Exercise Articles

Fitness for All Jiggle-free June: 30-Day Triceps Challenge

With 30 days in the month of June, it is the perfect time to take on this next challenge- Jiggle-free June. This “jiggle” that we referring to is that jiggly area underneath your arms – the triceps.

Tricep dips can easily be done at home with these easy steps:

1. Sit on a chair. Keep your hands wide and your elbows slightly bent.
2. Stretch out your legs with your knees slightly bent.
3. Using your arms, lower your body to the floor.
4. Raise your body to the starting position, making one full rep.

Here’s how to complete the challenge. Perform the following reps each day and say goodbye to that jiggle. 

Day 1: 5 dips

Day 2: 10 dips

Day 3: 15 dips

Day 4: 20 dips

Day 5: REST

Day 6: 20 dips

Day 7: 25 dips

Day 8: 30 dips

Day 9: 35 dips

Day 10: REST

Day 11: 35 dips

Day 12: 40 dips

Day 13: 45 dips

Day 14: 50 dips

Day 15: REST

Day 16: 50 dips

Day 17: 55 dips

Day 18: 60 dips

Day 19: 65 dips

Day 20: REST

Day 21: 65 dips

Day 22: 70 dips

Day 23: 75 dips

Day 24: 80 dips

Day 25: REST

Day 26: 80 dips

Day 27: 85 dips

Day 28: 90 dips

Day 29: 95 dips

Day 30: 100 dips

Health 101: Summertime Workouts

Now that summer is officially here (well here-ish) no one wants to be stuck inside a stuffy gym working out every day. It’s time to head outdoors and get those summertime workouts in instead!

Here are a few ways to burn calories this summer:

• Try a new walking or running route. Switch it up weekly and enjoy the sounds and sights of summer!
• Try an outdoor fitness class – like Zumba in the park or a sunrise Yoga class.
• Join an outdoor volleyball (or another sport) league.
• Go swimming and get some laps in.
• Enjoy a day on lake/river and kayak.
• Go hiking.

Fitness for All: Stars and Stripes Workout Challenge

During the month of May, we remember those who have fought for our country and lost their lives doing so. This Memorial Day, in addition to remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, why not try this “Stars and Stripes” inspired workout challenge?

Based on the 50 stars and 13 stripes featured on the American Flag, this workout challenge will have anyone feeling patriotic (and potentially sore) this Memorial Day weekend.

Starting with the 50 stars, shoot for a least one rep of each of these and if you can feel free to do more than one rep.

Stars:

• 50 push-ups
• 50 sit-ups
• 50 lunges
• 50 mountain climbers
• 50 bridges
• 50 tricep dips
• 50 scissor kicks

And now onto the stripes. Again, shoot for at least one rep of each of these and do more if you can. 

Stripes

• 13 pull-ups
• 13 squat jumps
• 13 side plank hip dips
• 13 burpees
• 13 single leg deadlifts
• 13 pike push-ups 

If you are still feeling like you want to push yourself even harder, try Googling the “Murph” HERO Workout and give that one a try. Inspired by Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who earned a posthumous Medal of Honor for his courageous acts in Afghanistan. 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone!

Fitness for All: Spring Clean Your Way to Lean

Looking for a unique new way to burn calories while getting your daily chores done? Then this “Spring Clean your Way to Lean” workout is just for you! Simply follow this 5-day plan and clean your way to a slimmer, you… and the house will look good, too.

Day One: On day one, we focus on the upper body. Scrubbing the bathtub, the floors, and your toilets can burn over 250 calories an hour. Try to use both sides of the body equally as you scrub those areas clean. Pruning the bushes and trees will require some great arm strength and will work your core at the same time. You can burn upwards of 500 calories an hour if you keep up the pace! 

Day Two: It’s time to engage the core! As you bend to weed and pick vegetables in your garden, practice lunges and squats for a whopping 241 calories burned per hour. And when you’re ready to mix it up, try lifting bags of dirt or produce. Onto vacuuming, yes, you can get a nice arm and leg workout vacuuming if you do it right. Try taking large lunge steps forward and backward as you vacuum the floors.

Day Three: Back to the upper body… time to dust! Don’t forget to find all those hard-to-reach surfaces and use lots of back-and-forth arm motions to burn 165 calories an hour. Then move onto the windows. At 229 calories an hour, you can probably find a few that could use some cleaning.

Day Four: Time to work those legs and organize the pantry. Squat down every time you lift something off a shelf or get up on your tip toes to work your calves when reaching up onto higher shelves for items. Take everything out of the pantry, clean it thoroughly, and then put everything back all while burning 344 calories in an hour.

Day Five: One last day to sweat it out. By loading and unloading the dishwasher and laundry, you can squat down to put dishes in the dishwasher and do another squat every time you grab items out of it as you empty it. (This also works with laundry. Squat to pull out one item, stand up as you fold, and then squat down again to get the next item.)