Yea, the weekend is here!  If you live in NYC, check out Summer Streets on Saturday - it's amazing!  If my left ankle holds up, I plan on running from the Upper East Side all the way across the Brooklyn Bridge and then back to the UES.  Running is an amazing way to explore any city, especially NYC.

If you don't plan on running 12 miles or so, give this Quick Workout Of the Day a try.  It'll kick your tush, but it'll be so worth it!

QWOD for Saturday, August 20th, 2011

• 1 minute of jumping jacks
• 8 burpees with pushups
• 10 burpees without pushups
• 1 minute of bridge (on your back, raise your hips)
• 10 burpees with pushups
• 15 burpees without pushups
• 30 second bridge with right leg in air
• 30 second bridge with left leg in air
• 12 burpees with pushups
• 20 burpees without pushups
• BRING IT!!!
  

Fartlek, pronounced fart-lick, is a hilarious word.  It makes me giggle like a little school girl.  (Note: I'd make a very ugly school girl, at 6'1", 190 lbs.)  But a fartlek has more going for it than just humor.  Fartleks are a great way to increase your overall speed and stamina.  Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning "speed play" and is a form of interval or speed training where you basically change the tempo of your run, instead of just going at the same old boring pace.

This weekend Quick Workout Of the Day will require you to put on your minimalist shoes (or just go barefoot), go outside and run!  Keep it intense, and give it 100%.

Have a great weekend, and have a great workout!

PS  True or false: I overly used the word "fartlek" in this post?

QWOD for Saturday, August 6th, 2011

• 1 minute jumping jack (jj's)
• Jog slowly for 1 minute
• SPRINT for 20 seconds
• Jog slowly for 1 minute
• SPRINT for 20 seconds
• Jog at a normal pace for 1 minute
  
• SPRINT for 20 seconds
• Jog at a normal pace for 1 minute
• SPRINT for 20 seconds
• Jog slowly for 1 minute
  

If you're in pain from last night's boot camp, smile and give yourself a pat on the back.  You rock!  If you're not in pain, DO MORE PUSHUPS!!!

Today's Quick Workout Of the Day will focus on keeping your core strong and durable.  Good luck soldier!

QWOD for Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

• 2 minutes of jumping jacks
• 30 second superman
• 1 minute opposite arm/opposite leg (right arm, left leg) - GO SLOW
• 1 minute opposite arm/opposite leg (left arm, right leg) - GO SLOW
• 45 seconds of twisting mountain climbers (keep your butt low, back flat, and bring opposite knee to opposite elbow every rep)
• 30 second superman
• 1 minute bridge or full wheel (feel that burn, keep the hips high!)
  

It's been a solid first week of this Jumpstart! Fitness Challenge and you all should keep up the positive momentum by trying this Quick Workout Of the Day.  Bang it out on Saturday, or give it a go on Sunday, or just be badass and rock it on both days!

If you're awake, say hi to me in Central Park on Saturday morning, where I'll be running nine miles all by my lonesome.  Giddy up!

QWOD for Saturday, July 30th, 2011

• 50 biceps curls with 5-10 lb. weights/soup cans/gallon jugs of water
• 25 dips on edge of chair/couch/bed
• 50 air squats (butt should touch couch every time)
• 25 more dips
• ***REPEAT ONCE*** and then...
  
• 25 burpees with pushups
  

Five minutes is pretty short, right?  Hell yea!  That's as long as it will take to do today's Quick Workout Of the Day.  Go all out and as you're sweating and breathing hard, keep reminding yourself "Hey, Self, it's only five minutes!"

QWOD for Thursday, July 28th, 2011

• Do as many rounds in 5 minutes of:
• 10 pushups
• 15 dips
• 10 side lunges to the right
• 10 side lunges to the left
• 10 jump squats

Leave the number of rounds you did in the comments section.

Here we are, going into the last weekend of the Jumpstart! Fitness Challenge.  With two challenges looming for next Thursday, it's time to buckle down and really push yourself to get strong, get toned, get angry!

Give this Quick Workout Of the Day a try over the weekend and be confident for your final exam next Thursday...

QWOD for Saturday July 9th, 2011

• 2 minutes of warmup (jog in place, jumping jacks, burpees without pushups)
• Max rep dips on chair, edge of bed or couch
• 5 more dips
• Max rep assisted pistol squats holding onto a door frame, partner, etc.
• 2 bonus pistol squats
• 15 diamond pushups
• 2 bonus diamond pushups
• 20 single leg squats per leg
• ***REPEAT TWICE***
  

It's Wednesday.  It's hot out.  You're probably sore from yesterday's workout (I know I am.)  You probably have a zillion excuses to not do today's Quick Workout Of the Day.

But you're an animal.  You're a champion.  You have a goal: get ripped and feel great!

So you're going to get off the couch, leave you're air conditioned apartment, and keep up that positive momentum by dominating today's workout.

Go git 'em tiger!

QWOD for Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

• 2 minute warmup (jumping jack, high knees, leg swings, etc.)
  
• Run for 3 minutes
• Stop, do 20 pushups
• Run for 3 minutes
• Stop, do 15 pushups
• Run for 3 minutes
• Stop, do 10 pushups
• Run for 3 minutes
• Stop, do 10 pushups
• Stretch quads and calves for 2 minutes
• Do 10 burpess with pushups
  

Part of the Jumpstart! Fitness Challenge is pushing your body to new limits and keeping it primed throughout the week.  While our bodies do need rest time to recover and recharge, these next three weeks are all about getting in the best shape you've ever been in!

I highly recommend doing these Quick Workouts Of the Day every Tuesday and Saturday or Sunday so you don't let your workout momentum fade.

Enough chitchat, let's sweat!

QWOD for Tuesday, May 17th:
-20 dips off the edge of your couch
-20 squat jumps (making sure your feet are parallel before each jump)
-1 minute of straight-arm plank to forearm planks (keep cycling through the whole time)
-30 standing shoulder presses holding soup cans or other light weights
-40 side lunges (20 per leg)
-12 side plank reach-unders SLOW per side

**Do this as fast as you can without taking any breaks.**

My kickbutt client Courtney passed along the gospel of Barefoot Benny Boot Camps to a friend of hers who runs a blog called "Only For Today."  The blog gives a shoutout to Barefoot Benny in a post devoted to getting out and embracing the upcoming spring weather.

The blog is pretty sweet and has some cool ideas, so go ahead and check it out!

I recently checked out an article from Outside Online magazine about one man's firsthand account of Erwan LeCorre's MovNat course.  MovNat is an outdoor fitness program that teaches you how to functionally move in the real world, completely different than confined movements most people do in a gym.  While Barefoot Benny Boot Camps are awesome (I spit at modesty in the face), Erwan's MovNat retreats sound extremely fun and badass.  As a gift to myself I oneday want to attend a week long course, just to see how tough I really am (I'd like to think my chest hair makes me hardcore!)

I had the opportunity earlier this year to meet Erwan at a barefoot running clinic on the Brooklyn Bridge, and he definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to primal fitness.

Have an awesome new year, and I hope to see you out at a Barefoot Benny Boot Camp in 2011!