So, after a ton of studying, exercising and burying my head in books, I've officially passed my personal training certification. I couldn't be more excited! I grew up a major athlete (I played water polo nearly my entire life and was able to travel the world playing and even represent my country) so exercise and fitness are big time passions of mine. I'm constantly changing up my own workouts and switching between barre, HIIT, yoga, crossfit, weight lifting and sprints, so I'm looking forward to taking all of you through some awesome workouts both online and in person. So, for this week's Friday Favorites, I'll be sharing my favorite 20 minute body weight circuit (you could even do this in a hotel room) along with the best multivitamin and the adaptogenic herbs I just can't live without!
Workout Instructions ::
Do each exercise for a total of 90 seconds. You will go straight from one exercise into the next. Ex - You start with 90 seconds of burpees and then go right into 90 seconds of push ups, etc. Finish all 5 exercises at 90 seconds and then rest one minute. Then, do it all over again for 60 seconds, rest one minute. End by doing each exercise for 30 seconds all out. Be sure to warm up and cool down! I like to run for about 5 minutes as a warm up and then practice my handstands as a cool down.
Workout ::
(Round 1: 90 sec each, Round 2: 60 sec each, Round 3: 30 sec each all out!) Rest 1 minute between each round.
1. Burpees
2. Push ups (do as many regular as you can and then move to your knees if you have to)
3. Walking lunges (if you don't have a ton of space then do 45 seconds left side and then 45 seconds on right side pulsing lunge)
4. Squats (shoot for jumping squats on last round)
5. Tricep dips
Multivitamin ::
I love this multivitamin because it has the most quality ingredients of any multivitamin out there. And you know what that means? It helps you look and feel awesome! This multivitamin is the first-ever complete USDA Organic, plant-based, multivitamin made entirely from real food. It includes vitamin B12 from organic shiitake mushrooms, essential to brain and nervous system functions, vitamin D3 from lichen, a sustainable, vegan source and over 20 different veggies, fruits, mushrooms, herbs and superfoods. Holy wow! I take this nearly every day and it just helps supplement my body with some of the nutrients I can't get enough of through my nutrition. Their protein powder and probiotic are amazing too! And just for my extra special readers, you all can get an extra 10% off for with code DARBYJACKSON-637CB. Order up HERE!
Herbal and Mushroom Teas ::
My morning cordyceps tea blended with a little bit of unsalted grass fed butter. Yes!
Recently, I've gotten really into adaptogenic herbs. Adaptogens are natural herbs that help the body adapt to stress and exert a normalizing effect on your body. The most common adaptogen is ginseng but there are so many out there that do really wonderful things for your body. Currently, I'm into cordyceps which are wonderful adaptogenic herbs that help you produce and maintain constant energy levels. Cordyceps can also increase maximum oxygen intake (VO2 max). Many asthma sufferers experience great results with cordyceps, but all of us can benefit from increased breathing capacity. Cordyceps is believed to remedy fatigue, which is why it has also been used to recover from severe illness and surgeries. It offers the perfect nutrition for people whose energy levels have been depleted over a long period of time, and also works great for athletes recovering from hard workouts. I drink it most mornings around 10AM in tea form. The benefits are awesome and all of these teas and coffees are packed full of adaptogens. Check them out HERE.
So, start your weekend off with an intense, 20 minute bodyweight workout and then rest and recover with vitamins and herbs! Now you're well on your way to looking and feeling your very best. Happy Friday!