Fit Bit Friday 49 (and a giveaway winner!)
Happy Friday All!
OK, first things first: Thank you so much for entering my Skechers GOrun giveaway! There were over 120 entries and you guys have some great ideal running destinations! Some people forgot to separate their entries, and some also left lovely comments, but then realized the giveaway was for Canadians only. Oops! So, in order to be as fair as possible, I put every single one of your valid entries into a lovely Excel spreadsheet and let the random number generator work its magic. Now that all of that is done, I’m very pleased to announce that the lucky winner is….
Jill! Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you shortly to get your contact details.
Now over to today’s fit feature, here’s Fit Bit Friday 49!
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Work It Out
As you may be aware, my Fit Bit Friday workouts are all core-themed this month for my July No-Crunch Core Challenge. For all of you participating, how is it going so far? How did you do with the Week 2 workout? If you haven’t started yet or don’t want to do the whole challenge, feel free to jump in and try one of these routines whenever the mood strikes. You don’t need much equipment and can do the exercises at home or at the gym. Let’s do this!
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The No-Crunch Core Challenge Workout (Part 3)
As was the case with the previous routines, this workout is a 6-exercise circuit. You’ll do it twice through on Monday, 3 times through on Wednesday, and 4 times through on Friday (or whatever days you choose to do your core work.) Move through a set of each exercise without resting, and when you’ve completed the last exercise, rest for up to 1 minute. Start again from the top and be sure to stay focused. Think of those muscles contracting and make every rep count!
The table below and the printable PDF provide options to make the moves easier or more challenging, and below the table are descriptions of how to do basic versions of each.
Click here for the printable PDF.
Here are the basics:
Kettlebell windmills: Feel free to use a dumbell if you don’t have a kettlebell, or other heavy object. When returning to the standing position, aim to engage your core muscles and let them do the work, rather than relying on your legs.
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Rotational T-plank: Start in high plank pose, then rotate your feet to point to the left side. As they turn, lift your left hand and reach straight up to the ceiling. Pause for 1-2 seconds, then rotate back down to the ground and turn to the right side. Continue alternating.
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Lying leg lifts: This one is just like it sounds. Start with your legs hovering a few inches above the floor, and lift them together to point to the ceiling. As shown in the photo below, try to lift your hips slightly off the ground at the top of the motion. On the way back down, only lower your feet to a few inches above the floor if possible.
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2-point plank: Begin in high plank position. Lift one arm and one foot (opposites) off the ground and support yourself in high plank with just the foot and hand touching the ground. After 30s (or half of your total plank time) has passed, switch sides.)
Bicycle: You know the one….
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Mountain Climbers: Just the basic ones, but aim to do them quickly to get your heart rate going.
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As always, be sure to stretch out when you’re finished. Upward dog and child’s pose are my faves! If you’ve got a stability ball, try lying on your back over top of it with your arms extended over your head, almost touching the floor behind you. I always enjoy this one after an ab workout!
Turn It Up
In my opinion, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are two of the best American Idol contestants in the history of the show, and I’ve had their songs in tons of my playlists lately. The first time I heard Kelly Clarkson’s song Dark Side, I thought it was great, but a little slow for a workout. I found this Liam Keegan remix, and absolutely love it. To all my spin ladies: It’s coming to a Wednesday morning workout near you soon! 
What do ya think? If you were an American Idol junkie, who has your favourite contestant been so far?
Have A Read
- The importance of core strength for runners – via Runnersworld
- 6 ways to rock a summer workout despite the heat – via Huffington Post
- 10 seriously fit chicks of Crossfit – via Shape.com. Get your visual inspiration here!
Alright friends, I hope you have a fabulous, fun, and fit weekend. I’ll see ya back here on Monday! 
gah!! i LOVE those shoes that are pictured in the “the body achieves what the mind believes” quote – i think they are asics…updated noosas, maybe?? anyway, they’re fabulous!
adding core strength has really made a difference, i have noticed – good thing i like working the core! (not like upper body, haha!).
happy friday the 13th angela! have a great day and enjoy the weekend – sounds like we’ve got another hot one!
I was thinking the same thing Cathy! They look very Asics-like to me. I had a look on their site and couldn’t find that exact pattern, but I think the A swirly things give them away. I hope you have a fabulous weekend too!
The awesomeness continues in this no-crunch series..I love it!
This workout looks awesome! I am getting married in two months, and this workout would be perfect for widdling my middle
! I’m going to give it a try.
Ooh congrats Lauren! I hope you enjoy the workout. If you’d like more, check out the July No-Crunch Core Challenge page (you’ll find it if you hover over the Workouts tab at the top of this page). There are 2 previous ones there, and one more to come!
LOVE kbell windmills. Ok I actually love anything kbell related. And one of my favorite move is the leg lift with a soccer ball between my legs. I do them when Im out training on the field and LOVE the burn!
I love kettlebells too Kat! I’ve got a couple of workouts coming up after the July No-Crunch Core Challenge, so stay tuned!
Definitely my kind of ab workout. I don’t like doing the traditional sit-ups or anything like that, I always enjoy challenging my core the most doing moves like plank, plank jacks, barrier jumps, mountain climbers and all of those! Makes it much more intense. Bookmarking this!
Every time I see the pictures of these ridiculously fit humans on your site I am just in awe. Thanks for sharing all these core workouts! I need to start printing them!
Wow, that doesn’t even look like Kelly! I had to do a double take.
The body DOES do as the mind thinks, it’s so amazing. The mind is such a powerful thing.
Loved the link to the crossfit ladies. I’ve been toying around with heading back to crossfit in the fall once things are settled down a bit for us. I saw such amazing results just going 2-3 times a week, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if I did it for a solid year. We shall see!
Have a fabulous weekend
Aren’t they amazing? Crossfit athletes inspire me a lot. I’m not sure it’s the right type of training for me -yes I’m sure I’d find it hard, but I’m not sure I’d enjoy it as much as I do my current workouts. Still, I know a lot of people (including you!) who say they got awesome results so I am still considering it. PS The Crossfit games are this weekend, and pics are clogging up my Twitter feed! Check out @CrossFitGames for some of the action!