Different ways to workout : Pack of cards

Do you ever get tired of doing the same kind of workout over and over again? Like, you change some things because you don't want to reach a plateau but this just bore you again? Let me give you a new workout idea: The pack of cards. Yes, you read well. I mean, I'm not asking you to do weightlifting with it, but to do something more creative and something that you do the way you want it.

This is really simple : In a pack of cards, there are 4 suits. Each suit represents one type of exercise. And then it's simple, you pick a card upside down from the deck and it tells you what to do and how many times. Example : You pick a heart card, which could mean like, eagle abs, and it's an 8 so you do 8 eagle abs. And you go on for all the pack of cards. It's really fun to do because you can never guess which card is the next so it makes the workout different each time.

If you need ideas of exercises for the 4 suits, I'll give you some :
- Push-ups                                                         - Roll over
- Plank ( in seconds )                                        - Grasshopper
- Sit-ups                                                            - Heel kicks
- Bridges, single-leg bridge ( switching sides )  - Half cobra push-ups

If you feel like a beast on that day, here are some cardio ideas :
- Burpees ( You could even do it with 4 different kind of burpees )
- Mountain Climbers                                            - Butt kicks
- Squat jumps                                                     - Lunge kicks
- High plank jacks                                               - Star jumps

So that's it! I really hope you give it a try! When I do it with standard exercises, I do them with 2 packs of cards, it makes it even funnier because you can have the same card twice! Have fun and tell me if you liked it :) 

xx

Chryseis

Prevent injuries : Know how to curve your back

Ever got confused about how to curve your back in a certain type of exercise so you won't injure yourself? I've been there too, and I guess you're not alone in this situation. Let me get you out of this confusion right away. First, for the ones who don't have any back pathology, arching your back in some exercises doesn't involve any risk. On the contrary, if you do squats or deadlifts, where the spine tends to curve, arching your back may prevent new injuries. BUT, for some people, arching their back can turn out pretty unsafe.

                - For people suffering from spondylolysis ( non-union of the vertebral arch ), the extension of the lumbar spine may cause a sliding of the vertebrae ( spondylolisthesis ), which may badly compress elements of the nervous system ( which cause a sciatica ).

                - For people who have not yet completed their growth, or for people affected by osteoporosis, lumbar spinal extension  may cause a spondylolysis and a fracture of the vertebral arch. The vertebrae will be able to slide and badly compress the elements of the nervous system ( which cause a sciatica ).

Unlike the others muscle-development exercises, exercises for abs absolutely have to be done in vertebral winding. If you omit winding your back by contracting your abs and obliques, your hip flexors will accentuate the arch of your back by driving inter vertebral discs forward. This overpressure may lead to lumbago or worst, joint damage by shearing and compression.

I hope this will help to prevent you from having back injuries :)
If you have any questions feel free to ask them below! 


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xx
Chryseis

Review : FitnessBlender

Hello beloved readers! Today's post will be my first review. Not a review on fitness clothes or fitness equipment, a review about two people who are doing the best they can so people like you and me can train for free with high quality workouts. The main goal of my fitness blog is to give you guys real information about real things and so is theirs. That's what I like about them, they keep it real!

Let's start with the quality of their workouts. You can find them on their website here or on here. I am normally really, like reallllyyy selective with workouts videos, but there are not a lot of FitnessBlender's that I don't like. See, they don't pretend they know everything even if they do know a lot more than a lot of fitness gurus. One thing that I enjoy the most is that in their new videos, there is a '' thermometer '' that goes up as you burn calories, showing you below the amount of calories in number. It is just amazing. Well, of course it's not the same amount for everyone, they know that, so they put an interval of burned calories. What's great too is that the instructions are very clear, you always understand the exercise they are doing before going for it. An other good point for them is that there is no music integrated to their videos. So you can put your own and not worrying about hating songs they choose for you or listening to a song that you just can't stand anymore because you heard it too much.

Then, the quality of their website. I almost never seen something perfect as it is. The '' search workout tool '' is like the best. You want a workout that burns X calories? You want to focus on your abs? Want to search by equipment needed? No problem, they made it possible for you to find exactly what you're looking for each time.

Next, the quality of the information they provide. You just can't go wrong with them. As someone who've been through many biology books, I can guaranty you that they make you learn real things. They have many videos where they answer to frequently asked questions. Those videos are available on their YouTube channel also. You won't be fooled by the information they provide for sure.

Finally, I wish that I could make a review about their meal plans and exercise programs. But.. they cost money. I perfectly understand that they need money to live, I mean, that's what they do for a living. Since I'm still going to school I can't afford them but I'm pretty sure they are as nice and effective as the rest of FitnessBlender's content!

Hope you enjoyed this review, let me know in the comments below if you knew about them and if you tried their meal/exercises programs, I'd love to hear about it!

xx

Chryseis