The October Total Body Challenge is Onnnnnn!

By now, you know that I love our challenges because it gives me the chance to share this journey with people who are just as passionate as me. This month, it is even better because I am partnering up with two amazing ladies (@oluwasparkle and @adura_o) on Instagram to bring you another great challenge! Look at us. Aren't we cute? :)

The September Inspiration Challenge is On!

What inspires you? We all have our inspirations in life; things or people that make us want to be better - to do better - whether it be in fitness or just in life. Throughout this month, in partnership with GaiamTV, I am hosting a challenge on our social networks (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook) called September Inspiration.

August Arm Loving Challenge Week 5 Monday

Errrrmmmmiiiigggoood! It's the last week of the challenge. I promised it would be a little harder this week and here you go. We're doing 1 more set, and putting together some of the tougher exercises. Remember to rest between sets to bring your heart rate down just a little bit.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

August Arm Loving Challenge Week 4 Monday

August Arm Loving Challenge Week 3 Thursday!

Wow, we are about halfway through already. Just about 4 more challenges to go! This is the challenge for this week, and although most of the exercises should be familiar by now, I have added links to how to do each right. Remember that form is key, and you should be pushing yourself more each week.

What's Our August Challenge Called? August Arm-Loving!

Yep. You know you've always wanted super toned arms. Well, August 2013 is dedicated to making sure we are giving our arms enough love. 

How will this work? Twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, I will post a series of arm exercises we can do. Because these exercises are twice a week, remember, it is not a substitute for all your other exercises. You would need to supplement them with cardio routines, and you would also need to make sure you do not abandon the other parts of your body as well.

Obviously, today is Wednesday, so you know this starts tomorrow! Get yourselves ready.

For more real-time updates on challenges, follow us on Instagram (@eightsnweights), Twitter (@eightsnweights), and Facebook (Eights and Weights).

Cheers Eights & Weights!

July 31st Yoga Challenge

We have come to the end of July! Although I loved the Yogangsters challenge, I am excited for a new month. Because today is the last day, the creators of the challenge thought it would be a great idea to take the opportunity to meditate and rest in our pose. So of course we are doing the 'Lotus'. 

Everyone's pose looks a tad different with the lotus because of flexibility and the differences in the lengths of our limbs. So don't over-extend yourself or worry that you are not doing it right.

Stay tuned for our challenge for next month, and a chance to win an Eights & Weights t-shirt :)

Cheers Eights & Weights!

July 30th Yoga Challenge

I can't believe July is almost over. One more day for the Yogangsters challenge! Today is the Garland (a.k.a. the Prayer Squat). Squat as low as you can with your heels still on the ground, bring your palms together into a prayer stance, and use your elbows to push your knees out wider for an extended stretch. 

This is one of my favorites even though it is pretty painful.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

July 29th Yoga Challenge

So the challenge for today is another upside-down "on your elbows" type challenge. Sorry... I didn't make these up. The Yogangsters challenge today is a variation of the forearm stand. I know... I know... but the more you challenge your body, the more it would thank you. Try this pose bending one leg behind you, and having the other straight out in front of you.

With today's challenge, I'd like us to actually do some reflection. If you are going through one thing or the other in life, try to channel that into your workout. Let it help you calm your mind a little and realize that life is okay and you can get through anything.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

July 28th Yoga Challenge

The Yogangsters challenge for today is a variation of the bow pose. Hold one foot with the opposite palm, and either pull the foot towards you, or use your upper body to pull the foot away from you. I prefer the second option as I usually feel more of a stretch in my butt when I do it this way. Then lift your upper body a little off the ground and stretch your other arm forward.

Cheers Eights and Weights!

July 27th Yoga Challenge

The Yogangsters challenge for today is the standing forehead to knee bend. Stand, hold one foot and extend that leg straight forward while keeping the other foot straight. Once you are comfortable and have got your balance, slowly bring your forehead to the knee that is raised. Both legs should be as straight as possible at this point for a great stretch through your legs, your neck, and your arms. Repeat on both sides. Here is an illustration.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

July 26th Yoga Challenge

Today was difficult for me with the yoga challenge. My muscles are so sore that I think I need a massage or some more yoga to get them loose. The Yogangsters challenge for today is the Baby Visvamitrasana (also sometimes called the Baby Flying Warrior pose in English). There is also another pose sometimes called the flying warrior so it's easy to mix them up. Anyway, here is the pose. Make sure you warm up your entire body before you try this.

Try to get your hips to lean more forward than I am doing above. And try to twist your upper body a little more so you are facing the ceiling.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

July 25 Challenge

Fast Paced: I like to follow Tumblr fitness blogs, and so I came across this today. Try it!

July 24th Challenge

Fast Paced: TribeSports released another great round of high intensity exercises. How many of these can you do?

July 23rd Challenge

Fast Paced: Today, we're focusing on the legs, so here is a great overall workout for your bottom half. Do it as many times as you can.

July 20, 21, and 22 Challenges

The weekend's gone, and our challenges with it. Sunday was a rest day for the fast-paced challenge, but we did have the yoga challenge every day. For more up-to-date posts and updates, please check out the Instagram page "@eightsnweights".

Fast Paced: Since we have not been very consistent with the posts for the fast-paced challenge, feel free to mix it up as you like. This was the challenge for Saturday, July 20th.

July 19th Yoga Challenge

Today's yogangsters challenge is the wide legged forward bend. You can do this touching the mat, but if you can't quite reach as far down, intertwine your fingers behind you to get a great stretch through your shoulders. Hold each stretch for about 30 seconds to get the flexibility benefits.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Have You Heard of TribeSports?

One of the ways to get and stay active is to be part of a community where you can feed off of people's experiences, ask for advice, and take on challenges set by others. This is the premise of groups like Weight Watchers, running clubs, and local sports teams. One site has been developed to facilitate that community development and build off our competitive nature: TribeSports.

From the TribeSports site, here are a few reasons they believe TribeSports would make you more active:

• It is free!
• Seeing other people exercise is contagious.
• Getting encouragement and advice is reassuring, its addictive, and it makes you want to do more.
• Taking Challenges helps you keep motivated and pushes you to try new things.
• Hitting the Challenge take button provides that bit of accountability that will see you succeed with it.
• It keeps you wanting to grow your knowledge by pushing yourself a little more than you would otherwise.

My interpretation? TribeSports is kind of like a Facebook for sports. It is more than Facebook because you have the challenge factor, but you know what I mean. You can follow and unfollow people, you can track other folks' activity and constantly update yours, and you can win medals and join leadership boards. 

Now your friends won't yell at you for sending Twitter updates every time you work out! Instead, share it with people who would be motivated by it. Of course you can still connect to your Facebook and Twitter if you want to, and download the app to keep yourself motivated on the go as well.

I have high hopes for TribeSports. I do believe with the right attention and publicity, it can grow to be a big community of subscribers across the globe. All of us avid exercise and sports fans can have a place to be as competitive as we want, and maybe it would inspire others to get competitive too.

Try it out and let me know what you think! They have challenges all the time and we will start to put them up as they become available. For now, look to the left sidebar for the current challenge that inspires me: "Do 30 minutes of physical activity every day for a year". Click on the link and sign up.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: TribeSports.com