I’m feeling a bit under the weather this week. For some reason when I am not feeling well I start researching great new workouts on the web. I don’t know if I am trying to tease myself or the lousy feeling makes inspires me to pick up the pace. Sounds counter-productive, I know, but I have found one that I cannot wait to try. If all of the laying around today pays off I might be able to complete this one tonight. Fingers crossed!

Health.com has Jillian Michael’s (love her!) top 5 shape up moves, which I am sure they change with every issue but I like the variations she has added to some traditional moves. Check out the move here.

I am putting the moves into a HIIT style workout. Here it is:

Set your interval timer for 16 rounds 50 sec./10 sec.*

*During the 10 sec. you will be doing Jumping Jacks (no rest!)

Round 1:  Plyo side lunge switch with touchdown

Round 2: Leg kick into single leg pike press

Round 3: One-armed mountain climber

Round 4: Push-up into unstable plank

Round 5: Side Plank Crunch

Repeat Round 1-5 2 more times!

(via health)

I am not into working out with mirrors around. I think that I just look goofy as I struggle through various workouts. Despite this, I am beginning to realize they the advantage in having one or two in the space you are working out in. What’s the benefit? Perfect form. A personal trainer is even better but a mirror is the next best thing!

I was schooled in proper squat form on Saturday. With all of the at home workouts that I have been doing and extensive studies of Pilates and anatomy, I figured my body mechanics were pretty good. Never mind the annoying but not debilitating knee pain I was beginning to feel.

Here’s what you have got to think about if you want to get the most out of a squat and not suffer in the long run!

Head in relaxed (Neutral) Position: Keep your chin and sightline parallel with floor

Chest lifted: This will be easy if you sightline is correct. Think of keeping your superhero symbol in sight (that’s if you had the costume on!)

Abs engaged: Before you begin draw your abs in a secure your back and on the way up gain more strength by focusing on your abs to raise you up

Back maintaining natural curve of lumbar spine (low back):When going into the squat reach your hips back and bodyweight in heels (think of sitting in a chair). You may lose balance the first few times (I did!) but you will feel the difference..hello buttocks! 

Knees over ankles or slightly in front: As you lower down check in with your knees. Make sure they are not too far in front of your ankles and definitely not as far forward as your toes! Also make sure your knees are not buckling inward. You want your knees to be right inline with your ankles.

Weight in heels: Keep your weight in your heels the entire time. I caught myself gripping with my toes in the beginning but the more a practiced, the better my form got!

Make sure you perform a few in the mirror. You will be able to watch for movement in your low back and alignment of knees and ankles

Here is a great image of form!

(images via FitTip and Pinterest)

Dying to get your squat on? Try this workout from Women’s Health Magazine

Perform the following four moves as a circuit: Do one for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and then move on to the next. Repeat twice. To increase difficulty, do the exercises for 30 seconds but keep the resting time the same. This finisher will take about five minutes.

1. Speed Squat: With feet hip-width apart, bend your knees to 90 degrees, keeping your chest upright. Return to standing as quickly as possible.

2. Squat Thrust: With your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees to place your hands on the ground and jump your feet back into a pushup position. Quickly reverse to return to standing.

3. Mountain Climber: From a pushup position, quickly bring alternating knees toward your chest.

4. Speed Skip: Skip in place, quickly bringing alternating knees up toward your chest.

My husband has been doing the Burpee Challenge for the past 8 days. So far, he’s doing pretty well! My brother-in-law’s cousin managed to convince my non-exerciser husband and my uber-exerciser brother-in-law to take the Burpee challenge. I was told it is a CrossFit thing but, personally, I think it is an offshoot of the 100 pushup challenge app!

This is how it works:

For 100 days you will consecutively add a burpee each day building up to 100 burpees on the 100th day. It sounds painful but I have done 50 burps before so i am going to give it a whirl….you should too!

(via FitBootCamps)

For sometime now I have been working out without music. Initially I stopped because I am constantly fighting with my iPhone every time I plug it into my computer and the last time my whole music library was erased! You can imagine my frustration when I hopped on the treadmill all ready to do an iTrain workout and my iPod was blank! Not too happy.

Part of me has begun really enjoy the peace and mental clearing that the silence has brought but part of me also needs the distraction that music provides when the workout gets tough. I have noticed that when I take a class I am automatically drawn to the music. For most of the class I am contemplating: do I like this music? is the playlist helping or hindering my workout? who is this artist? would it be okay if I shazamed the song right in the middle of class? Yes, the last one I have actually contemplated a number of times!

My conclusion: I do like music when I am doing a tough workout but at the same time I don’t like music when I am in yoga, pilates, or any other meditative type exercise.

According to this NPR article music can be beneficial to your workout and more specifically, the right song at the right beat is even more effective. The journalist states, that the tempo of the song should match your heart rate and “For best performance, he says, the tempo should actually vary depending on whether that music is playing in the background or directly in your ears through headphones.” Apparently, the music tempo should be around 125-140 beats per minute which will reduce your perception of effort exerted by 10%!

That is all well and good but I am not a music person so even if I wanted to test this research I have not clue how to select music that averages between 125-140 beats per minute. Guess what!?! There’s an App for that!

Check out PaceDJ if you have a pretty extensive music library. The app selects songs at the  from your library that match your projected pace!

If your like me and have a little to nonexistent library, check out jog tunes. You select your pace and activity and a playlist is created for you!

Do you like music while you workout? What’s your most motivating song?

If you want an added boost, pick music that motivates you emotionally.