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20 minute workout

20 Minute No Equipment Workout

683 1024 Sheridan Gregory

Once upon a time there was a girl who had ample amounts of time to fit in workouts. Then, she had two children, started her own business & stopped working out somewhere along the way. Okay, I know that was the shortest story ever but does some variety of that story feel familiar to you? I can’t be the only one who got busy with life & stopped focusing on my own health!

I’ve honestly had the hardest time being consistent with workouts over the past few years & until recently, I couldn’t even find the energy to begin getting back into a workout regimen.

no equipment workout routine

Like most people, I have a love-hate relationship with working out. It’s mostly a love relationship, but as I’m sure you can all imagine, it can be super difficult to keep the momentum going & stay committed to exercising more days than not.  To make my life a little easier, I put together a quick & easy 20 minute workout that targets all areas of my body, gets my heartbeat pumping, and is able to be executed in whatever space & time frame I have available. So… let’s hold each other accountable! I encourage you to throw on some of your favorite workout jams & get ready to break a sweat!

full body at home workout

20 MINUTE (NO EQUIPMENT) WORKOUT

Dynamic quadricep stretch (30 seconds)

Standing, use your hand to draw your heel up toward your glute. Draw your knees to touch to deepen the stretch into your quadricep. Allow your opposite arm to reach up over head. Hold here a few breaths & repeat on other side.

Knee Hugs (30 seconds)

Also standing, interlace your hands right below your knee cap & draw your knee up in toward your chest. Try to keep your upper body upright as you breathe deep into your hip flexors. Switch out legs & repeat.

Chest extension stretch (30 seconds)

Interlace your hands behind your low back & draw your hands away from your shoulders (parallel to the ground). Try to keep your rib cage & shoulders down.

Jog in place (60 seconds)

Stay present. Find a steady breath.

REST (60 seconds)

 

Side shuffle (60 seconds)

Begin in an easy squat, feet hip’s width distance, hands clasped in front of you. Now find a gallop (or shuffle) from right to left & then back the other way. Spring off the ground & try to land softly on your feet. You should feel this in your inner & outer thighs.

Reverse lunges (30 seconds)

One foot at a time, step your leg back & lunge down until your knee hovers two inches off the ground. Your front lunge should have your knee stacked directly over your ankle. Alternate legs.

Modified push ups (30 seconds)

Option to take a full push up! Otherwise, drop to your knees & plant your palms wide. Lower down so that your elbows stack over your wrists & exhale as you push back up. Try to keep your tailbone lengthened toward your heels & core engaged!

High knees (30 seconds)

Getting into a bit of cardio, find a jog, but this time lift your knees up in line with your hips. This will take a bit more of a jump & get your heart beat pumping! Try to stay as upright as possible & option to hold your forearms parallel to the ground in front of you & hit your palms with your knees as they lift.

Hip lifts (60 seconds)

Roll onto your back and plant the soles of your feet to the ground hip’s width distance apart. Plant your palms face down alongside your hips. As you inhale, squeeze your glutes & lift your hips up toward the sky. As you exhale, lower all the way back down to the ground. Make sure your tailbone hits the floor every time you lower!

REST (60 seconds)

 

Squats (60 seconds)

Plant your feet hip’s width distance apart, hands to heart center. Inhale, lower down into a squat so that your knees track safely over your second toes. Exhale as you press back up to standing.

Superman (30 seconds)

Lower onto your belly, arms stretched out over head. Inhale, use your back strength to lift your arms & legs up off the ground (just like you’re flying!). Exhale, slowly lower to the floor. This exercise targets your erector spinae (lower back muscles), along with your glutes & hamstrings.

Mountain climbers (30 seconds)

Find a high plank position, with your shoulder stacked over your wrists. Press the floor down and away so that the valley in-between your shoulder blades domes toward the sky (as opposed to sinking in). Draw your knee nose, and alternate as fast as you can!

Arm circles (60 seconds each direction)

Roll up to standing & “T” your arms out to the side. Begin to draw small circles forward from your shoulder joint. Repeat with circles in the opposite direction.

Jumping jacks (30 seconds)

We all know how to do jumping jacks right?! Make sure your heels hit the floor every time! Don’t forget to smile & have fun 🙂

REST (60 seconds)

 

Plank saw (30 seconds)

Come back to high plank pose & then replace where your hands are with your elbows, moving into a forearm plank. Align your hips with your shoulders & press out through your heels. Inhale, shift an inch forward onto your toes, exhale, shift back.

Seated ab twists (30 seconds)

Come to seated with the soles of your feet to the ground. Begin to recline back into a boat pose with a long spine, hands at heart center. Twist right and left, while trying to keep your hips stable. Draw your elbow as close to the ground as you can so that you work deeper into your obliques.

Scissor kicks (30 seconds)

Lay on your back & lengthen one leg up toward the sky perpendicular to the ground. Lift your chest & head off the ground. Now press your belly button toward the floor to engage your core. Keep your upper body engaged & lifted, then switch out your legs. Option to interlace your hands behind your head, elbows wide, & draw your opposite elbow to knee as your scissor your legs. Another option is to keep your lowered leg hovered off the ground to get into your deep transverse abs!

Sit up with punches (30 seconds)

Lay on your back & draw the soles of your feet to the floor. Place your arms up in front of you with your hands in fists like you’re ready to fight. Inhale, roll up through your spine to seated. At the top send out two strong punches, then exhale & roll back down to the floor.

Seal pose (30 seconds)

Roll onto your belly & let your legs easily splay apart about hip’s distance wide. Plant your palms under your shoulders & press yourself up so that your shoulders stack over your wrists. Give the front line of your body a nice long stretch. Slowly lower all the way to the ground.

Seated Forward Fold (30 seconds)

Extend your legs out on front of you & flex both feet. Inhale & reach your arms up over head. As you exhale fold down over your legs. If you’d like to keep this nice and active, as you inhale lengthen your spine and slightly lift your gaze & heart up and forward. As you exhale, deepen your stretch & allow your hamstrings to stretch.

Supine Figure 4 (30 seconds each side)

Lay on your back & cross your right ankle over your left thigh. Now wrap your hands around your left thigh & draw your knee in toward your body. Lengthen your tailbone flat to the floor & try to relax your shoulders away from your face. Repeat on the other side.

Spine twist (30 seconds)

Lying on your back, draw your right knee up into your chest, then guide your knee across your body. “T” out your arms & take your gaze to the right. Anchor both shoulders flat to the floor (more important than getting your knee to the ground). Hold for a few breaths & repeat on the other side.

Butterfly stretch (30 seconds)

Slowly roll up to seated & draw the soles of your feet together to touch, knees wide.    Begin to fold your upper body down toward your feet. Hold here & breathe. Just as slowly, roll back up through your spine back to seated.

How do you feel!? Ready to take on the day? I thought so. Sometimes you just need a little movement to energize your body & prepare for the day ahead. Something is definitely better than nothing & once you start feeling the results, you’ll surely be back for more. I’m always looking for new ways to stay inspired & motivated, so be sure to comment below with tips on how YOU stay active throughout even your busiest week! 

full body no equipment workout

ways to be healthier

10 Ways To Be Healthier Today

1024 685 Sheridan Gregory

If you’ve been following me on social media for a while, you might remember earlier this year when I was on a major health kick. I just wasn’t feeling my best, and I decided to make a change. I wanted to not only feel better but to be a good role model for my boys when it comes to living a healthy life. While I’ve definitely gotten a bit off track with the craziness that is summer, it’s top of mind heading into fall.

healthy lifestyle (I’m not flexible AT ALL but I’m trying to stretch more :))

To not get overwhelmed, I love the idea of making small, attainable changes. Things that you can do each and every day to make yourself feel better, and eventually turn smaller habits into larger ones. Here are 10 things to try:

1.) Walk

One of the best things I can do for myself is to move. It doesn’t have to be an intense cardio workout either. Any kind of movement is better than none, so if that means integrating a walk into your morning routine or as a family after dinner, do it!

2.) Swap out one food item

Overhauling your diet is no joke, so to start off more realistically, try swapping out one thing a day. For example, if you’d usually reach for a bag of chips, try veggies and hummus. Or if you’d normally load up the sour cream on your favorite tacos, switch it out for plain Greek yogurt. This totally works for me, and it’s not giving everything up at once.

3.) Skip the glass of wine

While I personally don’t drink alcohol, I know that a lot of people enjoy a glass of wine after a long day. If you want to make a healthy swap, though, skip the wine and go for a flavored water instead. Less sugar, less hangover, fewer calories. Don’t worry, you can still have your glass of red, just try to limit alcohol the days you want to feel excellent.

how to healthier lifestyle

4.) Stretch

On those days when being a morning person is just not for me, a good stretch always helps me feel energized. Even if you do it while still lying in bed, it’s amazing how much more awake it can make you feel.

5.) Meditate

I totally understand it can be hard to find a few peaceful moments to yourself, but this will do a lot for your mental health, which is just as important as physical. You don’t have to have a yoga mat or anything, in particular, to meditate either, which is why I like it. You can literally be in the Target parking lot and take a few deep breaths in the silence before getting out of your car. Been there!

6.) Start your morning off right

Routines are so important to me – especially in the morning and especially as a mama. When I don’t get through my normal cadence, I feel like my whole day gets thrown off. Make your bed, have some warm lemon water – do whatever makes your morning feel peaceful.

7.) Limit tech

Because it’s nearly impossible for me to completely stay away from technology throughout the day, I think the best way to limit the amount of screen time I get on a daily basis is to implement a “phone bedtime”. Turning my phone onto airplane mode at 8 p.m. is the most effective way I’ve found to do this because that way nothing can come through and tempt me.

8.) Go to bed early

Celebs and doctors have been saying for years that the secret to a “youthful” appearance is sleep. If you’re anything like me, though, sleep is always the first thing to get sacrificed when there are a million other things to do (including two little boys!). But going to bed even 15 minutes earlier helps!

easy ways to be healthy

9.) Take a minute for self-care

This kind of goes hand-in-hand with meditation and limiting tech, but make sure you’re setting time aside during the day just for you. I used to think these pockets of time would magically appear in my day, but I realized spare time is a limited commodity around here, so it’s on us to make sure we’re giving ourselves time to simply take care of ourselves.

10.) Drink H20

Like right now! It’s a super easy way to feel healthier in an instant. I’ve started keeping a full glass of water next to my bed so that it’s the first thing I do when I wake up. I also drink a full glass before each meal/snack. I try to keep that going throughout the day.

 

What I’m Wearing:

Black Moto LeggingsPink Sports BraBlack Sneakers

 

eat healthier

How To Eat Healthier

1024 683 Sheridan Gregory

I know, these photos are just cruel for all of us trying to eat healthy..

I promise that they will make sense if you keep reading!

how to get healthy

Let me start off by saying that despite the unhealthy photos you see of me on Instagram, I actually do eat quite healthy. Most of the photos of me eating unhealthy are when I am out & about for little adventures & having splurge days. On that note though, I honestly hate the term “splurge day” because it puts so much pressure on food for me. I can’t put myself into such a strict bubble, guys.

eat healthier

I have tried just about every diet out there & failed miserably on every single one of them. There is something about putting so much pressure/importance on food that makes me want to eat everything in sight. If you’re anything like me, you know how counterproductive it is to go on a “diet”. 

get healthy

After suffering with a weak immune system my whole life & having a major health scare almost 9 years ago, I decided it was time for me to change my life. I took a year long course to become a nutritional consultant & I started taking a more homeopathic approach to the way I was living. Once I learned more about health & wellness, I learned how important the food we consume is for our overall health. Now, let me preface by saying that I didn’t drop everything & become a vegan/only eat raw/never eat anything bad again (although those might have been great options, they just weren’t for me). It took a bit of time, but as I started learning more about healthy foods & changing my diet little by little, my entire body started to change! I wasn’t feeling so blah all the time, I wasn’t having stomach aches so often, my skin was glowing (not from pregnancy either!), & I wasn’t getting sick ALL THE TIME.

Want to know how I made these changes?

I started changing my diet slowly. I started replacing the processed foods I was eating with more whole foods. I started becoming more active & not doing crazy workouts as a quick fix. I simply started making small changes & that was the key for me to actually stick with it! In my opinion, this is the best way to create a healthy lifestyle. When you make these subtle changes, they slowly turn into bigger changes & before you know it, you’re baffled by how amazing you feel.

Before this post gets to be a novel, I just want to sum up how I eat for you all. I DON’T eat 100% clean, that is nearly impossible for me due to the fact that I love pizza far too much. I DO try to eat as many clean/healthy things as I can.

I would love to dive deeper into these kinds of posts so make sure to let me know in the comments if you enjoy these & if you would like more posts like this one! I would love some ideas for posts from you guys as well so chime in below 🙂

 

Sheridan Gregory