5 Exercises You'll Love to Hate

Don’t have time to hit the gym? Try these 5 exercises that my clients hate because they’re so hard (but they also love them because they get the job done). Efficiency is key when time is limited. And don't stop reading further if you think these exercises will be too hard, I provide modifications. Gotta start somewhere!

Burpee Tuck Jump

People love to hate burpees, and to make sure my clients don’t get too set in a burpee routine, I constantly change them up. People complain that I’m making it worse, but when I hear that, I just smile and remind them that they’re paying me to challenge their limits and keep them engaged.

How to do it: Just like a regular burpee, start in a squat position with your hands on the floor, jump your feet to plank position, do a push-up, jump your feet back to squat position, jump up off the ground, but then add a tuck jump after that. This extra jump will make your heart pound through your chest. It’s terrible!

What it works: This movement will work your entire body. When you jump into plank, you activate your core, chest, back, arms, glutes, quads and hammies. When you jump straight up, you’re using power from your quads, glutes and hammies. The extra tuck-jump uses core power and builds agility.

Lateral Jump with Weights

People sometimes think I’m evil, but I’m not. I remind them if they do what I tell them, they will see results and live a healthier life.

How to do it: Place moderately heavy weights on your shoulders, I like 8 lbs. You can choose 5 lbs. or no weights to start. Do a narrow squat with your legs hip distance apart. Staying low, jump to the right and then to the left without standing in the middle, so you’re holding the squat position. It’s killer.

What it works: This exercise blasts your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core. It’s also going to get your heart rate up too.

Bad Ass Crawl (aka Total Body Torture)

I’ve been using this movement in class with gliders so you can easily slide your feet across the floor, but you can also walk your feet forward if you don’t have them. You can use paper plates or towels too as a gliding device.

How to do it: Start in a high plank position with your arms straight. If you have gliders, set them right under the ball of your feet. If you’re using a mat, start with your hands at the end of the mat and walk forward, gliding your feet behind. When you get your feet to the end of the mat, come onto your forearms and walk back in reverse. When you get back to your starting point, come onto your hands once again and repeat.

What it works: The bad ass crawl is full-body and really works your core, along with spinal stability and balance. Be careful not to stick your butt in the air because that shifts all your weight into your shoulders and puts undue pressure on your front delts (they really shouldn’t be bearing your body weight).

The Cross Donkey-Kick

This one is a lot of fun and has a great name. It's like break dancing! Maybe.

How to do it: Come into a pike position, so your body creates a triangle. Your butt should be pointed up to the air and forms the point of the triangle (the other two points are your hands on the floor in front of you and your feet on the floor behind you). Do a little hop up with your feet to kick your booty. When you come down, take your right leg across your body and then your left leg across your body - dropping your hip toward the floor. Hop to center again, and repeat.

What it works: This movement will work into your back, chest, shoulders and arms, as well as your core muscles.

Side Plank, Side Leg Lift, Front Kick

How to do it: Come onto one forearm with your elbow under your shoulder, lying on your side with your feet, knees and hips stacked. You'll lift from your hips and side body up off the ground doing a leg lift, then a front leg kick. So if you’re on your left arm, lift your right leg and lower it down, then lift and kick it out to the front.

Add an optional hip dip when you’re in the side plank to make it a little tougher.

What it works: This move will get your core, outer thigh and glutes. When you kick your leg to the front, you’ll zap your quad and your abdominal muscles, not to mention that the plank works into your obliques as well.

For a heart pounding & time efficient workout: Try these moves as a Tabata set - 4 minutes total for each exercise, with 20 seconds on and 10 seconds rest for a total of 8 rounds.

So, which exercises do you love to hate? Leave a note in the comments below to join the conversation.

The Greatest Breakthroughs Happen When You Want to Quit

Why do we sometimes want to give up or stay in our comfort 
zones? Learn 5 practical tips that will help you create lasting
change in any area of your life! 
Latest Parade Magazine Blog Post: 
The Greatest Breakthroughs Happen When You Want to Quit

It's OK to Change Up Your Workout Routine

I talk to a lot of people who think that they’re supposed to stick with the same workout routine. Forever. When people are not flexible with their routine, what usually happens is they end up bored and become inconsistent with exercise or quit all together.

I’m here to remind you that if you get bored with your workout routine, do something else! It’s important to keep your brain interested as well as your body, and you don’t have to stick to the same routine for years. In fact, I’ve changed up my routine a lot in the last year for a few reasons.

I Needed To Box

A couple years ago, I was stuck in a job that wasn’t a great fit. It lacked opportunity for growth or change, and that left me frustrated day-to-day.

At the time I decided to take a boxing class. I can’t even remember why, but I do recall being intimidated because I assumed that boxing was for dudes. Despite the fear, I grabbed my sneakers and thought to myself, “Well, maybe I’ll meet some cool people!”

I went ahead and took the class, and I fell in love with it. Boxing is great because you get a high intensity workout and punching provides stress release, so I had a way to vent all my frustration from work. I kept going back and stuck with it for over a year.

It’s Okay To Transition

As it turned out, I did meet a lot of very cool people! The boxing class supported me as I transitioned out of the job I felt trapped in, and it helped me feel more confident in myself.

It's necessary to change up your exercise routine, especially if you become injured. Although I love boxing, I no longer feel the drive to punch as often. I was also forced to try something new because I was dealing with a neck and back injury due to a car accident. Because Pilates was part of my physical therapy, I’m now more focused on strengthening my small stabilizer muscles and core. Pilates has made a world of difference in my athletic performance and overall strength. I'm a huge fan and highly recommend it.

Sure, I go back to the boxing class every now and then, and I always enjoy it. But I don’t feel the same motivation as I did a year ago. In fact, I feel just as satisfied with Pilates these days as I did with boxing a year ago because it’s the right fit for what I need now.

Examine Your Routine

Take a look at your work out routine. Are you bored? Do you find yourself resisting a class you used to love? It might be time for a change. And you know what? Change is good, and may be an even better fit for what you need now.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Join me starting June 7th for a group outdoor fitness class that includes plyometrics, strength & core conditioning - your first class is FREE to try. Follow this LINK for more details and to sign up. Please email ash@achievepowerfit.com if you have any issues with MindBody Online.

The Benefits of Group Exercise

Did you know that it’s been proven that people who work out in groups are more likely to push themselves harder, stay more consistent and have more fun? Today I want to share what I’ve noticed with my clients when they choose to work out in a group.

Have Fun

Right now I have a small group of 3 girls who love working out together. They’ve been a huge inspiration to me, because every time they finish the work out, they schedule something social.

After one of our workouts, they hung out on the porch and drank wine together (now, drinking wine right after you work out is another story entirely!). They were laughing and having a great time together for a couple hours.

Since they know their friends will be at the work out, these girls are way more likely to show up than if they were just going to do the elliptical machine at the gym.

Rather than plodding along all by themselves, they get to laugh with their buddies as we do challenging exercises. What a better way to spend a beautiful day than with friends in healthy activities.

Stay Accountable

We all know what happens when you say to yourself, “I’ll get to the gym today... at some point.” That’s usually an early warning sign that you won’t be going to the gym that day!

When you have a regularly scheduled group workout in place, you’ve already penciled in the time. Mentally, you’ll know you’re busy during those hours, so you won’t schedule anything else on top of it.

Not to mention that if you have buddies in the group, they will be disappointed if you don’t show up. How’s that for accountability? You wouldn’t want to let down your friend, would you?

Work Harder

When you work out alone, you know that no one is watching. Unconsciously you are more likely not to push yourself to the max when you start to feel tired.

The opposite has been shown to happen with group workout participants. People work harder in class because they see someone else pushing themselves and feel inspired (or competitive, but both motivations achieve the same result)!

So, now that I’ve told you there’s a way to work out harder, more consistently, and more fun, do you want to try it? Join us starting June 7th for a ridiculously fun outdoor group work out session.

Follow this LINK to sign up. Please email ash@achievepowerfit.com if you have any issues with MindBody Online.

PSST! Your first class is FREE to try! That’s a pretty great deal, don’t you think?

Listen to these ladies as they share just what you'll get!

ASH Fitness: Every Body is Different: Why You Need a Customized...

ASH Fitness: Every Body is Different: Why You Need a Customized...: We learn when we’re young that every snowflake is different, and so is every body! When it comes to losing fat, the simple fact is that th...

Every Body is Different: Why You Need a Customized Exercise and Nutrition Program

We learn when we’re young that every snowflake is different, and so is every body! When it comes to losing fat, the simple fact is that there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Every person will need something slightly unique. Your body is different, your mind is different, your habits are different and your preferences are different than everyone else in the world.

The advantage of working with a trainer is that they have seen many body types successfully lose weight and they know how to customize a program that will work best for you. Here’s why custom tailoring your program is essential to losing weight and keeping it off.

Your Nutrition Program

Sure, we all have a general sense of which foods are healthy and nourishing to our bodies. But things get a little trickier when we start talking about the best way to eat for general fat loss as opposed to athletic training as opposed to body sculpting... not to mention that things like height, weight, age and activity level all factor in.

Sound overwhelming?

It doesn’t have to be. The answer is information: if you’re just trying to lose that last twenty pounds, you’re not going to eat the same amount of food that you did when you were a high school swimmer.

I use a program that easily lets me plug in any body and calculate their resting metabolic weight (that is, how many calories you’ll burn if you were to lay on the couch all day long).

From there, I can input clients’ fitness goals and help determine how much food per day to shoot for. We’ll design menu plans complete with shopping lists that will work well for your body. When you have this information, you’re much better armed for fat loss than if you were to just blindly guess how much and what types of food you should be eating.

Your Exercise Regime

For most people, it’s easy to fall into a rut with their exercise routine. They’ll hop on a stationary bike and pedal for an hour or so, thinking that they’re making big strides toward their weight loss goals.

They don’t realize that there are much more efficient (and fun) ways to exercise in order to achieve their goal of fat loss.

I like to create a balance of high intensity interval training (to target fat loss), weight training (to build muscle), and body weight exercises (to increase flexibility, balance and core strength) for my clients.

Now, each person is at a different level of ability and I have to take into account many things, including injuries. If you’re just beginning a new weight loss program, be sure that you’re getting something highly tailored to your specific needs. I promise, when it’s customized to you, you’ll see quicker results that last!

Ready to take a serious look at where you are and how you got there so you can create a customized plan for success? Register for a FREE 4-Step Metabolism Makeover webinar on Monday, April 28th. Join us if you're ready to ditch diets, fads and gimmicks to look and feel your healthiest! Click HERE to register. Even if you can't make it at the set time, the call will be recorded for convenience and all you have to do is register to receive the link. If you haven't already, Click HERE to get the Metabolism Makeover Self-Assessment and get started right away.

3 Myths About Weight Loss That Are Holding You Back

There are literally thousands of resources out there designed to help you lose weight. The weight loss industry is booming in this country, so you’d think every American would be able to lose weight and keep it off... right?

The truth is, there is an abundance of misinformation about weight loss. If you feel like you’ve tried everything you know you’re “supposed” to do to lose weight and it’s still not working, chances are your information is wrong. Read on for some insight into 3 common weight loss myths that could be holding you back.

Myth #1: You Have to Count Calories to Lose Weight

Truth: Counting calories will drive you crazy!

Yes, people who follow calorie-counting programs (such as Weight Watchers) do lose weight in the short term. And yes, it can be a great starting point, especially if you’re new to your weight loss journey. There’s nothing more motivating than seeing a drop on the scale right away.

The problem comes in when we start talking about long-term success, because you simply can’t count calories forever. It will drive you insane if you have to write down how many calories you’re eating at every meal until the day you die.

Try this instead: Long-term success is largely based on meal planning, food prep and being kind to yourself (consuming yourself with guilt will only make things worse).  Some general rules to get you started are: create a healthy grocery list, shop the perimeter of the store and only go down aisles when necessary, don't cut out food groups entirely, limit processed foods, eat veggies and protein at every meal, eat healthy fats, and keep water and healthy snacks in your bag to keep fast food temptations at bay while on the go. Another option to keep track food intake is to keep a picture food diary - who wants to have photo evidence of the ice cream they are last night?  Not me!

Myth #2: You Must Slave Away on the Treadmill to Lose Weight

Truth: Wasting hours on cardio machines is just that – a waste of time!

Cardio is a very important part of a well-rounded exercise program, however, if you want to lose fat it’s not the main answer.

At some point people started to believe that if they want to lose weight, they should grab a magazine and hop on a stationary bike (or treadmill or elliptical machine or...). This is simply not true. If you can read or pay attention to a TV program - you’re not working hard enough.  Cardio machines can be used for interval training or on rest days.

It’s possible that you will see a change on the scale by doing ho-hum cardio workouts. However, that weight loss will also include muscle loss.

Try this instead: Put some pizazz into your cardio routine with interval training exercises, or better yet, hop off the cardio machine and do some bicep curls to build lean, body sculpting muscle. Which leads me into Myth #3...

Myth #3: Women Will Bulk Up If They Lift Weights

Truth: It’s physiologically impossible for a woman to bulk up like a man.

I hear it all the time: my female clients don’t want to lift heavy weights because they believe it will make them bulk up and look masculine. The fact is that women simply don’t have enough testosterone to bulk up like men do.

Yes, some women train to bulk up and they do this by eating a lot of food and specifically targeting their daily weight lifting program. They also take supplements to help them achieve these gains. This is not you. You are lifting weights in order to stay lithe and sculpted, and that’s completely different.

Try this instead: Lifting weights can only benefit your body. It will increase your metabolism, define your muscles, help your bone density, and help you lose fat faster. I promise that there’s no way you will start to look masculine unless you specifically seek that out.

Are you ready to take steps toward a more healthy and fit lifestyle? Click HERE to fill out the contact information (information is not shared or distributed) to receive the Metabolism Makeover Self-Assessment and find out where you stand.