What I Did: Combing 2 Short but HIT Workouts = One sweaty workout

My husband and I like to scour Value Village for hidden gems that would otherwise cost us more than what it's worth. Take for instance a set of three exercise bands! We got them for ten bucks, then saw them at Target for something like 30! Sweet deal no? Anyhow I found a video using bands and decided to try it out (mine aren't as fancy as in the video). Anyhow it worked for the most part, then I did a plyometric video to make it a decent length workout. Voila, 20 minutes of sweaty mess!

Total Time: 21 minutes
HR: 160
Sweat'o'Metre: oh yes. the face. behind the knees. down the neck. etc etc.
Burn'o'Metre: decent. I would add more reps for the amount of time given in the 2nd video though.

I felt so matchy today...

What I Did: Mini-Workout Max-Sweat

I thought this would be a bit longer. You do more warm up and cool down than workout but it's still a good one if you only have a very small window of time for maximum effort and sweat!
I went to a friend's house today and came home late. It's Saturday, I don't want to miss my workout but I want to make sure I also spend time with my husband. So he takes a power nap and I make the most of it with this mini workout;

Total Time: Just over 17 minutes
HR: 150 during the workout
Sweat'o'Metre: Some good streaming down the face on this one...take a lot at the glisten I got going on haha! Gotta love basement "mood" lighting
Burn'o'Metre: I feel like if you did this one workout 2 more times there'd be much more of a burn. But it's good for the time it lasts at least!

Had to crop it length ways to get all the
crap in my living room out of the shot :P

What I Did: Slow & Steady

This workout name was a bit deceiving but the workout was still good. When I hear "fat blasting" I expect high amounts of effort, jumping around, hard breathing and stuff...this was more a slow and steady burn using body weight and some hand weights. I liked it but it wasn't what I expected.
It wasn't high impact so this would be a great video for women who (have been active from the start) but are pregnant and want to keep strength in their body and those extra calories out! (consult a doctor, not me you may have to make some modifications if you're pregnant). Or for those who've never worked out (are not pregnant) but want to get a kick start into workout videos this is a good one.

Total Time: 40 min (30 min workout, 10 cool down)

HR: 120-130

Sweat'o'Metre: this surprised me, even with the lack of jumping around I still sweat a lot

Burn'o'Metre: a couple of these were burners but I think I needed more weight.

What I Did: High Knees & Heart Burn Anyone?

I spent the day helping my mom pack up some stuff to help her get ready for a move today so I saved my workout for afterwards. Wow. Maybe it was mom's amazing home cooked (full fat, the best kind!) food or just pushing myself into a psycho sweat I dunno but I have some major heart burn going on mid workout (and as I write this). Anyhow don't let the heart burn scare you, cause this one will BURN some calories and in a short 16 minutes!
Here's what I did

Warm up: did my own for 5 minutes since it's not included in the video
1 min jumping jacks
1 min alternating curtsy lunges
1 min air rope jumping
1 min squats
1 min clap jacks

WORKOUT:

Time: 5 min warm up + 16 min video (with 1 min breaks btwn = 20 min video) only 25 minutes!!!
HR: doozy. end rate was 180, although I checked through out varying from 150-190
Sweat'o'Metre: still pouring man, still pouring.
Burn'o'Metre: Those muscles are gonna be on fiiiyaaah just push through it and rawr upon completion!

took this immediately after my HR, it doesn't do justice to the
amount of sweat pouring off my face. It was in my eyes
during the last 2 4 minute rounds!!!

What I Did: 1 Minute Circuit

Okay not literally 1 min, but each exercise is one minute.  I just did this workout (the beginner level aka 1 time through).
Warm up is included in this workout (which really gets you warm fast!)
WORKOUT: 

Total Time: 23 minutes (nope I didn't stretch but I had a nice walk home from the park)
HR: 170
Sweat'o'Metre: hard to tell since it was windy but now that I"m inside I can feel it pooling...in places...
Burn'o'Metre: oh yes. the quads for sure. Those lower body and cardio sections were tough ones! And side planks...my nemesis.

my stainless steel cool water bottle. i like it. can't wait for when it's actually
really hot, then i'll loooove it.

What I Did: Couples Who Workout Together...

Sweat together!
It's sunny out at least and our day off together and a weekend of eating behind us :S eeks. Definitely didn't get my 20 min of bodyweight activity in yesterday...or a home cooked healthy meal. So sad. BUT today is another day :)
Warm up: walking to the park, balistic stretching/jumping jacks (5 min)
WORKOUT: 3 rounds of...
Band sprints (approx 50 m) sprint one way, resist partner on the way back
20 push ups
Band sprints 50m
20 toe touches
Band sprints 50m
15 Band torso twists each side
Band sprints 50m
20 Knees to elbows

Total time: 30:15 (not including warm up/cool down)
HR: average of 145-150 (faster after sprints, slowed down during circuit exercises)
Sweat'o'Metre: super windy out, sweat and dried at the same time
Burn'o'Metre: heart and lungs got a severe workout on those resistance sprints. I would try this workout without the resistance next time with harder exercises in between to even it out but increase intensity over the entire workout.

We don't workout together a lot. He likes sports, I like
fitness. So when he works out with me he is really
loving me even if it hurts him :) What a good sport!

What I Did: Sweat like the Dickens!

This is not a workout you do at lunch time and expect to still look presentable at the office. Oh no, save this one for when you want to get drippy sweaty! I think I am favorite-ing Fitness Blender on youtube for their variety of videos they put out!

Time: Just under 37 min (since there is some instruction that takes a couple min at the start)

HR: 150 I was surprised I thought it'd be higher, man I was pushin!

Sweat'o'Metre: uh Niagara Falls anyone? After only round 1 all of a sudden my forehead started leaking!

Burn'o'Metre: thumbs up for the burn, this one kills the lower body! This girl was on fiiiiyaaaahhh!

this is me warning you it's a doozy!

What I Did: Cardio Craze

Today it was apparently 15 degrees out. Sweet. So I only had 2 shirts on instead of like...4.
Anyhow today's workout was as follows;
Warm up: jog to the lake 8:30 min
WORKOUT: 4 rounds of the following
400 m fast run (or sprint if you can handle it)
20 box jumps
20 push ups
My time: 12:40 min
jog home 9:23 min

Total Time (including breaks): 33:23 min
HR: after circuit 170, after entire workout 180
Sweat'o'Metre: I didn't think I was sweating much cause it was windy but I'm still wiping it off my forehead so it was a good one
Burn'o'Metre: the push ups in the last 2 rounds but mostly a lung burn for me. Guess my cardio needs some work

this is me trying to smile but feeling cranky. don't step on
the scale before a workout, kinda puts a damper on things.
boo hoo.

What I Did: Barre Repeat

I admit I loved all the girlie stuff, ballet, figure skating, dance etc...but my body just happens to be more suited to things like...oh power lifting and plowing fields haha. But I do love this barre workout. It seems easy at first but by round two I'm feeling it like a lot.
Anyhow this is the same video, I might try other barre workouts in the future but I like this one for now (especially since I haven't exactly mastered it yet)

Time: actual workout time is about 30 min maybe 32 minutes plus the cool down gives you almost 40 minutes
HR: guessing....uh maybe 130's (dang it I always forget to take my heart rate these days)
Sweat'o'Metre: not so much, warm but not too sweaty (easy to do if you have to go back to work with just a quick freshen up!)
Burn'o'Metre: here's the kicker, I may not sweat a lot but it buuurns oh it burns.

I won't lie, I initially tried my foot on the top of the chair
but I couldn't get my face close enough for the photo
bah hah, so not flexible.

What I Did: What I Don't Feel Like Doing

I wrote this exercise out before I did it...I think I'm crazy too. I will try and keep rest between sets to a minimum (mostly cause I want to get it over with today, I feel like a slug).
Warm up: me thinking about how much I don't want to do this today...
WORKOUT: (my max # in brackets)
10 Exercises for 2 min each = 20 minutes
Squats (80)
Push ups (elevated hand position 55)
Jumping Jacks (145)
Knees to Elbows (106)
Tuck Jumps (50)
Toe Touches (76)
Skipping (243)
Burpees (31)
Side Twists (125)
Lunges (57)

Total Time: just over 20 min
HR: 160
Sweat'o'Metre: yep I sweat, nothing crazy though
Burn'o'Metre: I'm sure if I pushed myself to the max I would have burned a lot more. It was more of a lung burn and a mental burn for me today but don't use that as your gauge!
Also did not feel like being in photos, here is my gear

What I Did: Beating My Time

I did the Pain in 35's today. I beat my time woo!! Here's what I did,
Warm up: Crossfit warm up (hanging rows instead of chin ups...kinda giving those up lately)
8 minutes

WORKOUT: 2 rounds of the following
35 squats
35 knees to elbows (plank position, bringing opposite knee to opposite elbow/twisting motion)
35 squats
35 sit ups
35 squats
35 lunges
35 squats

Old Time: 14:50 (I think)
New Time: 13:30 WOO!

1 minute mile run (slower pace today) 8:50 minutes

Total time: 30min approx
HR: 145-150
Sweat'o'Metre: nice warm weather today but not super sweaty
Burn'o'Metre: yep, feeling it in those legs, especially for the burn out run after!

What I Did: Sweat with a Friend

I hung out with my BFF on the weekend for her birthday (big deal as she lives 4 hours away!). Lots of fun, also lots of (too much) sugar. Blech.
So we worked out Saturday at least and here's what we did!

Warm up:
1 minute jumping jacks
1 minute ski lunges
1 minute clap jacks
1 minute heel toucn & reach

WORKOUT: Tabata style but AA BB pattern for the 4 minutes (8 rounds)
Kettle bell swings
Push ups

Lunges
180 jumps

Burpees
Squats

Toe Touches
Elbow to Knee (Spidermans)

Twists
Moving Plank

Total Time: approx 30 min
HR: 140-160 (depends on exercise section)
Sweat'o'Metre: glistening, not so much dripping but it was still a good one
Burn'o'Metre: oh yes especially with the lunges and 180 jump pair!

YAY sweaty BFF photo opp!

What I Did: Box It Out

Short on time today, here's the shpeal!

Time: just over 30 min with cool down
HR: 180! woo! (before cool down)
Sweat'o'Metre: Probably one of the sweatiest I've done in a while! Don't do this on carpet unless you have a towel/mat!
Burn'o'Metre: It was a cardio burn, lots in the shoulders with the punching, definitely had to motivate myself to keep the effort up!

rawr

What I Did: Recovery Day and Getting a Sweat on STILL

I'm pretty sore from my past couple workouts but I really don't want to break a 10 day streak of completing my 20 min of bodyweight workouts every day (much to my husbands objections). So I figured I'd do a recovery workout. This is a beginner video and I think it would be challenging but awesome for a beginner. However that said even if you're not a beginner but you're sore, depending on how much effort you put in this will still get you sweating! I sped up some exercises and slowed down others for the sake of my body (i.e. hamstrings oy!)
Anyhow here's the video!

Time: 30 minutes
HR: 130's (ish)
Sweat'o'Metre: surprising! I actually had the "falls" effect down my neck, crazy. I wasn't expecting that
Burn'o'Metre: those weighted punches were a challenge, pick a lighter weight than you think you can do!

I didn't want to use "effects" in editing to keep it real but
this way you can see my laptop says "workout complete".
Also check that glisten out on my face and collar bone!
Keep it sweaty!

What I Did: Short but Sweaty

I thought I'd try a new workout video type from Be Fit on youtube.  I normally like to do extra to keep my workouts at a consistent 30min, sometimes 40 min depending on the workout.  This one was only 20 min but I'm sitting here dripping!

Total Time: 20 minutes!!!
HR: oops...ya I forgot to take it I'm not even going to guess
Sweat'o'Metre: still sweating, you can't see it but it was rolling down my face.
Burn'o'Metre: I think they designed these videos for max pain. Lots of cardio pushing required here!

I am pointing out my sweat streaks

What I Did: 2 Minute Torture

It was super nice out today! Soon I won't have to wear my warm under layer when I workout outside!
Oh just a note if you're going to do this, for the double unders if you can't get them going try skipping fast, just one hop every time the rope passes under, then looking straight ahead try to whip it under 2ce. I'm no pro but this seemed to help me the 2nd time around.


Warm up: Crossfit warm up

WORKOUT
Max reps in 2 minutes (2 rounds) of:
Push ups 60, 46
Sit ups 60, 50
Doubleunders (skipping rope goes 2ce under one jump,
complete ones were hard) 8, 13
(figured out not to look at the ground second time around!)
Squats 80, 90

Total time: 29 min + cool down stretching approx 3-5 min
HR: 140's (though if I took it after the double unders it probably would have been 160's or so)
Sweat'o'Metre: lots of face sweat (yay the sun is out and it's above 5!!!)
Burn'o'Metre: feeling it in the push ups and squats in the muscles but in the lungs for the double unders WOO those are harder than you think!

This is me trying not to squint but lovin the sun!

What I Did AA BB Tabata

I was looking for a good outdoor workout but lost interest knowing there was a workout video ready and waiting for me (working out can be mental too sometimes you just wanna follow a video!)
Anyhow my workout saver Fitness Blender gave me this Cardio + Lower Body workout kind of Tabata style. I say kinda because Tabata is supposed to be ALL OUT for 20 sec with 10 sec break, same exercise for 8 rounds (4 minutes).  This video takes some liberties and as it's not all out or the same exercise for 4 minutes (and therefore not as intense as Tabata is intended to be) it's still a good workout.

Total workout with warm up time approx 33 min
HR: 150
Sweat'o'Metre: pretty sweaty but nothing dripping
Burn'o'Metre: though my heart rate was up, no one exercise really burned, I suggest sticking to one exercise per tabata round 8x for a really good burn
I'll keep this one in mind for when I want a good workout but don't really want to push super hard/HIT

Also I used a chair, and some round weights (don't have dumbbells) and bands for parts of the video.

What I Did: Low Impact Doesn't Mean Low Effort

My husband worked on my neck yesterday, now it's even more sore...although I know it's sore cause it's healing from his ridiculous-intense massage. (He's an RMT so he knows what he's doing).
Anyhow I wanted to keep it low impact today and did this video.  Don't laugh. Well you might at first but by the end of the video it's harder than it looks even if it is low impact!

Then I did a 1 mile run at a faster than jogging speed.

Total Time: 28:15
HR: after the video = 140bpm, after the mile run = 190 bpm
Sweat'o'Metre: not so much, the workout got my body temp warmed up to go outside for the run though
Burn'o'Metre: yikes! My gluteous medius (sides of the buns) were killing me!!!

And I didn't feel like taking a picture today, just tired and lazy that's all...and I couldn't think of a creative way to post it so here's one of my super hero husband who I'm super proud of. He's away this weekend and I miss him. :)

What I Did: My quota of 20 min

I'm dealing with some annoying pain and tightness in my neck today (and the past couple days) and just feeling like doing anything BUT working out. So I decided just to "fill my quota" of 20 minutes of body weight exercises from the socialworkout.com challenge. Also I realize how focused I need to be in my workouts. If I'm doing high intensity and someone (AHEMhusbandAHEM) thinks it's funny to dance around and mock me I get really frustrated and annoyed...easily. So yeah I was more than ready to quit physically and mentally at 20 min.
Here's the workout sans warm up today...

WORKOUT (I did this 2.5 times stopped after burpees on the 3rd round)

Time (for 2.5 rounds): 20 min 37 seconds
HR: 150
Sweat'o'Metre: Not sure if you can see in the photo but I had major sweaty face
Burn'o'Metre: At the end of the lower body and end of the core focused exercises I was feeling it. Especially the jumping ones, and the plank.
Here's me and my unimpressed sweaty face...

Yes I know, I have the worlds UGLIEST couch. Didn't
mean to include that in the photo...

What I Did: Pain Comes in 35's

I decided to get back into some crossfit workouts from this site here (loads of body weight exercises on this site!).  But what comes with crossfit workouts is the crossfit warm up...I almost dread it more. Anyhow this is what I did
Crossfit Warm up 3x10 each
Samson stretch 10sec count each leg
Squats
Hanging sit ups
Dips (on a bench)
Back extension
Chin ups (ok I did not do chin ups today, I did a hanging overhand grip row from a low bar)
Time: 10min

WORKOUT 2 Rounds of the following
35 squats
35 knee to elbow sit ups/crunches
35 squats
35 sit ups (full)
35 lunges
35 squats
Time:14:42

Total Time 24:42 (I took a 1 min break between the 2 rounds of the workout)
HR: 150-160
Sweat'o'Metre: not too sweaty (it was chilly again but still even under my hat my hair wasn't too sweaty)
Burn'o'Metre: I was surprised the sit ups killed me. The squats were a little tough but mainly the sit ups gah!

Here is me enjoying those burning sit ups (the first round I didn't use the pole)

Also this is the low bar I used to do my hanging rows/cheater pull ups

What I Did: A workout with the Hubster

Today is a day both my husband and I get to sleep in and take it easy before he heads to work. It is still rare however, for us to workout together as our goals and styles and likes/dislikes are very different when it comes to how we want to burn those calories.
Anyhow today he wanted to run to the lake (almost 2km, under by about 300m). Anyhow here's what we did
Warm up: the run to the lake takes approx 7-8 min (I forgot my watch!!! just estimates today!)
WORKOUT:
3 sets of
20 bench hops + 20 push ups
20 squat jacks + 20 sit ups

3 sets of (between lamp posts on the boardwalk)
two foot long jumps
walking lunges (approx the distance of 19-20 lunges)
high knees jogging

Running home we did 80% of our fastest speed approx 50-100 m with 10m walking intervals. We did about 5 or 6 of those
Got home and stretched it out!

Time: Outside for a total of approx 45 min though this workout wouldn't take that long if we had planned ahead and didn't take so many breaks figuring out what to do
HR: approx 160-175
Sweat'o'Metre: it was chilly and windy but I did sweat
Burn'o'Metre: umm not so much burning though my husband kicks my butt at speed so the sprints were hard

No pic...I showered and forgot sorryyyyyy but here's a nice one of the beach area we like to workout at! No those are not the shoes we workout it

What I Did: Today I'm a Beginner

Oh gosh I looked at this workout and thought "oh for sure I'll do the intermediate level, though it probably won't be too hard it's all I've got time for..." Boy was I wrong. I stuck to the beginner with this one. I attempted a second round through circuit 1 and only got through 30 seconds of the squats before I thought, you know...I think I'm done for today. I'm not a pro but I work out regularly at a high intensity so I was surprised with this one. Warm up included in this workout...

Time: approx 30 min + (with some breaks between)
HR: 170ish
Sweat'o'Metre: yep, got a towel stuck in my "knee pits" and a picture to prove it
Burn'o'Metre: WOW I was starting to burn in the warm up! That circuit 1 killed me, what a great one for lower body blasting!!!

< look I wore socks and shoes! I can learn from mistakes...my poor toe.

What I Did other than Eat Chocolate on Easter Monday

Easter Monday. Oh boy. So I joined this health challenge on the greatist social network that involves cooking/making 1 healthy meal a day and doing at least 20 minutes of body weight exercises every day. I'm glad I started the challenge cause it started today and I really wasn't feeling a workout today but due to my cyber social pressure I succumbed and I'm glad. Here's what I did.
Warm up: Not sure if this is supposed to be a warm up but it was longer than my usual warm ups, took about 8min 15 seconds.

WORKOUT: approx 30 min
Tabata (20 sec work, 10 sec rest x 8 = 4min per exercise with 1 min rest in between each exercise)
Burpees
Air skipping (pretend you have a jump rope)
Dips/push ups (alternated as per my jello-y arms)
Seated rows
Squats
Mountain climbers
Toe touch crunches

Total time: 43min 15 sec
HR: after the crunches at the end it slowed to about 140 though I feel like the bulk of the workout it was probably nearer 160-170
Sweat'o'Metre: definitely dripping off my face while doing those mountain climbers, still feeling it drip through my head!
Burn'o'Metre: sheesh always feel the burn with tabata stuff!

I'm going to gross you out with the pic today...looks like I should start wearing shoes inside to avoid losing the bottom half of my feet to rug burn...ouch.