Answer To Your Fitness Questions" />A Toned Core
August 18, 2008
For the beginners, begin on your side with one foot on top of the other and the elbow place beneath you at a 90 degree angle or at least a comfortable right angle. Contracting the core muscles lift your body up into a bridge pose. See if you can hold this for 5 breaths for that toned core!
For intermediate put one foot in front of the other and place the hand beneath your shoulder and extend your upper arm. Try holding this one for 5 breaths, taking care in coming down with control.
For advanced exercisers in gaining a toned core do the same lift in the intermediate side plank, but now, lift the top leg off the bottom leg, keeping your body strong and active without allowing your hips to sag or sway.
Make sure that as you progress through these three stages that you listen adequately to your body, avoid the postions that cause pain or strain any weak areas.
This exercise is wonderful for gaining a toned core, a strong core that will in turn support back muscles that go out on us as we go about our daily activites!!
Take care and keep your goals in sight everyone!!
Strength Training Without Weights
July 29, 2008
You probably have your own reasons for strength training without weights, such as an injury, or you are just beginning a program, or that you are aging and you are not comfortable in using weights anymore. But there are some keys to strength training without weights and build actual strength.
1)Progressive muscular resistance, in other words, intensity! Increase in intensity progressively using your own body’s weight and resistance. The best way is body awareness and repetitions.
2)Minimal rest periods. Do not use lag time, keep moving through your muscle groups!
3)Use supersets. These are exercises that increase your intensity, for example do push-ups and then immediately do pull ups. It is a form of muscle confusion, shocking the muscles into reaction.
4)Absolutely stretch. Keep your ROM active and increasing to get stronger in your program. Remember, tightness limits strength.
5)Eat a diet rich in protein, veggies, fruits, and some complex grains. Keep your body rebulding, repairing and nutritiously feeding the cells.
Most of these keys up above are very familiar to you! As strength training without weights makes sense to you, give it a try, it really is the old exercise format, called calisthenics. It does work and it does bring more variety to your program to give you the results you are working towards. I believe we all need this from time to time, it doesn’t matter if you are beginning or advanced, you are always in a position that needs muscle confusion!!
