3 workouts to make you feel Beautiful, Unstoppable & Fearless

It’s easy to get stuck in the habit of just working out because you want to look a certain way… but that can be so short-term. Change your ‘why’ and workout to feel better, to have fun, to feel connected to a community and lift yourself and others up, and the body benefits will follow… and stick around for good too 😉

Today we give you 3 workouts you can do anywhere to feel (B)eautiful (U)nstoppale (F)earless – the first requires a set of dumbbells (or cans of beans if you’re desperate haha) and the others are 100% bodyweight, do-anywhere sessions.

We hope you enjoy them!

Workout #1 – Feel (B)eautiful

Strength and toning workouts not only make you feel beautiful by boosting energy levels, improving sleep and increasing self-esteem through feelings of achievement and progress, they also build up your muscles, increase core stability and tone your limbs in all the right places!

Try this 2-dumbbell workout – or sub the dumbbells for 2 x full 1L water bottles instead! Aim for 3 rounds through the circuit and work your way up to 5 as you get stronger.

• 10 Reps of Dumbbell Front Squats – holding 1-2 dumbbells close to your chest, squat down keeping your weight in your heels and staying tall through the core. Keep your knees behind your toes and don’t let your knees wobble outwards or inwards as you squat.
• 12 Reps of Dumbbell Hip Raises with a Chest Press – lying on your back with the dumbbells at your chest, lift your hips and press the weights straight up above your chest. Lower and repeat.
• 14 Reps (7 per leg) of Dumbbell Reverse Lunge to Knee Drive – standing up straight with your feet hip distance apart and holding one dumbbell in each hand, step backwards into a reverse lunge, then immediately push through your left foot to drive back up to standing, bringing your right knee up to hip height. Repeat for 7 reps on that same side before switching things up.
• 16 Reps of Dumbbell Plank Row – for a plank row, simply get into a high plank position with each hand gripping a dumbbell. Alternately row the dumbbells up towards your hips, keeping your core and glutes working throughout to support your back. Beginners can do this resting on their knees instead of in plank.

Workout #2 – Feel (U)nstoppable

Adding a mix of long, slow cardio workouts like walking, plus high energy interval cardio and plyometric workouts to your week can make you feel seriously fit, unstoppable and full of feel-good hormones! A good walk or run outdoors is also the best natural anti-depressant Mother Nature can offer.

Try this HIIT session next time you hit the gym or head out to your local park. Aim to finish the list as quickly as you can and try and beat your score each time you do it!

1. Sprint 400m (or 1 lap of an oval)
2. Complete 40 Fast Bodyweight Squats
3. Sprint 300m (or ¾ of an oval lap)
4. Complete 30 Lunge Jumps
5. Sprint 200m (or ½ of an oval lap)
6. Complete 20 Burpees (Eep! You got this!)
7. Sprint 100m (or ¼ of an oval lap)
8. Complete 10 Slow Superman Rows (lie on your tummy, lift your chest off the ground by using your back muscles, lower and repeat)
9. Now flip over and take as much time as you need to complete 50 bicycle crunches with good form, before climbing back up the pyramid, starting with the 100m and 10 Slow Superman Rows and working your way back up the 200m, 300m and finishing with the 400m run and 40 squats.
10. Good luck!

 

Workout #3 – Feel (F)earless

One of the best things you can do when faced with a situation you’re a little scared of is to ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?”. Most of the time, you realise the thing you’re scared of isn’t that big, hairy and scary after all.

Our BUF trainers love nothing more than seeing women go from, “Exercise? Oh no, I just suck at it!” to “Exercise? Oh I love it. That’s my ‘me’ time, or the thing I use to connect with my friends/family, it plays such an important part in my life and I LOVE it!”.

We’re all about helping you fall in love with fitness, and once you do we promise, you’ll be looking for little challenges along the way to keep things interesting!

Our (F)earless challenges are all about setting a goal and gunning for it. Worst case? You don’t make it… so what!? That just creates something new you can work towards.

1. Complete the below in less than 2 minutes, taking any leftover time within that 2 minutes as rest.
2. Repeat for as many rounds as you can without going over the 2-minute mark.
3. If you get all the way to 10 rounds (a 20-minute workout) that’s super advanced – well done! If you make it to 5 rounds (10 minutes) that’s still well above average, go you! Didn’t quite get to 5? Great, you’ve got a new goal to train for 😉

• 5 Push-Ups (you choose toes or knees, but make sure your form is good!)
• 10 Burpees
• 20 Bodyweight Squats
• 40 High Knees
• 80 Skips