Fav Video of the Week!

http://youtu.be/6E2uvQ7a-8E
I am loving this ab shredding video. This workout will help you get rid of any post-winter muffin top and boost your summer swim suit confidence! Do this everyday and you will be the hottest mom at Raging Waters;)

You have 2 things to do today: breathe in, breathe out.

Breathing. 4 out of 5 of us is doing it wrong. The following breathing techniques can help reduce your stress and immediately bring down your cortisol levels, not to mention rev up your metabolism. If you ever feel yourself losing it, try this:

Exercise #1: Standing up, breathe in circling your arms like a snow angel out to the sides and up overhead filling your lungs like a giant balloon. Exhale out releasing your arms back down in the same sweeping motion completely emptying your lungs. Repeat this 10 times.

Exercise #2: Lying on your back, try lateral breathing. This is great to learn to not only expand your lungs out fully, but for exercise so that you can maintain an abdominal contraction and still breathe properly. If you have one, use a resistance band around your rib cage, if not use your hands. Place your hands lightly around your ribs and on inhale, breathe only into the right side, moving your ribs into your hand and back together. Next breath into the left side only. Now breath both sides moving your ribs out into your hands on inhale, back together on exhale. Try a couple more times until you get the hang of it.

Exercise #3: Belly breathing. Most of us breathe shallowly, only using the top part of our lungs. It's impossible to relax and breathe this way! Try laying on your back, place one hand on your chest one on your belly and as you breathe in, only let the hand on your belly rise and fall. Keep the hand on your chest still. Again, picture your lungs like a giant balloon filling up completely and emptying completely.

Great job! By now you should feel ready to deal with that spilled red Koolaid on your new sofa;)

5 Minute Energy Boost Workout

Sometimes you are in such a rush in the mornings with so much ahead of you, you'd like to fit in a workout but just don't have time to spare. Follow this 5 minute workout and you will rev up your engines and feel a lot better for the rest of the day:)

Exercise #1: 20 jumping jacks
Exercise #2: Drop & give me 20 push ups
Exercise #3: Lunge forward and back on each leg four times
Repeat if your 5 minutes aren't up yet and then breathe to the full capacity of your lungs in and out several times and out the door you go! Bring it!

Playground Workouts #2

Warm up: Swift walk or jog around playground area 5 times.
Exercise #1: Walking lunges. Going around the playground twice lunging with knees at right angles, keeping your front knee over your ankle and your posture tall and lifted.
Exercise #2: 10 burpees. To perform a burpee, put your hands on the ground next to your feet, jump your feet back into a plank position, perform one push up and jump back up.

Exercise #3: 12 triceps dips with hands on the park bench, feet on the ground. Lift left leg off the ground for 6 reps, then the right foot off the ground for 6 reps. (Doing these dips will ensure you never have jello arms, and you can wave confidently, knowing nothing is flapping!)

Run through this routine one more time if you have the time for it and/ or want to burn more calories and get that endorphin rush big time:) Keep it up! Maybe your kids will join you and you will feel even better knowing what a great example you are setting!