At Home Workouts

Working out has always been a struggle for me during the cold winter months. I love to run, and take full advantage of great outdoors during the warmer months and mix in 3-4 gym visits during the week for strengthen and weight training, but I find myself finding excuses to not go to the gym during the colder months.

There are just a few items you should have on hand at home for a full-body workout.

• Thick yoga mat
• Light weights (I have 5 lbs and 8 lbs). Light weights are key if you want to tone, not build large muscles 
• Yoga ball (make sure to get the right size for your height)

ABS:

• AB VIDEO: I consider myself to have strong abs, I have no problem doing 200 without being tired, so I find it challenging to find ab workouts that really work my abs. However I love doing Blogilates EXTREME AB video. I can definitely feel my abs hurting after doing this video through once, but sometimes I will do this workout twice back to back if I want to focus on my abs.

• YOGA BALL PASS: This is definitely one of the more difficult exercises for me. You lay on your mat for extra back support and extend your arms and legs straight. You start with the yoga ball in your hands and make a V-shape with your body and pass the yoga ball to your feet, then lay back down and extend the arms and legs. You pass the ball back and forth and repeat for 20. I try to do 3 reps of these and by the 2nd, my abs are shaking.

This is killer! Picture is from Women's Health

• Hip Dips. I absolutely love doing this! Get in a plank position on your forearms and lower your right hip to the ground, while maintaining the plant, get back to plank position, then dip your left hip to the ground. Repeat this 30 times, 5 reps.

Photo from Sassyfitgirl

CARDIO
I also try to do some cardio at home when I can't get to the gym. However, I loive in a condo and try to avoid jumping up and down and annoying my neighbors. So here are some quieter cardio workouts that are apartment or condo friendly.

• MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS: using a yoga mat or 2 for more cushioning (and quieter), I love doing mountain climbers (pictured below). I typically do 5 reps of 30 to get my heart pumping. The bonus here is, not only is this cardio, it also works your core at the same time!

You can do these quickly or slowly depending on your level of comfort. These images are from popsugar

LEGS:

• Lunges are a great way to work your legs. I try to squeeze these in while watching TV.

Photo from StyleCrazy

I also find cute workout clothes helps with motivation! Here are some of my picks. I have several of these and love them all!

The Perfect Reversible Minimalist Handbag

If you're looking for a versatile handbag then I have the bag for you - this A-BAG PLUS REVERSIBLE TOTE by PALLA HANDBAGS!

The bag is reversible with both darker and lighter color, perfect for transitioning through the seasons.
I had such a hard time picking from the gorgeous selection of colors, and finally decided on the pink/mocha color combo since I don't have a pink bag. This bag can be carried as a tote or as a shoulder bag using the longer straps.