This is the time of year that most of us start thinking about ways to lose weight and also ways that we can work out while we are on vacation.
One of the best ways to work out and burn an average of 100 calories every 5 minutes is jumping rope. We all use to jump rope when we were kids but never realized that is was so good for our body - we just thought that it was a fun thing to do.
Have you ever wondered why boxers and pro-bodybuilders have jumping rope as part of their fitness routine? Not only does jumping rope blast way the calories (about 100 for every 5 minutes of fun exercise) but it also works your arms, legs and butt.
Jumping rope is also a good fitness routine to keep up while your on vacation. It’s easy to pack, you can jump whenever you have a few minutes here and there and you also don’t have to worry about jogging out in a city that you are not familiar with.
If you are interested in learning more about jumping rope visit here
Interval training is the best way to not only tone and sculpt muscles but it blasts fat away faster than standard cardio (brisk walking, running, swimming).
However many people don’t have time for the gym or can’t afford to purchase several machines for home use. A good alternative is the use of resistance bands (fitness bands, elastic bands, workout bands, fitness tubes).
With resistance bands you can start at a low tension and as your body gets stronger you can move up to higher tension bands. When people think of resistance bands they think of the bands that were produced years ago where the tubbing was flimsy and there was little resistance. However, today’s bands are so much more advanced that you can easily perform interval training workouts that rival the workout that you would get with an expensive fitness machine.
Not only can you get an excellent workout with today’s resistance bands but they can easily be packed away for storage or travel.
Bowflex, Total Gym and even Bally’s have a $50 Alternative - Bodylastics!
Bra bulge - don’t you just hate it? Sometimes you feel as though you have as many bulges in the back of your sweater than you do in the front.
Bra bulge is a problem among many women but unfortunately it is one of the hardest places to target. However there are some exercises you can do to which will tone your back and the muscles surrounding it, which will tighten the skin around this area.
If you have access to a pool one of the easiest and most effective ways to target this area and lose the bra bulge is by swimming breast stroke. This exercise targets the abdomen, pectorals, and back muscles. You should do between 20 and 30 laps of breast stroke at least 3 times a week. Use a broad range of motion to target the most muscle groups. If you don’t have access to a pool you can mimic this movement by getting in a squat position and doing the same arm movements. Since water adds resistance try adding 1 or 5 pound weights to achieve maximum results.
You can also do opposite leg and arm lifts to tone your back. What you do is lie on your stomach with your arms straight over your head. Your toes should be pointed to the ground. Begin by lifting your right arm and your left leg slightly off the ground. Lower and repeat with the opposite leg and arm combination. You should feel some muscular tension around your lower back area. If this tension is more than a slight discomfort discontinue this exercise and stick to the breast stroke as mentioned above.
Of course there is no way to target weight loss in a specific area of your body. These exercises will tone and tighten your back, but they won’t help you lose weight unless you pair it with a healthy diet and cardio exercise.
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If you are a member of a gym, you have no doubt seen all those inflatable balls around the gym that members are performing a variety of exercises on. These inflatable balls are called Swiss alls, and they can be extremely useful as a part of your workout routine. These benefits include:
*Swiss Balls are great for your Abs- Doing crunches on the ground mean that you can only work out your Abs over a certain range. Using a Swiss Ball for Abs crunches means that you can work out your Abs over a wider range meaning that your Abs will be worked out faster.
*Swiss Balls help with your core stability- Because a Swiss Ball requires balance, it is a great workout for your core stability as you will end up using your entire muscle range.
*Swiss Balls are great for stretching- The Swiss Ball allows you to easily and smoothly move through a wide range of stretching moves.
*Swiss Balls are great for working out the lower back- Lower back pain is a common problem for people these days. A Swiss Ball workout, with its wide range of movements can help strengthen your lower back and hence help to deal with this pain.
*Swiss Balls can help you lose weight- As we have seen, using a Swiss Ball can workout your entire body. As such, a Swiss Ball workout can also be a good cardio workout, hence helping you to lose weight.
I hope this article has given you some inspiration to try a Swiss Ball workout next time you are at the gym. You will be glad you did.
The best way to build a stronger body and blast the fat is with the use of weights.
This can be with free weights such as dumbbells and barbells, weight machines, or a combination of the two.
Many purists believe that the only way to do weight training correctly is with free weights as they bring into play all the other muscles required to control and balance the movement of the weights.
It is correct that more muscles are required to lift free weights due to the fact that more control is required but the development of weight machines in recent years has been such that they can also offer benefits that free weights can’t give.
By eliminating the factor of control from specific movements it is possible to lift heavier weights and this in turn can stimulate more growth in the muscle.
In addition to this is the fact that many machines are designed to maintain pressure on the muscles throughout the full range of the movement.
Free weights, on the other hand, generally have the least effect on muscle growth at the top and bottom of any movement.
To explain this better we will use the example of the arm curl where a barbell is curled up from a position resting against the thighs to the chest using the bicep muscles.
When the barbell is at the top or the bottom of the movement there is no resistance on the muscle where as with a machine with the correct design elements there can be maximum tension even at those parts of the movement.
Cables and weight stacks will allow this to happen and due to this, you can expect to get additional benefits that aren’t possible with free weights.
Obviously a combination of both free weights and weight machines will deliver the optimum results in the least time.
Now go & plan on blasting that fat away!
A big problem for women is the inner thigh area. For some reason, men are usually lucky in this area and don’t have to worry about chafing thighs.
However, the following exercise works just as well for men and women so if you’ve got thighs that rub together here is a great exercise to firm them up.
Under Leg Lifts
* Lie on one side on the floor. Place a pillow under the head to make sure the spine is aligned.
* Bend the leg closest to the ceiling and move it to the floor in front so that the other leg is exposed to the ceiling.
* Move the newly exposed leg toward the ceiling.
* Hold that position for a few seconds. Put the leg down.
Repeat this exercise as many times as needed, but hold it for no longer than thirty seconds on each rep to begin with. Take a thirty second break before switching sides. Repeat the exercise again. For a challenge, hold the under leg for longer periods of time. Adjust the timing of each side of the body to accommodate the new challenge.
In no time you’ll look better in those skinny jeans.
