Strong vs. Skinny

Time to get down to it. There's parts of your body that you don't like. I'll admit, there's parts of my body I don't like. We're human, that's how we think. But deep inside, you want to make a change. You want to be happier, look better, FEEL better. It's possible. It's not an unreachable dream-you can do it!

We're hard on ourselves, we're our worst critic, that statement is completely true. For years I've been my own worst critic and I still am. But when I workout, I give it everything I have and leave it all on the gym floor, my blood, sweat, and tears. It's the only way I know I give it my all-and when I do that, I know that I had a good workout that day.

Maybe you're just a beginner, or maybe you're a seasoned athlete, but in all, I'll bet you're hard on yourself...and everyone is hard on themselves in a different way. For me, I know a couple years ago, I believed that every workout I did wasn't good enough. I dreamed of being that skinny little girl that was in all the magazines, but I came to a realization that this girl wasn't me-and more importantly I didn't want to be her. I didn't want to be that skinny, with no shape-I didn't want to be like the girls in those magazines because (spoiler alert here) THEY DON'T EXIST. Every girl that looks that way is usually edited. Who wants to be an edited picture?! No.  I decided from then on that being strong was more important than being skinny. Even now, I'm not a tiny little thing, but I AM strong. I feel it in my core, my legs, my arms, I'm not skinny but I'm strong, and THAT my friends, makes me like I'm at my best.

So which do you want to be? A skinny edited magazine dream? Or a strong, healthy person?

If you want to be strong, here's a couple of my workout tips:

If you want to get in a core workout (which will help you feel the burn) but don't have a ton of time, try these exercises:
1. 25 Crunches
2. 25 Left knee touch crunches (lead your right arm to your left knee, but lead your with your armpit)
3. 25 Right knee touch crunches (same thing, but lead with your left arm to right knee)
4. 25 Reverse crunches (keep your legs together, ankles crossed, and lift your legs up in the air slightly lifting your butt off the ground, your legs should stop at 90 degrees towards the ceiling)
5. 25 Toe Touch Crunch (lift legs off the floor, hold towards ceiling, then perform a crunch)
6. 25 Mountain Climbers
7. 1 minute plank (DO NOT ARCH YOUR BACK! KEEP IT FLAT!)
8. 30 weighted Russian Twists (my favorite exercise!) if no weights, then to 40-50 *one complete rotation counts as 1 twist

Do this set of exercises at least once and tell me you don't feel SOMETHING!!