Happy Monday y’all! Hope everyone had a great weekend and Mother’s Day. After many requests, I wanted to take today’s post to round up my favorite at-home work outs and what my whole healthy habits have been since we’ve been in quarantine. Y’all know I’m committed to that Quarantine Glow Up and I’ve been seeing small differences with what I’ve been doing over the last two-ish months. So let’s dive in!
Favorite At-Home Work Outs:
If you know my/have followed along for awhile, you know that I don’t typically LOVE working out. While I frequent Barry’s Bootcamp and Fhitting Room in NYC, I like for my workouts to be enticing and effective. Working out at home has been a little bit of a struggle keeping my attention and working the muscle groups I’m wanting to target, but I’ve found some keepers!
1. Sydney Cummings. I found Sydney Cummings through TikTok and was instantly hooked after one workout. She shares new videos daily and has different challenges you can join in on. What I like most is that there’s a balanced amount of work, rest, and alterations should you have injuries. Can’t recommend enough!
2. Chloe Ting. Again another TikTok find, this gal is INTENSE. She has a two week ab shred challenge that has a cult following and her workouts will leave you feeling like a cooked noodle. Transitions are fast so you don’t get bored, but it doesn’t leave much time for rest if you’re just starting out. I try to do at least one of her longer work outs per week to really burn, and I’m going to start her two week ab challenge today!
3. Blogilates. The OG fitness youtuber, these work outs typically require no equipment and are great for toning – especially if you’re in a space like an apartment right now. What I love is how many options she has available. If I’m not feeling like doing a high intensity work out on a Saturday or even Sunday, I’ll choose a 20 minute blogilates work out on a specific area and still feel the burn.
Workout Schedule:
In the city I would try to work out 3-4x a week, but that wasn’t always the case. I had a great partnership with Classpass where I would be able to hit the evening classes after work, and I used to pay for a Barry’s membership to get those 6AM slots before work. My schedule was pretty inconsistent especially with levels of workouts I was doing. Here in Texas, I’m able to have a more regulated routine and even fit in 2+ workouts a day.
Most of the online workouts I do are anywhere from 20-45 minutes, so depending on the day I can either fit more in or stick with just one. The below is a schedule I’m striving for. I decided I don’t like distance running at home because it ruins my shins/heels for days, so I’m working to incorporate more HIIT cardio to burn calories, and coupling with strength training.
Sunday: Rest Day
Monday: HIIT Cardio + Arms/Abs (~2 workouts)
Tuesday: Lower Body with focus on glutes (1 workout)
Wednesday: HIIT Cardio + Arm Sculpt (~2 workouts)
Thursday: Glutes/Legs + Abs (~2 workouts)
Friday: Low Intensity Arms/Abs (1 workout)
Saturday: HIIT Cardio (~60 minutes, 1 workout)
Diet Changes:
I’ve always kept a relatively healthy diet primarily fish & veggies, but I do have a sweet tooth and obviously love wine. What I didn’t realize was really screwing me over was my lack of portion control when cooking for myself, resulting in over eating a majority of the time.
When I first got to Houston I attempted to switch to a Keto diet and didn’t mind it. However, when the weekend would hit and we’d order out I would do “cheat meals” that turned into cheat weekends and I’d have to start all over again come Monday. I didn’t see any changes when I did Keto except for less bloating.
Currently, I’m doing Intermittent Fasting + Calorie Deficit and this is where I’ve seen the most results especially in tandem with increasing my exercise levels. I eat from 11:00AM – 7:00PM, drink tons of water morning and evening, and try to keep under 1,300 calories a day. What I’ve enjoyed about this route is that I can plan out what I want to eat in the morning, and can account for those meals or alcohol intake that aren’t necessarily “healthy.”
I’m the type that never sees a change on the scale but can tell a difference in my body. Over the last two weeks I’ve been trying to weigh myself every morning (even on weekends) to track progress and as a result I’ve shed six pounds. It may not seem like a ton but everyone has to start somewhere! When I saw the adjusted number come back three days in a row I was shocked, motivated, and ready to keep going. Had I not returned home for this fiasco I would be doing my same ole, same ole and not seeing a difference. Now I can focus on restarting and leaning more towards an actual healthy lifestyle instead of one I just figured is okay.
What do y’all think? Any healthy recipes you have to share or other work outs? Have a great day and thanks for reading!