get strong without weights

Want to Build True Strength? Ditch the Weights

“But don’t I need weights to get strong?” In my work as a fitness and performance coach, I get this question a lot. Even though I’ve been designing mostly bodyweight-based workouts for myself and my clients for over a decade, most people can’t seem to believe me at first when I tell them that you don’t need heavy weights …

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mindset shifts to help you keep up with your workouts over the holidays

3 Mindset Shifts to Help You Keep Up With Your Workouts Over the Holidays

“I won’t have access to a gym or my normal equipment while I’m traveling, so I won’t be able to work out until I’m back.” My response was: “Of course you can!”  Quick backstory: I created the 12 Minute Athlete blog and fitness app back in 2014, and since then, I’ve become somewhat known around …

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bodyweight training 12 Minute Athlete

How to Actually Enjoy Working Out

I started working out in my late teens. I’d just gotten my first real job as a Starbucks barista, and the free drinks and pastries coupled with the inactivity of college life began to catch up to me. Sick of having to buy larger and larger clothing sizes, I figured I should do the “adult” …

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How to Increase the Challenge of Your Home Workouts

make-home-workouts-harder

One thing is for sure: home workouts aren’t going away any time soon.

With gyms continuing to be closed in many places around the world due to Covid-19, more people than ever are trying to figure out how to work out using their bodyweight or the few pieces of workout equipment they have at home.

Even when gyms do open up, gyms and workout classes will look much different than before the pandemic. My guess is that a significant portion of the population will continue to work out at home much more than before due to convenience, and for some people, fear.

I’ve been training using my bodyweight and a few select pieces of equipment for nearly a decade now, and my workouts don’t look much different than they did before the world turned upside down.

There is so much you can do using your bodyweight, even if you have strength or mass goals (just look at gymnasts for proof).

In spite of this, I’m still hearing a lot of people say they don’t know how to get the same workout they used to do at the gym at home.

If you feel like your home workouts aren’t challenging you enough, or are looking for ways to increase strength, power, or speed while at home, here are several ways to up the challenge.

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Yoga for a Calm Mind

With the state of the world right now, we recognize that you might not have the energy to crush HIIT workouts as much as usual. When life gets crazy, movement is more important than ever – and there are so many options to stay active and support your mental health.  Our Community Manager Amanda is …

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12 Minute Athlete

Beginner Handstand Challenge: Week 4

12 Minute Athlete

You’ve made it to the last week of the Beginner Handstand Challenge!

This week we’re focusing on putting all the skills from weeks one through three together and working to stay consistent in your handstand practice.

Even though the challenge is ending, your handstand journey doesn’t have to.

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12 Minute Athlete

Beginner Handstand Challenge: Week 3

12 Minute Athlete

We’re more than halfway through our Beginner Handstand Challenge!

This week we’re focusing on the next step in the handstand journey: handstand wall scissors.

One of the hardest parts of learning to do a handstand is getting over the fear of falling over and learning to balance in a handstand.

When the wall is there to support you, you can build up your strength and confidence being upside-down.

But when the wall is no longer there…

…it’s SO easy to lose confidence and forget all the skills you’ve gained until now.

You’ve built the strength.

You’ve put in the time.

You CAN take this next step.

Don’t give up now!

Follow along with the 12 Minute Athlete community by posting pictures of your progress on our Facebook group, and tag us at @12minuteathlete and #12MAhandstands.

Remember, one lucky challenge participant will win a copy of my NEW book!

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12 Minute Athlete Beginner Handstand Challenge

The 12 Minute Athlete Beginner Handstand Challenge

12 Minute Athlete Beginner Handstand Challenge

The 12 Minute Athlete team is so excited to share our latest community challenge: the 2020 Beginner Handstand Challenge!

We’ve heard from many of you that one of your long-term goals is to crush a freestanding handstand. So we’re dedicating our next month-long community challenge to helping EVERYONE get their handstand practice on.

We’ll break down the steps necessary to work up to a solid handstand, send handstand-themed exercises and tips to help you build up your strength and endurance, and share our favorite ways to add extra challenges to handstand work.

Handstands are one of our favorite skills for so many reasons. Once you get hooked on them, handstands can become part of a lifelong journey.

Let’s get to it!

(Looking for the Week 1 exercises? Click here to visit the Week 1 challenge page. Then download the challenge overview here.)  

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12 MINUTE ATHLETE

Building an Epic Home Gym: Our Favorite Pieces of Equipment

Home workout equipment is one of the best investments you can make for yourself or any fellow fitness-lovers in your life.

Workout equipment is relatively inexpensive, and will last through years (if not decades) of tough workouts. If you prefer to work out at home rather than go to a gym (or at least want the option), it will help keep your workouts varied and always challenging.

Here are our top home workout equipment recommendations to help you start building a home gym:

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Why I’m Not a Fan of (Most) Group Classes

Does this sound familiar at all?

You sign up for the new “it” class, either by yourself or with a couple of friends.

You’re a few weeks in, and making a TON of progress. You’re feeling more energized, getting leaner, and feeling stronger. The workouts are becoming so much easier than they were when you first started. You’re feeling motivated and it’s awesome.

Fast forward a few weeks, months, or even a year… and everything… stalls.

Your progress slows. The motivational talk that fired you up in the first few weeks now just seems repetitive. Your class instructor is more focused on their killer playlist than giving you individual attention.

Frankly, you’re just a little bored.

You start making excuses to skip class and stop going as often. Eventually you either fall off of your fitness habit altogether, or take up the next “it” class, and start the same cycle all over again.

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