342/365 Back in the Saddle Again (plus a plug for TRX)

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Remember that one time when I totally stopped writing in my blog back in June? I almost forgot too! Well, our lives are cyclical and I do believe I got slightly burnt out from my (nearly) daily blogging routine. Alas I have returned! As with our healthy lifestyles, sometimes we have to take a break and get back in the saddle again. I'm going to finish out these last 33 posts and perhaps beyond at my leisure. This way I don't get burnt out and your Facebook feed won't blow up with my postings.

On to the plug for the TRX Suspension Trainer...

This is a great system that I've only gotten to play around with recently. It's a super simple training tool that, with creativity (and the help of youtube videos) allows you to work nearly every muscle group in less than 15 minutes. The TRX Suspension Trainer is a rope with handles, foot holds, and clasps to adjust the length of the rope. You can clip it around a sturdy bar and off you go!

Some fun stuff you can do are:
Assisted pull ups
Push ups
Bicep curls
Rows
Tricep extensions
Shoulder (posterior and frontal) raises
Pikes, planks, and mountain climbers

Do that three times around and you will be drenched in sweat. I can say that because I've done it and was spent by the end.

In health,

Lauren

PS: I hope you didn't miss me too much  :)

311/365 Pilates: a Core Exercise

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Once upon a day in November I wrote about Pilates. Here is a core exercise from Pilates you can mix into your abdominals routine.

1. Start by laying down on your back. Press your lower back into the floor by tucking your tailbone under you. Extend your legs and arms straight up. Lift your shoulders off the floor.
2. Lower your legs down to about 45 degrees while making a circle with your arms. Start with arms straight out, over your head, and around to your sides.
3. Finish the move by tucking your knees in and touching your hands to your ankles.

In health,

Lauren

309/365 Strengthen Your Core with Good Form

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Lots of people have asked me about exercises for your core. While there are tons of exercises out there, the most important thing that I've found is that good form usually means that you will also be working your abs.

Our trunk keeps us balanced. Raise your arms up by your sides so that they are parallel to the floor. Now, keep your arms straight and quickly clap your hands together. Bring them back out. Did your core move? Did you lean back a little when you clapped and lean forward when you brought your arms out? Do it again but this time focus on not moving your trunk at all.

Ta da! You just did an ab exercise! Though this doesn't target your abs directly like a crunch would, it is a functional way to work your body. Take this focus on keeping your trunk steady into any exercise you do. Whether it's curls, rows, shoulder presses, lunges, whatever, make sure that your trunk is locked in place. It'll allow you to better target the muscle you are working on and strengthen your abs.

When you think about the muscle you are using to contract, you work harder. You will feel greater intensity in that muscle even if it's the same amount of weight you've been picking up and putting down.

In health,

Lauren

299/365 Spinal Balance, 2 Variations

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Balance is super important for daily living especially as we get older. I like throwing in this Spinal Balance exercise at the end of my workout for one final burn in my shoulders and core.

The first example is your standard Spinal Balance.
1. Start with your knees under your hips and hands under your shoulders.

sorry for the crazy bottom image!

2. Extend your right arm forward and your left leg back behind you. Try to reach forward and up as much as possible without dropping your form. You will get the most benefit from any core exercise by keeping your core engaged and locked while doing whatever else with your appendages. From here you can squeeze elbow to knee and extend again or simply switch sides.

The second example is a challenging variation. You'll feel it in your hips and it will burn your shoulders and core even more.

1. Start in your Spinal Balance

2. Once you've held your extended arm and leg comfortably, rotate everything 90 degrees. Your right leg will now point to the right wall and your left arm will point to the left wall. Hold this position for 3-5 deep breaths.

3. Repeat on the other side.

In health,

Lauren

284/365 Spring Workout: Legs, Shoulders, and Core

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Truth be told, my workouts for these Wednesdays of legs, shoulders, and core changed from week to week. This was mostly due to me being dissatisfied with what I made and introducing sprint intervals to my treadmill routines. This is the workout I enjoyed the most:

Wednesdays
Deadlifts
Squats on Smith Machine
Lateral Flys
Y-Press-Down (illustration to come tomorrow)
Bicycles
Figure 4 Abs
V-Sits

I repeated the legs exercises 3x12, shoulder exercises 2x10, and core exercises 2x25. You of course should listen to your body and decide how many sets and reps you do should you decide to try out my spring workout.

In health,

Lauren

282/365 Spring Workout: Pull Muscles

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I'm very excited for next Wednesday when I get to measure my girth, body fat %, and weight! Until then, here are the two pulling muscle workouts that I used on Mondays and Thursdays. Remember, pull muscles include your trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, posterior deltoid, biceps, pronators, and supinators.

Mondays
Seated rows
Single arm dumbbell rows on bench
One legged posterior deltoid flys
Bow pulls with cable (pretend like you are pulling a bowstring back)
Hammer curl (thumbs point up)

Thursdays
Lat pull downs
Squatting rows (use a cable)
Pronated Curls (thumbs point inwards)
Posterior deltoid flys on ball

When I first started out, I was only doing 2 sets of 8-15. The next week I progressed to 3 sets of 10-12. Once I felt comfortable doing 12 and felt like I could do more after, I moved my weight up. Next, the push muscle exercises...

In health,

Lauren

261/365 Workout Example: Legs, Abs, and Shoulders

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Here is my legs, abs, and shoulders work out that I'm doing once a week; I go through it all the way down then repeat in reverse.

- Side Jumps on Box: 1min
- Lateral Flys: 12 reps
- Pikes: 15 reps
- Leap Frog: 1min
- Anterior Deltoid Raise: 12 reps
- Figure 4 Abs: 10 reps on each side
- Jump Roping: 1min
- Overhead Press: 12 reps
- Shrimping (see video below, only do if you have a slick floor; carpet is not kind...ouch!): 6 each side
- Jump Squats/Tuck Jumps: 20 reps
- Plank: 1min forward (Round 1), 30sec each  (Round 2)

This was challenging but I think I need to make the abdominals part a little more difficult by using a medicine ball. I will probably also have to step up the legs portion in a couple weeks. Anyway, give it a try and tell me what you think!

In health,

Lauren

254/365 Rows on a Ball

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

As you may have caught on, I like doing rows of every kind. This one is particularly cool because you're not standing or sitting, you're balancing on a ball!

Here's how to do it:
1. Select a balance ball that is a little bit taller than your knee. You don't want a ball too big or else it'll be more of a lower back exercise than an upper back exercise simply because of the way you'll have to position the ball.
2. Put your dumbbells of choice in front of the ball to keep the ball from rolling.
3. Roll onto the ball so that your tummy is supported and your toes are touching the floor.
4. Grab onto your weights, keep your back engaged, and row! Pretend there's a ball on your spine and you've got to squeeze it with your shoulder blades.

In health,

Lauren

234/365 It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Banana-Man!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Perhaps it is because I like to make people do funny exercises or maybe I wish someone would make me do these. Still, I find myself fond of a particular exercise: Banana-Man! This exercise is great for your core and just plain fun (or at least fun to watch); it's best done with more than 3 people if you are prone to embarrassment.

1. Banana: Start out on your back, arms stretched out overhead.
Without pushing off the floor, move into...
2. Superman: Lying on your stomach, arms and legs hovering off the floor.
3. Repeat! Have someone call out Banana/Superman and feel your core working.

In health,

Lauren

146/365 Winter Workout at Home: Burpees

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

The burpee is a classic exercise for cardio and strength. It can be done just about anywhere and can be modified as needed. You will work your core, your legs, your arms, and your heart in this dynamic exercise.

1. Begin by standing upright.
2. Jump up from a squat! To make it easier, reach up as high as you can. To make it harder, jump up and tuck your knees into your chest when you're at your highest point.
3. Land with soft knees.
4. Place your hands on the floor and jump your legs back straight into a plank position. To make it easier, step back one leg and then the other.
5. Jump back into the squatted position on the floor (phase 3). To make it easier, step one leg in and then the other.
6. Stand back upright.
Repeat for 30 seconds or go for repetitions.

In health,

Lauren

138/365 I'm on a (Yoga) Boat!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

After attending my friend Elizabeth's yoga class (check out her blog!), I thought it was important to put in another plug for yoga. Yoga is absolutely wonderful for your body, mind, and spirit. It helps you realign yourself, allows you to be quiet and just be. Specifically though I want to share the boat pose that we did in our practice since I am now suffering from sore abdominals.

1. Begin sitting on your mat or the floor. Place your hands behind you on the floor. Bend your elbows for support as you lift your knees up. Keep your back straight.
2. Pick your feet up off the floor and extend your arms straight out, reaching forward. Make your shins parallel to the floor.
3. You can either hold the boat pose here (left) or give yourself a greater challenge (right).
4. Extend your legs while extending your back and lowering yourself to the floor. Don't actually touch the floor with your back or legs.
5. Hover for a moment then snap back into Step 3. Repeat 8-10 times.

In health,

Lauren

I couldn't make the reference without putting in the video. Enjoy!

131/365 Another Way to Row

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Rowing exercises are a great way to strengthen your back. By using cables instead of fixed machines, you can manipulate gravity so that the exercise works you differently. This is a squatting row

1. Align cable column so that the cable is a little below your pelvis. Grab the handlebar attached to a cable with both hands. Take steps backward away from the column to increases resistance.
2.  Squat down so that cable is now between your xiphoid process and belly button. Make sure your lower back is arched so you don't strain yourself.
3. Start contraction with arms fully extended. Imagine that there's a ball on your spine. Squeeze the ball by flexing your elbows and retracting your shoulder blades. Slowly return arms to start position. Keep squatting the entire time.

This exercise works your trapezius, rhomboids, biceps, brachioradialis, brachialis, posterior deltoid, quadriceps and hamstrings. Squatting makes this exercise more challenging and forces you to engage more muscles as opposed to a seated row.

In health,

Lauren

14/365 Do the Lawn Mower!

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Back fat. Those two words just do not sound happy together unless you're talking about a delicious piece of meat that you probably shouldn't consume anyway. Regardless, I have found a love for rowing type exercises. They have made my back lean, strong, and sexy. Here's one to add to your repertoire.


The Lawn Mower

1. Begin by taking a knee (the left knee is in front). Rest your left arm on your left knee.
2. Right arm is holding your weight; arm is straight. Keep the small of your back arched.
3. Bring your elbow up and behind you. Do not twist your back.
4. Repeat for reps on both sides, returning arm back into straightened position on the inside of your left leg.

You should feel the muscles along the side of your back working.

In health,

Lauren