Done by Dawn: Week 2

Another great morning in Toronto! 

I was a little worried when I got up this morning that attendance as my #donebydawn class would be sparse due to the 'cold' and cloudy weather! Boy was I wrong! The #NTC-ers of Toronto never cease to amaze me with their dedication, strength and energy! We ramped things up a little today with a 45 minute NTC class inspired by 3 of my favourite workouts from the N+TC App - The Dynamic Duo, Circuit Breaker and Beach Balance workouts! You can find them all under the 'Get Focused' stream on the app, and the Dynamic Duo Workout is also featured as this week's Workout of the Week; You need a partner for this one so grab your girls and get moving!

I've had a few people tell me that they wanted to come to class this morning, but weren't able to get a spot as class filled within a couple minutes of being posted for registration. (Small side bar here, I feel very honoured and grateful that so many people want to spend the first hours of their day with me!). Never fear! Below you'll find an outline of the drills and timing from today's class! Try the workouts from the N+TC app listed above to get familiar with the drills, then give the workout from today's class a go! You're sure to feel #betterforit! 

Done By Dawn Week 2 Workout: 

Holding Pattern: 2 foot lateral hops

Dynamic Warm-Up - 5 min

• Jumping Jacks -20 sec
• Alternating Knee Hugs - 30 sec
• Alternating Hamstring Stretch 30 sec
• Jumping Jacks -20 sec
• Walkout with chest opener - 30 sec
• Jumping Jacks - 20 sec
• Long Lunge with chest opener 60 sec
• Deep squat with hip opener - 30 sec

Circuit 1 

• Plié Releve Squats - 1 min
• T Push-ups - 1 min
• Star Jumps - 1 min
• Single Leg Swivels - 30 s/side
• Recover 30 sec

Repeat x2  

 Partner Drills 

• Single Leg Squats - 1 min
• Plank Jumps - 30 sec per partner
• Recover 30 sec

Repeat x1

Circuit 2  

• Alternating Curtsy Lunges - 1 min
• Arm & Leg Extensions with Row - 1 min
• Shuffles with Cross Reach - 1 min
• Corkscrews - 1 min
• Recover 30 sec

Repeat x1

Partner Challenge 

1 min Alternating Full Extensions For Reps! 

Cool Down - 5 min

• stretch and recover

This sums up today's class for you! I hope to see you bright and early next Wednesday for another great #donebydawn NTC class! 

J

Done By Dawn: Week 1 Review #betterforit

The sunrise was amazing this morning! I can tell you because I was way up in the Toronto skyline, on the roof of the Thompson Hotel, teaching a 6:30 am #NTC class to some of Toronto's most dedicated ladies! They worked their butts off to the sounds of Pharrell, Shaggy (yes I said Shaggy), Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj, just to name a few. Today's workout was inspired by two NTC Get Focused Workouts: Ali Krieger's Summer Strong Workout, and Christen Press' Goal Getter workout! We push-uped, bounded, squatted and planked like lady bosses, all before the sun was up; best of all, everyone left feeling happy, sweaty, and recharged, ready for an amazing day ahead! Three different sets of partner work also allowed the ladies to make some new friends in Toronto's fitness community! Sounds like something you don't want to miss right? Join me next week to get your workout #donebydawn, and you're sure to feel #betterforit! Registration for next week's classes will be up on Nike.com/Toronto as of Sunday at midnight! 

If you're looking for a great workout in the meantime, check out the 2 workouts mentioned above on the N+TC App.  The Summer Strong and Goal Getter Workouts are both complete body workouts that will challenge your strength and capacity, but leave you feeling awesome. You'll find both of these workouts in the 'Get Focused' section of the app.

Find this workout on the N+TC App under the Get Focused Stream

If you're interested in trying out the workout I did with my class today, heres an outline of the movements and timing:

2 Sets of 

• 1 min of alternating single leg squats
• 1 min of push-ups
• 1 min of diagonal bounds 
• 30 sec per side of Side Plank  with Forward Backward Touches 
• 30 Sec recovery

Partner Challenge: Tabata high knee Runs (4 sets)

2 sets of:

• 1 min Single leg balance with reach knee tuck
• 1 min walkout to front raise
• 1 min Lateral forward jumps
• 1 min V-sit (facing your partner for extra motivation)
• 30 seconds recovery

Partner Challenge: Tabata Squat Jumps (4 Sets)

3 sets of

• 40 sec Ski Jumps
• 1 min of alternating step back lunges

Plank Hold Challenge: Up to 2 minutes!

Cool Down

Photo by @kristinnickolas 

Give it a go, and see how you like it! Happy training friends! Hope to see you next week!

j

Workout Wednesday: TA-Burpee!

This #workoutwednesday burner features one of my favourite H.I.I.T schemes: Tabata Intervals. It also features Burpees, one of my favourite exercises! Tabata intervals involve 20 seconds of high intensity activity alternating with 10 seconds of rest. Typically 8 sets (4 minutes worth of work) are completed, making this type of workout a great finisher to tack onto the end of training session. So here it is, "TA-Burpee"... Enjoy!

8 sets of:

• 20 seconds of burpees
  • full range of motion involves touching your chest to the floor in the bottom position, and completely opening your hips during the 'jump and clap' portion of the movement

• 10 seconds of wall-sit/squat hold.
  • Keep your chest up, your abs tight, and your knees stacked over your ankles. 

If you attend my #NTC classes at Academy of Lions, you know just how fun Tabata burpees are! Give it a try and let me know you like it! It's gonna be great!

p.s The winner of week's #workoutwednesday 'Keep Pushing' Contest is @nkmom13! You'll be hearing from me this evening! Stay tuned for more contests in the next couple weeks!  

Workout Wednesday: Keep Pushing!

The perfect finisher for an upper body day!

'Keep Pushing'

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of:

• Push Ups with feet elevated on a medicine/exercise ball
• Medicine/Exercise Ball Plank Pikes 

Keep your abs tight, and remember to stack your shoulders over your wrists. Push ups can be modified having your feet on ground, or by dropping the knees. Remember the focus here is to move your whole body as a unit. For the Med Ball Plank Pikes, be sure to keep your abs tight and your back straight; don't let your lower back round as you tuck the ball underneath you. 

View fullsize

Push Up with feet elevated on Exercise Ball

Medicine Ball Plank Pikes 

To Enter the 'Keep Pushing' Contest for a chance to win a personal training session for yourself and 4 friends:

1. Follow @small_but_mighty_fitness on instagram
2. Tag your 4 friends on today's (April 22nd) 'Keep Pushing' instagram post
3. Complete the Keep Pushing #workoutwednesday burner
   1.  NOTE YOUR TIME/MODIFCATIONS
4. Complete the form below before Sunday April 26th, 2015 at 11:59 pm! 
5. HAVE FUN! 

Workout Wednesday: Plankation!

Workout Wednesdays are dedicated to providing you (my lovely readers) with a 'burner' or 'finisher' that I find "FUn". What is a burner/finisher you ask? Its a short workout that soaks up your very last bit of energy and effort, AFTER you have completed your main lifts and accessory work. Why do them? The theory is that after utilizing all of your stored glycogen, a burner will push you into fat burning. I don't like them simply for this reason though! I like them because:

• They keep me honest -- I know that if I don't put my full effort into my main lifts and accessory work, when I get to the burner, its going to be a reckoning ground!
• They're fast, fun, and short, and allow me to incorporate movements I wouldn't necessarily put in my 'main program' like sushi rolls or bootstrapper squats with a tuck jump (thanks Agatsu Fitness for those little gems!)
• On top of being physically difficult, they can help build mental strength -- if you can get through a tough burner, you can do whatever you put your mind to! 
• You can do these workouts with a partner or a group of friends, and push each other! Nothing brings a group of people together like communal suffering! 

"Nothings brings a group of people together like communal suffering..." @stylist_jo, @taminoa, @sarebellum @itsmaryyoung

When I program burners for myself and my clients, I like to pair movements that are traditionally considered "core" or "stability" movements, with high intensity, metabolically demanding exercises  (read: exercises that jack your heart rate up and make you breathe heavy real quick) like burpees, sprints, prowler pushes, kettle swings/snatches/cleans or even rowing. Why? Because being able to stabilize using your 'core' muscles while being short of breath is both very difficult, and vital to protecting our spine and other joints when engaging in Activities of Daily Living, like shovelling snow or moving a couch up a flight of stairs, as well as while participating in sports such as hockey, soccer or lacrosse (just to name a view). Building this skill takes time, and the burner, for me, represents a great place to sneak this work in because you would have 'practiced' activating your core during your main lifts. Additionally, the burner is short so you can avoid going past the point of safe and efficient practice into poor movement. This is a really important point! A lot of fitness systems tell you to just go 'all out' when you're conditioning - turn your brain off, your muscles on and go. This is NOT what I am promoting! While I believe you should work really hard during your burner, it should NOT be at the cost of safe movement. Keep your brain on!

Please also note that these workouts are very taxing on our metabolic and nervous systems so you don't have to do a burner EVERY day! I work burners into my training program 2-3 times per week depending on what phase of training program I'm in. 

So here we go: Workout Wednesday #1

"Plankation"

Every Minute on the Minute, for 8-10 minutes (depending on your fitness level & form):

• Complete 2 x 50 foot out and back sprint (think shuttle run)
• Spend the rest of the minute in the plank modification of your choice. 

• see the Plank post from this week's #movementmonday post for tips on performing the plank properly

Let me know how you like it! I'm interested to hear your comments!  Have fun friends! Its going to be great :)