Welcome back OwnPace Family!

If you are reading this, it most likely means that you have completed the first two weeks of the challenge and you should be extremely proud of yourself for that! If you have not started the Transformation challenge it is never to late to start!

The first few weeks will definitely be tough, but like my partner Olan stated in the last blog post, just trust the process and the results will come.

·      Reminder! Please share this with as many people as you can, as our goal is to change as many lives as possible. This is why we are providing this for FREE!!

·      If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask. Olan and I try to respond to all inquiries within a 24-hour turn around.

Week 3 and 4: Hydration and Recovery

 Today I am going to cover two very important topics.

First, I will go over hydration.

The adult human body is made up of about 60% water, therefore it is very important to stay hydrated throughout the day. The amount of water you should consume varies and is dependant on many variables, but generally an adult male needs about 3 liters per day and an adult female needs about 2.2 liters per day. Now, we must remember, some of this water is absorbed through food and other beverages we consume daily.

Some of the benefits of drinking water include, but are not limited to:

1.     Forming saliva

2.     Regulating body temperature through sweat and respiration

3.     Flushing body waste, mainly urine

4.     Helping keep energy levels high

5.     Lubricating joints

6.     Helping deliver oxygen all over the body

Remember to drink water throughout the day. Some people rely on sports drinks for hydration especially after a workout, but the problem is that they tend to have a lot of unnecessary sugar. Instead, you can add fruit to your water for some natural flavoring and added electrolytes. 

The second topic I will cover is recovery. 

Recovery is very important to hitting your fitness goals whether that’s to lose weight or put on muscle mass. Studies show that about 40% of Americans get six hours of sleep or fewer per night, which is not good. According to experts we should be getting about 7-8 hours of sleep in order for our bodies to operate with optimum performance.

A few key benefits of getting sufficient sleep every night are that it:

·      Stops late-night snacking

·      Helps burn more calories

·      Boosts fat Loss

·      Keeps brain focused

·      Repairs muscle and other tissue (for those looking to increase muscle mass)

Some tips and tricks for a better night’s sleep are:

·      Shut down all electronics an hour before you go to bed

·      Meditate or read before going to bed

·      Wake up and go to bed at the same time everyday, even on weekends

·      Avoid eating heavy meals or alcohol close to bedtime

When you get enough sleep every night, you are going to think clearly, feel energized, and have a better day. Since you will be more energized, going to the gym will not be as big as of a challenge. You will also be less fatigued as your complete your workouts.

Speaking of workouts, time to take it to the next level. If you have completed the first two weeks of workouts, your body should be conditioned and acclimated, so we will introduce a few tools to make our workouts a bit more challenging.

3 days of total body exercises and 1 day of cardio

Use the warm up and stretch below before completing each workout.

Warm up:

·      Jog in place, Jumping jacks and jump squats

·      2 rounds 30 seconds each

·      Increase effort each round

Stretch:

·      Worlds greatest stretch

·      2 rounds each side

·      Hold each position for 5 seconds 

Day 1 Full Body

·      Weighted overhead ball slams or Burpees (if you do not have access to medicine ball)

·      Bent over row with dumbbells

·      Squat to overhead press with dumbbells

·      Kettle bell swing

·      Lunge to curl

·      Lateral raise balancing on one leg

·      Mountain climbers

·      Plank

·      Repeat for 3-4 rounds

·      Do each exercise for 30 seconds with 1 minute break after each round

Day 2 Upper Body

·      Dumbbell chest press or push ups

·      Renegade row

·      Arnold press

·      Superset-tricep dips with dumbbell bicep curls

Ab Superset

·      Crunches

·      Russian twist

·      Leg lifts

·      Repeat for 3-4 rounds

·      Do 12-15 reps of each exercise with 1 minute rest after each round

Day 3 Lower Body

Superset

·      Goblet Squat/Straight leg deadlift

Superset

·      Walking lunges/Step ups with dumbbells

·      Weighted glute bridge

·      Plank

·      Side Planks

·      Do 3 sets of 12-15 reps of each exercise. Superset implies to do exercise one after another. Hold Planks for 30 seconds each.

Day 4 Cardio

For your cardio check out OwnPace June Run Challenge below.

http://www.ownpaceathletics.com/new-blog/runchallenge

Let us know how you are doing and if you have any questions.

Marcos