Building sandcastles isn’t the only way to play with sand.

You’ve just got to think out of the…sand box. I know. Corny joke.

But seriously, I received a new toy to play with review, an Ultimate Sandbag.

And it’s effective.

And it’s fun. I haven’t had this much fun playing with sand since I was eight!

Oh and it gets bonus points for being made in the USA.

Think outside the box.

The birth of the Ultimate Sandbag is a cool lemonade out of lemons story. Josh Henkin, creator of the Ultimate Sandbag, decided to think outside the sand box (I’m sorry) when he was faced with debilitating lower back problems. Rather than giving up, he sought out another way to train. After training with homemade sandbags that he had seen his military friends use in their workouts, his back pain began to go away. The only problem was homemade sandbags were messy and uncomfortable to use and, hence, the Ultimate Sandbag was born.

Why play with sand?

What are the benefits of sandbag training?

Sandbag training is functional fitness. Want to be able to clean your garage without getting hurt? Want to be able to show that Costco sized bag of dog food who’s boss?

Train with a sandbag.

What makes sandbag training unique is the unstable weight. As you move it around the sand shifts causing your body to work harder to stabilize itself under the shifting weight. How does your body adapt to all this shifting weight? You guessed it, by building a stronger core.

In a nutshell, here are the benefits of sandbag training as I see them.

• Functional – Build a strong core with full body workouts. It’s training for real world physical demands like going to Costco.
• Effective – Improve strength, endurance, and flexibility while burning a boatload of calories.
• Portable – Workout anywhere. Forget stinky crowded gyms and head to the park or the privacy of your own living room.
• Cost – Like some of my other favorite workout tools, the sandbag gives you a big bang for your buck. It cost a lot less and is way more effective than say a treadmill.
• Durable – Made with military grade materials and comes with a one year manufacture’s warranty.
• Fun – Bring back the days of playing with sand. Except this time you can throw it without getting in trouble.

My Ultimate Sandbag Review and Experience

I received the Power Package Ultimate Sandbag to review. It includes…

• The outer shell with 6 handles. It has a zipper and velcro closure.
• Two fillers that fold and close with crazy strong velcro.
• A DVD with filling instructions and 6 different workouts.
• A poster showing different exercises
• A booklet filled with instructions, exercise descriptions, and workouts.

Some questions you may have about my experience with the Ultimate Sandbag.

Does the sandbag leak?

Mine hasn’t leaked once. I even used it my mom’s living room and trust me if it leaked I wouldn’t have it in there.

How heavy is it?

It’s depends on what your put into and how much you fill the inner fillers. I started using mine half full until I felt comfortable with the bag. I have since filled the two filler bags to 2/3 capacity and it weighs a little over 30 pounds.

What sort of sand do you use to fill it?

I used child’s play sand from Home Depot to fill the fillers. Child’s play sand is clean and dry.

Does it give a good workout?

Yep, play with sand to lose weight and get in shape. The Ultimate Sandbag feels different than other training tools I own. The shifting sand really does make an otherwise simple move more difficult. I’m particularly fond of using the sandbag for more conditioning based workouts.

I thought you loved kettlebells? How is a sandbag any different?

I do love kettlebells and while a kettlebell does pull on your center of gravity, hence recruiting more muscles to stabilize than a traditional weight like a dumbbell, the weight of a kettlebell doesn’t shift the same way as a sandbag.

Also it’s important to continually challenge your body by mixing things up. This is why I also use heavy ropes, medicine balls, and suspension trainers for my workouts. Sandbags fall right in line with my other functional training tools. It’s been a fun way to continue improving my strength and conditioning while giving my elbows and hands (it’s no secret kettlebells can be hard on the hands) some rest a few days a week. And who doesn’t want to play with sand!

Is the DVD any good?

It’s a simple DVD with clear and concise directions on how to properly use the Ultimate Sandbag. There are 6 workouts on the DVD. Each one starts with individual exercise instructions followed by the workout that you do on your own. You don’t complete the workout along with the instructor on the DVD. It’s not “fancy pantsy” like P90X but it’s solid and helpful. I did each workout on the DVD and have referred back to the instruction more than once.

What size would you recommend?

The people at Ultimate Sandbag recommend women start with the size I received, The Power Package. This size is perfect for my needs as I intend to use it for conditioning based workouts/interval training. If I was going to use it for the sole intention of improving strength I might go with the next size up, the Strength..

Have you worked out with a sandbag? Do you still like to play with sand?!?!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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The post Play with Sand – Ultimate Sandbag Review appeared first on Girl Heroes.

We shot this kettlebell circuit in New Castle Battery Park in Delaware on a really hot and humid day. Not my idea of an ideal workout enviroment but since we weren’t staying the night in Delaware I didn’t have much of a choice if I wanted to complete my goal of doing a kettlebell workout in every state.

Delaware was one of the original 13 colonies so keeping with my dorky-ness theme this kettlebell workout is geared towards beginners.

Kettlebell Circuit – Delaware

1. Kettlebell Swings
2. Clean and and Press (Alternating)
3. Goblet Squats
4. Rows (Alternating)
5. Reverse Lunges
6. Curl/Reach/Extension
7. Russian Twists
8. Plank

Set a timer (I use a Gymboss) for 8 minutes of 30 second work/rest intervals or whatever interval suits you best.

Repeat circuit 2-3x.

Oh and put more power in your swings than I did in this kettlebell circuit. Geez! I look like I’m half asleep!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

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This week has been a blur. We have been in Washington D.C and I’ve been trying to pack in as much as possible every day. The boys and I have been getting up every morning (except one) to go into the city around 9 am and returning home around 9 pm. While visiting D.C. has made it fairly easy to get in my steps, it hasn’t left me much time for blogging or editing videos.

Or workouts.

I didn’t get in the three workouts I had planned last week. I’m a little disappointed in myself but all I can do is admit I didn’t make working out a priority last week. My priority has been seeing and learning as much as possible with the boys. I had planned to get up early and workout before we went into D.C. but it didn’t happen. When we got home after 12 hours in the city I was just too exhausted.

This week I’m going to shoot for one full body strength training workout.

One.

Impressive, right? Rather, than feeling disappointed when I don’t do what I say I’m going to do, I’m just deciding right now that one workout this week is enough. We are still in DC for a few more days and the workouts can wait. I workout consistently so two weeks of straying from my normal schedule isn’t going to hurt anything.

While I didn’t get in my strength training workouts this week I did ride my bike and walk.

Week Two 10,000 Steps a Day Results

• 5/8 – 14,518
• 5/9 – 14,035
• 5/10 – 3376
• 5/11 – 10,034
• 5/12 – 15,575
• 5/13 – 7904
• 5/14 – 10,444

On May 10, I only walked 3376 steps that day due to lack of discipline and planning on my part. I got up late and skipped my morning walk because the boys and I were meeting friends, another fulltime RVing family, we had met in Austin, TX. Traveling in an RV is such a trippy life. I love it!

On May 13, we were in the National Museum of Air and Space where it should have been easy to get 10,000 steps. However, I got an unexpected bad stomach ache and ended up sitting down for a large part of the afternoon. I was much more bummed to miss parts of the museum than I was not to get in my steps.

So I didn’t technically reach my goal of 10,000 steps every day but when I averaged out my steps I got 10,840 a day. It’s consistency that counts right!

I hope you are having a great week and do some kettlebell swings for me would you!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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The post Movement Matters : Week Two Results and Why I’m Not Writing a Workout Plan This Week appeared first on Girl Heroes.

May is the last full month of spring before summer “officially” kicks off with Memorial Day.

Longer days make summer the perfect time for evening strolls.

If you are like me (and most Americans) you could use a little more movement. This month in anticipation of my summer strolls (and if I’m honest, swimsuit season), I’m focusing on the most basic form of movement— walking. I’m taking on a personal 10,000 steps, the number most experts recommend, a day challenge.

Movement Matters May – A 10,000 steps a day challenge

A few years ago, I discovered just how love walking and its importance to my overall calorie burn. According to my Bodybugg, I burned way more calories on days I walked a lot than on the days I worked out but was otherwise sedentary. What I got what movement of all kinds, even the humble walk, matters. Walking has many benefits other than burning calories.

Health Benefits of Walking

• Our bodies are designed to walk
• Low impact – walking puts very little stress on the body
• Improves or maintains cardiovascular health
• Helps or maintains weight loss which results in a long list of health benefits.
• Reduces likelihood of some diseases such as diabetes
• Increases longevity
• Great stress reliever
• Improves mood
• Encourages mental clarity
• Can be meditative

And while this isn’t necessarily a “health” benefit, walking doesn’t require any fancy equipment. This month for my 10,000 steps challenge I’m going to be using a simple pedometer. I use the Omron HJ-203 Pedometer with Activity Tracker. It’s fairly inexpensive and seems to be accurate.

While walking boasts many benefits and is easy, I still often find myself putting it on the back burner in place of “more important” tasks at hand. You know things like Facebook.

Not this month.

10,000 steps a day.

Why walk? Why not do the 10,000 kettlebell swing challenge again?

While I enjoy more extreme challenges, I’m also trying to slow down, simplify, get honest with myself, and get back to the basics. Nothing is more basic than walking. Plus there are all those benefits I mentioned.

But…. but… but….

What if 10,000 steps is too much? Don’t fret! One study showed that “individuals achieving > or = 5000 steps had a substantially lower prevalence of adverse cardiometabolic health indicators than those obtaining fewer steps.” So if 10,000 steps seems like too many…start where you are. Try working up to 5000 first and then go from there. Eventually you will reach 10,00 steps.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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The post Movement Matters May – 10,000 Steps a Day Movement Challenge and the Health Benefits of Walking appeared first on Girl Heroes.

A kettlebell workout on the beach!

I’m home.

Except I’m not. I’m in Mississippi or I was in Mississippi. Twice. We stopped in Meridian, Mississippi where I got to meet a lovely reader, Missy. Missy from Mississippi. How cute is that! It makes me want to change my name to Calli so I can be Calli from California except it just doesn’t have the same ring.

After Mississippi, we went to Louisiana and I filmed a kettlebell workout in front of the New Orleans skyline. Then, en route to Alabama, we passed through Mississippi again and I realized I hadn’t filmed a workout. The boys needed a rest stop so we stopped at the beach to play and workout. You know kettlebells are so much fun that a workout feels like play. Almost.

We didn’t have a lot of time because we had plans to meet a friend in Fairhope, AL that evening so I did a really simple “as many rounds as possible” style workout. These workouts are good as long as it’s AMRAP-WGF, as many rounds as possible with good form. The problem with AMRAP workouts is so often people focus the on the “as many rounds as possible” without any consideration for technique. That can lead to injuries but every once in a while I love me a good AMRAP workout especially when I don’t have a lot of time to workout  as was the case during our brief rest stop.

Kettlebell Workout – Mississippi

1. Double Kettlebell Clean and Press – 5
2. Double Kettlebell Squats – 5
3. Double Kettlebell Swings  – 10
4. Alternating Kettlebell Rows – 10 each arm (20 total)

Repeat as many rounds as possible with good form in 11 minutes.
(It could totally be 10 minutes but I had to tie in the number of letters in Mississippi somehow.)

One more thing. I found out someone nominated my blog on Crabby McSlacker’s Best Weight Loss Blog Poll. I’m always shocked to find out that people other than my family read my blog. I’m probably the worst blogger out there when it comes to networking and “getting myself out there”. I’d actually like to improve in those areas  instead of just waiting for blog fairies to bring me traffic since I put a fair amount of time into creating content. However, it’s been almost 4 years and I still haven’t found the motivation. Oh well. Anyway, I wanted to say thank you to whoever mentioned me and let you know about the list. There are some really great blogs on there!

I also wanted to say thank you to anyone who has ever linked to or shared my blog. I only check my google analytics when I have to (I’d rather step on the scale than open up analytics any day!) so I usually miss when someone links or shares my blog.

Hope you are having a great week!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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The post Full Body Kettlebell Workout – Mississippi appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Typically, I don’t plan where I’m going to do my workouts. I just keep a kettlebell in our truck and hope for the best. Sometimes this works out great and other times….I well….end up lugging kettlebells through a muddy Longhorn pasture.

It’s all part of  being insane the adventure.

As it turns out there was a lovely spot to workout on the levee at Algiers Point in New Orleans. We left a little early on our way to the WWII museum and I did my workout in front of the skyline of one of the most fun cities in America. Then I spent the rest of my dad walking around New Orleans in dirty workout clothes. Awesome. At least it’s better than wearing a dobok around Las Vegas.

Have you ever been to New Orleans? This was my first time and I love, LOVED, it. So did my boys. We actually ended up staying an extra day. You can read about all that we did here.

Now onto the workout!

Louisiana – Full Body Kettlebell Interval Circuit

1. Alternating Kettlebell Clean and Presses
2. Alternating Kettlebell Rows
3. Alternating Kettlebell Snatches
4. Left Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlifts
5. Right Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlifts
6. Kettlebell Toss
7. Lateral Lunges with Reach
8. Hot Potato Squat
9. Kettlebell Swings

I set my gymboss for 9 rounds of 45 seconds of work to 15 seconds of rest. Repeated 1-9 twice for a total os 18 mintues excluding warm up and stretching. I typically foam roll but not after this workout. I had beignets to go eat. Kidding. Sort of.

Here are some possible suggestions for a kettlebell beginner.
– Do 30/30 intervals instead.
– Omit the clean before the press and just hand off the bell between presses.
– Swap out swings for snatches.
–Straight Reaching Single Leg Deadlifts instead of SL kettlebell deadlifts
– Goblet squats instead of potato squats.

Alrighty, we are still in Florida but are headed to Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do??? Or live there and want to hang out?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Check out our family’s adventures being inspired to follow you dreams at New School Nomads as we take a year long RV road trip through the United States!

The post Louisiana – Kettlebell Circuit Workout appeared first on Girl Heroes.

I don’t take myself too seriously.

I’m going to tell you a little secret. Every time I edit one of my videos I think of George Bush. This is not a political statement nor is it an attack on him. It’s just that some of the things I say are a little “off”. I mean well, stuff just comes out strange. Since I’m not president I can laugh about it even if I’m a “hardstlyle kettlebell comrade”, aka, RKC. Life it just too short and kettlebells too fun to get too serious about it all.

That’s not to say I don’t take learning and kettlebells seriously. Kettlebells are no joke. It’s important to give them respect if you don’t want to get hurt. I just don’t take myself too seriously because too many fitness people do and it’s boring. I mean that in the nicest way.

Anyway after Arkansas we went to Indiana for Christmas where I worked out in the snow. After Indiana we headed down to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky where we decided to wait out a storm. We were the only ones in the campground who decided to wait it out. The roads were too slick to drive our big ole’ RV so we were stuck in the empty campground alone for a few days. It was strange and beautiful. To pass time we filmed a workout in freezing temperatures. Totally normal.  I really wanted to film in front of a picturesque thouroughbred horse farm with rolling hills but because of the storm it just didn’t happen.  And if finding a horse farm was going to be anything like finding a Texas Longhorn Ranch then I’ll stick with the campground.

Kentucky

This kettlebell workout  is 8 exercises because Kentucky has 8 letters. The exercises are separated into 4 couplets. Repeat each couplet 3x before moving onto the next couplet. I used the picnic table but a bench or sturdy chair could be used.

I sort of like the word “workie” in place of workout except that it reminds of “sammie” for sandwich and that makes me cringe.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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The post “Kentucky” – Full Body Kettlebell and Picnic Table Workout appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Hi guys! I hope you are doing well. I still haven’t found the time to edit my last workout video so I thought I’d talk about my current workout and eating habits. Because that’s exciting, right.

In my last post, I mentioned that living on the road in and of itself is challenge enough and I don’t need to add any more challenges to my life. I’m learning a entirely new way of life. I can’t go to the same grocery stores week to week. I gave away a number of appliances I used to use. Unlike California, the weather is unpredictable making it tough to workout. The RV is small so cooking meals and working out inside is challenging but certainly not impossible. Before we set out, I thought I would have lots of free time but the reality is I have very little. We do school in the morning and then explore in the afternoon. Sometimes we explore all day and then do school in the evening. We’ve also driven almost 8000 miles since we left in late October and, due to motion sickness, I can’t do much reading or writing during that time. Not to mention eating on driving days proves difficult with fast food always being a temptation. We’ve managed to eat very little fast food but I don’t care if I ever eat another turkey sandwich again. All this to say that I’ve had a number of things to adapt to and it took me a little longer than I expected.

I hope I don’t’ sound like I’m complaining. These are all “challenges” I’m more than happy to take on because I’m living one of my dreams. Yes, living on the road is a challenge but it’s also amazing. Amazing in the truest sense. But there are some facts to consider as I continue to learn and adapt to this new way of life.

Love me some sunshine!

Facts

Fact – I’m a sugar addict.

Fact – Sugar does nothing good for me. Not only is it related to a host of health problems it contributes to depression, a struggle of mine.

Fact – We are seeing hundreds of new places and trying the food is part of the experience. I don’t want to miss out. (Ahem…beignets in New Orleans.)

Fact – It’s important to me to support sustainable and healthful farming practices, i.e., grass fed meats, organic vegetables, local farms, ect.

Fact – I don’t want to go back to Ventura in a year or two (we are already considering doing year two) having gained a lot of weight. Some is fine but not a lot. I don’t have “skinny girl genes”. I don’t like the word skinny but you know what I mean. I have to be mindful of my food and exercise or I’ll end up overweight. I don’t want that.

Fact – I feel slightly self-conscious filming my videos. As you can see I’m NOT fat but I’m not as lean as I was. People can be really harsh and it makes me nervous especially on YouTube although I haven’t had anyone say anything mean yet.

Fact – This is a biggie. I have my RCK re-certification coming up in a few months. This means I have to re-pass all the certification requirements including the snatch test. The snatch test is 100 snatches in 5 minutes with the 12k (26.5 lb) kettlebell if I weigh less than 124 pounds. Otherwise, I have to use the 16K (35 lb) kettlebell. Since giving away my scale I have no idea what I weigh. I know it’s more than 124 but not sure by how much. (I don’t *think* it’s a lot) Which means I either have to lean out a bit or train to use the 16K but I have an injured shoulder right now. I don’t think it would be wise to use that much weight on my shoulder especially doing the explosive ballistic movements like the snatch.

Fact – I like feeling strong. It lifts my spirits and makes me appreciate my body on a deeper level despite its “imperfections”. Bottom line is being strong is good for me emotionally and physically and I’m not as strong as I was before we left.

My Solution

So considering all the “facts” of my life I have come up with a livable solution.

Food – We eat the majority of our meals at home so those meals will continue to be nourishing foods. I haven’t and don’t plan to buy any processed foods. I’ve been making an effort to get more local foods along the way and plan to keep doing. But I won’t think any less of myself for shopping at Walmart and buying non-organics. In many of the smaller towns this is the only option. We are not planning our trip around food, we are planning it around adventure, education, and experience. This means that sometimes Walmart is our only option and when we are out in about I want to experience the food including beignets in New Orleans.

Which leads me too…

Cafe Du Monde New Orleans

I’m not cutting out sugar completely. I started off the New Year planning to go back to the “no refined sugar” life style I lived for almost four years but realized that I would be too sad to miss out on beignets in New Orleans and Jeni’s Spledid Ice Cream in Nashville. I’m not going to eat or cook with refined sugar at home but when we get to Key West in a few weeks I’m going to eat a slice of Key Lime Pie.

For the last four years living in my sticks and bricks house, I’d estimate 80-90% of my food has been nourishing and the other 10-20% would nachos or other junk foods. (Let’s be honest, our bodies respond to most starches like they are sugar so it was more of a mental strategy than physical.) Allowing real sugar certainly makes it more challenging and the cravings afterwards are unbelievable. But I accept that is how my body will respond and I’ve been preparing myself mentally before I order that scoop of ice cream. I know if I eat it I will want more (and more and more) but just knowing and expecting this makes it easier to ride out the cravings however uncomfortable they are.  It also helps me to be selective about what I eat and ask myself, “Is this going to be worth the cravings that will follow?” It’s not easy but, for now, it’s worth it and doable.

My favorite workout partner

Fitness – We’ve finally got to warm sunny weather (Florida) and my sprits have lifted. I think I may have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Working out should be easier now. Although time is still an issue but it’s not an excuse. Brent and I started the Enter The Kettlebell program again. It consists of clean and press ladders 3 days a week using heavy, medium, and light days and two days of “kettlebell practice”. It’ simple, methodical, and effective plan for increasing strength. It also doesn’t take much time and can be done inside the RV if necessary. I followed it to prepare for my RKC almost two years ago. I’m modifying the plan slightly by using double kettlebells and the other two days I’m going to practice TRX or full body metabolic kettlebell workouts to film for my state workout series.

Enter the Kettlebell - Light Day

I’m still a little torn regarding my upcoming RKC recertification. I’m leaning towards leaning out rather than risk greater injury to my already injured shoulder. I’m trying to do turkish get ups to strengthen my tweaked shoulder but I really don’t see myself using a kettlebell heavier than the 12k for ballistic exercises soon enough to be able to pass. Which leaves me with the questions to buy a scale or not? I haven’t minded not having one and now that I’m adapting to this new way of life I think my body will naturally get to where it needs to be. I think. It would be terrible to show up for my re-certification and not pass because I was, unknowingly, a few pounds heavier.

So that’s that. Where I’ve been and where I’m at now. It feels good to have a flexible livable plan. I’ve already have 5 weeks of workouts planned, written out, and ready to check off. I found a nearby farmer’s market and a farm that sells grassed meats that we will go to later this week. It’s an adventure for sure and thanks for coming along!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Check out our family’s adventures at New School Nomads as we take a year long RV road trip through the United States!

The post Adventures in Food and Fitness appeared first on Girl Heroes.

I’ve worked out at some of uncommon places. That’s the beauty of kettlebells. I’ve worked out in parking lots, in the kitchen, and with dinosaurs.

But this was the first time I’ve ever worked out with Texas Longhorns. I have a feeling that it might be my last too.

We spent three weeks traveling through Texas. I considered filming my workout in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park or in Marfa but I was too sore. Or too lazy. I also wanted something really “Texan” and what is more Texan than a Texas Longhorn. Not only is the Longhorn the University of Texas mascot but it’s the official state mammal. Did you know there are official state mammals? I didn’t. I’m not sure if all states have an official mammal but Texas does and it’s the Longhorn.

We did have a bit of trouble finding some Longhorns to workout with. Imagine that. Apparently, Ranchers don’t have time for Californians to “visit with” their cattle. At one point, we drove by some cows grazing in the backyard of a modest house. Brent pulled over to the side of the road and suggested I knock on the front door for permission to enter their property. What was I supposed to say, “Do you mind if I workout with your Longhorns?”. No I’m not crazy. Not at all.

As it turned out there was a lovely little Longhorn ranch near one of our campgrounds. Front 30 Ranch Guest House  is run by a darling couple and who graciously allowed me to workout in their Longhorn pasture while our boys played on their beautiful property.

Anyway here’s the workout. Enjoy it. And the Longhorns.

Texas

Cleans 25, 20, 15, 10, 5
Presses 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Squats 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Renegade Rows 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Swings 25, 20, 15, 10, 5

The first round goes like this 25 cleans, 5 presses, 5 squats, 5 (each side) rows, and 25 swings. Rest. The second round is 20, 5, 5, 5, and 20. And so on.

This workout can also be done “For Time” if you like to compare scores with previous workouts.

P.S. No one was even close to being trampled during the stampede.

P.S.S. Those brown lumps on the ground are what you think they are.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

The post “Texas” Workout appeared first on Girl Heroes.

I’m skipping ahead a bit.

Texas was the next workout I filmed after New Mexico. But I’m still in the holiday spirit and the last workout I filmed has a holiday feel to it.

I mean there are bells. They don’t jingle but they are red. And best of all there is snow. Beautiful white snow flakes to catch on your tongue and make your mascara run eyelashes.

So I’ll go back and post Texas. And Oklahoma. And Arkansas.

But this week it is Indiana, the state I grew up in. In fact, we filmed the workout in front on my childhood home. Awww…

I decided to go lighter than normal for this workout. One, I didn’t want to slip in the snow and, two, it’s better not to go all out every workout. Of course, if you do the workout choose the weight you need.

Indiana

1. Double Swings
2. Seesaw Presses
3. Double Swings
4. Alternating Rows
5. Double Swings
6. Alternating Lateral Lunges
7. Double Swings

Repeat 1-7 three times for a total of 21 minutes. 

It might also be a good idea to count and write down your reps for every exercise that way you can track your progress. Just a suggestion though. Lately, I’ve not been too concerned with progress and more concerned with being in the moment and enjoying the experience.

If you only have one bell just do 1 arm presses (or rows) for 20 seconds and then switch to the other arm.

FYI working out it snow was so much fun. It made me feel like doing elf kicks the rest of the day. Just one of the many reasons kettlebells rock.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at New School Nomads as we take a year long road trip through the United States!

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