If you dare...

What's up everyone?
Hope you had a great weekend! Last week we talked about nutrition, exercise and rest. Today I thought about sharing with you one of my favorite go-to workouts at home, when I don't have enough time, but still care about getting in some exercise in my day. I dare you to try it out! Mainly because I created it, and because it's fun. :)
(It's not super hard, but it's enough to kick your butt a little bit depending on how good of a shape you are)


Disola's quick at home/ anywhere workout routine:

1. 25-30 burpees
2. 20 crunches
3. 20 left side crunches
4. 20 right side crunches
5. 20 pushups/ girl pushups

 30-60 secs break

1. 30 secs jump rope fast (you don't need a rope for this if you don't have one)
2. 30 high knees
3. 30 butt kickers
4. 20 air bike 
5. 20 toe touches

30-60 secs break

1. 20 jumping jacks
2. 30 lounges
3. 20-30 punches while you're sitting in an air chair (keep your legs in a 90 degree angle)
4. 15-20 dips
5. 20 mountain climbers

If you need some extra time to catch your breath, please do!
Repeat this depending on how much time you have and the workout you want to get. Most of the times I'll do it twice or three times. When I really don't have enough time I'll just do it once for sure. 

As previously stated, while working out make sure you have a bottle of water next to you, and drink small amounts often to stay hydrated.

A few things to keep in mind:

• You cannot spot reduce fat i.e. if i do 200 crunches I'll have a flatter tummy. Your overall body fat percentage should decrease for you to see that flat tummy/ those abs. Once more, exercise in general, and eating well will help you with that.
• Watch your portions-- often times we tend to overeat. Be careful with that. It's okay if you do it once in a while, but if you do it everyday you'll end up putting a few/ a lot of pounds eventually.
• When working out keep a proper form. When you do so you have less chances of you getting injured while working out, and you get better and faster results too.
• Always try some new workout. Go to a Zumba class, or try Yoga, go for a hike etc. By switching it up your body doesn't get used to certain workouts and you still get a great workout. Plus Zumba for example is so much fun! You're dancing, having fun, and exercising on the same time! 
• Don't overdo a workout. if you can't do it keeping a correct form after a certain number of reps then stop doing it. That way you don't hurt yourself.
• Find a workout partner. That makes things so much more fun! Plus, sometimes it can get competitive and you push each other so stick to a workout longer. Also, there's less chance you'll skip the workout if there's two or three of you going to the gym together. 
• If you're sore the next day try and eat food with lots of protein i.e. eggs, meat, milk. Protein will help your muscles recover faster, and you won't be sore for a long time/ too many days. 
• Make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep each night as if you're fully rested you'll be energetic the next day, fully rested, and ready to have another killer day. 

Alright cuties! That's it for today. :)
Let me know what you think if you do try my workout. I'd be happy to get some feedback.

Until next time, have a fabulous day!

xxx Disola

Instagram: albanianicandy

For your entertainment:

Rest & Exercise (Part 2 of healthy eating)

Oh hello there!

Thanks for visiting my blog again. That makes me happy :)
I hope the tips and suggestions I put up here help you a bit, and you get to make a smarter, healthier decision next time you go grocery shopping, eat out, or think about exercising.

This post is the second part of how to be healthy (The broccoli must die entry). I will be focusing mostly on exercise and rest today.
Last time we talked about proper nutrition, how to stay in track, what to do and what not to do.

• Nutrition (continued)

By the way I totally forgot to add this to the nutrition entry Wednesday, but eating breakfast is absolutely super important. When you're sleeping you're not giving your body food those 7-8 hours that are sleeping. If you wake up and don't give yourself food in the morning your body goes into starvation mode- trust me, you don't want that happening! It's an awful thing to do to your body! Just like those stupid diets "Drink/Eat this and you'll magically loose weight." or the ones "Starve yourself to loose weight". BTW I'm not even going to talk about those types of "diets" because they really piss me off, they're awful and damage your health/body and since I'm talking about how to be healthy, and how I stay healthy that's completely out of the picture.

Fun fact: those that never skip breakfast are more likely to stay at a healthy weight when they get older. So logically as you get older you have more health problems and being overweight could be one of them for you, unless of course, you eat that yummy breakfast of yours! ;) Then it's one less problem you have to worry about.

• Exercise

If you are friends with me on Facebook, or are following me on Instagram (albanianicandy), you probably know that I love exercise/ working out. It used to be something casual for me a few years ago, not really important to me. I'd play soccer twice a week, go hiking twice a week, play volleyball 6/7 days in the summer, go on walks everyday and that was about it back then. It wasn't really a workout per say, and I never saw it as one. However, I made sure I was doing what I loved, having fun, and I naturally stayed active due to all the physical activities I participated in.

Today, exercise is a must and important to me. It's not about being thin!!! (Those exclamation points were for the ones that think it's everything about how much you weight/ what size you wear.) It's about being strong and happy!

Please refer to my iLIFT post a few weeks ago, for different fitness goals you might have. Also, I'm not a specialist by any means. This is all the stuff I've been learning and reading about for the past few years for fun, as I'm really into health/food/fitness nowadays. Also, it's a plus that my fiance is a Health Coach and knows pretty much everything I ask him, and muuuch more!

If you're trying to get in good shape, I'd suggest some cardio with strength training/ weight training. If you do a combo of that you'll get in really good shape in no time-- you have to stick with it AND be patient with yourself though. It's a process and it still needs time. Nothing happens overnight. ;)

From my experience and my research, exercise is great for your overall health. It gets you stronger, you release the school/work/life stress out, revs up your metabolism, and you are happier and more confident in yourselves. Who doesn't want these benefits??!
Imagine an almost (bad) stress free life, being super productive, energetic, happy, confident, and strong.