onethreezero

mrwht:

Swiss-Ball Knee Tuck
(works transverse abdominis, obliques, rectus abdominis)

Assume the pushup position with your shins on a Swiss ball and your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart and beneath your shoulders. Keeping your head down and your abs drawn in, slowly pull your knees toward your chest. (The ball will roll slightly forward.) Try to keep your hips down to maintain the stress on your abdominals. Pause, then straighten your legs to roll the ball back out behind you.

Watch Your Form:   Keep your belly button pulled in toward your spine. This engages your transverse abdominis, which helps protect your back.

leadro:

Literally the best kind of plank you can do. It’s harder than the normal plank but it works your core out SO much more and it feels SOOOOO good after. I do 3 sets, increasing 10+ seconds after each rep. 

muffintop-less:

There are numerous ways to measure progress that are far superior to the scale. Some of these include progress photos, measurements and how your clothes fit!

I know a lot of girls care about the number on the scale.. but the thing to keep in mind is, the scale is the weight of not just your fat & muscle.. but your organs, bones and various tissues as well! It doesn’t tell you your body fat percentage or body mass index. It changes extremely easily depending on the foods you eat, your sodium intake and how much water you’ve consumed.
Also remember, YOU are the ONLY ONE who sees that number! Besides your doctor.. who else is going to care what it says? So long as you are in a healthy range for your age/heigh/gender… forget about that number and focus on making healthy lifestyle changes instead!

I dug up one of the first progress photos I decided to take.. here it is! I wish I had more “original” shots… I’ll see if I can find anything else. But I encourage you to take progress photos of your own! They will go a long way to motivate you when you see HOW FAR YOU’VE COME rather than stressing about how far you have to go!!!

muffintop-less:

“I don’t strength train because I’ll bulk up like a man… I don’t want to look like a body builder!”

“News flash ladies – it’s physically impossible for you to bulk up without hormone treatment or some other artificial intervention. Women lack the growth hormones required to get as muscular as men. We simply don’t produce the amount of testosterone required to gain muscle mass like men (or female body builders who are taking supplements to support growth) do.

The fact of the matter is, if you want to be fit, lean and toned, you need to do more than just cardio. You should be incorporating strength training workouts into your routine  IN ADDITION to your cardio workouts! The COMBINATION of cardio and strength training is what will get you the results that you’re looking for – feeling strong and looking lean!

But that’s not all!  There are so many benefits for women that come from incorporating strength training into an exercise regimen:

• Improved muscle tone (and increased self-esteem)! I don’t know about you, but I always feel better about myself when I am looking fit and trim – lean muscles are sexy!
• Increased bone density! A healthy bone is more dense; meaning that it has more calcium stores, is stronger and has a higher bone density. Weight bearing exercises, or strength training, help to deposit calcium stores within your bones, leading to healthier, stronger bones!
• Increased immunity to illness! Several studies have now found that strength training increases both the number and the amount of activity of immune cells whose primary jobs are to detect and destroy cancerous and virus-infected cells! In addition, muscle is your body’s way of storing protein – which is essential in the production of antibodies when your body is fighting an infection.
• Ability to slow (and even reverse!) the aging process! A recent study conducted at McMaster University Medical Center showed that lifting weights can actually reverse the aging process in the muscles. Participants in the study not only got stronger, but the molecular mechanisms which generate power for their muscles became as active as those found in much younger people.
• Your body will metabolize food and drink more efficiently! When you strength train, you experience a boost in your resting metabolism… so if you are trying to reduce bodyfat, you’ll be able to do so more easily! The reason for this is that strength training increases muscle fibers, and as such, they consume more energy – which boosts our metabolisms.

So now we know the benefits of strength training… but why else aren’t’ we doing it?”

By Janine@ThePurpleGiraffe
Full Article: http://shesafitchick.com/2012/01/weights-for-women/

muffintop-less:

At-Home Core Workout:

• 15 V-Ups 
• 25 Crunches
• 20 Leg Lifts
• Bicycles to failure
• Plank to failure

Repeat this circuit 3-5 times. Remember, QUALITY over quantity.. it’s better to get less quality reps in than all the reps but half-hearted! Use slow and controlled movements and remember to breathe out when contracting. Squeeze HARD at the top of each movement. Failure means literally until you physically cannot perform another repetition with proper form.