Need a workout for this week? Grab a stability ball and get to work!
Using a stability ball adds another dimension to your workout that you don’t get with your regular training – the use of your core muscles. You can tighten your core muscles during your workouts (which you should be doing anyways) however – using a stability ball requires you to REALLY focus on keeping a strong core otherwise you’ll fall over – which is always slightly embarrassing.
The best part about this workout – you don’t need the gym. If you have a stability ball at home – grab that – a chair – and some cans of soup (if you don’t have any dumbbells and you want some added resistance) – and you can get your workout on.
No excuses this week ladies — get rid of those bat wings and start toning your arms now!
Want more exercises to tighten and tone your arms? Grab a copy of Women’s Arm Secrets today!
I get asked TONS of questions on a daily basis — fitness, diet, supplement, workout gear — everything under the sun! Many questions I know I have had and I’m sure you have too — so I thought I’d do a quick Q&A to help all of us out!
Q: How often should I change my sneakers?
A: You should change your sneakers every 6-7 months – depending on how much wear and tear they are getting. If you are running miles in them everyday – you may need to replace them sooner depending on how the tread on the bottom is doing. If you are only wearing them to the gym to lift weights and aren’t doing any heavy pounding you may be able to go a bit longer.
Q: Should I be drinking protein shakes? I feel like I’m going to look like a man if I do that.
A: YES! YES! and NO! NO! Yes — you should be drinking protein shakes. Most women do not consume enough protein on a daily basis. Having a protein shake is a great way to get in a quick meal – that is good for you. The best type of quick post-workout nutrition is a protein shake. Having a protein shake post-workout will help your muscles repair faster and allow you to continue to burn fat. Add a scoop of protein powder into the blender — add a banana, some peanut butter and ice and you have yourself a complete healthy meal! Not to mention a sweet treat!
No — it will not make you look like a man. You would have to eat TONS and TONS of protein and even then it just would not happen!!
A: Changing your workout every few weeks is a GREAT idea! Why? Changing your workout most importantly keeps YOU entertained. A lot of people think their workouts get boring and therefore will stop going to the gym because they ‘always do the same stuff’. Not only will you be more excited for the change but your muscles will as well.
If you do the same workout and exercises day after day and week after week – your muscles begins to get adapted to those movements and routines. Eventually your muscles will become so adapt that you will not see any forward progress. Using different exercises works different muscles in each muscle group — allowing your muscles to continue to grow and change — burning more fat and helping you see even better weight loss results!
Do you have a question you want answered? Let me know by posting it below!
Have you ever had one of those workouts that just hurts? The ones that will give you delayed onset muscles soreness and have you wobbling down the hallway for days?
Those are some of my favorite workouts. However, sometimes the D.O.M.S. are close to injury and can incapacitate you for a few days.
How to avoid these problems? Try taking a few of the following supplements – all natural from your body – to help your body to a speedy recovery and avoid further possible injuries. Read the full story
Changing up your workout every few weeks is important not only for your sanity but for your muscles. This week’s flat stomach exercise of the week adds a bit of a twist to a familiar exercise and while helping you see continued results.
This week’s flat stomach exercise of the week is the Incline Dumbbell Chest Press.
The chest press is one of my favorite exercises – it makes me feel strong – especially when I can lift more than the guys next to me in the gym – hehe. The chest press is one exercise most women stay away from as they fear that it will only bring them big muscles and small boobs. However, its quite the contrary.
Secondly – the incline chest press is a great exercise to help you get tight and toned arms. And really – who wants flabby arms?
Add this in place of your push-ups or flat bench chest press and you’ll notice some greater definition in your arms as well as some greater strength – which I always think is exciting!
How many reps? How many sets? Try 3 sets of 10-12 reps to start with.
Last week I showed you an upper body workout to help you tone and tighten your upper body. The workout put a different spin on your usual upper body workout by using resistance bands instead of free weights.
I got a question from one of my readers:
How do I know which resistance band I should buy and use for my upper body workouts? There are many different colors – how do I tell the difference? Read the full story
With summer around the corner – which means tank top season and sleeveless dresses – its time to pump up the upper body workouts and get our arms tight and toned. This week’s flat stomach workout of the week is a change from the usual routine – spicing up your usual routine and increasing results.
A sixteen week weight loss journey of dieting and training and extreme focus have come to an end. Sixteen weeks of nerves, laughs, second guessing myself and growing have written their final chapter.
A sixteen week adventure that begun with a silly idea have ended in two spectacular shows. Read the full story
Get a tight toned butt in time for shorts season. Add this move to your workout and you’ll be feeling a burn in all the right places – making sure that your glutes, hamstrings, and quads look sleek and sexy no matter what you are wearing.
To make this move more challenging add weight – hold dumbbells in either hand – challenging your muscles to work a bit harder and therefore burning just a bit more fat. This will in turn increase your weight loss results.
There is always a reason why you aren’t getting the results you want – especially when you are trying to get a tight and toned, cellulite free butt. Its figuring out WHY you aren’t getting these results after working out week after week that becomes the challenge.
When you don’t see results you want – in this case you’re butt just doesn’t seem to get firm no matter how many lunges you do – it becomes frustrating. This frustration can often lead to you giving up on your goals – never really getting the butt that you want.
But no more – there is something you haven’t taken into consideration yet and there is one muscle group that is prohibiting you from getting the butt of your dreams.
Your hip flexors are preventing you from getting a tight and toned butt.
How?
Your butt is the biggest muscle in your body – made up of three different muscle groups. In order for the glutes to work properly you need to make sure that your hip flexors are not tight.
When your hip flexors (located in the front of your hip) are tight your glutes basically shut down. When your glutes shut down it is nearly impossible to get a tight and toned butt.
Why?
If you have tight hip flexors it prevents your glute muscles from firing properly. This means that your glutes to work to the best of their ability. The tightness of your hip flexors causes your glutes to become weak as you cannot work your glutes properly.
Not only will tight hip flexors not get you a cellulite-free butt – it can also increase the risk of injury as your hip flexors start to take over some of the jobs that your butt is suppose to do. Such injuries include back injuries, knee injuries or even injuries to your hamstrings.
You can do squat after squat, lunge after lunge or even bridge after bridge and you will not get the butt you want.
What to do?
The only way to get rid of tight hip flexors – to prevent injury and get a cellulite-free butt is to stretch them.
The best stretch? The Warrior Stretch.
Kneel on your right knee – with your left foot on the ground in front of you.
Place your hands on your left knee.
Without moving your body – tilt your pelvis forward so you feel a stretch in your right hip flexor.
Hold for 10-15 seconds.
Switch sides and repeat for opposite side of your body.
The Warrior Stretch is an important stretch to end to the end of your your workouts to get your glutes working again. This one simple move – to fix the one little muscle that has been preventing you from getting the butt you want – will help get your but working again so you have the tight and toned butt you want in no time.
So, I just got home from the gym…after a week off!
Eep! I know I know – its not something I should be doing – especially when at least 10 weeks away from show time. But I promise it was necessary.
I spent last weekend in bed with the stomach flu – which is a GREAT way to lose 5lbs REAL quick. However, the lack of food for two days + a little leftover queasiness made it impossible to go to the gym Monday and Tuesday. I also made a promise to myself to take it easier this week as the excitement/stress of a new job last week + workouts led me to get the stomach flu.
Since health really is most important…I took it slow. A then snowstorm prevented me from going to the gym another day and by Friday I was too pooped to wake up early and get to the gym. SO, that leaves me to today…and my refreshed body that’s been WAITING to go to the gym!
I changed the workout up a bit – did a quick full body workout – just to wake up all my muscles and let them know its time to get back to business – haha. Let me tell you – a few of the moves were completely different and my buns are ALREADY burning! Haha…here’s today’s workout:
This was then followed by 20 minutes of intervals on the Stair Climber – 1 minute low speed – 1 minute HIGH speed. It was definitely the PERFECT way to get my body back into it! Can’t wait for Monday!!!
The chest press is one exercise most women stay away from as they fear that it will only bring them big muscles and small boobs. However, its quite the contrary.
