It’s that time again, time for another round of fit Friday Fun!!!!!

Last week we had ourselves a killer lower body workout so I thought this week it would be good to focus on our upper body, what do you think, sound good?

Ok good, today we are going to have ourselves a short, sharp 20 minute upper body workout.

Here’s what we are going to do –

5 basic exercises – Bent Over Rows – Biceps Curls – Hammer Curls – Overhead Press and Triceps Dips – we will do 8-10 reps of each exercise and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 3 rounds.

I’m not allocating any specific rest breaks in today’s workout but I want you to listen to that beautiful body of yours and rest as needed.

Anytime you feel like you need to take a break to catch your breath and grab a little drink then by all means please do so, and take all the time you need. However, if possible try to wait until you get to the bottom of each round to do so but, do what you gotta do, OK?!

Catch your breath, grab a drink then get straight back into it, deal?

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short, sharp upper body workout.

I should warn you though, just because you’re workout is short doesn’t mean it’s not effective, believe me when I say by the final round you will be feeling a nice little fire burning in those beautiful biceps and um . . . FYI –

The struggle is so real!

But, once you’re done and your heart rate has come down a little you I guarantee you will feel refreshed and energized ready to take on the rest of your day!

Grab yourself a weapon of choice – a set of dumbbells, a barbell, kettlebells, some resistance bands or any combination you like. Make sure you choose something appropriate for your strength but, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.

I want you to really push yourself, the final rep of each exercise should be a challenge!

Although, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail your done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them join you, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter , or Instagram (@emsswanston) . I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok enough chit chat time to work –

20 minute “Beautiful Biceps”
Upper Body Workout

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk or something anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, its like dessert for the body.

Now onto our bonus smoothie recipe . . .

It’s so important to nourish and re-energize your body post workout, you want to make sure you give those muscles some fuel so that they can rebuild and repair themselves after working so hard.

How does a nice tall, deliciously simple, subtly sweet, secretly healthy, creamy, dreamy,  banana buzz smoothie sound?

Tart tangy coconut yogurt is combined with a frozen banana, a splash of vanilla and a drizzle of honey to make one insanely delicious, seriously creamy, smoothie that actually tastes like your eating soft serve ice cream. For reals!

Seriously, you guys are going to love, love, love this smoothie.

Simple ingredients thrown together to bring one deliciously indulgent, yet secretly healthy smoothie that tastes like an absolute dream! 👌🏻

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yo’ self and refuel and re-energize that beautiful body of yours on this fabulous Friday.

Oh and I should probably mention that not only does our deliciously simple, secretly healthy, creamy, dreamy banana buzz smoothie taste like heaven in a cup but, it also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you ❤️❤️❤️

Deliciously Simple, Secretly Healthy, Creamy, Dreamy, Banana Buzz Smoothie
{Vegan. Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly}
Makes 1 all natural, deliciously simple, secretly healthy, subtly sweet, creamy, dreamy banana buzz smoothie

Ingredients –

1/3 cup coconut or Greek style yogurt

2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

1/2 an overripe banana (preferably pre-frozen)

1 Tablespoon of raw honey

1 teaspoon of vanilla (or 4-6 drops of vanilla cream stevia – I like to use Sweet Leaf Stevia )

1/4 cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency

Optional but recommended for serving –

Coconut flakes

Sliced Banana

Cacao nibs – (or for some extra texture you should totally try this incredible cacao crunch – by Power Super Foods – so good! ❤️)

A drizzle of honey

Method –

1 – Place all smoothie ingredients into your and process until smooth, creamy and well combined.

2 – Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar then top with coconut flakes, sliced banana, cacao nibs and an extra drizzle of honey if desired.

Note – You could also add in a scoop of protein powder (vanilla or unflavoured would work best in this recipe) and some great lakes gelatin for an extra boost of protein if you’re into that kinda thing – do what you feel baby 🙂

Enjoy xoxo

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go;

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

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Question of the day –

What’s your favorite way to refuel after a workout?

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to 🙂

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