It’s that time again, time for another round of fit Friday fun!!!!

And boy are we going to have some fun today!

Today I’m sharing a short, sharp lower body workout that you can do anywhere, anytime in just 20 minutes , with or without equipment, totally your call.

You guys know how how much I love, love, love my lower body workouts, The lower body is where your powerhouse muscles are (I’m looking at you quads, glutes and hamstrings) which means you get a serious bang for your workout butt, I mean buck!

So, here’s what we are going to do – click here to see exercise demos/workout with me –

Squat
Step up
Reverse lunge – or any variation you like – I do reverse because my knees prefer them
Lunge pulse
Single leg toe touch – or reach if you can’t touch your toes just yet
Single leg bench (or chair) squat
Jump squat – or pulse if you’re not into jumping

Aim to do 10 reps of each exercise (count reps per leg) then repeat the entire sequence for a total of 3 rounds (or as many rounds as pretty in 20 minutes), resting as needed. Sound good?

Nothing overly complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective total body workout that will have you feeling strong, energized, and ready to take on the rest of your day!

Now, for those of you who are just getting started or may not have access to a gym of any kind of weights you can absolutely do with workout without any added weight, and let me tell you, you will be feeling it.

Not even kidding, this was me the day my first attempt at this workout –

Just because you’re “only” using your body weight as resistance does not make this an easy workout. Your quads and glutes will be burning by the final round and you will definitely be feeling the effects of it tomorrow I assure you.

You have been warned!

For our fully functioning/more advanced lifters who might be looking to make things a little more challenging – grab yourself a weapon of choice – a set of dumbbells, a barbell, kettlebells, your EmPack, some resistance bands, or any combination you like. Make sure you choose something appropriate for your strength but, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.

Although, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail you’re done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And, because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a (virtual) buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them join you, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter , or Instagram (@emsswanston) . I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok, enough chit chat time to work –

– 20 minute –
At Home – Lower Body Workout

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk #socialdistancing or something anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, its like dessert for the body.

Now for this week’s smoothie recipe . . .

How does a nice, tall, subtly sweet, perfectly spiced, deliciously indulgent, secretly healthy, sugar-free chocolate hazelnut chai latte sound?!

So good, right?!

Chocolate = happiness

Chai soothes my soul

Nut butter is the glue that holds my body together.

Put them all together and you get pure magic and that’s E X A C T L Y what we have here!

It’s pretty much tastes like your drinking chai while eating spoonful after spoonful of Nutella (please tell me I’m not the only one who does this?!) and I am here for it!

Made with no added sugar, packed with protein, and loaded with gut-healing goodness, not that anyone would ever know! I won’t tell if you don’t!

Subtly sweet, seriously chocolaty, perfectly spiced, and just all kinds of wonderful!

Next level deliciousness I tell you! You are going to LOVE it!

And, not only does our delicious, nutritious, smoothie taste like straight-up heaven in a cup but, it also happens to be Dairy free (if you want),  BANANA FREE, DATE FREE, sugar free, Low Carb, Vegan, Keto and Paleo friendly!

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yo’ self on this fabulous Friday – or anytime because, yummmmm.

Enjoy xo

Sugar Free Chocolate Hazelnut Chai Latte

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Persons: 1
• Difficulty: Easy

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk  (or milk of choice) – more or less to desired consistency
• 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt – use milk if you want to make a hot latte
• 1-2 Tablespoons of cacao – depending on how rich and chocolaty you want it
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/2-1 teaspoon chai spice mix
• 1 Tablespoon of chocolate hazelnut butter or a few drops of hazelnut stevia / extract
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of instant coffee (reg or decaf) or a shot or 2 (brewed and cooled) your fave brew – optional but HIGHLY recommended
• A pinch of pink salt
• 1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency
• If you prefer a sweeter brew add 1/2 teaspoon of monk fruit sweetener (coconut sugar or sweetener of choice) – more or less to taste
• Optional add ins;
• 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower (I prefer to pre-steam then freeze) – for a sneaky serve of veg + makes it extra thick!
• 1/4 cup avocado (fresh or frozen) for healthy fats & also makes it super thick
• 1 Tablespoons of melted dark chocolate to swirl your glass  – pure happiness
• 1 teaspoon of maca – for hormone balance
• 1-2 scoops of collagen – for gut healing goodness
• 1 scoop protein powder  – I think vanilla or chocolate would be best in this recipe

1. Instructions
2. Place all ingredients into your blender and process until smooth, creamy and well combined (or heat, whisk, froth if serving hot).
3. Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar (or warmed mug if serving hot) then top with toppings of choice.
4. Enjoy xoxo

 

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go, and remember always try to . . .

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

_________________________________________

Question of the day –

Do you prefer your chai iced or hot?

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to

__________________________________________

The post Sugar Free Chocolate Hazelnut Chai Latte & 20 min {no equipment – at home} Lower Body Workout first appeared on Better with Cake.

And you know what that means, it’s time for another round of fit Friday fun! And boy are we going to have some fun today!

Today I’m sharing a short, sharp shoulder sculpting, tummy toning workout that you can do anywhere, anytime in just 15 minutes, no equipment required – what do you say, are you in?

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective workout that will leave you feeling strong, energized and ready to take on the rest of your day.

So, here’s what we are going to do – 6 exercises to focus on shaping those shoulder and tightening, toning and  strengthening your core –  (click here to see me demo each exercise);

Hand release push up
Knee to elbow plank
Tricep dips
Tent push up
Heel tap with hip lift
Russian twists

Aim to do 10 reps of each exercise (count reps per side for knee to elbow plank & Russian twists) and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 3 or 4 rounds – resting as needed.

Once that’s done, if you’re feeling up to the challenge, we have ourselves a bonus burn out round!

Grab a timer, get into a plank position and hold it, with good form, for as long as possible.

Remember, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail you’re done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And, because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a (social distancing or virtual) buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them get in on the fun, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter, or Instagram (@emsswanston). I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok enough chit chat time to work –

15 minute – No Equipment
At Home – Arms & Abs Workout

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk #socialdistancing or something, anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, it’s like dessert for the body.

Now for our smoothie recipe . . .

How does a nice tall, subtly sweet, deliciously indulgent, secretly healthy, sugar free choc fudge peanut butter brownie thickshake sound?

It’s brownie meets, nice cream meets, peanut butter cup and am here for it!

Hands down, one of my all time favourite combinations. Ever!

Chocolate = happiness

Nut butter = the glue that holds my body together!

Add in a cheeky pinch of espresso to help enhance the richness of the chocolate (but also because coffee = life) and a pinch of cinnamon to soothe my soul and you, my friend, get pure magic! And that’s exactly what we have here!

No added sugar, packed with protein and loaded with gut healing goodness, not that anyone would ever know

It’s subtly sweet, luscious, creamy, seriously chocolaty, with a punchy hit of peanut butter which naturally = edible awesomeness personified and it’s choc full of choc chips!

And, not only does our delicious, nutritious, choc PB chiller like an straight up heaven in a cup but, it also happens to be Dairy free (if you want),  BANANA FREE, DATE FREE, sugar free, Low Carb, Vegan, Keto and Paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you and love it you will!

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yo’ self on this fabulous Friday – or anytime because, yummmmm.

{Sugar Free} Choc Fudge Peanut Butter Brownie Thickshake

Makes 1
Ingredients –

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

1 Tablespoon of cacao

1 Tablespoon of protein pwd – I used chocolate

1 Tablespoon of peanut butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon of monk fruit sweetener

1/2-1 teaspoon of instant espresso (optional but helps enhance the richness of the chocolate – I used Before you speak – mocha glow high performance coffee – use EMS10 to get 10% off ) or a shot or two of your fave brew

A pinch of cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of dark choc chips – or cacao nibs

1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency.

Optional add ins;

1/2 cup frozen cauliflower (I prefer to pre-steam then freeze) – for a senaky serve of veg + makes it extra thick!

1/4 cup avocado (fresh or frozen) for healthy fats & also makes it super thick

 

1-2 Tablespoons of melted dark chocolate to swirl your glass  – pure happiness

1 teaspoon of maca – for hormone balance

1-2 scoops of collagen – for an extra boost of protein and gut healing goodness

1 scp protein powder – for extra protein (I used chocolate)

Method –

1 – Place all smoothie ingredients into your blender and process until smooth, creamy and well combined.

2 – Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar then top with toppings of choice.

Enjoy xoxo

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go, and remember;

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

_________________________________________

Question of the day –

What’s workouts are you loving lately?

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to

__________________________________________

The post {Sugar Free} Choc Fudge Peanut Butter Brownie Thickshake + No Equipment Arms & Abs first appeared on Better with Cake.

It’s that time again, time for another round of fit Friday fun!!!!

And boy are we going to have some fun today!

Today I’m sharing a  short, sharp, lower body workout that you should be able to get in and get done in less than 20 minutes what do you say, are you in?!

5 exercises
10 reps each
x 4 rounds – or as many rounds as pretty in 20 minutes
Boomshakalocka, done

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective lower body workout that will leave you feeling strong, energized and ready to take on the rest of your day.

So, here’s what we are going to do –
Deadlift –  use a broom if you don’t have access to weights or a gym
Lunge
Squats – any kind you like
Curtsy Lunge
Mountain Climbers – or knee to elbow plank

Aim to do 10 reps of each exercise (count reps per leg) and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 4 rounds, or as many rounds as pretty in 20 minutes, sound good?

Now, just because I’m not allocating any specific rest breaks in today’s workout, I want you to listen to that beautiful body of yours and anytime you feel like you need to take a break to catch your breath and grab a little drink then by all means please do so, and take all the time you need. Do what you gotta do, OK?!

Now, for those of you are just starting out or are new to lifting feel free to do this workout without any added weight, believe me when I say just because you’re “only” using your body-weight as resistance doesn’t not make this an easy workout.

Your quads and glutes will be burning by the final round and you will definitely be feeling the effects of it tomorrow I assure you.

For our fully functioning/more advanced lifters who might be looking to make things a little more challenging – grab yourself a weapon of choice – a set of dumbbells, a barbell, kettlebells, your EmPack, some resistance bands or any combination you like. Make sure you choose something appropriate for your strength but, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.

Although, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail your done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them join you, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter , or Instagram (@emsswanston) . I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok enough chit chat time to work –

20 Minute
“Dead Set Legend”
Lower Body Workout

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk or something anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, its like dessert for the body.

Now for our smoothie recipe . . .

How does a nice tall, subtly sweet, deliciously indulgent,  secretly healthy, seriously chocolaty, choc fudge cookie dough crunch shake sound?

You guys, this smoothie, so, SO delicious!

Decadent and rich, seriously chocolaty and choc full of choc chips!

No one would ever know that it also happens to be good for you!

Packed with protein, high in magnesium and loaded with gut healing goodness!

I won’t tell if you don’t!

And, not only does our delicious, nutritious, smoothie like straight up dessert but, it also happens to be Dairy free (if you want),  BANANA FREE, DATE FREE, Sugar free, Low Carb, Vegan, Keto and Paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you and love it you will!

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yo’ self on this fabulous Friday – or anytime because, yummmmm.

 

Healthy Choc Fudge Cookie Dough Crunch Shake

Dairy Free – BANANA FREE – DATE FREE – Sugar free – Low Carb – Vegan – Keto – Paleo  

Makes 1 all natural, creamy, dreamy, subtly sweet, deliciously indulgent, secretly healthy super smoothie

Ingredients –

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (or 1-2 scoops of your fave ice cream or fro-yo)

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice) – more or less to desired consistency

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1-2 Tablespoons of cacao – depending on how rich and chocolaty you want it.

1 Tablespoon of almond butter – sub 2 Tablespoons of raw almonds, soak in boiling water for 10 minutes before blending if you don’t have a high powered blender

1/2 teaspoon of instant espresso (or 1/2-1 full shot of your fave brew) – optional but recommended to help enhance the richness of the chocolate

1 Tablespoon of choc chips (or cacao nibs)

1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency.

NOTE – If you prefer a sweeter shake, add 1/2-1 tsp monk fruit sweetener, a few drops pf liquid stevia, maple syrup, honey or sweetener of choice to taste – I didn’t add any.

Optional add ins;

1 Tablespoons of melted dark chocolate to swirl your glass  – pure happiness

1 teaspoon of maca – for hormone balance

1-2 scoops of  collagen – for gut healing goodness

1 teaspoon of uplift food – daily dose of prebiotics

1 Tablespoon of chocolate creamer – makes it extra lush

1 scoop protein powder  – for extra protein ( I think vanilla, chocolate or unflavored would work best in this recipe)

Chocolate cookies, crumbled – for serving

Method –

1 – Place all smoothie ingredients into your blender and process until smooth, creamy and well combined.

2 – Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar then top with toppings of choice – I use coconut shreds, cacao nibs (or a shaving or dark chocolate) always.

Enjoy xo

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go, and remember;

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

_________________________________________

Question of the day –

Upper Body, Lower body or total body? What’s your fave way to workout? Lower body is my fave!

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to

__________________________________________

The post Healthy Choc Fudge Cookie Dough Crunch Shake & A 20 Min Lower Body Workout first appeared on Better with Cake.

And you know what that means, time for another round of Fit Friday Fun!!!!

Today, I thought I’d we’d have ourselves a short and sharp, total body workout  that you can do anywhere, anytime in around 15 minutes!

Get in, get it done, and get on with living!

So, here’s what we are going to do, a descending ladder  workout which simply means we will start by doing 20 reps of each exercise and decrease 4 reps per round until you get down to 1.

For example –

Round 1 we do 20 reps each, then repeat the entire sequence through doing 16 reps each , then 12, then 8 , then 4 then 1, then die, I mean done!

We will do;

Squats
V Ups
Reverse Lunge
Supermans
Push Ups

The aim here is to move from one exercise to the next with minimal/no rest in between – That being said, I want you to listen to that beautiful body of yours and rest as needed.

Anytime you feel like you need to take a break to catch your breath and grab a little drink then by all means please do so, and take all the time you need. However, if possible try to wait until you get to the bottom of each round to do so but, do what you gotta do, OK?!

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective total body workout.

And remember, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail your done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them join you, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter , or Instagram (@emsswanston) . I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok enough chit chat time to work –

 
– 20 Minute –

“Roll with it”

Total Body Workout

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk or something anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, its like dessert for the body.

Now onto our smoothie recipe . . .

How does a nice tall, creamy, dreamy, subtly sweet, secretly healthy, deliciously indulgent, chocolate covered strawberry shake sound?

Heaven, right?!

You can’t beat a classic like chocolate and strawberries!

Next in my healthified childhood classic series is a decadent twist on a classic style strawberry milkshake!

Subtly sweet, seriously creamy, deliciously nourishing and swirled with chocolate because life’s just better when it’s covered in chocolate!

Oh and I should probably mention that not only does our delicious, nutritious, pretty little smoothie taste like straight up heaven in a cup but, it also happens to be Dairy free (if you want),  BANANA FREE, DATE FREE, refined sugar free, Low Carb, Vegan, Keto and Paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you and love it you will!

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yo’ self on this fabulous Friday – or anytime because, yummmmm.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie
{Dairy Free – BANANA FREE – DATE FREE – Refined Sugar Free – Low Carb – Vegan – Keto – Paleo Friendly}
Makes 1 all natural, creamy, dreamy, subtly sweet, deliciously indulgent, secretly healthy super smoothie

Ingredients –

1/2 cup vanilla coconut yogurt (or  Greek style yogurt)

3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

1 cup of frozen strawberries

1-2 Tablespoons of Cacao – depending on how rich you want it.

1 Tablespoon of cashew butter – sub 2 Tablespoons of raw cashews, soak in boiling water for 10 minutes before blending if you don’t have a high powered blender – optional but highly recommended

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency.

Optional add ins;

1/2-1 cup cauliflower or zucchini (pre-steamed & frozen works best)  – a great way to get an extra (undetectable) serve of veg & make your smoothie extra thick

1 teaspoon of maca – for hormone balance

1 teaspoon of flaxmeal (ground flaxseed) – extra fiber

1 teaspoon of chia seeds – for fibre & omega 3’s

1-2 Tbsp Hemp seeds – Plant based protein, omega 3’s, vitamins, minerals & essential amino acids – I love My Hemple –  EMSWAN10 = 10% off

1-2 scoops of Vital proteins unflavored collagen peptides – for an extra boost of protein and gut healing goodness

1 scoop protein powder  – for extra protein ( vanilla, chocolate or unflavored would work in this recipe)

Method –

1 – Place all smoothie ingredients into your blender and process until smooth, creamy and well combined.

2 – Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar then top with toppings of choice – I use coconut shreds, cacao nibs (or a shaving or dark chocolate) always.

Enjoy xoxo

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go, and remember;

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

_________________________________________

Question of the day –

What’s workouts are you loving lately?

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to

__________________________________________

The post Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shake & A 15 min {No Equipment} Total Body Workout first appeared on Better with Cake.