September HIIT IT Workout

Can you believe it’s September already?!

(turning leaves or bad watering job? I’m gonna go ahead and guess the latter)

While it’s definitely bittersweet to see summer ending as fall begins -even though Fall doesn’t reallllly start in Tucson until at least Halloween- September always makes me think of football games, apple recipes, jeans and… deployments. Every deployment we’ve been through, the Pilot has left in September. It’s always filled with amazing memories of us doing as many fun things as possible before he would leave, but it also reminds me of the nights he’d get out the multiple pairs of socks, brown desert T-shirts (I call them Band-Aid shirts) and I’d help him pack, while hiding notes in his things along the way.

In Valdosta, I used to love watching the leaves turn the beautiful autumn colors, and this year, I’m so excited to begin the fall holiday season with Liv. I think she’ll kind of understand that’s going on, too, so it will be a lot of fun to start some little family traditions with the three of us.

Here are some ways to make September even more spectacular:

– Train for a fall fitness event! Plan a days of yoga challenge, sign up for a race, Zumbathon, punch card at a new studio, anything fresh you can add into your routine.

-Make an apple recipe. I have a few Pinterest finds on the radar, but you could always enjoy a baked apple

Oooorrrrrr  invite some friends over for appletinis 🙂

-Scope out some fall jeans! Nothing says autumn like  crispy pair of new denim. This year, I’ll probably pick up the usual dark skinnies to wear with boots and flats.

-Paint your nails a gold or deep red. I’m usually ready for a change from the summer brights and pastels, and love to go gold or an autumn tone when September is here.

-Start to scheme for Halloween. I finally found a Halloween costume for all of us, and I’m pretty stoked about it 😉

-Take your workout outdoors. If you usually run on the treadmill, 

venture out to a safe trail or track, or take your yoga practice onto your patio or deck for some fresh air.

-Practice a new move. Whether it’s a new strength training exercise, a new yoga pose, or class/type of cardio training, think of something you want to change or improve in your routine.

Here’s a little strength routine to add into your fitness program this month, if you’d like. 

Form cues:

Lunge with lateral raise combo, plie upright row to other side. <– Sounds way more complicated than it is.

Start in a basic lunge, and holding lighter weights, you’ll lift one weight up and the other to the side. 

Step out wide into a plie squat, do an upright row,

and repeat on the opposite side.

Squat with static bicep curl, regular bicep curl.

You’ll perform the first half of a bicep curl and hold the weight there while you do 10-12 squats.

And after you finish your squats, follow it with 10-12 bicep curls.

Tricep extension and squat thrust. 

For the triceps extension, you can either hold two dumbbells or one heavy one.

Make sure your arms frame your face as you bend your elbows (90* angles, so your elbows aren’t sticking too far out) and squeeze your triceps as you extend up. For the squat th

To squat thrust, just bring your hands down to the floor,

(creeper face: optional)

pop back into a plank (one line from ankles to ears- watch those hips and make sure they’re not sticking up)

jump your feet back to your hands and stand up.

Back extension, ball crunch and chest fly

Make sure to engage your core as you exhale and bring your torso up

and after completing 3 sets, you’ll do 3 sets of ball double crunches. Use your legs to hold the ball and lift the ball with each crunch. Hint: don’t let the ball touch the floor when you lower your shoulders for each crunch. KILLER.

For the chest flyes, make sure to keep your arms in line with your shoulders (think of making a capital “T” with your body instead of a “V”) and keep a slight bend in your elbows.

There are HIIT blitzes interspersed throughout to keep your heart rate up and make things extra sweaty. Your afterburn effect will be crazy high, too, so count on burning tons of calories throughout the day! I hope you love it and feel amazing afterwards. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know how it goes, or tweet/Instagram a sweaty pic @fitnessista

[Random feedback question, do you prefer workouts with the photos of the moves on the printable like this or just text with form cues and pics of the moves below as I did in this post? I’m happy to do whatever makes it easier for you!]

Here’s a little playlist to put a little pep in your workout step: 

Thank you SO much to those of you who shared song ideas with me on Facebook. I’m in love with so many of the songs on the list above- hope you enjoy it, too <3

Happy September! Let’s make it a spectacular month.

xoxo,

Gina

What goals have you set for yourself this month? Something you’re looking forward to?