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The countdown to your hot weekend date has begun. Reservations at the newest organic eatery have been made and you shopped in your best friend's closet for a new used outfit perfect for the occasion. But there's one problem—you don't quite fit into her jeans...yet.
Don't fret (the stress hormones releases will actually stunt fat loss), we've got a no-equipment-necessary green exercise routine that will help slim you down just in time to slip into your figure-flattering duds in no time. How? Celebrity fitness trainer extraordinaire Jennifer Galardi, who most recently created and led Kim Kardashian's new fitness program "Fit In Your Jeans By Friday" to design a gym membership-free green exercise to fit your butt into sexy jeans. The great thing about this workout is that all you need is your own body weight and energy expenditure to rev up your metabolism and burn fat fast—by Friday! Now that's what I call a green exercise routine that really works.
It might be a quick fix, but it's not a forever fix...That takes work
Before you get your heart pumping, we need to clarify one thing: this one-week-to workout isn't going to keep your body checked long term. Consider it the start of a new ongoing green exercise regimen, a commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Jennifer says that "Fitness or body change results only last as long as a person commits to their workout routine and a healthy lifestyle. Nobody can expect to do these tapes for a week, get a great booty and then never workout again and maintain those results." Though these workouts do work, and they work fast, Jennifer reminds us that "these workouts are not a miracle drug. They are a tool to help women get fit, feel strong, and gain confidence, so no matter what size they are, they are going to feel fabulous in their jeans, or anything else they put on their body." Confidence. Now that's sexier than any pair of bootylicious jeans!
Your One-Week-Away to Fitting into Your Jeans Green Workout
1. Traditional Squats (with chair):
Nothing beats a traditional squat for an effective do anywhere tush toner! Form is KEY to effective and successful squats! Standing with heels about 6-8 inches in front of a chair squat down so your butt lightly touches the chair but DO NOT SIT. Keep most of the weight in the heels and the belly pulled in toward you spine, drawing the tailbone down to the floor (to prevent arching in the lower back or tucking the hips too far under). You want a nice neutral back and knees directly over the ankles. Be careful not to let the knees bend in front of the toes. Lift up and squeeze the butt and hips slightly forward. To make this more challenging, lift up the right leg, knee bent, and balance on the left. Squat down, lift the left and keep alternating. Do at least 12 sets.
2. Plank to Push Up:
Start standing. Do a jumping jack with bent knees, allowing your knees to touch the floor at the end. In other words, you jump out—arms and legs extended, then jump your feet back together, bending your knees and kneeling down. You are now squatting down with your hands and feet on the floor. Jump your feet back into a plank position, being mindful of your form—Hands are directly underneath the shoulders, shoulders are out of the neck pulling down into the "pockets" on your back in the shoulder blades, belly is lifting with a slight pelvic tilt under, and you are sending energy out your heels. Think of elongating your spine. Your weight should be centered between your arms and your feet with a majority of the upper body pressure between your thumb and forefinger. Do a push up. Use the core to pull or 'jump' your knees back in so that you are again in a squatted position with both hands and feet on the floor, and stand up. Repeat from the beginning with the jumping jack. Do at least ten sets.
3. Yogi Push Up to Side Plank:
If you are doing these exercises back to back complete one more set of the exercise above and stay in plank. Otherwise, read the above description for a proper plank pose. Keeping the elbows pointing BACK (do not let them flail out to the side!) and skimming the side of the body, lower yourself as far as you can without the hips and belly dipping down. You should still be in a plank position, your body like a board. Going only one or two inches is fine. You'll build up to deeper push-ups when you have the strength. Form is more important. Return to plank and keeping one hand down on the floor, turn the body side and lift the opposite hand off the floor and stacking the feet to come into side plank. To modify, drop the bottom knee down to floor. You should be facing side, flat and be able to draw a straight line from the top hand to the bottom. Keep the chest wide open and don't sag the shoulders forward. Imagine that your body were sandwiched between two panes of glass. Return the top hand to plank, do another yogi style push up and switch side plank to other side. Repeat cycle at least 5x.
4. Tush Push:
Kim Kardashian LOVED this one! Start lying on your back, knees bent feet flat on floor. Begin lifting the hips up by pulling the belly back toward the spine as much as possible. This creates a natural lift in the hips. Keep the shoulders on the ground chest open, rib cage pulling in and down (in other words don't let the ribs 'pop out' of the body). This will engage the core muscles. At the top of the movement bridge pose, squeeze the glutes in and tight. Make sure the knees don't 'splay' open. They should be directly in front of your hip bones. From here touch the knees in together, squeezing the inner thighs strong. (Remember when you used to do the 'pee-pee' dance when you were little how HARD you squeezed?) Open the knees and slowly roll back through the spine, vertebrae by vertebrae, back to the floor to the start position. Repeat at least 12x.
Diet:
Now I'm not talking "don't eat, starve yourself" diet. I'm talking "diet" in terms of your day-in, day-out eating regime. Your diet may need an overhaul so don't think short term. Now is as good a time as any to begin making small changes. Add more organic GREENS. Dark and leafy are best (think Kale, Spinach, Collard, Chard) or Broccoli. Summer is a great time for different, refreshing greens like Arugula, dandelion, watercress and mustard greens so don?t be afraid to try something new. Go to your local farmers' market and have fun testing out new things. We tend to want to eat less in warmer weather, as we don't need the heavy foods to maintain internal body heat (digestion) and ground us, so lighten up! You can always sneak greens into a smoothie in the morning!
Here's one of Jennifer's favorite green smoothie concoctions:
Blue-(Green)-berry Smoothie:
- 1 cup coconut water (it's natures Gatorade!)
- 2 tbsp. Flaxseeds, ground flaxseeds or flax oil
- 2 tbsp Agave nectar or natural sweetener of choice (honey, molasses, etc. If you must use a low calorie sweetener please don?t use the Pink, Blue Or Yellow! Think Green Stevia!)
- 1 scoop Green Superfood optional (I like the Dr. Greens brand. Miracle Greens and Green Vibrance are also good choices. You want to look for those containing spirulina and chlorella. E3 Live is a great product too!)
- 2 big old handfuls (Or more if you like. Depends on how much you can tolerate!) of spinach, kale, chard or other dark leafy green
- 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries (the frozen to me are easier and you won't need as much ice to get a refreshing smoothie!)
- OK fine, I often add a tbsp of natural peanut butter or almond butter as well. Good source of added protein but who am I kidding? I LOVE peanut butter. You can add one of these or a scoop of a protein powder of choice but I would recommend staying away from SOY PROTEIN. It can often cause bloating, which you don?t need if you want to fit in your jeans (by Friday!) Try hemp protein!
Place all ingredients in blender in order above. Blend away and add ice as necessary. Pour into a fancy glass, pop a straw in it and enjoy.
After a week of this, try to slip on those fabulous jeans of yours and see how much easier it is to get them on. Then keep it up for real change in the weeks to come.
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