Fitness with Vannytelly - Circuit Workout - Exercises At Home

Back with more circuit workouts or exercises that can be done at home, by the beach, in the hotel, literally anywhere!! So no more excuses for not working out! This is kinda my favourite set of workout to get a quick one in especially when I don't have exercise equipments around.

Today we'll be doing the few exercises (no need to be in sequence):

1. Push-ups
2. Lunges
3. Squats
4. Sit Ups
5. Back Raises
6. Jumping Jacks
7. Oblique Crunch

Squats

1. Stand with your head facing forward and chest held up and high, feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, hips over knees, and knees over ankles. 

2. Keep shoulders back and maintain a neutral spine throughout the movement.

3. Extend arms out straight so they are parallel with the ground with palms facing down; this would help keep your balance.

4. Start the movements by inhaling, squat downwards sending hips backward as the knees begin to bend (it's as though sitting into an imaginary chair).

5. While the butt starts to stick out, make sure the chest and shoulders stay upright, and the back stays straight. Keep the head facing forward with eyes straight ahead for a neutral spine.

6. Optimal squat depth would be your hips sinking below the knees (if you have the flexibility to do so comfortably).

7. Keep your body tight, and push through your heels to bring yourself back to the starting position.

* Start with sets of 10 squats, and then add more reps (e.g. 12 or 15) as you get used to the motion or get stronger. Focus on form first then start adding more reps. Good form is the way to build muscles and lower risk of injuries!

(a) Lunges or (b) Lunge Pulses
1. Stand with your torso (body) upright with hands by your side, or you can keep hands on your waist (however you feel comfortable). This will be your starting position.

2. Step forward with right leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent with the forward knee at about a 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle, not pass your ankle, and make sure your other knee doesn't touch the floor.

3. Keep the weight in your heels and exhale as you push back up to the starting position.

4. Repeat the movement for the recommended amount of reps then change legs.

(a) For lunges, you do not need to step out as far as I did in the picture above. It is correct so long as both legs are of 90 degrees. Click here if you need video instructions for Lunges.

(b) Lunge Pulse is a variation of the normal Lunge exercise - step out into the starting position as per above picture, dip down and come back up quickly in a pulsating movement. Complete 20 pulses for each leg as 1 set. Click here if you need video instructions for Lunge Pulses.

* Start with sets of 10, and then add more reps (e.g. 12 or 15) as you get used to the motion or get stronger. Always keep in good form to lower risk of injuring your knees.

Jumping Jacks
1. Stand with your feet together and your hands down by your side.

2. In one motion jump your feet out to the side and raise your arms above your head, keeping arms straight as you can.

3. Immediately jump back to the starting position.

4. This would count as one rep.

*Start with sets of 20-25 reps, and then add more reps (any amount) as you get used to the motion. This exercise can be done for as long as you can.

Plank Jacks
1. Start in a plank position, with your shoulders over your wrists, your body in one straight line, and your feet together.

2.Like the motion of a jumping jack, jump your legs wide and then back together. Jump as quickly as you want, but keep your pelvis steady and try to keep your body in a straight line.

3. This would count as one rep.

* Start with sets of 20 reps, and then add more reps (e.g. 25 or 30) as you get used to the motion.

Modified Push-ups
1. Start with your hands and knees in a modified plank position. Your arms should be straight, with your shoulders above your wrists. Rest your knees on the ground, legs together, with feet in the air. This will be your starting position.

2. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your chest to the floor, while maintaining a straight line through your core.

3. Push back upwards, engaging your chest & core into starting position.

4. This would be one rep.

* Start with sets of 6-8 reps, and then add more reps (e.g. 10 or 12) as you get used to the motion or get stronger. If you feel that this isn't challenging enough, feel free to try out incline push-ups or even standard push-ups (click here for more info).

Back Raise (Extensions)
1. Lie face down on a mat on the floor, with hands at the side of your head and feet shoulder-width apart.

2. Lift head and shoulders up and back off the floor. Hold for 2-3 seconds then go back to starting position.

3. This would count as one rep.

4. If you don't break a sweat doing the basic move, try lifting up your legs both in the air as you perform movement #2.

* Start with sets of 10 reps, and then add more reps (e.g. 12 or 15) as you get used to the motion or get stronger.

Sit-ups
1. Lie on your back flat on the mat on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.

2. Place your fingertips behind your ears, elbow out to the sides.

3. Engage your core, exhale as you raise your body up towards your knees. Head always looking straight, do not tuck chin to your chest or pull head forward. Keep your head inline with your spine as you sit up.

4. Inhale as you roll back down to the starting position.

5. This counts as one rep.

* Start with sets of 12 reps, and then add more reps (e.g. 15 or 20) as you get stronger. Maintain proper form to prevent hurting your lower back.

** If you are unable to perform sit-ups due to back problems, you may always change this exercise to another type of core exercise like planks.

Oblique Crunches
1. Start by lying on your side with your legs curled up, on top of each other (you may llike to keep your legs out and a little bent if it is more comfortable).

2. Place the arm on the floor out and facing down, the the other arm by your side - this would be your starting position.

3. Begin by exhaling as you move your upper arm and shoulder up as if performing a normal crunch.

4. Crunch as high as you can, hold the movement for a second and then inhale as you slowly lower back down into the starting position.

5. This counts as one rep.

6. Complete the recommended amount of reps and switch over to the other side.

* Start with sets of 10 reps, and then add more reps (e.g. 12 or 15) as you get stronger. Maintain proper form to prevent stressing your neck.

Try to complete 3 sets for each exercise and work up to 4 sets if you'd like. If you are unable to do this many reps/ sets at one go, slowly work your way up. Remember to use proper form for all exercises, do proper warm-up before and cool-down after every workout; to prevent injuring yourself. A little effort a day makes a great difference in the long run - consistency is the key! 

Feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any questions regarding this topic and I'll try my best to answer if it's not already stated in my blog above. Thanks for reading! : D

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Cheers and stay tuned for more. ; )

Beauty Review_Postpartum Slimming With Marie France Bodyline - Part 1

Hi there to you! Some of you who have been following my blog knows that I'm a Mama to a 9 month old baby, that also means that I'm a new Mama who's 9 months postpartum. Many Mamas out there try all means & methods to slim down after giving birth to their precious little ones and of course there's no wrong to it b'cuz who doesn't want to regain their pre-pregnancy figure right? But of course slimming down the safe & healthy way is most important. Crash diets and yo-yo diets are a no-no for me, and especially those of you Mamas who are breastfeeding I'm sure you'd know dieting is a big N-O too.

This is me now, 9 months postpartum - looking fab & slim you may think. I take credits for this figure b'cuz people who know me know I work hard for it, i.e. I exercise regularly and never go on diets but I eat healthily. I've not gone on any diet in years b'cuz once you are conscious of the right choices to make during meal times, you'll never need to go back on any diet again. 

Having said, you must be wondering what this already-slim-Mama is doing at a slimming centre *gosh*?! Only Mamas would know that regardless of the size you may be able to regain after delivery, there ought to be a few "problem areas" we Mamas face postpartum, e.g. 1. Loose Skin, 2. Stretch Marks, 3. Cellulite, 4. Fatty Areas. Personally for me I feel my postpartum problems are loose skin, fatty spots, and cellulite. 

You may think that Marie France Bodyline only has plus-sized clients but you know what? They actually specialize in helping Moms lose their postnatal weight gain, which was exactly the reason i'm here for! B'cuz even though all these time I've been eating right & working out to regain my pre-pregnancy figure, I'm now mostly toned but definitely need help on certain flabby areas where fats have been retained after being pregnant. 

I'm sure with more effort and time spent on exercising, surely I would be able to "get rid" of the unwanted fats. But Mummies all know that time & effort is exactly the two things that we have limited of. Many Mummies admire my motivation to keep going even though I have to work, take care of baby, make time for family, and keep maintenance for beauty and exercise even though sleep is never enough. I've been exercising for sure but honestly not optimal since I'm usually hitting the gym early in the morning after taking "night shift" caring for my baby - how to hit it hard when lack of energy/sleep? Surely I'll have to take care of myself at the same time eh? That's where Marie France Bodyline comes to the rescue! Yipee!

A little introduction about Marie France Bodyline whom originally was established in Switzerland, now has a network that includes slimming centres in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and Macau. As a leading network of slimming centres, Marie France Bodyline has more than 29 years of experience helping women achieve their ideal body shapes and truly understands a woman's body. Professionalism is taken on a higher level providing clients and customers treatments tailored to each individual's needs. Honestly I don't think I'll have to carry on with all the formal introduction since many of you would have already heard of their "big name". 

Scrolling through the last few pictures shows you the interiors of the outlet at Orchard International, also the place I'll be visiting for treatments in the next few months. Located on the eighth floor, the feeling of stepping just into the corridor leading to the centre feels oh-so-private. Place was really cosy and quiet which gave me a sense of privacy - just the way I like whenever I go for my beauty treatments. Staff were very friendly and of service oriented, thumbs-up for their service provided. 

Upon my arrival, I had to fill up a form on my personal information and waited for the in-house Nutritionist for consultation. She first took my weight and a brief analysis of my body fat percentage on this body fat analyser cum weighing machine while explaining to me on the process of her consultation.

Knowing your weight & body fat percentage will help the consultants further analyse your body and also to correctly advise customized treatment sessions to help meet your desired body shape.

This was the cosy corner where consultation with the Nutritionist took place; with all the place cards, pictures and forms, full information on stand-by for clients to be informed on. The Nutritionist would get to know each client using questionnaires to find out one's lifestyle & diet habits, as well as machines dedicated to analysing body content - this way, the Nutritionist can fully understand her client's bodily status and needs to come up with guides to help meet client's ideal body shape.

I was introduced to a second machine used to analyse body fat content in a more specific way. This machine was able to tell how much fat, water and muscle mass was in my body, and was even able to tell me the distribution of the contents - wow! Simply putting, this machine could tell how much fat was in the upper region of my body vs the lower region of my body, or even how much muscle mass I had more/less in the upper or lower part of my body - cool right? As a person who's into fitness & nutrition, this got me REALLY interested. I can finally find out if what I have been doing was really leading to my desired body goals. On top of that, I'd be able receive proper advice & care from the consultants here to help with my goals. Yays!

I really liked the three slimming philosophies that Marie France Bodyline believes in;
Technology - always introducing the most updated & advanced equipment for best results, even their slimming consultants are equipped with the most updated training courses.

Nutrition - a team of professional Nutritionists offer guides on optimum nutrition & advice on lifestyle habits suited to individual needs - helping clients to meet their desirable body goals.

Client Compliance - each and every client is advised the most suitable treatments, with the help of the slimming consultants & nutritionist to develop long-term programmes to meet their needs.

After the chitter-chatter & consultation with the Nutritionist, I was taken to my private changing room to prep up for the treatments. Ruby 5 was my room for the day, oh how I felt like a VIP. Hehe.

Here's a sneak peek into the little room which had a locker and lounger in it, as well as clean robes to change into. Change and rest was all I had to do while waiting for the therapist to come take me to the treatment room.

And of course the standard SOP - changing-room-selfie! Haha.. Promise I won't bombard you with too many of my selfie pics. Seriously just wanted to share with ya'all the entire experience with all my pictures. ; ) 

*Say Cheese* ... *Cheeseeeeeeeee* 

*knock-knock*, came the therapist and off we headed to the treatment room for my session.

This whole place was like a mini maze, with so many rooms & corridors... Almost got lost around here on my first visit. 

Look at the number of rooms, just along one corridor. Haha, I know I know, I keep emphasizing on how big this place is. Lol. But really, see for yourself. Even though there were many rooms, the place was quiet and really exclusive.

There were shower facilities in the bathroom provided for clients who wish to wash up after treatments. Just FYI.

Overall my thoughts on my first visit was simply great. I loved the environment which was quiet & private, the people who were friendly & service-oriented, which left me with the feeling of a VIP & even motivation to stick to my goals. Everything & everyone seemed really efficient around here. Totally looking forward to coming back more often.

And just a quick stop to the ladies before heading for my treatments, bye-bye.... Talk to you all soon.. Feel free to leave comments in the comment box below should you have more to ask pertaining the topic today. Do stay tuned for upcoming posts about reviews on the treatments received and also not forgetting the results to them.

If you are keen to try Marie France Bodyline's treatment, they have some fabulous GSS deals for you!! Just select the promotion you prefer and sign up via the link given and Marie France Bodyline’s representative will call you back soon: https://goo.gl/jp8f3A

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Thank you for reading my blog. Cheers and stay tuned for more posts. ; )