Hi everyone,
I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and that you are all raring to get back into your training. I decided to take an extra day off training because I have been enjoying the relaxation SO much 😀 BUT I intend on getting back into things tomorrow and have a new workout up asap (hopefully tomorrow).
In the mean time I thought, with 2011 coming to a close, I would explore the archives here and hand-pick my Top 10 Conditioning Workouts from this year (I tried to do a Top 5, but couldn’t choose between them). There will of course be another post on the Top Strength Workouts to follow 🙂
Coming in at NUMBER 10
A cool Couplet Workout, the first of the year was “Two’s Company” and boy was it a Killer! As you’ll notice I my “thing” is not fancy or new exercises all the time, it’s intensity and design that make my workouts successful. I would much rather that you get GREAT at the exercises in a variety of movement planes that always throwing in confusing combos that really won’t give the body a chance to ever ingrain good movement patterns. While I vary the odd exercise, you will see the same contenders again and again 🙂
NUMBER 9
This Workout always sticks out in my mind as when my designs really started to “take off” – I started playing around with really mixing everything up. The “3 Tier Kettlebell and Body Weight Workout” really has a bit of everything.
NUMBER 8
“Crazy Cardio + Evil Twist” marked a turning point for me personally. I felt it was time to share with you all about the news that Andrew and I had broken up! When I look back at this time I really don’t know how I held it all together. That weekend was actually really hard for me – as I was going to my friend’s Hen Do and, while I was happy that she was getting married, I was sad that my engagement was over.
How far I have come from this lowest point! Some things are just not meant to be.
NUMBER 7
“Summer Fitness Circuit” was a great workout to show what you can do if you only have one weight available and to show the progressions and regressions to use for each exercise. If you only have one KB, then you can easily mix and match from the different levels to suit yourself. Having a little flexibility for your own choice is a good thing sometimes as it teaches you alternatives.
NUMBER 6
“Kiss My Butt” is the workout where I fell in love with Hip Thrusts! And you all fell out with me for my Evilness 😛 hehe! This one was such torture on the lower body! While there is a little strength stuff here too, I still class this as more conditioning. Loved this one!
NUMBER 5
The “Ultimate Conditioning Circuit” was a) extremely tough but b) it marks the time when Alli McKee (from Girls Gone Strong) and I first made contact and became friends. In my eyes, Alli is the Conditioning Queen as this Circuit kicked my butt!
NUMBER 4
“Gina, Gee You Challenged Me” was a great workout because a) it was a total cardio/conditioning Gem and b) it marked the “Challenge Me” series where I invited you all to submit you own workout designs to challenge me for a change. Loved this!!
NUMBER 3
“Test Your Mettle” was another great challenge! It meant more than just testing physical Mettle as I was still being challenged in my personal life to adjust to my new status! This workout also marks how inspired I am by other females in the fitness industry and Rachel Guy was the source for this workout! Rachel and I have yet to meet in person, but I already know that I like her style! Plus she is a fellow “Celt” (being from Wales), so I dare say we’ll get on like a house on fire when we do finally catch up!
NUMBER 2
“Do You Work Hard to Play Hard“. This was such a fun, challenging workout for me! Melissa (from Fitmiss.TV) and I finally got to meet back in August and we did this workout with total lady-like style 😉 LOL!
NUMBER 1.5
I know I said 10 but I just couldn’t decide between these last two workouts! “Summer Bikini Blast” is THAT go-to workout for me! I return to it time and time again to kick my own butt. When I have little time but I need to do a workout, THIS is the one I turn to. It is a great Conditioning workout!
NUMBER 1
Not that I realised it at the time, but “Exercise, Fitness, Workout Playground” (could I get anymore keywords in to the title LOL) marked the beginning of something great. Firstly it was a pretty cool workout, next it made it on to Bret Contreras’s blog post “Where My Ladies At” to showcase female strength and Beautiful Badassery. Next, Bret emailed a bunch of us to introduce us and suggested we get our heads together and do something great with our message … the result of which is Girls Gone Strong! I suppose you could say it is because of Bret that GGS exists – maybe a little too much credit there, but he did get the ball rolling – as he often reminds me! But I have a feeling not even Bret knew what we would achieve once we were all together!
If you haven’t already done it – please “like” our Facebook Page. I am on a mission to have the total “Likes” at 10, 000 for New Years! So if that means creating your own FB page JUST so you can “like” us … 😉
That concludes my “Top 10.5” Conditioning Workouts of 2011. There are so many more greats, but I went with ones that were amazing workout but also held strong meanings and memories for me.
I’d be interested to read what some of your favorites are 🙂
Cheers
Marianne