Fellow barefoot boot campers, blog enthusiasts, and QWOD dominators, I'm going to Spain for the next week for a little R&R.  Traveling there has been a dream of mine ever since my first Spanish class in high school, so Mrs. Barefoot and I plan to truly enjoy this amazing vacation.

With that said, there will not be any scheduled classes nor new QWODs to do in my absence.  But it would be remiss of me to leave you without anything, so I've compiled my five favorite all-time QWODs for you to do next week.  Enjoy!

• Nat's Friday QWOD
• Housewife QWOD
• To QWOD or Not to QWOD?
• First QWOD
• Saturday QWOD
  

I will be back for an all-new Jumpstart! Fitness Challenge on October 4th, so get ready to feel awesome and look awesome!

Cheers!

-Barefoot Benny


PS  If any of you know a trustworthy and fun personal trainer looking to run some future classes, please drop me an email at benny@barefootbenny.com.  Thanks!

PPS  If any of you know some cool places to go in Spain, please leave a comment!

Why Woolly Bully?  I don't know, I just kinda like saying it!  Let's bring some intensity to today's Quick Workout Of the Day and really blast some fat and get that heart rate moving!


QWOD for Tuesday, September 21st

• 1 minute of side kicks with right leg
• 1 minute of side kicks with left leg
• 1 minute of mountain climber
  
• 1 minute of jabs with right hand
• 1 minute of jabs with left hand
• Get a drink.  Great job!
  

So my wife and I found out yesterday that we're having a little girl in February!  To celebrate little Barefoot Baby Girl's future arrival, we will be doing today's Quick Workout Of the Day in her honor.

Warning: my baby girl loves burpees!

QWOD for September 18th, 2010

• 10 burpees without pushups
• 10 burpees with pushups
• 10 burpees without pushups or jumps
• 10 burpees with diamond hand pushups without jump
• 10 burpees without pushups with 3 jumping jacks at top
• 10 burpees with wide leg pushups
• 10 burpees with straight arm plank for 5 second holds
• 10 burpees without pushups with 10 jumprope hops after each rep
• 10 burpees without pushups with knee tucks on the jumps
  
• 10 burpees (oh yea, old school baby!)
  

Today's Quick Workout Of the Day is going to be quick and dirty.  Get it done with zero rest and you'll be good to go!


QWOD for Tuesday, September 14th

• Jumping jacks - 1 minute
• Front kicks - 30 per leg
• 20 burpees (you know you love these!)
• Prone iso-abs with horizontal shuffle (Shuffle feet and forearms to left for 30 seconds, then back right for 30 seconds.  Keep good form the whole time.)
• Slow air squats with arms out to sides like a "T" for 2 minutes (you will feel this in both your shoulders and your quads!)
• 20 dips on the edge of a bed/couch/chair
• ***1 minute rest then REPEAT***
  

Just because it's after Labor Day, it doesn't mean you can put away those bikinis and slack off in the exercise department.  Make workouts a part of your daily life and they'll be more than just a routine - they'll become the most looked-forward to part of your day!

Give this Quick Workout Of the Day a try and come on out to a Barefoot Benny Boot Camp to really push yourself!


QWOD for Tuesday, September 15th

• Do this circuit with no rest if possible, with good form, as fast as you can.  Write down your time in the Comments section.
  
• 2 minutes of jump rope hops (stay on the balls of your feet)
• 3 explosive pushups (explode on the push up part, and get hands and feet off the ground)
• 30 seconds of side planks per side with top leg lifts
• Mary Catherine split lunge jumps - 45 seconds
• 3 more explosive pushups
• Prone iso-abs (forearm planks) with alternating leg lifts for 45 seconds
• 20 jump squats (get as high as you can!)
• 3 super explosive pushups (push it baby!)
  

Have you seen all those clunky new fad sneakers out on the market recently, marketed as "toning" shoes?  They promise to get you in shape just by walking around.  Sweet!  Where can I throw about $250???  With names like "Shape-Ups" and "Easy Tones", I'm bound to get my bum looking tight, and my calves all cut and sexy.

If you buy into the whole hype that MBT's, Skechers, or Reebok are coming out with miracle products, let me sell you this magic bean I found - it promises to increase your IQ by 50 points!

These shoes will get you in no better shape than if you walk in regular sneakers, or even barefoot (if you're cool like me.)  In fact, walking around on an unstable surface all day sounds might dangerous to me.  I guess the people who are buying these things have never had a sprained ankle, or else they'd think twice before sticking them on their feet.

ACE, the American Council on Exercise, recently came out with a study finding that these shoes do nothing different than the typical walking shoe.  John Porcari, Ph.D, says, “Don’t buy these shoes because of the claims that you’re going to tone your butt more or burn more calories. That’s absolutely wrong."  ACE conducted a scientific test on two groups of women and found no substantial differences in muscle use while walking on a treadmill at different inclines (these shoes are too dangerous to go running in.)

Will this study, or any rantings by barefoot fitness professionals, do anything to sway the public into buying regular sneakers, or better yet, minimalist shoes?  My guess is probably not, though over time the fad, like any other fad, will fade away, and we'll all have a good laugh about "toning" shoes.