A big thank you to Julie for alternating Saturdays with me and giving me the oppourtunity to spend a few summer weekends with my family. We had a wonderful summer and just recenlty celebrated my son’s first birthday!

I’ll be working on a new fall playlist for our upcoming class and look foward to seeing you on the 17th!

Yay! This means we will be able to get our workout in and get started with Saturday activities a little earlier than usual! Please mark your calendars, set your alarms, reminders, etc. See you on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

My two Saturdays in May are May 14 and May 28.

See you then!!

Yes, Saturday’s class has changed from Body Defined to BOSU Bootcamp. For the most part the class format will be the same.  I will be introducing a few more cardio drills to make it a bit more “bootcampy”. All exercises can still be done right on the floor for those of you new to the BOSU.

It’s a lot of fun and I hope to see you there!

Below is the new playlist for March. Please let me know what you thought of class today…both the music and the exercises!

Click on the image to view larger/clearer version

View playlist in iTunes

Instruction: Start in a staggered stance with your right foot forward. Stand with your weight on your right foot, left leg tapped lightly behind you. Extend your arms out to the side to form a T. Hinge forward at the hips lifting your left leg off the floor simultaneously. Keep your abs engaged and your back straight, try to maintain a straight line from your head through your toe of the extended leg. Hold the balance. Return to standing then repeat on the other side.

A barefoot single leg hip hinge is especially fun when I'm wearing my LadyCape by glammic (http://glammic.com)

Tips: When you first start this exercise focus on holding the balance and keeping your alignment. Don’t worry about getting into a deep hinge.  Hinge forward 10-15 degrees and hold the position. Once you become stronger increase your forward hinge working towards a 90 degree hip hinge. Remember to maintian that straight line from head to toe. Hold the balance for 15 seconds, then 30 seconds. Work up to a one minute hold.

Arm Progression: From the basic hip hinge balance position, reach both arms in front of you. Hold. Reach both hands behind you palms facing up, thumbs reaching toward each other behind your back. Hold.

Leg Progression: From the basic single leg hip hinge position, bend at the knee bringing your heel towards your glute, extend your leg back to the start position. Repeat for 10 – 15 repetitions.

Balance Progression: For and added challenge take the single leg hip hinge onto the BOSU®.

Single Leg Hip Hinge on the BOSU

Last September I was blessed with a healthy and happy baby but there are many others who are less fortunate. Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. We are walking in March for Babies because we want to do something about this.

Make a Secure Online Donation. It’s easy: just click here and you will be directed to my donation page.

Please Donate!

Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start! The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Your gift will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.

I especially love my new plank sequence. I think it’s challenging and a nice mix of exercises. Below are the instructions in case you want to try it at home.

BOSU plank with tilt

Start in a full plank on the floor or on the BOSU (platform side up)
Tilt BOSU to the right until knuckles touch the floor, hold. (If you are not using the BOSU change from full plank to forearm plank and back to full plank leading with right arm)
Point the right toe, lifting right leg off the floor
Pull right knee in towards left shoulder, twisting body, engaging abs
Extend leg back then lift leg high towards ceiling, squeezing glutes
Return leg to floor and perform one strong push-up
Repeat sequence on other side

click on image to view larger/clearer version

View playlist in iTunes

Anyone can participate! Head on over to plankchallenge.com to join the fun!

Below is the rundown on what you need to do to participate (re-posted from plankchallenge.com)

The Challenge is Easy. . . and Not.

All you have to do is:

1.  Plank Every Day.

For 7-weeks, from November 1 to December 19, practice your plank.  Start small.  Work up.  Use the tracker to record your progress.

2.  Set a Goal. . . and Reach it by December 19.

Your goal might be 2 minutes.  Or 3.  Or 6.  Set a goal, and work on it a little bit each day, one plank at a time.  Hold plank for your goal time by December 19.

BONUS: Recruit friends and family.  Take pictures, and send them to plankchallenge @ gmail.com

My Saturday Body Defined class will be participating as a group. We have set a goal of a five minute plank! We will practice plank every Saturday at class and then on December 18th we will all hold plank together for five minutes. Class participants will be practicing at home and will track their times and progress using the Plank Challenge Tracker (download the tracker here).

I am very excited and will be participating in the challenge as well. I am going for a five minute plank along with the rest of my body defined class.

If you would like to participate head over to plankchallenge.com.

Life has been pretty crazy since the birth of my beautiful son but I am loving every minute of it! It is tough at times to fit exercise into a new mama’s schedule but I do manage to move a little every day. I know the first class will be a challenge but one that I am ready to tackle. I can’t wait to see you all in just a couple of weeks!

Please join me Saturdays at the San Francisco Bay Club beginning 10/30

Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.
Body Defined
San Francisco Bay Club
150 Greenwich St
San Francisco, CA
(415) 433-2200
60 minutes

Please check my schedule page for class description.
Contact me for a guest pass.