Hey you, how’s your week been?

Good I hope.

Me?! Well . . . things were going really well until yesterday . . . when my beloved coffee machine died on me  . . . and then my sunglasses broke . . . all before 10am . . .

Did I mention the lack of coffee?!

Ugh, talk about annoying!

I don’t know about you but when things like that happen and I start to feel a little stressed out/frustrated I find there is nothing like a good workout to shake those cranky pants off, am I right?!

Ah how I love that post workout rush!

So, today I’m sharing a short, sharp, shoulder sculpting workout that you can knock out in just 20 minutes and is guaranteed to shake off the crankiest of pants and leave you feeling strong and energized ready to take on the rest of your day!

But believe me when I say this workout is no joke, just because it’s 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!

and um your arms may feel a little like jelly, FYI . . .

. . . you have been warned.

That being said, here’s what we are going to do –

5 simple exercises – Dumbbell Pullover – Renegade Row – Bench Press – Front Raise – Lateral Raise – we will do 10 reps of each exercise and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 3 rounds, got it?

Nothing overly complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective shoulder sculpting workout.

We will move from one exercise to the next with minimal/no rest in between 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 Shoulder Sculpting 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 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.

How does a nice tall, light, fresh, ice cold, delicious, nutritious, green smoothie sound?

Wait, wait don’t run away, I know oftentimes green smoothies get a bit of a bad wrap for tasting well, green but I promise this baby is all kinds of delicious.

It’s thick, creamy, light, refreshing, slightly nutty and just subtly sweet.

It also happens to be packed with protein, and slow release, low GI carbs that will help refuel and re-energize that beautiful body of yours.

It also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly but, most importantly, it’s downright delicious.

Gorgeous Green Smoothie
Makes 1 ice cold, light, fresh, subtly sweet gorgeously green, good for you smoothie

Ingredients –

1/3 cup coconut or Greek style yogurt

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

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

1 cup of baby spinach, washed and dried

1 Tablespoon of maple syrup

1 Tablespoon of almond butter (or nut butter of choice)

1/2-1 cup of ice

Method –

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

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 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 recipes or name some of your fave store bought meals/snacks in the comments below

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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