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Chilly days spent on the couch binge-watching The Crown may have been relaxing, but they probably didn’t do your body any favors. With warmer weather (and swimsuits!) in sight, it’s time to pay more attention to the areas you want to show off—like your abs, legs, and booty. Obviously, the first step is to back off the comfort food, start reaching for healthier options and watch portion sizes. But embracing exercise is also key. Thankfully, Frank Baptiste, owner of FranklyFitness in New York City, developed the perfect post-winter plan specifically for Health. "These exercises are going to impact your metabolism because they work a lot of different muscles at the same time, which increases your calorie burn," notes Baptiste. "Plus they focus on body parts people care about, while making you move better and feel stronger." Now, who’s ready to get fit for spring? Do this entire circuit twice, or 2 or 3 times a week, or choose the area you want to target and complete the routine three times, 2 or three times a week. Lower body exercises1. Hop Squats: Stand tall with feet together and arms at sides (A). Hop feet out into a wide stance, landing softly, then immediately shift hips back to lower down into a squat, bringing arms forward and clasping hands in front of chest (B). Jump up, hopping feet back to start. Repeat in a fluid, continuous motion. Do 15 reps. 2. Bulgarian Split Squat: Position yourself a few feet in front of a step or bench, with top of left foot on the step or bench behind you and hands clasped in front of chest (A). With core tight, lower down until left knee nearly touches ground (B). Push into right foot to come to standing; squeeze glutes. Do 10 reps. 3. Lateral Lunge to Stand: Stand tall with feet together. Take a big step out to the right, sitting hips back and down, coming into a single-sided squat (A); keep left leg straight. Push into right foot to come to standing as you slide left foot in to meet right (B). Repeat on opposite side. Do 8 reps per leg. 4. Step-Up With Knee Raise: Face a step or bench and stand with your torso upright and your shoulders down and back. Step right foot onto step or bench (A), pushing into right leg to rise up to full extension as you bring right arm forward, bent to 90 degrees; drive left knee up (B). With control, lower left foot back down to ground; immediately repeat. Do 15 reps per leg. Booty-boosting exercises1. Kettlebell Swings: Stand in front of kettlebell with feet slightly wider than shoulderwidth apart, knees soft. Grasp bell with both hands. With flat back, “hike” bell between legs (A), thrusting hips forward explosively as you squeeze glutes, swinging bell to chest height (B); keep abs tight, arms straight, and shoulders down and back. Maintaining flat back, allow kettlebell to pull you back down to start; repeat. Do 20 reps. 2. Single-Leg Romanian Dead Lift: With a 10-pound dumbbell in each hand, stand tall with core and glutes engaged (A). Soften right knee, lift left foot, hinge at hips, and reach the left heel back and up as you lower torso down (B). Reverse motion to come back to standing. Do 8 reps. This challenges balance, coordination, and core stability. 3. Single-leg/Medicine Ball Bridge: Lie faceup with knees bent, left leg straight up and right heel on top of medicine ball, arms at sides with palms down (A). Tuck hips, engage core, and then press into the ball and arms to lift hips while squeezing glutes (B). Slowly, and with control, lower back down. Do 8 reps. 4. Mini-Band Monster Walks: Place a medium resistance band just below knees; stand in a quarter squat with band taut (A). Step right foot diagonally forward (B), and then step left foot in line with right; band remains taut. Next, step left foot diagonally forward, and then step right foot in line with left. Continue for 10 steps forward and 10 steps backward, two times. Ab exercises1. Body Saw: Get into a forearm plank, with shoulders directly over elbows and shins on foam roller (A). With core tight, push body away from hands, extending plank 3 to 6 inches (B), and then return to start. Do 10 reps, working your way up to 15. 2. Mountain Climbers: Begin in the “up” part of a push-up, with shoulders over hands, abs tight, and body in a straight line from head to ankles. Raise right knee, bringing it in toward chest (A). Return to start, and then repeat movement with left knee (B). Do 20 reps. 3. Single-Arm/Leg Jackknife: Lie faceup with arms extended overhead (A). Crunch up, lifting torso and left leg, as you bring left leg and right arm to meet over body (B). Slowly, and with control, lower back to start. Repeat with right leg and left arm; continue alternating. Do 10 reps per side. 4. Side Plank With Rotation: Start in a right-side side plank with shoulder directly above elbow, feet stacked, and left arm extended straight up (A). Rotate torso down, reaching left hand down and toward right knee (B); return to start. Do 10 reps, then switch sides.
Photography by Sarah Kehoe. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/fitness/full-body-circuit-spring [brightcove:5686475163001 default] This article originally appeared on DailyBurn.com So you want to get your sweat on, but getting to the gym seems as difficult as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Our answer: Make moves right where you are! You can snag a serious cardio workout right at home — sans machines, weights or even a lot of space. Thanks to plyometrics and fast-paced bodyweight exercises, you’ll rev your heart rate to that aerobic zone, squashing calories without the treadmill. The secret to boosting your burn even more: compound exercises that work multiple muscles at once. Not only do the five moves below from Daily Burn 365 test your brain power, they’ll keep your metabolism revving even after you’re done. Plus, they’ll keep the workout fun so time flies. Before you know it, you’ll have cruised through 10 to 20 minutes of work, without even thinking of another excuse to stay in your seat. Step one: Stand up. It’s go time! RELATED: 3 Quick HIIT Workouts for Beginners The Best Cardio Workout You Can Do in Your Living RoomMake sure you have enough room to jump front-to-back and side-to-side as this workout has you moving in all directions. Start with a light jog in place to shake out any stiffness, then tackle the five exercises below. Perform each one for 30 to 60 seconds, with no more than 15 seconds rest in between. Take a full minute to recover at the end of round one, then repeat at least once. It might be easier than climbing a mountain, but this cardio workout should still take your breath away. GIFs: Daily Burn 365 1. Jump Rope Sky-to-Floor ReachHow to: Start standing with feet a little closer than hip-width apart, arms down by your sides (a). Begin swinging your forearms in a circle, as you would while holding a jump rope, as you jog your feet, kicking your heels toward your butt (b). Jog for six steps while swinging your invisible rope (c). Then, reach your arms straight up into the air, coming up onto your toes for a calf raise (d). Then reach down to the floor, bending at the knees for a narrow squat (e). Repeat another sky-to-floor reach (d). Continue alternating between six rope jumps and two sky-to-floor reaches. RELATED: 6 Killer Cardio Workouts That Don’t Involve Running 2. Pop SquatHow to: Start standing with feet hip-width apart (a). Drop down into a squat, pushing your hips back and your butt down, with weight in your heels. Get low enough to touch the floor with one hand (b). Jump back up, bringing your feet together at the top (c). Then pop your feet back out to a squat, touching the ground with your other hand (d). Repeat. 3. Grape Vine Hip TwistHow to: Stand facing forward and take one step to the right with your right foot. Then, step your left foot behind your right. Next, step your right foot out to the right again and tap your left foot to your right. This is one grape vine (a). From here, bring your arms up to shoulder height, elbows bent so arms are parallel to the floor. With your feet together, jump and twist your hips to the right, then the left, repeating two times to each side (b). Then, repeat the grape vine to the left (c). Continue alternating between grape vines and four hip twists. RELATED: 15 Home Workouts from the Fittest Trainers We Know 4. Lunge to Double HopHow to: Start standing, facing forward. Step back into a lunge on your right foot. Knees should each bend 90 degrees and back right knee should hover just above the floor (a). Step back up to stand (b). Repeat the lunge on your left leg (c). Then take two hops at the top (d). Continue alternating lunges and double hops. If you need more of a challenge, make your lunge switch explosive, turning it into a plyometric exercise. RELATED: 50 Ab Exercises to Score a Stronger Core 5. Cross Climbers to Plank JacksHow to: Start in a high plank position, wrists under shoulders and body in one straight line from shoulders to heels (a). Drive your right knee in toward your left elbow, then step it back to plank (b). Drive your left knee in toward your right elbow, then step it back to plank. This is one mountain climber. Do three (six on each leg) (c). Next, jump your feet out to the sides, wider than hip width, then immediately back to your regular plank. This is one plank jack; do two (d). Continue alternating six total mountain climbers with two jacks. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/fitness/home-cardio-workout-10-minutes Get to Know the Figure Skating Sport That’s So Wild It Isn’t Even in the Olympics Yet2/26/2018 [brightcove:5720340376001 default] Figure skating is one of those sports that gets a strange rep for being both enduringly individual and fiercely competitive. If you watched movies like I, Tonya or even Ice Princess, you probably think that ice skaters are inherently adversarial both on and off the ice—and at the Olympic Games, rivalries are what make headlines. For me, growing up as a figure skater meant the exact opposite. It meant goofing off at Saturday 5 a.m. freestyle sessions, post-practice garlic bread at Dan's Pizza, an extra set of hands to scrub slush out of beige tights, and a tight-knit team that knew how to help me sew a hairnet into my hair so it didn't fall out as I spun. But I'm not just talking about a close community; like thousands of other skaters worldwide, I was on a figure skating team in a sport called synchronized skating, in which I'd actually compete alongside 15 other skaters gliding in perfect synchrony. The sport is somewhat lesser known, mostly due to its lack of Olympic representation, but there's a good chance that that will change soon because the most exciting sport you've never heard of is on track to make its grand Olympic debut at the 2022 Winter Games. But let’s backtrack for a moment and start with the basics: Synchronized skating is a discipline of figure skating, like pairs skating and ice dancing. It's a team sport where 8-20 skaters perform one program together, moving as a unit through different formations (like circles, lines, and blocks) and challenging teamwork sequences (like creative lines of spirals and intersections). In the United States, there are 14 different levels in which synchronized skaters can compete, ranging from beginner teams to senior teams. RELATED: Olympians Rally to American Skater Nathan Chen’s Defense After a Devastating Short Program There's less buzz about the sport than there is about, say, ice dancing, because it’s not a part of the Winter Olympic Games each year, despite decades of attempts to have it recognized. In the United States alone, there are 650 registered synchronized skating teams. Around the world, the sport continues to thrive too. Last year, Team Russia took gold at the World Synchronized Skating Championships right ahead of Team Finland, Team Canada, and Team United States. Twenty-four teams competed, with everyone from Croatia and Austria to Sweden and Japan represented. South Korea’s first-ever synchro team just had its first competition in Milan a few weeks ago. Clearly, the talent and interest are there, and the thrilling moves that make the fear of falls and mass pileups are attention-grabbing in the same way NASCAR races are. So why isn't it in the Olympics yet? Turns out, it has virtually nothing to do with public interest. RELATED: If Catwoman Were an Olympic Figure Skater, She’d Compete Like Latvia’s Diana Nikitina Famed international skating judge and former U.S. figure skating Olympic team leader Gale Tanger knows better than anyone what it will take for synchronized skating to be green-lit for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. "We certainly have the passion out there, and the people that see it think it's wonderful. It's the process that really becomes very complex," Tanger, who's been advocating to add synchronized skating to the Olympic schedule for years, tells InStyle. There are three stages of approval necessary before that can happen: OKs from host country, the International Skating Union (also known as the International Federation or the ISU), and finally the International Olympic Committee (IOC). And there are multiple factors that might dissuade any one of those parties from saying yes, including logistics, bed space, cost, and how many countries have teams ready to compete. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, there was enough village space to accommodate the sport, but the IOC worried that there weren't enough competing nations. Before the 2006 Torino Winter Games, the president of the IOC said no for spacial reasons. Ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Canada's Olympic Committee didn't grant approval. Leading up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, Russia said yes and had the bed space and rink space, but the International Federation scrapped the idea in favor of a different figure skating "team event" so as not to confuse viewers. And for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, South Korea said no because it didn't have the space or an international team of its own until recently. But with the 2022 Beijing Winter Games on the horizon, Tanger is at it again, and there's some serious hope this time. "The great thing about this time around is that we do have Chinese [synchronized] teams, so we're [in a ] better [position] than we were in Korea ... and it's not just us," Tanger says. "Our National Olympic Committee has been powerfully for us ever since Salt Lake. The U.S. Olympic Committee is probably one of the greatest supporters of this. But now, the Russian Olympic Committee is jumping in." Additionally, Tanger believes this bid will receive more backing by the International Federation. "If it is approved by China, it will come back to the International Federation, the ISU. I'm sure that this time they'll say yes because [the ISU has] a new president and things have changed. I am sure we'll get a yes off of that. Then it goes into the final step, the IOC," she says. And therein lies the final challenge: Many of the sports industry members who make up the International Olympic Committee are affiliated with sports in the Summer Olympics, not the Winter Olympics, Tanger says. "When it goes into the IOC for a vote, do remember that the majority of members of the IOC are summer sports people, so it's a matter of them being familiar enough with what this is and having China strongly saying that they want it." RELATED: Stop Saying the American Women's Figure Skaters Did Poorly at the Olympics The first step in this multi-step process—a decision by China as to whether synchronized skating would be viable for them to host—will occur within the next few weeks. In the meantime, the thousands of synchronized skaters and synchro lovers (myself included) will watch with interest for the day when the world sees a new form of high-risk and camaraderie-filled figure skating. And until then, we'll tune into the women's free skate competition, airing tonight at 8 p.m. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/syndication/synchronized-skating-olympics I'll admit it, I'm addicted to SoulCycle—and I know I'm not the only one. Ever since the boutique cycling studio first opened its doors in 2006, the momentum hasn't stopped. Not only does it seem like every other person you meet clips in and taps it back on the reg, but SoulCycle has expanded to upwards of 85 studios around the country and is gaining new riders daily. Now, for the first time since the brand's inception, they're launching a new spin class offering that has everyone talking (and sweating): SoulActivate. I had the chance to try SoulActivate last week before it opened to the public. I was told the class would be "an athletic-based workout that's 60 minutes of high intensity interval training," but other than that, I didn't know what to expect. How hard, exactly, would it be? Would we have to dismount the bike mid-ride and do burpees? I arrived a little nervous, but with an open mind. Master SoulCycle instructor Charlee Atkins instructed the class to grab three weights, two lighter ones (3 or 5 pounds) and a heavier one (5 or 8 pounds). Right off the bat, that was different. Three weights—were we going to juggle? (FYI, there was no juggling involved.) I grabbed two 3-pound weights and a 5. I'm happy I had what I did instead of upping to the 8, because the arms portion of class was no joke, but more on that later. Before we began, Charlee took a few minutes to write on the words "Re-Cover 2 Re-Charge Up" on the mirror in the studio. She explained that we would be doing more interval training than a regular class. So, instead of the instructor telling you to keep pushing without any breaks, there would be time allotted for us to recover with the goal of training us to do so faster (both later on in class and in future workouts). In her words, this was a class for "athletes," whether you played in college or currently belong to an intramural team. Neither of which applied to me—eek! But as a frequent rider, I felt up to the challenge. The class started like any other SoulCycle ride—but then the intervals hit and Charlee broke out the stop watch. At one point, she told us we would be doing six 20-second runs against resistance with one-minute rest periods. By that sixth run, we were all breathing heavy, but also feeling amazing (at least I was, because it felt like a great accomplishment to push myself). Similar to other rides, Charlee was coaching us through it, asking, "What would you tell sixty people in a room to do to push through this?" That really got me thinking and moving. When it came time for arms, we were instructed to do many of the same moves I've come to expect at SC (think: bicep curls, tricep extensions, and punches), only this time with slower reps and heavier weights. This may have been my favorite part of class, because I often rely on SoulCycle to be my full-body workout, but sometimes feel that my core and upper body are neglected. Usually, after arms, it's smooth sailing. With two songs left, I typically cruise to the finish line, but that wasn't the case with SoulActivate. Not only was the arm section longer (and involved some runs), but there were more intervals waiting for us on the other side, this time with a shorter recovery period. Oh, and there were more than two songs. Overall, SoulActivate was both challenging and fun, and I can't wait to do again—especially now that I know what to expect. With the promise of burning 150-300 more calories than the usual 500 from a typical SoulCycle class, it's a good option for those interested in a tougher workout. If you want to sweat it out to SoulActivate, classes are available in select New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles studios starting today. You can apply a regular class credit to reserve your bike. Keep in mind that it's recommended for riders that have taken 10 or more SoulCycle classes. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/fitness/soul-cycle-new-soul-activate-class This just in: Sleep is not for the weak. According to Reese Witherspoon’s fitness trainer Ashley Borden, making sure you get those extra Zzs is crucial to tackling your workout. “I always tell my clients that I would rather them get sleep instead of working out on four hours of sleep,” Borden told mindbodygreen.com. “Studies have shown that between 7.5 and eight hours of sleep every night helps the body repair itself and regulate inflammation in the body.” Borden, who has also worked with the likes of Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, and Ryan Gosling, said sleep also affects your metabolic process. “[Not getting enough sleep] produces a higher amount of the inflammatory stress hormone, cortisol,” she said in the interview. “Cortisol has its time and place in our bodies, but not at night. Cortisol heightens our alertness, the last thing we need when we crave sleep.” Aside from sleeping in, Borden also recommends that her clients avoid sugar and load up on greens. “Sugars are inflammatory and trigger more sugar cravings, along with increasing inflammatory cortisol levels, which cause belly fat,” she said. “Choose vegetables that are all the colors of the rainbow and focus on dark green veggies, too. These give us phytonutrients, which have many antioxidant assets that can put a stop to cell damage, which helps strengthen our immune system, prevents cancer, has a positive effect on our hormones, and improves our overall health and vitality.” And even though temperatures are dropping, Borden says it’s important to take your workout outdoors. “Getting outdoors for even 10 minutes provides the body with a natural dose of vitamin D,” she said. “Being outside also provides amazing mental stimulation.” One way she gets her clients moving? An outdoor workout that sounds like something Witherspoon’s Wild character, Cheryl Strayed, would approve of. “I have taken clients out for power walks with a backpack full of mini bands and bands with handles to create a hillside neighborhood circuit workout,” she said. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/syndication/reese-witherspoon-trainer-sleep-workout-advice Bob Harper Shares 'Extremely Private' Photo of Himself in a Coma a Year After His Heart Attack2/26/2018 [brightcove:5554699428001 default] Bob Harper is still healing mentally and physically following his heart attack last year. In an intensely emotional post on Instagram Friday, Harper shared a chilling photo of himself while he was in a coma last year. The former The Biggest Loser trainer, 52, wrote that it was an “extremely private photo.” His reason for sharing? Harper recently achieved a major milestone in his emotional recovery, training in the same room he had experienced his heart attack. “This was me 1 year and 10 days ago, in a coma. TODAY I just did 18.1 (a CrossFit workout for those of you that don’t know) @bricknewyork in the same room where I went into cardiac arrest,” he wrote in the caption. “To say I am grateful for my life is a MAJOR understatement. The whole time I did that workout I just kept saying to myself “I’m still here”. I am doing the #crossfitopen2018 because I AM STILL HERE!! Thank you to my #crossfitfamilyand non CrossFit family for all of your encouragement. I’ll talk more about this today in my #twocupsin post. I am so LUCKY and SO GRATEFUL!!” In January, the personal trainer told PEOPLE Now he went through an “identity crisis” after he was released from the hospital. “Think about it. I was the workout guy. I was the one you came to want to workout and ask for health advice,” he said, adding he battled with depression. He continued, “I had to go back to the drawing board and find out what my purpose was. Who I am. I had to go through a lot personally and emotionally.” Despite struggling with the emotional toll, Harper said, “I’m feeling good. I’m feeling strong. I’m really excited about the new ventures that I’m doing.” Looking back, Harper said he knew exactly what he would tell himself just after his heart attack. “I guess, I would tell myself that it was all going to be okay, and that you are going to find a way on this new path and it’s all going to work out,” he said. “I really do believe that you can’t stress on the big things or the little things and I really try to live that way every day.” via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/syndication/bob-harper-shares-photo-himself-coma-after-heart-attack Some people do notice they give off an extra-foul stench when they’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious. A little background info: The purpose of sweating is to regulate body temperature; with stress sweat, a shift in hormones, such as adrenaline, causes the body to have a fightor-flight response that leads to excessive sweating. But there are two main types of sweat glands, and they produce different types of sweat. When you exercise, you produce sweat, consisting mainly of water and salt, from eccrine glands all around the body that open on the surface of the skin in order to cool you down. When you’re stressed out, sweat gets produced by apocrine glands, which are located in spots on the body that have lots of hair follicles. While all sweat is odorless, the perspiration produced in the areas where we have hair follicles, such as the armpits and the groin, smells bad when it leaves the follicles and combines with bacteria on the skin’s surface. This sweat also contains fats and proteins, which the bacteria likes to feed on. RELATED: The Best Clinical Strength Deodorants for Your Sweatiest Workouts So, controlling stress in general will keep body odor at bay in high-anxiety moments. Have stress management techniques—some deep breathing, a quick meditation in a quiet room at the office, you know the drill—in place that you can use, say, before a big presentation. And avoid overdoing it on caffeine during stress spirals; it can cause blood pressure and heart rate to rise and can make stress symptoms even worse. Also, if you’re worried about stress sweat ruining a moment, try a clinical strength antiperspirant-deodorant (tons of options are available at the drugstore; we like Secret Clinical Strength) at night, when your armpits are drier and the pores will take in the product better—and reapply in the morning.
Health’s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is assistant professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/fitness/sweat-stress-smell-bad Knee pain is a common exercise complaint. The knee is an intricate joint, involving bones, menisci, muscles, tendons, and ligaments all supporting the joint. If there is damage or stress to any of these components, you may have achy knees. Plus, many physical activities—running, jumping, stretching, bending—can put a lot of strain, impact, or body weight directly on the knees, and in turn, cause pain while you work out. This is common among weekend warriors who work out intensely but inconsistently. You can also develop tendonitis over time if you’re regularly doing these motions. Some causes of knee pain are a bit more serious, however. A common cause in young people, especially those who exercise or play high-impact sports, is patellofemoral pain syndrome. Also known as runner’s knee, this syndrome is characterized by pain in the soft tissues and bone around the kneecap. Treatment may involve rest and physical therapy to stabilize the knee joint. Or, it’s possible that the cartilage in your knees has suffered some wear and tear with use and age (osteoarthritis), in which case you may have to change up your workouts and incorporate more low-impact activities, like swimming, using the elliptical, or cycling, to lessen the pain. Doing away with general knee pain from exercising could just be a matter of perfecting your form when you, say, run or do squats and lunges. A few sessions with a certified personal trainer or physical therapist can help you learn these basic movements so that you’re doing them with correct form every time and not putting yourself at risk of injury or long-term damage. Or you may need to do physical therapy to improve your knee stabilization. But because there are so many possible reasons for knee pain, your best bet is to talk to your doctor so you can get the specific help you need.
Health’s medical editor, Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is assistant professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/fitness/knee-pain-exercise [brightcove:5686465531001 default] This article originally appeared on DailyBurn.com. Check out the rest of the exercises at Daily Burn. At the core of every movement is just that: your core. And while lots of times “core” and “abs” become synonymous, it’s not 100% correct to use them interchangeably. Your rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus and obliques do comprise your midsection, but those aren’t the only muscles involved. Your back, hips and glutes also provide that stable base you need for stepping forward and backward, jumping side-to-side or turning all about. So to get a serious core workout you need to work them all. “Core strength and stability not only enhances physical and athletic performance, but also helps maintain and correct posture and form, and prevent injury,” says Andia Winslow, a Daily Burn Audio Workouts trainer. “Those who have an awareness of their core and ability to engage it properly also have enhanced proprioception — or a sense of the positions of their extremities, without actually seeing them.” Just picture elite athlete’s movement, Winslow explains, and how rhythmic and easy they travel through space, often in several planes of motion at the same time. They can thank strong trunk muscles for that. “Core should be a focus in every workout,” Winslow says. “Workouts won’t be as effective without proper core engagement.” That’s not to say crunches need a permanent place in your sweat sessions. You can easily sneak in added core challenges during other common exercises. “When folks elect to add difficulty to workouts, they often increase weight, repetition or duration. Another — and often more effective — way to increase the intensity is by altering stance, ground contact, and/or dynamic variance equipment [think: sand or water],” Winslow says. Shifting your weight, testing your balance, or focusing on sticking a landing, all engage your middle more. Learn how to get a solid core workout in every strength session with these sneaky midsection-scorching strategies from Winslow. RELATED: 50 Ab Exercises to Score a Stronger Core Strength Tips: How to Work Your Core in Every WorkoutPhoto: Twenty20 1. Add weight overhead.Whether you’re doing squats or lunges, Winslow suggests pushing or holding a weight overhead — or even just keeping your arms straight up — to activate your abs and shoulders. These muscle groups have to work harder to keep your spine in a neutral position so you don’t over-arch, straining your low back. Translation: Put your hands in the air like you really care (about your core workout). 2. Hold your step-ups and pull-ups.Stepping up onto a bench, chair or box requires you to use one leg, driving off your heel to reach the top. While balancing on one limb already works your core to keep you upright, Winslow explains that pausing at the top (with knee raised) will incorporate your midsection more. When you stand up, simply hold for a two- to five-second count, then go back down. Same strategy holds (literally!) for chin-ups and pull-ups. By pausing with your chin at the bar, your core fires to keep you steady and in one solid line. Leg or arm day turned core workout. RELATED: 6 Exercises for the Ultimate Back and Chest Workout Photo: Twenty20 3. Stick a single-leg landing on box jumps.To crank up the core work in a box jump, start by bringing the hop height down. Then, keep the explosive leap to one leg and really stick the landing. (Hold it at the top for one to three seconds before standing up and stepping off.) One full-body exercise at its finest. 4. Do a single-arm dumbbell press or fly.Make your arm and ab routine go hand-in-hand. Moving one arm at a time in exercises like a dumbbell press or fly, drives your midsection to work against the rotation to keep your hips square and your back straight. This will work whether you’re standing or lying on your back. Lift your hips into a bridge and you target your glutes, too. So many muscles; so much less time. RELATED: 5 Planks, 10 Minutes: Your Ultimate Abs Workout Photo: Daily Burn 365 5. Go for a twist.We tend to rotate in multiple directions all day, from turning to give a fellow studio mate a high five to twisting around to chat with a co-worker. But to keep that movement safe, your core needs enough strength to prop you upright and protect the spine. Enter: rotational exercises to build stability. Try twisting your torso at the top of a step-up or the bottom of a front or side lunge, so your body learns to better handle those turns you take throughout the day. via Diana Rembert Blog http://www.health.com/fitness/torch-your-core-workout |
ABOUT MEHi I am Diana Rembert,I am 33 year old living in United State. I love to having a fun on weekends with my friends and like reading books. Archives
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