This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom's of Maine for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
If you've been a YBC reader for a while, you know that we've talked a few times about natural deodorants, so when Tom's of Maine reached out to see if I was interested in trying their Made to Matter line which includes Luminous White toothpaste, Wicked Cool! deodorant for boys and a men's antiperspirant called North Woods, I went for it. I wore it for a number of workouts (is it just me or do men's antiperspirants smell way better than women's?!) and tested to see if it's held up. If you've been following my workouts on snapchat (@yogaby_candace), you know I go hard at the gym, so when I say that this deodorant held up, you know that it's a true testament to its power!
With Earth Day coming up, the deodorant, which has a natural fragrance and no petrochemicals, is a great buy if you're trying to be more environmentally friendly, and right now there's a cartwheel offer at Target, where you can find the line.
Today I'm excited to demo Day 9's hiit workout from the 30 Day Strong Flow Tone Up Program. It's a 20 minute AMRAP, and please don't be intimidated by the acronym AMRAP - it just means As Many Reps As Possible aka you'll do as many repetitions of each movement as you can within the allotted time. For this workout, you'll focus on the following movements for 45 seconds on and 15 seconds off, and go through it four times for a total of twenty minutes.
1. Burpees - Here's a full run down on how to do a burpee. Do the burpees for 45 seconds before taking a fifteen second break and then moving on.
2. Jump Squats - For jump squats, you'll want to try to land light on your feet (and think: toes, ball, heel as you land). Doing this will mean you're decelerating and it'll be less of an impact on your joints. Feet will be slightly wider than hip distance with the toes slightly pointed out. Keep your torso upright and core engaged. Do this for 45 seconds and then follow up with a 15 second break before moving on to the next exercise.
3. Handstand Hold - Unless you're crazy advanced, do this against a wall. Check out this graphic to be sure your weight distribution is on point, and look between your thumbs. Continue to push the ground away from you so your armpits are long and breathe. Hold for 45 seconds and take a 15 second break.
4. Jump Lunges - Start in a lunge with your right foot forward and left foot back, with the knees bent around 90 degrees. When you're ready, jump and switch feet. For the front foot, you'll have the majority of the weight in the heel, whereas for the back food, your heel will be off the ground and the majority of the weight will be in the ball of your foot. When you're stable and ready to go, jump and switch again. Continue doing this for the 45 seconds before taking a 15 second break.
5. Plank - Plank is the beginning of chaturanga so it's likely that you're familiar with this pose. You'll want to be sure your hips aren't sagging or lifted too high - keep them just higher than in line with your body. The next thing to check in with is the space between your shoulder blade. You want to be sure you have a little bit of a round between them, so in order to achieve that, push the ground away. This ensure you're really using your upper body strength. Engage your core and breathe. Hold the plank for 45 seconds before resting for 15 seconds. When you're done with the rest, start all over again for three more rounds.
Let me know how it goes for you down in the comments section below!