Good morning!

Anyone else doing the “I’m so happy it’s Friday” dance this morning? I sure am! What started out as a dreary, cold and snowy week has somehow ended in sunshine, temperatures above zero, and barely any snow on the ground. No complaints here!

Thanks so much to all of you for sharing your goals for February in yesterday’s post. I love hearing what all of you are going to be busy achieving over the next 4 weeks and hope you’ll keep me updated on your progress. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out the comments section from that post!

Over to my usual feature for this time of the week, here’s your dose of Fit Bit Friday!

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Work it Out

Due to the fact that my weekends have been busy lately, I’ve been trying to spend as little of my precious weekend time in the gym as possible. My favourite routines over the past month have been those that tackle cardio and strength training in one hit. This week’s Fit Bit Friday is certainly one of those!

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The Take-My-Pulse Workout

This routine will get your heart pumping and help you to build muscular strength at the same time. You’ll complete 5 sets (shown in the left column below), each one comprised of a strength exercise and a cardio drill. For the first pair, do the strength exercise and follow immediately with the 30s of cardio. Repeat twice more to make 3 rounds, then move onto the next strength/cardio pairing. These strength exercises are all moves that you’re likely familiar with, but if you need a bit more info, feel free to print the PDF, where I’ve included full descriptions of each move.

To keep things interesting, you won’t just be doing the usual “up for 2 counts, down for 2 counts” with your dumbells. This is called the Take-My-Pulse” Workout for a reason, and that’s because you’ll be pulsing the weights (or your own body weight) as you near the end of each set of reps. Why bother? Well, the extra pulsing and change to your usual lifting rhythm confuses the muscles, and increases the time that your muscles are under tension. You’ll be working harder in a way that your body isn’t used to, which means you can expect greater strength gains. Are you in!?

Click here to print the PDF.

As always, be sure to stretch out and re-hydrate when you’re finished. :)

Turn it Up

Ok, I’ll admit that once I actually listened to Domino by Jessie J closely, it came to my attention that the lyrics aren’t exactly something you’d want your child singing at the top of their lungs. However, this song is so darn catchy that it’s been stuck in my head for days. The fact that I’m still not sick of it is an indication that it must be a pretty great one, so that’s why it’s your Fit Bit Friday tune feature of the week. Oh, and if you’re thinking that it sounds very Katy Perry-esque, she co-wrote it.

Have a Read

  • 27 Rules of Conquering the Gym via Wall Street Journal. I know I posted this on Facebook AND tweeted about it earlier this week, but it’s just wayyy to funny to shut up about just yet. Check it out if you’re looking for a good Friday laugh. I bet you’ll be able to match faces from your usual gym crowd to the people described here!
  • 23 ways to push through a tough workout via Greatist

Alright, that’s all for me this week. I hope you have a fantastic weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday, but first tell me:

  • What’s one thing you’re going to do to be kind to yourself this weekend?
  • What’s one song that you can’t seem to get out of your head lately?
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