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3 Simple Barre Moves You Can Do While Chilling on the Couch

OWNER / ANDREA Published On: Dec 07, 2020

3 Simple Barre Moves You Can Do While Chilling on the Couch

We’ve all been there: five hours deep into a new series, glued to the couch (except to get up for snacks, of course) and feeling absolutely no motivation to get up and get moving. Luckily, we’ve got 5 exercises you can do without leaving your comfy spot. So turn on Netflix, grab your popcorn, and get ready to feel the burn!

Clamshell

Lying on one side, point your knees down toward the floor and toes to the sky. Glue your heels together and open and close your legs, squeezing your glutes each time you open. Think about stacking your hips and engaging your core to stabilize your center as your legs move. This exercise sculpts the glutes.

Repeat 15 times (3-4 sets)

Back Dancing Walkouts

Lying on your back, plant your heels into the ground and draw your hips a few inches into the air. Walk your legs out away from the body four times, while keeping your booty up, then walk back in. The further out you walk your feet, the more you’ll feel your muscles contracting. This exercise strengthens your glutes and hamstrings.

Repeat 5 times (2-3 sets)

Scissor Kicks

Lying on your back, straighten one leg up toward the ceiling and hover the other just an inch off the couch. Hold for two counts before alternating legs. Think about drawing the navel to spine and knitting the ribs together, activating the entire core.

Repeat 10 times each side (2-3 sets)

3 Tips for a Healthier You

OWNER / ANDREA Published On: Dec 07, 2020

Founder Andrea’s Tips for a Healthier You

Eating healthy, feeling strong, and fueling from the inside out is the quickest way to becoming the happiest and healthiest version of yourself! 

Check out Founder and CEO Andrea’s 3 tips for integrating healthy habits, exercises, and foods into your everyday!

Tip 1

Weights, Cardio, Protein, Power: 

How increasing these 4 powerhouses can optimize your training.

1. Weights: adding wrist or ankle weights to cardio activity increases the workload, meaning you’ll burn calories in a shorter amount of time. 

2. Cardio: cardio activity in conjunction with sculpting & toning exercises increases the metabolic rate, which helps the body burn calories more efficiently. 

3. Protein- increasing the intake of protein helps muscle function and builds strength. Protein powers the body to build and 3strengthen. You can find protein in powders, lean meat, tofu, and beans. 

4. Power- increasing the intensity of your work out STEADILY over time helps the body to gain greater overall health, rather than, for example, adding 50 lbs to your deadlift overnight, which can lead to injury and burnout. 

Tip 2: 

Ditch the stationary equipment:

Hit the mat & hit the floor.

I see a ton of clients with horrible hip and low back injuries from increased use of indoor stationary equipment. 

The body does not move perfectly parallel, however indoor cycle bikes, elliptical machines, and such have a property called sheer force, which holds the equipment in place, forcing the body to only work in one plane of motion. This causes pain and, over time, injury. It’s best to include cardio routines that use weight bearing, free moving exercises, allowing the body to move across all planes of motion with ease. Things like HIIT classes, dance classes, and barre classes are great options. 

If you do have an injury, consider rehabbing by focusing on mat pilates exercises to regain strength while allowing the injury to heal. It’s always best to consult a physician if you experience persistent pain or ongoing problems. 

Tip 3: 

Matcha & Bars:

Yummy energy boosters. 

I particularly like to add Matcha and healthy protein bars to my clients’ diets as it helps them curve cravings and boost the metabolism. Matcha is a natural source of energy and caffeine. Regular use in the diet can actually speed up the metabolism by helping the body burn calories faster and more efficiently. It can replace coffee altogether, and mixed with coconut milk is a great non-dairy latte option. 

In addition, RxBars are my new favorite grab and go snack, as they are power packed with lots of protein and help the body sustain energy for long periods of time. RxBars are a great supplement as you run from meeting to meeting and have no time for a full meal. This helps the body avoid high and low spikes in blood sugar, which can make you feel both jittery and sluggish.Â