FitSugar

Why Feel The "Y": Core Concepts

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 12:30:00 PDT

Do you work your "Y"? Well you should...it is an easy way to feel connected to your "core." The "Y" connects your armpits to your belly button, and then your pelvic floor (like a kagel) pulling up toward your navel. Feeling these points connected gets your external obliques to work so your rib cage stays aligned over your pelvis. Engaging the pelvic floor stabilizes the lower part of the pelvis. All the energy meets at your navel activating your deep abs. Your upper body is now all connected.

I find this "Y" visual helpful for quickly getting into my core and stabilizing my torso while doing a bunch of different activities, from hauling toddlers around to doing free weights I use the "Y" to keep my torso still when doing bi-cep curls. It totally helps get rid of the "sway back into the heels" that often accompanies the lift. Try the "Y" when you do your next set of push-ups - keeping your torso all trussed up really helps out your arms as they push your entire body weight away from the floor.

So use your "Y" - practice it while standing in line for your morning latte.

If you have some questions about your core read this post Core Questions and hopefully it will answer yours.

How Not to Destroy Your Marriage

The Good Men Project — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:42 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Today, Mark Tyrrell offers eight relationship tools to make your marriage work.

"All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble." - Raymond Hull

So how do you make your marriage work? Or do you just blindly hope it'll take care of itself?

Think of a hot, successful date with someone you’re attracted to. You have fun, great conversation and more sexual chemistry than a warehouse full of pheromones. You don’t have to “work at” the date because it’s self sustaining. It runs as smoothly as the gliding hand of a classical guitar maestro and you can’t wait for another rendition.

Teenage Dating in a Twilight-Hunger Games World

But marriage, or any long term relationship; well that’s a whole other caboodle.

If we’re not careful, marriage can deteriorate into little more than a torturous assault course; littered with routine boredoms, frustrations and resentments. Couple all that with external pressures and sometimes marriage feels not worth the effort. But there are major benefits to being hitched or committed, other than just a beneficial tax regime.

Healthy marriage; healthy people.

Being happily married bestows heaps of health benefits. You might be forgiven for thinking that if you’re married you don’t live longer it just seems like it but, no, a good marriage really can help you clock up more years (1) and married people are happier (2) even though they don’t always look it from the outside.

But when marriage doesn’t work it can feel being manacled to a maniac, marooned with a misogynist or nailed to a nag. And I don’t care what the studies say, that’s not healthy. You may hear couples say stuff like: “We are making our marriage work!” but how do we do this?

Making it work.

We pay lip service to “working on the marriage” but what is the work we need to do? Marriage vows such as “to love and to cherish” and “forsaking all others, for better or for worse” don’t really tell us how to make it work, although they give us a clue.

Fortunately a ton of research has been done on what to do and not do to make your marriage, or any intimate relationship work. Follow the guidelines here to become “good at marriage."

Tip one: Be romantic but keep it real.

We are all (force?) fed romance in movies and novels. The handsome man gets the beautiful woman. But what I wonder is what happens after our romantic couple ride off into the sunset together? What do they do exactly? Bicker? Moan at one another? Start to ignore each other?

After all that romance, our beautiful couple is bound to have massive expectations of their life together. But when rose tinted expectations clash with day to reality, watch out!

Romance is vital in any relationship. Always seeing the best in your partner helps to keep things intimate and love should be expressed. But if you have been raised on Mills and Boon Romance novels or feel-good movies, then your own romantic expectations can work against the sustainability of your long term relationship.

When day to day life fails to live up to the giddy, heady lust-filled days of the pre-settled down romance people can become angry, even blame one another: “This wasn’t what I signed up for." They find it hard to take the rough with the smooth because they never really figured there would be any rough.

Expectations not diluted with at least a dash of realism can be a royal road to relationship ruin. Your partner may be an angel, but they have feet of clay. You must learn to love those feet or at least accept them a bit!

Get the rest after the jump!

How to Make Your Push-Ups More Effective

Leta Shy — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:38:08 PDT

Push-ups may be basic, but it takes some time, strength, and awareness to do them correctly. Once you get the hang of this simple exercise, you'll be amazed at how sculpted and strong your arms, chest, core, and shoulders will be. Here are some tips for perfecting your push-up and making it work for you.

Find your form: Before you can move on, make sure you're actually doing a push-up the right way. Be aware of these four things as you execute a push-up: your body alignment, hands, abs, and breath. Make sure your shoulders are aligned over your wrists and your fingers and palms are spread wide, with pressure focused in your fingertips. Pull your belly button in, keeping your spine straight so your body is in a straight line; make sure to connect your breath with your movements. As you lower, bend your elbows outward to the sides. For more information on how to do a push-up correctly, read this guide.

Change it up: Don't stick to boring basic push-ups. While the exercise is great for your upper body, adding props or changing the positions of your hands can make push-ups harder and will work different areas of your body. Add an exercise ball to your feet, for example, to challenge core muscles, and point hands inward to work your triceps more. We've got more ideas - here are 14 push-up variations to try.

More tips for your push-ups after the break.

Yoga No-Nos For Pregos

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:33:23 PDT

Fun issues like nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, and the need to hit the ladies' room - three different times during a workout! - makes it difficult to keep up with a regular exercise routine when pregnant. If you're expecting, taking up yoga (or continuing to go) is wonderful because not only does it alleviate some of these annoying discomforts, your body will stay strong and flexible. No prenatal yoga class offered in your area? Take a regular class, but be sure to avoid the following during your practice.

Deep forward bends: Folding forward can compress blood vessels and nerves that connect to your uterus. Keep things flowing by separating your legs like in this Wide-Legged Forward Bend to make space at the top of the thighs.
Deep twists: This can also decrease circulation, so always twist in an open position as in this pose, not deeply across the knee.
Lying on your back: Once you hit the second trimester, avoid lying on your back for extended periods of time (as in Savasana). The increased weight of your uterus interferes with the flow of blood and nutrients to your developing baby. It can also aggravate lower back pain, heartburn, and elevate blood pressure. Use blocks and bolsters to prop your torso up instead of lying flat, and whenever possible find ways to stretch the same muscles while you're standing, sitting, on your hands and knees, or when lying on your side.
Poses that work your abs: As your belly expands, it's difficult to support the weight with your rectus abdominus (the muscles you see when someone has a six-pack), so you use your obliques (ab muscles on the side of your belly). Overly-strong obliques can pull your abdominal muscles apart, causing a condition known as diastasis. Avoid risk by skipping poses that target your core, especially your obliques - worry about getting your abs back in shape after the baby arrives.

Keep reading for more prenatal yoga no-nos.

4 Reasons to Stick With Pilates

Leta Shy — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:15:09 PDT

Fad workouts come and go, but Pilates continues to be a favorite among Hollywood starlets and well-versed fitness fanatics. What's to love about the exercise? Check out these four reasons to do Pilates below.

Complementary workout: Whether you are a hard-core swimmer or a bootcamp devotee, incorporating Pilates into your workout routine helps keep your muscles loose and flexible, important for staying injury-free, and allows your body to recuperate while still working your muscles.

Lengthen and strengthen: The oft-quoted promise that Pilates and other studio-based exercises will make you look long and lean may be a stretch, since there's no physical way to actually make your muscles longer or leaner. But regularly practicing Pilates can help you combat muscle bulkiness. "In Pilates you stretch the muscle to its full extension, then contract it," says celeb Pilates trainer Nicole Stuart. With weights, however, "you are using your muscles against the resistance of that weight you are holding. So while you're lifting the weight you build and expand your muscle. You are adding a layer of muscle and reshaping."

Read on for more reasons to do Pilates after the break.

How to Stay Forever Young Like Madonna

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:16:27 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar!

When you see Madonna on a talk show this week promoting her new album, MDNA (out now!), or during one of the stops on her world tour, which kicks off on May 29, you’ll be checking out moves choreographed by former Broadway dancer Nicole Winhoffer. She appeared in shows like Wicked and 42^nd Street, among others, before joining the Material Girl for her Sticky and Sweet Tour in 2009. Winhoffer, who is also a personal trainer, now works in the gym with Madonna six days a week to ensure that she’s ready for her grueling performances.

We caught up with Winhoffer to take a peek behind the scenes and to learn more about how everyone can train just like the amazing 53-year-old pop star!

If our readers could steal one trick from your work with Madonna, what would that be?

Body awareness. They must engage their mind while performing their exercises. Time and time again, I see people reading papers or watching TV while they work out. This might bring about injury, and if the mind is not connected to the body, you can't exert the proper amounts of energy needed to gain the desired results.

You were in Indianapolis to help Madonna prepare for the Super Bowl and are now gearing up to go on tour with her. How do you prepare for each performance?

Right before the show, we warm up in her dressing room. We complete active hamstring stretch sequences as well as other stretches, ensure joint mobility by performing jumps on the ground and on trampolines, and do ab work. As a result, her body is connected, warm, and ready for the performance.

People are still buzzing about her amazing halftime show performance. How do you get your body ready for something like that?

We increased our cardio for stamina - her show was the most physical 12 minutes I have ever experienced! Due to her high heels, we made sure her core was strong to support the stress placed on her lower back. We practiced several movements and routines from her performance within the workout so once she was on stage, her muscle memory kicked in.

Read on to get more tips on how Madonna stays in shape.

More from Fitness Magazine:

The Love-Your-Legs Workout

Your Guide to Spring Clean Your Life

Run a Half Marathon in 10 Weeks: Beginner Training Plan

Full Spec Details of the New iPad

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:03:22 PST

The new iPad was announced today - will you buy it or skip it? While the main upgraded features were detailed at the event, the full specs were kept out of the spotlight. The Apple store is finally up and running, so we can get a good look at other changes or upgrades coming with the new iPad. Interested? Get the details about all the specs that matter to you below.

Body
The new iPad comes with a 9.7-inch display and is just 0.37-inch thick. It weighs just under a pound and a half.

Display
It's safe to say that Apple's Retina display is a game-changer, and now it's even better on the new iPad. Coming with a screen resolution of 2048 x 1536, you'll have more screen coverage and pixels-per-inch than your 1920 x 1080 HDTV. What does this mean for you? Incredible picture quality, whether you're watching a movie, flipping through photos, or playing a game.

Cameras
The new iPad comes with two cameras - a 5MP iSight rear-facing camera that shoots 1080p video with its ƒ/2.4 aperture and a five-element lens, and a VGA-quality forward-facing camera for Facetime and video chatting. Camera features include autofocus, tap to focus, and video stabilization.

Learn more about the battery life, new Dictation features, and data plan pricing after the break.

Samsung Galaxy Note Gets Price and Release Date

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:31:18 PST

The biggest smartphone (or tiniest tablet?) we've ever seen, the Samsung Galaxy Note has finally received a price and release date: it's headed to AT&T on Feb. 19 for $300. Whether you're looking for a powerful smartphone or portable tablet, the Galaxy Note has you covered. Coming with a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, 1.4GHz dual-core processor, HSPA＋ and LTE connectivity for fast upload and download speeds, an included stylus (called the S Pen), and dual cameras (8MP rear facing and 2MP forward facing), it's got everything you might need from either device.

The Galaxy Note could also be your BFF when it comes to organizing your life. Included software integrates with your calendars, to-do lists, and schedule, and the S Memo app allows you to use the stylus to write notes and draw pictures, then converts them into a memo for later use.

You can preorder the Galaxy Note starting on Feb. 5 in two colors - carbon blue and ceramic white.

How to Get Rihanna's Rock-Hard Abs

Shape — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:32:58 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Rihanna is one hot singing sensation. Having recently been named the best-selling digital artist of all time - thanks to a whopping 47.5 million downloads of her hits - the sexy songstress is also a top contender for album of the year at this year’s Grammy Awards.

But not only does the Barbadian beauty know how to rock a stage, she also rocks a bikini, too! No stranger to showin’ off some skin, getting that taut and tight tummy definitely takes work.

The Top 10 Best-Dressed Stars at the Golden Globes

That’s where inspirational fitness expert extraordinaire Ary Nuñez comes in; she’s been training the artist hard for almost four years. “We focus on the core muscles and we do a ton of repetitions,” Nuñez says.

See Rihanna's ab workout after the break.

Samsung Galaxy Note Coming Soon With Fancy Stylus

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:51:15 PST

Size may not matter to most, but according to Samsung's research, you're gonna love its new Galaxy Note. Packed with a massive 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED screen (the largest smartphone screen in the world, naturally), it's the perfect size for those who want a larger viewing experience but don't want to carry around a tablet in their bag. The 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 4G LTE connectivity ensure downloading and media viewing quickness, while the 16GB (expandable up to 32GB) of on-board memory lets you store more of those things.

Other features include an 8MP rear-facing camera and a 2MP front-facing camera suitable for video chatting, and a stylus called the S Pen. Not just any stylus, though, the S Pen features 256 levels of pressure sensitivity, which means a lighter stroke will get you thinner lines and more pressure means thicker lines.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is enterprise-safe, which will please business customers who could use a little more tablet-like stylus action in their lives. It's coming soon to AT&T so stay tuned for pricing and release date info.