Morning, friends! I hope you’re having a good week so far! I want to start this morning with a quote I found yesterday that fits blogging so perfectly.

Friendship is that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Is that not the perfect quote for this fabulous community? Thanks for letting me be a part of it and for visiting me here at FFF. Big love!

I love coming here because I know you all will get my excitement over the following.

I got my “spice” back with two new strength training workouts this week!

Now, why can’t everyone get the cause for celebration in finding a new challenge in strength training? They’re missing out, don’t ya think?  

What did I do to finally spice things back up? Since I like to save the best for last, I will talk about yesterday morning’s workout first.

Last Friday I discovered that my library has quite a few workout DVDs available for check-out. I scooped up Jillian Michaels’ The Shred and couldn’t wait to try it out!

Yesterday morning was finally the time to pop it in the DVD player and see how I fared against Jillian. Since each workout is 20 minutes in length, I decided to go through both Level 1 and Level 2 to get a bit more of a challenge.

Challenge, it was! At first, I thought it wasn’t too difficult…but by halfway through Level One I started feeling it. It progressed from there FAST! I was one hot mess by the end of my 40 minutes!!!

Looking a little something like this…

I think the many compound moves and those squat thrusts did me in. Whew!!!

As much as I loved The Shred (and can’t wait to give Level 3 a shot), I simply have to toot my own horn here a bit.

Monday morning I headed to the gym with a new circuit idea in mind. I had a feeling it either would either be a total flop or a total killer. If I’m talking about it…you know it was the latter. OH. Muh. Good-NESS!

I wanted something relatively quick (around 30 minutes), but with enough variety to switch things up from my regular weights routines. I went with the trusty circuit style, but instead of doing a few different circuits with 3 sets of each move, I went completely hodgepodge and did a different move each step along the way.

Let me explain a little better. I present you with the 5 x 5 circuit:

5 body parts x 5 moves per body part x 1 minute per move.

Basically, I crafted five DIFFERENT circuits. In each circuit, I picked a move for legs, chest, back, and shoulders, then finished with my fave move ever – the plank. I went through each circuit only ONCE, before going straight to the next one. I didn’t have a set number of reps for each move. I simply used the timer on my phone and completed each move for a full minute. Turns out – a minute is a long time in workout world!

Here’s a breakdown for you:

Told ya it was a good one! Be sure to let me know if you try it out! Or if you have any questions. Like “where should I keep my sweat towel???”. I think I may just have to do this again tomorrow!

• Have you ever done The Shred?
• What’s something other bloggers get your excitement over that friends and family do not?

PS – I’m not a certified trainer yet, so use this workout at your own discretion.

PPS – I can in fact do math, and know 5x5 is 25. The 30 minutes comes from the extra time added in for transitions/rest/etc.

Today, I wanted to kick some butt in the gym. I had that pumped up and motivated feeling, along with a restful weekend to top off my energy. Life always likes to have different plans, though. As you can imagine, a sick kid meant a no go at the gym for me today. What to do? What to do?

I don’t mind skipping workouts when I either physically or mentally need the rest. I also will skip if certain priorities come into play and I just cannot make a workout happen. I can’t stress myself over those situations.

But today didn’t really fit any of those scenarios. I felt good. Makenzie’s cough is hardly life alert status. And I wanted to workout!

So, I did. When there’s a will, there’s a way. Sometimes you have to keep determined and make things happen. I looked at my options and determined that I could still fit in a great at-home workout with the kids.I just had to keep it short and sweet…and make sure to have an arsenal of entertainment for them.

Monday’s plan was a legs and shoulders workout plus some cardio. For the first part of the workout, I opted to go with a bunch of supersets completed with little rest (15-30 seconds between exercises) to keep my heart rate up through the workout. Then, I added a plyometric circuit to top it all off with a cardio super burst.

It ended up being a great thirty-ish minute workout! And it’s completely versatile too. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t get a good workout at home. Basic moves and body weight exercises can challenge you quite nicely. My legs and sweaty clothes can tell you that.

• What’s the last healthy act you made happen, despite roadblocks?