March 21 Day Fitness Challenge

Starting March 16th, I’m participating in a fitness challenge group and I wanted to share this opportunity to join our fitness challenge group with my readers!

The fitness challenge will be 21 days. One ~30 minute workout per day. We’re also going to follow a results-driven nutrition plan, because diet is 80% of the equation to achieving your weight loss goals!

You can do any 30 minute workout, or you can follow the 21 Day Fix Extreme workout program that I will be doing with my fitness challenge group (there is also a less “extreme” workout program that you can do with us, called 21 Day Fix). Since I live a Paleo & Bulletproof diet & lifestyle, I have tweaked the 21 Day Fix Nutrition plan for my specific diet preferences. I have put together a 7 Day Meal Planner for Week #1 just to give you an idea of what the Paleo or Bulletproof version would be like. Download the free PDF example >HERE<. And the free excel version (so that you can input your own calories and change the meals and macronutrient percentages) >HERE<.

If you aren’t eating a Paleo or Bulletproof diet, then you can just follow the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan as it is!

Here’s the game plan:

21 Workouts: Do either the 21 Day Fix Extreme or 21 Day Fix workout program {or choose any ~30 minute workout that really pushes your limits and gets you sweatin’}! You can find a plethora of at-home and/or gym workouts on my site.

Nutrition: EAT CLEAN. Abs are made in the kitchen, so this is a vital part of the 21 day challenge. No alcohol, it slows down your metabolism, adds calories to your daily caloric intake, and spikes your blood sugar levels which isn’t going to help you achieve your weight loss goals! Follow my meal planner or follow the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan that comes with the workout program. I would suggest the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan, especially if you’re just starting out with a wholefoods, clean eating approach to nutrition. It will get you on the right path!

That’s it, keepin’ it simple because I know you’re busy! This fitness challenge is the perfect jump start to what I like to call “Spring Training”. What’s “Spring Training”? Winter is coming to an end, it’s been REALLY cold and dismal and has put a lot of people into “hermit crab – couch potato” mode…so when the sun and warmth come back into the picture this Spring, we’re going to kick into high gear with getting fit this year…THIS is “Spring Training”. Not only will Spring Training get you in bikini body shape, but it will also boost your serotonin and endorphin levels to improve that mood and get you out of the winter blues. Let’s just say, Spring Traning is SUPER ENERGIZING!

So this 21 Day Fitness Challenge is the perfect prelude to what’s to come, Spring Training! It will kick your butt into gear and smack a smile back on that winter blues face of yours! Not to mention tighten and tone up that bod for bikini season woot woot!

Okay, enough chitta chatta, comment below if you want to join the 21 Day Fitness Challenge group!

If you need some Workout Gear, don’t forget to pop on over to Brave Angel Shop for some Athleisure: Women’s Motivational Workout Apparel for Everyday Use!

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Any recommendations made by Natalie Krul, Brave Angel, guest bloggers, or on our website http://www.BraveAngel.com about weight training, nutrition, supplements or lifestyle should be discussed between you and your doctor because working out involves risks. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Never disregard professional medical advice, or delay in seeking it, because of something you have read on this website or from our products or services.  Never rely on information on our website, from our products or services, in place of seeking professional medical advice.

January Fitness Challenge

Here is the lowdown for this 20 day challenge:

I have posted the workout breakdown below. Print this out and put on your refrigerator or somewhere you view daily so it’s there as a reminder of the workout you are supposed to do that day. Each day, from now until the 31st, you will do a workout. We will have “active rest” days, which means you won’t have a structured workout for that day, but you still need to do something active. If you aren’t sure what or how to do an exercise move on the prescribed workout sheet, just comment on this blog post and I’ll help you out. You can also look up these exercise moves on youtube.com!

The workouts are pretty straight forward. There are about 8-9 exercise moves per workout, and you will do those 8-9 exercise moves as a circuit (do one exercise move, then move onto the next exercise move until you have completed all moves in the circuit which equals one round of the circuit). The last cell of each workout tells you how many rounds to do. For example: “4 Rounds 45s/10s”. This means 4 Rounds of the 8-9 exercise moves and that you will do each move for 45 seconds of effort with only 10 seconds of rest between exercise moves. Use an interval timer or stop watch to stay on track! It is very important to have only the prescribed amount of rest between exercise moves because these are “High Intensity Interval Training” workouts.

If you can’t do one of the exercise moves (because you don’t have the right equipment or because of an injury), just substitute it out for an exercise that works similar muscle groups. For example, if you can’t do chin ups than do inverted rows or bent over bar bell rows or lateral pull downs or tricep dips.

Click below link to download the PDF document for all the workouts!

Click Here to Download the free 20 Day Workout Program!

Again, if you have any other questions, comment on this post and I’ll help you out! Also we can chat on the Brave Angel Facebook page or on Brave Angel’s Twitter page.

Rock on and comment below to let me know how the challenge is going for you!

 

Final Workouts for Kettlebell Challenge!

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Friday, Day 18 of the challenge was a rest day. So #gohardorgohome on Day 19 and Day 20!

We are going to #TBT and do the kettlebell workouts from Day 1 and Day 2. I want you to see how much your strength and endurance has improved since we started the challenge. For Day 19, you will do the workout from Day #1….and for Day 20, you will do the workout from Day #2. You can find the workouts on the first post from the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge here! I also posted the workouts below to make it easy on you.

Day 19, Saturday, Upper Body Kettlebell #TBT Workout:

Upper Body Kettlebell Workout

Day 20, Lower Body Kettlebell #TBT Workout:

Lower Body Kettlebell Workout

Post your progress and workout results for this 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge below! Next month we will be starting a whole new challenge, so make sure you follow us to be a part of next month’s challenge!

 

Kettlebell Body Sculpting Moves

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Quick Tip: A fellow Brave Angel asked me the other day, “I workout, but I’m not quite sure how to sculpt my body, what can I do?” Here are five really important tips to help you sculpt your bod!

1. Diet is 80% of the equation. If you want to have a lean and sculpted body, you’ve got to watch what you eat! And I’m not talking about avoiding ice cream and sweets, I mean the macro-nutrient ratio of each meal (carbs-protein-fat). Carbs should be about 35-45% of each meal, protein should be about 30% of each meal, and fat should be anywhere between 10-20% of each meal. Carbs should be from unprocessed, unrefined, wheat free grains such as quinoa or brown rice, and you should keep these starchy carbs to a minimum. A majority of your diet/carbs should come from dark, leafy green veggies like Kale and Broccoli for example.

2. Protein and Weight Lifting is key when you are trying to sculpt and tone up! Don’t worry ladies, you won’t get bulky from lifting weights and eating protein. Females don’t have the hormones necessary to bulk up unless they are purposefully adding performance enhancing supplements to do so. Try to get in 1 gram of protein per goal body weight daily! So if I want to aim to be 130 pounds of sculpted and toned body weight, then I need to eat 130 grams of protein per day.

3. Eat moderate amounts of healthy fats. Your body needs fat to function, and will hold onto fat if you don’t eat enough healthy fat. Aim for about 15-20% of your daily caloric intake to be from healthy fats.

4. Cardio…How much and when? Only do between 25-45 minutes of cardio about 3x/week max. Too much cardio and you won’t be able to keep that lean, sculpted muscle you just earned by lifting weights! Also, too much cardio will make you want to eat like a beast and make it REALLY difficult to stick to your diet guidelines I just mentioned above. Fit your cardio in around your weight lifting days. Do cardio AFTER you lift weights or in a separate session of its own so you have enough stamina to get through your weight lifting sessions.

5. Weight Lifting. As for weight lifting, try to lift heavy weights 5 days/week. Alternate days. Meaning, focus on upper body muscle groups Day’s 1, 3 & 5 and lower body muscle groups on Day’s 2 & 4. This way you can really target those muscle groups and also give your muscles one day of rest.

Now, here are Day 16 & Day 17 of the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge!

Day 16, Wednesday, Upper Body Sculpt:

Kettlebell Upper Body Sculpt

Day 17, Thursday, Lower Body Sculpt

Kettlebell Lower Body Sculpt

Two Simple Kettlebell Workouts!

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Welcome to the final week of the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge! We are going to lift and swing our kettlebells right through Thanksgiving and all those wonderful temptations that Thanksgiving brings! Day 13, Sunday, was a rest day. So really rock out these two workouts over the next two days. The workouts for Day 14 and Day 15 are below. Watch your form and enjoy every minute of these two strength endurance kettlebell workouts!

Day 14, Monday, Upper Body Endurance Workout:

Kettlebell Upper Body Endurance

Day 15, Tuesday, Lower Body Endurance Workout:

Kettlebell Lower Body Endurance

Let that Kettlebell Swing!

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Below are the workouts for Day 11 and Day 12 of the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge. You will be doing a full body workout both days. One workout will be geared towards giving you a cardio blast and one workout will be strength and endurance training. Here they are, enjoy!

Friday, Day 11, Kettlebell Cardio Burn:

Kettlebell Cardio Burn

Saturday, Day 12, Kettlebell Full Body Burn:

Kettlebell Full Body Burn

Kettlebell Strength & Endurance Blast

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Here are the next two workouts in the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge! Today, Monday, you will do the Upper Cardio Blast and tomorrow, Tuesday, you will do the Lower Cardio Blast.

Each workout is only 12 minutes! The key here is to push yourself to the max for that entire 12 minutes. After you finish the 12 minutes, you could try to do some light cardio for 10-20 minutes to get an additional calorie burn. Just remember, focus on those 12 minutes and make sure to give it your absolute best! Enjoy!

Monday, November 17th, Kettlebell Upper Cardio Blast:

Kettlebell Upper Cardio Blast

Tuesday, November 18th, Kettlebell Lower Cardio Blast:

Kettlebell Lower Cardio Blast

Kettlebell Cardio & Full Body

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

 

Here are today’s and Saturday’s workouts for the 20 day Kettlebell Challenge. This is Day 5 and Day 6 of the challenge. Day 7 is a rest day. These two workouts are going to really challenge you. The Kettlebell Cardio will get your heart rate fired up and build that lean, strong muscle mass that helps tone and shape up the physique! The Kettlebell Full Body workout will really target all the large muscle groups to achieve a good burn and help your body get into fat blasting mode! The workouts are below. Have fun and enjoy your weekend!

Day 5, Friday, Kettlebell Cardio Workout:

Kettlebell Cardio Workout

Day 6, Saturday, Kettlebell Full Body Workout:

Kettlebell Full Body Workout

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

Workouts for Day 3 & 4

I hope you had fun with Day 1 and 2 of the kettlebell challenge! Here is Day 3 & 4. Remember, concentrate on executing each exercise move with the best form possible. Focus on your breathing. Focus on having good posture and contracting in your core during each exercise move. And as always, EAT CLEAN and make sure you are eating ENOUGH LEAN PROTEIN to feed your muscles the fuel they need to recover for your next workout.

Enjoy!

Day 3, Wednesday, Upper Body Workout:

Upper Body Workout

Day 4, Thursday, Lower Body Workout:

Lower Body Workout

20 Day Kettlebell Challenge

November’s Challenge

20 Days of Kettlebells

Starting today, Monday November 10th, is the 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge. This will keep you fit and motivated throughout the Thanksgiving Holiday (and hopefully help get you through all the temptations that the holiday season brings!).

If you have never used kettlebells before, don’t worry. The exercises that you do with kettlebells is VERY similar to what you do with dumbbells. If you can’t figure out form or a specific exercise, just youtube it!

The 20 Day Kettlebell Challenge will work like this….

1. Get a set of 10’s, 15’s and 20 pound kettlebells – or just use the ones at your gym
2. Make sure you are subscribed to this blog so you receive the workouts via email
3. Pin the workouts to a board on your Pinterest account so that you can easily access it when you are working out
4. I will be posting two workouts every other day. For example, I will post Monday & Tuesday’s workouts on Monday…and I will post Wednesday and Thursday’s workouts on Wednesday. So be sure to check your email for the workouts every other day!
5. Eat clean, train dirty: Try to eat unprocessed whole foods and avoid alcohol and binge eating on pumpkin pie!

Here are your first two workouts for Monday & Tuesday!

Monday – Upper Body Kettlebell Workout:

Upper Body Workout – Monday

Tuesday – Lower Body Workout

Lower Body Workout – Tuesday

After completing the kettlebell portion of the workout, attempt to do 10 minutes of cardio either running outdoors or on the elliptical, treadmill or stair climber at your gym. Try to do intense interval training cardio for 10 minutes (50 seconds maximum effort with 10 seconds recovery, repeat 10 times for a total of 10 minutes).

Good Luck!!