Rainy days are ahead and for us girls trying to be fit, the weather can pose as a HUGE problem. Not only are the streets damp and disgusting to head for the gym or to jog and walk in, we also need to fight the urge to stay in bed and listen to sentimental songs and have sentimental thoughts while watching raindrops slither on our windows. (Now Playing: Officially Missing You by Jayeslee). But there's a better time for that and that's later (when it's darker). For now, let's put down the chocolate snack we are holding and get into our workout clothes and shoes and let's get our hearts pumping with some rain-proof exercise!
I'm featuring here 5 of Tiffany Rothe's 10-minute workouts. I chose these 5 because I found them the easiest and they don't need other equipment; just you, your workout clothes and some space to move.
First up, The 10-Minute Ballerina Long Legs Workout
I love this one because, it's relatively easy and at the same time it makes me feel graceful - think Swan Lake. You won't sweat so much doing this but I think it serves as a good warm-up and hey, it helps in the posture too! We can all use the confidence!
Now, if Ballerina Long Legs won't make you sweat, the other four on our list will definitely make you use the clothes line.
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This one exercises the waist. This focuses on the core.
I did Tae Kwon Do before so I found this pretty easy. Good for toning the arms!
This works on the hips so lots of hip circles. Unleash that womanly power!
This does a lot of hip movement too but it's mostly chill so I like it a lot!
What I love about these workouts is the flexibility. You can choose your own time, you can do it at home, you can wear whatever you want (So what else will you wear on a BIKINI abs workout?), you don't need to buy extra equipment and lastly, I don't have to pay other people just to humiliate myself on not being able to follow the steps right in a class. If I wanted to get it right, I could just click to the part I don't get and knock myself out 'til I get it right. Easy peasy.
Tiffany Rothe's has more workouts available and you should definitely check them out. She makes them relatively easy to do and understand. And yes, she's a good motivator and she motivates me even when I only see her on video.
As for the results, I've been doing these thrice a week for two weeks and my tummy's definitely flatter. Mix and match three of these exercises for some variety and let me know your results. Remember, consult your doctor before undergoing any workout. If you do these workouts, do it at your own pace. Stay fit and healthy even on rainy days!
P.S. If you feel like giving yourself a treat after these workouts, why not give yourself a DIY Cellulite Massage?
After posting about two wonderful cakes and thinking about making mint chocolate ice cream and caramel frosting, I think it's about time I thought of posting something about fitness. And what better way to offset these wonderful craving than working on our booties.
I've obsessed about my thighs and have done self-cellulite massage and have discovered in my first blood donationthat it can be thigh-slimming. I wish I was kidding too but my pants were really loose on the thigh area after my blood donation. But mind you, it's not the be and all of slimming down your already wonderful pair of thighs.
I've began exercising regularly starting January 3 and I have since focused on my thigh size reduction. I measured myself before beginning with my exercise and by the first week of March (blood donation not included), I've already lost 1 inch not only on my thighs but also my arms and waist. And I'm going to share some of the things, I've done after days of searching the internet for the best way to lose all the unwanted gravity on my body.
Since I have very low attention span, I only do these for 30 minutes.
1. Walking
2. Brisk walking and jogging
3. Biking
4. Home Exercises - include warm-up exercises and other movements that target the thighs.
Home Exercises
Apart from 100 counts of skipping rope, squatting to going all the way down, jumping jacks, stair step exercise, butt squeezes, weights, sit-ups and elbow-knee reach crossovers, what I really want to share here is an exercise I discovered upon my search. It's deadly but it's very effective! It gets easy to do once you get used to it. I showed this to my best friend and she told me she had results in just two weeks along with the cellulite massage. I can really say the same. My thighs were definitely firmer after two weeks!
I like the sumo squat jumps better, which is like the reverse of a jumping jack. The curtsy lunge and side lunge done alternately is a little too deadly for me. What I like to do is do curtsy lunges and side lunges separately with 15 counts for each side and 3 repetitions.
I guess the most effective way to get your sexy thighs is to be consistent and to exercise regularly. Mix and match exercises so that you don't overdo anything and you give your muscles time to rest.
To keep me really motivated to exercise and to create the exercising habit, I have put up an exercise calendar.
Every time, I miss a day, I pay the next day. Meaning if I don't get to exercise for 30 minutes on one day, I exercise for one whole hour the next day. I've also placed below my calendar, the handwritten word DISCIPLINE to remind me to be disciplined about it. And it's a good reminder because I pass by it almost all the time.
I still allot a day's rest from exercise. But now, when I don't do to my regular exercise patterns my body starts looking for it. Remember, YOU are the boss of your body! Don't let it tell you what it wants to do especially when it's lazy.
I used to want to be really slim like those Korean pop stars and weigh 50 kgs.even if its underweight for my height but a few months of exercise made me appreciate my own body. I realized that it's not the weight but the health to do the things I like doing, the glow of my skin, the shine of my hair, the clarity of my thoughts and the ability to donate blood that is more important to me. Now I'm happy with myself but it doesn't mean I'll stop taking care of it. In fact, it motivates me to look better by taking care of myself. Yes, exercise does that.
As Laura Pirott says in her Elf-help book, Take Charge of Your Eating...
Look at your body and appreciate your physical uniqueness. Relax and be as you are, without trying to hide or wish away parts of yourself. God has lovingly made you. Marvel at the creation that you are.
I totally worship this book! I mean it's amazing and I can't wait to try out all the interesting stuff written here and share it with all of you! And the best thing is my mom has this herbal garden business so getting my hands on those herbs are easy, breezy and free. I'm such a lucky girl!
Today, I'm posting a review on this book's shampoo substitute. And I bet every person reading this can do it as soon as they read it.
All you have to do is beat the egg before taking a bath. Massage it on your scalp. I like to leave it on while I soap myself and then rinse my hair with the vinegar-rinse and water.
As for the vinegar-rinse, use the recipe here. But instead of using everything, put it in your empty and clean shampoo bottles so you can use it every time you need it. Pour enough vinegar-rinse on your hair then rinse with water. Do this twice a week.
So what I thought of it? After my bath, my hair already felt different. It felt thicker and heavier. I did this shampoo substitute for two consecutive days. If there is something to complain about this recipe, it is that the egg smell stays even with the vinegar. So you better wash really well.
I remember when I was a teenager, my mom and I would put mayonnaise on our hair and it would come out just beautiful. Mayo is basically eggs and olive oil. So maybe egg really is the secret!
When making leche flan, we put lemon or lime to remove the smell of eggs. Maybe I should try putting vanilla. Leche Flan scent on my hair. Hmm.
I didn't really notice the wonderful effects of this shampoo substitute until I was back to using my commercial shampoo. My hair was manageable even if it's just air-dried. I'm also doing DIY Highlights and after this shampoo substitute, I could see that my hair has really lightened! Biking under the sun has really paid off! And to add to this, my hair is shiny and tangle-free! And I don't brush because I have curly hair.
All in all, I love this DIY shampoo. I'm definitely doing this twice a week and I'm adding lemons and vanilla. Leche flan-scented hair anyone?
I have a confession to make. I'm terrified of going to hair salons and this is probably why I am doing all the DIY stuff (except for the haircut) so that I wouldn't have to go. When you go to the salon, it's usually to feel good about yourself. I don't know if it ever appeared to you in this way but notice when you go to salons you feel picked on (at least at the salons I've been to).
I have naturally curly hair and there was a time when rebond was all the craze. Oh my formative years. When I go for a haircut, the person doing my hair does nothing but rip my self-esteem by telling me to have my hair done straight. For awhile I followed their advice until I realized that they were not after my welfare when they suggested this to me. My hair got damaged and I had to grow it out to its former glory.
Until now, when I go to salons I am still being told to do the same. But after that really bad experience, I know better. And if you want something done right, you gotta DIY, love!
Summer's around the corner and what better way to start feeling it than to have HIGHLIGHTS on your locks. I have black hair - not really the jet black type because when I'm under the sun it reveals a light brown color. Since I'm all for the natural stuff, I did my research on highlighting hair naturally. And all of them say the same thing, use LEMONS!
You simply mix them together, go for a bath and use this as a last rinse over your head. Then put sunblock and bask under the sun for thirty minutes. After that rinse with water and dry!
What I like to do is go out to bike around the village at 8:30 AM. The sun will be up and about by then and it's exactly 30 minutes away from the sun being harmful. I not only burn 109 calories according to this calorie calculator, I also get my much needed Vitamin D, a tan, thigh muscles and my highlights on! Definitely better than sitting for an hour to two hours in the salon while reading magazines or watching TV! And mind you lemon is also skin lightening and a wonderful astringent for your face so that's like doing three treatments in one! Just don't let it get to your eyes!
Of course, the effects are not as immediate as with the salon. So I might be hallucinating a bit when I find my hair a little lighter when I saw it a minute ago against the light. The best way is to do this once a week for four weeks. Lemon is very acidic and may dry hair (and your skin!) if you do this everyday. Patience is a virtue.
Some websites say that you will have blisters on your head if you do the last rinse method for this but I've just tried it this morning and no, none of the pain they were saying. But if you are still not sure about this, you can put the concoction in a spray bottle and spray away so lemon juice won't hit your scalp.
If you have time to spare, you may also want to try honey and olive oil. You can check how it's done here. I've tried them both. I didn't enjoy it though because olive oil is again too greasy and honey makes the ants go crazy in my bathroom. But honey does make your hair feel softer. I can't wait to try the beer treatment but I think this would be best with a girl friend so you can drink and bash old boyfriends so early in the morning together.
I'm continuing this treatment until the four weeks are up. Just in time for April! Can't wait how it turns out!
My mom has been keeping secrets from me. And this is a good one. I've been telling her for weeks now that her hair looks more wonderful than usual. Her secret, VINEGAR. Her last rinse in the bath is aloe and vinegar but she mainly used vinegar to be a preservative of aloe vera because it starts to smell after awhile. I researched about vinegar and its benefits when used on hair and apparently a lot of people already know about this the secret behind vinegar.
So vinegar... Who knew right? I certainly did not. And when I found out about it this afternoon, I tried it out immediately.
So this is what you'll need:
2 cups of warm water
1 Tbsp. of vinegar (any kind you want)
Basically, you're going to mix this together and then use it as a last rinse when you take a bath. You leave it on for 30 minutes then rinse it again to remove the vinegar smell.
I've tried this and it's wonderful! The effect is immediate. After the last rinse, I noticed my hair feels different already. I just air dried my hair after the second rinse and it was manageable and shiny and not a whiff of vinegar! Usually my hair does not know which way to go at this point so I cannot get over the fact that it's down and easy with just vinegar!
I read here that you can do it as much at three times a week. I'm definitely doing it weekly! It's a good antiseptic for skin too and hey, it kills mildew in the bathroom. Three birds with one stone all for the price of vinegar!
