F-F-Friday baby!!!!

And you know what that means . . .

It’s time for another round of Fit Friday fun, and boy are we going to have some fun!

Today I’m sharing a short, sharp, total body workout that you can get in and get done in just 15 minutes – with or without equipment, totally your call.

Ive said it before and I’ll say it again, with the right combination of exercise you can have yourself an awesome workout and get the results you want in less than 20 minutes!

Everybody got time for that!

So, here’s what we are going to do (click here to see the demo) –

♦ Squat
♦ Push press – or tent push ups for no equipment
♦ Reverse Lunge
♦ Russian Twists

Aim to do 8-10 reps of exercise (count reps per side for lunges and twists) and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 4 rounds, or as many rounds as pretty in 15 minutes, resting as needed , sound good?!

Nothing overly complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective total body workout that will have you feeling strong , energized and ready to take on the rest of your day!

Although it’s totally not necessary, simply using your body weight alone is challenging enough but,  for our fully functioning or more advanced lifters who might be wanting kick things up a notch feel free to grab yourself a weapon of choice – a set of dumbbells, kettlebells, your EmPack,  resistance bands or a combination would work. Just 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 –

– 15 Minute –

“Firecracker”

Full 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 for this weeks smoothie recipe . . .

How does a nice tall, subtly sweet, deliciously indulgent, secretly healthy, seriously chocolaty, choc chip mocha mudslide sound?

You guys, this smoothie, is everything Iove in life all served up in one delicious little cup!

Chocolate = happines

Nut butter is the glue that holds my body together.

Cinnamon warms my soul.

Coffee gives me life! In the words of my soul sister Lorelai Gilmore – “I can’t stop drinking the coffee, if I stop drinking coffee, I stop doing the standing, and the walking, and the words-putting-into-sentences doing.”

Basically what we have here is a (secretly healthy) espresso infused, grown up chocolate thickshake and I am here for it!

Made with no added sugar, packed with protein and gut healing goodness, not that anyone would ever know! I won’t tell if you don’t!

It’s subtly sweet, seriously chocolaty, with a hit of espresso, a hint of cinnamon and choc full of choc chips! Can you say dreamy?!

And, not only does our delicious, nutritious, smoothie like straight up dessert but, it also happens to be Dairy free (if you want),  BANANA FREE, DATE FREE, sugar free, Low Carb, Vegan, Keto and Paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you and love it you will!

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yo’ self on this fabulous Friday – or anytime because, yummmmm.

 

 Choc Chip Mocha Mudslide

Ingredients –

Makes 1 shake

1/2 cup vanilla  yogurt (or 1-2 scoops of your fave ice cream or fro-yo)

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

1-2 Tablespoons of cacao – depending on how rich you want it

1 sachet of Before You Speak high performance coffee (or 1-2 teaspoon of instant coffee or a shot or 2 of your fave brew)

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon – or less to taste

1 Tablespoon of almond butter – sub 2 Tablespoons of raw almonds, soak in boiling water for 10 minutes before blending if you don’t have a high powered blender

1 Tablespoon of choc chips (or cacao nibs)

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

Note – If you prefer a sweeter brew feel free to add sweetener of choice to taste.

Optional add ins;

1 Tablespoons of melted dark chocolate to swirl your glass  – pure happiness

1 teaspoon of maca – for hormone balance

1-2 scoops of  collagen – for gut healing goodness

1 Tablespoon of natural/sugar free chocolate or vanilla creamer – makes it extra lush

1 scoop protein powder  – for extra protein ( I think vanilla, unflavored or even coffee would work best in this recipe)

Method –

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

2 – Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar then top with toppings of choice .

Enjoy xo

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 remember;

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

_________________________________________

Question of the day –

What’s 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

__________________________________________