throw some cardio in there to keep us moving. I know some people don’t do any cardio but I find I have so much more energy throughout my day even if I only do 10 or 15 mins on my treadmill. I picked jumping jacks because Erin said she doesn’t like them since they make her feel like she’s in grade school and high knees because my kids think I’m saying hiney 🤣 No but seriously, they both are great exercises that work multiple muscles as well as getting our hearts pumping! And Sunday’s are rest days so you don’t hate us 😬 Ok, workout with us and let us know what you think!
Woohoo!! We made it through the May challenge. I feel much stronger and definitely have more muscle tone in my arms after consistently doing the arm workouts. But total disclosure….I hated those wall sits! Thanks for choosing those Erin 🙄. They were ok at first but mid month I had to start splitting the time because I just couldn’t hold it that long. But I did get it done and they won’t be on our June challenge! 😬
We are going to keep the arms going for June and you can decide if you want to add more weight or just stick with what you’ve been doing. I think I might go up a tad and see how that feels. We are switching up our crunches and doing bicycle crunches this month. These will work on our lower abs and sides while toning our thighs as well. Mountain climbers are taking the place of our planks. This one is great for total body. Get yourself in the plank position and alternate pulling your knees into your chest. Switch legs simultaneously like in a running motion. And last but not least jumping squats. My son thinks these are hilarious and cracks up every time I do them, lol. Just do a regular squat but when you come up go in a jumping motion with your arms straight up in the air.
I’m really excited for this June challenge. I hope you will follow along with us and let us know how you’re doing along the way!!
Shout out to everyone who finished out April’s challenge with us!
We decided since swimsuit season is just around the corner we wanted to stay focused on our tummy/core and tone our arms. We did switch some things up a bit. Elena loves the squats but they are not my favorite so she gave in to me and switched to wall sits. We will continue to do planks but with a twist and for our arms we will do the upright row and overhead Tricep extension. At the bottom of the May calendar it will explain the plank and arm exercises.
Please post pictures of you doing our May challenge on Instagram
(follow us @elenaanderinblog) and don’t forget to tag us in them.
Elena And Erin.....It Is What It Is 