Begin seated with your knees bent and your feet planted on the floor, setting up to do a few sit-ups! Hold a weight in your hands in front of your chest with your elbows bent in to your sides. Lean your torso back to form a wide V with your torso and knees, think 10 and 2 on a clock. As you come back up to seated, keeping your elbows in to your sides, press your weight overhead. Bring the weight back to the front of your chest as your lean back again.
Some points to remember: do not allow your shoulders to creep up to your ears, keep your core engaged, do not allow your stomach “pop” and if you begin to feel pressure in your low back, you need to decrease the angle of your V.
Repeat the movement for a series of 15 – 20 repetitions! Feel free to do this without weight if you choose!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Lunge & Press!
Begin standing with your feet hip distance and parallel with your spine in neutral and your core engaged. Hold a medicine ball or a dumbbell in both hands at your chest with your elbows bent in to your sides.
Step your right leg back into a reverse lunge and at the same time twist your torso to the right. Engage your hamstrings and glutes to come out of your lunge, lifting your knee in front of you and at the same time, returning your torso to center and pressing your weight overhead.
Continue on: reverse lunge with a torso twist, knee lift, over head press and so on…for 10 – 15 repetitions and switch sides.
Step your right leg back into a reverse lunge and at the same time twist your torso to the right. Engage your hamstrings and glutes to come out of your lunge, lifting your knee in front of you and at the same time, returning your torso to center and pressing your weight overhead.
Continue on: reverse lunge with a torso twist, knee lift, over head press and so on…for 10 – 15 repetitions and switch sides.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tabletop Pullover
For this week grab your stability ball and a weighted medicine ball or light dumbbell. This first exercise begins in a table top position with your stability ball.
To get into a proper table top position begin seated on your stability ball with your feet hip distance apart, your shoulders down and back, your spine in neutral and your core engaged. Begin to walk your feet out away from the ball so you can come to create a table of sorts with your head and shoulders on the ball. Maintain your proper body position and engage your hamstring and glute muscles to keep your core in a level table top position.
Hold your medicine ball in both hands with your arms extended to the ceiling. If you are using a dumbbell, hold on to the weight horizontally with your hands grasping either end of the dumbbell. Using your core strength, inhale your breath and extend your arms overhead so they create a straight line with your torso. Exhale your breath and lift your arms back up to the starting position. Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions, 2-3 sets.
To get into a proper table top position begin seated on your stability ball with your feet hip distance apart, your shoulders down and back, your spine in neutral and your core engaged. Begin to walk your feet out away from the ball so you can come to create a table of sorts with your head and shoulders on the ball. Maintain your proper body position and engage your hamstring and glute muscles to keep your core in a level table top position.
Hold your medicine ball in both hands with your arms extended to the ceiling. If you are using a dumbbell, hold on to the weight horizontally with your hands grasping either end of the dumbbell. Using your core strength, inhale your breath and extend your arms overhead so they create a straight line with your torso. Exhale your breath and lift your arms back up to the starting position. Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions, 2-3 sets.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
More Lessons From A 7 Year Old…
How we go through life is just a matter of perspective and looking at things through the eyes of a 7 year old is often the best vantage point.
I don’t usually enjoy the days when I look around and it is obvious that I need to spend a few minutes on home maintenance. I am not the most organized or immaculate and neither is the rest of my family. On top if that, we have a lot of things and not a lot of space or storage which leads to piles and clutter.
Today was one of the days when our home needed a touch of attention. I pulled out the vacuum, got all the corners, headed for the cobwebs. Before long, I started to get frustrated by the dust on the shelves developed a bit of a “poor me Cinderella” complex.
I pulled Lillian away from the movie she was watching and told her that if I was cleaning I wasn’t going about it on my own. She wasn’t too happy about putting on her Cinderella shoes until I handed her the dust rag and set her on the “un-dusting” task (remember the very literal Amelia Bedelia). She couldn’t have been more excited to spend an hour “un-dusting” our house.
The enthusiasm Lillian had for her task completely changed my perspective on cleaning my house. I might not have the most organized home, I don’t have a lot of storage space for all our stuff, but my small house is comfortable and just right for my family and working on cleaning things up with my 7 year old couldn’t have been more enjoyable.
What else did I realize? Life can be a bit like house work; if one is not careful it can be somewhat tedious. It can be easy to get through life with just the bare minimum, not dusting the shelves. Put in a little effort and enthusiasm and the results are fantastic. Just a little attention to the small details brings the greatest rewards and blossoms into bigger ideas and greater possibilities.
Look at life now and again through the eyes of a 7 year old. “Un-dusting” is a great Sunday morning pastime and a jump rope can take you where you headed quicker than just a pair of feet. The possibilities are endless. Just a small change in a point of view can present what lies in front in a whole new light. Pretty fun really!
I don’t usually enjoy the days when I look around and it is obvious that I need to spend a few minutes on home maintenance. I am not the most organized or immaculate and neither is the rest of my family. On top if that, we have a lot of things and not a lot of space or storage which leads to piles and clutter.
Today was one of the days when our home needed a touch of attention. I pulled out the vacuum, got all the corners, headed for the cobwebs. Before long, I started to get frustrated by the dust on the shelves developed a bit of a “poor me Cinderella” complex.
I pulled Lillian away from the movie she was watching and told her that if I was cleaning I wasn’t going about it on my own. She wasn’t too happy about putting on her Cinderella shoes until I handed her the dust rag and set her on the “un-dusting” task (remember the very literal Amelia Bedelia). She couldn’t have been more excited to spend an hour “un-dusting” our house.
The enthusiasm Lillian had for her task completely changed my perspective on cleaning my house. I might not have the most organized home, I don’t have a lot of storage space for all our stuff, but my small house is comfortable and just right for my family and working on cleaning things up with my 7 year old couldn’t have been more enjoyable.
What else did I realize? Life can be a bit like house work; if one is not careful it can be somewhat tedious. It can be easy to get through life with just the bare minimum, not dusting the shelves. Put in a little effort and enthusiasm and the results are fantastic. Just a little attention to the small details brings the greatest rewards and blossoms into bigger ideas and greater possibilities.
Look at life now and again through the eyes of a 7 year old. “Un-dusting” is a great Sunday morning pastime and a jump rope can take you where you headed quicker than just a pair of feet. The possibilities are endless. Just a small change in a point of view can present what lies in front in a whole new light. Pretty fun really!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Get Up Off Your Arse…
I watched my friend Tracey do this at the gym today and it is a good one! This will target your hamstrings and glutes with a bit for your quads thrown in for good measure. It is also great for balance and stability!
Begin seated on a chair or bench with your feet flat on the floor. Extend your right leg out in front of you. Press through the heel of your left foot and with the strength of your glutes and hamstrings, don’t use your arms; come to stand on your left leg. Keep your leg extended and return to seated. Repeat for a series of 8 to 12repetitions and switch legs.
If this is too easy, grab a set of dumbbells and don’t forget to breathe!
Begin seated on a chair or bench with your feet flat on the floor. Extend your right leg out in front of you. Press through the heel of your left foot and with the strength of your glutes and hamstrings, don’t use your arms; come to stand on your left leg. Keep your leg extended and return to seated. Repeat for a series of 8 to 12repetitions and switch legs.
If this is too easy, grab a set of dumbbells and don’t forget to breathe!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Find Your Inner 7 Year Old!
My 7 year old daughter Lillian is the inspiration for this week's exercises so embrace your inner child and...
Find a sturdy piece of rope and start jumping. Jump rope for 5-10 minutes. Jumping rope is great exercise, can be done anywhere and is fun.
Aim to get your heart rate up for a minimum of 20 minutes, 3 days per week. Be sure to warm up for at least 5 minutes before you start jumping and have fun!!
Find a sturdy piece of rope and start jumping. Jump rope for 5-10 minutes. Jumping rope is great exercise, can be done anywhere and is fun.
Aim to get your heart rate up for a minimum of 20 minutes, 3 days per week. Be sure to warm up for at least 5 minutes before you start jumping and have fun!!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Dinner...
Dinner tonight was easy and yummy!
What?
1 clove garlic
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 small eggplant, peeled and diced
2 roasted red peppers, diced
salt & pepper to taste
* polenta
* pesto
* tomato sauce
* fresh mozzarella & parmesan cheese
* determine amounts by personal taste
How?
Saute the onion and shallot in a bit of olive oil until translucent, add the eggplant and saute until tender, stir in the red peppers.
In a med um baking dish, spoon a bit of tomato sauce and top with polenta. Spoon the eggplant mixture on top of the polenta. Top the eggplant with the pesto, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and a bit more tomato sauce.
Bake at 400 degrees until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Serve with a green salad!
What?
1 clove garlic
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 small eggplant, peeled and diced
2 roasted red peppers, diced
salt & pepper to taste
* polenta
* pesto
* tomato sauce
* fresh mozzarella & parmesan cheese
* determine amounts by personal taste
How?
Saute the onion and shallot in a bit of olive oil until translucent, add the eggplant and saute until tender, stir in the red peppers.
In a med um baking dish, spoon a bit of tomato sauce and top with polenta. Spoon the eggplant mixture on top of the polenta. Top the eggplant with the pesto, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and a bit more tomato sauce.
Bake at 400 degrees until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling. Serve with a green salad!
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