No gym membership? No problem. Trade in the clanking of weights and the stale air of the gym for the background noise of chirping birds and fresh air. Working out doesn’t have to be pricey or require a gym membership. You don’t need fancy equipment or a bubbly instructor to inspire you. Just your own body weight and motivation will do. Let’s say you stumble upon a lawn with a tree, a bench and a hill. What might you do? Below are some exercises you can put together to create a 30-minute outdoor workout. Do two sets of the following including the hills. To read more click here!
Month: September 2014
5 Habits to Get You In Shape Quickly
Ever feel like you’re doing all the right things to get in shape and get healthy, yet you just aren’t getting results as fast as you thought you would? Yeah, we’ve all been there. While you should never expect to magically lose weight and get fit the second you start working out and eating healthier, thereare ways to speed up your results. Here are five habits that have helped me get in shape quickly, and will help you, too: To read more click here!
3 Tips to Re-Think Exercise in Your 40’s
You’ve heard it a thousand times: 50 is the new 40, 40 is the new 30, and so on and so on. That’s all fine and good when you’re talking about how to dress, going out to see a band, or how you feel in general. But when it comes to exercise, you need to act your age. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I was obsessed with exercise. I was a triathlete, I ran like there was no tomorrow. It was all about competition, speed, how many miles I could get in, how many calories I could burn. I did yoga and Pilates to balance the hardcore running I was doing. I didn’t need anybody to motivate me. I just did it myself. I got myself up and out the door every day, no problem. But now, at 45, my body just can’t take all that pounding of running, and I’m not going to risk injuring myself to try to keep up with what I was doing in my 20s. Nowadays, exercise is more about creating strength, stability and flexibility than burning calories or competing. Now, I have to ask myself, Can I do it at all? To read more click here!
Your 6.5 Minute Dumbbell Workout
Turns out that workouts don’t have to be super long to be super effective. High intensity intervals likeTabata training require intense effort for a short period of time and studies have shown that these quick but vigorous workouts provide all the health and fitness benefits of traditional endurance training [1] [2] [3][4]. All the fitness bennies in a fraction of the time? Not too shabby. We asked Greatist Expert Eugene “Bo” Babenko to come up with a super quick and unbelievably simple workout that would challenge exercisers of all levels. Babenko designed a six-and-a-half-minute workout named after (and the same length as) the Eagles song “Hotel California.” If you’ve got seven minutes and a pair of dumbbells, this workout is for you. To up the intensity/challenge, just do the workout a few times in row. Bonus: Ditch the stopwatch and use Spotify to play “Hotel California” on repeat. Now you’ve got yourself a workout timer and a playlist. To read more click here!
40 Squat Variations You Need To Know
Behold: The humble body weight squats. Not only will dropping it like it’s hot strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, adding squats to your regular workout routine could mean fewer knee injuries. And you’ll increase your bone mass which will help you avoid osteoporosis as you age. Plus, one study shows that increasing lower body strength can help you be a better runner. We’ve rounded up 40 variations in four different categories—bodyweight, plyometric, weighted, and equipment—for your squatting pleasure (or pain). To read more click here!
What Does it Really Mean to Listen to Your Body?
“Pain is weakness leaving the body.” Ah, yes, this statement and similar motivational quotes are go-to stock phrases of drill sargents, tough guys, and, unfortunately, coaches and workout buddies everywhere. We get it: When it comes to working out, pushing ourselves is a tried and true way to make progress toward fitness goals. But what about when we push too hard in the face of pain, putting ourselves in danger of injury? Hello, rehab! It’s about this time when the physical therapist asks us things like, “Did you feel this coming on?” “When did the problem start?” Their parting advice is often, you guessed it: “Next time, listen to your body.” It’s all just a jumble of mixed messages. First, do we ignore the pain or push past it? And second, what the heck does “listen to your body” mean anyway? If we actually listened to our bodies, would we ever willingly participate in activities that make us tired, sweaty, and sore in the first place? OK let’s not get carried away. One thing we know for sure: Exercise is good. Well, the right amount of exercise at the right intensity is good. The challenge is figuring out when enough is enough and when it’s just too much. The good news is that our bodies already know the answer. We just need to train our brains to recognize the signs for when to put the pedal to the metal and when to pump the brakes—and actually do it. To read more click here!
How Strong Is Strong Enough?
Want to know how strong you are? Pick up any fitness magazine and you’re bound to find a measuring tool—a chart or benchmark to determine how you stack up. During my short-lived powerlifting career, my focus shrank to the pursuit of numbers that told me how strong I was. A scrap of paper on my fridge reminded me daily—as if I needed reminding—that I needed to bench press my bodyweight, and squat and deadlift 200 pounds before the year was over. Were those things good for me? Would they serve any higher purpose? It didn’t matter. I wanted to be strong, and nothing else could get in the way. After meeting these improbable goals at the cost of my health (problems still plague me more than two years later), I had to learn to shift gears. But I still didn’t have an answer to the question: How do I know if I’m strong? I wanted a gold standard. To see if there is such a thing, I asked personal trainers, doctors, and strength and conditioning specialists. Everyone agreed on one thing: If you’re asking how strong you are, you’re asking the wrong question. To read more click here!
What Burns More Calories? Aerobic or Strength Training?
When it comes to losing weight, there are a million different theories on what exercises are most effective. Some swear by running, others stick to weights, and a lot of us mix it up. And now researchers are stirring the pot even more: A recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found aerobic training may be more efficient than resistance training when it came to burning fat To read more click here!
What’s the Best Way to Burn Fat?
Whether it’s a beer belly, spare tire, or love handles, there’s no doubt that some of us carry a few extra pounds that would look way better on a middle school arch nemesis (kidding… sort of). But running marathons, heavy lifting, or going the no carb route doesn’t guarantee a drop in jean size. The key to weight loss is (drum roll, please) burning more calories than devoured. To read more click here!
How To Do The Perfect Kettlebell Swing
First things, first. That cannonball-with-a-handle-looking weight you’ve seen around the gym is a kettlebell, not a kettleball. With that common misconception out of the way, let’s clear up another because it’s not just the name of this old school-turned-au courant exercise tool that trips people up. The preeminent kettlebell exercise—the two-handed swing—has been know to leave gym-goers of all ages and ability levels scratching their heads, wondering,”You mean I don’t use my arms to swing this thing?” Yes, you hold the ‘bell with your hands, and yes, your hands are at the ends of your arms. But when it comes to properly swinging the kettlebell, what we’re really using is our legs. When performed correctly, kettlebell swings build total body strength, power, and balance, while improving cardiovascular stamina, all with one piece of equipment. If that sounds too good to be true, maybe it’s because you’ve never swung a kettlebell with pinpoint precision. Until now that is. Armed with this step-by-step guide you’ll learn to use your legs (and hips, and glutes, and core) to perform the perfect kettlebell swing. To read more click here!
Can Weight Lifting Maximize the After Burn Effect?
Benching, squatting, curling, and other weight lifting moves are known to get the muscles burning, but what if those same moves could keep torching calories beyond the gym as well? Studies have shown intense cardiovascular work (like biking and running) can create a post-workout “afterburn effect” , accounting for up to 200 additional calories burned and an elevated metabolism lasting up to 14 hours after exercise. Awesome for those zipping along on the treadmill, sure. But can hitting the weights prompt a similar effect even after the dumbbells are racked? To read more click here!
20 Reasons to Start Strength Training
Want a life with less stress, better sleep, a toned body, and an extra dose of optimism? Then don’t live another day without strength training! The benefits of routinely pumping iron can go above and beyond getting buff n’ tough. To read more click here!