Exercise Articles

Fitness for All: Yoga for Beginners

If your New Year's Resolution included getting healthy and trying new forms of exercise, then you may be considering trying out one of the most popular forms of exercise and relaxation : yoga.

Yoga can be intimidating if you choose to head straight to the gym and taking a class, so we offer these four beginners poses that you can practice with before you move onto some of the more challenging poses in public.

Mountain Pose :

To do it, stand up straight and plant your feet firmly on the floor. Bring your shoulders back as if you were trying to stand up super straight, but keep your arms relaxed. In one variation of this pose, you leave your arms at your side and feel the energy shoot through your back and legs (in a good way). In another variation, you take a deep breath as you lift your arms above your head with the palms of your hands facing each other. Reach for the stars with your fingertips and feel the stretch in your back.

Cobra Pose :

The cobra pose stretches your lower back, improves flexibility and works your arms. Start by lying face down on the floor with the tops of your feet flat on the floor. Put your hands near your shoulders, as if you were going to do a pushup. Use your arms to push your torso, abdomen and even hips off the floor. Keep your legs flat on the ground. Hold the pose for 30 seconds, return to the starting position and repeat the sequence.

Warrior Pose :

Stand in a normal position and then turn your right foot out at a 90-degree angle. While keeping your shoulders relaxed, place your hands on your hips. Extend your arms out to your sides and the palms of your hands face down. Your arms should be parallel to the floor. Bend your right knee at a 90-degree angle and slide your left foot back 3 or 4 feet, depending on your flexibility. Your right thigh should be parallel with the floor and your knee over your ankle. Line your chin up with your right shoulder so you look past your fingertips. Hold this pose for a minute before switching sides.

Sculpt Your Body with These Moves

Even though sweater and parka weather are upon us, ‘tis the season to sculpt away that unwanted fat, because let's be honest any season is the perfect time to sculpt away that unwanted fat, right?

To fight fat and sculpt, you need to target your biggest problem areas : like your glutes, thighs, and love handles. Follow these fat-busting moves to get in the best shape this season (or any season!)

Problem : Under arm jiggle.

Solution : Tricep dips.

Sit on the floor or a bench with knees bent at 90 degrees and palms facing out, behind you. Raise your body up and down, dipping your rear until it hovers just above the ground. Keep your elbows pointed straight behind you, and you should feel it in your triceps. Do for 60 seconds and repeat three times.

Problem : Flabby chest

Solution : Push-ups

Doing push-ups for 30 seconds followed by a 15-second hold is the key to scoring a toned chest.

Repeat 3 times. (If you can't do a traditional push-up, try an incline variation, placing your hands on a bench.)

Problem : Belly fat

Solution : Mountain climbers

Hold a high plank position for 30 seconds, keeping a flat back.  Quickly bring right knee to right elbow, then left knee to left elbow in fast movements for 30 seconds.

Problem : Love handles

Solution : Side forearm plank

Start with a traditional forearm plank, elbows under shoulders and forearms parallel, abdominals engaged. Slide your palms toward your centerline so your thumb and forefingers connect. Then stack your left hip on your right, placing your left palm on your left hip. Use your abs and pull your navel to your spine as you press your shins and thighs together. Reach your left (or top) arm up to the sky to open your chest while you press your hip up. Press up 10 times. Repeat on right side.

Ineffective Workouts to Avoid

Despite what many people believe, not all workouts are actually effective and conducive to losing weight and toning up.  There are a number of workouts that you will see people doing at your gym any given day of the week that are actually ineffective.

Unless you have the best form and are using some of these machines like textbook, then you actually may be doing more harm than good to your body.

The following are some examples of the least effective exercises that you can do:

Despite what many people believe, not all workouts are actually effective and conducive to losing weight and toning up.  There are a number of workouts that you will see people doing at your gym any given day of the week that are actually ineffective.

Unless you have the best form and are using some of these machines like textbook, then you actually may be doing more harm than good to your body.

The following are some examples of the least effective exercises that you can do:

• Behind the Head Lat Pull Downs: Unfortunately, only those with very mobile shoulder joints can keep their spine straight enough to get a good workout from the behind the back lat pull down bar. The move done wrong can actually tear the rotator cuff.
• Behind the Head Military Press: This exercise done similarly to the behind the head lat pull down, can cause the same problems with the rotator cuff that other exercise could cause.
• Lying Leg Press (with knees bent too deeply): This exercise is typically done to work your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes and is done on a machine where you use your feet to push a weighted plate up and down.  If you bend your knees too far, then you can seriously injure your back and/or knees.
• Squats on a Smith Machine: While the Smith Machine is generally an effective machine, the bar on the machine doesn't give, which can force the body into risky positions, including placing their feet too far in front of them while doing their squats.
• Using Bad Form on Cardio Machines: While using bad form is not good on any machine, using bad form on cardio equipment is a big no-no. Hunching over can throw off your alignment, jarring your spine, shoulders and elbows.
• Always Lifting with a Weight Belt: Unless you have a back injury, are lifting a lot of weight or if you have some other medical reason, then a weight belt is not necessary.  Wearing a weight belt too often can weaken your core muscles, throwing off your entire workout.

Yoga for Digestion

Lunges, twists and squats are all great moves to help getting your digestion system moving, but there are also some great yoga poses that you can also do that will aid in digestion as well. Here are some suggested poses:

Awkward chair pose Stand with feet together and squat back in to an imaginary chair as you lift your arms above you. Pull in your lower abdominals and stretch up through the front body. Sit back as deeply as you can and hold the pose for 5 to 8 breaths. 

Lunging twist Lunge back with your right leg and take a twist to your left. Place your right hand outside your left foot and stretch your left arm upwards. If you can't get your right hand and shoulder outside of your front knee, place the hand on the inside of the foot. Twist from your waist and move with your breath, using the strength of your legs to support you. Hold for 5 breaths.

Low lunge twist with quad stretch Lower your right knee to the floor and reach back with your left hand to catch the right foot as you lift your right heel up toward your buttocks. Hold for 5 to 8 breaths.

Cobra From the lunging quad stretch, release your right foot and bring your left knee back to meet your right. Lower down on to your belly. Place your hands near your shoulders or slightly forward and start to lift your upper body off the mat. Keep your pubic bone on the mat and make sure your shoulders are down and away from your ears. Stay here for 5 breaths and feel your tummy stretching as well as getting a little gentle pressure on it.

Child's pose From cobra, press into your hands and lift your hips up and back until your buttocks are resting on your heels and you can lay your chest on the floor. Stretch your arms forward or back alongside your waist. Let your mind relax let your shoulders release and stay here a good 8 to 10 breaths.