Valentine’s Day: Partner Workout + Healthy Breakfast-In-Bed Recipe

Happy Valentine’s Day – I hope your day is full of love. Now, don’t be deterred from this posting if you do not have a special someone this year, anyone can benefit from this great workout and delicious recipe. I promise. Still with me?

5 Minute Partner Workout: Love your partner to the core

Grab your significant other and show them that you really love them to the core of their being – with these great partner exercises targeting, yup you guessed it, the core! Getting sweaty & increasing your heart rate together might get your minds on another type of partner workout….just saying. Don’t have a special someone? Grab a friend to do this workout with you.

Do each exercise for 1 minute before moving on to the next exercise.

Plank hand slap

Both Partner A & B hold a plank on the hands facing one another. Engage your core, activate your legs and glutes and alternate hand slaps. Try not to let your body sway side to side, this makes it much easier. Focus on making your arm the only moving part on your body during this move.

Plank & jump (30 seconds then switch)

Partner A holds an elbow plank with their feet in a wide stance. Partner B hops over the right foot and the left foot of Partner A and then back over the the left and right. Repeat for 30 seconds and then switch places.

Arm-in-arm squat

Partner A stands facing Partner B. Grab onto each other’s forearms and hold on tight. Activate the core and lower down into a squat of the same depth and then come back up. Make sure your core is engaged and you are driving through the heels of your feet. It might take a few reps to get the hang of it – that’s totally normal.

Leg raise & squat (30 seconds then switch)

Partner A begins standing while Partner B lies down on their back holding onto the standing partner’s ankles (only at the beginning and end is Partner B’s feet allowed to touch the ground). Partner B engages their lower abdominals and does a leg raise bringing the toes up to the hands of Partner A. Partner A gives a slight push on the feet of Partner B, forcing another rep of leg raises creating some serious core work for Partner B. While Partner B is doing a leg raise, Partner A does a squat. Repeat for 30 seconds and then switch places.

Power stacked plank

This is an advanced move and not for everyone. The heavier and/or stronger of the pair should be on the bottom of this stacked plank. Try holding this for a minute, but it’s 100% okay to feel that you need to release early.

Sweet Potato Pancakes for your Sweetheart

(best if served in bed upon the opening of your beloved partner’s eyes)

Ingredients:

Makes 3 pancakes

½ cooked sweet potato
1 egg
1 Tbsp all natural almond butter
1 Tbsp flax seeds
2 Tbsp grated carrot
½ medium banana sliced
1 Tbsp raw honey
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of vanilla bean powder

**If you really like a sweet taste, feel free to add 1 Tbsp of Stevia to the mixture before cooking.

Directions: Mix the cooked sweet potato, grated carrot, flax seeds, almond butter and egg in a bowl. Mash and stir until it becomes pancake consistency. Cook on medium heat on a pan greased with coconut oil. Approximately 3 minutes on each side. Top with raw honey, sliced banana, cinnamon and vanilla bean powder. If you want a more liquid consistency, mix honey, banana, cinnamon and vanilla bean in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 15-30 seconds (depending on power of microwave) and pour on top of pancakes.

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