Category: strength training

Are Looks A Marker Of Health?

Posted on by Shelli Stein

The other day I was thinking about how looks can be deceiving. For instance, Lance Armstrong, and Jim Fixx (who wrote The Complete Book of Running), looked like two of the healthiest men on the planet. Armstrong beat testicular cancer, but came within an inch of his life. And Fixx died of a heart attack after taking a short jog.

So even if you look healthy and feel like a million bucks, you still need to know your levels of inflammatory markers. These you get from blood tests.

But in the meantime, it’s important you ALSO create a low-inflammatory lifestyle. Here’s how you do that.

A low inflammatory lifestyle would include a low-inflammatory nutrition and training plan, along with plenty of stress-free time.

Many of these blog posts help you with those first two. The third one, de-stressing, is mostly up to you. You may want to spend 30 minutes a day doing yoga, walking, meditating, praying, or whatever calms your mind and body.

Living a healthy life requires you to manage your insulin levels keeping them low, and using low-inflammatory nutrition and a smart exercise plan. So remember to use:

  1. Short workouts that are intense, effective, and enjoyable. Use both weights and cardio.
  2. Longer “soft” workouts (like brisk walking) that help de-stress the body and burn more body fat.
  3. A low-glycemic, high-protein diet packed with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Do You Have A Sense Of Urgency?

Posted on by Shelli Stein

Listen up! I have an urgent message.

I’ve noticed there’s one thing that all people who are successful at creating abundant health have in common.

A sense of urgency.

Their desire and need for achieving health and fitness motivates them to turn their ideas and knowledge they’ve acquired into action.

On the other end of the spectrum are “passive” people. Maybe they know and maybe they don’t, but they don’t take action. They somehow hope that even though they keep doing the same things over and over again, they’ll get different results. They keep hoping something good will happen.

All of us have that passive person inside us. Even I’m a living, breathing example of a former passive personality. I’ve had times in my life when I allowed my fitness and self care plans to slip by the wayside.

Something always shakes me from the doldrums and forces me to take that first step to get back on track. And when I start to see results, I’m a force to be reckoned with!

Why? Because successful people act from a sense of urgency and when we feel that urgency, we take action!

So today, I want you to do exactly what I did. Let go of your passive nature and begin looking at your health and fitness goals with a SENSE OF URGENCY.

Tell yourself, “Today, I’m going to make a change and act from a sense of urgency. And these are the first two actions I’m going to take…“

How To Do Lunges To Firm Up Your Butt

Posted on by Shelli Stein

One question I get very often from both women and men is, “How can I firm up my backside?” They don’t always ask that question using such polite words, but that’s what they mean. I’ve met very few people who don’t want a better looking butt!

Most of you are familiar with lunges. You see lots of women doing lunges, whether in gyms or on the street.

Often it’s a good idea, but unfortunately I see a lot of bad execution.

The right way to do lunges is one leg at a time.

Do not alternate between both legs or do walking lunges. It is hard on the knees, and it doesn’t take advantage of the mind/body connection that focusing on one leg at a time can give you.

Here are some lunge tips for you:

1. Work out the muscles on the first leg with both mental and physical focus.

2. After you do one leg, do the other.

3. Rest one minute. Then do a set of 20 squats using dumbbells or just your body weight.

4. Repeat the lunge exercise, one leg at a time, then the squat. That should be plenty for most of you. You’re done!

That’s two super sets: two sets of one-legged lunges and two sets of squats. That’s it. You can do it in less than 10 minutes.

Not only is this a great exercise for your legs, but your butt will be screaming for mercy. Try this and let me know what you think!

Core Strength Exercises

Posted on by Shelli Stein

Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool. When days are hot, when days are cold, in the swimming pool. Do you remember that children’s tune?

I can talk about the virtues of swimming all day long because I LOVE to swim. Many of you who have known me for a few years might remember that I even became lifeguard certified! You might also recall that it was one of the hardest things I ever took on. I also taught water aerobics at a community college and it was a blast.

But enough about me.

Let’s talk about YOU and swimming.

Training in the water is a great way to take care of building that essential core strength.

The muscles of your torso stabilize your spine and provide a foundation for all movements. Since water is gentle on your body and it offers natural resistance, it’s a great environment to train in.

Before doing these movements warm up for 5-10 minutes. For this you can walk in the shallow end of the pool. These moves will require water dumbbells and a noodle.

Remember to breathe as you perform these exercises. Perform the movements slowly and make sure you feel the muscles you are targeting actually doing the work. Using the natural resistance of the water, you can make these moves as easy or as hard as you’d like.

1. Abdominal Rolls: Lie face up in the water holding a dumbbell in each hand. Stretch your arms out to your sides and extend your legs. Pull your knees to your chest. As you do this, roll onto your stomach. Now from your lying face down position, pull knees to your chest and roll again. Perform 8-12 reps of this (one rep includes a back and front position).

2. Reverse Crunch: Place one dumbbell under each knee as you lie on your back. Place your noodle under your arms, across your upper back. You are now in the crunch position. Extend your legs and bring them back in. Remember to breathe. Perform 8-12 reps.

3. Deep Water Walking: Hold one dumbbell in each hand, legs directly under your body. Walk your legs under water. Keep walking your legs. Remember, you are in deep water so your legs are not touching the bottom of the pool. Walk slowly or speed up. Start with 30 seconds at a time and work up to one minute.

4. Oblique Side-Lying Flutter Kicks: Holding the dumbbells, lie on one side with good alignment, and flutter kick for a count of 8 to one side. Switch sides and flutter kick for 8 beats on the opposite side. Move back and forth a few times on each side.

So enjoy the water and let me know how you like working with these moves.

shelli

 

Want Exercise Results? Use The Power of Your Mind!

Posted on by Shelli Stein

I’ve been noticing that more and more gizmos, online tools and fitness books are coming on the market to help people exercise and get fitness results.

However, you’d get a huge bang for the buck (actually forget the bucks), if you used your MIND as an exercise and fitness tool.

It’s not as hard as you may think!

Your thoughts control everything from how fully your muscles contract to how difficult an exercise feels. You must use your mind to get the best and quickest results from your efforts.

Here’s how!

1. Are you working on your abs or core strength? Set a difficult goal. You may just achieve more than you thought possible. In study after study on human performance, people who aim for a specific goal significantly outperform those who just aimed to do the best they could. People generally underestimate their own abilities. Aiming high allows you to push past your own perceptions.

2. Do you ever get bored, particularly when you do cardio exercise? Many people tend to focus on boredom, fatigue or discomfort while they do their cardio routines. That usually leads to those sensations feeling even worse! Instead, try focusing on unrelated thoughts. I read about one study where researchers instructed one group to try and recall the names of every teacher they’d had since kindergarten while cycling for 15 minutes. Another group was told to focus on their exertion level. The name game group found their routine to be at least 10% easier.

3. Do you get tired or discouraged while doing your strength training? While staying focused on what you’re doing, try filling your mind with affirmations. Make up some of your own or use ones like “I can feel my muscles growing.” Positive thinking lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Also, motivational self-talk boosts performance.

4. What do you use your mind for when you’re waiting on line or generally waiting for something or someone? You can use your mind and imagine yourself doing a push-up, for instance. Picturing an action activates the nerves that make muscles move and triggers an actual contraction. Please read that again, because it’s a very crucial point in understanding just how important your mind actually is in what you can accomplish.

Studies have shown that people who practiced exercise visualization for 5 minutes a day were able to increase their muscle strength by 35% in 12 weeks, without ever stepping into a gym.

Of course, don’t forget to use visualization when you ACTUALLY exercise! Always imagine yourself using proper form as you move.

5. As you complete your chores, what do you think about? Try thinking about the muscles you use to do daily chores. Carrying things up and down stairs, for instance, works your quadriceps, butt muscles and hamstrings. Again, concentration strengthens the neurological connection between the brain and the muscles, prompting the body to use up to 30% more muscle fibers during a movement. This added muscle action helps speed muscle growth while increasing caloric expenditure. That’s a GOOD thing!

So remember that your mind is not only an incredible tool in your health and fitness journey but it’s free and accessible to you ALL the time!

shelli

Lunges For A Better Looking Butt

Posted on by Shelli Stein

One question I get very often from both women and men is, “How can I firm up my backside?” They don’t always ask that question using such polite words, but that’s what they mean.

I’ve met very few people who don’t want a better looking butt!

Most of you are familiar with lunges. You see lots of women doing lunges, whether in gyms or on the street.

Often it’s a good idea, but unfortunately I see a lot of bad execution.

The right way to do lunges is one leg at a time.

Do not alternate between both legs or do walking lunges.

It is hard on the knees, and it doesn’t take advantage of the mind/body connection that focusing on one leg at a time can give you.

Here are some lunge tips for you:

1. Work out the muscles on the first leg with both mental and physical focus.

2. After you do one leg, do the other.

3. Rest one minute. Then do a set of 20 squats using dumbbells or just your body weight.

4. Repeat the lunge exercise, one leg at a time, then the squat. That should be plenty for most of you. You’re done!

That’s two super sets: two sets of one-legged lunges and two sets of squats. That’s it. You can do it in less than 10 minutes.

Not only is this a great exercise for your legs, but your butt will be screaming for mercy. Try this and let me know what you think!

shelli


Building Core Strength By Training In The Water

Posted on by Shelli Stein

Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool. When days are hot, when days are cold, in the swimming pool. Do you remember that children’s tune?

I can talk about the virtues of swimming all day long because I LOVE to swim.

Many of you who have known me for a few years might remember that I even became lifeguard certified! You might also recall that it was one of the hardest things I ever took on. I also taught water aerobics at a community college and it was a blast.

But enough about me. Let’s talk about YOU and swimming.

Training in the water is a great way to take care of building that essential core strength.

The muscles of your torso stabilize your spine and provide a foundation for all movements. Since water is gentle on your body and it offers natural resistance, it’s a great environment to train in.

Before doing these movements warm up for 5-10 minutes. For this you can walk in the shallow end of the pool. These moves will require water dumbbells and a noodle.

Remember to breathe as you perform these exercises. Perform the movements slowly and make sure you feel the muscles you are targeting actually doing the work. Using the natural resistance of the water, you can make these moves as easy or as hard as you’d like.

1. Abdominal Rolls: Lie face up in the water holding a dumbbell in each hand. Stretch your arms out to your sides and extend your legs. Pull your knees to your chest. As you do this, roll onto your stomach. Now from your lying face down position, pull knees to your chest and roll again. Perform 8-12 reps of this (one rep includes a back and front position).

2. Reverse Crunch: Place one dumbbell under each knee as you lie on your back. Place your noodle under your arms, across your upper back. You are now in the crunch position. Extend your legs and bring them back in. Remember to breathe. Perform 8-12 reps.

3. Deep Water Walking: Hold one dumbbell in each hand, legs directly under your body. Walk your legs under water. Keep walking your legs. Remember, you are in deep water so your legs are not touching the bottom of the pool. Walk slowly or speed up. Start with 30 seconds at a time and work up to one minute.

4. Oblique Side-Lying Flutter Kicks: Holding the dumbbells, lie on one side with good alignment, and flutter kick for a count of 8 to one side. Switch sides and flutter kick for 8 beats on the opposite side. Move back and forth a few times on each side.

So enjoy the water and let me know how you like working with these moves.

shelli

Got Bat Wings? Try This!

Posted on by Shelli Stein

Do you have bat wings?

A woman recently asked me, “How do I get rid of my bat wings?” I didn’t want to laugh but I swear I had no idea what she meant.

Then when she showed me her arms I got it.

It’s the skin that wiggles underneath our triceps!

Want an idea for tightening tricep wiggle?

I read a study that showed that 85% of women who massaged their skin with rosemary oil found it appeared tighter.

That’s because stimulating compounds in rosemary oil increase circulation in muscles and skin, creating a firmer appearance. It usually takes a few weeks for the difference to show.

Rosemary essential oil also contains antioxidants such as carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, which help repair and safeguard collagen for firmer skin.

To make a lotion, mix 3 drops of rosemary oil into your body moisturizer and massage into your arms (or any other area you want) daily.

Of course there’s always tricep dips and other strength training you can do, but when I gave her this idea for using rosemary oil, she was thrilled.

Try it and see what you think!

shelli

Using Your Mind As An Exercise and Fitness Tool

Posted on by Shelli Stein

I’ve been noticing that more and more gizmos, online tools and fitness books are coming on the market to help people exercise and get fitness results. However, you’d get a huge bang for the buck (actually forget the bucks), if you used your MIND as an exercise and fitness tool.

Your thoughts control everything from how fully your muscles contract to how difficult an exercise feels. You must use your mind to get the best and quickest results from your efforts.

Here’s how!

1. Are you working on your abs or core strength? Set a difficult goal.

You may just achieve more than you thought possible. In study after study on human performance, people who aim for a specific goal significantly outperform those who just aimed to do the best they could. People generally underestimate their own abilities. Aiming high allows you to push past your own perceptions.

2. Do you ever get bored, particularly when you do cardio exercise?

Many people tend to focus on boredom, fatigue or discomfort while they do their cardio routines. That usually leads to those sensations feeling even worse!

Instead, try focusing on unrelated thoughts.

I read about one study where researchers instructed one group to try and recall the names of every teacher they’d had since kindergarten while cycling for 15 minutes. Another group was told to focus on their exertion level. The name game group found their routine to be at least 10% easier.

3. Do you get tired or discouraged while doing your strength training?

While staying focused on what you’re doing, try filling your mind with affirmations. Make up some of your own or use ones like “I can feel my muscles growing.” Positive thinking lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Also, motivational self-talk boosts performance.

4. What do you use your mind for when you’re waiting on line or generally waiting for something or someone?

You can use your mind and imagine yourself doing a push-up, for instance.

Picturing an action activates the nerves that make muscles move and triggers an actual contraction. Please read that again, because it’s a very crucial point in understanding just how important your mind actually is in what you can accomplish.

Studies have shown that people who practiced exercise visualization for 5 minutes a day were able to increase their muscle strength by 35% in 12 weeks, without ever stepping into a gym.

Of course, don’t forget to use visualization when you ACTUALLY exercise! Always imagine yourself using proper form as you move.

5. As you complete your chores, what do you think about?

Try thinking about the muscles you use to do daily chores.

Carrying things up and down stairs, for instance, works your quadriceps, butt muscles and hamstrings. Again, concentration strengthens the neurological connection between the brain and the muscles, prompting the body to use up to 30% more muscle fibers during a movement. This added muscle action helps speed muscle growth while increasing caloric expenditure. That’s a GOOD thing!

So remember that your mind is not only an incredible tool in your health and fitness journey but it’s free and accessible to you ALL the time!

shelli

Two Exercises, 15 Minutes A Week…..That’s IT!

Posted on by Shelli Stein

“Sure, I know I should be working out, but I just can’t find the time”.

I hear it all the time.

How about 15 minutes a week, though?

Don’t tell me you can’t find 15 minutes a week!

How about if I only gave you TWO exercises to do?

OK, here we go.

The PLANK is, in my book, a fantastic whole body exercise.

If you’ve taken a Yoga class, or worked one on one with a trainer, or hung out with me for any length of time, you’re familiar with the PLANK.

Here’s how to do it.

Kneel on your hands and knees. Move into the PLANK position by extending your legs backward and reaching forward through the crown of your head, similar to if you were doing push-ups.

Keep your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears, and keep your hips up. Don’t allow your back to cave downward.

Hold yourself up, palms flat on the floor, arms extended, up to 90 seconds.

Remember to breathe.

If you have wrist issues and flat palms don’t work for you, bend your arms so you’re supported from your elbows and forearms. There are many variations on the plank, but start here.

WALL SITTING looks much easier than it is.

The WALL SIT works your legs, and strengthens your abs and back as you press your back into the wall.

Here’s how to do it.

Press your back against a wall. Walk your feet away from the wall and then slide your back down the wall until your knees form ninety-degree angles. Hold up to 90 seconds. Remember to breathe.

Do these two 90 second exercises as a set 5 days a week and you’ll have your 15 minutes!!

Enjoy,

shelli