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March 31, 2014 · 6:45 am

The Spartan 30 Push Ups For 30 Days Challenge, Doggy Park & More

Good morning beauties!!! How are you? I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

My weekend was really great. Even though it didn’t really go the way it was planned *stupid weather lol!*, my hubby and I spent a lot of time with our little beauty Bella. We decided to take her to a doggy park for the first time. Despite being somewhat intimidated by bigger dogs, I think, she really enjoyed the experience.

Needless to say, she was EXHAUSTED.

When my loves were sound asleep and there was absolutely nothing on TV, I started snapping some selfies with my cell. *My pest bit through the rear-end camera lens… for the second time… I guess, that’s what they call LIFE. Haha!* Here is the result.

Oh! And we finally got to watch Frozen. I LOOOOVE Olaf! ❤

*PS. This specific scene is so actual for the weather in Montreal. We all wish for summer/spring very much, but the real surroundings are very close to those in the cartoon. But I’m not losing my hope! Haha!*

Guys!!! You will not believe me! It seems like finally the Spartan Gods have heard my plea and sent a challenge that I needed for a while!

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As you may remember *or not*, one of my fellow fitness bloggers, Emmeline, threw a challenge to see who will be able to do the most push ups and pull ups by June 21, 2014. I diligently did my thinking and decided to set a goal of 30+ push ups. It’s all sweet and dandy, but I felt like i needed a solid plan in order to reach my objective. And VOILA!

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I am super duper excited to share that the challenge starts TOMORROW on April 1! All you have to do is 30 push-ups a day for 30 consecutive days. SIMPLE!!!

Here are a few more tips from the Spartan Race itself:

No fancy gym memberships required. All you need is the floor beneath your legs, your own body (safe to assume you have this) and determination. Post your pictures and/or your times. Then do it again the next day.
So how do you complete a push-up? Follow these steps: 1 – Get into plank position, with your hands slightly outside of your shoulders. 2 – Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor, keeping your elbows close to your torso. 3 – Push away from the floor and back to the starting position. Repeat 29 more times!
If you can’t do one push up, start the challenge with the “modified push-up”. To perform a modified push-up assume a push-up position but bend your knees allowing them to touch the floor and cross your ankles. This will make the push-up easier and can be used as a stepping stone to the standard push-up!
If your wrists hurt, Try using a pair of dumbbells or push-up bars. The modified grip will allow you to keep your wrists straight.
You can even time yourself. By keeping track of your progress, you can watch yourself improving
Feel free to push yourself further! Don’t stop at 30, if you can do more.

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*** Also make sure to read one of my previous posts for more insights on push up technique, some laughs and cute pictures of little kidos ‘doing’ push ups: Push Ups 101: A Cheater’s Guide To Lousy Push Ups, 35+ Push Up Variations, And Fast & Effective Bodyweight Upper Body Workout.

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How was your weekend? Are you going to embark on the Spartan 30 push ups for 30 days challenge? How do you challenge yourself every day?

xoxo
Olena

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Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation, Puppy Love

Tagged as 30 push ups for 30 days, 30-day challenge, fitness, German Shepherd, health, Puppy, push up variations, Push Ups, Spartan Race, weight loss

February 21, 2014 · 6:45 am

Push Ups 101: A Cheater’s Guide To Lousy Push Ups, 35+ Push Up Variations, And Fast & Effective Bodyweight Upper Body Workout

If you read yesterday’s post, then you’re already aware that I have a big challenge ahead of me. Over the next 4 months I have to master my ability to do pull ups and push ups. *Panic mode!*

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According to the plan, I have to be able to do 30+ push ups and 15 pull ups at the beginning of summer. Well… I’ve got quite a bit of work cut out for me because… *Okay, it’s really embarrassing*… right now, I can do a grand total of… DRUM ROLL… *please, don’t judge me!!!*… 2 pull ups and 10 *big girl and not girly!* push ups in a row. There!

Anyhow, I’m hopeful, because as they say, it can only get better from here on! *TA DA!*

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So what are the benefits of push ups?

Improve posture
Upper body conditioning
Strengthen core
Increase metabolism = shed some extra weight
Can be done anywhere!
Oh, and a nice SEXY back & shoulders!!! *My top selling point! Haha!*

By the way, this is how you do a push up correctly!

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According to CrossFit Smyrna, here is “A Cheater’s Guide To Lousy Push Ups”:

‘Avoid each of these and you are nearly guaranteed an honest push-up.

1. Sagging: Dropping the belly in an attempt to hit, or reach bottom early
2. Piking: Sticking the butt up in the air. This is usually accompanying a rest (see resting, below).
3. Resting: Coming to a stop. This is usually tried at the top, often while piking, but may manifest as a collapse at the bottom.
4. Bouncing: This cheat is, exactly as the name implies, bouncing off the floor to rise to top again without effort. This is a big hit with fat guys.
5. Yogaing: With this cheat, the head and neck lead up followed by the chest then belly. It is a dynamic variant of sagging, but often performed as though it were a plus or artistic.
6. Reaching: Reaching’s most common form is with the head and neck. Some cheaters can extend their head and neck an extra six inches in an attempt to find bottom early and avoid the pain of a real push-up. Look for the nose a foot below the chest.
7. Speeding: The count should be a slow “one-two” up and “one-two” down unless doing timed efforts like the Tabata Interval. For reps, they have to be slow and controlled.
8. Shorting: This is the worst and most common cheat where the cheater typically doesn’t go all the way down. Not rising to the top is less common but still cheating.’