ELIMINATING EXCUSES | fitness

Let’s start the week with another addition to our arsenal of stretches. Here’s a good one for the lats and delts. This stretch can be done sitting our standing. Stretch your right arm out in front of you and move it across your chest. Place your left hand on your right elbow pressing it toward your chest. Pushing on the elbow stretches the lat and the outer part of the delt. Work both your right and left arm to stretch both right and left lat/outer delt.

Here are some general tips to help you gauge how long to stretch:
1) you should not be in pain.
2) you should feel light to medium tension in the area you are stretching.
3) slow movements are better than fast, jerking movements since slow motion is less likely to lead to an injury.
4) listen to your body. If something does not feel right, discontinue what you are doing.

That’s all I got. DO SOMETHIN’!

This week I will focus on stretching since it’s key for preparing your muscles to DO SOMETHIN’.

Again, another week has come and gone. Before you get too far into your weekend activities, remember to knock out your workout. Here’s an exciting stretch to add to your stretch/warmup routine: trunk twists. Start out seated on the floor with your legs straight ahead of you. Cross your right leg over your left with your right staying bent and the left, straight. Turn your torso to your right and place your left elbow on the right side of your right knee. Push off with your elbow to get more of a twist. You should feel this stretch in the muscles of your lower back, obliques, intercostals, abs and the outer part of your right thigh. Stretch to a comfortable point; don’t exceed your comfortable range of motion. Work both your left and right sides. This exercise can also be done with out crossing your legs. So starting with your right leg, bend it and keep your left straight (no leg crossing). Left elbow goes to the right side of the right knee. You know the rest . . .

Here are some general tips to help you gauge how long to stretch:
1) you should not be in pain.
2) you should feel light to medium tension in the area you are stretching.
3) slow movements are better than fast, jerking movements since slow motion is less likely to lead to an injury.
4) listen to your body. If something does not feel right, discontinue what you are doing.

Enjoy the weekend.

This week I will focus on stretching since it’s key for preparing your muscles to DO SOMETHIN’ (for those not familar with DO SOMETHIN’, feel free to ask about it).

Here is an important stretch for the lower back and hamstrings. You may want to do this one before you run, bike, hike, exercise your legs, swim, dance, etc. Start out seated on the floor and spread your legs as far apart as you can comfortably. Look at your left leg; point your toes upward or curl them back towards you. Reach your arms out towards your left foot and lean your torso down towards your leg. Keep your back straight as you lean. If you arch your back, you risk injuring it. After you feel that you have gotten a good stretch in your lower back and hamstrings, lean down towards the floor in between your legs with your back straight. Reach towards your feet to see if you can grab them. Finally, lean towards your right leg in the same way that you leaned down to your left. Feel free to do these 3 stretches in any order that you like and to do multiple repetitions if you prefer that vs. holding the stretch for a particular amount of time. Your objective is to stretch properly in preparation for your workout. So make sure to do that. Ok, lean with it . . .

This week we are going to deviate from our normal exercise routine. I want you to get outside of your house/apartment and explore a new activity for your exercise or do an exercise/activity that you enjoy. Go for a run, go swim, play some basketball, play soccer, go for an indoor rock climb, play tennis, play ultimate frisbee, etc. As you can see, I am working the speed bag. I love the speed bag because it improves punching coordination and handspeed. It also works your shoulders and you back (lats and traps). Boxing is a great sport and I encourage you all to learn to box.

This will be my only posting for the week but please feel free to post any comments or questions that you might have and I’ll get back to you.

Before you get started with your activity, make sure you warm up and drink plenty of fluids throughout your activity. DO SOMETHIN’!

Time to hit the back! I expect that some of you want to get ready for the beach or maybe a wedding (backless dress for the females). So you want to hit some back exercises, so you can walk with confidence. Bent over rows are excellent for working the latissimus dorsi, also known as the lats. This exercise is good for developing tone, definition and strength. Before you work your back, make sure you’ve done your stretching and that you are ready to exercise (need some help with back stretches? I’ve posted one for the lower back. I’ll be posting more soon.). Have your weights ready for this exercise. Pick your weights up. Stand with your feet almost shoulder width apart. Bend you knees and lean forward so that your torso forms about a 30 to 45 degree angle relative to the floor. Your weights should be in your hands and infront of your legs. Pull the weight straight up until you naturally stop. Get a good squeeze at the top. Repeat this motion. You know the rest. DO SOMETHIN’!

Alright folks, we are hitting the lower back today. Remember to stretch prior to exercising. If you need help with a lower back stretch, please see my posting for March 29, 2007. Let’s do some back extensions today. This exercise is great for strengthening the lower back. Lay on the floor with your stomach facing downward. Flex the muscles of your lower back bringing your arms and legs off the floor at the same time (it’s almost as if you were doing the reverse of an ab crunch). Take your time with these. I like to pause a bit after flexing the muscles of my lower back to add more emphasis to the exercise. See if that works for you. This exercise is simple; yet effective. DO SOMETHIN’!

I hope that you all have been stretching prior to any exercise. To help in these efforts, I will begin to include stretches in our exercise regimen. Here’s our first stretch and it’s for the lower back. Start by sitting (knees bent) on your shins with the insteps of your feet facing downward. Lower you torso toward the ground and stretch your arms forward. Come forward to your knees by using your abdominal muscles as if your were doing a crunch. As you move to your knees, put a hump in your back. You should feel the stretch in the muscles of your lower back. Now move back to starting position. With this stretch, you can also work the abs by putting emphasis on the crunch as you move forward to you knees. Alright now, DO SOMETHIN’!