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10 Tone-Up Tweaks to Get a Better Burn

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:39:36 PST

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

It happens to the best of us. Your gym routine becomes just that - a routine. Bust out of your plateau and burn more fat with these strength-training tweaks from the pros.

Make Every Day Your Best Burn Yet
Supercharge your gym routine by ditching the moves that have stopped delivering results and replacing them with ones that will challenge and build more muscle. Start with these total-body toning tips from some of our favorite trainers.

Arms: Change the Weight
Dumbbell curls are great for your arms, but unless you're changing up the sets and reps, your biceps will get accustomed to the level of stress you're placing on them, meaning you'll stop seeing the sculpting results. "Few people use the proper weight and even fewer graduate the amount of weight being used during arm exercises," says Richard Miller, owner and CEO of GymSource in New York City.

When you curl the same weight for a long period of time, your body send nutrients to the muscle you're working to help recover. If you pick up an eight-pound dumbbell every time, your muscles aren't experiencing varied stress and won't add new nutrient masses to that area, making your arms fall flat. Use this cheat sheet to know when it's time to step it up a notch:

You should feel fatigue at 15 reps or fewer. If you don't, add more weight.
Aim to increase weight by less than 10 percent. If you normally lift eight-pound weights, up it to 10 pounds, and so on.

See more helpful tips after the break!

Tone Your Arms With This Killer Triceps Dip Variation

Susi May — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:21:57 PDT

I like working the back of my arms as much as the next gal, and while triceps dips are a classic exercise, they can get a little dull. In the Blockbuster Body fitness class at Equinox I learned a variation on this basic move, which is great for busybodies like me. Here's how to strengthen your triceps and work the rest of your body in the process.

Basic Start with five basic triceps dips, with fingers pointed toward your bum, hands shoulder distance apart, and feet hip width apart.
One leg Lift your left leg off the floor with toes pointed toward the ceiling. If your hamstrings are tight, just bring your left knee so it's even with your right. Do five dips with left leg up, then switch legs for five more dips.
One arm Keeping both feet on the ground, do your next five dips with your left arm off the ground. Reach toward the ceiling or to the side, whichever position feels more natural to you. After five dip, switch arms lifting your right arm up for five more reps.
One arm and one leg For your last 10 reps, lift opposite arm and leg as you come up from your dip, so as you straighten your elbow lift your right leg and left arm off the ground. Switch on your next rep. Use your abs to keep from swaying from side to side as you lift and lower your limbs. It helps to channel your inner Russian folk dancer to do this move.

From the Community: Blake Lively Video Workout

Fit Community — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:38:11 PST

Want to get a long and lean body like Blake Lively? FitSugar reader FitFabCities developed this video workout based on a circuit from Blake's celebrity trainer.

Blake Lively is in amazing shape; she has great muscle tone while still keeping some curves - a combo that looks killer in all those fabulous outfits she wears. To get in shape for The Green Lantern, Blake worked with one of my favorite celebrity fitness trainers, Bobby Strom, who is also responsible for Jessica Biel's Blade Trinity body and Britney Spears's "Oops I Did it Again" body. Together, Blake and Bobby did lots of circuit training where they worked the core, then upper, then lower body. You can tone up like Blake, too, with this workout video inspired by those circuits . . . grab a set of dumbbells and a stability ball (or chair) and you are good to go!

Learn more about this workout after the break!

Motivation and Exercise Tricks From Fila's Fitness Ambassadors

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:11:27 PST

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

Here at FITNESS, we're big fans of non-traditional models getting the opportunity to do a little modeling (see here)! So Fila caught our eye with their new campaign involving women from across the country as their Body Toning System Ambassadors, who also modeled the apparel for ads for the brand. The six fit females are all unique, but all are extremely dedicated to taking care of their bodies and staying healthy.

We asked each of the ladies to share their choice workout move, top tip for staying motivated or favorite trick for sneaking in a workout when time is tight.

Get creative. "Try chair triceps dips in the kitchen while preparing food or do soup kitchen biceps curls in the grocery store." - Carla Birnberg, wife, mother, entrepreneur and blogger at MizFitOnline.com
Frame fitness right. "I see exercise almost like a 401(k) plan. If you invest in it, you will reap the rewards at retirement! I desire to be the best me, and exercise helps to ensure that I can fulfill that on the health front." - Qiana Martin, international soccer athlete, global soccer ambassador and owner of EatSoccer.com
Think twice. "If you feel like a snack, try doing lunges on your way to the kitchen so that you have time to think twice about what you are about to eat." - Kristy Petrillo, wife, entrepreneur and real estate agent

Read on for more fitness tips from Fila's Fitness Ambassadors.

More from FITNESS:

• The Face of FITNESS Cover Contest 2011

• What We Love About Our Bodies

• 12 Real Women's Swimsuit Confidence Boosters

Pilates Moves For Your Arms and Core From Kim Kardashian's Trainer

Self — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:18:48 PST

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

If you're a novice like me, you might not realize that there are many different kinds of Pilates. And those incarnations are not defined as "hard, very hard, and nearly impossible."

Celebrity trainer Sara Kapuchinski just opened her new LA studio i heart fitness xo, where she teaches West Coast-style Pilates to a revolving A-list clientele including Khloe and Kim Kardashian, Christina Ricci, Modern Family's Sofia Vergara and Glee's Romy Rosemont.

Kapuchinski started out as a weekend trainer, whose day job was as an A & R executive in the music industry. Soon, she realized that teaching fitness felt more personally satisfying. "Music was fun, but I was more gratified training people," she recalls. "After sitting at a desk from 9 to 5 and staying up 'til all hours, I was experiencing a lot of neck and back pain. And, like most people, I was amazed that classic Pilates did the things that it was supposed to do: my posture improved, I lost inches in my waist and my neck and back pain basically disappeared."

After a bit of investigation, the trainer found that Pilates on the West Coast, which is heavier on cardio, was more her speed: "Pilates is so great for your body, for your core (that mysterious thing), but a lot of times you leave a class feeling like you need to sweat. I wanted something that was a bit more cardio-driven without having to go take a Boot Camp."

Read on for three of Kapuchinski's heart-pounding Pilates moves!

3 Ways to Incorporate Strength Training, Easily and Anywhere

Leta Shy — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:44:48 PDT

If you're a cardio junkie, chances are you'd rather spend your workout on the treadmill or trails. But you shouldn't be neglecting your muscles in favor of your heart since building muscle helps up your metabolism and prevent injuries. But don't think you have to spend a whole session on the weights. Break up your strength training routine into more manageable parts with these tips.

Do it at your desk: Do you spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer? Try these strength training exercises you can do at your desk so you can multitask while you work, without anyone knowing!

Time for squats: Squats are extremely effective lower-body exercises, so don't limit your squat time to the gym. Here are five common places to do squats throughout your day.

Remind yourself: There are many strength training moves that only require a pair of dumbbells. If you already have a pair under your bed or hidden in your closet, it can help to leave your weights out in the open to remind yourself to do a few bicep curls or tricep dips while you're sitting on the couch.

How Pro Surfer Carissa Moore Stays on Top

Michele Foley — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:02:42 PDT

While in LA for the world premiere of Nike's all-women surf film Leave a Message, I chatted it up with pro surfer Carissa Moore, one of the film's stars. With such a laid-back disposition and easy laugh, it's easy to forget that Carissa, 19, is a no-joke serious athlete and currently ranked the number one in the world of women's surfing.

Besides Carissa's obvious natural talent, I was curious at what takes someone from being great at surfing to being number one. Carissa's answer was similar to what you might expect from any great athlete: dedication, confidence, and hard work. Oh, and training - lots of training. For Carissa that means having a surf coach (her father) and a passion for fitness, "As I've gotten older, my body has changed tremendously. I have gained weight, lost weight. It wasn't enough to just surf," Carissa says. "I have a trainer now. I have a diet."

Depending on her competition schedule, Carissa works out with Hawaii-based trainer Lisa Stewart two to five times per week. When I spoke with Lisa, she told me that they focus on "cardiovascular training, corrective functional movements, core stabilization, and flexibility training." She went on to say that before Carissa started training, "her body was strong, but undefined and had many imbalances. With a lot of hard work and training, Carissa is on her way to becoming a specific athlete who is adaptable to any surfing condition."

While most of us aren't trying to get in shape for the pro surf circuit, we can still learn a lot from Carissa's training sessions with Lisa. Get the lowdown from Lisa on how to achieve a surfer girl beach body after the break!

Coach Potato Fitness: Exercises For TV Time

Heather Dale — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:05:14 PDT

If only I spent as many hours exercising as I do watching TV, my body would be bikini-ready in no time! Looks like I'm not the only one who has an array of favorite shows - Nielsen's Q2 2010 State of the Media fact sheet shows that the average American watches 143 hours of television per month. If you do the math on that, that's about five hours of TV per day!

Now that Spring is here, I highly advise taking workouts from the indoors to the outdoors, but if you just can't bear the thought of missing an episode of American Idol, here are some quick and easy exercises you can do from the comfort of your living room.

Couch-Tricep Dips: Get in a sitting position in front of your couch and put your hands on the edge of the couch. Move your butt out a bit so your pelvis is hanging out in the air. Slowly use your arms to lower your body to the floor and slowly bring your butt back up. When you do this, your legs should be at a 90-degree angle (in the start position your body will look like a human chair). You should feel the burn in your arms. Do two sets of 15, giving yourself a rest in between each set.

Keep reading to learn some more TV-friendly exercises!

Sweat 15 Minutes a Day and Add Three Years to Your Life, Study Says

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:18:41 PDT

If your busy schedule doesn't allow for the recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise, a large study from Taiwan should make you feel better. The 13-year study tracked 416,000 participants and found that just 15 minutes of moderate exercise increased their life expectancy by three years, compared to those who didn't exercise. Daily workouts lower the incidence of cancer, and therefore lower the risk of cancer-related deaths.

Now who wouldn't dedicate 15 minutes a day if they could live longer? If you need some ideas for 15-minute mini workouts, check out the list below:

Walk your dog briskly around the neighborhood.
Head to the track and walk a mile, going around four times at a pace of four miles per hour (15 minutes per mile).
Run one and a half miles at a pace of 10 minutes per mile.
Do a mini interval workout on the elliptical or treadmill. Start off walking for two minutes, jog for two minutes, sprint for one minute, jog two, sprint one, jog two, sprint one, jog two, and end with two minutes of walking.

Keep reading for more 15-minute workout ideas.

Stay Cool: Ways to Tone Up in the Pool

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:22:00 PDT

Just like running endlessly on a treadmill, swimming laps can be super ~~boring~~ repetitive. Exercising in a pool is so refreshing though, especially on Summer days that are too hot to jog or bike outside. If swimming laps isn't your cup of tea, here are some ways you can burn calories and strengthen your muscles while staying cool in the pool.

Do triceps dips: Use the pool stairs and place your hands on the top step and your feet two or three steps below. Tone the backs of your arms by doing three sets of 15 to 20 reps.
Instead of chatting it up on a lounge chair with your best friend, talk while treading water. Just 10 minutes will burn 45 calories.
Swim over to the side of the pool or hold onto some pool noodles and do kicks, just like when you were a kid. Focus on keeping your legs straight and alternately fluttering them like a synchronized swimmer, or move them at the same time like a mermaid. You're sure to feel this in your quads and glutes.

Keep reading