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This is my favorite part of racing - all the supporters. And I always high five all the kids :)
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If you think that the nice guy ranting only happens on the internet, you’ve never had to deal with your thoroughly drunken friend shouting about how...
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This Monday morning brought to you by..
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Single Arm Climbers
These are considerably harder than regular mountain climbers, so expect to slow down a bit. Focus on form and not speed. (having a dumbbell underneath your planted hand MAY help if you have wrist issues).
*Not recommended for beginners. It’s ok homies, try the regular version until you can work up to this (this took me YEARS). :)
How To Do It
A. Start in plank position, and step one foot in as far as you can towards your hands, planting your heel (if you can) into the floor. (landing on your toes may put too much strain on the knees - listen to your body). Your opposite hand stays planted on the floor and your other hand swings back behind you, on the same side as the planted foot.
B. Find your balance, then hop and switch your feet, keeping your planted hand firmly on the ground, and swinging your free arm forward. Use your core to switch, and work to keep your butt down throughout the move.
C. Continue hopping your feet out and in for 30-45 seconds, then switch sides.
This is CRAZY core work: focus on tightening your core to really get the most out of this move and practice proper form.
If this is too difficult, you can step the feet in and out OR swap in regular mountain climbers. :)
This is one of my favorite ways to end my workouts. All you need is 4 minutes, a timer & a killer attitude. Add this to your Dorm Room Challenge: 16 Min KILLER Core Meltdown.
How To Do It
Set your timer for 8 rounds of 30 seconds (4 minutes total). Hold each pose for 30 seconds, moving from one to the other with no breaks. Complete the circuit twice.
Beginners: use easier modifications, and adjust the intervals to suit your level. If 20 seconds is better, go for it.
Advanced: use harder modifications, or adjust your intervals to suit your level (60, 90, 120 seconds).
Need a timer? This one’s free. Just click start. The interval repeats itself until you turn it off.
Circuit
- Plank Hold
- Reverse Plank Hold
- Side Plank Left
- Side Plank Right
EXERCISE DETAILS & MODIFICATIONS
Mermaid Side V-Ups
How To Do It
A. Lie down on your side. Arm closest to the floor comes out in front of you for support OR you can prop yourself up on your elbow (easier). Top arm reaches over and behind the head, extending the body line. Feet are crossed (like a mermaids tail).
Tip: Support your tush with a pillow if needed.B. Keeping feet crossed and legs straight, lift and twist feet towards the ceiling. Your hips and booty will roll slightly inward as you reach your top hand towards your toes and raise your torso from the floor. Use your obliques and not your legs to do the lift.
C. With control, lower back down to starting position and repeat.
Beginners: Come up to your elbows, and lift only the legs if needed (no arms). Reduce range of motion to make this easier.
Advanced: Make the lift explosive (power up quickly) and lower slowly and controlled. Reach as high as you can. Leg weights can be used to add resistance, or you can place a dumbbell/plate between your legs (squeeze to keep it in place with your inner thighs).
The less you roll your tush (staying on your side) the harder it is. You DON’T have to lift high to feel the contraction. Uncrossing the feet will also make this more challenging.
Try 10-20 per side (or 30-60 seconds!)
Oblique Twist Lunges
(P.S: I LOVE this move! Make it more difficult by holding a weight, medicine ball or plate in front of your chest or behind your head).
A. Stand tall with hands prisoner style behind the head. Keep chest open and shoulders back.
B. Step forward and lunge with the right leg. Sink deep into the lunge and place your weight in the heel of the lunging foot.
C. Starting from the shoulder, twist your opposite elbow towards your lunging knee (left elbow to right knee). Focus on crunching your obliques and NOT pulling your elbow towards the knee: the movement is small. Do not pull your head down: keep it relaxed.
D. Return to standing and repeat on the other side. Beginners: reduce range of motion by making the lunge smaller and take out the twist if need be.
This is from The Heatwave workout. See the circuit here in case you missed it!
PLANKIN’ TO THE EXTREME! A “Push Yo-self”challenge.
The plank is THE ”do it anywhere” total body move that everyone should learn how to master. It’s versatile and can help you strengthen your core, glutes, quads, shoulders and chest while improving your balance. While yogis may have the plankin’ edge, there’s lots of room to play to make it more (or less) challenging. If you’ve got the basic plank DOWN, it’s time to try some harder variations my friend.
This is a 6 Part Plank Variation combo that I use to challenge myself at home. It’s tough, but do-able with some practice!
Goal: Using as many VARIATIONS as you can, try to hold each part for 30-60 seconds per side.
My personal challenge is always to hold each part of the combo as I move into the next, but you can tap down and rest in between if you need to. (6 minutes is a LONG time to hold plank, but broken up into sections gives some parts of your body a chance to rest).
Beginners: choose only the parts you are able to do (which may just be the plank & pushup) and work up to holding them for 30-60 seconds. Intermediate/advanced exercisers: work up to doing all 6 variations. They’re TOUGH y’all. Most people can only manage the first three after a lot of practice.
Tips: for most of these moves, you can opt to be on your forearms instead. If you’re struggling, try to tighten your core and quads to help with stabilization. Work up through the modifications: some may be too challenging right now and that’s okay!
1. Plank. Start in a basic plank position, the top of a pushup. Shoulders over hands, quads contracted, abs pulled in tight and butt down. Think about getting your shoulders, hips and ankles to form a straight line.
2. Tricep Pushup. Bring your arms in close to your body as you lower down towards the floor: think about scraping them along your torso and using the back of your arms to push up. Tip: try to push the floor away from you instead of lifting up from it. Beginners: you can perform this move on your knees instead.
*No need to hold this move. Just throw in 1-5 reps before moving on.
3. Side Plank. Start in basic plank, then rotate your belly button out to the side, keeping one arm on the ground (hand aligned with shoulders) and one arm extended up in the air or on your hips. You can opt to stack your feet one on top of the other, or stagger your top foot in front of the bottom foot for a wider base. Keep that straight line & try not to let your hips sag down. Beginners: bend at the knee on the bottom leg and straighten the top leg. Slightly easier.
4. Side Plank With Leg Lift. Maintaining side plank position, lift your top leg up towards the sky. You may need to move your bottom leg so that your weight is equally balanced: this is a tough move. Extend your arm up towards the sky with your leg and hold. Beginners: keep your lower leg bent at the knee and lower on to your forearm instead of your hand.
5. 90 Degree Side Plank. Replace your top leg to the ground & extend your bottom leg out in front of you (like a front kick). This variation REALLY works your inner thighs & core. Try to flex your foot and straighten the leg as you lift up and avoid swaying as much as you can. Hold.
6. 90 Degree Side Plank Toe Touch. Same form as the 90 degree side plank, but this time take your top hand and reach it towards your extended foot. You can opt to hold it there, or do some crunches by drawing the foot & hand back and forwards for a few reps.
GOAL: Try to complete as many variations as you can per side. (30-60 seconds each).
Kill it!
Ball Pike & Knee Tuck
Targets: Core & shoulders.
How to do it:
- Start in a push-up position with your shins resting on a stability ball.
- Brace your abs and keep your legs straight as you raise your hips toward the ceiling, drawing the ball toward your arms. Hold for 2-3 seconds and roll back to start. Keep your head in line with your spine throughout the movement (eyes between your hands).
Modifier: Do a knee tuck instead (see pic). Draw your knees into your chest and back out. Advanced peeps can try the knee tuck with a twist to hit their obliques.
Keep your core tight throughout the movement, and keeping your quads contracted will help with balance.
See full workout: Whip Your Balls Out!
Mike Chang’s the MAN. I love his workouts (and I love that he does them with his shirt off. Shameless, I know. Sue me.).
This is a quick 5 minute Belly-Fat destroyer, follow along style. I know you love those at-home workouts, so here’s a quickie that you can do ANYWHERE! (no excuses!)
You’ll need an interval timer (you can find one free online) & a mat.
Don’t forget to give the Dominatrix Weekend Workout a try!
Update: Got a few messages concerning this (hysterical, I might add), so to be ABS-olutely clear: this is NOT Mike Chang from Glee.
V-Day Workout From Tone It Up
Follow along with this cute workout! It’s a great total body toner & you can do in about 15 minutes. If your plate’s full (metaphorically), set your alarm 20 minutes early (set it now: wait and you’re less likely to do it) and get this workout DONE first thing tomorrow!
Printable Routine: http://toneitup.com/blog.php?Your-Sweet-and-Sexy-Valentine-s-Day-routine-5385
Great review from Sarah! I feel EXACTLY the same way!
Today’s DVD review is from my new intern, Laura! Please give her a warm welcome by leaving a comment on her very first guest post here on SarahFit.com!
Hi readers, I’m the new intern, Laura! I’m a student at BC, a personal trainer, and a fitness enthusiast. I’m reviewing Jackie Warner’s Crunch…
Anyone tried Jackie’s workout? What did you think?
Confession time: I’ve never been this sore in my life.
I’m so incredibly wrecked from my parkour weekend (in that OMG fitness way). So sore, it hurts when I laugh. So sore, I couldn’t put my own shirt on this morning. So sore, that I needed to take Advil (which I never take unless shizz is serious). So sore that today is officially a much needed, unplanned rest day.
My muscles are rebuilding with a vengeance.
It started with my arms: scaling a wall almost double my size was no joke! My ‘wings’ were swollen within a few hours, followed by my chest, biceps & shoulders. This morning? My ABS! Then the legs. And now, 24 hours later (average time it takes for soreness to set in), I’m a complete sore, swollen mess-a-roo.
Just so you know? Totally worth it. :)
So, I’m out today. But that doesn’t mean you have to be! Over the weekend, some of you asked for a simple, uncomplicated, total body workout that you can do at home. This series of moves is fairly uncomplicated, but this workout will KILL you if you put your all in! And the total time? 15 minutes.
This was the workout I was planning to do today. I love this flow of movement, because it targets your whole body and is functional (meaning it mimics moves you do & targets muscles you use every day).
How to do it
Link the two moves together as described below for 2 minutes, then rest 30 seconds OR do them individually for one minute each (back to back), then rest 30 seconds.
6 Rounds
1. Complete Flow (Roll up to Inchworm) for 2 minutes, then rest 30 seconds & repeat.
OR
2. Roll up for 1 minute, then Inchworm for 1 minute, then rest 30 seconds & repeat.
Roll Up to Inchworm
A. Roll Up. Lie flat on your back, arms by your side. Swing your legs up towards your chest, knees at 90 degrees. Using as much momentum as you need (none is VERY difficult, a lot will be the least difficult), rock yourself up to a standing position (kicking one leg under you as you use the other to stand). Jump straight up in the air and land softly. Try not to use your hands if you don’t need to, but tap them down for balance if you feel wobbly. The less you use them, the more core work you’ll get.
B. Inchworm. From standing, bring your arms to the ground, feet flat & legs straight. Walk your hands out in front of you, keeping your core braced, until you’re in plank position, with shoulders directly over your hands. Hold it there for a moment, then walk your way back, reversing the movement.
Reverse the roll up, this time sitting down backwards, & lowering yourself until you’re lying down in the starting position. Repeat.
(Just so you get it: Lie down, roll up, jump, walk hands out to plank, walk hands back to standing, roll down. Repeat for 2 minutes. Got it?)
Set a timer (on your phone, or use Tabata Timer online) and get moving! Hit it hard, k? If you already got your workout on today, you can add this as a bonus, or save it for tomorrow.
P.S - You need to do these moves as quickly as you can with good form to get the full benefit, so don’t go easy on yourself (by the way, you can also go as slow as you need to. You know better than anyone where you’re at, trust it!).
Kill it!
Still don’t get it?
Video demo of the roll-up (without the jump, but add a jump at the end if you can): http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_2359307_how-do-roll-up-exercises.html
Video demo of the inchworm (you can choose to do it without the pushup) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfbJE_k9v6k&feature=related
POP Pilates: Abominable Abdominals
After bootcamp last night, THIS was my ab workout. Serious, serious stuff!
Give it a try if you dare. It’s a tough one! You might like the playlist too. :)
See more from Cassey, at Blogilates.
Ha!
Watch as Jersey Shore’s ‘The Situation’ trains Conan O’Brien on his show
“This is how we’re rollin’…”
His moves aren’t that bad, lol. Give them a try and you’ll have a 6-pack situation on your hands. :)
1. Engage Your Pelvic Floor
You’ve probably heard of Kegels before, right? By engaging your pelvic floor (act as though you’re trying to stop your urine midstream) before and during any abs exercise you perform, you better engage your transverse abdominals, which act as a girdle for your entire core. This helps give you a tighter midsection-quite literally-all the way around!
2. Focus on the Burn
Many times we completely zone out while working out. We’re watching TV, thinking of our to-do list, or even wishing the workout was over instead of paying attention to what we’re doing. By focusing on the exercise at hand, you not only are less prone to injury (no distractions so that you can listen to your body), but you also engage the mind-body connection which helps to recruit more muscle fibers, thereby improving your results.
3. Close Your Rib Cage
In your average sit-up you probably come up and down and don’t think much more about the movement, right? Well, when you lower down from a sit-up, pay close attention and keep your rib cage closed. This helps to “crunch” your abs more, engage your transverse abdominals, and keep your back safely supported.
4. Don’t Hold Your Breath
Your core muscles need oxygen to work at full capacity, so be sure that you keep breathing. As a general rule, you want to inhale on the easiest part of the move (on the way down from a crunch) and exhale when you have to exert the most force (on the way up on a crunch).
5. Work in All Dimensions
Your body doesn’t just work in one plane of movement, so why should your abs? Instead of always doing crunches, include abs exercises that rotate, twist and turn your body like you do in real life. Functional fitness moves such as this Side Lunge Wood Chop or this Stability Ball Chop and Twist are both great exercises to build a truly strong core.
6. Start Small
Just like you wouldn’t jump in the deep end of the pool before you know how to swim, you shouldn’t tackle a complicated or advanced core move on your first try. Start small by working in a smaller range of motion (holding a plank for 15-20 seconds), and then as your core strength improves and you master proper form, make the movement to larger and more difficult exercises.
7. Add a Weight
Dumbbells aren’t just for bicep curls! Like any other muscle, abs need to be challenged to get stronger. So if regular sit-ups aren’t doing it any more (or if you have to do more than 20 to feel the burn), throw someweight into the mix and watch your results multiply.
8. Always Warm Up Properly
A warmed up core is a happy core. Because your abs are tied in to your lower back, it’s extremely important to start any workout with a proper warm up to prevent injury. Warm those muscles up with some light marching in place and gentle standing rotation of your midsection.
9. Walk the Plank
Training your abs is not all about sit-ups and crunches. While those do work your abs, the plank is a more complete core move that works all the different parts of your abs and your upper-body. But instead of just holding the plank in a static position, engage even more of your ab strength by performing this challengingPlank Walk-Up. It’s tough, but your abs will thank you for it!
10. Picture a Grapefruit
One of the biggest mistakes people make when doing mat work for their abs is that they keep their head down. This puts unnecessary strain on your neck and takes the focus off of your abs to perform the move. Every time you’re doing abs exercises on the floor, imagine a grapefruit is lodged between your chin and your chest. For best results, don’t let your chin lower to your chest!
11.Do Squats
As exercise physiologists study and better understand the core, more and more are recommending that we think of our core not just as the stomach and lower-back area, but also as our entire pillar (meaning everything except our legs, arms, and head). To really strengthen your core, fitness professionals recommend strengthening the muscles that tie in to your pillar like your glutes. And what’s one of the best ways to fire those glutes? Deep squats, baby!
12. Train Your Lower Back
True muscle strength is all about balance. Many of us focus on toning our abs (the muscles we can see) and totally neglect our lower backs. This strength imbalance can lead to lower-back injury and pain. Here’s a good rule to remember: For every core exercise you do that only targets your abs (read: isn’t twisting, a plank, or involves standing—which all involve the back), you should do a specific low-back exercise as well like this Swan Dive. Working your lower back makes for a more complete abs workout!
13. Try Balance Work
Really want stronger abs? Incorporate balance work into your routine. Whether it’s with a Bosu, a stability ball, a balance board, or simply just standing on one leg, exercises that test your balance cause you to fire your core deeply, thereby giving you a more effective ab workout!
14. Go Slow
Think speeding through your ab workout will speed up your results? Think again. To really feel the burn, try slowing down. By changing the speed of your abs exercises, you’ll work your abs in a more targeted way that boosts strength and results!
15. Tweak Your Diet
It doesn’t matter how many hours you spend in the gym each week. If your diet isn’t on point, you’re not going to see that 6-pack. To show off those toned abs, eat a diet with plenty of lean protein, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Also, follow these tips to beat belly bloat (which might be hiding your fabulous abs!)
16. Give Yourself Adequate Rest
Just like other muscles, your abs need rest. Don’t directly work your abs two days in a row. Take a recovery day in between. Rest helps give you muscles time to repair and get stronger!
17. Change It Up
Are you guilty of doing the same ab workout day after day? If so, it’s time to switch it up. In fact, for best results, you should change up your entire workout-including abs!-every four to six weeks.
18. Maintain Constant Tension
If you’re short on time, here’s an easy trick to get more for your ab-workout buck: Flex your abs and keep them that way throughout your entire core workout. Whether you’re doing crunches, planks, or balance work, squeeze those abs as if you’re preparing for someone to punch you in the gut to get even more out of your usual moves.
19. Work Your Upper Abs Last
Many traditional abs exercises target the top of your abs. Problem is, they neglect your lower abs and obliques. Try starting your workout with lower-ab moves like this Double-Leg Lower Lift and this Bicycle Maneuver, which both work multiple areas of your abs. Then, if you have time, end your training session with upper-ab work.
20. Take Yoga or Pilates
Many yoga poses and Pilates exercises are extremely good for building core strength. If you’re sick of tacking ab workouts on to the end of your cardio or strength session, trade your usual moves in for a yoga or Pilates class. Besides building core strength, these mind-body exercises can also increase your flexibility and reduce stress. Bonus!
By Jennipher Walters on Shape.com
