I love core work! You can be sure if that if you work out with me we will spend plenty of time focusing on improving and building core strength.
Your core muscles help support your entire body. Try not to limit your thinking of the core to just your abdominals. When you train your core you are also training your back, glutes, and all the muscles that run along your spine. When training this area you want to be sure and focus on the front and back side of your body and not confine yourself to crunches and sit-ups.
Core training is a must. The younger you are when you start training with your core in mind the easier it will be maintain it as you age. I want to be around as long as possible for my family, especially my son Caden. He has made me even more motivated to stay active and to fuel my body with nutrient rich foods. Thanks Caden!
Meet your exercises! (I did not include pictures for Burpees or Bicycle Crunches because I am fairly certain you all know how to rock those exercises.)
STABILITY BALL PIKES
- Place your hands on floor in front and your shins on the ball behind with your arms straight.
- Drag the ball towards your body lifting your hips with your legs straight up and roll the ball down your shins to your toes.
- Keep your arms straight throughout the exercise.
BOAT POSE CRUNCHES
- Start seated with your knees bent and your feet flat. Slowly lean back and lift your legs off the floor so that you are now balancing on your butt. Lengthen and flatten your back, trying to eliminate any roundness or arching.
- Lift through your sternum or upper chest. Slide your shoulder blades toward each other behind you and keep lifting long through your neck and head.
- Reach your arms forward and on an exhale begin to hover heels and shoulders 1 inch off the mat. Return to starting position on an inhale.
HIP DROP FOREARM PLANKS
- Get down on your forearms and feet (plank position). Make your body into a straight line so that it is parallel to the ground.
- Rotate at the waist and touch your right hip to the ground. Rotate back up and then to the left and touch your left hip to the ground.
- Alternate back and forth
BICYCLE CRUNCHES
- Lie on your back with your legs straight and your hands to the sides of your head.
- Raise your head and shoulders, bringing one knee above your hip and the opposite elbow to this knee, twisting your torso.
- Lower your upper body and leg to the floor and repeat on the other side with opposite leg.
KNEE TAP FOREARM PLANKS
- Get down on your forearms and feet (plank position). Make your body into a straight line so that it is parallel to the ground.
- Gently tap both knees to the mat and immediately straighten your legs. Repeat.
STABILITY BALL BACK EXTENSIONS
- Lie facedown on a stability ball, hands behind your head, feet against a sturdy object.
- Squeeze your glutes and lift your torso up until your body forms a straight line. Hold for one or two seconds.
- Slowly return to start. That’s one rep.
BURPEES
- Begin in a squat position with hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your feet back to a pushup position.
- Immediately return your feet to the squat position.
- Leap up as high as possible from the squat position.
Here is the workout!
You will perform this for 3 rounds resting 1 minute between rounds. Try to get as many reps of each exercise in as you possibly can. This is a tough one!
If you liked this you will love my online bootcamp that is starting September 9th! This is the first ever session and I am so excited! Each week you will receive a weekly e-mail from me with your workouts. How cool is that! Plus 1 of the workouts will be a video that you can follow along with. So it will be like we are training together!
REGISTRATION FOR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 SESSION NOW OPEN
Monday September 9, 2013 – Friday October 11, 2013 (5 Weeks)
Cost: $40 (That cost includes 3 weekly workouts plus access to a closed Facebook group to connect with your fellow bootcampers and myself)
——> CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS
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I hope you enjoyed today’s workout! I love reading your comments. Let me know what you think!
XOXO, Tamara
The Problem With Body Bashing
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Last week I wrote this article, Fat Loss Secret Weapon: Your Metabolism, for Fitlife.tv:
“Being a personal trainer and a new mom I am constantly getting compliments on how quickly I returned to my post baby shape. To be honest I am actually in better shape now then I was before I became pregnant. I am super excited to share what I have learned with you and encourage you in your own healthy lifestyle journey.” (Click on the above link to continue reading)
The majority of the comments about my article were not about the article itself but targeted a photo I shared (see photo). The photo shows my stomach before and after having Caden. These comments were posted on Fitlife.tv and the Juicing Vegetables Facebook Page…
why does she look like shes had liposuction on the right…
and they think it looks better…??
there wasn’t any fat to loose anyway.. liked her belly better before
Before is better!! Give the girl a sandwich.
I think the 2011 pic looks better the 2013 pic is too thin….gross in my opinion…
The after pic is bordering on eating disorder.
I don’t think it is a good idea to encourage anyone to look anorexic.
She looks better in the before pic. It’s not attractive to be a stick.
It does not look like the same person. Look at the belly button.
This doesn’t look like the same person to me. Boobs are bigger, can’t see the collar bone as much on the after picture.
Looks like she had a breast enhancement.
These comments were eyeopening. And to be honest, a tad bit hurtful. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I am sure all of us can remember a time when we have been criticized for our looks. Nowadays no one is immune to having their body dissected. Losing the baby weight did not happen overnight. Here is how I looked at 37 weeks pregnant and after Caden’s birth (this was not the photo I shared with my article). To see my recent photo click here.
The internet gives people the ability to speak to a large audience. To those who wrote the above comments. I respect your right to post your thoughts on my body but I do not agree with your opinions.
The truth. I do not have an eating disorder. I eat around 2000 calories each day to support my active lifestyle.
The truth. The pictures are 100% the same person. The belly button and boobs look different because I gave birth to my adorable baby boy.
I worked hard for every drop of sweat that fell. I am happy and proud of what I accomplished. But my weight does not define me and it does not define you. Our world is very judgmental and I don’t think it is cool to tell someone they “looked better before” or diagnose an eating disorder based off a photo.
Your weight does not determine your worth. The bible says that each of us are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and I believe that. God made us and loves us. God loves you. You are beautiful and amazing in God’s eyes.
Everyone has an idea of their perfect body. But guess what? There are people who wished they looked as good as you do right now! It doesn’t matter what size your pants are because someone would love to be your size. Your weight does not determine your worth. We are all a work in progress. Appreciate the journey you are on.
I am thankful to my biggest supporter my husband for constantly encouraging me. Here is his response that he wrote to those who posted a comment on my article.
First off I can assure you both pictures are of the same woman, she is a fun loving, life loving, GOD loving, compassionate woman. She puts her pictures out there for the world to see and to inspire you to get up off your bottoms and achieve your goals. She is confident enough to not let the rude comments effect her (very much). She is in fact my wife and the mother to my son and a great example for him to see in a woman. She cannot be anorexic due to the fact that she eats around 2,000 calories a day (as stated in the article). She works hard, and thank goodness knows that I think she is beautiful and that is what truly matters. She is fit, cares about herself enough not to poison her body with crap, and we have both made a commitment to live a healthy lifestyle so we can pass that on to our son. So thanks for all those who complimented, and haters keep on hating if thats what makes you feel better about yourself. Much love from the Buschel’s.
I love that man so much!
Striving for a healthy body needs to be encouraged and not bashed. Each individual is unique and so is the shape of their body. The problem with body bashing requires that we accept that there is such a thing as the “perfect body.” This is a myth. Let’s stop tearing each other down and instead celebrate each others beauty.
Have a great day and I would love to hear how you respond to negative comments.
xoxo, Tamara
PS…I am super excited to share with you a recap of my pregnancy with Caden and also how I lost my baby weight so we be sure to check back later this week and next.