FitSugar

Home Work: Stand on the Wall

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:00:00 PDT

I find it exhilarating to get a new perspective on the world, especially on days when I am feeling a little low energy. Going upside down is great fun and it builds your shoulder, upper back, and arm strength. Inversions can be a little tricky, but this handstand variation takes advantage of the stability provided by a wall.

For more detailed instructions and how not to do this handstand,

Tone Your Middle With the Kettlebell Windmill

Susi May — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:27:14 PST

Swinging kettlebells around at the gym makes me feel like a super toughie. But I do love the sassy feeling I get doing slow and controlled windmills, a move I just learned from my Equinox trainer Lauren. Like most kettlebell moves, this is a full-body exercise, but the work is at your waist, toning the obliques and stretching the sides of the torso. The shoulders and arms are worked nicely, too.

If you're a beginner, try this exercise with no weights. Once you feel familiar with the sequence, add one five-pound dumbbell into the mix, holding the weight in the hand that remains held above the head. When you're ready, progress to using a set of four-kilogram (8.8 pounds) kettlebells.

Start toning your love handles now; bikini season is right around the corner.

Your Most Popular Exercise Myths Debunked

Leta Shy — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:55:58 PDT

Earlier this week we asked you which exercise myth had you convinced for way too long, and you weren't too shy to let us know! We already debunked the myth that muscle turns into fat, but here are the most popular myths that you believed and why they are so completely untrue!

Myth: Strength training makes you bulk up.

You said: "[I believed] that strength training would make you bulk up - [but] it's HARD for women to put on tons of muscle without really trying!!" - Gabriela Une Vie Seine
Fact: Many of you said you believed the bulking myth. In reality, however, building huge muscle requires testosterone coupled with a serious weight-training regimen (not to mention a protein-filled diet), so you aren't going to sculpt a bodybuilder physique unless you really want to. Strength training is an important part of any exercise routine; the more muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be. And while the rate of muscle building depends on your body type, not only will strength training give you a higher calorie-burning rate, but it'll make you more defined as well (as celebrity trainer Jackie Warner says, "Would you rather have fat under those jeans or a little bit of tone?").

Myth: You can eat whatever you want as long as you exercise.

You said: "[I believed that] if I work out everyday I could eat whatever I wanted. Duh!!!!" - Facebook user Brighty
Fact: Whether or not you gain or lose weight is all about the math. Losing pounds happens when you have a caloric deficit, meaning you eat fewer calories then you burn. Whether you want to maintain, gain, or lose weight while you exercise, having your metabolic rate checked and wearing a heart rate monitor can help you know exactly how much you should be eating. What you eat is also important, especially if you're training for a race; it's important to find the perfect balance of fats, protein, and carbs that will keep you fueled and energized.

Find three more popular myths debunked after the break!

4 Reasons to Try TRX Suspension Training

Leta Shy — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:45:17 PST

It may have been developed for the Navy SEALs, but you don't have to be in secret-weapon shape to work out with TRX. The concept of the TRX suspension training is pretty basic: you use two cables on your feet or hands to partially suspend your body and use your own body weight as resistance. The muscle groups you work as well as how hard you work them all depend on the positioning of your body on the cables.

To find out more about the benefits of the workout, I spoke with Randy Hetrick, former Navy SEAL and current CEO and founder of TRX, at the unveiling of the newly expanded TRX Training Center in San Francisco, CA. If you've ever wondered about all those odd-looking straps hanging in your gym, read on to find out more about working out with TRX.

It's for anyone: So, who should do TRX? Everyone, Randy says. "People who like yoga and Pilates tend to like TRX because there are some crossovers. But it's also great for runners, cyclists, or anyone who is an endurance athlete and wants to have more strength training." Even reluctant "power lifters" are usually swayed by the workout once they see how effective it can be at building muscle, he says.
It's beginner-friendly: Another reason to try a TRX class - it's easy to tweak exercises to your own level of difficulty and ramp up when necessary. "It's all user-defined," Randy says. "You determine how hard or how easy you really want to go. So really advanced or really beginners can work out in the same class and get what's right for them."

Read on for more reasons to try TRX.

Keep Running: Prevent Plantar Fasciitis With These Tips

Susi May — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:06:42 PST

From pounding the pavement running to spending a day in fashionable shoes that lack proper support, feet take a beating. If you're training for a race this Spring and upping your mileage, it pays to show your peds some love. You can do some preventive prehab to avoid coming down with a case of plantar fasciitis. This painful condition, which can be common in new runners and affects women more than men, occurs when the the fibrous band that runs from the heel bone to the base of the toes stretches too far and tears. These micro tears cause inflammation of the fascia and the tissues surrounding it, making every footstep painful and abruptly stalling your training schedule. If you're experiencing some unexplainable heel pain, try these methods to keep plantar fasciitis at bay.

From the Fit Community: Can You Really Make Your Muscles Longer and Leaner?

Fit Community — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:23:17 PST

FitSugar reader JessicaSmithTV wanted to know: are all those claims about creating longer and leaner muscles through exercise true? She asked an expert and posted the answer in our Fit Community.

You've probably heard it numerous times before - a workout that promises to give you longer, leaner muscles (we've often heard this said about PIlates or ballet-based training methods) . . . so can this really be true? Can a muscle truly become longer and/or leaner?

I asked "The Exercise Doctor" Michele Olson - PhD, creator of the Perfect Legs, Glutes, & Abs DVD, and professor at Auburn University Montgomery - to answer this for us. She has studied various forms of exercise extensively and published research on Pilates.

"Muscles are already comprised of 'fat-free' (aka lean) tissue, so any amount of muscle is, by definition, lean. You can't have 'leaner' muscles," says Olson. "If you were to add more muscles from resistance training, you could increase the amount of lean muscle you have and, therefore, have more lean muscle." But most of these methods (such as Pilates or ballet-/barre-style exercises) use relatively light to moderate resistance, which is not enough to create a significant increase in the amount of lean muscle mass you have.

Read on to learn more about if you can make your muscles long and lean.

More Kettlebell, Please! 4 Calorie-Torching Exercises

Leta Shy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:53:58 PST

Kettlebell fans love the heavy round-shaped weights for a reason - kettlebell exercises combine cardio and strength training together for a time-saving calorie burn. The amount of calories you can burn using kettlebells can be amazingly high: a study by the American Council on Exercise found that the average person burns 272 calories in 20 minutes when doing kettlebell exercises. More research has found that regularly exercising with kettlebells significantly reduces back, neck, and shoulder pain by strengthening core and upper body muscles.

Does all that convince you to add more kettlebell to your life? Read on for tips on choosing the right kettlebell and four calorie-torching exercises to try.

Source: Thinkstock

Full-Body Move: Turkish Get Up

Susi May — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:48:42 PST

Imagine lying on your back and then getting off the floor to a standing position, over and over again. Imagine holding a weight over your head as you do it. This mental image should give you a basic sketch of the Turkish Get Up. This classic strength-training move is all about functional fitness involving every major muscle group as you make your way to being upright and return back to the floor.

To start, try the exercise with no weights. When you've mastered the choreography, graduate to a five-pound dumbbell or kettlebell. Popular in boot camps and CrossFit, the Turkish Get Up can be done holding serious poundage above your head, but I find the move challenging sans weights, too. It is crucial, especially when working with heavier weights, that you keep your eyes on the weight the entire time. This helps keep your arm in the correct position so it doesn't drift off behind your head, putting your shoulder in a dangerous position.

Get Strapless-Dress Ready With These 5 Triceps Exercises

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:02:56 PST

Award season is upon us, which means that all those celebs can show off all the hard work they've done at the gym or with their trainers. One such area stars love to show off on the red carpet? Toned arms, made perfect with exercises that define biceps and, maybe more importantly, get rid of that dreaded arm jiggle. Start prepping now for your own warmer-weather, strapless fashions with these five triceps exercises that will tone up your arms in no time!

Source Getty

Gym 101: Strength-Training Warmup

Susi May — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:12:55 PST

A solid warmup sets you up for a solid workout. When it comes to prepping for strength training, an active warmup primes the joints and muscles, prepping them for the heavy lifting. Lauren, my Equinox trainer, introduced me to these moves, and after a little light cardio - for me, it's five minutes running on a treadmill at a 6 mph pace, but the elliptical or a little jump rope would work - Lauren has me do three out of these five moves. Mix and match the exercises however you please, or do them all for a very thorough warmup.

Rocking Lunge
Give an active stretch to both your hips and hamstrings with the rocking lunge. Start in a deep lunge with your right leg forward; you can even bring your left knee to the floor. Straighten your right knee to rock your weight back and onto your left foot to lengthen the hamstring. Flex your right toes as you rock into the hamstring stretch. Return back to your deep lunge and repeat for a total of 10 times on each side.

Toy Soldier
A walking kick, the toy soldier stretches out the back of the leg, both hamstrings and calves. Step forward on your right foot, and kick your left leg forward, bringing your left toes toward your right hand. Step onto your left foot and kick the right leg, bringing right foot toward left hand. Take 20 steps total.

Keep reading for three more moves.