why plyometrics are important

this month I am posting a new plyometric exercise everyday and I bet some of you are like what even are plyometrics and why should I  be doing them??

well, here I am to help answer those questions!

so what are plyometrics?

plyometrics (or plyos) in the most simple terms is "jump training." they are exercises where you are using maximum force on your muscles. maximum exertion. short burst of highly intense movements.

you are doing compound movements explosively, with light no zero loads.

and why the heck should I be doing plyos?

plyos are explosive power training. this is totally necessary for athletes because it helps them to change direction, get faster, and accelerate more quickly.

essentially, plyometric movements help to train your muscles to move faster, quicker. it makes your major muscles work more efficiently and with more power. and you gain way more body control through using plyos vs. non-explosive training.

so now you're thinking, i'm not an athlete, why should I care about these again??

1) you can fit these into any day. plyos are fast and hard, so if you are short on time they're PERFECT for you.

2) and if you are short on equipment... 90% of plyo exercises don't need any equipment to be a highly effective workout

3) not a fan of cardio?? well let's get your cardio and some strength training all done at the same time! seriously! you don't need to run or bike or anything- just get some plyos in and I promise your heart will be pumping!

4) when you do plyos you are strengthening your fast-twitch muscle fibers (the ones you use for explosive and short exercise bursts) and the faster you go the more power you gain... the more power and strength you gain in your muscles and tendons the less likely you are to injure yourself doing any style of workouts and just in life.

okay, so what are some actual plyo exercises?

well, first, I have GREAT news for you! I am currently posting a new plyometric exercise EVERYDAY this month on my Instagram page! and my Facebook page! and under the hashtag #springintoapril ! (spring, because jump training, and also because I find myself hilarious).

but just to name a few so you can run outside and do some right this second without checking my page ~ jump squats, box jumps, tuck jumps, burpees, power skips.

if you're not sure how to incorporate plyometric training into your workouts send me an email at tiffnessfitness@gmail.com or DM me on insta or FB! And if you want all the guidance - let's train together! check out my programs page to see if any of those are the right fit for you!

easy ways to add movement into your day

i spent the weekend sitting in a car and/or hunched up freezing to death (side note: congrats to my friend for getting married... bonus side note: no one else is allowed to have an outdoor winter wedding), so movement was tough this weekend. and my body really felt the difference from my typical workouts and general life moving around. but there are still ways to get some sort of movement in, even with the 8 + hours in the car. 

here are some easy ways you can add just a little bit of extra movement into your day without taking too much time or effort!

1. S T R E T C H 
   1. seriously. sit up in bed before you get up and touch your toes and reach up and get some twists in. take some deep breaths and honestly it'll start your day so much better. and the same thing goes for the evening. before you get in bed, or before you get too comfy, take just a couple of minutes to recover from the day and stretch out. 
2. drink hella water & get up regularly to refill your bottle.
   1. easy peasy and doing more than one good thing for yourself all at the same time! the more you drink, the more you pee, and the more you gotta stand up and go take a walk to the restroom and/or to refill your water bottle! 
3. stand up every hour or so 
   1. sitting at a desk has been proven to be detrimental to your health. hopefully you're taking care of the long term sitting with the water tip above, but if not, just make sure you recognize how long you've been sitting and just stand up every so often, reach up, take a big breath, walk if you can for a moment, and get back into it.
4. split your lunch break 
   1. enjoy your food, and then take 10 or so minutes to take a walk. i almost always had 10-15 mins of my lunch break left over after eating when i worked in an office. instead of sitting and staring at your phone for that time... take a lap around the building a time or two!
5. park a little farther away
   1. i know, i know this is an old one. but it is a really effective way to get some extra steps in with minimal effort. and those steps add up and will make you feel better in the long run! 
6. add in some calf raises
   1. probably the easiest exercise to add into your day. whenever your standing up, just add in a few calf raises and build some calf muscles any gym bro would be jealous of.
7. get yourself a lacrosse or tennis ball and roll with them!
   1.  roll out the bottom of your feet, your back and shoulders, and calves (they'll be sore from all those calf raises!). it releases tension and your muscles will thank you. you can do this sitting at your desk, watching TV, or whenever you have a minute! 

there ya have it. all of these combined will take up less than a half hour. it doesn't take a lot to get moving just a little more and these are all ways to start making fitness an easy part of your life! 

want a little more guidance on starting your fitness journey... check out the training packages you can get from me here and check out my instagram and facebook pages for free workout and recipe ideas every day of the week! 

my first kettlebell competiton!

if you follow me on any of my social media (which i am gonna assume you do if you are reading this) you'll know that this weekend was my first kettlebell competition! it was SO MUCH fun and now I am so ready to do another one (once my hand is all healed up, tbh)! 

this post is basically gonna be a wrap up of my sets and how i feel about them. also i need somewhere to post all the great pictures and videos I got from it.  

all my prep for deck the bells came from my bad ass coach, Brittany van Schravendijk (i am so hoping I spelt that correctly), also known as @kbfitbritt and I did most of my actual kettlebell sport workouts at Kor Strength and Conditioning in North Park. 

All of the following pictures and videos are taken by my awesome boyfriend Colt Magana. Video is on a GoPro Hero 5 Session, pictures on a Google Pixel 2! 

Snatch Set! 

10 mins, with a 12kg bell! 

This is the event that I was really training for over the past 5 months. 

My goal was 200 reps (I hit 198! :) ) 

below is the full video if you want to watch me swing a bell for 10 mins straight 

I am outrageously proud of myself for this set, because it was my first ever competition set. I was straight up shaking when i got up to the platform... and probably throughout my first few minutes too...and maybe after. (i'm only kinda joking there)

i don't think i thought throughout this set anything other than, "breathe" and "OK" to my coach's cues. i was concerned that i was going to slip into some sort of negative self talk, but we did go through a lot of mental prep with Britt, so I had plans on plans so I wouldn't do that. and the plan A mental game plan went great. and because I had SO much adrenaline going it knocked out my cough that i has been fighting off for the last week and a half. (woo!) 

most helpful, was the cues from my coach and teammates. SO appreciated that. and by the last minute I was able to rep it out really fast that last minute. I think I hit like 25 reps that last minute which is pretty solid for me. And then I hit 198 reps! Which is a PR for myself! 

onto my One Arm Long Cycle! (clean & jerk)  12kg, for 5 mins. I hit 59 reps! First in my flight, and 3rd overall! 

Not something I really trained for as much as snatch. I did practice clean and jerk a lot on my own, with hardstyle bells more so than comp bells, but it clearly translated pretty well! 

this one I had an audience outside of my team and Colt cause my friend Josh and his lovely ladyfriend Ashley came and watched me! :) 

here is the whole set for your viewing pleasure: 

I didn't have as much coaching in this event, but i felt really solid throughout it, and it was 5 minutes, and I felt really good during the set. Long cycle is just a lot of breathing, so it was just getting into that breathing rhythm and sticking with that. 

so i was and am very happy with how that set went! 

so, all in all, i had a great first comp! i am really proud of how i performed and really excited to do another comp! i learned SO MUCH about kettlebell sport and all the scoring and just little things i didn't know and I got to see amazing lifters do amazing things, which was and is SO inspiring for me to keep on going with this sport! shout out to my awesome team and for all the awesome performances that came out of Deck the Bells! legit, got to see a woman break the world record on 2x20kg long cycle.so amazing. so excited i got to do my first comp in the kettlebell world with my home gym, full of all sorts of great people! 

onto the next! 

if you are interested in following my future kettlebell lifting comps or if you want to kick off your own fitness journey check me out on instagram and facebook and drop me a line!