Exercise of The Month: The Wall Sit

It’s funny, but until about 6 months ago I had never ever performed the wall sit. It was my personal trainer who had me do it and when he demonstrated the exercise, he looked so relaxed and comfortable I really thought it would be a piece of cake! I was wrong. Upon starting the exercise he told me that my bottom was too high up and to squat deeper..ouch! Now I could feel it. Within 45 seconds my legs were shaking and I managed a pathetic 1.25 minutes. “Was that good?” I asked my trainer. “Below Average” he told me!

But just like the plank it is one exercise you can perform just about anywhere, without any gym equipment  and with practice you will improve your time. Basically the exercise involves sitting, with your back against a wall (in a squat position) and simply holding the position for as long as you can. It is important that the legs are at a 90 degree angle. Apparently you are not supposed to rest your hands on your thighs, but instead to hold them above your head or even in front of you to work your shoulders. The exercise builds isometric strength as well as endurance in the quads and glutes – a favorite exercise to perform for the pre-ski season!

I had little idea of this exercise, but am told that it is used in crossfit classes, school gyms, boxing clubs and the army! I can see why! There are also a number of variations which include one legged wall sits and holding weights in your hands too.

Interesting Fact: Dr. Thienna Ho set the Guinness World Record for the longest wall sit at 11 hours and 51 minutes. That’s insane!

Exercise of The Month: Jack Knife Crunches

It may only be March but many of us may already be thinking about our Summer holidays and tightening up our abs. One of my favorite exercise for this is the jack knife crunch. This variation on a standard crunch will not only tone your abs but will strengthen your lower back, legs and give you the benefits of a quick cardio workout too. Interestingly the jack knife has the added advantage of hitting your lower abs a lot more than traditional sit-ups, making it a great way of adding some variety to your core routine.

The Jack Knife can be performed on the floor, a bosu ball or on a bench. In fact if you workout outdoors or in a park you can even use a park bench or a wall! The traditional jack knife is performed lying on the floor with your arms above your head and legs extended. You bend at the waist bringing your arms and torso up at the same time, raising and then lowering. However, many popular jack knife exercise use modified actions such as the one shown below.

Sit on the bench with your bottom at the edge of the bench and your legs stretched out straight, your legs and feet together. Now pull your knees in toward your chest and as you do so bring your arms forward and try to touch the side of your feet.  Then bring your arms back to your chest and push your legs back out straight. The slower you do this the harder it is. If you find this too difficult you can start by keeping your hands behind you on the bench. As your core strength improves you will find your balance does too. If you find it getting too easy try gripping a weight between your feet! This is a killer.

Killer Workouts: Kickboxing For Women

Over the years I have tried many classes from Body Pump to Tai-Bo. One of my favorite activities is without doubt Kickboxing. I’m not talking competitve Muay Thai here just regular Kickbox. Chances are that your local gym will offer these classes just for women and I have done one-to-one kickbox sessions with my personal trainer which has been great fun. So if you’ve never tried kickbixing before, why bother? Well, simply stated, kickboxing gives a workout that delivers both the benefits of cardiovascular exercise plus resistance training in one. You will improve your strength, agility, core, tone and flexibility all in one go.

The first time I did kickboxing I was in the gym and we had hang bags that we had to kick. The skill was to balance firmly on one foot with your whole bodyweight and then generate explosive power in the kicking leg. Easier said than done. Just try repeated kicking for 3 minutes non-stop on one side then switch to the other. Let me tell you, all your muscles will be burning and your heart pumping.

Kickboxing whilst mainly involving kicks also uses combination punches too. You can do kickboxing in classes where you kick or punch the air and you can also do sessions that involve kicking hangbags or even padded strike shields held by your trainer or instructor. The later will give you a much tougher workout. I have to confess that the benefits of fat-burning and fitness play second fiddle to the immense satisfaction I get from inflicting pain on the hangbag or strike shield! What this says about me I don’t know! However, it really releases tension like nothing else I’ve tried – just what you need after a long day.

For women I think the benefits can also extend into the real world with valuable self-defense techniques. You learn how to guage distance, to land punches and kicks and stay on your feet! Don’t just think its for the younger ones either. In the first kickboxing class I attended there were woman there in their 50′s who all seemed to be enjoying themselves. If you have never tried this before then find yourself a local class and give it a try or simply try to work in some kickbox into your regular routine.  They say that 30 minutes of intense kickbox can burn as much as 250 calories so there’s few better ways to burn fat, tone your core and feel great.

Exercise of The Month: The Plank

For a long time this has been one of my favorite exercises. It’s one of those that you see someone doing in the gym and you think to yourself, “Yeah that looks pretty easy!” Of course in reality its a lot harder than it looks, but what does it do? Put simply it’s a core exercise designed to improve strength and tone in the stomach and lower back. It’s particularly favored by both serious athletes and newbies alike. Even post-natal moms are often advised to do the plank as static stomach exercises place less aggressive stress on your stomach muscles following child-birth.

Performing the Plank
First bend your elbows at 90 degress, forearms on the floor, elbows beneath your shoulders. Your body should be straight like a plank of wood from your head to your feet. This is important. Many newbies will lift their bum up in the air so they look more like a hump-back bridge! This is not a plank. For those who are struggling with the plank then a modified plank with your knees on the floor will make it a lot easier.

Whats a Good Time For The Plank?
I’ve always been able to hold the plank for a reasonable while. I remember in my early 30′s being able to hold for 3 minutes. Nowadays I can do about 2 minutes. The plank is an exercise that with practise you can greatly improve your own time. In fact the best way to develop your strength is to do the plank in steps, 30 seconds and then a pause for 10 (or however long you need) and so on.

Plank Variations
The great think about the plank is that there are plenty of variations and tweaks you can make to vary things up a little, from one foot off the floor to even one arm off the floor (what I call hitch-hiker planks).

The World Record for the Abdominal Plank is 1 hour and 5 minutes…ouch! I wince just thinking about that!

If you’ve tried it, how long can you hold the plank for?

CrossFit: When Exercise Gets Serious

Crossfit is all about training your body for the unknown (not just the known). Its one of the fastest growth areas in the world of strength, conditioning and fitness and has gathered an almost cult status amongst serious competitive exercisers.

It certainly isn’t recommended for beginners and is even considered tough for fairly seasoned exercisers. Combining strength training with plyometrics, speed training, various Olympic lifts, body weight exercises, kettlebell and sandbag routines. By training the body in this way CrossFit aims to work the whole body in a comprehensive fashion promoting improvements in cardiovascular-fitness, strength, endurance, stamina power, speed, agility and coordination. Exercises are normally explosive and carried out in circuits (timed). Most exercises will work the whole body with lifting, pulling, squating and pushing exercises forming the basis for most circuits.

With the popularity of this form of exercise, CrossFit gyms have begun to spring up all over the globe. There are now about 2,500 locations worldwide. Forget the conventional set-up you may be used to. This could not be further from your local Fitness First. These places are more akin to a garage or industrial warehouse with Olympic plates, barbells, climbing ropes, pull-up bars, plyometric boxes and the like. Not for the uninitiated.

Despite its hardcore nature, the advantages of CrossFit are that the workouts are actually quite quick so you don’t need a hugh amount of time to complete your circuit. It will appeal particularly to athletes and ex-athletes and has a big following with ex-military. There is almost a competitive pride at participants’ ability to compete not just against other crossfitters but against themselves and their own times. The workouts are certainly not without risks and injury is common for newbies.  But being the kind of person that loves to try all things fitness I decided to give it a try.

I returned to New York over Christmas to see Family and friends and I was able to seek out a session at CrossFitNY. I arranged an induction with my coach and the first session I really just observed. It was totally different to anything I had done before but I was excited (if not a little daunted) about trying it out myself.

There were a number of newbies like myself but a lot of very serious athletes there too that had clearly been doing this for some time. However, the atmosphere was friendly and I got stuck in to my circuit. There were Olympic Lifts which were my biggest challenge but also kettlebell work which was fine for me. The climbing ropes were really tough and I realised how poor my grip strength was. My circuit was short and I completed it in 20.22. But I was absolutely shattered and I have to confess, I did pick up a small injury (just a strain!).  I can certainly see how this could become quite addictive and would make anyone extremely fit. However, for now I think I need to rapidly improve my fitness before returning to a CrossFit gym!

Motivation Fitness Quotes With Pictures

With the start of  a New Year upon us it is a time for many of us to work up the motivation to get ourselves in shape and hopefully healthy again. I know that my fitness routine goes a little off-track over Christmas and New Year. Sometimes a few great words of encouragement and motivation can help us to get motivated. Here are my top five fitness motivation quotes and fitness motivation pictures to accompany them.

1. To Achieve Your Fitness Goals – Work Hard
We all know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Equally we have to always remind ourselves to be patient with our bodies. We cannot expect to turn up for a few exercise classes or cut out bread for a week and all look like Jessica Biel. We have to be consistent with our training and not give up even when we would perhaps rather not be training.

2. Take Small Steps To Reach Your Dream Body
Semetimes we have to keep focused on the goals we set ourselves, understanding that the hard work we do today will pay off tomorrow. We must take time to celebrate our achievements and focus on the bigger goals ahead.

3. You always feel better after Exercise
It may be a cliche but it is true that we always feel much better after having our workout. I know that some days I find it hard to get motivated but once I begin my workout I start to feel better straight away. Sometimes when I’m feeling demotivated, I try to remind myself how good I will feel once I actually start exercising – it really helps me.

4. Understand Why You’re Getting Fit
All too often we focus on how we look and feel on the outside when in fact what’s going on inside our body is actually more important. So maybe you haven’t dropped any weight this week, but you’ve lost internal fat and lowered your heart rate. Fitness is a journey not a destination.

5. Don’t Lose Sight of Your Fitness Goals
It is easy to let life set you back. Stay true to yourself and your fitness goals and don’t give up. Stick with your healthy plans whilst others are losing sight of theirs and you’ll reach your goals.

Does Personal Training Really Work?

When I first discovered exercise in any meaningful kind of way I was 22 and a good 50 pounds or so overweight. I joined a gym in NY and was given a basic program to follow by my then gym instructor. I visited the gym each day and by following the program I was able to eventually shift the weight. Now much older and having had two children my body has changed again (for the worse!) and this time I find it much harder to burn fat and tone compared to my younger years.

I still keep my fitness regime going by trying new things and different classes at the local gym,  but I have been wondering for the last year whether a personal trainer may be able to help me break the plateau. So in September this year as an Anniversary present from my husband Todd, I was gifted with 20 personal training sessions! I guess some wives  may have taken offense by such a gift! Being a fitness addict, I was delighted as it has been something I have been hinting to Todd for the last 12 months.

My personal trainer was Mark from MotivatePT and he was a lovely guy. Before he turned up, I was excited but also slightly worried in case he thought I was really out of shape! During the consultation he sat down with me and told me what we would be doing and began looking at my goals. I told him about my post-pregnancy bulges that had never really gone away and he informed me that I would need to tighten up my diet and increase my calorie expenditure. “Don’t worry” he told me, “I will provide you with a diet plan that I’d like you to follow for the next 10 weeks as part of the fitness program.”

My first session was booked in the very next day and we met in the park. I was expecting Mark to appear with lots of fitness equipment but instead he turned up with nothing. “Okay”, I thought, “he’s forgotten to bring the exercise equipment – this is going to be an easy workout”. Mark explained that for this first session he would be concentrating on body weight exercises and circuits in order to assess my strength, endurance, posture and imbalances. I had no idea what was in store for me!

We began with a stretching routine and then started with what Mark described as warm-up exercises – jumping jacks, squat thrusts and mountain climbers. My legs felt like they were about to fall off. “Okay” said Mark, “that’s the warm-up over!”

As the session went on my body strangely learned to work through the pain threshold that I was experiencing and the initial agony subsided – to be replaced by a slightly less painful burning sensation in my thighs and arms! We worked on interval drills, callisthenics and timed routines based upon jog/sprints. By the end of the workout I was shattered yet felt strangely alive and alert! Okay, so a few days later I could hardly walk, but I was told that my body would adjust very quickly, and it did! By session two I was really up for whatever Mark would throw at me and so began the 10 week program.

Throughout the 10 weeks each training session was changed so that it was slightly different to the previous one. As soon as I felt I had mastered an exercise, Mark would change it! He told me that this was to ensure that my body was constantly challenged. We worked a lot on jogging, sprints and intervals when in the park, but also did lots of boxing, kickbox, kettlebells and core training. I also did lots of exercises I had never heard of before like resistance work with powerclubs, agility ladder drills, speed cone training and battling ropes which got my heart racing and made my arms feel like they were going to fall off! Each session lasted for 60 minutes and I really could not have done a single minute more! Some days I have to confess I felt like giving up, especially when my brain was telling my legs to keep going but my legs just wouldn’t respond!

The Results

I trained with Mark twice a week for 10 weeks. I was also given a 60 minute program that I had to follow on my own each week, which was basic body weight interval circuits. I was also given a nutritional plan which was limited to just 1400 kcal a day. By the end of my 10 week program I had lost 23 pounds, dropped 7.5% bodyfat and almost 6 inches off my waist (my problem area!). I also gained tone to areas that had been flabby since childbirth. I was really surprised just how much I changed my whole body shape.

The Verdict
Does personal training work? Clearly it does – at least for me. All my colleagues at work were asking me what I was doing and my friends and family were amazed with how much weight I lost. Only my youngest daughter was unhappy telling me “Mummy you’re disappearing!”

All that said, it was probably the most intense training regime I have ever done for that time period and there were some days when I was really tired and just didn’t want to do it! But I could always hear Mark’s voice in my head, telling me “no excuses!”. I followed a 1400 kcal diet whilst on the 10 week program which was tough at first but then became very easy to follow when I got used to it.

For me the personal training was just a program to jump-start my body and for this it has definitely made a huge difference. The program was also the inspiration I needed to start training again with a far greater level of intensity than how I was doing before on my own.  I am definitely a fan of personal training and were it more affordable I would actually love to do it every day! I would certainly want to book some more sessions again. I am hoping that my husband will buy me some more training this Christmas!

My personal trainer was Mark from Motivate Personal Trainers