Taming The Trouble Spots
Want to tame those trouble spots before summer? Here are 4 ways to tighten and tone the areas that most women struggle with
Batwing Blaster – Tricep Dips
When you wave goodbye, does the underneath of your arm continue to wave even after you stop? If you are looking to tighten up your arms and get rid of the “batwings”, give tricep dips a try.
Starting Position
Sit tall on the edge of a sturdy chair and wrap your fingertips over the front edge. Place feet on the floor in front of you with knees bent. Lift hips and butt up and slightly forward.
Action
Bend elbows about 90 degrees and lower hips toward the floor. (If you feel pain in the shoulders, your elbows are bent too much). Press up until your elbows are straight, but not locked. To make this exercise more advanced, keep one leg lifted as you do this exercise. Work up to doing 15 reps and 3 sets of this exercise.
Gam Glorifier – Clock Lunges
Clock lunges are guaranteed to tighten up your tushy, slim the hips and give you well defined gams. Because this exercise moves through multiple positions, it can hit all the lower body trouble zones that women tend to struggle with.
Starting Position
Imagine you are standing in the center of a clock. Straight in front of you is 12 o’clock, to your right is 3 o’clock, behind you is 6 o’clock and to your left is 9 o’clock.
Action
Lunge with your right leg to each of the 12 o’clock, 2 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 5 o’clock and 6 o’clock positions. Lunge with your left leg to each of the 12 o’clock, 10 o’clock, 9 o’clock, 7 o’clock and 6 o’clock positions. Each time you lunge, make sure to return to the starting position before lunging to the next position. Once you have completed each position, you have done 1 rep. During this exercise maintain upright posture throughout to improve core strength and do not allow the knee to move over the toe. Work up to doing 5 reps and 3 sets of this exercise.
Tummy Tamer – Bicycles
Bicycles work the entire core in one exercise. When you are doing this exercise you will be tightening the Rectus Abdominus (The”6 pack”), Transverse Abdominus (the muscle that holds your tummy in tight) and the obliques (the sides of your waist)
Starting Position
Begin by lying on your back, placing your hands behind your ears. Make sure your neck is aligned – imaging having a tennis ball between your chin and chest. Lift your legs in the air and bend your knees so that your legs form a 90 degree angle, knees directly above your hips.
Action
Move your legs in a bicycle motion by straightening one leg and pulling the other towards your chest. When your left knee is closer to your body, reach your right elbow to it. When your right knee is closer to your body, reach your left elbow to it. Work up to doing 30 reps and 3 sets of this exercise.
Fat Blaster – HIIT
We all have an amazingly sculpted body, but we just can’t see it because it’s hiding under a layer of fat. And the only way to uncover that sculpted body is to burn off that fat by elevating your heart rate through cardiovascular exercise. The best and most efficient way to do that is through HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training. It’s a short and sweet workout that alternates between short blasts of high intensity work with bouts of lower intensity “recovery” periods. HIIT workouts should last no longer than 30 minutes.
Action
Try warming up for 5 minutes on your favorite piece of cardio equipment. For the next 10 to 20 minutes alternate between 30 seconds of very intense exercise and 90 seconds of lower intensity exercise. Follow that up with a 5 minute cool down. HIIT training is very difficult and should not be done more that 2-3 times a week and never 2 days in a row.
