I can hardly believe it’s time for another round of Fit Friday Fun already?!

Seriously, how is it Friday again already?!

Is it just me or are the weeks flying by?!

I mean, how is it practically the middle of August already?!

At this rate I feel like I’m going to blink and Christmas will be here!

Sloooowwwwwww down 2016, what’s the rush?!

It could also have something to do with the fact that I’ve had a few super busy weeks, with the little lady’s big 7th birthday, then competing in my first ever power lifting meet, then party planning, then road trippin‘ and most recently pumpkin pastie making – all in good fun just sooooooo busy.

But, even though I’m having an insanely busy week I still make sure I set aside some time to get my workout on.

Working out is such a huge stress reliever for me. It helps me burn off all that unwanted anxiety and negative energy and helps me to feel energized, recharged and focused ready to take on whatever the day may throw at me so, it’s really important (to me) that I make time to get in and get something done.

When I know I’m in for such a busy week (or weeks!) I like to plan a workout that I can get in and get done quickly and efficiently, that would work my entire body in one session because, well, as much as I love them, sometimes I just don’t have time to mess with upper-lower body splits.

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!

Today’s workout is a short sharp, total body workout that you can get done in just 20 minutes!

We are going to do get back to basics and focus on just 3 simple exercises that will 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!

Ah how I love that post workout rush!

So, here’s what we are going to do –

3 basic exercises – Squat – Bench Press & Deadlift  we will do 8-10 reps of each exercise 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.

For those of you who might be wanting some extra tips on how to master your squat, bench press and deadlift I highly recommend you check out these awesome video tutorials by the incredible and unapologetically powerful Jennifer Vogelgesang Blake aka – coach JVB who is the founder of Strong is Fun, BFF to the our fierce and fun loving Jen Sinkler and the most amazing coach and mentor a girl could have.

Click here to for the squat tutorial – here for the Bench press tutorial and here for the deadlift tutorial 👍🏻

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 –

 3 x 3 – Total 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, light, fresh, delicious, nutritious, decadent, rich, subtly sweet, espresso infused, perfectly spiced mocha chai smoothie ?

Let me tell you, if you think this smoothie sounds good wait until you taste it!

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

Oh and I should probably mention that not only is our mocha chai smoothie seriously delicious, it also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you ♥♥♥

Mocha Chai Smoothie
{Vegan. Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly}
Makes 1 all natural, light, fresh, thick, creamy, decadent, rich, subtly sweet, perfectly spiced, seriously chocolaty, espresso infused chai inspired 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 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon of cacao

1 shot of espresso – full strength or decaf works and you could sub 1 tsp of instant espresso granules if you prefer

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon of cloves

1/8 teaspoon of cardamom

1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency.

For serving –

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

Coconut Flakes

Cinnamon

Method –

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

2 – To serve, pour into a chilled glass/mason jar or bowl and top with shredded coconut, cacao nibs and an extra sprinkling of cinnamon if desired.

Note – You could also add in a scoop of protein powder (vanilla, chocolate or unflavoured would work really well 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 have yourself a killer day and remember;

Now go get em’ 👊🏼 xoxo

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Question of the day –

What workouts are you loving lately?!

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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