Essential Exercises: Superman variations

These are great to throw into your floor ab workout to give your abs a break. I'm a big fan of circuit training in the sense of using your "break" between sets to work a different or complementary muscle group. Then you take a "break" from that one and go back to the  first exercise since now that muscle group is sufficiently rested. I actually like to do four different exercises in circuit. For example, I would do a set each of squats, push ups, calf raises and then planks, and do that twice without any rest between each set. That way, I rested my legs during the arm exercises and rested my arms during the leg exercises, and I didn't waste any time.

Anyway, today I bring you, supermans!

I'm not talking about this guy, but these are inspired by his flying style. How can wearing an outfit that tight be comfortable? And if that blue thing is a one piece, how does he go to the bathroom? Bet you never thought if that, eh?

Below is an example of what I'm talking about and there are a few different versions I think you should try. If you're doing core exercises of any sort (i.e. crunches), you need to make sure to work your lower back in addition to your abs in order to stay balanced. Fortunately, a lot of full body exercises like squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, etc. work your abs as well as your back, but it doesn't hurt to add in a few of these too. Like I mentioned above, I like to rollover and do these when my abs get too tired if I'm doing crunches or other floor work. By the time I'm done, my abs have recovered and I can do another set.

Note: I recommend keeping you head looking at least slight downward, staying in line with your body and not looking up like in the photo. Source

General movement:

Lay on your stomach with your arms straight out in front. You want to keep your arms and legs straight and your feet pointed during the entire exercise. From here, you raise your arms and legs simultaneously and bring them down together, stopping just above the ground. Keep going and don't let your arms and legs stop and rest at the bottom. Make sure you moving intentionally and using your muscles rather than just kind of flopping your arms and legs up and down. This general movement isn't shown above, but take the legs of A and the arms of B and put them together. You want to engage your glutes, abs and shoulder blades, although these will mainly use your back. I also suggest keeping your head in line with your body rather than looking up or straight ahead like in the photo above. I usually keep my ears basically between my arms. For all of these, I generally do sets of 25.

Variation A: Lower body only

Keeping your upper body still, raise your feet and legs up and down. Really try to keep your upper body from moving and isolate your movement to your lower back and down. I usually have my forehead on the floor/mat when I do these and I keep my chest and arms against the ground.

Variation B: Upper body only

Same idea as A except opposite. You keep your lower body in place and work your upper body by raising and lower it. Make sure you keep your arms straight. It's easy to cheat and bend your arms, but this actually makes the exercise easier and you

Variation C: Supermans

In this variation you lift alternate arms and legs. So you'd lift your right arm and left leg, then put those down and lift your left arm and right leg.

Variation D: Flutterkicks

I call these flutterkicks. There is not a picture for these, but the general idea is like A (lifting your lower body only), but you lift one leg at a time. These are quick so you'll probably find yourself doing about twice as many as any of the other variations.

Getting active: How to get started and stay at it

There is not one best work out activity and thank goodness for that. Everyone has things they like to do and things they don't. If you told me that the only way I were going to be able to lose weight and get in shape was to do cardio*, I would be so screwed. Honestly, I probably wouldn't even give it a go. I like lifting weights and doing body weight exercises and I hate doing cardio. I always have. The good news is that I'm convinced every person can find something active that the like to do. Whether it's swimming or tennis or frisbee golf or walking their dog or roller skating or skiing or karate or dancing or jumping on a trampoline or playing tag with your kids, there's something for everyone. If you try to force yourself to do something you don't like to do with the goal of getting in shape, you're adding an additional obstacle onto an already difficult task. Find something you like, something you can look forward to doing, and you're more likely to stick with it.

Another good idea is find someone, rather than something, that motivates you and do some kind of activity with them. It is very beneficial to have someone else around to hold you accountable. Doing something you find dreadful with your best friend (or spouse or sister or kids) all of a sudden becomes enjoyable because you can laugh and chat while you're taking a five mile walk around a lake or hiking a mountain or playing handball. As a personal example, back in college a friend of mine and I used to work out Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Other than spending time with her, an obvious benefit, the thing I remember most fondly about this time was that our exercise strategies complemented each other and we learned from each other. She is a soccer player so she was familiar with lower body, leg and cardio exercises and she introduced me to many of those. I was a gymnast growing up so I focused a lot on upper body, core and full body exercises and I introduced her to those. It was a really great partnership and we had fun and laughed while we pushed each other.

Other ideas for getting started:

• Try a group class. Personally, I like to work out alone, but I know a lot of people who are motivated by being around others in a class. My mom is a prime example. You'll never find her lifting weights or on a cardio machine but she will totally rock it in a Zumba or Jazzercise class. While it's not for me, I've also heard great things about spinning classes.
• Take an intro course to learn the basics, especially if you're taking on something that's new to you. Whether it's "Bike Maintenance 101" or "Geotracking for Dummies", getting familiar with the basics will make your more confident and will likely spur your enthusiasm for learning more about that new thing, which will keep you coming back for more.
• Tag along with someone. Know someone who goes indoor rock climbing every Thursday? Ask if you can tag along next time they go. I'll bet that they'd be happy to "show the ropes", literally and figuratively, and introduce you to one of their favorite hobbies. Everyone loves to discuss their passions (why do you think I'm writing this blog? :D)

Find something you like to do or someone you want to exercise with and get started!

*It's totally not and I don't recommend doing much, if any, cardio just for the sake of doing cardio. Interval training and weight training is a much better way to go, but that's the discussion of a much longer future post. That said, if you actually like to run or bike or you're are training toward a future goal, by all means, go for it!

Essential Exercises: The easiest stomach toning exercise ever!

I want to share with you guys a few easy exercises you can add to your work outs. This one you can actually do anywhere and, as an added benefit, it will not only make you more toned but will also improve your posture! Try this easy little exercise and see what I mean.

Regardless of if you're sitting down or standing up (or even laying down), pull your belly button in and back toward your spine as if a string is attached to the inside of your navel and being reeled in by your spine. Keep your back straight. By doing this little thing on a regular basis, you are training your stomach to naturally be pulled in. Now, every time you realize that you're letting your stomach just hang out or your back arch, pull your belly button in toward your spine. Over time this will become the norm. Not only will you be slightly toning your stomach by using these muscle regularly, but you will appear more toned as well because your back will strengthen and your stomach will stop just hanging out.

How easy is that?!