Fitness From the Pro

During the busy holiday season there are some weight training exercises that can be very efficient. Perhaps it is the way we use our weight training exercises that make it efficient. I’m talking about Supersets. That is, when you work opposing muscle groups back to back without any rest in between. Let’s use the chest for example. Execute a set of bench presses and then quickly execute a set of back exercises. Rest for 1 minute to 90 seconds and repeat the chest/back combo.

A few things to remember with weight training exercises:

• Start with large muscle groups: Chest/Back, Legs/Shoulders, Biceps/Triceps

• Remember to utilize the push/pull action…push the bench press away/lat pull downs.

• Work in some ab exercises during your 60-90 second break.

Here is just another variation on how you keep your workouts fresh. You can save a little time and get a full body workout. Add in the superset while working on your weight training exercises.

You have children and they want to start weight training with you, what do you do? I think it is great that they want to exercise! The benefits of weight training for kids is that it helps to prevent injuries, makes ligaments and tendons stronger and improves bone density. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association it helps the children to build healthy muscles, joints and bones.

Weight training and strength training uses resistance which shouldn’t be confused with body building, weight lifting or power lifting. Weight lifting, power lifting, etc. is not appropriate for kids or teens because they will risk injuring bones, muscles and joints.

Children about 7 or 8 years old can do strength training by starting out using their own weight with push ups or sit ups. Every exercise the child does should be executed safely and properly. When they use their own weight as their resistance, it can build better balance, control and awareness of their bodies. These exercises are not about bulking up the child’s muscles.

Below you will find a few tips when you start your child with weight training and strength training.

1. The child should first learn the exercise with out weight. Then gradually add in resistance with their own body weight, weights or resistance bands.
2. These exercise sessions should be well supervised with age appropriate equipment and exercises.
3. The program should be focused on proper form and technique, with a spotter. This will help to avoid injury.
4. If your child is in a Junior Exercising class, make sure the instructor is experienced and works well with children.
5. When the child starts to add in weights, they should use low weight with high repetitions. The child should be able to accomplish at least 8 repetitions with good form. If not the weight is too heavy and a lighter weight should be used.
6. Make sure you or the instructor focuses on the MAJOR muscle groups, legs, chest, back shoulders, abs. Do 1 set for each group with 8 repetitions. As the strength continues gradually increase the number of sets then finally increase weight.
7. Start out with 2 or 3 sessions per week and not on consecutive days.
8. Always warm up and cool down with stretching.
9. Your child should maintain a healthy diet, aerobic activity and adequate rest.

A child’s weight training/strength training program is not addressed often. So if your child wants to and is age appropriate look over these tips to ensure healthy muscular and skeletal growth.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I would list some dumbbell exercises that you can do on the stability ball. It’s a nice change from the regular dumbbell exercise routine. Using the ball adds a different dimension and makes you use your abdominal muscles. I’ll also include exercises for other body parts using the ball, but not using dumbbells.

One of the first dumbbell exercises is:

CLEAN AND JERK:

• Sit on the ball with dumbbells in your hands.
• Lean forward tipping from your hip so that your chest almost touches your thighs.
• Arms hang straight down from your shoulders and palms facing back.
• As you sit up, row your dumbbells up with your elbows, keeping hands close to your body.
• As you bring the dumbbells close to your shoulders, flip the dumbbells up, palms facing forward.
• Proceed to push both dumbbells to an overhead press.
• Lower the dumbbells, flip the hands over as you lift the elbows up and lower your arms down to your starting position.
• Repeat.

HIP KIPS:

• Sit on the ball with your dumbbells on your hips.
• Roll out forward so your shoulders and upper back are on the ball.
• Slowly lower your hips and butt down.
• Shift your weight into your heels.
• As you push your hips back up, press into your heels back to your starting position.
• Repeat, lowering hips and pushing them back up. Squeeze the gluts together on your way up.

HIP BRIDGE WITH ROLL OUT:

• Lay supine on the floor.
• Place your feet on the ball with bent knees.
• Push your heels into the ball as you lift your hips and lower back off the floor.
• Hold your hips high and roll the ball away from you straightening your legs.
• Roll the ball back towards you.
• Lower your hips.
• Repeat.

90 DEGREE BICEP CURL:

• Sit on your ball with the dumbbells.
• Engage your abs.
• Arms hang straight down by your side.
• Hands are turned out to your sides with palms facing up.
• Exhale as you bend the elbow bringing the dumbbells to your shoulders.
• Hold.
• Slowly lower down.
• Repeat.

SIDE LATERAL RAISE:

• Sit on the ball. Sit tall.
• Arms hang straight down from your shoulders.
• Engage your core.
• Palms are facing the ball at your sides.
• Exhale and with soft elbow, lift the right arm out to the side to shoulder height.
• Slowly lower the arm down to your side.
• Exhale and with soft elbow, lift the left arm out to the side to shoulder height.
• Slowly lower your arm down to your side.
• Alternate and Repeat.

The thing to remember when you are sitting on the ball and working on your dumbbell exercises is to sit up tall, keep your shoulders back and engage your core. You are actively working the abs as you work other body parts on an unstable surface.

Let’s talk about doing abdominal exercises with the stability ball. Using the stability ball increases your core intensity because the ball is an unstable surface. So just to stabilize yourself on the ball, the core has to be engaged. You can also use the stability ball to workout other body parts besides the abdominals.

Here are a few good abdominal exercises to do on the ball:

BALL CROSSOVERS:

• Lay on the ball with the small of your back into the ball.
• Press your lower back into the mat.
• Engage your abdominal muscles.
• Place your right hand on the floor.
• Place your left hand behind your head.
• Lift your left shoulder towards the right knee, while simultaneously lifting the the foot off the floor.
• Lower the upper body back down, while replacing the right foot on the floor.
• Repeat.
• Switch sides.

PASS AND CATCH:

• Lay Supine on the floor.
• Place the ball between your feet.
• Stretch out your arms overhead.
• Press your lower back into the mat.
• Engage your abdominal muscles.
• Inhale and lift your head, neck, shoulders and arms off the floor. Simultaneously, exhale as you lift your legs with the ball up to meet your arms.
• Pass the ball to your hands.
• Lower your arms overhead and lower your legs at the same time and inhale. (Watch not to lower your legs too low that you start arching your back.)
• Lift head, neck, shoulders and arms with the ball up, while lifting the legs.
• Place ball in between your feet.
• Lower upper body and legs down.
• Repeat the series, passing the ball to hands and then back to your feet.

KNEELING AB ROLL OUT:

• Kneel behind the ball.
• Make fists with your hands and place your hands on the ball.
• Engage your abdominal muscles.
• Roll the ball forward so the forearms are resting on the ball.
• Make sure your in a straight line with a tight body from your knees to your shoulders.
• Exhale, push down on the ball and roll back to your starting position.
• Maintain your alignment as you roll the ball back.

The last two abdominal exercises are very intensive, and are great for the entire abdominal area.

Coming up on another blog will be other exercises you can do on the ball while working other body parts. Like I said earlier, anything you do on the ball will work your abdominal muscles, just because the ball is an unstable surface.

We all want to know the miracle fat burning exercises. There isn’t just one fat burning exercise it’s a combination of diet and exercise.

When you think of fat burning exercises you automatically think of cardiovascular workouts. Increasing your heart rate for at least 20-30 minutes can assist in burning fat. Interval bursts of high intensity to lower intensity cardio work will increase your fat burn. When you’re using the machines you have more control over your intervals than you would with a class. However, with a good instructor, they will design the class to alternate from higher intensity to lower intensity. If you are looking for a class with good fat burning, check out cycling, step, aqua aerobics, kick boxing, or boot camp type classes.

Always start with a warm up and always cool down and stretch after your work out. Increasing your intensity can be done in many ways. Increasing the resistance by adjusting the cardio machine to higher levels or change your speed. Some machines even have an interval option. Whatever interval you choose work into a high intensity level for 30 seconds and then back off and recover for a minute or two. Gradually increase the length of time for your intervals and recovery alternating between the levels. Do these cycles for 20 -30 minutes at a minimum.

Watch your heart rate very carefully. If you exceed your maximum heart rate, your body will go into another energy system and could actually start to burn up muscle. Figuring out your maximum heart rate is easy math…subtract your age from 220. For instance, if you take a 40 year old person and subtract from 220, (220-40=180) their maximum heart rate would be 180 bpm. It would be best for you to keep your heart rate below 180. It’s all based on how our bodies use energy. If you wanted to work out at 80% of your max rate, than multiply 180 x .80 (80%)=144bpm. (beats per minute). Now you see the difference…heart rate at 80% is just as effective for burning fat than exercising at 100%.

It’s all the way our body uses the energy it makes. We can be very efficient fat burning machines!

People are always looking for weight loss tips. There is no real secret. The calories you consume have to be less than the calories you burn in order for weight loss to take place. Watching what you eat and exercising are key to weight loss.

Here are some tips for your lifestyle:

• PORTION CONTROL: Watch the AMOUNT of protein, carbohydrates and fats you eat. You can consume generous amounts of fruits and vegetables. A little trick I use is a smaller plate then when I place my servings on it, it looks full. To my eyes and tummy, I’m satisfied with the portions.
• FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: Eating your fruits and vegetables between meals can be a good nutritious snack between meals. Keeping your metabolism active can be accomplished by eating healthful snacks every few hours.
• WATER WATER WATER: Drink plenty of water to flush out your system. Water also helps keep your metabolism up.
• EXERCISE: Weight training is good for adding more muscle to your body which will also increase your metabolic rate. Your resting metabolism will be higher with the higher muscle to fat ratio. Cardiovascular workouts will continue your metabolic burn hours after your workout. Adding in extra little things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car farther from the front door are a couple ways to work in exercise.
• YOUR STATE OF MIND: Don’t think of weight loss as a “diet”, but more like a change in your lifestyle. Forgive yourself if slip up. Commit that you’ll move on and continue with your healthy lifestyle of eating and exercising.
• VISUALIZE: The mind is very powerful! Keep a picture in your mind of the body you want and a change in lifestyle can help you achieve your goal!

The Oblique muscle group is part of your abdominals. The obliques are on your sides and provide you with spinal fexion, rotation, and lateral flexion. Some of you might refer to the obliques as “love handles” or “muffin tops”. As you already know, spot reduction is impossible. However, we can tighten up, build up and loosen up muscles and with cardio workouts we can reduce fat tissue so your muscles can stand out.

Here are some Oblique exercises for you to try:

CROSSOVERS:

• Lie supine and keep the low back into the mat.
• Pull belly button to your spine.
• Keep chin a fist distance away from your chest.
• Cross one leg over the other resting your shin just above the knee on the other leg.
• Hands behind your head and elbows point out to the sides.
• As you lift, reach the opposite SHOULDER to the crossed knee and exhale.
• Inhale and lie back down.
• Repeat.
• Switch legs and repeat on the other side.

BICYCLE:

• Lie supine and keep the low back into the mat.
• Pull belly button into your spine.
• Keep chin a fist distance away from your chest.
• Bend knees to 90 degrees.
• Feet off the floor.
• Hands behind your head, elbows point out to the side.
• Bring right shoulder to left knee while you extend the right leg and exhale.
• Switch and bring left shoulder to right knee extend the left leg.
• Keep repeating sides.
• The slower the exercise the more challenge it will be for your obliques.

BALL SIDE CRUNCH:

• Using a Stability Ball lie on your right side on the ball.
• Your right hip should press into the ball.
• Extend the legs in a scissor position with feet on the floor.
• Place your hands lightly behind your head with elbows pointing out to the side.
• Lift and crunch your upper body so your are bringing your ribs to your hips.
• Repeat the lifting of the upper body up and down.
• Switch sides and repeat.

You are now on your way to having tight and toned obliques.

Whenever you are weight training the one thing that should be emphasized is proper lifting techniques! There are a few reasons why trainers and instructors stress this so frequently. The first and obvious reason for proper lifting techniques is to avoid injury. If you repetitively perform a squat incorrectly you will injure your knees or your back. The risk of injury dramatically increases with an increased amount of weight.

Secondly, if proper lifting techniques are not adhered to, you will not see the desired results! It’s that simple. Let’s face it, we want to have a ripped, and toned body and if you are performing an exercise incorrectly it will be a long time before you actually see and feel the benefits of your work. Why then would you waste your time in the gym performing a move and not reap the rewards? It’s simply not smart training.

So if you are a beginner, ask the gym personnel to help you and teach you. Don’t always go by watching other people in the gym, because alot of the time those people are not using proper technique either.