FitSugar

Will the Ab Machine Get You Abs Like Kate Hudson?

FitSugar — Tue, 22 May 2007 03:30:00 PDT

Kate Hudson's abs are looking fab these days, but can you get abs like that by using the ab machine at the gym?

Ab machines will definitely give your abs (and back) a decent workout, but I wouldn't rely on this machine for head turning abs. The problem with the machine is that it only allows you one position and if your goal is abs like Kate, a good idea would be to work your belly from all angles.

Right now I am loving the full body crunch because not only does it add variety to a boring ol' crunch and it works your abs from several angles, you can also do it anywhere. Here's how: Lie supine (on your back) with knees bent, feet touching floor and hands behind your head. Curl your abs up (make sure to pull your belly button towards your spine and flatten your lower back against the floor), while bringing your shoulders and feet off the floor. Hold for 3 seconds and lower slowly back to starting point to complete one -- Do 3 sets of 15 to start, but work your way up to doing 3 sets of 25.

Fit's Tip: Make sure to breathe on the curling action of the exercise and don't use your hands to push your head up, your abs should be doing all the work.

For motivation on doing full body crunches, i.e. more pics of Kate's fab abs then read more

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Flynet

8 Small Ways to Lose Big Pounds in 2012

Prevention — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:06:22 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Quadruple your weight loss by making one easy tweak to your routine per week
By Alyssa Shaffer

If your goal is to lose weight and exercise more, forget the deprivation diet and marathon workouts. New research shows that taking baby steps - not giant leaps -is the best way to get lasting results. A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that participants who made one small, potentially permanent change in their food choices and/or physical activity each week (such as drinking one fewer can of soda or walking five more minutes each day) lost more than twice as much belly fat, two and half more inches off their waistlines, and about four times more weight during a four-month program, compared with those who followed traditional calorie-restriction and physical-activity guidelines.

"When you focus on just a couple of small changes at a time, you begin to ingrain some healthy habits that last for a lifetime, rather than trying an all-or-nothing approach that more often than not fails because it's too hard to follow," says Lesley Lutes, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at East Carolina University. We've uncovered these simple steps (with proven results) to help you move more, eat less, and look and feel better than ever. Add just one or two a week to your regular routine and you can lose nearly three inches off your waistline and be about 10 pounds lighter come in a few months. Even better: Once these healthy habits become second nature, they'll benefit you for a lifetime.

1. Pick Up a Pen After Every Meal
Mindlessly munching on a bag of chips could result in easily polishing off the whole thing; write down how much you've eaten and you're more likely to practice portion control. Keeping a food log helps control extra calories in two ways: the combination of plain old reality check (I just ate 30 minutes ago!) and awareness that what you're putting in your mouth will soon be recorded for posterity. In a recent study, people who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who didn't. When they combined it with a moderate diet and exercise plan, they lost an average of 13 pounds in 6 months. Journaling also gives you insight on your eating habits, says Lutes. Do you skip meals? Eat the same during the week as on the weekend? Binge when you're feeling stressed? "Knowing your routine helps you figure out what changes are right for you," she adds.

Avoid these 14 "health food" diet disasters.

2. Limit High-Fat Foods to One Per Week
Tag the high-fat/high-calorie foods that are typically your favorites (our top five: cookies, candy, ice cream, potato chips, and fries) and gradually downshift. "If you're eating six of these foods a week, try to go down to five," says Lutes. Each week, drop another until you're at no more than one or two; at the same time, add in a good-for-you choice like baby carrots, sautéed broccoli, oranges, and other fresh fruits and veggies.

Keep reading for more simple tip to help you lose big.

Ab Exercise Must Do: Easy Knee-Tuck Crunches

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:06:52 PST

Traditional crunches are out! Why waste your time spot toning when you can work your abs in a full-body exercise? Capitalize on the instability of an exercise ball (it makes you work harder) and try the tuck crunch. This move strengthens your core while toning your low abs, arms, chest, and shoulders. Learn how to do this straightforward move by watching the video; we love it so much that we've even included a variation to work your obliques. Once you mastered the tuck crunch, be sure to try the more challenging plank to pike exercise.

Work Your Abs Without Crunches: Quadruped

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:06:16 PST

Let's face it, crunches are overrated. There are plenty of other exercises that work your abdominals while training the muscles in your back. When the front and back of your torso work together, it's a win-win situation for your core. This variation of the quadruped (named such since you're on all fours - get it?) also targets the obliques. Do 15 reps on each side to make set. Aim to do at least two sets to three sets.

If you're totally over crunches, check out our Yoga Abs video for three full body exercises that target your abs.

Little Daily Tricks to Wake Up Slimmer

Health — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:01:00 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Jessica Girdwain

We get it: you want to lose the jiggle but don’t want to blacklist your favorite eats, count every single calorie, or overdose on gym hours. The great news is, you can drop weight without dieting: experts say making small change-ups to your day is one of the best ways to lose.

We grilled health and fitness pros for the tweaks that will help your shape the most. Road test a few, and you could shed five (this week!), 10, or even 20-plus pounds without a whole lot of effort.

Health.com: Diet Tricks the Pros Tell Their Friends

Power up PB
"Buy natural varieties of peanut butter and pour off the oil sitting on top. Each serving will have 20 fewer calories and two to three fewer grams of fat. It’s a small difference that'll add up to a couple of pounds per year."
-Amelia Winslow, personal chef in Los Angeles and founder of the healthy food blog Eating Made Easy

Pop to It
"Skimping on fiber will make you gain weight. Forget the pretzels and go for a bag of low-fat popcorn. It has five times the fiber and only 90 calories for six cups, so it’s filling and satisfying.

A recent study found that when women doubled their daily fiber intake from 12 to 24 grams, their bodies absorbed 90 calories less per day. You could lose almost 10 pounds in a year!"
-Tanya Zuckerbrot, RD, author of The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss

Health.com: Fill Up on Fiber

Dance Your Butt Off
"Kick up your heels and go dancing with your girlfriends - or have a solo dance session at home. Fast-tempo dances are not only a blast to do, but in an hour you’ll torch 400 to 500 calories. That’s equivalent to light jogging on the treadmill, but it’s way more fun!"
-Christine Avanti, author of Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food: Lose the Fake Food and Kickstart Your Weight Loss

Keep on reading for great slimming tips!

From the Community: The 5 Best Post-Yoga Snacks

Fit Community — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 02:11:48 PDT

Do you find yourself hungry after yoga class? FitSugar reader YogaGirlAli shared her favorite post-yoga class snacks in our Snack Attack: Healthy Snack Ideas community group.

I've been known to be lying in Savasana, while the teacher is telling everyone to close their eyes and forget all of their thoughts, and all I can do is pray that no one will hear my stomach grumbling. I mean, we practically just sweat ourselves dry and I lost track after the 13th Chatturunga; I want to get up and get some nutrients pumping through my veins!

The good news is, I normally crave something healthy - my body feels clean and detoxified and now I just need a nice quick snack from my yoga bag to leave the studio feeling nourished and go on with the remainder of my day. In addition I find that a quick snack leaves me feeling satisfied enough so that Im not starving by lunchtime and can still make healthy decisions and right food choices.

See the snack ideas after the break!

The Fastest Way to Lose Belly Fat

Shape — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:30:50 PDT

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

We all want a toned, flat stomach. No surprise there. But since many women are still relying on crunches to get it, we want to make one thing clear: crunching is not the most effective abs workout. "Crunches work only the muscles on the front and sides of your abdomen, but it's important to target all the muscles of the core to get more defined abs - including lower back, hips, and upper thighs," says Lou Schuler, co-author of The New Rules of Lifting for Abs.

To lose belly fat and uncover amazing abs, Schuler recommends a series of core stabilization exercises based on a training program devised by co-author and personal trainer Alwyn Cosgrove. "Core exercises like the plank help train muscles to stabilize the spine and pelvis so you can avoid back pain and improve posture, Schuler says. "They also burn more calories than crunches because they work more muscles." Trade crunches for these three super-effective abs exercises from The New Rules of Lifting for Abs and you’ll be on your way to a perfectly toned, flatter tummy.

See the exercises and learn how to do them after the break!

The 10 Biggest Mistakes You're Making at the Gym

Leta Shy — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:03:14 PDT

Personal trainers spend all day watching people work out, so they are well versed in the biggest mistakes we make when we're sweating it out at the gym. We asked trainers from Crunch, Equinox, and The Sports Club LA to tell us the worst things they see people doing over and over when exercising in the gym. Here are the 10 biggest mistakes at the gym, and how to avoid them!

Doing squats and lunges incorrectly. These fitness mainstays are easy to do anywhere, but they are often done incorrectly, says Caitlin Ritt, a private trainer at The Sports Club LA. "The biggest mistake I see people do over and over in the gym is squats and lunges with the weight in their toes and their heels coming up off the ground," she says. "I have clients come to me all the time complaining about knee pain, and as soon as I get them to keep the weight through their heels, almost always the knee pain goes away." Correctly doing squats and lunges will not only help prevent injuries, but will also engage your glute muscles. And that, as Caitlin reminds us, "is the way to a firmer and tighter butt!"
Doing the same routine all the time. Don't just go to the gym on autopilot. "You need to mix it up in order to avoid boredom and plateauing," says Lauren Fairbanks, a personal trainer at Equinox. Dedicate different days to focus on a different aspect of your fitness routine and don't be shy about trying new exercises; it helps rest overused muscles.
Relying on the machines. Gyms are filled with rows of machines, and often people think that's all they should be using at the gym. "Machines are horrible," says Tim Rich, a personal training manager at Crunch. "They push you through a guided plane of motion, which could cause pain and injury." Instead, "make your body a machine" by doing strengthening exercises that use your own body weight (like push-ups and lunges), or taking advantage of free weights, or, if your gym has it, a TRX suspension system.

More mistakes after the break!

Fit's Hits: From Jennifer Aniston's Ab Exercises to Healthy Chocolate Desserts

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:00:54 PDT

Learn Jennifer Aniston's ab toning exercise directly from her yoga instructor Mandy Ingber.
Keep on taking care of yourself even when your workout is over.
Trying to shed pounds? Quiz yourself on the facts of losing weight.
Skip the crunches; try these effective, full-body ab exercises for a change of pace.
Fall into healthy habits this Autumn; here's our must-do list.
Get your protein meat-free for under 400 calories with these five meals.
Sometimes it's OK to cheat. Here are ways to flatten your belly without dieting.
Not solely about losing weight, an elimination diet might just improve your health.
For all you chocoholics, we've rounded up 10 healthy chocolate desserts.

Work Out With Lady Gaga

Self — Wed, 25 May 2011 05:03:00 PDT

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

Lady Gaga has finally dropped her latest masterpiece, and Born This Way was born to inspire our workouts. The '80s-inspired opus is full of gym-ready grooves, from Eurodisco to Latin rhythms. Let's get moving!

Gaga training sessions with Harley Pasternak consist of a 25-minute routine combining strength and cardio. The trainer has attributed her killer abs to an intense regimen of crunches, but we know the pop star is a fan of core-chiseling yoga as well. With her new album freshly loaded on our iPods (the fourteen songs clock in at exactly one hour), we took her daily drill to the next level.

First, we hand-picked eight tracks (35 minutes) to keep our feet pounding the treadmill - raising your heart rate for at least a half hour will melt fat so your toned muscles emerge. Warm up with the easy-paced "Electric Chapel." Lady Gaga's monster singles - "Hair," the Madonna-esque "Born This Way," club-thumping "Judas" and Bruce Springsteen-inspired epic "Edge of Glory"- all made our list. Then we added the Debbie-Gibson-meets-Donna-Summers jam "Marry The Night," the empowering, rave-worthy "Scheibe" and "Highway Unicorn (Road To Love)," with its "run, run" lyrics.

Read on for the rest of this energizing hour-long workout after the break!