It’s Friday again already can you believe it?!

You know what that means?!

It’s time for another round of fit Friday fun!!!!

And let me tell you, we are going to have ourselves some fun today because today I’m sharing a short and sharp total body complex that you get done in less than 20 minutes!

Wait, wait, don’t let the fact that I just used the word complex put you off, I promise there is nothing complicated about this workout at all.

Let me explain –

In a complex, we simply use the same piece of equipment throughout the entire workout.

And, in general we would aim to complete one complete round of our workout before putting our chosen piece of equipment down, unless of course you need to rest.

For example –

In today’s workout we are going to do the following exercise –

Deadlift – Bent-over row – Power clean – Push press – Squat

So, if you chose to use barbell, you would do 8 reps of the deadlift, 8 x bent-over rows, 8 x  power cleans, 8 x push presses, and then 8 x squats – move from one exercise to the next without putting the bar down and then we would take a full minutes rest (or as long as you need) before we repeat the entire sequence through for a total of three rounds.

One thing you want to keep in mind is what kind of squat you want to do, if you are using a barbell and wanted to do a standard barbell back squat you would need to remember to bring the bar down behind your head so it’s in the right position for your squats.

If you were wanting to do a front squat then simply lower the bar down onto your shoulders, under your chin. The same applies if you are using dumbbells or kettlebells too.

This means you need to think about how much weight you choose to lift, most likely you can deadlift more than you can clean or press so you are going to want to scale your weight accordingly.

Does that make sense?

Hopefully it does but, please feel free to hit me up with any questions OK?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, with the right combination of exercises you can have an awesome workout in next to no time at all, and that my friend is what we are going to do today!

In today’s workout we are going to do just 5 simple exercises that incorporate most of your major muscle groups, I’m talkin’ quads, glutes, hamstrings, back, lats, delts/shoulders, chest, biceps and abs/core which means you get serious bang for your workout buck!

Just because your workout is short doesn’t mean it’s not effective, trust me. When you’re done with this workout, your heart rate will be pumping, endorphin’s flowing, metabolism firing!

So, here’s what we are going to do –

5 basic exercises – Deadlift – Bent-over row – Power clean – Push press – Squat – we will do 8 reps of each exercise (without putting out weight down if possible) and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 3 rounds, got it?

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective total body workout.

We will move from one exercise to the next without putting out weights down then, once we have completed all reps of each exercises we will take 1 full delicious minute of rest and recovery – catch your breath, grab a drink then we get straight back into it and repeat for a total of 3 rounds, deal?

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.

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 Full Body Complex

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 for our post workout refuel – Smoothies are a great option for your post workout refuel, they make it super easy for the body to absorb and digest those precious nutrients, they are seriously convenient, quick and easy to prepare and, a great option for those of us who don’t have much of an appetite post workout.

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.

In honor of Cinco De Mayo next week (plus I just have a serious craving for iced chocolate) I thought we could have ourselves fun and festive, Mexican inspired smoothie today!

How does a nice tall, light, fresh, decadent, rich, subtly sweet, delicious, nutritious Mexican Iced chocolate smoothie sound?

This bad boy is packed with protein, and low GI carbs will help refuel and re-energize that beautiful body of yours.

Plus the cheeky pinch of cayenne pepper we add into our smoothie today not only adds a deliciously subtly hum of heat to our decadent and rich, seriously intense little iced chocolate it also adds an extra nutritional boost.

Did you know that research shows that cayenne has been known to boost metabolism as well as support weight loss, aid digestion, promote heart health and reduce muscle and joint pain?!

I promise this smoothie doesn’t taste spicy, you really do just get this delicious little belly warming hum of heat – it’s so, so good!

Oh and FYI – this delicious little smoothie also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly but, most importantly, it’s downright delicious.

Trust me, you want to get in on this!

Mexican Iced Chocolate Smoothie {Vegan, Dairy Free & Paleo Friendly}

Makes 1 ice cold, light, fresh, decadent, rich, subtly sweet, creamy, dreamy, Mexican iced chocolate with a cheeky little kick of heat.

Ingredients –

1/3 cup coconut or Greek style yogurt

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

1 teaspoon of vanilla

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

2 Tablespoons of cacao

1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon

A pinch of Cayenne pepper (more or less to taste. FYI – I used 1/2 of my 1/8th tsp)

1/2-1  cup of ice – more or less to reach desired consistency

Optional but recommended for serving –

Cacao nibs – I use actually this cacao crunch by Power Superfoods

Shredded coconut

Chili flakes if your feeling extra fiesty

Method –

1 – Place all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth and creamy.

2 – To serve, pour into a chilled glass or mason jar and garnish with a cacao nibs, coconut and chili if desired.

You could also add in a scoop of protein powder or some Great Lakes Gelatin for an extra boost of protein if you like.

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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