FITAPPY – Lift and Jump | Workouts & Fun!

CHALLENGE #2 – High Knees

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

This month I will challenge myself with some cardio. I will be doing THREE 30 sec. rounds of high knees* as fast as I can with 15 sec breaks between rounds, during which I will be stepping side to side. I will be doing this routine twice a week and report my score. My goal is to increase the number each time or at least each week. I hope my knee will be fully healed by tomorrow and I can begin…..

Try it, it’s an amazing cardio and a great warm up exercise. It improves running form, lower body speed, power, and flexibility. It works your core, your thighs and your lower back. Using high knee exercises gives you a greater range of motion for your knees and your hips. For me it’s important because it should improve the quality and speed of kicking 🙂

*High knees – It’s a running motion with exaggerated knee lifts. If you are a beginner, start out slow with your exercising and then add more repetitions for greater results. Good luck!

DEADLINE : April 1, 2011

Posted in Fitness, General, Workouts | Tagged cardio, Challenges, core, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, flexibility, High knees, home workout, kick, lower body speed, power, run, running, running form, weight loss, workout | Leave a comment

Results of my first challenge

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

My results are great! I accomplished exactly what I wanted! …. almost.
In terms of my weight & fat %, I haven’t fully got what I intended to but it wasn’t my main concern. I’m 5’8″ and 116 lbs, how much can I lose??
As I stated before, my real goal was to be disciplined, stay motivated, work out at least 5 times a week, eat right and write short reports. I have 6 YESes! and that to me is a very successful result!!

I’m going to continue my workout journey, blog about it and film short videos 🙂
Of course there is no work out for me today. My knee is much better but my abs, biceps, back and my butt are killing me! that’s fantastic because it means I worked out really hard yesterday (benefits of watching television!). Now I have to recreate some of this routine and put it on a video for you to experiment on your own 😉

I’ll have a new challenge coming up this week. This time it will be a physical task.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Knee injury :(

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

I hurt my knee last night during sparring. Not a big deal but it sort of prevents me from doing certain activities: like painless walking. That’s right…. Practicing karate taught me to be ready for that sort of “inconvenience”. I had other plans for today but unfortunately I had to change them. Anyway, my today’s workout included only Weight Lifting and a very long abs segment. I watched Alpine skiing World championships (women’s slalom) and just exercised….. Can’t really tell what I did because I was so focused on the skiing. However, an hour later, when I couldn’t lift anymore, I called it quits. Greatest workout ever: my body hurts and I can’t remember what I’ve done!!! I’ll figure it out tomorrow 😉

Also, tomorrow I’m going to conclude this week’s challenge and come up with the next one.

Have a great weekend!

Posted in Fitness, General | Tagged abdominals, abs, dumbbells, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, home workout, Los Angeles, shoulder press, triceps, weight loss, weights, workout | Leave a comment

Get ready for skiing!!! *** Not a skier – tone your legs fast!

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

I’m a huge fan of alpine skiing! However, this year so far I’ve admired this sport on TV, following closely World Cup Skiing & US Ski Team. Well, I’m going to hit the slopes soon! Can’t wait! There is one small problem I always have on a first day of skiing every time I go: I rarely prepare my body for this type of activity and therefore, after a first few hours everything hurts (especially my legs/quadriceps). This time I decided to train hard :). I have been looking for exercises to get me ready but there isn’t much (or at least I don’t think that will work), so I developed some of my own. I will let you know how effective these exercises are after my trip. Check out the video. Exercises breakdown is below, so please scroll down for details after you watched it.

Always warm up and stretch before exercising

1. SPLIT – LUNGE JUMP
There are 3 different variations (please watch the video for reference) – 1 minute total (20 seconds each variation)
2. SQUATS (dumbbells recommended )
* Feet are shoulder width (or slightly more) apart; drop your tush down (the lower the better) – 10 counts
* Then stay low in a squat and pulse for 10 counts
3. SIDE-to-SIDE JUMPS – 30 seconds
Jump side to side for 30 sec, and then extend your arms to the side and jump twist for 30 seconds ( please watch the video for reference)
4. POWER JUMPS (dumbbells recommended )
Squat down slow on a count of three, hold for a bit and explode up. Be gentle on you feet. – 10 reps
5. TRAVELING LUNGES (dumbbells recommended )
Step into a lunge and pulse for 3 counts, stand up slowly and hold your balance on one leg, then step forward for another lunge. – 10 reps on each leg
6. BASIC PLANK – hold for 10 seconds – 5 reps
7. SIDE PLANK – hold for 10 seconds – 5 reps on each side

Posted in Fitness, VIDEO Workouts, Workouts | Tagged alpine, butt, cardio, diet, downhill, dumbbells, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, home workout, jumping, Los Angeles, lunge, lunges, outdoor, outdoor workout, quads, quardriceps, ski, skiing, snow, squat, toning, trail, walk, weight loss, weights, workout | Leave a comment

Workout for a healthier, happier You!

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

To be healthier and happier, fitness experts have a suggestions: exercise & diet. Yesterday I came across this article about running; It isn’t particularly my favorite exercise but looking at the list of benefits: practically it’s a key to health, happiness….. name it- it’s on the list. Just open any fitness magazine and you’ll find the magic answer to all your problems 🙂 -?-

Didn’t think long before I decided today to step outside and get some fresh air while pumping my heart rate.

Workout for today: I walked for 2 minutes, then I picked up my speed for another 3 minutes (total 5) and started jogging at moderate speed for 10 minutes. Walked another 5 minutes at moderate/fast pace, and then started sprinting for 2 minutes. Then I walked & cooled down. Not bad. Try it 🙂

Posted in Fitness, Workouts | Tagged butt, cardio, diet, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, happy, healthy, hiking, jogging, legs, Los Angeles, outdoor, outdoor workout, park, run, running, trail, walk, weight loss, weights, workout | Leave a comment

Get fit in the Cold & Snow – A Total Body workout (this time + video)

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

Finally, I was able to upload that video I brought from Chicago. Yesterday, youtube.com had some technical problems and I was unable to upload anything.

It was 10 degrees in the morning when I went to a park. When you get used to exercising everyday – you just have to keep moving no matter where you are and what the conditions are. That’s how I felt. So, here it is, a total body workout in the snow (or your livingroom). It was much easier to do lunges in the snow! And more fun too!! I think I’m going to do the same set today again. However, I’m going to use the real, heavy dumbbells this time!

Posted in Fitness, VIDEO Workouts, Workouts | Tagged abdominals, abs, butt, cardio, Chicago, cold, diet, dumbbells, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, full body workout, home workout, jumping, jumps, Lake Michigan, legs, lunge, lunges, Montrose, outdoor, outdoor workout, snow, squat, toning, total body workout, upper body, video, weight loss, weights, workout | 1 Comment

Get fit in the Snow – The Snow day Workout

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

I arrived in Chicago a few days after that famous 2011 blizzard. The next day temperatures started dropping… During the first 2 days I spent some time walking in a park but it was very cold and windy; therefore after 20 minutes I was freezing and so ready to get back to my car – and exercise indoors, in my room. On a day #3 I decided to beat the cold and begin my workout in the snow with some intense cardio as my warm up. It worked & I loved it!!

I have a short video, which I captured as a souvenir. However, I was unable to upload it today due to youtube.com maintenance; So please COME BACK TOMORROW. I hope they will fix it by then. It’s a damned good total body workout.

Posted in Fitness, Workouts | Tagged abs, butt, cardio, Chicago, dumbbells, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, home workout, jumping, jumps, legs, lunge, lunges, outdoor, outdoor workout, snow, squat, twist, weight loss, workout | Leave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day workout

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

It is Valentine’s Day and it was a busy day; therefore, as always the temptation whispered “you’re too busy to exercise; take a day off”. However, tomorrow is a last day of my challenge — there are no excuses! Besides, I’m always busy with millions of things to do…. So in between those other things that kept me running all day, here is a workout for today:

1. Jump rope – 2 minutes

2. Pike walk/push up combo* – 6 reps

*Stand up straight and feet shoulder width apart, bend your knees slightly & bend over. Put your hands on the ground in front of you. Walk your hands forward into plank and do one PUSH UP. Walk your feet towards you hands as close as possible. That’s one rep.

3. Superman** – hold for 10 seconds – 5 reps

**Lie facedown on the ground with your arms extended out in front of you. Lift your arms and legs off the floor and hold.

~ REPEAT THE SET 3 TIMES ~

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted in Fitness, Workouts | Tagged cardio, diet, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, home workout, jump rope, jumping, jumps, legs, lower back, push up, weights | Leave a comment

Planned to do nothing… and still got some exercise!

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

Today I got up late and was determined to do absolutely NOTHING! Well, after I finished my morning latte (yes, I drink it almost everyday, and there is no way I will ever give it up!) and looked outside, I saw a beautiful, sunny day. Didn’t take long to get dressed and go for a hike. Later in the afternoon I had some small shopping to do, so instead of driving – I walked…. for over an hour and a half.

In conclusion, although I didn’t have a formal workout time, I did have a great day filled with activities. I hope you enjoyed your weekend 🙂

Posted in Fitness, Workouts | Tagged Beacon Hill, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, Griffith Park, hike, hiking, Los Angeles, outdoor, outdoor workout, trail, weight loss, workout | Leave a comment

Super fast, super easy weekend workout

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Wolverine Lily

It was a very easy workout for me today. It’s Saturday and I wanted to do something very simple, so I did 🙂 Here it is – just a few minutes of super fast, super easy mixed workout; A little bit of everything: perfect for Saturday

First set
1. Jumping Jacks – 30 sec
2. Biceps curls – 15 reps
3. One leg standing kickbacks – 15 on each leg
Second Set
1. Mountain Climbers – 30 sec
2. Shoulder press – 15 reps
3. 20 Crunches
Third set
1. Jumping Jacks – 30 sec
2. Triceps kickbacks – 15 reps
3. Plank – hold for 45 sec.

Posted in Fitness, Workouts | Tagged abdominals, abs, bicep curl, crunch, effective, exercise, Fitappy, fitness, home workout, jumping, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, outdoor workout, shoulder press, toning, triceps, weight loss, workout | Leave a comment

FITAPPY – Lift and Jump