Happy Monday to you and thankfully, for some of you, it’s almost over! Having been sick all last week, I’ve been playing catchup all afternoon running errands, picking up dry cleaning, and tidying up the house. Boy do I hate being sick, especially when you think it’s gone and then it reappears a week or so later, hitting you harder than before! While I was at the gym on Friday, I was coughing into my elbow when my friend Debra looked over and said to me, “after your spin class, you’re coming over to my house so my husband can listen to your lungs and prescribe you something.” Only in California people! Can you believe the generosity?!
So I headed over to Debra’s after class and her husband Al hooked me up with one of those Z-packs and after four days of meds, I’m finally feeling back to myself. But on Thursday while coughing, I pulled some muscles in my back! Age is a bitch, eh?! So I’m back to my little circuit routines that are inspired by my friend and circuit trainer Amy Harper. Amy runs an early morning circuit class called Move Your A** where we sweat, grunt and complain… all in good fun! While I’m not training with Amy, I continuously check her blog for workouts she posts and recipes she suggests. We regularly swap recipes including this Chocolate Coconut Cookie down below. You can thank her!
Here are a few of my favorite “Amy Approved” short circuit workouts that you can do in your backyard, your living room, or even in the garage! Think high intensity with short rest time in between station. The idea is to get your heart rate up, and get to stay moving for as along as possible! Oh! And don’t forget to have fun!
I LOVE jumping rope!
_____________________
CIRCUIT ROUTINE ONE- FAT BURNING- repeat 3 times
-Jump rope x 100
-Jump Lunges with Oblique Twist x 20 (twist into front leg)
-Pike Push-Ups x 10
-Oblique Side Plank x 15 each side
-Wide Push-Ups x 10
-Walking Lunges with Butt Kick x 20
-Tricep Push-Ups x 10
-Down Dog to stretch
____________________
CIRCUIT ROUTINE TWO- UPPER BODY- repeat 3 times
-Run 10 minutes
-Supermans x 15
-Tricep Chair Dips x 20
-Pile Jump Squats x 20
-Forearms, Forearms, Hands, Hands x 20
-Ball Taps with feet in the air x 30
-Power-walk 10 minutes
___________________
CIRCUIT ROUTINE THREE-AB BURNOUT-300 reps!
-30 crunches
-20 bicycle crunches
-30 toe touches
-20 reverse crunches
-15 side plank hip lifts-right side
-30 crunches
-15 side plank hip lifts-left side
-40 Russian twists
-30 bicycle crunches
-15 oblique v-ups-right side
-20 reverse crunches
-25 oblique v-ups-left side
-10 leg lifts
_____________________
Phew! You made it! It’s time to enjoy some Flour-less Chocolate Coconut Cookies, don’t cha think? These are easy peesy cookies and I mean it! You just have to mix everything together and bake! And this recipe yields 22 cookies so make sure and SHARE the love.
Ingredients:
-1 cup raw almond butter
-1/2 cup organic coconut sugar
-3/4 cup shredded coconut flakes
-1 egg
-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (gluten-free)
-dash of salt
-1/4 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
3. Using your hands, roll the dough into small balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Press a fork to the dough to flatter the cookie.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browning. Yum! Thanks Amy!
Will circuit train for cookies!