There is a new warm up video from Zuzana which is a bit long but will become second nature once you’ve done it a few times. You should always warm up your body and even your mind before you work out. If you don’t, you are much more likely to injure yourself. You will also have a much more powerful and energized workout after using her warm up principles because you are programming yourself with positive thoughts every time before you work out. Warming up your body is especially important before you are going to do an intense workout.

Tuesday I did an extra set of exercise #3 (squat to arm/leg raises) because I was a bit sleepy still. I always confuse it with #4 and think I have been skipping 3 from time to time– a hardship or skipping the videos for time reasons…gotta read all my own fine print better. πŸ˜‰

Wednesday Mack had a play date scheduled in the morning and I just couldn’t find a way to fit in the workout. Sometimes life it just like that. And from there things just starting going downhill. I’ve been extremely tired in the mornings lately and just couldn’t seem to get myself motivated to work out. If you’ve also been skipping workouts, don’t beat yourself up too badly. Things happen in life. What’s important is that you get back on track the next day and don’t let the lapse destroy your desire to get in shape.

Nearly every day that I do the Beginner’s Workout, I am really overjoyed when I reach exercise 12 (which marks where the final floor exercises begin.) That exercise means that I’m well over half-way done which is vital at this moment because I’m usually pretty winded. It seems that no matter how often I do this workout, it continues to kick my butt. And if I do it several days in a row, it’s the worst battle of all to get through it all. Perhaps it’s my muscles revolting. Or maybe it’s just because I’m learning how to do the exercises more effectively every day and therefore working the muscles better…creating a more exhausted me by the end of it all. I always finish feeling amazed that such simple workouts can have such a nice impact.

I’ve been reminded that although I often want to push harder and work out more, I still have a whole lot of responsibilities at home including a nearly full time workload with our personal businesses. So even though I can move my arms and legs throughout the day after working out, it doesn’t really mean that I need to be killing myself every morning either.

With that being said, I’m hoping to add the Buns and Fat Loss workouts to my routine. Because there are 3 of them (which happens to be a new format for Zuzana’s workout collections), I will do one each on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday I will cut myself a little slack and go back to the Beginner’s Workout. I don’t have a whole lot of fat to work off but I definitely want to tone up the buttocks in a big way so this seems like a great routine to start with. All you need for the workout is an exercise mat, a raised surface (2 chairs are probably best) and a timer. A bottle of water and towel will be useful too because I hear there’s a lot of sweating involved! Perhaps the newness of the exercises will encourage me to work it harder.

The exercises should be completed as quickly as possible to really get your heart pumping, but at the same time you should not sacrifice form for speed. Doing the exercises correctly and working the right muscles is much more important than beating the time clock.

Now where is my jump rope…??

The Buns and Fat Loss Routine with Beginner’s Workout Alternates

Part 1 (Monday)

The recap of the workout actually starts at min 5:50 after her “coffee talk” about the hottest celebrity butts. Unlike the Beginner’s Workout, we don’t get to see the entire routine. Instead it’s just a demonstration of a few reps each and the entire workout is written out below. You can also visit her website (see Part 1 link above) to see photos of each exercise.

Before you get started, put the two chairs (without armrests) side-by-side and lay an exercise mat or towel over the seat of them. You are going to be laying across them with your hips and legs hanging off as well as putting your feet on them so you don’t want to get them grungy.

Do 4 rounds of the following exercises:

  1. Jump Squat and Backward Lunge (alternating legs) – 10 reps
    Squat down,with your knees slightly pointed out and bring your hands down to the ground between your legs. Stand back up and as you come to a full standing position, jump up with your arms reaching up above your head. Once standing on the ground again, extend one leg back (alternate each time) and bend at the knee. Keep your stationary knee above your ankle, bent at a 90Β° angle. Bring the extended knee down to the ground. (One rep counts as 1 jump squat and one backward lunge.)
  2. Hip Extension – 20 reps (min 6:59)
    Lay across the chairs with your hips on the edge. Cross your legs at the ankles and lift them up straight up off the ground. Once raised, uncross your ankles and open your legs. Recross them with the opposite foot on top and lower to the floor. Lift legs, open, recross with opposite leg on top, etc. (One rep includes lifting legs off the ground, opening, crossing and bringing back down to the floor.)
  3. Bulgarian Squat – 20 reps on each leg (min 7:20)
    Put the top of your foot on the chair behind you, keep the shin of your front leg vertical and squat down to bring your back knee as close to the ground as possible. Put your hands behind your head to help you keep your balance.
  4. Mountain Climber – 30 reps (min 8:16)
    Get on the floor, in a push-up stance. Keeping your weight on your palms, jump one leg up closer to you while the other remains reaching back. Then alternate legs, bringing the first leg down and the previously extended leg up towards your body. (Each jump counts as 1 rep.)

Beginner’s Workout (Tuesday)

Part 2 (Wednesday)

For these exercises you will only need an exercise mat and a single chair.

  1. 2 walking lunges, 4 backward jumps and Half Burpee with Jump Up (no push up)30 reps (min 1:55)
    Make two large strides forward, lunging down so your knee is almost to the ground. Try to keep the bent leg knee at a 90Β° angle and the knee directly above your ankle. After two strides (one on each leg), make four bunny hops backwards. Put your hands down on the ground, extend your legs behind you (as if about to do a push-up), bring your legs back up toward your body with a hop-like motion, stand up and make a small jump as you reach standing position.
  2. Step Ups and One Leg Elevated Squat30 reps on each leg (min 2:15)
    Place your right foot in the chair and step up onto it. Bring your left leg up in the air so your left knee is at waist-height. Lower your left leg back down to the floor and position your right foot in the chair so that your heel is touching the chair. Bend your left leg at the knee, lowering your body and extending your right (a single-leg elevated squat). Complete all reps on one leg then switch.
  3. One Leg Bridge – 2 sets of 15 reps on each leg (min 2:34)
    Lay on your back on your exercise mat on the floor and you’re going to do a one-legged hip raise like you learned in the beginner’s workout. Extend your arms so they point toward your feet and bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor. Extend one leg up in the air, keeping it vertical to your body and your foot flexed. Then raise your hips up in the air so that your leg and stomach form a straight line and slowly lower your hips back down to the mat. Do all reps on one leg first then switch to the other.
  4. One Leg Wall Sit 2 reps holding on each leg for 30 seconds (2 minutes total) (min 2:48)
    With your back against a wall, squat down in a sitting position and extend one leg out in front of you. This way all your weight is on one leg. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then switch.Β 

Beginner’s Workout (Thursday)

Part 3 (Friday)

You only need a jump rope to complete these…oh and extreme body control for the pistols!

Do 6 rounds of the following exercises.

  1. Side Jump Lunge – 30 reps (each jump counts as 1 rep) (min 4:21)
    Bend one knee and extend the other leg out to your side. Your body should be lowered to your bent knee and hands will briefly touch the ground. Stand up, then switch legs with a jumping motion.
  2. Pistols – 5 reps on each leg (min 4:35)
    Extend one leg out in front of you and bend your knee until you are in a squatting position. Stand back up and repeat all reps on one leg before switching. Because this exercise is nearly impossible, you can also bend down in front of a chair and brace yourself as little as possible on the chair to complete the reps.
  3. Jump Rope Skipping – 100 skips
    25 skips with feet together, pause, 25 skips alternating legs (jogging), pause, 25 reps feet together, pause, and last 25 reps of jogging. So all together you will do 100 skips. It is important that you put as much energy as possible into each set and then pause for just few seconds to reset for another 25 reps.

Do you want to workout with me (and Zuzana)? I’ll be posting a new BodyRock Challenge post every Friday. There I will recap my own progress from the previous week, leave some motivation for all of us and announce any changes to the workout routine. If you aren’t ready to move up to the next level, don’t worry; just keep working out at the current level until you feel it’s too easy or you notice you aren’t winded at the end of the workout.

I’d love to read your comments and progress. If you are linking to your blog and you talk about other things than BodyRock, please link DIRECTLY to your own post so that those of us who want to give you some encouragement can easily find your post. If you don’t have your own blog or website where you can talk about your progress, then just tell us how you did in your comment! Also feel free to save this image to your computer and upload it to your BodyRock Challenge blog posts!