In simplest terms, the “afterburn effect” essentially means the calories you continue to burn after exercising. While many people primarily pay attention to the amount of calories they burn while running, cycling, swimming or lifting weights, there’s a whole other important component to calorie-burning that you might be overlooking.

That’s because our bodies actually use up extra energy (calories) after certain workouts to help us recover, cool down and deal with the hormonal changes that the exercise produced. The scientific name for this process is excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.

What does the research we now have available regarding benefits of the afterburn effect mean for the future of your workouts? If you properly plan your exercise routine so you do the right types of high-intensity workouts several times a week, you’ll gain the ability to burn more fat in less time.

Sound too good to be true? Here’s what this phenomenon is all about …

What Is the Afterburn Effect?

The key to increasing the afterburn effects of your workouts, so you can burn more calories throughout the whole day, is practicing high-intensity exercises. That’s because the afterburn effect is small following steady-state traditional cardio workouts like jogging but is significantly higher following intense workouts — like sprinting, circuit, strength and burst activities.

If your goals are to get leaner, build muscle fast, increase your cardiovascular health and not spend loads of time needing to exercise, then the bottom line is that doing brief, but intense, intermittent bouts of exercise is the way to go. The benefits of high-intensity interval training — commonly referred to as HIIT — are greater strength, improved speed and better fat burning, all in ways that steady-state cardio workouts simply can’t comparably create.

In general, the more intense the exercise, the greater the afterburn effect is going to be. This means that a workout that’s 20 minutes long involving sprinting (or practicing another form of burst training or intense activity) as fast as you can for 30 seconds, repeated for 10 rounds with 90-second rest periods in between, will have a higher afterburn effect compared to doing steady-state exercises like running moderately for 30 minutes.

How many more calories will the afterburn effect burn through following intense exercise? It’s hard to estimate an exact amount since every person reacts to high-intensity exercise differently. Factors like someone’s current level of fitness, gender, age, training duration and intensity can potentially influence the magnitude of the afterburn.

That being said, one study published in the Journal of Exercise Science showed that the afterburn effect is associated with an elevation in metabolism due to the thermic effect of activity regardless of your current fitness level — and some experts believe that this can cause around a 10 percent increase in calorie expenditure for the day following just 20 minutes of high-intensity exercise.

In other words, if you’re an active woman who normally burns 2,000 calories a day, taking into account your additional energy requirements might mean you’re now burning 2,200!

Here’s the scientific breakdown of the afterburn effect:

HIIT workouts increase your metabolism — in other words, they raise your total energy expenditure, which is the amount of calories your body burns for energy daily.

You can think of energy expenditure as the amount of energy a person uses up throughout the entire day performing all bodily activities, whether it’s walking around, showering or bending over. We all use up energy in the form of calories every time we breathe, move, digest food and our heart pumps out blood — so most of our energy expenditure goes without us even noticing or making an effort.

When it comes to exercise, of course, we do take notice of our increased effort and, therefore, the higher amount of energy we’re using. But the energy expenditure of a workout is the total measure of calories burned during and after exercise, so while we might be pushing ourselves at the gym and “feeling the burn,” we actually continue to use extra energy once the workout is over without even realizing it.

As you’re learning, certain forms of exercise (high-intensity) dial up the energy burn following exercise better than others. After intense exercise, your body has to work twice as hard to replenish its oxygen stores than it does after steady-state exercise.

The technical name for calories burned after exercise is “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption,” or EPOC. Evidence suggests an exponential relationship between exercise intensity and the magnitude of the EPOC.

The term EPOC describes the fact that at higher exercise intensities, oxygen uptake isn’t proportional to heat expenditure. In other words, EPOC results in an oxygen debt because this is how the body works to recover after a tough workout and brings the organs, heart and hormones back to a resting state.

The oxygen debt component is part of the reason there’s an afterburn effect because it takes a toll on energy use. In fact, this process of bringing the body back to homeostasis and normalizing metabolism following intense activity might take up to three days!

The more often you do intense workouts, the more it pays off. The International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism reports that EPOC varies as a function of metabolic stress, and more training improves the efficiency of metabolic regulation during recovery from exercise.

EPOC is not the only thing that accounts for the afterburn effect. Other aspects have to do with body’s production of lactic acid and the process of hypertrophy, or the building of muscle mass.

Think of it this way: If you’re wearing your muscles out and producing higher levels of lactic acid (the chemical reaction that is responsible for the “burn” you feel when your muscles are fatigued), then you’re causing damage to muscle tissue at the microscopic level that needs to be repaired. This takes energy because it involves the body breaking down amino acids (proteins) in muscles and then rebuilding them.

In the process, intense exercise also increases testosterone naturally, which can mean more muscle gain.

This process of laying down new proteins in order to build back muscles stronger and bigger raises your total energy expenditure — and basically all of this happens after you finish working out.

How to Activate the Afterburn Effect

For years, we’ve been led to believe that exercising for longer periods of time results in more calories burned and, therefore, a better body composition. In recent years, the idea that you can reach your goals by following an exercise regimen that’s actually the opposite is now well-supported by a growing field of research.

A 2011 report published in the Journal of Obesity states that although generally the effects of regular aerobic exercise on body fat is negligible, intense forms of exercise may have a greater impact on body composition. “Emerging research examining high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) indicates that it may be more effective at reducing subcutaneous and abdominal body fat than other types of exercise.”

During aerobic exercise, the muscles use glucose (sugar) primarily for energy. On the other hand, during the longer recovery period described above, the body primarily uses fatty acids in addition to glucose. This translates into you burning more fat while you build more muscle.

That’s important because, even at rest, muscle burns more calories than stored body fat does.

How much intense exercise do you need to do? This depends on how intense your workouts are.

For example, the World Health Organization has switched away from simply recommending steady-state exercise and now advises the following:

Adults aged 18–64 years

• should do at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity;
• or at least 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity; or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity throughout the week
• should also do muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these provide additional health benefits.
• may increase moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity to more than 300 minutes; or do more than 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity; or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity throughout the week for additional health benefits.
• should limit the amount of time spent being sedentary. Replacing sedentary time with physical activity of any intensity (including light intensity) provides health benefits, and
• to help reduce the detrimental effects of high levels of sedentary behaviour on health, all adults and older adults should aim to do more than the recommended levels of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity

Here are three ways to practice high-intensity exercise in order to dial up your afterburn effect:

1. Cycling, Using the Elliptical or Rowing

Instead of doing steady-state cardio for 50 minutes, halve this amount, and use interval training.

High-intensity interval training combines short, high-intensity bursts of exercise with slow, recovery phases. These intervals are repeated throughout one short (15- to 20-minute) session.

The intense parts are done at 85 percent–100 percent maximum heart rate, rather than 50 percent–70 percent that is the average moderate endurance activity level.

A simple way to practice HIIT is to push yourself as hard as you can for about 20–30 seconds, then take a rest of about 60 seconds. Repeat this cycle for the duration of your exercise.

The shorter your rest interval is, the harder it will be. You should feel wiped out afterward!

2. Weight Lifting or Resistance Training

Practice a circuit-style workout or complete “supersets.” Supersets are when you go from one weighted exercise straight into the next, without resting in between. You work one muscle group hard until it’s fatigued, then move on to another one right afterward.

In other words, you use opposite muscle groups so while you rest one, you train the other. For example, you might start with squats working your legs primarily, then move on to bench presses working your upper body primarily. Or you go from back rows to chest presses.

Also, to radically switch up your routine, give HIIT a try by incorporating some full-body kettlebell workouts, or do CrossFit workouts.

3. Sprinting

This is likely the most popular way to practice HIIT and achieve high afterburn effects. This model follows the same idea as that for cycling or rowing mentioned above — you swap a longer steady workout for a shorter but intense one.

And I mean intense!

During your sprints, you really want to push yourself, almost like you’re running because your life depends on it. Try sprinting for 10–15 minutes total to start, using 90-second intervals. This means pushing yourself very hard for 30 seconds, then taking a rest for one minute.

Repeat the cycle until you’re at about 15 minutes or slightly more once you’ve been practicing HIIT for a while. You can practice this outdoors or take it inside for an intense burst-training workout on a treadmill.

Related: Do Fitness Trackers Help You Become More Active?

Precautions

There’s still a lot to learn about the afterburn effect and how exactly it works. Almost every aspect of a workout — from the number of reps and sets completed, number of rest periods in between sets, intensity, speed, types of movements performed, and a person’s heart rate — can all impact how dramatic the afterburn effect turns out to be.

It appears that well-trained individuals have a more rapid return of post-exercise metabolism to resting levels after exercising. Therefore, they might be getting the most bang for their buck when it comes to HIIT workouts.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of benefits for people new to exercise, too, assuming they start slow and prevent injuries. One of the biggest challenges might be encouraging HIIT newbies and those who have weight to lose to even start intense exercise programs that can raise their afterburn effect, since intensity can be intimidating.

If you’re practicing HIIT for the first time, keep your workouts shorter, around 10 minutes, and use a method that you’re comfortable with, like running (on grass or a treadmill) or cycling.

Regardless of how fit you already are, HIIT workouts shouldn’t be done every day because this can increase injury risk. They’re best when completed just two to three times a week (or even less in some cases).

If you choose to do a circuit-style intense workout or one using weights, consider starting with a professional trainer to make sure your form is correct and you aren’t setting yourself up for injury.

Related: How Long Should You Rest Between Workouts?

The post The Afterburn Effect: How to Burn More Fat After You Exercise appeared first on Dr. Axe.

I have worked with numerous athletes, including professionals and Olympians, and often hear of issues with their hamstrings because this muscle group is such an integral part of movement. Similarly, if you do any running or participate in any sport, you rely more on your hamstrings than you probably think, which is why it’s important to add hamstring stretches to your fitness routine.

While your quadriceps and calves do plenty of work, your hamstrings also supply the power, speed and endurance you need to be successful in your activities. Therefore, one of the running tips for beginners or for anyone involved in a sport is to start incorporating hamstring stretches into your routine.

More flexibility as well as strength in the back of your thighs will not only make you more durable, but your performance level will go up a notch.

There are three other reasons to start paying to your hamstrings. First, inflexible hamstrings may contribute to back pain, as your lower back in particular can overcompensate during a sporting activity or even routine daily tasks and compromise your disc health, for instance.

Second, connected to the back of your knee, a strong, flexibility hamstring can aid knee health and reduce/address knee pain. Third, in an appeal to your vanity, just as you probably seek a firm backside, you also don’t want the back of your legs to be all jiggly!

Let’s find out about how to get your hamstrings in tip-top shape using hamstring stretches and workouts.

Best Hamstring Stretches and Exercises

To start, do some dynamic stretching first, such as marching in place, an easy jog, shallow squats and lunges, easy jumping jacks, etc. Throughout all leg exercises, try to maintain tight abdominals, using your core, and don’t forget to breath!

Best Hamstring Stretches

Forward Bend

• Stand with your feet hip distance apart.
• Keeping your legs straight or with a slight bend in the knees, bend at the hips, tucking your chin and reaching down toward your toes.
• Relax the back of your neck.
• If the stretch is too intense, try bending your knees a bit more.
• Hold for 20–30 seconds, and slowly roll up to standing.
• Repeat five times.

Staggered Hamstring Stretch

• Start standing with your feet together and hip distance apart.
• Step your right foot back about 12 inches, bending your left knee.
• Place both hands on left thigh.
• Then bend forward from your hip joint, and sit into the stretch, pushing your butt back.
• If it feels OK, raise your toe for an added stretch.
• Hold for 20–30 seconds, and switch sides.

Hurdler Stretch

• Sit on the floor, and straighten your right leg in front of you.
• Bend the left knee, placing the sole of your left foot against your left inner thigh.
• Bend over your right leg, keeping your back as straight as possible.
• If needed, bend the right knee.
• Hold for 30 seconds, and then switch legs.

Extended Leg Hamstring Stretch

• Lie on your back.
• Extend the right leg into the air, straightening the leg upward as best as possible.
• Using your hands, reach to the back of the thigh, and pull the leg forward to your comfort level.
• Hold for 20 seconds, and release.
• Switch sides.

Dynamic Hamstring Stretch

You may want to hold on to a chair while doing this exercise:

• Stand with feet hip distance apart.
• Swing your right leg forward and back to starting position.  
• Be careful to not overextend.
• Start slowly, and increase the stretch as you feel more comfortable.
• Repeat 10 times per leg.

Best Hamstring Strengtheners

Pilates Heel Taps

• Lie face down on the mat, hands under shoulders and elbows by your sides.
• Raise your upper body and lower body at the same time to your comfort level.
• Move your feet wide apart, and hold for five seconds, while flexing the foot, without letting the foot touch the ground, then back together tapping feet twice.
• Repeat for 10 repetitions.

Squats on the Wall

• Lean your back against a wall, and slide down into a squat position with knees at a 90-degree angle, thighs parallel to the floor.
• Keep your back flat against the wall and your hands and arms off of your legs.
• Hold this position using the pressure of your back against the flat surface to support your weight.
• Make sure your knees do not extend beyond your foot.
• Hold for 15 seconds, increasing the time as you get stronger.

Pilates Strengthener for Hamstrings and Core

• Lie facedown on a mat with hands by shoulders.
• Engage your core muscles to stabilize your lower back and shoulders.
• While exhaling, push up into a full pushup position. Try to do this on your toes. If you cannot do this on your toes, you may do this on your knees.
• Hold the full pushup position, and exhale as you lift one foot from the ground as high as you can while keeping a flat back.
• Inhale, and lower your lifted leg back to the ground. Then immediately exhale as you repeat on the other side.
• Keep abs tight during the exercise.
• Repeat 10 times per leg, alternating legs.

Hip Lift Hamstring Strengthener

• Lie on your back with knees bent.
• Engage your core muscles to stabilize your lower back and shoulders.
• Lift hips up toward the ceiling as high as you can while squeezing the butt and engaging the core and abs.
• Hold for 10 seconds, and release.
• Repeat 10 times.
• Advanced move: Extend right leg while lifting. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits of Stretching

In addition to decreasing the risk of injuries, stretching — including hamstring stretches — provides other numerous benefits:

• Increases blood flow to the muscle
• Increases oxygen levels
• Helps improve flexibility, improving range of motion in your joints
• Releases tension in both the body and mind
• Increases nutrient flow throughout the body, providing more energy and reduced soreness
• Helps release toxins in the body
• May improve athletic performance in some activities

Stretching can be done most anywhere, but it’s important to make sure you do the right kind of stretching. Research suggests that static stretching can negatively influence muscle strength and power and may result in decreased functional performance.

Conversely, dynamic stretching significantly improves quadriceps strength (along with quad exercises) and hamstring flexibility. Therefore, I consider it a much better warm-up choice than static stretching.

Static stretches can cause injury to muscles that are not warmed up. Dynamic stretches are best prior to your planned activity while performing static stretches are best at the end of your activity.

Also, just because you perform regular stretches, that doesn’t mean you are immune to injury. However, it may help prevent injury and aid in recovery if done properly.

Here are some things to keep in mind to help you benefit from stretching:

• Start with walking, marching in place, light jumping jacks or cycling, for example, for about 10–15 minutes before performing any static stretching and before your planned activity.  
• Don’t overstretch! It is OK if you need to keep your knees bent during a stretch. Pay attention to your body. Over time, you will become more flexible.
• Work on major muscle groups, such as your calves, thighs, hips, lower back, neck and shoulders.
• Consider the areas that get used the most. If you play soccer, you’re more vulnerable to hamstring strains. Consider stretches that help your hamstrings. Additionally, stretching an already strained muscle can cause injury. If you have a chronic condition, you may need to adjust the type of stretching needed. Talk to your physical therapist.  
• Make sure that you stretch opposing muscle groups. If stretching your hamstrings, make sure you’re also going to stretch your quadriceps. Same goes for your chest and back. 
• Stretch in a smooth movement, without bouncing. Again, over time and with consistency, you will become more flexible. The bouncing can cause you to overstretch an area, resulting in an injury.
• Take your time. Hold each stretch for about 20–30 seconds. In problem areas, you may need to hold for around 60 seconds.
• Breathe! Way too often, I find patients trying to hold their breath during stretching. Make sure you do not hold your breath! Just breathe normally or slowly and deeply as you stretch. In fact, slow, deep breathing can help you gain flexibility, something often done during yoga or Pilates-type exercises.
• Expect to feel slight tension while stretching, but you do not want to feel pain. If you do, you may be pushing too far. Simply release to the point where you do not feel any pain, and then hold the stretch.
• Make sure to stretch regularly to get the most benefit. Two to three times per week, or more, is great! However, it is best to do dynamic stretching prior to any exercise you plan to perform.
• Gentle movement in your stretching may be helpful. Tai chi, pilates or yoga may be a good way to stretch — and you can find community classes that may make it more fun. Again, remember to be cautious. Do not overstretch, especially if you are a beginner to these disciplines.

Hamstring Function (Why Flexibility Is Important)

The muscles that make up the hamstring are important: hip extensors and flexors of the knee in the gait cycle. They become active in the last 25 percent of the swing phase, just as hip extension begins, and continue for 50 percent of the swing phase to actively produce extension at the hip, resisting extension of the knee.

As the thigh is swung forward, flexion at the knee is largely passive. With the heel strikes and the weight of the body is shifted forward, the hamstring functions to decelerate the forward translation of the tibia during knee extension.

The hamstring is a dynamic stabilizer of surrounding muscles and knee functions — once the foot strike has occurred, the hamstring muscles are elongated over both hip and knee joints to their optimal length to provide extension of the hip and to, once again, stabilize the knee.

With takeoff, the hamstring muscles again contract with the quadriceps muscle to provide a push-off from the support leg. This helps us understand that by strengthening supporting muscles, it may be beneficial in preventing injury by supporting the hamstring.

Indeed, in one study it was found that increased quadriceps flexibility was inversely associated with hamstring strain problems in a group of amateur soccer players. Tight hip flexors were reportedly a significant risk for hamstring strain in a subgroup of older athletes, likely because of age.

The hamstring is also important for butt workouts and inner thigh workouts.

The All-Too-Common Hamstring Injury

As a fan of most sports, I know that when I hear an announcer say that a player has “pulled a hamstring,” it’s a potentially significant injury that will remove that athlete not only from that game, but potentially a good part of the season because hamstring strains require many weeks or even longer to recover.

Anyone can get a hamstring injury, but some are more likely to experience one than others. Increased age appears to be a major risk for hamstring strain injury. The age at which the risk becomes significant occurs between 23 and 25 years.

Athletes older than 23 years are reportedly between 1.3 and 3.9 times more likely to suffer a hamstring strain, with athletes aged 25 years or older between 2.8 and 4.4 times more likely to suffer injury.

Studies show that those with a high body mass index (BMI) may be more at risk for injury. While level of competition may be a risk for hamstring strain, evidence suggests that exposure time (time spent in training or games) is not.

A study reported by the U.S. National Library of Medicine explains that previous strain or injury, older age, and ethnicity were consistently documented as significant risks for injury, as was competing in higher levels of competition. Though association with strength and flexibility were conflicting, functional rehabilitation interventions had preventive effects and resulted in significantly earlier return to activity.

Regardless, hamstring injuries typically take anywhere from two to six weeks to recover and maybe longer if the injury is significant or recurring from a previous injury.

History of previous hamstring strain injury was one of the most commonly reported significant risk factors for recurrence. Examining studies of soccer players from Australia and Scandinavia, most studies showed that athletes with histories of hamstring strain were between two to six times more likely to suffer subsequent strains, with most recurrences happening soon after the original hamstring injury.

This is one of the reasons it is important to make sure you have fully recovered before returning to activity.

Other lower limb injuries were also associated with an increased risk of hamstring strain. It makes sense that athletes who are sprinting or kicking with increased frequency or intensity are more likely to suffer injury.

Findings show that rugby union backs, whose role involves mostly sprinting and kicking, had significantly more strains than forwards, for instance. The risk of hamstring strain increased with higher levels of competition because those athletes are likely to be faster and have more physically demanding roles.

Tight hamstrings can also be a common running injury, but hamstring stretches aren’t necessarily the answer here. Why? Runners, rather than having short and tight hamstrings, often have actually over-lengthened their hamstrings — and hence, need a solid strengthening program

Related: The Best Knee Strengthening Exercises to Relieve Pain

The post Want to Be More Durable? Add Hamstring Stretches & Strength Moves! appeared first on Dr. Axe.

If you’re like a lot of people out there, you probably wonder what the optimal time of day for exercise is. The answer depends on many factors, but if you’re looking to burn fat, new research suggests morning workouts may be your best bet.

Study: Workout Time and Burning Fat

Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark sought to determine how working out at different times of day affected post-exercise metabolism and fat-burning (aka the afterburn effect). They did this by examining physical activity in mice at various times of day.

Why mice? Because, as described in an accompanying press release on the study, “mice and humans share many basic physiological functions, and mice are a well-established model for human physiology and metabolism.”

Ultimately, researchers wanted to find out the optimal time of day to exercise in order to amp up fat-burning. They did this by studying the adipose tissue in the mice after two sessions of high-intensity exercise — one performed at an early active phase (equivalent of late morning in humans) and one at early rest phases (equivalent of late evening in humans).

They found that “physical activity at an early active phase increased the expression of genes involved in the breakdown of adipose tissue, thermogenesis (heat production) and mitochondria in the adipose tissue, indicating a higher metabolic rate. These effects were observed only in mice that exercised in the early active phase and were independent of food intake.”

A higher metabolic rate, of course, helps burn fat more than lower a metabolic rate, meaning morning workouts may help amp up your ability to burn fat.

”Our results suggest that late-morning exercise could be more effective than late evening exercise in terms of boosting the metabolism and the burning of fat, and if this is the case, they could prove of value to people who are overweight,” said professor Juleen R. Zierath from the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery and the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Karolinska Institutet in the release.

Zierath added: ”The right timing seems to be important to the body’s energy balance and to improving the health benefits of exercise, but more studies are needed to draw any reliable conclusions about the relevance of our findings to humans.”

Other Fat-Burning Tips

While this is promising research and could encourage people to exercise early in the day, the truth is exercise at any time of day is beneficial. In fact, starting a fitness routine that works for you and your schedule is important. If that means working out in the afternoon, evening or night fits into your life better than morning, you should get your workouts in then instead.

If burning fat is your ultimate goal, here are some ways to enhance your ability to lose belly fat and fat in other areas:

• Take advantage of natural metabolism boosters, such as getting plenty of sleep and rest, trying high-intensity interval training (HIIT), lifting weights, and avoiding inflammatory foods.
• Work out on an empty stomach.
• Add natural fat burners to your routine, such as conjugated linoleic acid, green coffee beans, grapefruit essential oil, green tea and other herbal teas, protein supplements and foods, and probiotic foods and supplements.
• Consume more fat-burning foods, such as high-fiber foods, apple cider vinegar, bone broth and many more.
• Incorporate more fat-burning workouts, including Tabata, HIIT, barre, CrossFit, spinning/cycling, cross-country skiing, sprinting, elliptical exercises, burst training, rowing and swimming. Playing sports like football, basketball, soccer and volleyball also is great for burning fat.
• Eat a healthy diet, and avoid unhealthy, processed foods.

The post Are Morning Workouts Best for Burning Fat? Study Provides Answers appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Many people first fall in love with trampolines as children, but did you know that a trampoline workout can benefit adults just as much as trampolines bring joy to the little ones? It’s true.

In addition to being fun, a trampoline workout, also known as rebounding, has many great health benefits — particularly for your lymphatic system.

For instance, did you know that rebounding can burn more calories than walking or jogging? Or that it’s a great way to work your major muscle groups because it allows you to work them through their full ranges of motion? Or that it’s downright fun?!

A trampoline workout can also strengthen your body while detoxifying the cells within it. Plus, it’s a low-impact exercise option that’s very easy on the joints — something running can’t match.

While you may think the type of large trampolines you seen in backyards may be a bit much, there are small versions that can fit right in your living room and are easy to store. So get ready to jump around and improve your health all at the same time.

Read on to learn how to do a trampoline workout and how exactly it strengthens the body.

What Is Rebounding?

Trampoline and tumbling exercises have been around for a very long time and can be traced to archeological drawings found in ancient China, Egypt and Persia. The firs modern trampolines were developed in 1934 by George Nissen and Larry Griswold at the University of Iowa, according to the official website of the Olympics.

Trampolines were originally used to train astronauts and as a training tool for other sports, such as acrobatics, tumbling, diving, gymnastics and freestyle skiing. Eventually, trampolines became so popular to the point of becoming a sport in the Olympic Games.

The first Trampoline World Championships took place in 1964, and trampoline was first recognized as a sport in the U.S. in 1967. The double mini-trampoline competition was added in 1978 and began as two individual mini trampolines, separated by a small table covered by a mat. Later, a one-piece unit was developed by Bob Bollinger and is used today as the official equipment for that event.

Trampolines have become useful in the understanding of gravity and its effects on exercise. The Journal of Applied Physiology recorded a study by NASA in 1980 on rebounding by testing eight young males ages 19–26. The goal was to understand body acceleration distribution and its relation to how it was created.

Here’s what the researchers concluded:

The results indicate that, for similar levels of HR and VO2, the magnitude of the biomechanical stimuli is greater with jumping on a trampoline than with running, a finding that might help identify acceleration parameters needed for the design of remedial procedures to avert deconditioning in persons exposed to weightlessness.

Trampoline Workout Benefits

We all know there are many benefits of exercise, but what are the benefits of rebounding, specifically? Let’s explore.

1. Easy on the Joints

Working out on the trampoline, or rebounding, has way less impact on the joints, soft tissue and skeleton. Due to how a trampoline is made, most often using either springs or bungee bands, it absorbs much of the impact at every bounce.

The NASA study previously mentioned notes that there seems to be more balance of pressure or force, known as G-force, when on the trampoline. Pressure is more evenly distributed at the ankle, back and forehead when rebounding, whereas when running, the pressure is mostly all placed on the ankles, often causing more frequent injury.

That means simply switching to a trampoline workout routine can help naturally reduce joint pain and help you avoid common running injuries.

2. Strengthens Cells and Improves Cardiovascular Development

A trampoline workout can provide impressive aerobic exercise benefits by strengthening the heart. When tested, the work required to perform trampoline exercise at equivalent levels of effort was significantly greater while on the trampoline than while running.

When oxygen reaches our cells, it helps strengthen them and provide the ability to endure more exercise efficiently, and because the body is able to increase oxygen uptake when rebounding, versus some other physical activities, it’s possible to get a much better workout.

Rebounding can increase oxygen uptake because more oxygen can reach the cells due to the gravity changes that occur when bouncing. In some studies, when testing on the treadmill, the ability to uptake more oxygen was greater when on the trampoline. This could allow participants to perform exercise for longer periods of time.

A study regarding the effects of daily short bouts of trampoline exercise during eight weeks on the pulmonary function and the maximal oxygen uptake of children with cystic fibrosis was reported by the International Journal of Sports Medicine. Six girls and two boys with cystic fibrosis, 10–13.5 years of age, participated in a prescribed exercise program on a mini trampoline. The training consisted of three short rounds of trampoline exercise.

The study showed that their maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) improved during the exercise period. In addition, trampoline exercise programs are suggested as other types of training to add in order to avoid monotony in the training for many patients.

3. Can Improve Immune System Function Due to Lymph Flow

Rebounding can lead to increased lymph fluid circulation, which helps boost the immune system by providing a greater white blood cell activity. The lymphatic system is part of your circulatory system and transports a clear, colorless fluid, called lymph, that flushes toxins from your body. It’s believed that there is an increase in the circulation of this fluid when the lymphatic valves are opened during a change in gravitational pull.

This particular change occurs upon the moment you land on the trampoline, thanks to gravity. Then, upon leaving the surface, the lymphatic valves are opened.

The increased G-force g that occurs when you land causes a surge of lymphatic drainage, which improves circulation and, therefore, may help detoxify your entire system.

4. Helps with Balance

Another study reported by the U.S. National Library of Medicine cited the effects of different types of exercise on postural balance in elderly women. These exercises can help prevent functional limitations due to aging, therefore reducing the risk of falls.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of three different exercises: mini trampoline, aquatic gymnastics and general floor gymnastics. Seventy-four physically independent elderly women were randomly assigned to three intervention groups.

Each group performed physical training, including cardiorespiratory, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and sensory-motor exercises, for 12 weeks. To determine the effects on each intervention group, postural balance tasks were performed.

The study concluded that there were significant improvements in the postural balance of elderly women after 12 weeks of training and ultimately provides further evidence that exercise, like a trampoline workout, that includes balance postures can promote health in elderly women.

5. Builds Physical Strength, Muscular Development and Proprioception for Athletes

Rebounding is often said to improve physical strength and muscular development as well as proprioception, which is the ability to sense the position, location, orientation and movement of the body and its parts.

A study published in the International Journal of Preventative Medicine randomly divided 20 patients with Parkinson’s disease “into two equal groups of weight-bearing exercises and rebound exercise with no significant differences in age, weight, and height.” They compared results on range of motion, proprioception and quality of life after eight weeks.

The researchers found that both groups saw significant improvements in all three areas, but the improvement rate was greater across the board in the rebounding therapy group.

How to Choose a Good Rebounder

Because many injuries can occur while on a trampoline, it’s critical that you don’t go the cheaper route because cheaper trampolines tend to break or malfunction, causing injury. They also can lack the support needed to be effective.

It’s important that your rebounder has at least 32 springs that taper at the end. This provides the proper flexibility and a more even bounce. Steel construction lasts longer, too.

Some models offer support bars, which may be useful, especially for beginners or the elderly.

How to Start Using Your Rebounder

Rebounders, or mini trampolines, can be used almost anywhere indoors or outdoors. Remember to start slow with small jumps, and make sure you get used to the equipment before you increase to bigger jumps.

A trampoline workout is one idea for burst training at home. You can include some traditional exercise, such as jumping jacks, to get you started.

Rebounding is a great low-impact exercise that’s fun and different. In just 15–20 minutes a day, you can burn calories, gain muscle strength and enhance your balance while improving your immune system — and helping turn on the afterburn effect.

Trampoline or Rebounding Workout

Time: 20–45 minutes, depending on number of sets performed

Warmup: 

Basic Trampoline Bounce

The basic bounce can tone your quads, glutes and calf muscles.

1. Stand on the mini trampoline with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Relax your arms and shoulders but with a slight bend at the elbow.
3. Lightly bounce up and down while keeping a slight bend in the knees. Your feet should come just a few inches off the trampoline.
4. Repeat 20–30 times.
5. Rest for 15 seconds, and repeat two more times for a total of three rounds.

Main Set:

Jumping Jacks

A classic, this gets your heart rate up while engaging the inner and outer thighs.

1. Standing with feet together,  jump out while extending arms out, up and overhead. Then return to the starting position, and repeat.
2. Perform 30–45 jumping jacks.

Planks

This plank exercise variation works your entire core.

1. Start in plank position with your forearms in the middle of the trampoline and your feet on the floor (unless your trampoline is large enough for your entire body).
2. Hold the plank position for 20–30 seconds. Release for 10 seconds, and repeat three to four times.

High Knees

This is a great exercise hack that gets your heart rate moving while working your core muscles.

1. Stand with feet hip distance apart.
2. Raise your right knee, return to start, then raise your left knee.
3. Once you feel comfortable, begin doing it as if you are running in place.
4. Repeat 20 times (one on each side counts as one full rep).

Planks to Pushups Advanced Move

This exercise works your entire core and provides some upper-body strength in the arms and chest.

1. Keeping abs fully engaged, start in plank position with your forearms in the middle of the trampoline and your feet on the floor (unless your trampoline is large enough for your entire body).
2. Transition to your hands one arm at a time, then do a pushup and return to your forearms for another plank.
3. Make sure that your abs are engaged the entire time.
4. Do this exercise for six to 10 reps.

Trampoline Squats

Wondering how to strengthen your core? Well, this exercise requires you to engage your core muscles. It strengthens glutes and quads as well as your core if properly engaged.

1. Stand on the mini trampoline with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms at your sides.
2. Jump up, and land in a squat position with your knees bent, butt back and thighs parallel to the ground, like sitting down in a chair. It may be helpful to place your arms straight out in front of you for balance.
3. Return to the starting position, and repeat 15–20 times. At first, you may want to take it slow. Once you have mastered the exercise, you can begin to do it a bit faster with continuous movement similar to a jump squat that you would do on the ground.
4. Repeat the entire set three to four times or as best as possible.

Precautions

It’s extremely important that children are always supervised when on a trampoline of any sort. The condition and quality of trampolines are critical in preventing injuries.

Because there are holes between the coils and the main surface, it’s easy for young children to get trapped. Never leave a trampoline unattended when children are present.

Also, always stay in the center of the trampoline to avoid being tossed off it, which could induce injury by falling.

It’s best to consult your physician before performing any new exercise, including a trampoline exercise, especially if you have any illness or physical condition.

The post The Benefits of a Trampoline Workout and Rebounding appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Our hip flexors aren’t understood very well and often ignored when we exercise. However, if it weren’t for the hip flexors, we would not be able to sit down, which makes hip flexor stretches and exercises vital if you want to be able to do everyday activities throughout your life.

The hip flexors form a very important group of muscles allowing us to bend at the waist. These muscles are found deep within the abdominal area and are some of the strongest muscles in the body, ultimately providing core support and improving knee strength.

The hip flexors are activated the most when sprinting or kicking. Therefore, it makes sense that athletes — especially soccer players, football players and runners — are prone to issues with their hip flexors and why they should make sure to incorporate hip flexor stretches and exercises into their fitness and recovery routines.

What Are the Hip Flexors?

The hip flexors are a group of muscles in the pelvic region and upper thighs that help drive up the knees and keep the pelvis and thighs aligned, which is a key running tip for beginners that can help prevent knee problems. Healthy hip flexors aren’t important for just runners or athletes, however — they’re vital for everyone.

To gain a better understanding of the hip flexors and why we need them, let’s talk a little anatomy. Flexion is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint and is typically initiated by a muscle contraction.

A muscle that flexes that joint is called a flexor. The muscles that make up the hip flexors are collectively known as the iliopsoas or inner hip muscles. Without the iliopsoas muscles, kicking, running, sprinting and even sitting would not be possible.

Hip Flexor Stretches

A sports medicine doctor may recommend exercises to help stretch and strengthen your hip flexors so you prevent injury. These exercises are not just for those who are injured, though.

The best way to think about it is to prevent the injury in the first place by performing these exercises as part of your weekly or even daily routine, especially if you are susceptible to hip-related injuries.

However, if you have encountered a hip injury, swimming may be a great way to exercise and strengthen your core while you are in the resting phase of healing. Eventually, you can begin to work at home or at the gym using some of these exercises here.

For a severe strain, you may want to see a physical therapist. The therapist will work with you to help stretch and strengthen your hip flexor muscles and other muscles that surround and support that area and guide you in increasing your activity level so you can return to your former activities.

Here are some of the best hip flexor stretches to try whether you’re recovering from an injury or simply trying to strengthen your hip area.

Front Hip Flexor Stretch

Place your left knee on the ground and your right knee up with your foot on the ground at a 90-degree angle. Place your hands on your right thigh.

Lean your hips forward to create a stretch in the front hip area. Hold for five seconds, and repeat five times. Then do the other side.

Quad Stretch and Hip Strengthener

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Feet should be somewhat close to your butt.

Lift your hips toward the ceiling, and hold for three to five seconds while squeezing your butt and tightening your abs. Release. Repeat 10 times.

Seated Butterfly Stretch

Sit on the floor with your back straight, shoulders down, abs engaged. Press the soles of the feet together in front of you, with your knees bent to the sides.

Try to pull your heels toward you while relaxing your knees toward the floor. Do not push your thighs down to the floor with your hands, but rather use your thigh and core muscles to try to push them down. Breathe deeply, and hold for 10–20 seconds.

Supine Hip Flexor Stretch

Lie on your back on the floor. Bring your left knee toward you to the point of being able to reach behind your left thigh. Gently pull your leg toward you for an increased stretch.

Breathe deeply, hold for three to five seconds and release. Repeat on the other side for a total of five per side.

Benefits of Hip Flexor Stretches

1. Better Performance for Athletes

Runner’s World reports that weakness in the hip flexors can contribute to slower running times, improper form and, according to a review presented at an annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, a host of lower-leg running injuries.

“The body has the capacity to compensate for weak hip flexors, but the strategies to do that can lead to muscle imbalances and injury,” says Gregory Holtzman, PT, DPT, associate professor of physical therapy at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and director of the university’s Running Clinic, who recommends performing strengthening exercises three or four days a week.

2. Less Risk of Injury and Better Range of Motion

If the hip muscles are strong, they provide you with the support you need and ultimately help prevent injuries, especially if you are an athlete or an aging adult. Because this muscle group provides so much of your core stabilization, you need the hip flexors to be strong for simple functions of daily life, too.

If the muscles in the hip joint area are too tight, it can affect your range of motion. It is important to keep the soft tissue around your hip loose.

To improve flexibility, you can massage the iliotibial bands located on the outside of your upper thigh, your hip adductors located in your inner thigh and your hamstring muscles.

To do this, do foam roller exercises, or use a small ball like a baseball, golf ball or tennis ball to massage these areas. Apply moderate pressure, and roll the roller or ball up, down and at various angles over the muscle or ligament — but be gentle at the sensitive spots.

This combined with some of the stretches and exercises above should help increase your range of motion in any activity.

3. Walk Longer, Stand Longer and Improve Balance

Are you someone who worries about long walks, even a walk to the car? The hip flexor is a major stabilizer of the lower body, so if your hip flexor is too weak, you’ll suffer from poor balance and postural problems.

If you have problems with your hip joints and frequent misalignments in your lumbar spine, you’ll have trouble standing and walking for long periods of time, and you may have problems with your gait. Consider beginning walking to lose weight as well as a strengthening program for your hips to help prevent these concerns and give you better quality of life.

4. Better Support for Your Back

The hips help drive us forward and stabilize our landing while preventing excess side-to-side motion that could strain the back. If your hip flexors are overdeveloped, tight, stiff or short, you’ll likely suffer from lower back pain.

You could experience a limited range of motion in the lower back because tight hip flexors pull your pelvis into an unnatural forward tilt, which in turn pulls your lumbar spine out of alignment, causing lower back pain.

Hip Flexor Strengthening Workout

Reverse Lunge: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. You may want to hold on to a chair while performing this exercise.

Take a step backward with your right foot, and lower into a lunge. Push through your left heel to stand. Immediately lower back into a lunge.

Focus on a strong core, and keep the upper body as upright as possible. Do three sets of 12 reps on each side.

Advanced Reverse Lunge with Knee Drive: Perform the same movement as above, but when you push through your left heel, drive your right knee up until it’s parallel to the floor. Return to standing position, and repeat.

Seated Hip Flexion: Sit in a chair or on a bench with good posture. Raise your right knee up toward your chest, making sure that your thigh does not roll in or out. Pause, and then slowly lower your knee to start.

If at first you can only lift a little, don’t worry — over time, you will be able to lift a bit higher. Do three sets of 12 reps on each side.

High Knees: While standing on your left leg, raise your right knee as high as you can, and then repeat with the other leg like a slow march in place. Do this for 30 seconds three times.

Advanced High Knees Run: The movement is the same as above, but quickly alternate legs as if running with high knees. Do this for 30 to 60 seconds five times.

Single-Leg Knee Lift: While standing on your right leg, lift your left knee until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Hold for 10 seconds. A trick to help with balance is to stare at a spot that is a few feet in front of you that is not moving.

Keep abdominals tight. Do three sets of 10 reps on each side.

How to Reduce Injury Risk

You may be wondering how to distinguish if a pain is associated with the hip flexor. Hip flexor pain is usually felt in the upper groin region where the thigh meets the pelvis. If you notice a pain in this area, it is important to take steps to help prevent an injury or further increase an injury in the hip flexors.

Hip injuries are most often preventable because they are due to lack of strength and flexibility in the hip flexor muscles. Because of the stress placed upon this region of the body, it is critical that you take good care of it.

When you are less flexible, it can prevent you from moving around as much as you normally would, leading to more stiffness and even pain. We all know that the less you move, the harder it is easy to stay active. This is all part of good health and maintaining strong hip flexors.

When you sit too much, you can cause shortening of this muscle group. Common reports of injuries occur from those who sit all day and then have a sudden burst of activity, even as simple as being in a hurry or running to catch a cab or a plane, because it causes an unexpected lengthening of the hip flexor muscles. This is why it is important to maintain strength and flexibility in the hip flexors.

Hip flexors also support many other areas of the body.

A study was conducted of 68 high school cross-country runners (47 girls, 21 boys) in which isometric strength tests of the hip abductors, knee extensors and flexors were performed with a handheld dynamometer. Runners were prospectively followed during the 2014 interscholastic cross-country season for occurrences of anterior knee pain (AKP) and shin injury as they examined risk relationships between strength values and occurrence of AKP and shin injury.

While hip and knee muscle strength was not significantly associated with shin injury, it was associated with knee injury. The high school cross-country runners with weaker hip abductor, knee extensor and flexor muscle strength had a higher incidence of AKP — therefore increasing hip and knee muscle strength may reduce the likelihood of AKP in high school cross-country runners.

A 2015 study reported by the Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging journal showed that both static stretching and dynamic stretching imposed benefits of strengthening and flexibility of the hip flexor muscles, which can lead to subsequent performance enhancements.

Fourteen highly trained subjects were tested before and following separate sessions of eight repetitions of 30 seconds of both static and dynamic hip flexion stretches with the goal of testing the hip flexor range of motion (ROM), isokinetic leg flexion torque, and power of the stretched and contralateral limbs.

The stretched limb had a 6.3 percent ROM increase with dynamic stretching at 10 minutes. The non-stretched hip flexors experienced ROM increases with static stretches of 5.7 percent, whereas dynamic stretches showed up to 8.4 percent increase in range of motion.

Conclusion

• The hip flexors affect more than just the hips. In fact, they are crucial for core and knee health, which makes hip flexor stretches important to maintain a pain-free lifestyle.
• The benefits of hip flexor stretches include better performance and range of motion, less risk of injury, improved balance, ability to walk and stand longer, and better support for the knees and back.
• Some of the best hip flexor stretches are front hip flexor stretch, quad stretch and hip strengthener, seated butterfly stretch, and supine hip flexor stretch.
• Try a hip flexor strengthening workout to support your entire body, and make sure to keep up with hip flexor stretches on a regular basis.

The post Hip Flexor Stretches Are Key to Both Hip & Knee Health appeared first on Dr. Axe.

A barre workout relies on ballet moves and isometric exercises, and many gyms and fitness centers these days offer barre classes.

Many proponents say results come quickly and that barre becomes perfect for anyone regardless of age, size or level of ability.

Is this too good to be true? Let’s take a closer look at what exactly a barre workout involves and what the science says on barre workout benefits.

What Is Barre?

Barre fitness classes are basically ballet-inspired fitness classes. Barre also incorporates moves from other disciplines, including yoga and Pilates.

While a barre class is usually lightly choreographed to upbeat music, there are poses held in an isometric contraction similar to yoga. Like Pilates, a barre workout also places a lot of emphasis on your core, with isolated moves that help you stabilize your spine and improve your posture.

Often, barre focuses on small, repetitive bodyweight moves, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself in a class using small hand weights to add a little more resistance.

What’s the rationale behind high repetitions and light weights? Proponents say that is the best way to get that lean, toned look so many people covet.

However, please be aware that not all barre workouts are created equal! One of my close fitness friends, Suzanne Bowen — founder of SBF (Suzanne Bowen Fitness) and creator of BarreAmped, which includes both classes and DVDs — mentions that many barre styles now exist, including some that have moved considerably away from its origins.

Barre originated with Lotte Berk, a German dancer who fled the Nazis in the 1930s to settle in London with her British husband. While rehabbing a back injury, Berk combined her therapeutic exercises with ballet barre routines.

In 1959, she opened the Lotte Berk Method in her basement. She worked out several famous celebrities and also entertained them with bawdy humor and relationship advice.

Don’t you wish your current trainer could be that much fun?

Eventually, one of her American students, Lydia Bach, bought the rights to Lotte’s name and opened the first studio in Manhattan in 1971. Over the next several years, it continued to grow and evolve into its present-day incarnation.

Suzanne was actually an apprentice barre teacher with Ms. Bach in Manhattan in the early 2000s and was featured in the first barre DVDs produced by Bach. Remembering those initial barre classes, Suzanne said she was “gym fit” but was “humbled” by these classes that demanded so much leg and core work. She became a convert of this style of barre, and she’s further developed her own style of barre training that contrasts pretty strongly with some other version on the market today.

“Women saw results [from Bach’s methods], but then somehow barre became synonymous with isometric movements,” recounts Suzanne. “That’s fine for beginners, but you eventually need to move more, get flexion of the joint and complement the natural curve of the spine.”

She mentions this last part because some current barre styles want you to have a tucked pelvis during the movements, but Suzanne finds that both unnatural and that it can even lead to injury.

Barre vs. Yoga and Pilates

While several similarities exist between Pilates, yoga and barre, a few subtle differences become worth mentioning.

• While barre incorporates dance movements and principles, holding a lunge variation in barre also resembles a warrior pose in yoga.
• Posture and proper breathing techniques inherent to Pilates also come into play with barre.
• While traditional Pilates relies on larger, complex pieces that can often be space- and cost-prohibitive, barre workouts involve minimal equipment.
• Unlike Pilates, barre incorporates more traditional strength exercises like push-ups and standing poses held for several minutes.
• Pilates and barre also place significant importance on engaging and strengthening your core area.

Barre Workout Benefits

Whether you’re a beginner or looking to break out of your current routine, barre might be for you. While rooted in dance, the ability to pirouette or rock a tutu is definitely not a prerequisite.

If you’ve ever wanted to improve your posture and balance, a barre class could potentially help. If you’re just starting out, you can also benefit from gaining strength, flexibility and confidence.

While an overwhelming number of participants in barre are women, this is a gender-neutral workout. Banish any notions of being a lightweight workout: Barre moves become harder than they initially look!

“I find that they make a woman feel very feminine as well as better in their physique,” says Suzanne, who’s seen women make amazing changes in both body and mind after regular taking barre classes.

1. Improves mind and body concentration

Because of all the small, isometric moves (meaning the joint angle or the muscle length do not change during the contraction) associated with a barre class, increased muscle movement awareness becomes imperative. Establishing that neuromuscular (mind and body communicating together) connection helps activate underused muscles outside of class and complement strength-demanding daily tasks.

One set of muscles that tends to get underutilized are the glutes, less politely called your butt. We don’t use our glutes enough. Even people who work out and then sit at a desk all day don’t use them enough.

By activating your glutes you can significantly reduce your risk for injury and even alleviate back pain.

2. Strengthens your core

Typically when people think of their core, they immediately think about their abs. Your core is so much more than that: It’s complex group of muscles that act to keep you physically stable.

When you think of the core that way, sit-ups and crunches are probably not the best way to work your core.

No matter what specific group of muscles you focus on in a barre class, you constantly engage your core, which subsequently helps maintain good posture (essential for eliminating low back pain).

3. Develops a balanced physique and better posture

So many fitness activities and sports can develop certain muscular imbalances, leading to poor posture and either pain or injury. For example, many who lift weights or do certain fitness classes overtrain the front parts of their bodies, including the front deltoids, chest, upper abs and quadriceps.

“Meanwhile, they neglect their glutes, hamstrings, spinal erectors, lats and rhomboids,” explains Suzanne, who says a good barre class helps correct those imbalances by working the entire body, including operating as a great quad exercise, leg workout as well as an inner thigh workout.

4. Improves flexibility

Most of us don’t make enough time to work on flexibility. Increasing or maintaining flexibility as you age becomes crucial.

Without flexibility, seemingly innocuous things like picking up something off the floor or even turning over in bed can result in an injury. Stay younger by staying bendy with hamstring stretches and barre workout moves.

5. It’s low-impact

Because low-impact exercises, like walking to lose weight, tend to be easier on your body, they become ideal for beginners and people with arthritis, osteoporosis, or joint and connective tissue injuries.

6. It’s a great way to cross-train

Cross-training simply means incorporating other types of workouts into your existing routine. If you are a runner, it is important for you to cross-train so you strengthen other muscles that aren’t used while running. Cross-training is also a great way to give common running injuries a chance to recover.

Making a trip to a barre class can be a great way to focus on other muscle groups while reducing stress on your joints from constantly pounding the pavement.

Home Barre Workout Routine

Doing a barre workout at home typically involves using a fixed horizontal bar or a sturdy chair for support while performing a series of small, isometric movements. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do a barre workout:

1. Warm up: Begin with a few minutes of light cardio activity, such as jogging in place or jumping jacks, to warm up your muscles and increase your heart rate.
2. Set up the barre: Find a sturdy horizontal bar, or use the back of a sturdy chair positioned at waist height. Make sure it’s secure and stable.
3. Alignment: Stand facing the barre with your feet hip-width apart. Engage your core, roll your shoulders back, and keep your spine tall and straight throughout the workout.
4. Plie squats: Start with a basic plie squat. Lower yourself into a squat position, keeping your knees in line with your toes, and then rise back up. Repeat for a set of 10–15 reps.
5. Leg lifts: Holding on to the barre for support, lift one leg to the side and then lower it back down. Repeat on the other leg. Aim for 10–15 reps on each leg.
6. Glute work: Move to the barre, and place one hand on it for support. Lift one leg behind you, keeping it straight, and squeeze your glute muscles. Lower the leg back down, and repeat for 10–15 reps on each leg.
7. Arm exercises: Stand facing the barre, and hold on to it with both hands. Perform small, controlled arm movements, such as bicep curls, tricep extensions or shoulder presses. Use light weights or resistance bands if desired. Do 10–15 reps of each exercise.
8. Core work: Move to a mat, or clear space on the floor. Lie down on your back, engage your core, and perform exercises like crunches, bicycle kicks or planks to target your abdominal muscles. Aim for 10–15 reps of each exercise.
9. Stretching: After completing the main exercises, take a few minutes to stretch your muscles. Focus on stretching your legs, hips, arms and back. Hold each stretch for 20–30 seconds.
10. Cool down: Finish your workout with a few minutes of gentle walking or light stretching to gradually bring your heart rate down.

Remember, it’s important to listen to your body and modify any exercises as needed. If you’re new to barre workouts, consider taking a class or watching online tutorials to ensure you’re performing the exercises correctly and safely.

Considerations

While I advocate anything that gets people moving and becoming more health-minded, these considerations will help you benefit from barre without injuries and other problems. Check out these caveats if barre will challenge or bore you, and then perhaps choose a more challenging barre class.

1. How Much of a Cardio Workout?

For heart health, standard barre probably won’t provide enough of a challenge. If losing weight and getting into “skinny jeans” is your primary objective, barre alone may not be the answer. While barre involves some cardio, you probably won’t burn enough calories to burn much fat.

At the same time, an hour of steady-state cardio isn’t your answer either. To get that lean, toned look, you’ll want to do burst training.

Burst training (aka interval training) combines short, high-intensity bursts of exercise with slow recovery phases, repeated during one exercise session. Burst training is done at 85 percent to 100 percent maximum heart rate rather than 50 percent to 70 percent in moderate endurance activity. You’re not going to meet that in a barre class.

That being said, Suzanne’s BarreAmped classes are a different story, with strong elements of cardio (such as on her BarreAmped Cardio Fat Burn DVD) and bigger range of motions.

“I believe in confusing the muscles all the time for maximum benefit,” she says.

2. Will I Develop Much Muscle?

With the exception of using five-pound weights, barre workouts incorporate no progressive overload, which means making your muscles do more work over time. Without continually challenging your muscles, you will stop making progress.

If you are just starting your fitness journey, any type of exercise will provide benefits, but eventually you will stop noticing changes. As you adapt, your body becomes very efficient with your workout. That’s why a marathon runner will have a lower heart rate than the average runner.

Becoming stronger and fitter demands challenging yourself. Once something becomes too easy, it’s time to increase the challenge.  

Again, certain barre classes may challenge your muscles more. In Suzanne’s classes, there are mostly bodyweight moves, but “we also try to get them out of the one-pound or two-pound habit and to four and five-pounders,” she comments.

3. Will I Get a Dancer’s Physique?

Some practitioners claim barre will lengthen and tone your muscles without adding bulk or that it will tone your problem areas and give you a dancer’s physique. That’s may be stretching it (pun intended) just a bit.  

Because your muscles have an origin and an insertion, which are fixed and attached to bone, you can’t “lengthen” your muscles. Short of surgery, changing those fixed points becomes impossible.

“It can provide a great look. Does that mean a more striated, cut look? No. Most women simply want to be more feminine,” explains Suzanne, who also mentions that you can stretch and feel a stretch, but that won’t make muscles longer.

“But I’ve seen amazing results among women who hate to exercise and lift. While barre is hard, it’s doable and addictive. They’re in a different place mentally when they leave,” says Suzanne. “It’s sure not a fad, for it’s been around for 45 years. And it’s been changing bodies for years.”

For Suzanne personally, she always loved the weight room but fell in love with barre.

“It improved my posture, I felt better and there’s special about camaraderie that develops in the classes.”

Conclusion

Determining whether barre fitness becomes the most appropriate workout depends on your goals. If that involves losing weight, developing a balanced physique and increasing lean muscle, a barre class once a week or more could complement your wellness program, especially if you enjoy it.

The post Barre Workout: Can It Give You a Dancer’s Physique? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

One of the best types of exercise routines is the interval cardio workout. Instead of steady state cardio (basically, staying at the same moderate intensity level for a length of time), some form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT workouts that consist of “bursts” of high-intensity exercise followed by brief rests) is more highly recommended by fitness experts.

What’s awesome about this technique? It can pertain to any cardio exercise! So that means your local run, bike ride, your rowing machine, those steps at the stadium, etc. Interval cardio workouts get your heart rate up, helping you to shed calories, boost your metabolism and deliver loads of energy.

Interval cardio workouts can the best accompaniment for a resistance-training program — so you not only shed fat, but also preserve your hard-won lean muscle.

What Is Cardio?

A cardio workout is defined as any exercise that raises your heart rate. Your heart is a muscle so when it is worked on a regular basis, it makes it stronger, just like any other muscle in your body.

When the heart is stronger, that means that your cardiovascular system is stronger because more capillaries are delivering more oxygen to the cells in your muscles. This is what kicks up that metabolism by enabling the cells to burn more fat during exercise and throughout the rest of day. Ultimately, it will make your body more efficient in your day-to-day living.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world, recommend for most adults to engage in “moderate intensity aerobic physical activity” at least 30 minutes of exercise on five days per week.

In order to benefit from cardio workouts, it’s important to keep the heart rate to at least 50 percent of its maximum level. Cardio exercise uses large muscle movement. You may want to find out what your target heart rate is and wear a heart rate monitor, such as with a trendy fitness tracker, to keep an eye on it.

Benefits of Cardio Workouts

There are so many benefits of exercise and regular physical activity — while it may seem like such a challenge, once you begin a steady program, even if small, it will become easier over time. There are numerous physical and mental health benefits in both men and women. It is well known that life is typically prolonged when regularly engaging in physical activity.

1. Weight Loss

It is no secret that exercise can help with weight loss. Combined with a great diet of lots of fruits and vegetables, cardio workouts can provide weight loss results quickly. Cardio, especially on the intense variety, can burn a lot of calories and help you lose weight fast. But make sure you add in some resistance training to retain and maybe even increase your lean muscle.

The key here is to be consistent. You want to determine a long-term plan that will help you reach your weight loss goals in the most healthy way. Any exercise is going to benefit, but through a good plan, you will be amazed at how quickly your body adapts to the challenges and how quickly the pounds drop.

2. Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease and Lower Blood Pressure

Your heart is a muscle and needs to be worked just like your other muscles. Cardio workouts can provide the much needed health to your heart, reducing the risk of coronary heart disease while strengthening your lung capacity. Cardio workouts help the heart to work more efficiently, positively affecting overall health.

The American Heart Association reports that exercise can reduce “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood, known as LDL, as well as total cholesterol, and can raise the “good” cholesterol, known as HDL. Most health benefits occur with at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking. Additional benefits occur with more physical activity, but any amount of physical activity is good for you and will help you maintain a healthy heart.

3. Increased Bone Density

When our muscles are strong, it provides support to our bones and therefore, helps to increase bone density. Cardio workouts are great weight-bearing exercises that can help increase your bone density and can be high-impact or low-impact.

High-impact weight-bearing exercises help build bones and keep them strong, but if you have broken a bone due to osteoporosis or suffer from osteoporosis, you may need to avoid high-impact exercises. Some examples of high-impact weight-bearing cardio exercises are dancing, high-impact aerobics, hiking, jogging/running, jumping rope, stair climbing and tennis. Low-impact cardio exercises can include elliptical training machines, low-impact aerobics, using stair-step machines, and fast walking on a treadmill or outside.

4. Reduces Stress and Depression, and Boosts Self-Esteem

Exercise decreases our stress levels by releasing endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers. Exercise also helps to provide better sleep, which decreases stress levels and provides more energy.

Scientists have even found that regular participation in cardio workouts has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, and improve self-esteem.

5. Increased Energy Levels for a More Active Lifestyle

While some may think that by exercising they are losing energy, it actually works the other way. As you become more consistent in your exercise routine, you gain more energy!

Cardio exercise gets your heart pumping, which is one of the key ways it helps boost energy levels. As your body and heart adapts to the cardio exercise, it grows stronger by creating more energy through the mitochondria in your body. These mitochondria are located in your cells and help produce energy by using more oxygen — thereby producing large amounts of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is a biochemical way to store energy from food molecules. The more oxygen you burn, the more energy you create!

6. Reduce Effects of Diabetes

In diabetic patients, regular physical activity affects the body’s ability to use insulin to control glucose levels in the blood — thus working as a natural treatment for diabetes. It is through a consistent exercise that, when combined with other lifestyle modifications such as proper nutrition, eliminating smoking, etc, it can provide dramatic results  and health benefits. (9)

In one study, researchers enrolled people with type 2 diabetes into three exercise groups and a control group. Exercisers did either aerobic conditioning, resistance training or a combination of the two for nine months. People in all the exercise groups improved their waist circumference, body fat percentage, and hemoglobin A1c levels, regardless of changes in fitness capacity.

Types of Cardio Workouts

There are many types of cardio workouts that you can explore to determine what is right for you. First, check with your healthcare professional first, especially if you have an existing health condition. You will want to determine where you are with your fitness level.

For someone who has been sedentary, starting with walking to lose weight may be best. With consistent effort, you will gain more fitness and be able to do more over time!

If you are already somewhat active, you can consider other cardio workouts like running, bike riding/cycling, swimming, jump roping, rowing and aerobic workouts such as HIIT — we encourage that you apply the interval cardio training concept to all of these cardio choices.

With all of these cardio workouts, there are different levels. Don’t get discouraged if at first you feel like you cannot complete a workout. Start with realistic goals that you know you can accomplish.

If it is too easy, you need to increase the intensity a bit as well as the duration. If it is too hard, back off a bit and re-establish your goals to something slightly harder than what feels easy.

How do you know if it is too easy? If your heart rate is not increasing, or you can carry on a full conversation without being breathless, it is likely too easy. If you cannot talk at all, it is probably too hard.

Pay attention to your body and make sure to drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated in order to avoid common running injuries. Here is a great list of types of cardio workouts that you can choose from. Mix it up and have fun!

Brisk Walking

Brisk walking is just what it says. You simply want to walk more aggressively than a stroll in order to get your heart rate up. It may seem strange to consider walking as a cardio workout, but if done correctly, it can provide powerful health benefits.

Did you know that there are professional fast walkers and competitions? Something else you need to consider is importance of having the right shoe, typically a good running shoe, and can be found at your local running store. Fast walking is great because of the low impact; however, remember that we are not talking about a casual stroll. The key is to get your heart rate up. In order to do that, you will need to pick up the pace and tackle hills when you can.

Cycling

Cycling can be done on a stationary bike at the gym or at home as well as on a bike in the great outdoors. You may want to take a spin class at your gym.

It is important to consider the type of cardio workout you plan to do in advance so that you accomplish that goal. Cycling classes are great because the workout has already been planned for you, and many of us perform better within a community. It is fun, too! See the great cycling workout for you below.

Elliptical

The elliptical trainer is a great way to get a low-impact cardio workout. You can find them at most every gym. The movement is similar to running, yet you are not getting the same high impact of pounding the pavement that you do when running.

Like cycling and any other workout, you will want to plan your cardio workout in advance because otherwise, you may not perform your best. When you have a plan, you are more likely to stick to that plan, even as the workout gets tougher and you feel fatigue.

Running

One of the best cardio workouts is running. You can enjoy the outdoors and get to know an area when you travel by taking a run. Of course, the treadmill is another way to get in a great run. There’s many great running tips for beginners, such as when using the treadmill, remember to set the incline at a 1 percent grade to better mimic outdoor running terrain.

Running has picked up in popularity over the past few years. While it may not be for everyone, many people who never thought they would run in their lives are now training for their first 5k or marathon.

Like all cardio workouts, there are numerous levels for runners. Some choose to have an easy jog while others choose to introduce intervals into their workout. One great running cardio workout? Running hill intervals. The legendary NFL running back Walter Payton, who amazingly had 12 injury-free seasons, famously did hill workouts in the summer.

Regardless, running can be a great way to benefit from a cardio workout, and you can do it most anywhere! (You can also work in some plyometric exercises in your workout.)

Stair Machine (Stair Master or Step Mill)

The stair machine is found at most gyms and can be one tough cardio workout! Though low impact, you can accomplish a lot in a short period of time, depending on the intensity that you set on the machine. Start slow and increase the speed or intensity gradually to a level that is slightly above easy. Add more as you can, but be careful on this machine.

Start with 10 minutes and adding on a minute or two each time you go back to the gym while slowly increasing the intensity. You will want to make sure you have good posture, too. Hold on to the bars and maintain focus to help avoid tripping; however, for a more advanced cardio workout, put your hands at the back of your head. You will notice a difference in your heart rate!

Swimming

Swimming workouts is an amazing cardio exercise that has very little joint impact on the body. When you first start swimming, it is going to seem extremely difficult because it requires rhythmic breathing in addition to good strokes.

There are numerous swimming strokes that you can do, from the breaststroke to freestyle. Regardless, it is a wonderful way to gain fitness through a cardio workout. Once you have a feel for it, you can step into a masters swim class at your local gym.

Rowing

Rowing is another great cardio workout, but has the added benefit of upper body work and some core work. Most gyms have rowing machines, also known as ergometers, and can be a great way to add some variety into your cardio workouts. It is fun, too, since it mimics that of actual rowing, all while working numerous large muscle groups! If you are not sure how to use the machine, just ask a fitness trainer to demonstrate it for you.

HIIT, Burstfit and Bootcamp

HIIT and bootcamp-style workouts are both amazing for your cardio fitness, as well as strength training, and can be done almost anywhere using your own bodyweight. Burpees and jumping jacks are two great bodyweight exercises often used in HIIT workouts.

They are typically a set of low- to high-impact exercises done in a set time period; for example, 45 seconds of exercise with a short rest of 15 seconds. You can accomplish an amazing amount of fitness through these workouts because not only are you increasing your fitness through the cardio by getting your heart rate up, you are also getting a full-body strength workout.

Common Cardio Workout Questions

How Should I Feel When Doing Cardio Workouts?

Workouts should cause moderate sweating and an increased heart rate. Unless you are a trained athlete, if you can’t finish a sentence while doing your workout, you may be going at it too hard. But on the other hand, if you are having no trouble talking, you may be taking it too easy.

How Often Should I Do Cardio Workouts?

If you really want results, you need a minimum of 20 minutes of continued elevated heart rate at least three times per week. In fact, the ACSM recommends 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week so if you can do more than three days, that would be great! But start off with three days and slowly increase the intensity, duration and frequency.

To get more specific, the ACSM suggests vigorous-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise training for at least 20 minutes per day five times per week or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercise to achieve that minimum goal.

Exercise recommendations can be met through various combinations, such as 30–60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days per week or 20–60 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise three days per week. Another option could be one longer continuous session and multiple shorter sessions of at least 10 minutes.

As you can see, there are numerous ways to make sure you are getting your cardio workouts into your lifestyle. It’s important to begin with shorter, more moderate workouts, with a gradual progression of exercise time, frequency and intensity to help you stick to it and to ensure the least injury risk.

Even if you are not able to perform these suggested time frames, you can still benefit from some activity, and, over time will get stronger.

Interval Indoor Cycling Cardio Workout

Duration: 60 minutes

Equipment: Stationary gym bike, towel, bottle of water, timer (most bikes have a built in timer), music of choice with earbuds

Setting up your bike:

You will want to make sure your bike is set up properly. Usually the saddle (the seat of the bike) will be at about hip level. You also want to adjust it horizontally so that your knee is over the pedal. Get on the bike to check, placing your feet on the pedals to extend one leg downward. You want to make sure there is a slight bend in the knee.

Once you feel comfortable, step off of the bike to adjust the handlebars. Most are comfortable with the handlebars at the same height as the saddle. Try it and adjust as needed. You will also want to position the handlebars either close to you or farther away. Base this on having a slight bend in the elbows. You want to be relaxed while on the bike. Overextending will cause stress and discomfort.

Lastly, make sure to adjust the straps securely on your feet. Another great option is to purchase indoor cycling shoes. If you find you are enjoying indoor cycling, it can be a great investment and really benefit your workout.

Warm Up: 10 minutes

Ride easy for 10 minutes to get the heart pumping and legs moving. Take this time to explore the tension settings on the bike. Some bikes will show you what gear you are using. Think of it as easy, medium and heavy. For this workout, you will use the medium gear for the intervals and the easy gear for your active recovery or “easy” period.

Remember, that if you can carry on a full conversation, you may not have the settings correct or may not be spinning fast enough. Start slow and work harder as you feel more comfortable.

Once you are warmed up, let’s start with the first interval!

Interval Set One: Ride a little harder (moderate pace: on a scale of 1–10, this would be a 5) for 15 seconds with 15 seconds easy. Do this 10 times.

Take 2 minutes easy.

Interval Set Two: Ride a little harder than before, just above moderate (on a scale of 1–10, this would be a 6),  for 30 seconds with 15 seconds easy. Do this 10 times.

Take 2 minutes easy.

Interval Set Three: Ride a little harder than before at a harder effort, (on a scale of 1–10, this would be a 7),  for 45 seconds with 15 seconds easy. Do this 10 times.

Take 2 minutes easy.

Interval Set Five: Ride at a level 10, for 2 minutes with 30 seconds easy between each. Do this 3 times.

Ride the rest of the workout easy, cooling down and slowing the heart rate.

Take 5 minutes to stretch.

The post Best Types of Cardio Workouts appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Let’s take a moment to reminisce. Think back to the time when you were eight years old and playing outside with your friends. Maybe you’re thinking of the time you and your friends spent hours jumping rope or playing leap frog. Maybe you’re recalling the time when you spent a whole day at the pool performing a perfect 10 dive into the community pool.

As kids, no one needed to tell us that jumping was a part of play, or that it was chockfull of exercise benefits. We did it because it was natural. And this natural ability of our bodies to jump, something that we learned as early as age 2, a very important training tool for increasing explosiveness, power, agility and speed during athletic performance.

In the 1980s, when the term plyometrics was brought the to the U.S., we saw the emergence of the act of jumping as a training tool to improve athletic performance in a variety of ways. Plyometric exercises and their application became more mainstream and expanded beyond specialized sports like long-distance running and long jump and into popular group fitness classes like bootcamps and CrossFit™.

What Are Plyometrics?

Plyometrics is a term coined by former U.S. Olympic long-distance runner, Fred Wilt and Michael Yessis, a biochemist, sports trainer and academic in 1975. While Wilt was warming up, he noticed that the Russians included different jumps into their warm-ups prior to competing. This was in stark contrast to the Americans, who warmed up with static stretching. Wilt theorized that one of the reasons the Soviets were so competitive was because of the plyometric exercises they had practiced and perfected.

Over the next few years, Wilt and Yessis would continue their work in the sport of track and field and more specifically, running. And with the help of Yuri Verkhoshansky, a fellow biochemist and sports trainer out of the Soviet Union, the pair eventually brought this information to the masses in 1984 with their first book, “Soviet Theory, Technique and Training for Running and Hurdling.” But why did Wilt and Yessis seek out Verkhoshanksy? Because of his work with the depth jump, also know as the shock method.

The depth jump is a tested plyometric exercise, which starts an athlete on a box of a chosen height. They jump off the box, quickly rebound and jump as high as possible. In Verkhoshanksy’s 1968 work in which he describes the shock method, he concluded that, “the height of the vertical jump was highest when the athlete performed it immediately after landing from a drop height of 50 cm (20 inches).” It would take 16 years before Verkhoshanksy’s connected the dots between the depth jump and athletic performance.

In 1986, he conducted a 12-week study in which he tested whether the shock method would increase explosive strength in volleyball players. He concluded that not only was explosive strength significantly improved over the course of the study but that maximal strength in isometric movements was improved as well. And so began the use of plyometrics in athletic training.

Why Are Plyometric Exercises So Important?

Why should we care about creating plyometrics workouts? It lies in the mechanics of the vertical jump.

The mechanics of the vertical jump, as stated by a 1998 study lead by Brian R. Umberger of the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, lies in the structure of the two joint muscle. The idea is that muscles that span two joints — i.e. the quads, hamstrings and calves — transfer their energy during a vertical jump to create a highly coordinated sequence of muscle actions to produce this specific movement. 

Because of this, the vertical jump can be a useful indicator of lower limb power, muscle recruitment and coordination for many athletes. Not only is it a great test for athletes, but it is also a great training tool to develop that explosive power and athletic coordination. And it’s for these reasons that plyometric training is so important not only for elite-level athletes but for the general population as well.

Who Should Do Plyos?

Because plyometric training requires a tremendous amount of muscle coordination, balance and stability, plyometric workouts should be geared towards those individuals with a solid fitness base or seasoned athletes looking build more explosiveness and power.

What if you don’t fall into either of those categories? Then, start by building your overall posture, lower body stability and balance through methods like yoga or barre.

Barre Method was developed by a German dancer while rehabbing a back injury. This method focuses on increasing muscle activation and awareness during smaller isolated movements. Barre Method or similar modalities like yoga or Pilates, combined with plyometric exercises for beginners is a great place to start building confidence and familiarity of plyometric exercises.

As you progress, you can begin to incorporate more plyometric training into your weekly fitness routine.

Benefits 

We know that football players, Olympic Track and Field athletes and baseball players use this type of training regularly to improve their athletic performance. But what are plyometric exercises good for? Learn how they can help the everyday athlete improve their overall health and well-being.

1. Increased Agility

Plyometric training recruits the major muscles of the legs in a specific sequence. This sequence generates explosiveness, lower limb power and increases overall agility. 

This is important because agility is functional. Have you ever tripped on a curb or on your shoelace? Agility is the difference between just tripping and falling on your face. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines agility as “a state of being agile; marked by ready ability to move with quick easy grace.” And one of the best ways to improve your dexterity is through plyometrics.

2. It’s a Great Way to Mix Up Your Training

Do you ever feel like you’re in a training rut? Do you feel like you’ve plateaued and aren’t seeing the same improvements in your strength and stamina as when you started?

The body will adapt to the stress and stimulus you introduce to it. This principle is called the Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands or SAID. If you don’t continue to challenge your body in new ways, your performance will become static and unchanging. Introducing new movements and greater challenges keeps your mind engaged and your body agile.

3. Improves Your Cardiovascular Fitness

Yes, plyometric training is considered a cardio workout, plus it’s a great way to improve your cardiovascular fitness because of the recruitment of the major muscle groups during each exercise. This along with varying the intensity and speed of each movement elicits the same response as running or rowing in increasing your heart rate. 

4. Increased Proprioception

Proprioception is a fancy word for your mind understanding where your body is in space in relation to other objects. The mind senses the world around us and tells the body how to respond in an efficient and effective manner. This connection, just like anything else, can be strengthen and trained.

By including plyometrics into your training routine, you teach yourself how to move more efficiently through space by increasing your reaction time, smoothing out your footwork and developing a greater awareness of yourself in space.

Best Plyometric Exercises

This list of plyometric exercises only includes some of the most common exercises you’ll see in general fitness programs or classes. Many can also can be considered quad exercises. The overall list is long and all exercises include some form of dynamic movement or jump training.

Whether you are looking for specific plyometric exercises for runners or beginners or new movements to include in your weekly training routine, these 10 plyo exercises are simple, require little equipment and are scalable to any population. Try adding one of these exercises to your next workout and feel the difference!

• Box jumps
• Box squat to box jump
• Squat jumps
• Toe taps
• Jumping push-ups
• Lateral jumps
• Jumping lunges
• Jumping jacks
• Burpees
• Plank jumping jacks

Plyometric Workout

Plyometric exercises can be incorporated into your workouts in a multitude of ways. You can add a single movements as a superset by alternating between a weighted movement like a front squat or weighted lunge and a box jump. Or you can create longer plyometric circuits with 3–5 movements that creates one long workout.

What is a plyometric circuit? This type of workout takes multiple exercises and creates a series of movements to be completed one after the other. Time domains, rep schemes and movements can vary depending on your goals and current fitness level. But the great thing about circuit training is that it allow you to mix up your training, rest between movements and work your entire body or just a group of muscles so you never hit that dreaded plateau. 

Want to give it a try? This circuit is short and sweet and can be done for a single round or for multiple rounds depending on your fitness level and time restrictions. Before you start, make sure you warm-up properly before diving into this plyometric focused workout.

1-3 rounds of:

• 1-minute plank jumping jacks
• 20 seconds rest
• 1-minute push-ups
• 20 seconds rest
• 1-minute squats
• 20 seconds rest
• 1-minute jumping squats
• 20 seconds rest
• 1-minute burpees
• 20 seconds rest
• 1-minute box jumps

Precautions

As with any fitness regime or modality, there are some precautions we want to acknowledge before diving into plyometric training.

1. Focus on precision and technique

Jump training should be graceful, smooth and light on your feet. Focus on landing onto the box or floor during any jumping movement lightly and with precision. Because of the dynamic nature of this movement, learning to land comfortably on your feet in the same position you started will help you prevent injuries and help you capture the benefits of this movement.

So what is a good landing position? You should land with your feet hips distance apart. Your knees should be bent to allow your shoulders to stack vertically over the center of your feet. 

2. Warm-up thoroughly before training begins

Before performing your workout, it is a critical that your muscles, heart and mind are ready to move. Start by moving your whole body either by running, rowing or walking up stairs for up to five minutes. Then, move to dynamic stretches to increase your range of motion and then to muscle activation to make sure your muscles are firing correctly. Warm-ups are a great way to increase your performance and help prevent injuries for all plyometric exercises.

3. Don’t forget to rest!

When you first start to use plyometric boxes or add plyometric exercises to your routine, it’s critical that you not only rest between exercises to allow your body to adapt and prevent over use injuries but that you also take days off from this type of training. In as little as 2 training sessions a week, an athlete can improve their agility and athletic performance.

Final Thoughts

Plyometric training is an incredible way to improve athletic performance and fitness through increased power, agility and speed. This type of training can be a great addition to any fitness program with the proper dose and a focus on form and technique.

The post Plyometric Exercises for Better Fitness & Agility appeared first on Dr. Axe.

While TRX training is popular among elite athletes, models, members of the military and Hollywood A-listers alike, the truth is it’s a great mode of exercise for almost anyone, including people who are just getting started. In other words, no pre-existing six-pack is required to give this training style a try.

So let’s get down to it. What exactly is a TRX suspension trainer? And what’s the best way to incorporate TRX workouts into your fitness routine? Let’s take a look …

What Is TRX?

If you’re bored with dumbbells, exercise bands and burpees, the TRX suspension trainer is a great way to mix things up and challenge your muscles and proprioception in new ways. With TRX exercises, you can change the difficulty and resistance by simply changing your body position. In fact, TRX coined the phrase, “Make your body your machine.”

You can complete an entire whole-body workout using the TRX suspension trainer or you can mix it into your current fitness routine to challenge your stabilizer muscles and balance.

So what is the TRX workout and how does it work? The TRX suspension trainer consists of two adjustable main straps, handles and foot cradles. These straps are connected to a specific anchor, something you can install in your home or even use outside on trees, as long as the anchor is properly attached.

A TRX suspension trainer is a portable, economic piece of exercise equipment that leverages gravity and your own weight to perform hundreds of different bodyweight exercises.

TRX suspension trainer exercises are broken down into specific movement categories. Here they are, along with some common TRX exercises for each movement category:

• Push (TRX Chest Press, Pushups, Triceps Press)
• Pull (TRX Low Row, Biceps Curl, Inverted Row)
• Plank (TRX Plank, Mountain Climbers, Crunches)
• Rotate (TRX Rotational Ward, Power Pull, Oblique Crunch)
• Lunge (TRX Split Squat, Step Back Lunge, Balance Lunge)
• Squat (TRX Hamstring Curl, Squat, Squat Jump)

History of TRX

Stationed in Southeast Asia in 1997 and far away from a gym with weights, Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick created the first version of what would become known as TRX using just a jiu-jitsu belt and parachute webbing.

With refinement, it became the suspension trainer used around the world.

So what does TRX stand for, anyway? Sometimes referred to as total resistance exercises, TRX suspension training develops:

• Strength
• Balance
• Flexibility
• Core stability

“Can you build muscle with a TRX?” That’s a source of some debate, so let’s take a look at the research.

Benefits

1. It’s a great option for older adults

As we age, we naturally start losing muscle mass, a change that leads to more trouble getting around, p0or balance and less strength. When you put that all together, this decreased mobility results in a huge quality of life issue that often leads to less independence and happiness.

But when German researchers at the Institute of Movement and Sport Gerontology put older folks on a modified TRX regimen, promising results emerged. The first, and this is a biggie, is compliance. With so many get-fit-in-30-day gimmicks out there, it can be hard to sell moderation and common sense. But in this small study, 85 percent of participants stuck with the TRX program, including 91 percent who said they were motivated to continue with the program.

Using a TRX program adapted for older adults, participants focused on strengthening the core while working on bodyweight rows, chest presses, tricep presses and squats. According to the study, all participants noted positive effects whereas strength gains were the most.

2. It works

The American Council on Exercise commissioned a study to investigate the benefits of TRX and found benefits after just one 60-minute TRX training session, with steady improvements over an eight-week TRX training program.

The overall purpose of this study was twofold. Researchers initially set out to quantify the acute cardiovascular and metabolic responses to a single session of TRX Suspension Training. Part two involved investigating the effectiveness of an 8-week TRX program in relation to improving the following areas of fitness:

• Cardiorespiratory
• Muscular
• Neuromotor
• Flexibility
• Improving cardiometabolic risk factors

Looking at acute impacts of one 60-minute TRX class, researchers found participants burned an average of almost 400 calories per session.

The results of the eight-week training blocks are promising, too. This time, participants took part in three TRX training sessions a week for eight weeks.

Participants experienced these perks in the form of significantly decreased:

• Waist circumference
• Body-fat percentage
• Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure
• Resting diastolic blood pressure

Strength gains signified improved muscle strength and endurance. The biggest gains occurred in the following areas, with significant increases in:

• 1 repetition maximum leg press
• 1 repetition maximum bench press
• Curl up and push-up tests

“This is perhaps what struck me most,” says study author Lance Dalleck, PhD, associate professor of exercise and sports science at Western State Colorado University. “These changes in muscular fitness, if they are maintained long-term, have been linked to the prevention of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mortality.”

Other takeaways from the ACE study:

• Prehypertensive exercisers enjoyed up to a 12-point drop in blood pressure, something Dr. Dalleck called “more dramatic results than are typically seen with traditional aerobic exercise.”
• TRX Suspension Training is 86 percent “clinically beneficial in improving full 30-year cardiovascular disease risk.”

3. It gives your a bump of T without all of the stress.

Low testosterone is an issue plaguing American men and women, driving down libido, energy, muscle mass and more.

However, a small 2011 study suggests suspension training may serve as a way to increase testosterone levels without causing a dramatic spike in the stress hormone cortisol.

A moderate intensity suspension training workout using 30-second intervals followed by 60-second rest periods resulted in a positive anabolic profile lasting at least two hours after the workout.

4. It may activate muscles better than traditional lifting

A 2018 review study published in Sports Biomechanics found that that the instability of strength training activated in suspension training versus traditional lifting results in greater muscle activation in many cases.

This was especially true in TRX suspension for pushups, plank and hamstring curls.

5. It’s a great way to mix up your workouts to keep you interested in working out

In 2014, Spanish researchers looked at healthy men with little resistance training experience. Half of the men undertook a more traditional resistance training approach using weight machines, barbells and free weights. The other half used the TRX suspension trainers and Bosu balls to challenge stability more.

Researchers highlight the key points, mainly, that both training circuits produced similar results. The takeaway? Do what you love — or a mix of both — to keep your workout fresh and something you want to stick to.

6. It’ll improve your water game

In a study looking at female synchronized swimmers who committed to two TRX land trainings per week for six months, researchers found improved strength in most core parameters.

This suggests that using TRX can improve your core strength in the water, too, promoting improved movement and reducing the risk of injury. If you love the pool to enjoy the many benefits of swimming, consider adding gentle, beginner TRX land training to your weekly workouts.

7. It costs less and reduces clutter

Let’s face it. Those big old clunky exercise machines often wind up dusty in the basement or as a convenient place to hang laundry. TRX equipment is more affordable than higher-end, bulky machines and uses way less space.

Plus, the suspension straps travel well, meaning you could even take them with you for a workout in the park, assuming you’re using a reliable anchor.

TRX Workout

1. TRX Low Row

Adjustment: Fully shortened

Position: Stand facing anchor

Start: Pull shoulders down and back, bend elbows, palms facing, hands beside chest, walk feet toward anchor point until there’s a squeeze in the back.

Movement: Lower body down until arms are fully extended, maintain plank.

Return: Pull body toward anchor point by driving elbow back beside body.

2. TRX Power Pull

Adjustment: Mid-length, single handle mode

Position: Stand facing anchor

Start: Hand beside chest, free hand reaches up TRX main strap toward anchor point

Movement: Move in a circular motion, rotating free arm toward the ground while extending working arm.

Return: Drive working elbow straight back while rotating free arm up toward anchor point.

3. TRX Squat

Adjustment: Mid-length

Position: Stand facing anchor

Start: Stack elbows under shoulders, feet hip-width apart.

Movement: Lower hips down and back, weight in heels

Return: Drive through heels, squeeze glutes, lift chest

4. TRX Step Back Lunge

Adjustment: Mid-length

Position: Stand facing anchor

Start: Stack elbows under shoulders, center one leg to anchor point, lift opposite leg to 90 degrees at the knee and hip

Movement: Drive lifted leg back, touch foot to the ground and lower knee

Return: Drive through mid-foot and heel of grounded leg, extend hips, lift chest, eyes forward, return to full standing position, feet parallel

5. TRX Y Fly

Adjustment: Mid-length

Position: Stand facing anchor

Start: Offset foot stance, arms pulled back overhead into a “Y” position, tension on the TRX Suspension Trainer, palms forward

Movement: Lower body, keeping arms straight, return to start position by slowly lowering arms

Return: Return to start position by driving knuckles back

6. TRX Hamstring Curl

Adjustment: Mid calf

Position: Ground facing anchor

Start: Position feet under anchor point (arms at sides pressing into ground)

Movement: Pull toes towards body, drive heels down, pull knees over hips, lift hips to form straight line from knees to shoulders

Return: Lower hips toward ground with control, keep knees over hips, extend legs back toward anchor point, leave slight bend in knees at the end of the movement

TRX Workouts for Older Adults

And although many pro athletes use TRX for intense training, the truth is TRX also offers more gentle strength builders that are perfect for older folks just getting started. Let’s take a look at some options …

Precautions

How do you mount TRX straps? This is important. You do it by using TRX mounting equipment and following the directions to a T. Mounting TRX straps too high can result in the user wildly swinging, increasing the risk of injury for the person on the straps (or those around her).

Another important note: The beauty of TRX is that it offers modifications to properly work beginners and veteran exercisers alike. But hopping into TRX exercises too soon before you’re ready could increase your risk of injury, so look for a certified personal trainer with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in exercise science to keep your best interests in mind.

Final Thoughts

• TRX is a popular suspension training system that focuses on improving one’s strength, balance, flexibility and core stability.
• TRX training creates instability, which can work your core and stabilizer muscles in different ways compared to traditional weight machines, and dumbbell and barbell training.
• Several studies highlight TRX training’s ability to improve core strength, balance, waist circumference, body-fat percentage, blood pressure and more.
• TRX can be a great tool for beginner exercises and older adults, but should be done under supervision of a personal or group fitness training with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in exercise science or a related degree.
• Properly mounting your TRX and not performing TRX exercises beyond your current fitness levels are crucial components of avoiding injury.

The post TRX Workout: Best Exercises for Beginners appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Having a sexy back can give you more confidence this summer, but that annoying bulge just above your hips or where your sports bra lines your back can be frustrating. And this is not only a nag for women — many men feel this frustration, too. If you feel this way, you’re not alone. Lots of people want to know how to get rid of back fat.

Most people have one area of their bodies or another that they want to target for more toning or fat loss, such as arm fat or back fat. However, while you can do some specific exercises to help tone certain muscles, the reality is that you melt away the fat by combining cardio, strength training and a healthy diet.

The body works together as a whole to burn fat, and the great part is that you see results all over! The idea is to help define your muscles while incorporating a smart cardio plan, such as running, elliptical, cycling or swimming, as well as strength training, such as burst training, high-intensity interval training (HIIT workouts) or high-intensity circuit training (HICT). This is how you can get the results you want and keep those results long-term.

If you want to learn how to get rid of back fat, let’s look at the backside specifically. Interestingly, we often forget about the back because it’s not what we can easily see in the mirror every day. But, have you ever noticed how bodybuilders pose while showing you their backs? You see muscles you probably never knew existed! That’s because they have toned, strong backs and cores, which is the key for those wondering how to get rid of back fat.

Strong Core vs. Back Fat

The back is a big component of what we commonly refer to as the core. Your lower back and the outer-middle part of your back, often referred to as your lats (latissimus dorsi) or lateral back muscles, are part of your core muscles. Strong back core muscles support your abdominals, which aid in everything we do from sitting to walking and, of course, exercises and sports-related activities.

Without a strong core, it’s likely you’ll have issues in some other parts of your body. However, working the back can help define those muscles, provide a strong core, and it’s how to get rid of back fat and get that sexy back at the same time.

Another benefit is that it helps you perform posture exercises to have good posture overall. We know that good posture makes you look taller and more confident.

Studies have been conducted regarding the effects of fat distribution and the vertebrae. Researchers found notable differences in the health of the vertebrae based on fat mass index and reduced intervertebral disc height. More fat led to unhealthy vertebrae, which shows that back fat is more than just unsightly — it can also be a detriment to your posture and more.

So for the ultimate sexy back, you need to activate your back muscles. It’s also how to get rid of back fat. Having lean, strong muscles produces a sexy back that’s strong and able to support your day-to-day activities. Below are some important keys for how to get rid of back fat.

How to Get Rid of Back Fat

1. Get Moving with Cardio

If you’re serious about getting rid of back fat, you need to incorporate cardio workouts into your weekly routine to make a difference. Interval training cardio — such as burst fit, HIIT workouts, HICT or bootcamp-style workouts — can give you cardio and strength training at the same time because it alternates between periods of pushing your body with high intensity and short recovery. This also increases your back fat-burning process throughout the day, even at rest.

There are other effective cardio choices, such as running, elliptical, cycling (spin workouts), rowing or using a rowing machine, and swimming. Swimming, for example, uses every major muscle group in your back, including the deltoids, lats, trapezius, spine extensors, teres and rhomboids. You can perform a combination of swimming strokes, or you can swim freestyle using a pull buoy and paddles to make the muscles in the back work harder.

To get the best and lasting results on how to get rid of back fat, perform at least 30 minutes of cardio four to five days of the week to get optimal results.

2. Let’s See Those Muscles

If you really want to make a difference, add specific muscle toning to your routine. Adding moves that sculpt your back helps reveal your strong muscles, and it’s how to get rid of back fat for the long haul.

There are numerous machines at the gym that work all of the back muscles as well as exercises you can do right at home with a set of hand weights. What’s important to understand is that, regardless of how much strength training you do, you won’t see those muscles if you have a lot of fat covering them up. That’s why combining strength training with fat-burning workouts and healthy eating is what you need to get there.

Something else to keep in mind is that if you keep it easy, it won’t be effective. Sure, you want be careful and work your way up to more resistance, but if you don’t push the muscles to work harder, you won’t see them. I have seen numerous people go to the gym and not even break a sweat because the weight they use is too light. Again, use caution — but also use your muscles!

3. Watch Your Diet

Many think that more exercise means eating whatever you want. That’s not going to give you a healthy body or how to get rid of back fat. It’s important to have a healthy diet filled with organic fruits and vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains so the nutrition works together to help you have optimal fitness and a fat-free backside.

There are few things that may contribute to the loss of back fat more quickly. Animal research has been conducted on the use of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as a supplement to help decrease fat. It revealed that it may serve as a powerful anti-obesity agent, specifically noting that there was a decrease in back fat when supplementing with CLA.

Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition was conducted demonstrating the effects of diet through interventions, noting the adverse effects of age-related loss of skeletal muscle and fitness. The functions include increased physical activity using age-appropriate exercise and nutritional supplementation, together, through the use of whey protein, essential amino acids and vitamin D. The studies found that it boosted fat-free mass and strength while enhancing other aspects that contribute to well-being in the elderly dealing with sarcopenia.

4. Yoga and Pilates to Decrease Back Fat

While incorporating strength training and cardio is important, you’ll be amazed at what yoga can do to help you get rid of back fat and have a sexy back that you want to show off this summer.

Wearing a “muffin top” over the top of your jeans or workout clothes does not produce a good feeling. Pilates and yoga can help you build confidence and lose the back fat. They can also help fight that bra bulge, while strengthening and toning your entire back and shoulders and helping you get rid of fat on the backs of your arms.

5. Wear Clothes that Fit You

Wearing tight clothing can make back fat more noticeable. Of course, the goal is get rid of the back fat and wearing fitted clothing is OK, but make sure it fits in a way that makes you feel good. It gives you more confidence as you move throughout your day.

In addition, tight clothing can cause digestive issues, including undergarments like body shapers and compression-like garments that are designed to smooth out the bulges. A condition called meralgia paresthetica can develop due to restrictive clothing.

This is nothing new. It’s been a problem since the days of girdles and is an even bigger problem since these types of garments are major fashion accessories today. Symptoms of meralgia paresthetica include burning, pain, tingling in the thigh area and hypersensitivity to the touch, which are just more reasons to avoid tight clothing.

Best Exercises

If you want a sexy back, incorporate some of the cardio suggestions I have made above combined with a healthy diet and this workout three times a week or every other day. When performing the workout, do three sets of each exercise with a one- to two-minute rest between each set.

1. Superman Lifts

Lie on your belly with your arms extended straight out in front of you. Look down at the floor, keeping your head aligned with your neck and upper body. While engaging your abs, lift your arms, chest and feet at the same time as you inhale. Hold for five to 10 seconds, then slowly release your body back to the floor.

You can also perform this exercise holding a stability ball between your feet, squeezing the legs together to further engage the inner thighs and glutes.

2. Tricep Push-Ups

Push-ups are great for your entire upper body and core — however, the tricep push-up works the back while toning the triceps. Get into a standard push-up position with hands on the ground close to your body and next to your chest.

This is great because as you lower your body, you can engage your core muscles. Lower slowly while focusing on the abdominals, chest and backs of the arms. Hold at the bottom for three to five seconds, and then slowly push back to the starting position.

You may perform this exercise on your knees until you get stronger.

3. Warrior Three Yoga Pose

Stand at the front of your mat with a tall posture and both feet together. Shift your weight onto your left leg while taking your right leg behind you. Focus on balancing while keeping your torso parallel to the floor. Extend your arms straight in front of you or out to the side. Draw your navel toward your spine and hold for three to five deep breaths.

If you fall out of the pose, try to go back into it. Don’t get discouraged. This is a great exercise that takes practice to master. Repeat the exercise three to five times.

4. Dumbbell Row

Place your left knee on your mat and your right knee up at a 90-degree angle. Using light to medium weights, place the weight in the left hand with your arm down at your left side. Bending forward slightly with a flat back and abs tight (you can rest your right forearm on your right thigh), pull the elbow up in a row motion, contracting your upper back and skimming the side of the body with your arm as it moves.

Do a full set of 12–15 on one arm, then switch arms.

5. Side Plank Rotation

Begin by sitting on the floor on your side. Extend both feet out. You can place one foot on top of the other or place your top foot in front of the bottom one. Place your lower arm underneath you and bent at the elbow for support. The elbow should be right below the shoulder. Stretch the other arm straight up in the air. While engaging your abs, lift your hips so your body is in a straight line. Hold the hips up and tighten the abs.

Now do a rotation. Bend the upper arm as you start to reach underneath your body as you rotate.  Hold the rotation for two to three seconds, then rotate the arm and body back to the starting position. Continue this exercise for 45–60 seconds, then repeat the exercise on the other side.

Option: If you don’t feel strong enough for this exercise yet, you can do it with the bottom leg bent and knee on the floor and top leg extended, but still keep hips lifted and abs engaged for the duration of the exercise. You can also opt for a standard plank exercise.

You can also incorporate exercises to prevent lower back pain.

If you experience in pain associated with performing any of these exercises, discontinue immediately. You may need to build strength slowly in order to perform the entire routine.

Final Thoughts

The reality is that you melt away the fat by combining cardio, strength training and a healthy diet. Here’s some tips on how to get rid of back fat:

• Get moving with cardio workouts, including HIIT, HICT and bootcamp-style workouts,
• Add muscle-toning, strength-training exercises.
• Watch your diet and eat fat-burning foods.
• Practice yoga and/or Pilates.
• Wear clothes that fit you, not overly tight-fitting clothes.

The post How to Get Rid of Back Fat appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Jumping jacks go way back. That’s what I love most about this traditional exercise. You probably learned how to do the jumping jack while in elementary school. It’s a basic exercise that most anyone can perform, and can be modified to fit any fitness style needed — even for the newest exerciser.

What are jumping jacks good for? Jumping jacks are a classic type of calisthenics-style plyometric exercise that gets the whole body moving. It can be used as a warmup exercise to help get the blood pumping and the muscles warm and ready for a workout, or it can be part of a full-body workout, such as an interval Tabata workout, bootcamp, a HIIT-style workout and even on a trampoline.

Jumping jacks, sometimes called star jumps, require full-body movement and are a great leg workout. The movement is great for getting the heart rate up. The abduction and adduction of the legs and arms add the benefits of all-over body toning, similar to burpees. Jumping jacks can be modified for the newest exerciser by eliminating the jump, to the most advanced by adding a squat and jumping as high as possible. This is known as a power jack.

Whatever style you choose, jumping jacks are amazing for gaining and maintaining fitness, reducing obesity, helping reduce the risk of osteoporosis, improving the cardiovascular system, increasing stamina and much more.

How to Do Jumping Jacks

A jumping jack can take a few forms, but here is how to do a basic jumping jack:

1. Stand up straight, with your feet together and your hands down by your side.
2. Jump your feet out to the side while raising your arms to the side and above your head.
3. In one fluid motion, jump back to the starting position by lowering the arms and jumping the feet back together. That is one jumping jack.
4. Continue this sequence as needed based on your workout. Typically, jumping jacks are done in sets or based on time. To do this, keep moving in a continuous motion, repeating the sequence until you accomplish your set or time goal, depending on the workout.

Benefits

1. Great for Strong Bones

There has been a lot of controversy and speculation over the years about what exercise actually strengthen bones. Weightlifting is one way to do this, but some researchers suggest that quick jumping bursts can also do the trick. That means jumping jacks may be the perfect exercise for stronger bones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

What happens is that the bones bend a little with each jumping motion, forcing new cell development. It’s the new cell creation that offers up more support for the bones, ultimately strengthening them. The good news is that you may not need to do a lot— just a little bit of explosive activity can lend itself to stronger bones. A study found that subjects who induced jumping for a certain period of time enjoyed more bone mass; therefore, stronger bones.

2. Good for the Heart

Jumping jacks offer benefits to combat heart disease. With as many as 250,000 heart-related deaths each year in the U.S., making cardio exercise like jumping jacks a part of your daily fitness routine seems like a no brainer.

If you are new to jumping activities, you definitely want to take it slow, and start with the modified no-jumping version if needed. Regardless, over time you will get stronger. This is key numerous experts in the field of fitness and wellness, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA).

The 1996 US Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health, shared scientific evidence that links regular physical activity to various measures of cardiovascular health.”

3. Help Spark Weight Loss

It’s important to get the proper amount of exercise every week. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that you slowly and safely work up to doing about 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity weekly.

Another option is to combine the two. Jumping jacks offer the perfect fit for this recommendation. They can help you achieve and maintain your weight over time, as long as you are consistent. This activity, combined with a smart and healthy eating plan, can make a huge difference in helping you reach your goals.

4. Could Help You Lose Belly Fat

While strength training with weights and specific abdominal exercises can help with visceral body fat, high-intensity exercise can really make a difference. Pairing smart caloric intake and regular, moderate-intensity exercise can help you burn more calories, reducing belly fat.

5. Help Increase Stamina

Stamina is what gives us the ability to combat fatigue and fight disease. Stamina helps us experience physical activity for longer periods of time. If you are new to exercise, you may notice feeling tired very quickly, but with time and commitment, you can build your stamina to be able to withstand exercise of physical activity longer.

This is important to your health because it improves the function of our muscles and can help with everyday activities, such as carrying a bag of groceries, much easier. While this may not seem important to our youth, it usually starts to affect mature adults at some point.

The development of healthy stamina comes from the body’s ability to take in and use oxygen. For anyone dealing with disease, having stamina is of greater important since it can be more difficult to perform many activities, and it can even help prevent back problems as you age. For example, jumping jacks are also a great quad exercise, which is a muscle that can help power you through your day.

6. Reduce Risk of Many Health Conditions

Jumping jacks fit in the category of aerobic exercise. In addition to helping with obesity, strong bones and heart disease, aerobic exercise helps reduce the risk of numerous health conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, stroke and even some forms of cancer.

Studies show that regular physical activity can help reduce the development of disease, such as colon cancer, but nearly 40 percent. There is plenty of evidence showing how regular physical activity is a great preventive measure of many chronic diseases. In fact, studies suggest that is is directly related to the reduced risk of an early death.

Jumping Jack Circuit Workout

When performing any exercise, remember to maintain proper form. If at any time, you feel any pain, stop immediately. If you are new to exercise, it is important to take it slow.

For this workout, you will need a timer or some way to track your time. The workout consist of 3–4 sets of 6 exercises performed for 1 minute each, followed by 15 seconds of rest and 1 minute of rest between each exercise.

1. Warmup

Perform each exercise for 60 seconds

• Step side to side starting with your left
• Knee lifts, left and right
• Half squats
• Grapevine, left and right
• Easy side lunges, left and right

2. The Workout

Perform each exercise for 60 seconds. Rest for 15 seconds between each exercise. Once you have completed one set, rest for 60 seconds. Repeat for a total of 3 to 4 sets. Use the beginner version if you’re truly a beginner and/or not used to much physical exercise.

• Jumping Jacks
• Deep Squats
• Jumping Jacks
• Plank Push Ups
• Jumping Jacks
• Lunges

3. How to Do the Exercises

Jumping Jacks

Stand with feet a little more than hip distance apart. Arms at your side. Begin by jumping your feet out the sides while raising your arms to the side, to a level above your head, then returning to the start Do this in one continuous movement. If you want to make a little harder, perform a power jack by going into a half squat each time you land and by jumping as high as you can each time you jump.

Beginner Jumping Jacks

Instead of jumping, step one foot at a time out to the side while raising your arms.

Deep Squats

Stand with feet hip distance apart, keeping your abs tight. Lower into a squat by sticking your glutes back as if sitting in a chair (while keeping your upper body upright). Go as low as you can, trying to get your quads parallel to the ground. As you return to your starting position, squeeze the glutes. (It’s a great glute exercise.) Try to put all of your weight in your heels as you perform this exercise.

Beginner Squats

Do half squats by starting in the same position, but instead of going all the way down to the parallel position, only go half way, then return to the starting position. Again, make sure to squeeze your glutes on the way up and keep your weight in your heels throughout the exercise.

Plank Alternating Push-ups

To perform this exercise, get in push-up position, keeping elbows slightly bent and hands directly under the shoulders. Make sure your body is straight from your head to your feet. To help, slightly tuck the hips and squeeze the abs.

Now, lower to the forearms, starting with the left arm. Once both arms are bent and you are on both forearms, lift back up to starting position by pushing up with the right hand. Continue this sequence, alternating arms.

Beginner Plank Alternating Push-ups

Perform the above exercise, but on the knees instead of the toes. Make sure to keep the neck and back aligned.

Static Lunges

Stand with one foot forward in a lunge position keeping your front knee at a 90 degree angle and upper body upright. Lunge as low as possible, but without the back knee touching the floor, then return to the starting position and repeat in a continuous movement.

Perform 30 seconds on each leg. To make it harder, you can do jumping lunges. To do this, start in the same position. Keeping your balance, jump to switch your foot positioning by taking the front foot back and the back foot to the front, much like scissor jumps but with a deep lunge. You can use your arms to assist in the jumping motion. For example, when the left foot is forward, the right arm will be forward. It should be natural. Make sure to land softly, switching in a continuous movement.

Beginner Lunges

Perform in the same way as the static lunge, but instead of going all the way down, go about halfway, then returning to the start.

Risks and Precautions

As I noted above, make sure you start slowly if you are new to exercise. Make sure you warm up before any exercise and do some stretching after any exercise. Check with your doctor before performing any exercise, especially if you have any disease or are pregnant.

Final Thoughts

• Jumping jacks increasing stamina, bone density and improve your heart.
• Start off slowly, even with no-jump jacks.
• Consult a trained fitness expert for a program that is right for you.

The post 6 Benefits of Jumping Jacks + Circuit Routine appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Ready to get in great shape, without sparing any more time than it would take you to watch one episode of your favorite show? Well, this full-body, heart pounding 20-minute kettlebell workout is for you.

Kettlebells promise quick results that boost endurance, burn mega calories, build tons of strength and even increase flexibility. So what does that mean for you?

No longer will you need to run on the treadmill and then lift weights afterwards. Aside from simultaneously targeting almost every part of your body, when used properly, the beauty of kettlebell workouts is that they can be done quickly and require very little equipment (only one kettlebell). You can even complete this whole 20-minute kettlebell workout in your own living room if you wanted to!

The key to getting the most of your 20 minutes. Strategically going from one exercise move quickly into the next. The result is that you get a fast, full-body, cardio and strength-building workout at the same time, wherever you choose — win, win!

What Is a Kettlebell Workout?

Although they’ve been getting tons of praise in recent years and are still growing in popularity, kettlebell workouts are nothing new to the fitness world; they have been popular around the world for centuries, especially in places like Russia. It’s believed that they got their start in Ancient Greece and later spread to Russia around the 18^th century, where kettlebells are still extremely popular and meaningful today.

In Russia, kettlebells were first used as a means of measuring crops and goods for trade, but people quickly caught onto how much strength could be built by maneuvering kettlebells around all day. At this time Russians began competing with kettlebells and featuring kettlebell strength competitions at festivals and fairs for amusement.

Kettlebells came to North America in the 20th century after a Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor introduced the cast iron weights and their various physical benefits to a new interested population of exercisers.

It didn’t take long for fitness magazines, websites and enthusiasts to pick up on the kettlebell workout trend. In the early 2000’s, RKC certification was established that qualified “Certified Kettle Bell Instructors.” Since this time, other organizations and certifications have been put in place, and kettlebells have become widely popular and used in almost every gym across America.

Kettlebell workouts are able to effectively target your major muscle groups — shoulders, core, back muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings and more — all in a short duration of time.

Benefits

1. Kettlebell Workouts Prevent Over-Exertion

Many studies have shown that performing too much cardiovascular exercise, especially long-distance aerobic exercise like marathon running, can actually do a lot of damage to your body.

Some experts even feel that over time the negative impact of putting a lot of stress on the cardiovascular system (as it works hard to pump out extra blood during long-distance cardio sessions) can sadly even contribute to a shortened lifespan.

High-intensity internal training (HIIT) or strength building exercises do not have the same effect on your heart as standard aerobic activity sessions do, and health authorities now agree that shorter, more intense bursts of exercise should play a significant part in the average person’s exercise regimen.

For example, recently the World Health Organization (WHO) began advising that “Adults aged 18–64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week, or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity activity.”

Fast-moving kettlebell workouts, in which you perform one move directly followed by the next move with little time to rest in between, is an excellent way to get your heart rate up for a shorter, more intense period of time.

This allows you to complete a healthy 20-minute workouts that benefits your body by building all-over muscle and simultaneously reducing fat, but it doesn’t put an unnecessary amount of prolonged stress on your heart, joints, or other susceptible organs.

2. Kettlebells Fight Age-Related Weight Gain

Research has shown that adults experience an average of 3 percent to 8 percent loss of muscle mass every decade, which means that resting metabolic rate is reduced — or the number of calories someone is able to burn on an average day.

This means more dangerous fat winds up accumulating around susceptible organs like the heart and liver, which are especially important to keep healthy in order to prevent disease.

The same study showed that just 10 weeks of consistent resistance training can help a slow metabolism and actually increase resting metabolic rate by 7 percent; this number may not sound like a lot, but who doesn’t want to continuously burn 7 percent more calories each and every day?

While kettlebell workouts — along with other forms of exercise like HIIT and Tabata workouts — lead to an increase in metabolism, they also tend to effect increases in appetite less so than prolonged cardio sessions do. This means you are less likely to overeat if you focus on including a number of different exercise programs into your routine, including yoga, as opposed to only performing cardio.

3. Kettlebells Protect Against Numerous Age-Related Diseases

Aside from warding off unhealthy weight gain, studies show that strength training can also improve general physical performance, movement control, walking speed, abilities to concentrate and make decisions, and even general self-esteem. Strength training also plays a part in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes, which is closely associated with unhealthy weight gain and inability to control blood sugar levels.

By reducing weight and improving insulin sensitivity, adults are able to reduce the risk for metabolic syndrome, diabetes and other inflammation-caused diseases that are related to the resistance of insulin. Resistance training may also be effective in defending against cardiovascular disease by reducing resting blood pressure and bringing cholesterol and triglyceride levels back to a healthy state.

Finally, studies have shown that strength training is extremely important for maintaining the structure of the skeleton and that resistance training may promote bone development and delay the loss of age-related bone mineral density. This is often the reason why older people, especially women, are highly encouraged to lift weights at least two times per week — because it can help ward off osteoporosis, a serious concern for post-menopausal women in particular.

4. Kettlebells Improve Posture and Agility

There is a real emphasis today in the fitness world to practice exercises that have a practical purpose in our lives. “Functional exercises,” like kettlebell workouts, help to keep our posture upright, our endurance at its peak and our muscles prepared for whatever may come.

Because your body is moving in multiple directions and on different angles at every moment during a kettlebell workout, you experience dynamic, full-body results that are actually useful in real-life situations. This is the same reason maybe people are drawn to CrossFit workouts.

While standard weight machines may help in building muscle, they tend to target only certain specific muscle groups at one time and not entire regions of the body (like the entire core or both of the whole arms, for example). Kettlebells have the ability to build strength in multiple muscle regions of the body all at once, offering full-body integration and core stabilization, and again saving you time!

5. Kettlebells Are Versatile and Easy to Adapt

Whether you are a very experienced weight lifter who’s in fantastic shape, or are a middle-aged woman who is relatively new to hitting the weight room at the gym, there is a way that kettlebells can benefit you. Kettlebells’ versatility depends on you choosing a weight that’s best for your body and current abilities, then practicing moves that target the areas of your body you’re most looking to improve.

Want to build more shoulder strength? There are plenty of moves that got you covered. Interested more in getting your heart rate up and burning lots of calories? There’s a series of moves that will work for that too.

6. There is No Need for Large, Pricey Equipment

Kettlebells are portable and pretty inexpensive to buy, especially when you consider how much money most large pieces of gym equipment, or fitness class packages, can cost you. Most kettlebells can be bought for around $30-$60 depending on the weight, and found at any large sporting or fitness store, as well as online. They’re also often available at used sporting goods stores.

If you join a gym, you will likely have access to many different kettlebell weights as well. However, one of the biggest perks of owning a kettlebell is that it virtually turns your home into a gym. Performing a 20-minute kettlebell workout takes little space, so you can practice in the comfort of your own yard, basement or apartment whenever time allows you.

7. Kettlebells Have a Unique, Effective Shape

The fact that kettlebells have a true handle for picking them up and holding on while you move them around means that you can keep your workout moving along. There is no need to halt your circuit routine in order to stop, drop and adjust the weight, which is typically the process when using normal free weights or dumbbells.

While dumbbells, large weight machines and bench-pressing weights all require time to readjust alignment and your grip, kettlebells can quickly be shifted around in your hands without you needing to pause — making your workout more aerobically effective since you are able to keep your heart rate up, and shorter in duration, too.

Kettlebell Workout Preparation

If you are brand new to kettlebells, it may be a wise idea to speak with a personal trainer or friend who uses them frequently and can make sure your alignment is correct before you get going. This way you don’t risk injuring yourself or missing out on all the benefits that kettlebell workouts can offer.

However, if you’re no stranger to the gym and using other weights and strength-building equipment, then you will likely be okay jumping right into the world of beneficial kettlebell workouts.

1. Choosing Your Weights

Your first step is to pick which weight you will use. Different kettlebell workout moves are best done using different weights. For example, “ballistic” moves that involve “explosive” bursts and quicker movements usually are most effective when done with heavier weights.

Heavy weights work well with ballistic moves like swings, snatches and “cleans” because you get momentum going completing these movements. On the other hand, slower “grind” moves (windmills, overhead presses, etc.) usually require lighter weights since they need to be carefully controlled and do not just rely on momentum.

For both men and women, it’s always a good idea to start out on the lighter, safe side and work your way up to using heavier weights during your kettlebell workout. There is a big range in recommended kettlebell weights depending on your current fitness level and strength. Try using a lighter weight first and working your way up to one that is more challenging.

• Women: The best choices are kettlebell weights that are between 4 kg/9 lbs. all the way up to and 16 kg/28 lbs.

• Men: Try using a kettlebell between 12 kg./26 lbs. and 28 kg./62 lbs. and following the same guidelines, working your way up as you gain strength and familiarity with the moves.

2. Building Your Workout

Keep in mind that you can always easily create your own circuit kettlebell workouts, different then the one described below, by combining your favorite kettlebell moves.

In order to do this, it helps to first get familiar with the basic strength-training terminology if you aren’t already: sets, reps and rests/intervals. You will see these terms used below in the 20-minute kettlebell workout that’s described, and you can use the same principles to create multiple short, intense workouts:

• Rep: A rep is every time you lift and lower a weight. You complete reps back to back, and this makes up a set.
• Set: Sets are groups of reps. You complete all the reps in one set without taking a break. Then you take breaks between sets.
• Rest or interval period: This is the pause between sets where you rest and catch your breath for a short period of time (usually 30 seconds to a 2 minutes, depending on the person and how vigorous the workout is).

Here is an example of how to put these terms into play during your kettlebell workouts: “You will complete 10 reps of a kettlebell move, which equals one set. Then you will rest, and complete another set of 10 reps.”

It is important to remember that your set and rep number always depends on how fit you currently are and your level of endurance. Most kettlebell workouts (and weightlifting programs in general) recommend aiming for 2 to 3 sets total. For the 20-minute workout below, you will complete 2 sets.

Within each set, it’s best to stick with doing 10–20 reps. You will be able to determine the amount of reps you can successfully do by paying attention your form; once you are sacrificing good form due to becoming exhausted, its fine to put the weight down and take a break, or else to move on to another move that targets other muscle groups. Otherwise, doing more reps will not produce better results, and may even cause an injury.

20-Minute Kettlebell Workout Routine

You will go through the following 5 kettlebell exercises in a circuit:

• Perform each move for about 1 minute
• Resting shortly for only about 30 seconds
• Move on to the next move
• After you complete all 5 moves once, rest for 1-2 minutes and repeat the whole circuit for the second time

1: Basic Kettlebell Swing

• Trains these muscles: quadriceps, hamstrings, core
• Reps: About 20 (or as many as you can repeat in 1 minute)
• Sets: 2

Exercise form:

1. Begin with your feet hip-distance apart. Pick up your kettlebell using both hands firmly on the handle.
2. Come into a squat position by bending your knees and hinging from your hips. Act like you are sitting back in a chair, using your quadriceps and hamstrings to keep you stable. Work to swing the kettlebell down and back between your legs.
3. Come up as you straighten your legs and swing the kettlebell in front of you and up to about the level of your chin. Get momentum going, but work from your legs and core, rather than just your arms.
4. Repeat as many times as you can within 60 seconds, aiming for about 20 swings. Rest for 30 seconds, then move on to the next move.

2. Lunge and Press

• Muscles trained: core, quadriceps, glutes, shoulders
• Reps: About 20 (or as many as you can repeat in 1 minute on each side)
• Sets: 2

Exercise form:

1. Begin with the weight in your hands held at the top of your shoulder height.
2. Step your left leg forward into a lunge.
3. Press the kettlebell above your head and then lower it back down.
4. Stand back up and bring the kettlebell back to shoulder height.

3. Sit and Hold

• Muscles trained: entire core, legs, shoulders, biceps, upper and low back
• Reps: Lift butt and feet off the ground, hold and then lower.  Repeat for 1 minute.
• Sets: 2

Exercise form:

1. Place both hands on standing kettlebell handles. Make sure both kettlebells are directly below your shoulders.
2. Make sure to keep your core actively engaged lift your butt and feet off the floor keeping your arms and legs straight.
3. Bring your body forward so that your butt is positioned directly between your wrists.
4. Hold this position for as long as possible and repeat.

4. Weighted Squat and Lift

• Muscles trained: shoulders, biceps, core, legs
• Reps: About 20 (or as many as you can repeat in 1 minute)
• Sets: 2

Exercise form:

1. Start by standing upright with feet hip-width apart. Have the kettlebell held into both hands at chest height, close to your body.
2. Lower down into a low squat; the goal is to get low enough for the thighs to be parallel to the floor. Try to keep the back straight rather than arched, using the core to hold you in place.
3. Return to back to starting position, coming up out of the squat and simultaneously lifting the kettlebell directly over your head using both hands. Repeat as many times as you can for 1 minute.

5. Windmill

• Muscles trained: obliques, shoulders, biceps, lower back
• Reps: About 20 (or as many as you can repeat in 1 minute straight)
• Sets: 2

Exercise form:

1. Start by standing upright with feet a bit wider than hips-width apart. Hold the kettlebell in your right hand first.
2. Facing forward between your legs, bend to the left side over your leg, keeping both legs straight and reaching with your left hand to the floor. Your right hand holding the kettlebell should come up and over your right shoulder. Look up at the ceiling towards the kettlebell.
3. Come back upright, repeating on the same side by using your arm strength to lower and raise the kettlebell in your right hand. Repeat on the same side for 30 seconds, then switch sides.

The post 20-Minute Kettlebell Workout, with 5 Best Kettlebell Exercises appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Ever notice how the calf muscle seems to get little attention? Rarely do group fitness classes dedicate blocks of time to calves and calf exercises like they do for ab workouts or butt workouts.

While the calf muscle often goes unnoticed as an important muscle, it’s more important than you think … and ideally it’s part of any leg workout.

Regardless of your genetics, it’s vital that we all take care of our calves. That’s because weak or tight calf muscles, left neglected, can contribute to all sorts of posture problems, pain, injuries and athletic performance problems — and who wants that?

Thankfully, there are many calf exercises you can do to keep this often overlooked muscle in top shape.

Why It’s Important to Strengthen Calves

What makes calf exercises so important to our daily functions? The calf muscle, which is on the back of the lower leg, is made up of two muscles. The gastrocnemius is the larger calf muscle that forms the bulge in the upper calf area. There are two parts that form a sort of diamond shape. The soleus is much smaller and more flat lying just beneath the gastrocnemius muscle.

These two calf muscles taper and merge together at the bottom of the calf, consisting of tough connective tissue that joins the Achilles tendon. This inserts into the heel bone.

With all of these mechanics at play, you can now see how important it is to ensure all of these parts are in good working order. When we walk, run or jump, the calf muscle performs work to pull the heel up, allowing a forward movement.

Back to that gastrocnemius. That chief muscle of the calf is responsible for flexing the knee and plantar flexion of the foot (the movement that consists of pointing your toes downward). It runs to the Achilles tendon from two heads attached to the femur above the back of the knee.

The soleus is responsible for plantar flexion. When we stand, the soleus offers a lot of stability, in particular to the foot, fibula and tibia.

Together, this dynamic duo provides critical stabilization for walking, hiking, running, jumping and even standing. Calf exercises are crucial because an underdeveloped calf area could cause some nagging injuries, such as Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, calf strains and plantar fasciitis.

How to Develop Great Calves

The calves are no different than general body shape when it comes to the variety of sizes. Some have skinny calves; some people have calves with more fat; some are muscular, toned or bulky — it depends on a lot of factors.

Genetics can play a big role in the shape of the calves, but if you’re a bodybuilder, you’re likely to have thick, muscular calves due to the work you put into building them. Endurance cyclists often have strong, well-defined calves because of the repetitive motion of pushing and pulling the pedals.

There are folks who have long, lean calves with no muscles to show, or dancers often have long, lean calves featuring definition. The shape of the calves is also determined by the position of the muscle in relation to the knee and ankle joints — some are simply higher, and some are lower, most likely a genetic attribute.

Regardless, the shape of your calves is usually affected by what you do every day. If you exercise routinely or are a runner, cyclist, dancer or bodybuilder, you’re more likely to have shapely calves. If you’re overweight, your calves may appear large and untoned.

In any case, you don’t have to be an amazing dancer to have great calves. Just simply putting calf exercises into your fitness regimen can offer surprising results.

Best Calf Exercises

Working the calves is easy and does not require too much time. With a consistent routine of every other day, you can have toned, shaped calves in no time.

Here are some the best calf exercises to add to your workout routine.

1. Standing Calf Raise

Stand near a wall or chair for balance. Place your feet hip-distance apart with the ankles, knees and hips square to the front.

Once you are stable, slowly lift your heels off the ground, raising the body upward (not forward or backward). Tuck your butt under just a bit, and tighten the abs as you raise.

Hold this position for three to 10 seconds (You will be able to hold it longer as you get stronger.) Release, and repeat 10 to 20 times.

2. Single-Leg Calf Raise

This is similar to the previous calf exercise but requires a bit more stability. Over time you won’t need the wall or chair for support, but for now, make sure you’re able to maintain stability by standing near a wall or chair.

Place your feet hip-distance apart with the ankles, knees and hips square to the front.

Once you are stable, bend your left knee so that foot is off of the floor. (Abs are tight.)

Slowly lift your right heel off the ground, raising the body upward (not forward or backward). Hold this position for one to three seconds.

Release, and repeat 10 to 20 times on each leg.

For an even more advanced move, try this on an exercise ball, but be careful — and work your way up to it. A nearby support to hold on to is crucial if trying this exercise.

3. Seated Calf Raise

This exercise can be done on the calf exercise machine at the gym by selecting the appropriate weight for your level. Make sure you don’t overdo it.

Here’s the at-home version: Start by sitting in sturdy chair, and place your feet flat on the floor. Make sure the knees stay aligned directly over your feet.

Lean forward while placing hands on thighs close to your knees. This is where the action is going to take place.

While raising your heels, keeping the toes and balls of the feet on the ground, simply push down on your thighs to add resistance. Then slowly lower your heels. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

The harder you push, the harder it will be to lift your heels. You can place a weight on your lap for resistance if your prefer and feel you are ready for that.

4. Three-Way Stair Calf Raise

Using stairs, or any sort of ledge (such as a sidewalk), is a great way to build muscle in your calves. To do it, you may want to choose a spot that has something to hold on to for stability, such as a rail.

Place the toes and balls of your feet on a step at hip distance apart. Just like the the standing calf raise, keep the abs tight while slightly tucking the butt. (This tightens those abs and glutes, which will help tone them, too.)

While toes are pointed forward, allow the heel to lower an inch or two below the height of the step, then raise upward on the toes and balls of the foot. Repeat 10 times.

Then turn the toes inward, and repeat the action. Now, turn the toes outward, and repeat 10 times. Do three to four sets.

Calf Stretches

Calf exercises should also include calf stretching. Studies show that a common cause of stress fractures is calf tightness, which causes a premature lifting of the heel while running and transfers a significant amount of force into the forefoot.

A study published in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy found that subjects with tight calves were 4.6 times more likely to sustain a metatarsal stress fracture.

According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, tight calves can also contribute to postural problems like lower crossed syndrome and pronation distortion syndrome.

While most people know how to perform standard calf stretches, it’s vital that you hold each stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds. This allows the muscle to better relax and elongate to improve flexibility.

Maintaining calf flexibility is vital to maintaining a healthy range of motion in your ankle. Your kinetic chain is all connected. It’s pretty amazing!

Here’s a simple stretch that even a couch potato can do …

Couch potato calf stretch: Sit on the edge of a couch with your feet flat on the floor. With one leg, keeping your heel on the floor, lift and point the toes toward the ceiling, so you feel a stretch in your calf muscle.

Hold for 30 seconds, then do the same with the other leg, three times per leg.

Also, don’t forget yoga. Releasing tight, overactive calves is just one of the many benefits of yoga.

Two great poses include downward facing dog and standing forward bend. Nice side effect? Yoga changes your brain for the better, too.

Common Calf Muscle Injuries

Forward action or running works the back of the leg more than the front. Did you know that for a runner, the calves lift the heel about 1,500 times per mile?

All that heavy lifting can cause a lot of lower leg injuries, such as calf pulls, shin splints, stress fractures and compartment syndrome, if underdeveloped. Also, anything from not being warmed up before exercise to doing a lot of hill work, over-stretching to overtraining can lead to calf strains. Depending on the severity of the injury, it could take some time to heal.

Some people complain about tight calf muscles. This can be triggered from overuse, trauma from an injury, nerve injuries or medical problems, like stroke or diabetes.

There also are concerns about those who store fat in the lower extremities, such as the calves. The problem is that this can cause blood clots, increasing the risk of heart disease.

Additionally, fat storage in the calves can be caused by the retention of lymphatic fluid in the legs due to a weak lymphatic system. If you feel this describes you, make sure to consult your doctor.

If the calf muscle is not in good working order some conditions can occur, such as:

Calf Muscle Strain

A calf muscle strain is when you stretch the calf muscle past its normal position, which can cause tearing of muscle fibers. Pain levels can be mild to severe. This is sometimes referred to as a pulled calf muscle or a calf muscle tear.

Calf Muscle Rupture

A calf muscle rupture is when the calf muscle has completely torn. This will likely result in severe pain. It can cause the inability to walk, and the muscle may even collapse into a lump that may be seen and felt through the skin.

Calf Muscle Myositis

Calf muscle myositis is the occurrence of inflammation of the calf muscle. Though rare, this can be caused by infections or autoimmune conditions. An autoimmune condition often attacks the tissues of the body by mistake.

Rhabdomyolysis

Rhabdomyolysis is when the muscle breaks down because of long-term pressure, over-exercising, drug side effects or a severe medical condition, but if this happens, it is likely to affect numerous muscles in the body. The characteristic triad of complaints in rhabdomyolysis is muscle pain, weakness and dark urine. The calf is one of the muscle groups often impacted when muscle pain is reported.

Calf Muscle Cancer

Calf muscle cancer isn’t very common, but the tumor may start in the calf muscle, known as sarcoma, or spread to the calf muscle from elsewhere, which is known as metastasis.

Best Approach to Getting Defined Calves

When you’re trying to cut body fat and get defined, diet is key. It’s no exception when we’re talking about the calves. 

Protein (hint, eat your protein foods!) is important for building muscle. When choosing carbs, the complex carbohydrates are the best, but a few simple carbs are still needed — just don’t over do it.

Healthy fats are the way to go, such as avocado and coconut oil, but use in moderation. Athletes may need a few more calories to build muscles, but regardless, careful monitoring of caloric intake is important if you want to build and see the calf muscle definition develop.

Some ways to get those awesome calves are at your fingertips. You can work with a personal trainer to determine the best exercises strategies for you.

Because some calf exercises may incorporate balancing on your toes, if you have stability issues, make sure to include a safe environment for exercising, and work out with a partner or coach. Additionally, proprioception exercises to build balance may be a great way to prevent injury for athletes. 

Calf raises are most popular when it comes to strengthening and building muscle in the calves. Calf raises are great because they help improve muscular strength, which, of course, will tone the area.

Nice perk? They can be done almost anywhere.

Sports rehab doctors and coaches often use calf raises to help with issues that arise from Achilles tendon injuries, such as an Achilles tear or tendonitis. When you have strong calf muscles, you reduce the risk of injury by reducing the stress placed in that area during activity. This, in turn, facilitates faster healing.

If you often engage in activity that requires balancing on one foot, such as a yoga position or jumping while playing basketball, strong calf muscles can offer a lot of stability.

Appropriate strength training techniques to help stimulate the correct muscles in your calves can help shape the calf muscles. Improving the flexibility of the ankle joints and varying your exercise moves to include all the ranges of motion may also be beneficial. Seated and standing calf raises and leg press machines can help develop stronger calves.

The post Best Calf Exercises & Stretches for Great Calves appeared first on Dr. Axe.

One of the best total-body exercises is the burpee. Burpees hit almost every muscle group while providing the aerobic and endurance benefits. It even helps strengthen the core. (It is important to note, though, the person has to be in proper shape to start off as this complex exercise can lead to injury if the exerciser isn’t ready for it.)

To be clear, this exercise is not an easy one. Spartan Races require participants to do 30 burpees in a row if they choose to skip an obstacle — clearly a form of punishment that goes to show just how tough the exercise is. Similarly, CrossFit often require a number of burpees to be performed for anyone arriving to class late.

Learn how to do a burpee, plus how it can incorporated into a workout.

What Is a Burpee?

The burpee, also known as a squat thrust, is a full-body plyometric exercise that incorporates four steps. The basic burpee is called a four-count burpee and starts in a standing position. From there, follow these four steps:

• Count 1: Drop into a squat position with your hands on the ground.
• Count 2: Kick your feet back, placing your body into a plank position, while keeping your arms extended.
• Count 3: Jump your feet back into the squat position.
• Count 4: Jump up from the squat position.

Often, the burpee is performed as a six-count bodyweight exercise where a push-up and an explosive jump is added to the mix, making this love/hate exercise even harder. The burpee is using so much energy that it is easy to get fatigued very quickly.

This is one of the reasons that it is often incorporated into a challenge of some sort, such as the 100 burpee workout. The fatigue happens very quickly due to the full body movements and, in some cases, up to three jumps not to mention the push-up if you decide to add that.

A physiologist named Royal H. Burpee developed the burpee in the 1930s by using it as a fitness test. He used the test as part of his doctoral thesis in applied physiology from Columbia University in 1940. It became popular when the United States Armed Services used it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits during World World II. It allowed the military to quickly review agility, coordination and strength.

Benefits

1. Burpees Are a Full-Body Workout

Most exercises work on specific muscles or muscle groups; whereas, the burpee pretty much works it all — core muscles, shoulders, chest, triceps and legs. You can even modify it to ensure full body work. For example, when in the plank position, throw in a tricep pushup, and you are now including the triceps while working legs, core and other upper body muscles.

Burpees are even considered a great butt exercise.

2. Burpees Add Strength

Let’s face it, burpees are tough and often fall into the dreaded exercise category. You love the results, but they are so hard, that getting through 10 of them is enough of a challenge for most. The thing to keep in mind is that just like anything else, practice offers more. At first, doing even three burpees may be as far as you can go, but if you stay with it, you will be able to do way more because you will get stronger. Those three burpees can turn into 13 in no time!

A study reported the evaluation of active women and their aerobic fitness and muscular endurance when performing whole-body weight high intensity training to include burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers or squat thrusts as compared to specific single interval exercises, such as leg presses. The data indicated that although improvements in cardiovascular fitness and strength are evident by both endurance and low volume interval-style training, “whole-body aerobic-resistance training imparted addition benefit in the form of improved skeletal muscle endurance.”

3. Burpees Can Be Done Almost Anywhere

Another great feature of burpees is that you can do them anywhere. There is no need for any additional equipment beyond body weight. That makes them the perfect exercise to do in most places, including your hotel room, so you have no excuse to keep up with your fitness, even when traveling.

A study of Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets investigated how the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) impacted fitness levels. Twenty-six college-aged participants completed four weeks of exercise training in just three days. This consisted of 60 minutes of general physical training such as whole-body calisthenics, incorporating “all-out” burpees.

The results showed sustained fitness even though the duration of the calisthenics was short. An exercise program that includes HIIT may be the best way to maintain fitness without access to equipment.

4. Burpees Build Muscle Definition

As said above, burpees are considered a great exercise for the quads, arms, chest, butt, hamstring and the core. With all that work, it is impossible to avoid getting a more defined and toned physique.

Proper form is key; you need to take your time while performing the exercise to make sure you avoid injury and reap the benefits of this amazing all-in-one exercise. Once you have mastered it, you can start to challenge yourself with increased speed.

5. Burpees Increase Endurance

There’s nothing like 10 burpees in a row to get your heart pounding. A study showed that cardiovascular benefits were gained with calisthenics as compared to cycling, indicating that both are beneficial in building endurance and cardiovascular strength. This happens because you are working numerous muscle groups all at one time. The demand for oxygen increases with this work.

Over time, you will be able to perform more of them because your body will have the ability to use this oxygen more efficiently. This is when speed combined with perfect form comes into play, making you stronger and more efficient at performing the burpee. This work will help your other fitness endeavors, too.

How to Do Burpees Exercise

Even though the burpee may sound intimidating, it is really simple. Here are the basic instructions for performing the classic burpee.

1. Start by positioning yourself in a standing position.
2. Then, drop down into a squat position placing your hands on the ground.
3. Next, jump your feet back in one quick motion resulting in the front plank position.
4. Return to the squat position in one quick movement.
5. Jump straight into the air as high as possible.

Now that you know the move, practice it a couple of times to make sure you have good form. Keep the abs tight in order to protect your lower back.

Burpee Modifications

• Instead of jumping the legs out to the plank position, you can walk them out to the position.
• If jumping is too much right now, just stand upright instead.

Once you are stronger, you will be able to perform the exercise consecutively based on the instructions of the workout. If you need a break, take 10 to 15 seconds, then resume. Over time, you will be able to do more at a faster pace.

Burpees Workouts

There are many ways to do a burpee workout. Have you heard of the Burpee Mile? This is where you do a burpee with a broad jump for the distance of a mile. There is the popular 100 Burpee Challenge that may intrigue you.

Not ready for that? How about trying one of these burpee workouts and work your way towards your next challenge.

First, before any of these workouts, do a warm-up, such as walking in place for a few minutes and then some jumping jacks. You can also combine these the burpee exercise with nearly any kind of workout. It goes particularly well with HIIT workouts or Tabata workouts.

1. Basic Burpee Workout — Beginner

Perform 3 sets of 6 burpees with a 30-second rest between each set.

2. Burpee Workout with Push-Up — Advanced

Perform 5 sets of 10 burpees with a 45-second rest between each set, but add a push-up when in plank position.

Challenge: Add 2 push-ups with a side knee tuck! To do this, once you are in plank position, perform a push-up. As you go down, bring your right knee to your right elbow. Repeat on the left side. Then, resume the burpee. This one is tough, but offers amazing core benefits.

3. Burpee Workout with Push-Up and High Knee Tuck Jump — Advanced

Perform the burpee as prescribed above, but when you stand up to do the jump, explode into a high knee tuck jump. To do this, as you explode upward into the jump, tuck the knees and try gently slapping your knees as a reminder to brings the knees up as high as you can.

4. Burpee Circuit Superset Workout

Perform 4 sets of 4 exercises for one minute each, with a 10-second rest between each exercise and a one-minute rest between each set. Do as many as you can during the interval.

Exercise 1: Mountain Climbers

Get in plank position and move the feet forwards and backwards, one at a time, in a fluid movement. Do not touch toes to the ground with the forward foot. Keep abs tight.

Exercise 2: Jumping Jacks

This is the classic jumping jack that you have known since childhood. Simply stand with feet hip-distance apart. Arms at your sides. Jump feet out to the sides while taking your arms out the side and up above your head.

Exercise 3: Burpees

Start by positioning yourself in a standing position. Then, drop down into a squat position placing your hands on the ground. Next, extend your feet back in one quick motion resulting in the front plank position. Return to the squat position in one quick movement. Jump straight into the air as high as possible. You can add the push-up and/or the high knee tuck jump as described above for a bigger challenge.

Exercise 4: Squats

Start with feet a little wider than hip-distance apart. Keep the upper body as upright as possible during this exercise. Go down into a squat as if sitting in a chair. Try to go down until the quads are parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Precautions

If you are suffering from lower back pain, you may want to avoid doing the burpees. While if performed correctly, it should not cause problems, it is an exercise that uses most of the body. Additionally, if you suffer from vertigo, this exercise may be difficult to perform. And again, it’s best to work with a fitness professional, at least at the beginning, to make sure your form is correct and you’re not exercising with muscle imbalances. This can also lead to injury.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of your fitness level, you can work your way up to performing the burpee as part of your workout and strength building. It is the perfect exercise to build muscles and endurance and can go with you just about anywhere.

The post How to Do a Burpee (and Why) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

If you knew that there was something completely free, totally accessible no matter where you are, and proven to benefit your sleep, metabolism, bones, immunity and mood — wouldn’t you be willing to give it a try? Then bodyweight exercises should be right in your wheelhouse.

Despite the fact that most health professionals recommend that strength training become an integral part of every adult’s fitness program in order to get the most benefits of exercise, most people still don’t take advantage of all that strength-building exercises have to offer. Because people usually cite reasons like a lack of time, no gym membership or not knowing how to use weight machines properly as obstacles to strength training, here’s an idea: Simply do bodyweight exercises instead!

Did you know that Americans lose on average more than six pounds of lean muscle mass for each decade of life? Some researchers estimate that our metabolic rate decreases 3 percent to 8 percent each decade from the age of 20, which can mostly be attributed to a natural decrease in muscle mass.

One of the best ways to maintain a strong metabolism and prevent your weight from creeping up? Work at building more muscle mass by challenging yourself to lift heavy things. Stressing your body with a heavy load makes it stronger, whether that load is a dumbbell workout, weights on a machine or your very own body.

What Are Bodyweight Exercises?

Bodyweight exercises is simply using your own weight to build strength. A push-up, a plank or the squat exercise are three classic bodyweight exercises. Bodyweight exercises are totally customizable, can be done anywhere and at any time, requires no equipment or gym membership, and takes less than 30 minutes.

If free weights, treadmills, group classes or exercise machines intimidate you, bodyweight exercises might be the very thing you need to break into a healthier routine.

Cardio (aerobic) exercises definitely have their benefits, but building muscle is equally important and often overlooked. Bodyweight exercises are a type of strength training, which helps rebuild muscle wear and tear that develops as we age. Numerous studies show that building lean muscle mass is also great for your heart, blood vessels, lungs, hormone production and even brain activity.

Another little-known benefit of bodyweight exercises and other forms of strength training is that they help reverse the negative effects that chronic dieting, or “yo-yo dieting,” can have on the body. You’re probably thinking, “Aren’t diets supposed to help improve your body composition?” Supposed to, yes, but consider this: Someone who has been dieting for years loses muscle tissue from both the process of aging and from a low-calorie diet that doesn’t supply enough nutrients to muscles to help them stay strong. Muscle is critical for maintaining a healthy weight because it’s actually metabolically active tissue, requiring more calories than fat just to be sustained.

How much strength training do you need to do each week? Most authorities recommend:

• Performing strength-training exercises at least two to three times per week. Each should be a “full-body workout” ideally, which uses multiple big muscle groups (like your back, legs, chest and core) to get the most bang for your buck.
• For each strength workout, aim to do eight to 10 different exercises, varying the muscles that each one targets. Each exercise is done in one set, and within each set you should perform eight to 12 reps.
• After completing your strength workouts, make sure to also stretch at least two to three days a week to prevent injuries and increase range of motion, flexibility and recovery time.

Benefits

Whether or not weight loss, or even weight gain, is your primary goal, keep in mind that bodyweight exercises have benefits that are far beyond just improving your appearance. Here are several ways that doing bodyweight exercises can help you maintain better cognitive, immune, cardiovascular and hormonal health:

1. Help Build and Maintain Lean Muscle Mass

As you’ve learned, building strength is crucial for maintaining a strong metabolism as you age, since it increases lean muscle mass that naturally declines as someone gets older. Muscle mass plays a significant role in maintaining a healthy weight and general metabolic functions — for example, helping with insulin sensitivity, thyroid function and hormonal balance. Generally the more lean muscle you hold on your frame, the higher your basal metabolic rate is, which means you need more calories just to maintain your weight on any given day.

Ever notice that muscular athletes can get away with eating a lot? It’s not just that they’re training for many hours a day; muscles also burn more calories than fat does. When you build more muscle, you burn more fat even when you’re at rest or simply sleeping! Bodyweight exercises can also result in increased growth hormone production. Growth hormones are often referred to as our natural fountains of youth, because they’re what help us retain lean body mass and fat-burning abilities.

Finally, if you simply enjoy cardio workouts like running or swimming more than strength exercises, here’s some good news: Lifting weights of any kind gives you enhanced strength and performance, which provides more power for all sorts of exercises. For example, building strength in the back or core comes in handy when you’re running, while strengthening the shoulders is useful for swimming.

2. Improve Heart Health

Exercise of any kind causes the heart to pump blood stronger and more effectively, which reduces blood pressure levels naturally and improves circulation. The heart is strengthened just like any other muscle when it’s routinely put under more pressure, so it adapts by gaining the ability to do its job better.

Strength-training exercises are also tied to healthier blood cholesterol levels and less risk for a heart attack or stroke. In fact, regular strength-building exercise is tied to increased longevity in general — even protection from cancer — since it prevents muscles from wasting and down regulation in the metabolism. Even patients recovering from heart attacks or heart disease are now advised to do weekly dynamic resistance exercises to build back heart strength and endurance safely.

3. Reduce Risk for Diabetes

Exercise can also fight diabetes since it helps with removal of glucose (sugar) from the blood, ushering the glucose into your muscles to be as stored as glycogen and used for energy at a later time. Another benefit of this process is that it prevents a high level of glycation end products from accumulating in the bloodstream, which over time can damage blood vessels, organs and tissues.

4. Improve Your Mood and Fights Depression

Some people refer to exercise as the body’s natural Prozac, since it biologically reduces stress and is tied to improvements in self-esteem, confidence, the ability to problem solve, better sleep and emotional health. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, chemicals that give you a natural high and lift your mood, helping to fight depression and improve low energy levels.

5. Help Maintain Cognitive Function

Strength training is often tied to longevity and a reduction in DNA damage due to the anti-aging effects of muscle mass. The hormone BDNF, which is stimulated by exercise, helps brain cells regenerate even as someone becomes older. Exercise also lowers oxidative stress and inflammation, which are tied to cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and so on.

6. Improve Health of Joints and Bones

Increasing muscle mass offers protection of joints and bones, since stronger muscles mean that you rely less on your joints to move around. Exercising has been shown to help improve pain in the back, ankles, knees and hips, while also increasing bone strength and density.

Weight-bearing exercises increase your body’s fortification of bone reserves and protect your skeletal frame, which is crucial for preventing fractures, falls and bone loss into older age (especially for women who are at a higher risk for osteoporosis).

Bodyweight Exercise Workout

Now that you know all the benefits of bodyweight exercises, let’s look at how you can get started. Overall, the idea is for you to integrate exercises that build strength all over, ideally by doing moves that use more than one body part (like push-ups, squats or burpees). Many of these moves are similar to calisthenics.

Keep thing simple at first and and time-efficient, since the more convenient your exercise routine is, the more likely you are to stick with it. That’s one of the top exercise hacks there is.

Try creating your own circuit workout by combining 5–10 different bodyweight exercises below. Each can be done one after the other for the best results, without much rest in between. This gets your heart rate up quickly and gives you the benefits of a cardio workout at the same time.

After you go through a circuit of all 5–10 exercises, you can repeat the entire circuit again if you’re physically fit enough to so. If not, this is simply something to work toward. Do bodyweight exercise circuits 3–4 times per week, taking rest days in between (or alternating with cardio) to give your body time for proper muscle recovery.

Bodyweight exercises to try include:

• sit-ups
• pull-ups
• push-ups
• lunges
• squats
• burpees
• tuck-jumps
• mountain climbers
• plank
• wall-sits
• chair pose
• limb-raises
• “supermans”
• tricep dips
• reverse fly
• bicycles

In addition, many butt workouts include bodyweight exercises such as the donkey kick. How do you know how many repetitions you should do? Do what feels right and always focus on form, while listening to your muscles for feedback. Usually 12–20 is a good number of reps to aim for, but it depends on your abilities and level of fitness.

Begin with light loads and slow speed to get proper form down, then increase difficulty if you can maintain proper form by doing more reps or performing the exercise at a quicker speed. Your muscles should be fatigued at the end but not in complete pain, strained or injured.

To keep things interesting, you might want to also invest in some simple at-home tools that make incorporating bodyweight or strength exercises throughout the day easier than ever:

• a pull-up bar (to hook onto a door at home)
• basic free weights or dumbbells
• a yoga mat
• stability ball
• BOSU ball

Adding HIIT Bodyweight Workouts

Instead of doing the same number of bodyweight exercise sets/reps, the same duration or a consistent level of intensity each time, try to keep challenging yourself. Kicking it up a notch and performing strength training at a higher intensity has numerous benefits.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT workouts) isn’t just for cardio; it can also take the benefits of bodyweight exercises to the next level. And just like doing slower circuit workouts, you can practice bodyweight training at home.

What qualities as high-intensity? During the “intense” interval you want to reach around 85 percent of maximum heart rate, which means you’ll be breathing heavily for a short, but difficult, period. Between intense intervals of performing reps very quickly, which should last about 30–60 seconds, take the same amount of time to rest.

Above 85 percent of your max heart rate is the anaerobic threshold, or the point at which your body starts experiencing an afterburn effect that causes you to burn calories long after the workout is over. At this point you should be sweating and really feeling the burn, but it’s well worth it — HIIT takes a shorter amount of time and has enormous health benefits relative to traditional cardio or circuit training workouts.

Final Thoughts

While cardio has its benefits, nothing beats strength training for long-term weight management. And when it comes to strength training, bodyweight exercises are the safest, most convenient and least expensive workouts to do.

Not only do they use your own bodyweight to work out, but they build muscle that burns fat long after your workout is done. Bodyweight workouts are more attractive to people who find weight machines or the gym intimidating or too costly. And their benefits include more than just building lean muscle mass — which is the main, most impressive benefit, of course.

Bodyweight exercises also improve heart health, prevent and treat diabetes, improve your mood, help maintain cognitive function, and strengthen joints and bones. So stop making excuses and start your strength training today with bodyweight exercises! You’ll feel better, look better and become healthier overall!

The post Bodyweight Exercises to Build Strength at Home appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Inner thigh fat is a common concern among women, and many wonder what inner thigh exercises are out there to work on this common trouble area. Thinner thighs may be on your mind, too, thanks in part to the continual popularity of skinny jeans. This fashion trend is continues to ignite the appeal of smaller thighs, sometimes in an unhealthy way. I’m talking specifically about the focus on the thigh gap, the space some women have between the inner thighs when standing with their knees touching.

Unfortunately, some women are overtraining — going far beyond cardio workouts and inner thigh workouts to achieve the sought-after look. Media reports remind us that teens and young women sometimes go to extremes — like eating disorders and surgery — to achieve the thigh gap.

Sure, there are some benefits of having smaller thighs. Healthy body-fat loss can make crossing your legs more comfortable, in addition to increasing your confidence when wearing tighter clothing. But other than preventing chafing, having a thigh gap is not of major importance. In fact, most body types don’t allow for a thigh gap; that’s mostly genetic.

The great news is getting rid of excess body fat does provide you with a fitter, healthier body. Exercise is a great way to cut unhealthy body fat and tone your thighs, particularly these inner thigh exercises designed to work on healthier, fitter thighs.

What Are the Inner Thigh Muscles?

The thigh is made up of several muscle groups that all work together with your hip and lower leg to produce movement. Because all muscles groups are connected by nerves, blood vessels and connective tissues called fascia, they’re used in conjunction to help you move through your daily activities. For example, if one part of your thigh is weak or damaged, it could impact how your hip flexors, torso, shoulders and lower legs move.

Your thigh muscles are connected by layers of fascia that connect to the muscles in your hip, back and lower leg. These muscles work with the hip to produce your ability to walk, run, climb, and stabilize your leg and pelvis when you stand and move. Thigh muscles also work together to provide power, strength and speed when you perform certain activities like kicking a ball or lifting something from a squat position.

The thighs are made up of four different muscle groups:

• The quadriceps are made up of four primary muscles that are located on the front of your thighs.
• The hamstrings are made up of three primary muscles and found on the back of the thighs.
• The adductors include two primary muscles and make up the inner thighs.
• The abductors consist of two primary muscles located on the outer thighs and butt.

To get the best inner thigh workout, it’s important to target all of these muscle groups. You can focus on these muscles three to four days per week, preferably skipping a day before you do the workout again so you provide enough muscle recovery time for your thigh muscles.

Keep in mind that spot training can help, but it needs to be combined with some cardio and a healthy diet to be effective.

Truth About the Thigh Gap

Having a thigh gap has become synonymous with being skinny and fit. Sadly, it’s also become synonymous with eating disorders. Proof of the craze is apparent if you track what people are looking for online: The phrase “thigh gap workout” is a highly searched term. To be clear, just because someone has a thigh gap doesn’t mean that person has an eating disorder. But it’s equally important to understand that natural thigh gaps are most often genetic.

The structure of your bones and body shape determine whether it’s even physically possible to have a thigh gap. The width of your hips and the angle of your pelvic bones are traits that affect the shape of the thighs. This occurs regardless of the fat you may have on your body. It makes sense that people with narrower pelvises may have more closely set leg bones. This would close the gap — something that cannot be changed with diet and exercise.

Another factor determining the space between the thighs is your body type. If you’re someone who struggles to gain weight, then you likely have a larger gap between the thighs compared to someone with a higher body fat-to-muscle ratio.

Though many people are making unhealthy choices to acquire a thigh gap, such as surgery or eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia nervosa, the best thing you can do is to commit to a consistent exercise routine, including inner thigh exercises, combined with a healthy diet.

Remember that thigh gaps are just a trend. There isn’t a specific thigh gap workout, but it’s completely possible to have a great workout for thinner thighs that will produce results. You just need to focus on being healthy and staying fit, and you will have great thighs and a healthy figure.

Best Inner Thigh Workout

To get the best inner thigh muscles, aim for 20 to 30 minutes of cardio five to six times per week, combined with this great inner thigh workout routine. You can also try incorporating some of our leg workouts for women or butt workouts to mix things up.

Do the following exercise circuit for one minute per exercise for a total of three to four rounds. Rest for 15 seconds between each exercise and for one minute between each round.

1. Leg Lifts with Stability Ball

Lie on your side on the floor. If this is uncomfortable, bend your bottom elbow and rest your head on your hand. Place a large exercise ball in between your feet, and slowly lift the ball up toward the ceiling using only your hips and butt. Return to the start position without touching the floor with your feet. That makes one repetition. Once you have completed one minute on one side, switch to the other side.

2. Sumo Squat

To perform the sumo squat, stand with your feet wide apart and toes pointed out at about 10 and 2 o’clock. This exercise can be done with or without weights. Regardless, hold your weight (or just your hands) in front of you at about chin level. Maintain good form by keeping your upper body in an upright position. Abs are tight.

Bend at the knees, pushing your butt back while squatting as if sitting in a chair, while holding your hands or weight in front of you (but close to the body). Place your weight onto your heels. If you are able, squat to where your thighs are at a 90-degree angle to the floor, like a sumo wrestler. If not, just go about halfway. Over time, you will get stronger and be able to perform a full-range, deep squat.

If you choose to hold weight while performing this exercise, select a weight that provides a little challenge but doesn’t compromise your form. Make sure you’re not bending over while performing this exercise. It’s important that you squat down while keeping the upper body as erect as possible.

3. Hamstrings Curls with Stability Ball

Lie on your back on your mat, arms by your side. Place the ball near your feet, and then place your heels on top of the ball. Raise your hips as high as you can. Once you’re stable, begin curling the feet and ball in toward your butt, then return to starting position, keeping the hips raised the entire time. You will feel this in your hamstrings.

4. Lateral Lunges

Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, weights in hands down by your sides (weights are optional). Step wide to the right and lunge down toward the floor, keeping your upper body as upright as possible during this movement.

Try to touch the floor with your weights. The wider you step, the easier it is to touch the floor; however, be careful  as it may take time to gain the strength in the thighs for the wider step. Next, push off of the floor and return to the starting position. From there, repeat the exercise to the other side. In a continuous movement, continue lunging from side to side.

5. Side-to-Side Walk with Elastic Band

Place an elastic resistance band around your ankles. If you use an exercise tube, choose one that is a challenge, and place the tube underneath your feet. Grab the handles and cross them in front, arms down.

Begin by walking to the right with the widest step possible and repeat with four more steps to the right. Next, walk left four times. Repeat in a continuous, fluid movement.

Extra Tips to Trim the Inner Thighs

There are three things to consider if you want to achieve shapely, toned thighs:

1. What Are You Eating?

Diet is very important. Though protein powders can be useful in building muscle, it’s important to eat a balanced macronutrient diet of healthy carbs, lean protein and good fats. Studies show that by consuming healthy fats, but less fat overall, you can shed body fat. This fat loss helps reveal the toned muscles that lie beneath. Without losing the fat, you simply will not be able to see those toned thighs.

Recent studies show that by restricting dietary fat, participants lost 68 percent more body fat compared to the group cutting the same number of carbohydrate calories. Carb restriction also provided weight loss, but interestingly, participants in the fat-restriction group lost even more body fat. “These findings counter the theory that body fat loss necessarily requires decreasing insulin, thereby increasing the release of stored fat from fat tissue and increasing the amount of fat burned by the body.”

2. Are You Toning Your Muscles?

Certain types of exercises tone your thighs more than others. There are numerous inner thigh exercises and outer thigh workouts, but combining them, such as in the workout above, can provide great overall tone in your thighs. Adding resistance band exercises or a fuller range of motion can help build stronger muscles, which can also tone your thighs.

One study in particular focused on the squat exercise. It showed that when performing an unrestricted squat exercise through a full range of motion, it’s far more effective to help stimulate adaptations in the lower extremity musculature than restricted squats. Though it may take time, working toward performing exercises in the full range of motion can provide the benefits of exercise you’re looking to achieve.

3. Are You Staying Active on a Regular Basis?

There are activities that are far more effective than others in helping you maintain lean thighs. Taking a brisk walk is great. Snow skiing, water skiing and cycling/spinning are great, too, because they are great exercises for the quads and hamstrings.

Running, whether slow or fast, can produce some lean muscle in the thigh area. Burst training and HIIT workouts or classes are excellent allies in burning inner thigh fat. Barre workout classes are fantastic for toning those deep, underlying muscles, while yoga does wonders for strengthening and toning. Have you ever noticed the beautifully toned thighs of a dancer? All the more reason to take some dance lessons with your spouse or take up a class at the gym.

Precautions

When beginning any new exercises routine, it’s common to feel sore a day or two following the workout. Consider an Epsom salt bath to help work out the soreness. Take it slow. Also, consult with your doctor, especially if you take any medications.

Final Thoughts

The thigh gap is the space some women have between their thighs when standing up straight with their knees together. It’s become somewhat of a desired look, but the truth is most body types don’t allow for this. Unfortunately, the global obsession with the tight gap is causing some women to turn to surgery and eating disorders.

Instead of focusing on the thigh gap, use proven inner thigh exercises focusing on the four main muscle groups of the thigh, along with a healthy diet lower in fat (don’t forget to include some good fats, though), to cut excess body fat and build a stronger, more functional body. Strengthening your thighs, in particular, will help you move more efficiently in your daily activities, too.

So keep the following in mind:

• Some of the best inner thigh exercises include leg lifts with a stability ball, sumo squats, hamstrings curls with a stability ball, lateral lunges and side-to-side walks with an elastic band.
• There are three things to consider if you want to achieve shapely, toned thighs: What are you eating? Are you toning your muscles? Are you staying active on a regular basis?

Implement these inner thigh exercises, combined with a healthy diet, and you’re sure to get fitter, stronger thighs.

The post Inner Thigh Workout: Best Exercises & Tips appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Tapping into the power of plank exercise variations is one of the best ways to strengthen your core and work towards more defined abs. While the plank might be a relatively simple exercise to describe — it’s basically a static push-up — this doesn’t mean that holding planks (or “planking”) is easy to execute. And it doesn’t take long to realize that the longer you plank, the tougher this exercise quickly becomes.

That being said, increasing the amount of time you can hold a plank, or the amount of plank repetitions you complete within a given time, is key if you want to build real strength in your core.

Can you already hold a plank for a minute or two? Then it’s time to introduce some plank exercise variations into your routine to increase the challenge and target different parts of your core. But before moving on to plank exercise variations, make sure you’ve built up a little core strength and know how to do a plank with proper form.

What Is a Plank?

The definition of a plank is as an isometric exercise that involves maintaining a flat back in a position similar to a push-up in order to strengthen the core. It’s also considered one of the top bodyweight exercises.

The goal is to hold a plank with proper form for the maximum possible time, which challenges multiple muscles in the core, including the rectus abdominis (better known as the “abs”), in addition to muscles in the arms, butt and legs. It’s an exercise often employed in ab workouts.

How do planks help create a flat stomach? The great thing about doing plank exercises is that they use your own body weight for resistance. This means you don’t need weights, bands or any other equipment to do them (although some plank exercise variations use things like a wall, Boso ball or incline bench t0 challenge different muscles).

There’s different theories as to when people started first performing planks. There’s also some controversy over who actually “inventing” the planking exercise.

Some credit Joseph Pilates, the man behind the Pilates school of training that emerged in the 1920s. Dr. Stuart McGill, of the University of Waterloo in Canada, published extensive work focusing on lower and general back pain exercises. He is also considered another “influential voice” involved in making the plank popular.

What Muscles Do Planks Work?

Planks are most well-known for building core strength, but they actually target other muscles, too. Planks engage muscles including:

• Transversus abdominis (considered the deep foundation of your abs)
• Rectus abdominis
• Lumbar erector spinae
• Obliques (internal and external)
• Serratus anterior (the top part of your core that connects to the shoulders)
• Muscles in your shoulders, arms and chest including the trapezius (or traps), the rhomboids, rotator cuff, pectorals (pecs) and the anterior, medial and posterior deltoid muscles (delts)
• Muscles in your butt and legs including the gluteus maximus (glutes), quadriceps (quads), gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles (abductors)
• The adductor muscles of the hip

Regular Plank vs. Side Plank

While in a “front plank,” your hands are placed directly under your shoulders with the legs straight out behind you. The back is flat and belly drawn in. This type of plank is also sometimes called a front hold or abdominal bridge (or kumbhakasana in yoga) . Your body remains perpendicular to the ground, with your head and stomach facing down, but your torso remains elevated off of the ground.

There are also other slightly different plank variations, including forearm planks, side planks, one-legged planks and others that are described more below.

In a side plank, you keep only one hand or elbow on the ground while facing your whole body to the side, rather than pointing your belly button down at the ground. Side planks target your obliques (side core muscles). Your oblique muscles help you to bend sideways and twist your waist. They also help draw in your waist and stomach like a corset.

Benefits

What are the benefits of doing planks? Below are some of the top reasons to add plank exercises to your workout routine:

1. Builds Deep Core Strength

Plank exercises are some of the best for building core stability and strength. They target more than the superficial “ab muscles.” While crunches and sit-ups are effective for targeting certain ab muscles, plank variations can also build strength in the “deep core” muscles, including the obliques, transverse abdominis and so on.

Core strength is protective against strains, overuse injuries tied to muscle compensations, poor posture, instability and more.

2. Help with Balance and Posture

A strong core helps with coordination, balance, daily functioning and general athletic/physical performance. And if you work on moving through different plank variations in a sequence, you’ll also be improving your range of motion.

Building core strength is also crucial for your posture. The core muscles work with the pelvic, glute and hip muscles to stabilize the body and hold you upright with good posture, preventing back pain and other aches.

3. Protect Your Lower Back and Help Prevent Injuries

Not only will planks help to get rid of back fat, they will also reduce the risk of back pain. Experts agree that a weak, unstable core contributes to injuries like low back pain, sciatica, poor balance, running injuries and more.

This is why core exercises, including plank variations, are often used among athletes as a means of enhancing performance and reducing risk for injury.

4. Help With Focus and Breathing

When you’re holding plank position it’s important to keep breathing, even while engaging your core. This helps you to keep going and allows you to push through burning or fatigued muscles.

Plank Exercises

The best plank exercises include the following:

Front Planks (best for beginners)

First work on nailing front planks before moving on to to other plank exercise variations. Hold your abs in tight and lift your hips high enough so that your back is flat like a tabletop. Avoid letting your hips droop down or stick too far up.

A basic plank variation of the front plank is a “low plank,” in which you place your forearms on the ground under your shoulders rather than holding yourself up on your hands.

Plank with Leg Lifts

Start in low plank position, resting on your forearms. Raise your right leg while keeping it straight and hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Drop your right foot to the ground and switch sides, lifting your left leg and holding. When you lift your leg, make sure that your lower back doesn’t arch.

Another option is to move more quickly between sides, alternating legs for a total of one minute while you hold. This is considered a great butt exercise.

Knee-In Planks

Start in a front plank with your hands under your shoulders. Keep your core engaged and chest up, your neck neutral, inline with your spine. Bend one leg and bring your knee all the way up towards your chest, then extend your leg back out and switch sides. You can hold each leg in for about 5 to 10 seconds, or alternate sides more quickly for about 1 minute.

If you move slowly with control, you’ll actually engage your abs more and feel your core really working. Another option is to bring your knee in, then rotate your knee and hip under you and towards the ground so that you work your oblique muscles.

Plank with Hip Kicks

Start on your forearms in a low plank. Lift one arm off the ground and extend it out in front of you, which forces you to engage your core to retain balance.

If you’re more advanced, extend one arm out and at the same time lift the opposite leg. Try not to let your hips rock as you focus on keeping them square with the ground. Repeat sides for about one minute.

Plank Slides aka Roll-Out Planks

Use a towel or something slippery that you can slide your feet on the floor. Start in a low plank on your forearms. Place your feet on the towel and gently rock back and forth while keeping your elbows/forearms down. Movement should come from your shoulders as you push yourself back, keeping your core engaged, and then slide forward.

The further you extend back in this plank, the harder it will be to slide forward. Work toward completing these plank slides for about one minute, or as long as you can while maintaining good form.

Side Plank Exercises

Side planks can be performed with either your hand or elbow down, depending on your strength and what feels better for your wrists. You will only have one hand/elbow on the ground at a time placed right under your shoulder. Face towards the side and step your legs out straight so your body is in one line.

Either stack your feet, touching heel to heel, or bring one foot in front of the other. Keep your legs straight and your hips lifted high towards the ceiling. Hold for 30 seconds or up to one minute or longer if possible.

After completing one side, roll over and do a side plank on the other side. If this feels easy for you, make it more challenging by dropping your hips to hover above the ground, then lifting them back up.

Plank Workout

How long should you be able to hold a plank? And how many sets of planks should you do a day?

• This depends on your current fitness level. A good goal to aim for is to work your way up to holding a plank (or completing other plank exercise variations) for a minute, 90 seconds and eventually two minutes.
• If you’re a beginner, you can start with 20 to 30 second holds/repetitions in a standard front plank or forearm plank.
• Once you can steadily hold a plank for about one minute, you’re definitely ready to add in some plank exercise variations.
• If need be, drop your knees to the ground in a plank to take a break and relieve pressure in your hands/wrist.

One of the most effective ways to strengthen your core, while also getting a full-body workout, is to do plank workouts using the Tabata method of exercise. This involves doing 20 seconds of high-intensity work, followed by a 10 second break, then repeating.

Try planking for about 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of taking a break, and then repeat 1 to 3 more times.

Other than planks and side planks, here are additional core exercises to work into your routine:

1. V-ups — Like crunches performed on your back with your legs lifted off the ground
2. Bicycles — Like crunches performed on your back while you twist and lift your elbow to your opposite knee
3. Suitcases — Keep your back on the ground and legs extended in front of you. Crunch in as you lift your shoulders off the ground and bend your legs, bringing your knees towards your face using your core muscles

If you want to build strength in not just your core, but also throughout your body, try a routine where you alternate between planking and sets of push-ups, squats, sit-ups and burpees. You can complete each exercise for about one minute using a timer, and complete 2 to 3 sets in total.

Proper Plank Technique

In order to safely and effective strengthen your core, it’s important to properly learn how to do a plank. Here’s how to do a plank so that you get the most results:

• Proper plank form means that your core will remain engaged. Your back should remain straight and even the whole time, like a tabletop.
• Make sure your elbows are directly under your shoulders and line your wrists up with your elbows as you spread your hands.
• Keep your chest lifted and hips even with your back. Don’t allow your butt to move too far up so that it forms a peak. And don’t let your lower back sag down as your stomach drops. Focus on squeezing your abs in tight but make sure you’re still breathing. You also want to engage your thighs so your legs are working.
• It helps to look slightly in front of you while you hold planks so that your shoulder blades slide back slightly and your neck stays long.

Precautions

Planks are safe for most people to do, assuming they can hold themselves up. However, planks during pregnancy are controversial, since some feel that planking puts too much pressure on the abs and may contribute to abdominal separation (called diastasis recti).

If planks cause you pain, it’s best to build strength in other ways before attempting them, since planks with bad form might worsen issues like low back pain.

Final Thoughts

The post How to Do a Plank Exercise & Variations for a Strong Core appeared first on Dr. Axe.

It is very common for women to dislike the shape of their legs, and you will often hear women say, “These are not the legs I want!” But that doesn’t mean you cannot have the legs you want. There are some great exercises and activities that you can incorporate into your daily life that will completely transform your legs — making them beautifully toned, lean and strong — and are considered the best leg workouts for women.

However, it’s important to understand that while performing some key exercises on a consistent basis will help you get those legs fit and beach-ready, only when combined with a healthy diet will such a transformation happen, especially if you seek to keep those legs in great shape long-term.

Here is an exercise program to help you reshape your legs through proper exercise. The great news is that with this program, you will gain other key benefits, such as toning other parts of your body, feeling healthier, starting to do more activities, having more confidence and simply looking great.

Best Technique

Choosing the right exercises is part of finding the best leg workouts for women, but this plan works really well when you engage the leg muscles to include the inner thighs (try our inner thigh workout), outer thighs and butt while focusing on your core muscles. When you engage all of these muscles, you will work them more efficiently — which will help develop leaner legs, and more overall fitness.

The best way to accomplish this? Contract the muscles while performing the exercises as well as incorporating some resistance.

Resistance training, even for older adults, can greatly benefit and add more muscle tone in addition to using your own bodyweight. Research indicates that using weight over a 16-week period significantly improved the muscle development in the legs, as well as the upper body of the subjects tested.

While some of these exercises suggest weights, keep in mind that you can create your own resistance, where there is constant tension during the lift known as isotonic exercises, without using any weight at all. Regardless, it may take time to gain the proper strength to perform the exercises correctly with added weight. Be patient. With consistency and a good diet, you will experience positive results that you can maintain for the rest of your life!

Best Leg Workout for Women

Here is a workout that you can do at home, which imports bodyweight exercises, or at the gym. Many of these leg exercises double as excellent butt workouts and some also work the calf muscles.

Start by doing these exercises 3 times per week, every other day for 4 weeks. For advanced exercisers, you can do the routine 4 times per week. If you can, incorporate about 15–20 minutes of one of the cardio workouts. This combined with a healthy diet will have your legs ready for summer!

Important Tips

1. If you are choosing to hold weights while performing some of these exercises, make sure to select weights that provide a little challenge, but that do not cause you to have poor form. If your form is suffering in any way, do not use weights until you are strong enough to perform the exercises with proper form because it may cause injury.
2. Proper form greatly affects the efficiency and results that you want. Going too fast may result in poor form as well. Take it slow until you feel comfortable, then you can try other options.
3. Engage as many muscles as possible while performing each exercise. To do this, focus on those muscles and contract them as you create the movement. This will make these exercises very effective!
4. If you are new to these exercises or any exercise program, consult your doctor and definitely take it slow.
5. As with any program, be patient! You will achieve results with consistency and a good diet. This is about long-term results, not quick fad diets and exercises.
6. Though these are common and regarded as very effective exercises, if you notice that you are struggling to breathe or even a slight pain of any sort, stop immediately and consult your doctor.

What You Will Need

• You can use your own bodyweight for all of these exercises; however, if you have weights or are at the gym, you can grab a set of light weights, medium weights, and for advanced exercisers, heavy weights.
• A timer or you can simply count 1001, 1002 and so on.
• A mat or towel.

Leg Exercises

Perform each exercise for 1 minute. Then, take a 15-second break between each exercise. Once you have completed one round, rest for 1 minute and repeat the round. For beginners, do a total of 2 rounds and for advanced exercisers, do 3–4 rounds.

Make sure to drink plenty of water and use controlled breathing.

1. Butt Lifter and Hamstring Toner

Get on all fours. Keep a flat back, meaning do not arch your back in either direction but rather keep it flat while engaging your abdominals. Hold one medium-to-heavy weight behind the your right knee by squeezing the lower leg towards your butt. Remember to choose the weight that is best for you, giving you a little bit of a challenge. Now, lift the leg to a 90-degree angle to the floor and bring it back down to the starting position, but without stopping. Continue with the lifting and lowering motion for 20 repetitions, then repeat on the other leg.

2. Squats

Stand with feet about hip-distance apart. If you are choosing to hold weight while performing this exercise, select a weight that provide a little challenge, but that does not cause you to have poor form.

Hold your weight, such as one heavy weight, or just your hands if you are choosing no weight, at your chest.

For good form, keep your upper body as upright as possible. Then, bend at the knees, pushing your butt back while squatting as if sitting in a chair. If you are able to go to where your thighs are at a 90-degree angle to the floor, that’s great. If not, just go about halfway. Over time, you will get stronger and be able to perform a deep squat.

(Also try the TRX squat in a TRX workout.)

3. Side Lunges

Stand with feet hip-distance apart, weights in hands down at sides. Step to the right and lunge down towards the floor, keeping your upper body as upright as possible during this movement. Then push off from the floor and back to the starting position. From there, repeat the exercise to the other side. Perform a total of 25 (1 on each side equals 1 rep).

4. Wall Sit

This is a great quad exercise and one of my favorites for strengthening and toning those thigh muscles. Find a sturdy wall. You can hold a weight in your hands if you want more of  challenge. Position your body into a squat position against the wall. Try to lower down so that the quads are parallel to the floor. Hold the position. If you struggle to push through the burn, come out of the position, shake your legs out for 5 seconds and then return to the position to complete the minute. Hang in there!

5. Bridge

This is a fantastic exercise for toning the hamstrings and butt while getting the core involved. Lie on the your back on the floor. Place your feet hip-distance apart with the knees up and the heels close to your butt on the floor. If you want a challenge, hold a heavy weight on your lower ab area to add more resistance. Begin raising the hips while pushing off with your heels. Push the hips up as high as you can. Hold it for 3–4 seconds, then release back to the starting position. If you can, never allow the butt to completely rest on the floor until the entire 60 seconds has been completed.

Want a double-challenge? Advanced exercisers can surely take this one! Simply do the same movement, but with one leg raised in the air for the entire 60 seconds. Then repeat with the other leg in the air for another minute. Feel that burn and see those legs get shapely and beach-ready!

6. Single-Leg Deadlift

This one works your butt and entire leg while working your core because it requires stability. Again, you can go without any weights, or you can grab medium-to-heavy weights. Stand with feet hip-distance apart. Knees are slightly bent. Position your hands or weights down in front of your thighs. Slowly bend at the waist, keeping your chest proud while sticking your butt back. Keep the back flat and keep your head aligned with the back as your go down to a 90-degree angle (or close to it) while lifting one leg. Do one minute on one leg, then switch.

For beginners, try this keeping both legs planted on the ground first. Once you have mastered this move, you can try doing the single-leg deadlift.

7. Forward and Backward Lunge Combination

You probably have done forward lunges, and you have done backward lunges … but have you done them as one combined move? This is great because it engages many muscles at the same time, all while working the butt and thighs!

You can use weights or no weights, holding hands down at sides. Stand with feet hip-distance apart. Starting with one side, take a big step forward so that your front leg is far enough in front of you to allow you to lower into a full lunge at a 90-degree angle. As you do this, push the hips forward. Then, as you rise back up, push off with your heel and step back with the same leg into the same position. Repeat 15 times on each leg.

If you are having trouble with balance, try staring at a spot in the room that is not moving while performing the exercise. It really helps with balance and focus. Also, consider dropping the weights if it’s too difficult to maintain good posture.

Bonus Leg Toning Workout

Bonus Cardio Leg Workouts

As noted, incorporate 15–20 minutes of cardio 3–4 times per week for added results. You can also do it before or after your sexy leg workout. A couple of these may require equipment at the gym, but we have included two suggestions that do not.

Cycling

Warm up for 5 minutes, then do 45 seconds of fast cycling with moderate resistance followed by 15 seconds of easy cycling. Repeat 10 times. Cool down for 5 minutes. If you are advanced, you may want to try a cycle class at your gym.

Brisk Walking

Simply put, you can walk to lose weight, but you need to get your heart rate up and strolling does not do that. Walk easy for about 2–3 minutes, then move into a brisk walk for the duration of the workout. Cool down with about 2 minutes of easy walking.

Walk/Run

Walk easy for about 2–3 minutes. Now that you are warmed up, move into a brisk walk for 1 minute, then run for one minute. Alternate this activity for the completion of the workout. Cooldown down with about 2 minutes of easy walking.

Elliptical

Warm up for 2–3 minutes with easy resistance. Then set the resistance at a moderate-to-hard level. The resistance should be challenging, feeling like you are going up a hill. Move into intervals of work for 2 minutes, then go easy for 30 seconds, using an easy resistance. Recover then repeat for the rest of the workout. Warm down with 2–3 minutes of easy movement and resistance.

Again, please consult your doctor if you have any questions about starting a new problem. If you are on medication or have a heart condition, take time to make sure it’s okay for you to perform these exercises. If you are new, take it slow and work your way into the full program.

Best Activities for Great Legs

Let’s finish with learning about some great things you can do on a regular basis, either on your own or with your family, that can tone your legs and even lift your butt while keeping you fit and active. If you can incorporate this into your weekly routine, you will really see the benefits.

Here are my top 11 favorite activities for great legs for women:

1. Walking
2. Running
3. Cycling
4. Barre Workouts
5. Burst Training
6. Bootcamp
7. Yoga
8. Hiking
9. Surfing
10. Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP)
11. Jumping jacks
12. Burpees

The post Best Leg Workouts for Women & That Produce Results appeared first on Dr. Axe.

When thinking of calisthenics, if you have a mental picture of the military performing jumping jacks to cadence, you’re not far off. The truth is, though, that calisthenics exercises are rooted much deeper in history, dating all the way back to ancient Greece. (More on that later, interesting stuff.)

When it comes to your personal history, you probably first experienced calisthenics workouts in elementary school gym class in the form of sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks and other bodyweight exercises. Calisthenics, when performed vigorously, actually help people gain muscle and serves as an aerobic form of exercise at the same time. Talk about a timesaver.

Speaking of that, with people’s time-crunched schedules, fitness programs seem to be largely focused on how to get the benefits of exercise in the least amount of time. (That’s right, one-minute workouts are a thing.) Packing a lot of exercise, including lots of bodyweight training, into a short amount of time, has become quite popular, as evident with CrossFit and Tabata workouts.

These workouts all feature calisthenics to some degree. Now learn about the classic Calisthenics workout and exercises.

What Is a Calisthenics Workout?

Simply put, the calisthenics definition is using your bodyweight and gravity to perform exercises (some of which are pretty intense) using good form. What’s great is that it does not require a gym membership and could include various activities such as plyometric exercises, gymnastics, Pilates, running, squats, lunges for great legs, crunches, jumping and walking, just to name a few calisthenics workout ideas.

A more common term for calisthenics today is bodyweight training. Regardless of what you call it, this type of training can be the core of a fitness plan or used in conjunction with other training programs, including cardio workouts, HIIT workouts, marathon or triathlon training, weight training, even yoga. Mixing it up is a great way to ensure that you are working all of your muscles and can provide a healthier way to fitness.

Calisthenics has been around for a very long time originating from the ancient Greek words kálos, which means “beauty,” and sthénos, meaning “strength.” It is defined as the use of body weight and “qualities of inertia” to help develop the physique. It may have been named after the Greek historian, Callisthenes, who was tutored by Alexander the Great.

Best Calisthenics Exercises

There are many types of calisthenics exercises, with push-ups and pull-ups being the most common.

1. Push-ups

Push-ups are a favorite calisthenics exercises because they build strength in numerous areas of the body and can be done anywhere. You can achieve great muscle development, as it’s one of the great chest exercises, without lifting a single weight.

Performing push-ups, for instance, strengthens the muscles in your chest, shoulders and triceps while also strengthening your core. You can add variety by doing push ups on a medicine ball or adding a clap between each one. An advanced version is the Spiderman push-up, which works the obliques by bringing the knee up towards the arm as you lower into the push-up. (Check out a push-up in a TRX workout.)

2. Pull-ups

Pull-ups are great for working your back and biceps. In fact, it’s one of the best exercises for your latissimus dorsi. The most popular style is with the palms facing forward; however, the chin-up, palms facing towards you, is a great challenge, too. While you can do these using a pull-up bar at the gym, you can also perform them with a sturdy tree branch or find a bar at a nearby park. There are some options available for installation in doorways of your home, as well.

Can’t do a pull-up with your own bodyweight? Many cannot, so instead use a chair at home to give an assist. Or at the gym, use a lat pulldown machine or a pull-up machine that gives assistance.

3. Abdominal exercises

Ab exercises are calisthenics exercises as well. For many, having a six-pack is the ultimate goal. While having a six-pack can be awesome, it’s really more about losing abdominal fat for an overall healthier body.

There are various ab exercises that you can do to contract the muscles and work towards strengthening them. Even the push-ups mentioned above can help do this if you focus on contracting the muscles while performing the push-up.

There are lots of exercises that are amazing for the abdominal area such as the plank, crunches, and hip raises — all of which can be done with your body weight, making these types of exercises great for a calisthenics workout on their own or combined with incorporated into your routine.

4. Jumping jacks

Jumping jacks are great because they get the heart pumping — not only offering fat-burning benefits, but keeps the heart healthy. The full body movement combined with jumping gives the body a great overall cardio burn, and they also serve as a great leg exercise.

If you are not able to jump at this time or need to work up to it, you can do a low impact version by extending one leg at time as the arms go overhead in the traditional jumping jack form.

Squat and jumping movements are also great butt exercises, and they can be part of an overall butt workout.

Benefits

1. You Can Do Calisthenics Anywhere

Because calisthenics can be done using only your bodyweight, this type of training can be performed anywhere. What a beautiful thing. (Read between the lines: No excuses!) You can do an entire routine in the privacy of your home, at the gym or in a nearby park. I’ve even done short workouts at the airport.

There are numerous ways to perform calisthenics exercises at different levels. For example, a push up can be performed on the knees for beginners. Over time, you can work up to the toes and eventually add in claps or side knee tucks. The options are many and will build muscle and stamina.

2. Calisthenics Can Help Provide Improved Coordination

The Journal of Sports Rehabilitation published a study investigating how Pilates and calisthenics impact a person’s coordination. The participants included healthy females ages 25 to 50.

The results indicated that calisthenic exercises were more likely to improve coordination after three and six months of training compared to Pilates. Pilates is great, but if you’re looking to increase coordination, you may benefit more from calisthenics-type exercises.

3. You Gain All-Over Muscle Tone

Calisthenics offers the ability to build amazing muscle tone, and you can pretty much take it as far as you want. Using your own bodyweight can allow you to focus on specific muscle groups and overall body tone at the same time.

Typically, when lifting your own body weight, it requires focus and engagement of many more muscles to ensure proper form. That means that all of these muscles are getting work which will result in a more evenly distributed physique (rather than an overbuilt one).

4. Provides Support for Other Sports and Fitness Goals

Calisthenics-type exercises are a safe choice because it puts less strain on the muscles and joints of the body. It is considered a “natural” form of training because you are using your own bodyweight to perform the exercises. This is not an injury-free guarantee, but with proper form and gradual increase in intensity, it can definitely provide a safer option for an effective workout.

Calisthenics workouts are perfect for adding strength without adding bulk. This is often needed to become more efficient at other sports as well as helping to prevent injury.

Endurance runners often need to strengthen the hips in order to be more efficient at running while minimizing the risk of injury. A study tested athletes by increasing their strength training but decreasing their overall volume of training. The group that increased their strength training resulted in improved performance through improved muscle development.

Another study found that “explosive strength training” improved results by improving endurance due to improved neuromuscular efficiency. This occurs when the nervous system uses the correct muscles to produce or reduce force while stabilizing the body in all three planes of motion.

5. Reduces Blood Sugar in Type 2 Diabetics

A 2022 study analyzed the effect of calisthenics on hypoglycemic in diabetic patients. Among 210 patients with type 2 diabetes, half (control group) were given drug therapy and diet management while the trial group received the same plus regular calisthenics workouts.

The patient’s blood glucose levels, body mass index (BMI), quality of life and blood lipid index were compared. Compared with before treatment, fasting blood glucose levels, two-hour post glucose levels and average blood sugar levels over the past three months were all significantly reduced for both groups after treatment.

While that was welcome news, for the trial group with additional calisthenics, all of these blood sugar levels “were significantly lower than those in the control group.” In addition, after treatment, BMI of the trial group was also significantly lower than that of the control group.

Researchers concluded that using calisthenics to treat blood sugar was very effective, making the patient’s self-care ability greatly improved and worthy of active promotion in any clinical setting.

6. It’s Perfect for Beginners to Advanced

Calisthenics is perfect for anyone just starting a physical fitness plan or someone who is advanced, but wants a more shredded physique. By starting slow, a beginner can begin a smart program that will provide amazing benefits, especially if consistent; however, make sure to choose a program that offers modifications so that you can have options that are right for you and at your level. Starting at a too advanced level puts you at an increased risk of injury.

In terms of frequency, two to four days per week for about 20 minutes each session is a good place to start. Over time, you can work more exercises and longer time periods into your training schedule. An advanced exerciser can develop amazing overall body tone, muscle development and strength by performing more intense variations of calisthenics.

7. It’s an Option Even If You’ve Got Health Issues

Calisthenics isn’t just for people who are already in shape. If you’re living with chronic disease, check with your doctor to see if it’s right for you. But in 2016, Turkish researchers published a study showing that calisthenics is as safe and effective as even cycling for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Full-Body Calisthenics Workout

If you are looking to get great muscle tone, consider a calisthenics workout a few times a week. If you want to get results, create a routine that you can commit to doing and stay consistent. Here is a great workout to put into your routine.

The Warm Up

Repeat sequence 2 to 3 times:

• Jog in place for 1 minute  — Modification: march in place
• Jumping Jacks x 20 — Low impact option: leave out the jump; stepping one foot out to the side each time the arms go overhead
• Push-Ups x 10 — Place your hands on the floor with your legs extended. Toes on the floor. Hands should be wider than shoulder width to work the chest. While engaging the abdominals, lower down into a push up, then return to start. Repeat. (Modification: Place your knees on a mat on the floor, then lower and lift back to start.)
• Shallow Squats x 10 — With feet hip-distance apart, lower half way down into a squat sticking the butt back behind you as if sitting in a chair, then raise back up while engaging the glutes. We are just warming up, so a half-squat works for this exercise.

Main Workout

• Repeat 2 to 3 time
• Take a 15-second rest between each exercise

1. Pull-Ups

Do as many as you can.

If you have access to a pull up bar, try this. If you are not ready for the pull up, start by doing what is called an iso-eccentric pull up.

To do this, grab onto a bar and jump up so that your chest touches it. Try to hold that position for three to five seconds. Then lower yourself slowly and with control.

8-10 reps? Time to try a regular pull up!

2. Deep Squats x 25

With feet hip-distance apart, lower down into a deep squat, sticking the butt back behind you as if sitting in a chair, then raise back up while engaging the glutes.

Keep the chest upright. As you get stronger, hold the squat for 5–10 seconds before raising back up.

3. Crunches x 20 (center, left and right for a total of 60)

Lie face up on a mat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head but do not use them for support. Keep elbows wide.

With knees bent, keep feet close to your butt and crunch up, looking up towards the sky while squeezing the abdominals. Slowly lower back down.

Crunch up again, but this time, twist towards your left knee. Slowly lower. Crunch up again, but twisting to the right knee and lower. That’s one rep.

Repeat 20 times.

4. Push-Ups x 20

Place hands on the floor, legs extended with toes on the floor. Arms should be wide with hands on the floor. While engaging the abdominals, lower down into a push up and hold for 3–5 seconds, then return to start. Repeat.

Modification: Place your knees on a mat on the floor, then lower and lift back to start.

5. Lunges x 15 (per leg)

Place your feet in a split stance with the right foot forward and the left foot way back with hips facing forward. Lower into a deep lunge, tucking the hips and keeping the weight on the right heel.

Push up through the right foot. Repeat 15 times, then perform the exercise on the other leg.

6. Plank: One minute (work up to 2 minutes)

In push-up position, arms extended, with the neck and head aligned with the spine all the way down through heels, squeeze the abs and glutes. Hold for one minute, while the hips are slightly tucked to help maintain a alignment with the body.

Modification: Place your knees on the mat and work up to performing the exercise on your toes. You can advance this exercise by raising your right arm and left leg at the same time. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat on the other side.

7. Cardio for 10 Minutes

Choose the cardio that works for you based on what is available and what you like to do. For example, you can run for 10 minutes or do 10 x 30 second sprints with 30 seconds easy, then take a 1–2 minute break and repeat your next set.

Precautions

Like all new exercises programs, please check with your healthcare professional prior to performing these exercises. Start slowly and work your way into more advanced moves over time.

If anything causes unusual discomfort or injury, or if you feel dizzy or dehydrated, stop immediately and consult your healthcare professional.

Final Thoughts

• Calisthenics is an amazing way to start your fitness journey (or to dive deeper into the path you’re already on). What’s great is you can take it with you wherever you go, even when traveling.
• Consider preparing a notebook of workouts you like or check out some of the great workout apps available today.
• Make fitness a priority in your life and results will follow, especially when combined with a healthy eating plan.

The post Calisthenics Workout Exercises for Improved Muscle Tone appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Who doesn’t want a great booty? The answer is pretty much no one! But as you test out different butt workouts in your quest for the perfect butt, you may find yourself wondering, “Am I wasting my time? Are great butts born or made?”

The good news is this: Even if you weren’t blessed with the genetic code for a perfect backside, you can tap into my targeted butt workouts found below to help build the best butt of your life, no matter what your age.

But first, let’s explore a little booty background. The butt muscles are technically the “glutes,” which include the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles. They are all superimposed by a layer of fat. This large muscle group impacts everything from bending over and standing back up to maintaining correct posture. You can see why the butt muscles (or buttocks) are pretty important, since they allow us to sit upright without needing to rest our weight on our feet, as other four-legged animals do.

The glutes also play a vital role in stabilizing the pelvis, and weak glutes (sometimes associated with too much sitting) can result in decreased stabilization and control, setting you up for pain and injuries. In fact, many doctors and physical therapists focus on strengthening the glutes in order to improve lower body movement, and butt exercises can also help address back pain.

Benefits of a Toned Butt

1. Reduce the Risk of Injury

Studies show that weight-bearing exercises — including bodyweight exercises — improve the muscle function of the glutes and can reduce injury in athletes.

One study shows the effects of strong glute muscles in swimmers verses non-swimmers, indicating that the swimmers with the stronger gluteal muscles enjoyed a lower risk of injury.

2. Improved Athletic Performance

Because the glutes are responsible for helping our bodies move faster, slow down, change direction and create explosive jumping moves (such as with calisthenics), strong glute muscles are critical in most sports. But you can’t just rely on squats to built strong glutes. Instead, you need to stimulate your backside muscles in different ways.

Sprinting is one of the most effective exercises for simulating the glutes. Athletes with strong glutes are faster, more efficient and explosive in their movements compared to athletes with weaker glutes.

3. Better Support for the Back

Research shows that stronger gluteal muscles can help prevent back injury and back pain. Strengthening your glutes can greatly decrease the risk of back pain, too. Some of the exercises mentioned, such as the deadlift and squat, ultimately take some of the pressure off your lower back.

4. Less Knee, Hamstring and Groin Injuries

Developing strong glutes not only helps prevent back injury and pain, but it can also lower your risk for injury in the knees, hamstring and groin areas. By strengthening weak glutes, you help improve hip alignment, which could improve knee pain, too.

In fact, many butt workouts are also effective knee strengthening exercises. Runners notoriously suffer from patellar knee pain due to hips overcompensating for weak glutes. Furthermore, weak glutes may also contribute to pulled muscles in your hamstring or groin.

5. Nicer Visual Appearance with the Reduction in Cellulite

Usually fluid retention, lack of circulation, weak collagen structure and increased body fat result in the annoying cellulite that most often shows up in spots like the legs, butt, stomach and back of the arms.

Naturally, butt exercises, leg exercises and a smart whole foods–based diet help decrease body fat, which can reduce the appearance of cellulite on the skin. Burst training exercises (similar to interval training), hamstring exercises, HIIT workouts and Tabata workouts, are great routines that you can add to your butt-lifting program.

Best Butt Exercises

While many people — mostly females between the ages of 20 and 60 years old — wish to remodel their buttocks, the great news is that you can transform your backside without surgery. The key? Adopt proven butt workouts that consist of gluteal-specific and leg workouts. Combine that with a healthy, whole foods–based diet, and you’ll be on your way to a great butt that will last.

Don’t forget that having good posture and staying generally active are important for functionality and keeping your butt muscles looking good. There are many ways to stay fit and maintain a strong butt, back and legs, including doing exercises like: running/jogging, brisk walking, using an elliptical trainer, cycling or spin classes, dancing and weight-lifting.

Even low-impact exercises like yoga, Barre or Pilates can help to tone up your lower body. When it comes to running, walking and using an elliptical, you’ll build your glutes most by walking uphill or adding resistance, which makes your butt muscles work harder. Below you’ll find more ideas for sneaking activity into your day.

What glute exercises lift your buttocks most? Performing the butt exercises below three to four times per week (best incorporated into a total body workout) is the best way to lift and tone your glutes.

1. Romanian Deadlift

The deadlift is one of the best exercise for your glutes, but like all other exercises, it must be done with proper form to prevent injury. First, choose a weight, either hand weights, dumbbells or a barbell, that’s slightly challenging but not too heavy so you’re able to properly perform the exercise. Start with the barbells, dumbbells or hand weights in your hands just outside your thighs. Feet are hip-distance apart. Knees are slightly bent. Hips are slightly tucked.

Starting at the top, lower the upper body while keeping the chest proud and sticking the butt back. Keep the back flat (do not round the lower back). Lower the weights to about mid-shin or just below the knees, then slowly raise back to the standing upright position while squeezing your glute muscles together. Repeat 10–20 times. As you get stronger, you can increase the weight, but be careful to not overdo it.

2. Sumo Squat

Squats are definitely one of the best exercises to tighten the buttocks and thighs. To perform the sumo squat, stand with feet a little further than hip-distance apart and toes pointed out at about 10 and 2 o’clock. You can do this with a hand weight, kettlebell or with no weight. In either case, hold your weight, or just your hands, in front of you at about chin level. Make sure to keep good form by maintaining your upper body in an upright position.

Bend at the knees, pushing your butt back while squatting as if sitting in a chair, while holding your hands or weight in front of you but close to the body. If you are able, squat to where your thighs are at a 90-degree angle to the floor, like a sumo wrestler. If not, just go about halfway. Over time, you will get stronger and be able to perform a deep squat.

If you choose to hold weight while performing this exercise, select a weight that provides a little challenge but doesn’t cause you to have poor form.

Advanced: Lift one knee as you stand up and out of the squatting position, alternating sides. (Also try a squat in a TRX workout.)

3. Hip Raise (Optional with Weight)

This exercise has little to no impact yet packs a powerful glute-building result. It’s a great exercise for the quadriceps and hamstrings, helping to lift the butt!

With your feet hip-distance apart, lie on the floor or a mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. As you inhale, slowly lift yourself up into a bridge pushing the hips up toward the ceiling as you drive through the heels of your feet. Tighten the abs, glutes and hamstrings during the movement. Lift your hips all the way up into a bridge as high as you can and hold for a five to 10 seconds. As you exhale, lower back down slowly. Start with 10–12 repetitions, and work up to as many as 30.

Advanced: Place a weight or barbell across your lower abdomen.

4. Squat Jump

This move incorporates the traditional squat but with a jump to better engage the glutes, quads and calves. You’ll definitely feel the burn.

Start with your feet just hip-distance apart with your toes slightly turned out to about 10 and 2 o’clock. Go into a low squat while taking your hands to the floor between the feet. Then jump up while reaching up toward the ceiling. When you land, take it back down to a low squat position with the hands on the floor. Repeat for 10–20 reps.

For beginners, you can leave out the jump.

5. Donkey Kick

This exercise has long stood the test of time and activates those deep glute muscles. Get on all fours with your toes curled under, feet flexed and back flat. Pull the abs in to help maintain posture and alignment. Place your knees directly under your hips, and place your hands directly under your shoulders. Keep the legs about hip-distance apart. Maintain a 90-degree bend in the right leg during the entire exercise.

Slowly begin taking the right heel up toward the ceiling, keeping the foot flexed. Lift the leg as high as you can go while maintaining your posture. Avoid arching your back, and keep the other leg in proper vertical alignment. Once lifted, hold for three seconds, then return the right knee to the mat and repeat for 12–20 reps on each side.

Advanced: Place a weight at the back of the knee and squeeze, holding on to the weight using your leg while lifting.

Two Butt Workouts

Below are examples of booty workouts that include a series of exercises to make your bum more muscular, firmer and rounder. Your quadriceps and hamstrings will also be strengthened during these workouts, so you can consider them a complete lower body workout.

Instructions for these butt workouts:

• Perform each exercise for 45–60 seconds, with a 15-second break between each exercise.
• Aim for 10 to 15 repetitions per exercise.
• For beginners, perform two rounds. For advanced exercisers, perform three to four rounds.
• Take a 60-second break between each round.
• Aim to complete this series of butt exercises two to three times per week. Consider a complementary upper body workout

Butt Workout No. 1

Start by gently warming up with some dynamic exercises. You can activate your glute muscles before a workout by doing straight leg circles, holding a wide squat, and standing on one leg while you draw your belly in and stand up straight.

You may also want to loosen up the leg muscles by foam rolling for 1–2 minutes.

Perform each of the following exercises, in order, before repeating:

1. Romanian deadlift
2. Sumo squat
3. Single leg hip raises (repeat on each side)
4. Squat jump
5. Donkey kick (repeat on each side).

For proper exercise technique, see above in article.

After you complete your butt workout, you may want to do 20–30 minutes of cardio. It’s usually more effective to do exercises first and cardio second, although this is also a matter of preference. Doing cardio first might tire out your legs/butt, decreasing your effort during your butt exercises.

Another option is to do a little cardio first, then your butt workout, and then do a little cardio after (try different ways of mixing it up to keep your workout fun and your heart rate up).

Butt Workout No. 2

Start by gently warming up (see warm-up above).

This is a butt workout that incorporates exercise bands and also doubles as a shoulder workout. Perform each of the following exercises, in order, before repeating:

1. Back lunges with shoulder flies
2. Back lunges into shoulder presses
3. Squat with hip abductions
4. Banded good mornings
5. Tabletop hip extensions
6. Straight leg taps

For proper exercise form, see the video below.

In addition to the exercises from these butt-lifting workouts, try subbing in some of these other glute exercises into your glute workouts:

• Glute bridges
• Leg bridges with an exercise ball
• Fire hydrants
• Rainbow kicks
• Curtsy lunges
• Weighted lunges
• Planks with straight leg lifts
• Wall sits using an exercise ball
• Pilates swimming exercise on your stomach (also called “Supermans”)
• Clam shells

Natural Butt Movements

Besides employing the above butt exercises and glute workouts into your week, you can also sneak the following natural movements and activities into your day/week for a better butt.

1. Take the Stairs

While the elevator is convenient and sometimes gets you there faster, have you considered using the stairs wherever you go? Whenever you travel and stay at a hotel, try to always take the stairs. By using your legs and your glutes with each step, you engage those muscles and most certainly raise your heart rate. Of course, going up the stairs provides the most benefits, but going down can also help by working different muscles.

2. Go for a Walk

Walking is one of the best things you can do and something most people can manage to do every day. Your glutes will definitely reap the benefits of regular walking, as well as other muscles in the legs and core. Wear your GPS watch or other fitness tracker so you can track your distance and pace. It’s important to have good posture, and you can engage your abs and glutes while walking. With practice, you can walk a mile in 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Take Up Cycling or Do a Spin Class

Spin workouts not only crank up your heart rate, but they tone and build the glute muscles, especially if you take it uphill. If you cycle outdoors, find areas where you can cycle uphill in the heaviest gear you can handle, and do hill repeats — meaning go up the hill, come back down and repeat.

You can do them seated or standing, though standing is more difficult. Either way, if on a stationary bike at the gym or at home, you need to increase the tension on the gear to mimic a steep hill.

4. Sprint It Out

Sprints are great to engage those glute muscles. Try incorporating an easy 10- to 15-minute warm-up jog followed by sprints — either on a track or a grassy field — into your routine. The sprints can be anywhere from 25 meters to 400 meters (a quarter mile), depending on your level of fitness. Just make sure you are warmed-up first.

Precautions

If you’re a beginner, never use added weights when performing glute exercises without the supervision of a fitness professional. If you have a heart condition or are taking medication, please consult with your health care professional before engaging in any new exercise program.

Final Thoughts

• Having a great butt is partially genetic, but science-backed exercises can help whip your butt muscles into shape regardless of your genes.
• What exercises lift your buttocks? The five best butt workouts are Romanian deadlifts, sumo squats, hip raises, squat jumps and donkey kicks.
• Four other glute movements you can sneak into your day include: taking the stairs, taking a walk, taking up cycling, or trying a spin class and sprinting.
• The benefits of a toned butt and strong glutes include reducing the risk of injury, better athletic performance, improved support for the back, enhanced appearance and reduced cellulite.
• It’s ideal to perform a glute workout routine three to four times per week.

The post Best Butt Workouts, Including 5 Butt-Lifting Exercises appeared first on Dr. Axe.

The No. 1 reason (okay, after simply not wanting to) for not working out? Time, or lack thereof. With our fast-paced, always connected, never-enough-time-to-do-anything lifestyles, making time to get that workout in may seem like a Herculean task. In fact, it often requires exercise hacks because putting on workout clothes and getting to a place to get that sweat on … just takes too much time.

So even if it was on your to-do list to start the day, it might not last long. Wait … there is hope! Actually even better than hope, there is scientific evidence that suggests you can radically increase your overall levels of fitness in just minutes a day doing the Tabata workout.

The Tabata workout is a form of high-intensity training, or HIIT workouts, that uses a :20 on/:10 off ‘Tabata protocol.’ What that means is that for 20 seconds you perform an activity at a high level of intensity, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a total of eight rounds.

Can the Tabata protocol be the answer we’ve been waiting for? If we want to oversimplify it, the answer is a resounding, “YES”! However, as you will see, like most things in life, it’s a little more complicated than that. One of the biggest obstacles to efficacy is the unfortunate truth that regardless of the proliferation of Tabata classes and workouts, you are most likely NOT performing the actual Tabata protocol.

What Is Tabata?

Back in 1996, Dr. Izumi Tabata published the groundbreaking study that would be the basis for the Tabata training method. It was through his collaboration with the Japanese Olympic Speed Skating team that he initially began to study the effects of short bursts of extremely high-intensity exercise on athletes. The skating team’s head coach, Irisawa Koichi, actually designed the workout.

Originally completed on a cycling ergometer (a stationary bike with an ergometer that measures the amount of work that’s performed), the format was 20 seconds of high-intensity work, followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated for eight rounds, giving it it a total time of four minutes. Koichi wanted Tabata to analyze the effectiveness of this method.

The test looked at two groups of amateur athletic males in their mid-20s. The first group performed familiar, steady-state training on the ergometer, maintaining a moderate intensity of about 70 percent of their VO2 max. Pretty similar to what you may do at the gym when you’re jogging on the treadmill. It’s work, but it’s sustainable.

The second group pedaled at maximal effort for 20 seconds and were then given 10 seconds of rest. This cycle was repeated for four minutes or what would essentially be eight rounds. The term maximal effort (170 percent of VO2 max) becomes important here, as the 20 seconds of work were to be sprints. If the participants were no longer able to maintain the speed requirements, they were asked to stop after completing just 7 rounds.

Both of the groups did this for six weeks, five times a week. The group of moderate-intensity participants worked a total of five hours, while the high-intensity subjects topped out at just 20 minutes.

The research concluded that the 4-minute Tabata workout had the same effects on aerobic performance improvement as the 60 minutes of moderate-intensity workout. In addition, the Tabata group also experienced a 28 percent improvement in their anaerobic capacity as well. The long-duration group did not get that benefit. Not only is Tabata a much shorter workout, but it offers two benefits in one.

Tabata vs. Interval Training

One of the most frequently asked questions regarding Tabata workouts is, “what’s the difference between Tabata and HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)?” The most notable difference comes down to timing.

In a Tabata training session, the work and rest periods are shorter than they are in HIIT. The theory being that the shorter the session, the higher the intensity will be. Remember, in the original research the whole workout was four minutes of trying to work at 170 percent.

In HIIT, participants are aiming for only 80–95 percent of maximum heart rate. Meanwhile, the work-to-rest ratios associated with more conventional interval training programs is usually 1 or 2 minutes of work followed by anywhere from 30 seconds, up to 2 minutes of recovery.

Benefits

1. Fat Loss

In order to lose weight, we have always been told that the best way to do that is cardio exercise. But some research shows that the effect of regular aerobic exercise for weight loss is negligible and that short bouts of high-intensity exercise is a lot more effective for reducing fat.

When trying to figure how to lose weight fast, Tabata is a type of exercise worth considering. It’s also one of the great weight loss tips for women.

2. Efficiency

When done properly, Tabata workouts are short but tough. When you can get such an effective workout done in just a few minutes, it becomes a lot harder to use “not having time” as an excuse.

3. Reduces Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a metabolic disorder that involves not one, but a combination of three or more of the following health issues: abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure or low HDL (“good”) cholesterol. But high-intensity exercise has been shown to be an important factor in improving aerobic capacity and reversing the risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

4. Preserves Muscle

Muscle deterioration is associated with long sessions of steady-state cardio, while Tabata has been shown to increase levels of testosterone, which can actually help preserve or even build muscle. When you are trying to drop a few pounds, it’s the fat you want to lose, not the muscle.

5. Fountain of Youth

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been shown to be an important component of different diseases associated with aging, such as Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Even though your body’s ability to produce mitochondria declines with age, research shows that intervals of high intensity work can trigger what mitochondrial biogenesis, which is the formation of new mitochondria in your cells.

Tabata Workout Protocol

Before you get out your Tabata timer, let’s discuss the best way to structure a Tabata workout for the hardest four minutes you’ve ever experienced. Keep in mind that the original research was done on a cycling ergometer, and you may or may not have access to one of those.

Also, remember that the 20-second work intervals were done at 170 percent of max effort. Again, you are more than likely not going to be doing anything close to that amount of work, nor is it recommended.

Most likely, you will want to choose a full-body movement that gets your whole body moving and quickly increases your heart rate. Rowing on a Concept 2 ergometer or sprinting on a grass field are a couple of good options. You can do burst training on a treadmill, too, but only if you feel comfortable hopping on and off. Sprinting on a treadmill can be a little tricky, so just be extra careful!

Once you have chosen your activity, make sure you do a warm-up before diving in. The participants in the original study warmed up for 10 minutes at 50 percent of their VO2 max before they started. Also, make sure you have some way to time your rounds. There are apps you can download, special timers you can buy, including fitness trackers, and even music that has cues for each round. You may just want a friend or partner to time it for you so they can cheer you on or just watch in amazement at the intensity of your workout.

After you’ve warmed up and have a way to time it all, you are ready to go. Remember, the challenge is to work as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat that cycle seven more times.

Okay, once you’re done with that four-minute workout, you likely will be exhausted but also wonder if there are other ways to do a longer workout that still have a Tabata influence. Here are some great moves to put together for a longer, Tabata-influenced workout routine.

Put these five bodyweight exercises together for a hardcore 10 minutes. (You also try a kettlebell workout with its five exercises.) Try to perform 10 reps of each move within about 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds before moving to next move. After each cycle, rest for 30 seconds before repeating 3 more times.

1. Push-Ups

Lying face-down on floor with hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Raise your body up off floor by extending arms with body straight. Keeping your body straight, lower yourself back down to the floor by bending your arms. Do push-ups on your knees if you can’t do a full-body push-up.

2. Squats

Squat down by bending hips back and allowing knees to bend forward, keep your back straight and knees pointed same direction as feet. Go down until your thighs are just past parallel to floor, stand back up and do it again.

3. Burpee or Squat Thrust

Bend over and squat down. Place both hands on the floor, just a little bit wider than your shoulders. While holding your upper body in place, jump your legs back into a plank position. Jump your legs back in underneath you and stand up. To make that same move a burpee, when you jump back into the plank exercise position, simply lower your chest to the ground. If you want to increase the intensity of either of those variations, do a little jump at the top instead of just standing up.

4. Vertical Jump

This is one of the great plyometric exercises. Pretty straightforward, squat down and jump up as high as possible, after landing, immediately jump up again. You can mix in a jumping jack as well.

5. Mountain Climbers

Begin in a push-up position, with your weight supported on your hands and toes. Start the move by bringing one leg in until the knee is approximately under the hip. Then, explosively reverse the positions of your legs, extending the bent leg until the leg is straight and supported by the toe, and bringing the other leg up and in.

Precautions

Tabata training is not recommended for beginners, and it’s better suited for someone who has been working out consistently and is comfortable with high-intensity exercise. There is also an increased risk for injury when performing exercises at a high-intensity for time, in part because exercise form can deteriorate.

Make sure you can complete all the moves with proper form (which becomes extra challenging when you begin to fatigue) and that you did a thorough warm-up. Be sure and pick moves that are appropriate for your current level of fitness and remember, everything can be modified. You may also consider building up your fitness levels for several weeks before taking on a Tabata workout.

Final Thoughts

Tabata training can be a fun way to shake up your current fitness routine. It’s fast and furious, and there certainly isn’t time to get bored.

• It won’t take you too many rounds to wonder how 20 seconds can feel like an eternity, or conversely, how 10 seconds can seem so fast.
• The key thing to remember is that you will need to challenge yourself with your level of intensity. Unless you’re extremely fit and have access to a cycling ergometer or rowing ergometer, you won’t be doing 8 rounds of anything at 170 percent of your max. Regardless, you will need to push yourself in order to get results.
• Your challenge is to see how many repetitions of a particular move you can get in each 20-second interval. Tabata never gets easier, you just keep doing more work!

The post Tabata Workout: An Advanced 4-Minute HIIT to Try appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Imagine if you could do effective exercises in only 10 seconds, anywhere, anytime … without any equipment. This is absolutely possible with isometric exercises, which are perfect for anyone who wants to tone muscles and gain strength in a way that doesn’t require impact or full range of motion.

Isometric training is also valuable as a complement to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts or any taxing workout routine, as it can improve joint strength, connective tissue and strength balance. Plus, these exercises can be done anywhere.

What Are Isometric Exercises?

A common method of muscular strength training, isometric exercise or isometrics are a type of exercise in which the joint angle and the muscle length do not change during contraction. In other words, these exercises are done in static positions while engaging specific muscles, rather than dynamic through a range of motion.

Unlike standard strength training, isometrics allow you the freedom to practice them anywhere without needing weights or special equipment.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines isometric exercises as static exercise that involves sustained contraction of skeletal muscles against fixed resistance and does not involve movement of the joints or axial skeleton. Classic examples of these types of exercises include hand grip motions and certain weightlifting moves. Also, movements in many competitive sports and daily activities involve isometric exercise.

Another example of isometric exercise that is very beneficial is power yoga. In the book “Yoga Exercises for Beginners: Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit, Increase Your Energy Levels, Feel Great and Lose Weight” by Anton Devlin, the author writes that isometric exercises are some of the best ways to strengthen the core.

Isometric, stemming from the words “same” and “length,” simply translate to holding one position without moving. Power yoga uses isometric exercises along with numerous other postures that are designed to strengthen the core and back.

Because flexibility, balance and power stem from your core, it’s imperative to train this area of the body. While most yoga classes encompass isometric exercises, the power yoga style focuses more on core work, and the temperature in the room is typically warmer to help keep the muscles warm and release additional toxins from the body.

The Journal of Sports Sciences published an abstract regarding studies of the differences between isometric and dynamic strength training. It states that strength training with isometric contractions produces large but highly angle-specific adaptations.

The study compared the strength gains produced by isometric training at four joint angles with conventional dynamic training. Thirty-three recreationally active healthy males aged 18–30 years completed nine weeks of strength training of the quadriceps muscle group three times per week. One leg performed isometric training at each of four joint angles, and the other leg performed conventional dynamic training by lifting and lowering.

Both legs trained at similar relative loads for the same duration.

The quadriceps strength of each leg was measured isometrically (at four angles) and isokinetically (at three velocities) before and after training. After nine weeks of training, the increase in isokinetic strength was similar in both legs — however, the isometric strength increases were significantly greater for the isometrically trained leg.

The study shows that isometric exercises are very beneficial, especially for those that prefer a no-impact workout.

How to Perform Isometric Exercises

To perform an isometric exercise, you want to use a muscle or limb to oppose the opposite one. You can achieve this same effect by pushing or pulling against any immovable object, such as a wall, holding a firm medium to large ball with your hands and pressing inward toward the ball, or even by holding a flexed muscle in a stationary position.

The idea is to use your muscles to build strength by exerting as much force as possible against the resistance for a minimum of 10 seconds.

The most effective way to use isometrics is to incorporate it into a larger strength-training program, such as our burst training or a kettlebell workout. While isometric exercise offers great benefits, it is important to understand the limitations. Each isometric contraction only increases muscular strength in the exact position you are engaging versus a large muscle group.

For this reason, you need to perform various isometric exercises to help strengthen various muscles, rather than using a compound exercise that can work multiple muscles — think the squat exercise vs. a static squat. This is why it is best to think about isometrics as a complement to your weight training or burst training rather than a replacement.

Let’s look at it another way: The entire muscle isn’t strengthened, rather just a part of it. This is because your muscles do not change length during isometric exercises in the same way they do when you lift a weight.

You can improve the effects of the workout by doing any isometric exercise in three different positions. Essentially, tense the muscle near the bottom, middle and top of the movement.

A great example is with the biceps. When you do bicep curls, the bottom means the arm fully extended, the middle means the elbow at an angle near 90 degrees and the top means your hand near your shoulder. Hold each for at least 10 seconds.

You can do this without weights simply by tensing the muscle at each point.

Benefits

The National Institutes of Health reminds us that moving more and sitting less can reduce the risk of many serious conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and certain kinds of cancer. Some studies suggest that physical activity can have mental benefits as well.

1. Convenient style of training at any place and at almost any time

Isometric exercises can provide a source of strength training at any place and whenever you feel like it. While there is some equipment that you may find useful for isometric exercises at the gym, you can perform these exercises without any equipment at all, making it very convenient while helping you maintain your fitness goals.

2. May be helpful to someone who is healing from an injury

Isometric exercises provide a source of strength training without the impact that more complex exercises may require. For example, if you have a shoulder injury, a physical therapist may recommend some isometric exercises that stabilize the shoulder and maintain strength in that area so the recovery is faster.

In fact, isometric exercises have been shown to help with recovery from hamstring injuries, a common sports and/or workout issue.

3. May help lower blood pressure

Isometric exercises may also help naturally lower your blood pressure since exercising at higher intensities can cause a dramatic increase in your blood pressure, specifically during the activity.

Regardless, it is important to check with your doctor before beginning isometric exercises if you have high blood pressure or any heart problems.

A study conducted by the Division of Cardiology at University Health Network in Toronto also suggested that isometric exercise training in young and old participants may produce reductions in blood pressure. In this case, isometric exercise training protocols typically consisted of four sets of two-minute hand-grip or leg contractions sustained at 20 percent to 50 percent of maximal voluntary contraction, with each set separated by a rest period of one to four minutes.

Training was usually completed three to five times per week for four to 10 weeks. Improvements in the regulation of heart rate and blood pressure were reported.

Some key things to remember: never hold your breath or strain during any weight training exercise, as this may cause a dangerous rise in blood pressure.

4. Help relieve depression

It has long been known that exercise serves as a potential natural remedy for depression in all ages, in particular regarding how people feel about themselves.

As noted in the book “The Principles and Practice of Resistance Training,” one of the authors compared the self-esteem of runners, weight trainers and non-exercise groups using the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. A common pattern did not differ statistically between the running and weight training groups, but both exercise groups reported improved self-esteem relative to the non-exercising control group.

Isometric Exercise Routine

Isometric exercises are for anyone. While they are best when performed with higher-intensity exercises, they are great if you are recovering from an injury, short on time or in need of non-impact exercise, regardless of age. The elderly may also benefit from isometric exercises due to their non-impact style as well as the need to focus on the specific muscle you are working.

It is important to determine a routine that will be effective and do your best to be consistent by performing the routine, and variations of it, at least two to three times per week.

Consider the different muscles that you need to strengthen. You can actually create a full-body workout using isometric exercises.

It is important, like with all exercise routines, that you do not hold your breath, but rather breathe through the exercises, usually exhaling at the points of exertion.

Below is a great workout that includes both upper- and lower-body exercises. Try to get through the entire set two to three times.

Upper-Body Isometric Exercises

Ball Squeeze: Using a medicine ball, hold it in front of you using both hands. Squeeze the ball as hard as you can, holding the squeeze for 10–30 seconds.

Release, and repeat five to 10 times.

Push-ups: Starting in the push-up position with arms fully extended, lower yourself to about half way to the floor. Hold this position for 10–20 seconds, remembering to breathe. Repeat two to three times.

If needed, start on your knees (keep a straight line from your knees to the top of your head), and over time you will gain more strength and be able to do the push-ups on your toes. (Also try a push-up in a TRX workout.)

Plank: Start with your arms bent at 90 degrees, and rest on your elbows directly below your shoulders. Hold the plank position for 10–30 seconds while engaging your core, hips and butt. Repeat the plank exercise five to 10 times.

Again, if needed, start on your knees, and over time you will gain more strength and be able to do the planks on your toes.

Lower-Body Isometric Exercises

Squats: Place your back against a wall (or no wall), and lower yourself until your quadriceps are parallel to the floor. Extend your arms in front of you. Keep your upper body upright. (Do not lean over.)

The easiest way to think of the isometric squat is to sit in an imaginary chair, placing your weight on your heels. Hold for 10–20 seconds, engaging your abs, quads and butt. Release.

Repeat 10–20 times.

Lunges: Stand with legs staggered, right foot in front and spread far enough apart that you can lower yourself near the ground. Left knee is almost touching the ground, and calf is parallel to the ground. Right quadricep is parallel to the ground, and your knee should not extend past your foot.

If you need help with balance, place a sturdy chair next to you. Start in the standing staggered position, and lower yourself to the ground with hips slightly tucked, holding the position for 10–20 seconds while engaging the butt and and right upper leg.

Repeat 10–20 times on that side, and then repeat the same number of repetitions on the other side.

Hip Lifts: Lie face up on the floor. Knees are up, and feet are on the ground hip distance apart with your heels near your butt. Push your hips into the air, and squeeze your butt as hard as you can while engaging your abs for 10–30 seconds.

Want a little more resistance? Hold a weight on your abdominal and hip area. Release, and repeat 10–20 times.

Potential Risks

You should always consult your physician before starting any exercise program. While isometric exercise is beneficial for blood pressure overall, it can cause the blood pressure to increase during the workout because when a muscle contracts, blood is forced out of the muscle tissue and into the bloodstream.

Also, never hold your breath during exercise, as this can cause your blood pressure to increase.

The post Why Isometric Exercises Belong in Your Workout Routine appeared first on Dr. Axe.

CrossFit is a high-intensity, constantly varied, functional movement exercise program that has seen a huge growth in popularity around the world since it first started in the early 2000s. What originally began as an exercise program to help train military forces, police and firemen is now taking the fitness world by storm. CrossFit workouts promise to keep members in the top shape of their lives, building muscle faster, promoting better recovery and usually meeting a whole support network of like-minded people in the process, too!

With a growing number of CrossFit-certified trainers, gyms and programs now offered across the world, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about.

What Is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a type of strength and conditioning workout that uses your own bodyweight for resistance in order to build power all over. Consistent with the benefits of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), this means no standard cardio workouts and hours spent at the gym.

CrossFit workouts might even be done entirely without any equipment or added weights, although some people choose to use weights for certain movements.

According to the founders of CrossFit.com, several simple observations taken from top-performing athletes training over the past 30 years formed the basic principles behind CrossFit workouts. Here are some of the key reasons CrossFit workouts were first introduced and why they’ve been growing in popularity ever since:

• Heavy lifters are able to apply more power to activities than endurance athletes. Powerlifters — those who attempt to lift maximum weights within three attempts — are especially strong.
• Sprinters and people conditioned to do burst training are usually able to match the cardiovascular benefits and abilities of endurance athletes but with less time spent training.
• Endurance athletes and bodybuilders are usually very specialized in their sports — for example, being aerobically fit or very muscular — but can be lacking in versatility (like having allover strength, power or stamina).
• Doing HIIT workouts and training at high intensities (meaning workouts that would be unsustainable for long periods of time) lead to numerous health benefits, including faster weight lossalong with more fat-burning and muscle-building.
• HIIT workouts can be done quickly (under an hour and sometimes much less) and don’t require someone to work out every single day to maintain strength.

CrossFit brings together knowledge from a diverse background of the world’s most physically fit people to form one full-body workout full of mind-body benefits. Specifically, CrossFit workouts cover “10 Fitness Domains,” including:

1. Cardiovascular and Respiratory
2. Stamina
3. Strength
4. Flexibility
5. Power
6. Speed
7. Coordination
8. Agility
9. Balance
10. Accuracy

Benefits

1. Better Conditioning and Versatility

CrossFit programs are designed to increase physical performance in a diverse way, whether it means being able to simply perform everyday tasks better (like mowing the lawn) or preparing your body for tough competitions.

CrossFit athletes train their muscles, joints and ligaments using functional movements, which means they’re useful for more than just looking good in a bathing suit. Well-rounded workouts that use large muscle groups and various ranges of motion lead to better overall health, posture, flexibility, strength and balance.

2. The Ability to Break Through Plateaus

CrossFit is widely varied and based on compound, or functional, movements done in a high-intensity way. This type of training is considered most effective at achieving fitness results in the fastest amount of time, while also helping you break through plateaus and boredom.

CrossFit isn’t just one type of workout repeated day after day — in fact, it’s basically the opposite. By continuously switching up the types of exercises performed, muscles used and intensity, CrossFit workouts keep you from plateauing since your muscles constantly have to work in new ways.

Each program itself can be adjusted to accommodate all types of people simply by switching up the weight load, duration and intensity of the workouts based on someone’s level of physical fitness.

3. Help Losing Weight Fast

While many people dread doing steady-state cardio exercises, yet force themselves to do them anyway hoping to lose weight, they’re not aware that high-intensity burst training exercises can actually burn more fat and in less time.

In fact, according to a systemic review published in 2020, CrossFit workouts have “been shown to be effective in improving body composition – an increase in lean body mass (Brisebois et al., 2018) and a decrease in body fat (Murawska-Cialowicz et al. 2015; Feito et al. 2018b).”

4. Less Time Spent Working Out but More Results

Many people feel that they don’t have time to regularly exercise — try these exercise hacks if you’re always time-crunched — and if they do manage to squeeze in a workout, they might not use that time to their best advantage. Group-based high-intensity functional training (HIFT) provides time-efficient aerobic and resistance exercise at self-selected intensity levels.

A 2013 study done by the Department of Kinesiology at Kansas State University examined effects of HIFT as compared to moderate-intensity aerobic and resistance training (ART) on rates of exercise initiation, enjoyment, adherence and intentions. The researchers found that HIFT participants spent significantly less time exercising per week than ART participants, yet were able to maintain exercise enjoyment and were more likely to continue.

Considering that many people choose not to exercise due to a lack of time or boredom, high-intensity exercise options like CrossFit workouts should, therefore, be included in public health interventions to increase activity.

5. Ongoing Motivation and a Solid Support System

Something that draws many people to CrossFit and makes it stand apart is its strong sense of community. Thanks to the ongoing support that stems from the group-based exercise setting, CrossFitters get the added benefit of having fellow athletes to help motivate, encourage and instruct the class inside the “CrossFit Box.”

Studies even suggest that working out in a group setting similar to CrossFit helps people perceive the class more positively.

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research collected questionnaires from a total of 144 members (88 females and 56 males) to assess participants’ perceptions of CrossFit goal structures and the motivational climate encouraged by the trainer and fellow athletes. They found that although goals differed depending on gender, all members generally felt motivation to stick with the program and changes in their fitness-related goals as their membership time went on.

A support system is crucial for keeping you on track and helping you overcome obstacles that can keep you from exercising and eating right. Group motivation means lower dropout rates and more accountability, which often equates to better results.

6. A Community that Supports Eating Like an Athlete!

Many CrossFit athletes choose to start following the Paleo diet to get stronger, leaner, faster and improve recovery time. Of course, you can do CrossFit workouts without needing to change your diet, but to see faster results and better health benefits, changing certain eating habits can go a long way.

CrossFit athletes are encouraged to eat the following foods most:

• Lean meats and proteins (like cage-free eggs, wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef)
• vegetables
• some fruits in moderation
• nuts and seeds
• small servings of starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes, yams, plantains)
• plenty of healthy fats from coconut products, avocados or extra-virgin olive oil, for example

How to Start

If you choose to visit a CrossFit center or follow a protocol you find online, you’ll find that CrossFit workouts are usually done by following the “Workout of the Day,” also called the WOD. WODs can seem a bit confusing if you’re new to CrossFit, so here’s how they work:

First, it helps to get the basic terminology down. A “rep” (or repetition) is one iteration of a movement, such as one bench press or one squat.

A “set” is a group of reps, such as 10 reps or squats. Each WOD usually features a certain number of sets of various movements. The pattern is to complete the sets, rest, repeat, rest, repeat and so on.

The amount of time for resting between sets depends on a few different factors, like your ability to recover and the primary goal of the WOD. Sometimes you might want to try having your WOD be timed, so in this case your rest time between sets would likely be shorter so you can complete the entire CrossFit workout quicker.

If you attend a class at a CrossFit Box, a WOD description might be written in several different ways. For example, doing a WOD in “rounds” would translate to doing a set of several exercises, resting and then repeating the whole circuit again.

As an example, this type of WOD could be written as “21-15-9,” which would indicate you perform one exercise 21 times, followed by another exercise 21 times and so on. Then you start from the beginning and do the first exercise 15 times, second exercise 15 times, etc.

If you choose to do a CrossFit-style workout on your own, start by practicing moves you’re more familiar with without added weights. Begin gradually by doing lower reps until you become more physically able to handle higher reps or adding additional weight.

Some compound movements to include in your WODs that train large groups of muscles at once and torch calories are:

• Burpees
• Snatches
• Dips
• Situps
• Pushups
• Hand stands
• Squats
• Cartwheels
• Deadlifts
• Bench press
• Power cleans
• Scales
• Holds

Various pieces of exercise equipment might also be used during a CrossFit workout, since basically any high-intensity program can be done in a CrossFit style. This allows for even more versatility and for you to create an effective workout anywhere, whether it be outside, at a track, in your garage or in a basement.

Some basic equipment to consider purchasing if you want to take your workouts to the next level include:

• A stationary bike
• Olympic weights
• Kettlebells
• Rings
• Parallel bars
• Yoga or exercise mats
• Horizontal bar
• Plyometrics boxes
• Medicine or stability balls
• Jump ropes
• Heavy ropes

Because CrossFit is challenging to your muscles, you need to make sure to schedule “rest days” so your muscles recover. Some common examples of a weekly schedule might be cycling three days on/one day off or five days on/two days off. Your exact workout schedule will depend on your intensity, goals and ability to recover.

Risks and Side Effects

There’s recently been a lot of criticism as to the potential injuries associated with CrossFit training. According to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, risks tied to CrossFit workouts include rhabdomyolysis and musculoskeletal injuries. However, the researchers point out that to date no evidence exists in medical journals to show that CrossFit injury rates are higher than those of other forms of high-intensity exercise.

After a total of 132 online questionnaires were completed among international CrossFit forums, data showed that an injury rate of 3.1 per 1,000 hours trained was calculated. Injury rates with CrossFit training seem to be similar to those reported for sports, such as Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting and gymnastics, and lower-contact sports, such as rugby. Among the reported injuries, shoulder and spine injuries predominate.

To keep yourself safe and prevent injuries or overtraining (such as avoiding rhabdomyolysis), make sure to properly warm up, stretch after a workout and give yourself enough time to recover.

The post CrossFit Workouts: Benefits, Risks & How to Do Your Own appeared first on Dr. Axe.

As the holiday season approaches, many people who exercise outdoors struggle with working out in the cold, but they don’t have to.

Is it bad to work out in cold weather? As long as you take some precautions, working out in the cold — such as walking, running or cycling — is actually pretty beneficial.

Exercising in cold weather can lead to improvements in endurance and cardiovascular function, and just like most exercise, it can also boost your mood and mental health.

Benefits of Working Out in the Cold

“Cold weather” means different things to different people, but generally it’s considered to be cold outside when it becomes uncomfortable to stay outdoors for more than short periods of time. This discomfort is due to drastic differences between the temperature outside and the internal temperature of the human body.

While being outside in cold weather might require you to wear a jacket or coat to avoid feeling chilly, it also has some perks to offer that being at room temperature doesn’t. The colder your environment, the harder your body has to work to maintain homeostasis (or balance), which means it uses energy in the process and also benefits metabolically in certain ways.

Let’s look closer at how working out in the cold benefits nearly your entire body:

1. Burn Extras Calories

Why is it harder to exercise in the cold? One reason is because your body needs to work harder to perform in chilly climates, mostly because it requires extra generation of heat to keep your muscles, organs and limbs warm.

Anytime your body is exposed to a form a “stress,” which can include drastic temperature or elevation changes as well as exercise itself, your need for energy increases. This causes your muscles to break down glycogen faster (from carbohydrates) in order to fuel themselves.

Brown fat is the type of body fat that helps regulate body temperature. When we’re outside in the cold, brown fat burns energy (calories) in order to heat our bodies and increase body temperature, in the process helping give the metabolisms a bit of a boost.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, “studies show that exercising in cold weather can transform white fat, specifically belly and thigh fat, into calorie-burning brown fat.” Because working out in the cold activates brown fat more than exercising at room temperature does, it can potentially help efforts to lose weight.

A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism even found that cold weather workouts can burn more calories compared to workouts done in more comfortable temperatures.

2. Can Help Improve Endurance

Working out in the heat can cause you to become exhausted more easily, since it increases sweating and your heart rate more rapidly. On the other hand, exercising in the cold can allow you to work out for longer, which may mean you can build endurance and stamina more easily.

What’s the ideal temperature to train at, or compete in, in order to maximize endurance? Research suggests it’s about 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, since this is the temp that feels most comfortable in which to breath rapidly and exert yourself.

However, it’s safe to train at even colder temps too. (See below for more info on working out in different temperatures.)

3. Fights Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder

Exercising outside during the winter where you’re exposed to sunlight is thought to be one effective strategy for helping ward off seasonal affective disorder, a type of mood disorder/depression that tends to affect people during the dark winter months.

Sunlight and exercise both have a positive impact on your mood for several reasons, including because they help release more “feel good” chemicals, including serotonin and endorphins.

Another cognitive/mental health perk of exercising in cold weather? Some studies have demonstrated that people who exercise in the cold tend to experience improvements in their decision making, focus and memory.

Other research shows that exercise in general is useful for decreasing anxiety and improving concentration.

4. Can Help You Sleep Better

The combination of sunlight exposure during the daytime, fresh air and physical activity can help you unwind and sleep more deeply at night. Sunlight is important for regulating your circadian rhythm, also called your “internal clock,” which makes you feel sleepy enough at night to drift off and alert enough in the morning to wake up.

The stress-relieving effects of exercise, whether done indoors or outdoors, are also important for fighting insomnia.

5. Supports Heart and Metabolic Health

Nearly all types of exercise benefit your cardiovascular system and can help promote insulin sensitivity and better blood sugar management.

Getting regular physical activity, such as walking briskly or jogging outdoors, has been linked to lowered risk for common health problems, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood glucose levels.

How to Exercise in Cold Weather (Best Exercises)

What are the best exercises to do in cold weather?

These include “cardio” or aerobic exercises like running, fast walking, jogging or cycling (assuming the wind isn’t too uncomfortable), plus ice skating, playing hockey, snowshoeing, or downhill skiing and snowboarding. You can also do sprint workouts outside or even do a circuit workout or weight training.

Ready to take your workout outdoors, even if it’s the middle of the winter? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Warm Up With Dynamic Stretches

Before exercising in cold weather, be sure to properly warm up, since inactive and cold muscles and joints are more prone to injuries.

Instead of doing traditional “static stretches,” in which you hold a fixed position, do dynamic forms of stretching instead. Dynamic stretching involves motion, which boosts circulation and blood flow to your muscles and helps protect against injuries.

Here are some examples of dynamic stretches to do for several minutes before working out in the cold:

• Wide arm and leg circles (aim for about 20 of each)
• Shoulder and neck shrugs
• Toe taps
• High steps (bringing your knees high toward your chest)
• Air squats
• Lunges (side, back and forward)
• Quad pulls

2. Stay Hydrated

Believe it or not, you’re more prone to becoming dehydrated in cold weather because your thirst sensation is reduced, your body uses water to warm you and you lose water due to breathing out moist air that causes respiratory fluid loss.

Be sure to drink water before, during and after your workout. If you prefer, drink something warm beforehand, such as hot tea, which can help make the cold feel initially more comfortable.

3. Optimize Nutrient Intake Before and After

Eating a healthy diet that includes protein and complex carbs is important for exercise no matter the temperature or time of year. It’s important to optimize your nutrient intake before and after cold weather training because your muscles need protein and carbs to stay fueled and repair themselves and grow back stronger.

Pre-workout, eat a meal rich in carbs and protein about one to three hours before exercising. (Avoid anything too heavy right before exercise, which might cause a stomachache.)

If you’re active for more than one hour and doing intense exercise, you may opt to have a carbohydrate-rich snack mid-workout to keep you energized. Following a tough workout, have protein and carbs within one to two hours to replenish glycogen stores and aid in muscle recovery.

What to Wear

When the temp drops outside, it’s important to wear the right gear to help keep your body’s core temperature warm. Clothing and accessories that help conserve body heat can keep your muscles warmed up so you feel less stiff or tight.

Here are some guidelines regarding what to wear when exercising in the cold:

Layer clothing — Your bottom layer should ideally be something thin that is made of synthetic material (such as polyester, polypropylene and nylon), which draws sweat away from your body. This leaves you less damp and chilly than if you wear cotton. Look for clothing marked as “moisture-wicking.” Over your thin layer, add something heavier that will keep you insulated, such as a sweatshirt, jacket or fleece.

Cover up vulnerable body parts — Your hands, feet, toes, ears and tip of your nose are most vulnerable to becoming very cold and even developing frostbite if it’s freezing outside. This happens because your body conserves energy and priorities warming your core, rather than your extremities.

Depending on how cold it is, cover up with a hat, gloves, face mask, scarf or goggles so less skin is exposed. Be sure to wear warm socks, but make sure they are comfortable depending on the kind of shoes you’re wearing. (You’ll need thinner socks if wearing sneakers compared to shoe shoes or ski boots, which can fit wool or thick cotton socks.)

If your hands get extra cold, try wearing thin glove liners under thicker gloves that are lined with fleece.

Don’t forget to protect your skin — Moisturize your skin consistently in the winter to keep water locked in and prevent dryness and chapping.

While some sunlight during the winter can be highly beneficial, too much can still burn your skin even if it’s chilly outside. Apply sunscreen if you’re spending lots of time outside, especially if you’re near snow, which can reflect sunlight — for example, if skiing or snowboarding.

Most dermatologists recommend wearing 30 SPF+ if in the sun longer than about 20 to 30 minutes, plus lip balm with sunscreen.

How Cold Is Too Cold?

What temperature is too cold to exercise outside? The ideal temperature for exercising outdoors in the cold is somewhere in the range of the 30s to 50s F.

That said, the American College of Sports Medicine has stated that “exercise can be performed safely in most cold-weather environments without incurring cold-weather injuries…the wind-chill temperature index can be used to estimate the relative risk of frostbite and heightened surveillance of exercisers should be used at wind-chill temperatures below -27 degrees C (-18 degrees F).”

In other words, it seems safe for most adults to work out in very cold temps, even those dropping into the single digits in degrees Fahrenheit. However, it’s crucial to wear the right gear once the temp drops below the 30s, and look out for any signs of cold-related injury (such as numbness, clumsiness and very red, cold skin).

Be cautious about avoiding frostbite when the temperature drops below 5 degrees F and the wind blows more than 20 miles per hour, which increases the risk for cold-related injuries.

Risks and Side Effects

Exercising in cold weather increases the risk of hypothermia, which is caused by a low body temperature. This is a serious condition that can cause damage to the skin and other tissues, so it’s impotent to take it seriously.

Seek emergency help from a professional immediately if you develop hypothermia symptoms, such as:

• numbness and tingling accompanies by redness/purple skin
• intense shivering
• extreme fatigue
• slurred speech
• loss of coordination

People with existing health conditions such as asthma or heart problems are more at risk for exercise-related side effects when working out in the cold. Be cautious about pushing yourself too hard if you have any history of trouble breathing, chest pains, etc.

Conclusion

• Working out in the cold is beneficial because it causes your body to work hard to maintain homeostasis (or balance). The colder your environment, the harder your body has to work to do this, which means it uses energy in the process and also benefits you metabolically in certain ways.
• Perks of exercising outdoors in the winter include improvements in your metabolism, fat-burning, mood, endurance, heart health and sleep.
• It’s usually safe to exercise outside even if the temperature falls into the single digits, but be sure to wear layers, moisture-wicking clothing, gloves, warm socks and a hat.
• Stop if you feel intense tingling, numbness or other signs of hypothermia when working out in the cold. Also be sure to stay hydrated and eat before and after working out in the cold for the best results.

The post What Are the Benefits of Working Out in the Cold? (Plus Safety Tips) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

By now, everyone knows there are numerous benefits of exercise, and one of those benefits includes the potential to extend life. This is even true for people who are already in their 60s and 70s.

In fact, recent research published in the journal JAMA Network Open found that women 65 and older who met the recommended guidelines of at least 2.5 hours of aerobic exercise and at least two days of strength training per week had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who did not.

“We found that each type of physical activity was independently associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in older adults,” study author Dr. Bryant Webber, an epidemiologist in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shared with CNN.

“Those who met the muscle-strengthening guideline only (versus neither guideline) had (a) 10% lower risk of mortality, those who met the aerobic guideline only had 24% lower risk of mortality, and those who met both guidelines had 30% lower risk,” he said.

What is the one specific exercise that helps you live longer? According to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, running may extend your life up to three years. (The new sport of pickleball also boasts some longevity benefits.)

Running: Exercise that Helps You Live Longer

That’s right — running is a life extender, even if you run as little as five minutes per day. Even more remarkable, subjects in the study who ran lived about three years longer than non-runners, even if they were overweight, drank, smoked, or run slowly or sporadically.

How can this be so? Good question.

What, exactly, did the researchers find in reviewing this study? According to Dr. Duck-chul Lee, a professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University, and his study co-authors, running dropped the risk for premature death by nearly 40 percent — even when controlling for a history of health issues like obesity or hypertension, smoking and drinking.

Extrapolating that data, the researchers concluded that if the non-runners in the study began running, there’d be 16 percent fewer deaths and 25 percent fewer fatal heart attacks.

You might be wondering, in order to make running an exercise that helps you live longer, how many miles a week should I run? That’s the fascinating part:

Perhaps most interesting, the researchers calculated that, hour for hour, running statistically returns more time to people’s lives than it consumes. Figuring two hours per week of training, since that was the average reported by runners in the Cooper Institute study, the researchers estimated that a typical runner would spend less than six months actually running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years, for a net gain of about 2.8 years.

As little as five minutes a day has benefits on longevity, with the life-extending powers plateauing at about four hours of running per week. However, running more than four hours a week did not show any adverse effects, just a plateau, meaning there is no harm in running long so long as you give yourself enough recovery time and rest between workouts.

The reasons behind these findings are still unclear, and this does not mean that running necessarily causes longevity to increase. It’s more likely, according to Lee, that because running combats so many health issues — such as high blood pressure and excess weight — it helps overall health, which in turn boosts longevity.

In fact, running isn’t the only exercise that helps you live longer. Walking, cycling and other exercise have also been shown to drop mortality risk by about 12 percent. It’s just that running seems to be the most effective exercise that helps you live longer.

Running and Telomeres

Beyond just combating high blood pressure, obesity, coronary heart disease and more, running seems to lengthen telomeres, segments of DNA at the end of our chromosomes that control aging.

One of the largest studies to date on telomeres shed some light on telomeres’ effect on a person’s health. Researchers collected saliva samples and medical records of more than 100,000 participants. Their findings showed that shorter-than-average telomere length was associated with a boost in mortality risk — even after adjusting for lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol consumption and education that are linked to telomere length.

The study found that individuals with the shortest telomeres, or about 10 percent of the study’s participants, were 23 percent more likely to die within three years than those with longer telomeres. While science still isn’t 100 percent sure how telomere length affects how we age, it’s clear that the longer our telomeres are, the better. As luck would have it, it turns out running helps extend telomeres.

Research published in the New York Times about how exercise keeps your cells young found that middle-aged adults who were intense runners (45–50 miles a week) had telomere lengths that were, on average, 75 percent longer than their sedentary counterparts.

Running Tips

While running is clearly an exercise that helps you live longer, you also don’t want to live in pain. That means you need to learn how to run properly and light on your feet.

According to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and tips from Harvard researchers, take the following directions to heart while running:

• Experiment with landing closer to the midfoot if you’re a heel striker. Most runners naturally land more lightly when they don’t lead with the heel.
• Slightly increase cadence — the number of steps you take per minute. This seems to reduce pounding from each stride.
• Imagine you’re running on eggshells or attempting to “run on water,” so to speak, trying to remain light on your feet.
• Don’t overstride. It places a big impact and shock wave that travels up your body. It also causes a deceleration of the body, so you have to work harder to keep your stride.
• If you focus on forefoot striking too much, you may overstride and cause more stress. Conversely, as we’ve noted, heel striking is bad. So focus on a flat-foot, midfoot strike. A very pronounced forefront or rearfoot strike is bad.
• Increase your stride rate. A high stride rate keeps your stride short and your bounce springy.
• Upright posture is important. If you lean forward, it puts big angular torque on your upper body, causing your body to want to fall forward, putting more stress on your lower body.
• Be relaxed. Don’t waste effort by tensing your upper body.

Keep these running tips for beginners in mind as well, if you want to take up this exercise that helps you live longer:

• Warm up
• Set a goal and run consistently
• Incorporate burst training
• Cross-train
• Get the right pre- and post-run fuel
• Choose the right shoes
• Watch out for surfaces
• Listen to your body
• Stretch

More Exercise that Helps You Live Longer

Running isn’t the only exercise that helps you live longer. As mentioned, walking, cycling and other exercise can also extend life, as well as weight training and high-intensity interval training.

A 2017 study published in Cell Metabolism examined 72 healthy but sedentary men and women who were 30 or younger or older than 64 for 12 weeks. The participants were assigned to one of four exercise groups.

The control group did not exercise. One group rode stationary bikes 30 minutes a few times a week and did light weight training the other days; another group did extensive weight training several times per week; and the final group participated in brief stationary bike interval training three times a week, resting three days and then repeating.

Here’s what the researchers found:

• High-intensity interval training improved age-related decline in muscle mitochondria.
• Training adaptations occurred with increased gene transcripts and ribosome proteins.
• Changes to RNA with training had little overlap with corresponding protein abundance.
• Enhanced ribosomal abundance and protein synthesis explain gains in mitochondria.

What does this mean? Here’s what Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, a professor of medicine and an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s senior author, says:

It seems as if the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was ‘corrected’ with exercise, especially if it was intense. In fact, older people’s cells responded in some ways more robustly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did — suggesting that it is never too late to benefit from exercise.

This shows both HIIT workouts and weight training can help delay muscle aging, which in turn makes them good for longevity as well.

Conclusion

• According to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, running may extend your life up to three years.
• Running dropped the risk for premature death by nearly 40 percent — even when controlling for a history of health issues like obesity or hypertension, smoking and drinking.
• The researchers estimated that a typical runner would spend less than six months actually running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years, for a net gain of about 2.8 years.
• Some of the reasons this may be so is that running helps combat issues that increase mortality risk, such as high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease, and it also seems to lengthen telomeres, segments of DNA at the end of our chromosomes that control aging.
• Researchers note that running doesn’t directly cause increases in longevity, but runners do seem to live longer, due in part to the reasons listed above.
• Other exercise that helps you live longer includes walking, cycling, weight training and HIIT workouts, among others.

The post Can Running, Strength Training & Other Exercise Help You Live Longer? YES appeared first on Dr. Axe.

High-intensity interval training , also called HIIT workouts, have become known in the fitness and medical world as one of the most effective means of improving cardiovascular health, respiratory endurance, as well as metabolic function.

Research shows that HIIT workouts helps burn fat in a short period of time and improve the physical performance of athletes of all kinds.

In fact, HIIT workouts have the ability to transform your body and physical abilities due to their effect on at least three important systems within the body:

1. Your cardiovascular health and endurance
2. Your body’s ability to use oxygen
3. Your hormone levels

For most people, because it’s one of the great metabolism boosters, the biggest draw to a HIIT workout is its ability to keep the body burning fat even after the workout is over.

What Is HIIT?

High-intensity interval training is a type of exercise that involves repeated short bouts of high-intensity, or “burst” exercises, followed by brief recovery periods. This sequence is repeated several times in a row usually for a duration between 20–30 minutes.

The exact type of exercise performed during the “intense” internal periods can vary, such as performing sprints or doing faster reps of a particular move.

A popular example of a HIIT workout can be running on the treadmill, alternating between a very fast pace and one that is easier and slower. In order to follow an interval schedule, you switch between sprints that require roughly 90 percent of your energy, followed by walking or slowly jogging to rest and recover.

Steady-state exercises, on the other hand, usually stay within the same type of “work” zone over time, with the amount of effort needed remaining consistent.

Considering the fact that many people use “not having enough time” as a popular reason to avoid regularly exercising, HIIT workouts are one of the best ways to overcome this block and get great results fast.

A HIIT protocol is a well-researched way to reap physical benefits as an alternative approach to steady-state exercise training but with less of a time commitment.

For example, a study compared the impact of two different types of exercise training on body fat and muscle metabolism: HIIT workouts versus steady-state exercise.

The study investigated the effects of calorie expenditure and fat loss in young adults and found that although HIIT workouts actually burned fewer calories during the actual workouts than did steady-state cardio exercise (likely due to its shorter duration), the HIIT program produced more fat loss than steady-state exercise did overall.

Additionally, the study concluded that while the HIIT workout helped build muscle, the steady-state workouts actually broke muscle down. Researchers concluded that not only does HIIT burn more fat over the duration of the day, but it also builds more muscle and improves metabolic function.

Two awesome perks of HIIT workouts are that depending on the type you choose, you can perform the workouts in the comfort of your own home without a trainer or gym (including a HIIT kettlebell workout) … and they can target all areas of your body, from your legs to your arms to your abs.

Who Are HIIT Workouts For?

Certain studies have shown that high-intensity exercise can be potentially unsafe for sedentary middle-aged adults. It’s best performed by those who are already somewhat active and have a healthy cardiovascular system.

That being said, anyone can work towards practicing HIIT workouts for their multiple benefits, including as a great workout for the legs. However, if you aren’t already exercising, then it’s best to start slowly to avoid injury or more serious problems.

In conclusion, an exercise plan that includes consistent high-intensity interval exercise has been shown to improve body composition, boost cardio-metabolic health, lessen the risk for heart disease and help improve exercise tolerance, even in obese and overweight participants.

Research has shown that HIIT workouts are safe, efficient, well-tolerated and could help to improve adherence to exercise training given the limited time commitment that they require.

Benefits

1. Improves Type 2 Diabetes

Studies have shown that resistance-based interval training specifically benefits blood flow and blood vessel dilation. A study, published in the American Journal of Physiology — Heart and Circulatory Physiology, found that resistance-based interval exercising improved endothelial function in individuals that previously exercised, those that didn’t and those with type 2 diabetes.

When researchers measured blood flow before, immediately following and at one and two hours after working out, participants with type 2 diabetes saw improvements at each time. The other two participant groups experienced improvements one and/or two hours after exercising.

2. Boosts Cardiovascular Health

Many studies are now showing that internal training — including HIIT workouts — promote greater improvements in VO2max and general fitness abilities than steady-state exercises do.

In fact, VO2max is considered the best indicator of cardiovascular endurance. This is the measurement most commonly used in fitness studies to show the effects that the exercise is having on the body. VO2 max is sometimes also called “max oxygen uptake” or “max aerobic activity” and is used to measure how well the body can use oxygen for energy.

Specifically, VO2max is defined as the maximum amount of oxygen (in milliliters) that a person can use in one minute per kilogram of their body weight. This measurement is important because the amount of oxygen that a person can utilize within one minute is an indicator of their overall fitness level and also their lung and heart health.

Due to the expansion of blood volume, the heart will undergo enlarging, or “hypertrophy,” during HIIT type of endurance exercises in order to allow the heart muscle to become bigger and stronger.

By pushing your heart rate high during periods of intense work, you’ll be able to increase your cardiovascular ability and strengthen your heart. During the short rest intervals, you work on recovering more quickly and needing less time to rest. This is how you build stamina over time and increase your ability to perform physical exercises more effectively.

Performing short recovery segments in between the intervals where you’re working harder has the benefit of allowing you to keep the overall workout intensity high while still maintaining form.

While it’s hard to work very hard and maintain a high heart rate for an extended period of time because your body isn’t able to bring in enough oxygen, the rest/recovery periods of interval training allow you to catch your breath and for your heart rate to come down momentarily.

Knowing your VO2 max can help you to establish fitness goals to work towards and gives you a starting point as to how capable you are of maintaining a high level of effort over a period of time.

3. Triggers an Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen (EPOC) Effect

HIIT workouts also trigger something known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or “EPOC.” EPOC is the phenomenon of an increased rate of oxygen that your body uses following strenuous activity.

Your body uses more oxygen after hard workouts like those performed during HIIT because it’s making up for the body’s “oxygen deficit” that occurred during the difficult “burst” periods of the exercise. EPOC has many functions for the body, including that following a HIIT workout, your body goes into a recovery phase.

A higher level of oxygen is needed during recovery in order to facilitate in the restoration of hormone levels, refueling your glucose stores, and repairing your muscle fibers and tissue.

The best part about EPOC? It’s accompanied by an elevated need for bodily “fuel” or energy in addition to more oxygen. After intense exercise, fat stores within your body are actually broken down and free fatty acids are released into the bloodstream. During the post-workout recovery phase, these free fatty acids become oxidized and your body uses them for energy.

As your body uses more oxygen to bring itself back into a resting state, more calories are burned in the process, even while you are done working out. This means you continue to experience benefits and fat loss during the remainder of your day following a HIIT workout.

Another benefit of EPOC that results from HIIT workouts? New ATP (adenosine triphosphate) — which is the fuel source or energy that your body works off of — is also synthesized. Additionally, post-exercise oxygen is used to reduce lactic acid.

Lactic acid is formed during exercise and is responsible for giving you the “burning” feeling in your muscles when they are working hard.

Lactic acid travels via the bloodstream to the kidneys, cardiac muscle and liver during workouts; then an increased amount of oxygen is necessary to convert the lactic acid back to pyruvic acid so that your pain subsides and body enters a resting state.

Yet another use of EPOC is to fuel the body’s increased metabolism that results from the increase in body temperature experienced during exercise. Due to all of these vital tasks that the body must undergo during a period of EPOC, you can see why HIIT workouts have such a huge effect on your strength, stamina and health.

4. Releases Muscle-Growth and Fat-Burning Hormones

Intense interval training circuits also stimulate muscle-building hormones while simultaneously using up calories and burning fat. The body produces the growth hormone known as IGF-1 during HIIT, for example, which allows the body to build lean mass muscle.

5. Anti-Aging

A study conducted at the Mayo Clinic revealed that high-intensity interval training can help stop cellular aging. In some instances, HIIT was also shown to rejuvenate the cells that help repair damage in the body.

The participants either did a three-month program of HIIT, strength training or a combination of the two. Results were positive for all groups but particularly for the HIIT only group. Mitochondrial functioning improved by 69 percent among older participants and by 49 percent for the younger group.

In addition, the HIIT group’s insulin levels, heart and lung health all improved. Some even experienced a reversal of the age-related decline in mitochondrial function.

6. Helps Balance Hormones

In addition to be “anti-aging,” a critical benefit of high-intensity interval training is that it can help balance the hormones responsible for weight gain and unhealthy eating habits:

• Ghrelin — the hormone responsible for long-term weight gain and short-term eating habits, as it is believed to be the only hormone that can stimulate appetite. Essentially, it’s the main contributor to sweet, salty and fried food cravings.
• Leptin— known as the “starvation hormone” because it gives you the sense of feeling “full.” By notifying your brain that you have eaten enough food, leptin is key to maintaining that your energy levels are sufficient.
• Testosterone — four facts about testosterone’s confusing interactions with the two above hormones include 1) elevated levels of testosterone promote weight loss; 2) testosterone inhibits the release of leptin in the body; 3) decreased levels of leptin promote weight gain; 4) both hormones have been observed to increase after HIIT.

In theory, high-intensity interval training produces a seesaw effect on these two key hormones (testosterone and leptin) that usually counteract against each other, but promote the same desirable weight loss effect. The question has been, “Would the amount of leptin produced as a result of HIIT be enough to counteract testosterone’s ability to slow down leptin release?”

Well, according to a study published in the journal Endocrine, the answer is yes. Apparently, high-intensity workouts promote a very unique environment where leptin is relatively impervious to the negative effects of testosterone elevation, as no relationship between the two could be found in a clinical trial. By doing HIIT training exercises, you receive the benefit of both weight-loss promoting hormones.

In addition, Health and Exercise Science researchers out of the University of Bath (UK) have shown that various hormone levels in individuals who participated in HIIT training resulted in:

• Ghrelin declines after 30 minutes of recovery.
• Caused growth hormone (a hormone attributed to weight loss) to increase, which suggests that interval training affects other hormones in addition to ghrelin and leptin.

Just two from a myriad of research studies, it is becoming clearer than ever that high-intensity interval training is quite effective at curbing several appetite and weight gain hormones

Important Note:

Like any activity, it is important to perform it in the most effective way.  The same is true for high-intensity interval training. To maximize your HIIT training, it is best to exercise first thing every morning to control gherlin and leptin.

According to a study published in the Journal of Physiology, exercising on an empty stomach has also been shown to improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Not only contributing to type 2 diabetes prevention and weight loss, this has been proven to curb the munchies and the desire to eat unhealthy snacks in conjunction with ghrelin and leptin.

How to Build Your Own HIIT Workout

No matter what your exercise preference is — whether running, biking, swimming or lifting weights, for example — you can practice HIIT workouts to improve your abilities. Even seasoned athletes use HIIT workouts to gain stamina and bust through plateaus that they are experiencing after practicing one particular type of exercise for a long time.

HIIT workouts are a great way to “shock” your muscles and to kick your body into high gear, allowing you to continue experiencing results and improvements after your body has gotten accustomed to your usual workout routine.

According to studies, it’s believed that an optimal HIIT workout produces maximum cardiovascular benefits when athletes spend at least several minutes per session in their “red zone” — this generally means reaching at least 90 percent of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max).

In order to estimate when you are working at 90 percent of your VO2max, you can think about your level of perceived effort on a 1–10 scale; you should be aiming to give it “your all” and reach a score of nine out of a possible 10 for at least a few minutes during a 20–30 minute HIIT workout.

In addition to focusing on your perceived level of effort and targeting a high VO2max, there are also other variables to consider. Keep these physiological variables in mind, which researchers have noted are all-important for practicing HIIT workouts and continuing to show improvements:

1. The amount of time you spent in your “intense” working interval

The longer you spend in your intense zone, the more of an effect the exercise will have. Start off with shorter bursts of intense periods and increase the duration as you build strength and stamina.

2. Aim to reach 80 percent to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate during the exercises

In order to get a highly efficient HIIT workout, it’s important to know your maximum heart rate (MHR). 220 beats per minutes is the fastest our heart rate can reach, but that’s not a safe level for adults. To figure out your maximum heart rate, take 220 minus your age:

220 – your age = MHR

If you’re 40 years ago, that means your MHR is 180.

Wear a fitness watch or heart rate monitor to keep an eye on your MHR, and you should aim to hit around 60–70 percent of your MHR in the first few minutes of the workout. Once you get a little sweat going and feel ready to push it further, aim for 80–90 percent of your MHR for the exercise portion.

During the final recovery portion of the workout, slow down until you reach a heart rate between 40 percent and 50 percent of your MHR. Sustain that level for at least three minutes.

3. The amount of time you spent in your “rest” and recovery interval

You will likely notice that you need less time to recover as your body adapts to HIIT workouts. Pay attention to how long of rests you are taking and aim to shorten the restful period duration as your abilities improve.

4. The amount of reps you perform during your intense bursts

Instead of aiming to improve the duration of time you spend in an intense interval, you can also focus on how many reps you are able to do in each set, for example, or your speed of work.

You will likely notice your ability to do reps quickly improves as you become accustomed to HIIT workouts and that you need less recovery time in between sets. You may also notice that your sprints get quicker or your cycling pace gets faster if you choose to run or bike during your HIIT workout.

5. The total number of interval series you are able to perform

It’s a good idea to start out with about 15–20 minutes of HIIT intervals and work your way up to 25–30 minutes if you’d like. The more your body gets used to the intensity, the more series you’ll be able to perform and your total workout length will increase.

6. The time needed between HIIT workouts

Most experts recommend practicing HIIT workouts 2–3 times per week, but not much more than this. The body needs an adequate break period between HIIT workouts to fully repair and grow stronger.

In fact, this is just as important as the workout itself and if you fail to properly give yourself enough rest, you miss out on some of the benefits of HIIT.

That being said, you will improve your ability to practice HIIT workouts closer to each other as your recovery periods become shorter. Even after you’ve seen great improvements, it’s still best to allow 48 hours in between HIIT workouts and avoid practicing them multiple days in a row.

Best HIIT Workouts at Home or the Gym

Keeping all of the above factors in mind, you can start practicing HIIT workouts using one of these example plans:

1. Treadmill Running HIIT Workout

• Start with a warm up by lightly jogging for three minutes.
• Next, move into your interval period for about 10 minutes. Each minute you will do 20 seconds of intense work followed by 40 seconds of recovery. (Do this 10 times to start out, and as you become more fit you can increase to 15 minutes and beyond. If you’d like to challenge yourself more, do 30 seconds of intense bursts followed by 30 seconds of rest.)
• Cool down with a 3 minute jog.

2. Circuit Training HIIT Workout

The three exercise moves below will make up your “intense” interval, then performing an easier form of cardio afterwards will make up your “rest” interval.

• Warm up for a few minutes.
• Perform the following three exercise moves back-to-back according these reps. After each “round,” then take a 30 second to 1 minute rest before repeating the next round. Start by doing 10 reps of each, then 15 reps in round two, then 20 reps in round three.
• • Burpees (or push-ups), a great plyometric exercises
  • Mountain Climbers (or fast alternating lunges)
  • Jumping Jacks
• After you’ve completed these three sets, do a form of steady-state cardio for about three minutes. This can mean jogging, running in place, hopping on an exercise bike, etc. You want to be working at about half of your ability.
• You can also turn a butt workout into a HIIT workout by following the same principles.

3. Cycling HIIT Workout

This cycling interval workout is based on the “Tabata” style of exercise, which usually consists of 20 seconds of hard work followed by 10 seconds of rest. That shorter rest period will make it particularly challenging, so consider this more advanced. In order to do interval training, this same ratio can be used in any other form of exercise as well.

• Start by cycling at a restful pace for three minutes to warm up.
• Move into your interval period for the next 10 minutes, where you will be cycling as hard as you possibly can for 20 seconds and then resting for 10 seconds. You can use a timer to keep track of the time or count in your head. Repeat this interval schedule 10–20 times depending on your abilities and current fitness level.
• Cool down with a slow, restful three minutes of cycling.

4. Advanced HIIT Workout

This advanced HIIT workout also relies on the Tabata protocol. Go through each move described below for an intense 20 seconds, moving very quickly through as many reps as you can perform in 20 seconds (really push yourself here!), followed by 10 seconds of rest.

Then jump right into the next move following the same timing. It’s a quick transition. Once you’ve completed each move below, you are done with one intense interval.

Here are the list of exercises:

• Push-ups (including a push-up in a TRX workout)
• Bodyweight Rows
• Squats
• Jumping Rope
• Burpees
• Jumping Jacks
• Running in Place
• Medicine Ball Chest Passes
• Jumping Lunges
• Planks (side, high or low)

Rest for one to two minutes after the circuit is complete. Then go through the entire circuit another two times, or until you lose proper form (which is a sure sign to stop, as you want to prevent any possible injuries).

Precautions

High-intensity interval training is a tremendous exercise, but it’s also very challenging for the body and not suited for everyone. One should be aware of risk factors and precautions that need to be taken.

For example, if you haven’t exercised in quite some time, then HIIT workouts are not your best best. Instead, start with walking workouts. When you’re ready to “step” it up, you can try a HIIT workout.

Who should avoid HIIT workouts?

• Anyone with joint or tendon injuries; HIIT is not a good rehab routine; instead, only look to HIIT once you’re well recovered from injury
• Those with asthma or respiratory issues should begin with lower-intensity exercise to make sure they can handle the workload.
• Those with heart issues or who recently underwent cardiac surgery.
• If you take blood pressure medications or have uncontrolled diabetes.
• Those with osteopenia or osteoporosis..
• If you’re pregnant.

With HIIT, heart rates increase rapidly so keep a close eye on your fitness threshold and don’t push it too hard in your first few bouts. It’s also a good idea to wear a heart rate monitor or fitness watch to keep an eye on your heart rate. (See the heart rate section above for guidance.)

Have a water bottle handy. You’ll want to hydrate because of the high intensity.

Lastly, make sure you’re wearing the right kind of shoes (cross trainers are best) and clothing. You want to be able to move easily so semi-tight clothing is best.

The post HIIT Workouts Benefits, Plus 4 Sample Routines appeared first on Dr. Axe.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at me today, but for a long time I was living a completely unhealthy lifestyle. For years I’d struggled with my weight and had no understanding of how to live a healthy, balanced life. I just wanted to lose weight and lose it fast, so I took extreme measures, trying every fad diet and insane exercise program out there, only to end up back where I started — or even worse off.

I believed that if I wanted to make a noticeable change in my life and in my body, it had to be drastic. I thought getting fit meant I had to hate every second of every workout and hope that it would pay off eventually. I endured hours at the gym, meal after meal of bland, boring food and a constant internal battle just to finally feel “normal.”

Well, six years and 45 pounds later, I can tell you I was SO wrong …

If you’re looking to finally get fit or just live a healthier life overall, creating a new fitness routine is the necessary first step — but it’s also the hardest part for most people. Whether you’re a student, a busy mom or a successful entrepreneur, finding time to work out can feel like one more (unenjoyable) thing you need to add to your to-do list. And, like I did, you probably feel that if you’re ever going get in shape you need exercise for hours at a time, doing repetitive exercises and boring cardio.

The good news is that starting a new fitness routine is much easier than you think. You don’t have to sacrifice hours of your precious time in order to see results.

In fact, spending just a few minutes each day getting your sweat on will relieve stress, increase energy and help you feel stronger and more motivated to take on life’s toughest challenges.

Related: Exercise Hacks to Help You Get Fitter Without the Gym

How to Start a New Fitness Routine

My business Love Sweat Fitness is all about sharing workouts that are FUN, fast and super effective. No matter what anyone says, there is no magic bullet or secret workout “must-do” in order to get results. It truly comes down to finding activities you enjoy doing and sticking with them — and if you don’t enjoy your workout, you won’t stick with it.

The goal is to also find things that you can do consistently over time that challenge you but also allow you to feel confidant in doing so.

Even if you only have five minutes to work out, it IS worth it! Following are some easy ways to add exercises into your day, and once you start to feel and see the impact those five minutes are having, you’ll easily want to make it 10 or 20. This will make setting (and achieving!) your goals that much easier, and you’ll also be more motivated to find and follow the get-fit plan that’s right for you!

Easy Ways to Add in Exercises:

• Do set of squats or lunges while you cook dinner
• Try this five-minute ab workout before bed
• Give these exercises at your desk a whirl

Setting Your Goals:

While it’s important to have big goals that you will achieve over time, creating smaller goals is even more motivational. Those small goals are what keep you going and allow you to enjoy the journey. Put together a list with your No. 1 goal at the top, followed by a bunch of smaller goals below.

For example, if your big goal is to lose 20 pounds, your smaller goals may include:

• working out five times each week, consistently
• doing a sugar detox
• replacing all the junk food in your cabinets with healthy, nutritious snacks
• cutting down on cocktails

Having smaller goals that help you achieve your big ones will give you reasons to celebrate along the way, which gives you motivation to keep going!

Finding a Plan That’s Right for You:

Goals are great, but having a plan will keep you motivated to make those goals happen! The Love Sweat Fitness Hot Body Sweat Guide & Meal Plan takes all the guesswork out of improving your lifestyle. With 30-minute, at-home workouts and delicious daily meals all laid out, you can’t go wrong!

I created the Hot Body Guides to make it easy for anyone to work out at any time, anywhere. The guides are simple, straightforward and perfect for anyone who wants to create a healthier lifestyle, see results and still enjoy life.

Having gone through my own 45-pound weight loss transformation, I know that if you to truly create a lifestyle change, you need to find workouts and meals that work for YOU! The best exercises in the world won’t make a difference if you don’t do them.

So if you’re ready to dive in to a new, healthier version of you, write down your goals, have a plan and remember: Good things come to those who sweat!

Katie Dunlop is a Certified Personal Trainer, group fitness instructor and entrepreneur based in Orange County, California. She is the creator of Love Sweat Fitness, a health and fitness community that inspires women around the world to find their happy, healthy hot body! The LSF YouTube channel has over 9.5 million views and 220,000+ subscribers.

The post Starting a Fitness Routine that Works for You appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Swimming is a sport that many of us seem to do often when we’re young but then slack off on as we age. According to statistics, children swim more than adults, and in past generations, people tended to swim more in general.

If you haven’t hit a swimming pool in some time or find yourself swimming only during warmer months, you’re missing out. That’s because swim workouts are some of the best activities you can do for your body year-round.

Swimmers benefit from improved endurance, strength and even stress relief.

Read on to discover why it might be time to grab your goggles and swim cap.

Top 9 Benefits of Swimming

There’s no such thing as a miracle workout, but if there was, swimming would be pretty high on the list. Research suggests there are both physical and mental benefits of swimming workouts, and you don’t need to be the next Michael Phelps to reap these effects.

What does swimming do to your body exactly? Here are the top benefits of swimming for your body and mind:

1. Can Help Your Brain Work Better

You’ll get more than just a swimmer’s body when you take up swim workouts. Your brain will get a boost, too.

Swimming has been found to increase blood flow to the brain, which leads to more oxygen. That means you may experience more alertness, better memory and overall improved cognitive function.

One interesting study found that just being in a pool of warm water that’s at least chest-level can have a positive effect on blood flow to the brain. Participants in the study increased blood flow to their cerebral arteries by about 14 percent.

2. Helps Children Achieve Skills

It turns out that getting little ones in the water early is a good idea as well. A study of 7,000 children under 5 years old found that children who participated in swimming at a young age achieved skills and reached physical milestones earlier than their non-swimming peers, regardless of socioeconomic background.

Their literacy and numeric skills were better, too. Better get the floaties!

3. Gives You a Mood Boost

If you only swim during the summer months, it’s time to break out your swimsuit during the winter. That’s because, despite the lower temperatures, one study found that swimmers who hit the pool regularly between October and January reported improved general well-being, including less fatigue, tension and memory loss.

No matter the time of year, it’s thought that swimming offers mental health benefits, including lowering stress levels, reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improving sleep quality.

Not only that, but the swimmers who suffered from ailments like rheumatism, fibromyalgia or asthma found that wintertime swimming eased their aches and pains.

4. Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

If you suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure), swim workouts are an excellent way to lower resting blood pressure.

One study found that, over a 10-week period, men and women who had previously been sedentary and had hypertension decreased their resting heart rate significantly. This is particularly useful for people who struggle with other exercises because of their weight, asthma or injuries.

Another study found that after a year of swimming regularly, patients with hypertension lowered their blood pressure while also improving insulin sensitivity, which is key to avoiding type 2 diabetes.

5. May Help You Live Longer

If you’ve been comparing life extenders, swimming is another one to add to your list.

One study of more than 40,000 men between 20–90 years old found that those participants who swam or did other pool exercises, like water jogging or aqua aerobics, lowered their risk of dying from any cause by nearly 50 percent compared to men who were sedentary, walked regularly or who were runners.

6. Helps Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

A 2018 meta-analysis and review concluded that swimming “may offer robust beneficial effects on cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition across multiple populations.” The review found that swimmers benefited from improvements in ventilation, exercise performance, body mass, body fat percentage and lean mass.

Positive effects of swimming are thought to be comparable to other types of exercise in terms of physiological outcomes, both in healthy adults and those with noncommunicable disease.

In another study of patients with osteoarthritis, researchers found that swimming was just as effective — and sometimes even more so — as cycling at improving cardiovascular function and reducing inflammation.

7. May Decrease Lower Back Pain

Skip the painkillers, and hit the pool instead. One study found that patients with lower back pain who did aquatic exercises at least twice a week showed significant improvements in pain.

After six months, 90 percent of the study’s participants felt they improved after their time in the program, no matter what their swimming ability was at the start of the study.

8. Serves as Ideal Alternative to High-Impact Exercise

Swimming uses muscles you don’t normally engage and is easy on the joints, making it a great alternative to high-impact activities. It also allows you to zone out without the fear of tripping on something like when you’re running.

Even though it’s “low impact,” swimming isn’t necessarily easy. At a moderate pace, it burns about 270 calories in just a half hour. Increase the intensity, and you’re looking at about 700 calories an hour!

Unlike other workouts, like running or cycling, swimming isn’t only a cardio activity. Because water is denser than air — by nearly 800 times — every swimming workout becomes a strength training session, where you’re building muscle and tone along with burning calories with each stroke.

One review found that swimming exercises led to improvements in both strength and power capacities and performance. Plus, you’ll likely use muscles that you normally don’t, meaning you’ll start to see definition in new places.

9. Can Help with Weight Loss

Does swimming work for weight loss, and can swimming burn belly fat?

The answer is: probably. Like any other exercise, how effective swimming is for weight loss depends on a variety of factors: how long you’re swimming, what you’re eating throughout the day and what you’re doing once you’re in the pool.

If you spend most of your time adjusting your bathing suit instead of moving or swim dozens of laps but subsist on a fast food diet, chances are you’re not going to lose weight, and studies focused on swimming for weight loss ave been somewhat contradictory.

One study examined the effects of swimming and walking on body weight, fat distribution, lipids, glucose and insulin in older women. The study found that, after six months, swimmer reduced their waist and hip sizes more than walkers and increased how far they could swim in 12 minutes. Walkers didn’t increase how far they could walk.

After a year, swimmer reduced their body weight and cholesterol levels more than the walkers.

Other studies have found that swimming can increase people’s food consumption, and in some studies, swimmers haven’t lost any weight at all. If you focus less on the numbers on the scale and instead on your body, however, you might find that swimming is the ideal workout for you, even if you aren’t dropping pounds.

Related: The Surprising Benefits of Swimming in Cold Water (+ How to Stay Safe)

Types of Swimming and How to Swim

Types:

There are four major swimming “strokes” that experts recommend learning in order to get the most benefits from your workouts. These strokes generally provide a full-body workout (they’re also the same strokes used by competitive swimmers) and include:

• Front crawl — Regarded as the fastest of the four strokes, this is done facing forward with alternating arm movements. You keep your body flat but rotate your hips and shoulder. One shoulder comes out of the water as your arm exits while the other begins the propulsive phase under the water.
• Breaststroke — Done while facing forward, you stretch your arms out and to the side. Your head bobs in and out of the water so you can breathe while also increasing your speed.
• Butterfly — Facing forward, you move your chest and use both arms symmetrically while kicking with “butterfly legs.” Your body remains close to the surface of the water while your hands sweep down and out to form a Y shape in front of you.
• Backstroke — While floating on your back, you use alternating arm movements to propel you forward. Your body rolls from side to side slightly while your legs perform “flutter kicks.”

How Often and How Long?

Is swimming every day OK? In most cases, yes.

Swimming is gentle on your joints, so you’re unlikely to get injured in a pool. Unlike other exercises, unless you’re doing some seriously intense swimming, you don’t really need recovery time after pool exercises.

If you are recovering from an injury, swim workouts are an excellent way to keep moving while you recover.

How long do you need to swim to get a good workout? Aim for about 20 to 40 minutes (or longer if you enjoy endurance swimming).

At first, start with shorter swims lasting about 15 to 20 minutes, and plan to swim every other day or several times per week. As you get better at it, increase the time to about 30 minutes, ideally about four or five times per week.

Here’s the cool thing: According to Swimming.org, “30 minutes in a pool is worth about 45 minutes of the same activity on land!”

Tips for How to Swim:

Completely new to swimming or ready to become a more avid endurance swimmer? Here’s how to do it:

For starters, swim workouts can be way more intense than you may expect, because working out in the water is completely different than on land. You’re constantly in motion to keep yourself from sinking, your lungs are adjusting to breathing differently and muscles you didn’t know you had are in motion. In short, it’s tough!

When you’re first starting out, the best way to keep from feeling too winded too soon is by divvying up your workout into a few short intervals. You want to vary the strokes, the intensity and rest periods as well.

You can also add some pool toys to change things up, like using a kickboard to tone thighs or play water sports with friends.

For each workout below, the goal is given along with expected strokes and distances. Why do more strokes than just the crawl? Variety gives your muscles a break.

Remember, an Olympic-sized swimming pool is 50 meters long, so one “lap” is 100 meters.

Also, please consult your doctor before beginning any type of training program.

1. Beginner Swim Workout

The principal goal is to learn the four major strokes — the front crawl (or freestyle), the backstroke, the breaststroke and the butterfly — and swim continuously without taking breaks, aided by breathing properly.

Beginner workout (rest between each set):

• 2 x 50 meter crawl (warmups)
• 2 x 50 meter backstroke (focus on swimming straight)
• 2 x 50 meter breaststroke (focus on technique)
• 2 x 50 meter butterfly (if you can’t do butterfly, then do crawl)
• 2 x 100 meter IM (25 meters of each: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, crawl)
• 2 x 50 meter crawl (cool-down)

2. Intermediate Swim Workout

Until you’ve mastered the butterfly, you shouldn’t advance to this workout. Here the goal is to improve your swim technique for all four strokes and develop excellent breathing.

Intermediate workout (rest after each 100 meters or lap if need):

• 300 meters warmup (alternate the four strokes)
• 4 x 100 meters IM (“sprint” 1st and 3rd lap, swim easy on 2nd and last IM)
• 4 x 50 meters breaststroke
• 4 x 50 meters butterfly
• 4 x 50 meters backstroke
• 200 meters cool-down (alternate the four strokes)

3. Advanced Swim Workout

Advanced swim workouts include more challenging swimming drills and breathing techniques. These drills will help you develop into a very strong swimmer with outstanding stamina.

Advanced workout (rest after each 100 meters or lap if need):

• 300 meters crawl warmup
• 4 x 200 meters with alternate breathing (50 meters every 6th stroke; 50 meters every 5th; 50 meters every fourth; 50 meters every 3rd)
• 3 x 100 meters (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke)
• 8 x 50 meters sprints (swim each without taking a breath; rest briefly after each)
• 8 x 25 meters sprints (swim each without taking a breath; rest briefly after each)
• 4 x 100 meters IM (rest 30–60 seconds after each 100)
• 300 meters cool-down (alternate the four strokes)

Risks and Side Effects

Happily, swimming is one of the sports where you’re least likely to injure yourself.

That being said, why might swimming not be good for you? It’s generally very safe (assuming you know how to float), but it requires an adjustment from the way you operate on land.

If you’re not an experienced swimmer or have health issues, particularly cardiovascular disease, you should contact your doctor to ensure that striking up a swimming routine is safe.

If you’re unsure about how to swim, now is the time to get a lesson! Most community pools offer adult swimming lessons throughout the year.

Easy on your wallet, swimming doesn’t require any gear except for a swimsuit. If you’re hitting the pool regularly, you should get a pair of swimming goggles so you don’t have to worry about chlorine flying in your eyes.

Ladies, you might want to invest in a swim cap — although it’s not particularly stylish looking, it’ll protect your hair from the chemicals from the water so it doesn’t start feeling rough or get discolored.

Related: Chlorine Rash Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Prevention

Conclusion

• The benefits of swimming workouts are vast and range from improving your brain function and mood to reducing your risk of heart disease and helping you live longer.
• While the jury is still deciding on whether swimming is the best workout for weight loss, it’s excellent for keeping in shape and building muscle tone. (Another new exercise worth trying is pickleball, which is similar low-impact yet good exercise.)
• Not only is swimming a cardio workout, but it’s strength training as well. Hello, muscles!
• Ease into pool workouts to ensure you feel comfortable and can maintain them.

The post The Health Benefits of Swimming + Swim Workouts to Try appeared first on Dr. Axe.

When nicer weather returns, it’s exciting to move your workouts outdoors, adding plenty of fresh air and scenic sights to the experience. However, working out in the heat can cause dehydration and overheating when it’s not done with caution.

There are ways you can work out in the heat safely, staying cool and maintaining healthy hydration levels. With these simple tips, you can continue to enjoy the outdoors while getting in your daily physical activity.

Tips for Working Out in the Heat

1. Hydrated and Rehydrate

This seems pretty obvious, but staying hydrated is critical when working out in the heat. You will sweat out the water you drink, so it’s even easier to become dehydrated.

Research shows that going into a workout hydrated is very important. Not only should you drink plenty of water before, during and after your workout, but eating foods that help restore electrolyte balance is also helpful.

Before and after exercise in the heat, eat or drink naturally hydrating foods that provide electrolytes, such as coconut water, watermelon, cucumber, celery, citrus fruits and carrots.

After workouts, be sure to replace water and sodium loss by drinking two to three extra cups of water and eating sodium foods, such as pickles, sauerkraut and adding a pinch of sea salt to meals.

2. Plan Wisely

If you plan to exercise outdoors, choose a cooler time of day when the sun isn’t shining on you at its hottest. Mornings and late afternoon/early evening are great times to work out, but minimize your exposure to direct sunlight.

3. Consider a Pre-Workout Shower

Research suggests that manipulation of pre-exercise body temperature can influence your workout performance and may be an effective strategy for athletes competing in stressful environments. Taking a cool shower or a quick swim before exercising in the heat is a good way to reduce body temperature.

4. Wear Light-Weight Clothing

Avoid wearing dark-colored clothing when exercising in the heat. Go for whites or even bright clothes that reflect the sun.

You’ll also stay cooler with light-weight clothing and moisture-wicking garments that bring sweat to the outer surface and help keep you dry. You may find that loose-fitting shirts help keep you cool as well.

5. Bring an Ice Pack

If you become overheated, placing an ice pack on the back of your neck can help cool you down. You can also use a cold wash cloth to relieve the heat.

6. Listen to Your Body

It’s important to know your limits when exercising in the heat. If you begin to feel light-headed, dizzy or nauseous, it’s time to rest and drink water.

Excessive sweating can lead to heat exhaustion and have dangerous consequences, so monitor your water intake and energy levels as you go through your exercise routine.

7. Keep It Short

If you’re not used to extended workouts in the heat, keep your routine short, starting at about 20–30 minutes. Let your body get used to physical activity in the heat, whether it’s outdoors or during a heated class like hot yoga.

Related: What Are the Benefits of Working Out in the Cold? (Plus Safety Tips)

Benefits of Exercising in the Heat

1. Improves Your Endurance

Exercising in the heat helps you become more comfortable with an uncomfortable setting. It forces you to push through the discomfort, thereby improving your tolerance for tough workouts.

Research indicates that people who are more acclimated to the heat and fully hydrated have less body heat storage and perform optimally during exercise-heat stress.

2. Prepares You for Competitive Events

Because working out in the heat helps build endurance and tolerance to stress on the body, it can be useful in training for competitive events. Your ability to do intense workouts for extended periods of time will be greater after training in the heat.

3. Increases Sweat and Blood Circulation

Your body naturally responds to heat exposure by increasing sweat production and blood circulation. Learning how to adapt to these circumstances allows your body to become more able to work out in a range of temperatures.

Plus, working out in the heat safely can improve your heart and sweat rate, thereby boosting cardiovascular health.

4. Promotes Detoxification

Research suggests that individuals routinely have sweating rates of one liter per hour when working in hot environments. This sweat rate promotes detoxification and allows your body to expel toxins within the body.

Remember that you need to replenish these fluids by drinking plenty of water after an outdoor workout.

Risks and Side Effects

When exercising in the heat, you need to know your limits and the warning signs of heat exhaustion. Everyone handles exposure to heat and physical activity in high temperatures differently, so you need be aware of your personal limitations.

If you experience any of the following symptoms, it’s important to stop your workout, hydrate and get your body back to a normal temperature:

• fatigue
• weakness
• muscle cramps
• nausea
• vomiting
• headache
• dizziness
• problems with vision
• excessive sweating
• confusion
• low blood pressure

There are phases of heat-related health issues, starting with feelings of weakness and dizziness, experiencing heat cramps, heat exhaustion and then heat stroke, which is a medical emergency that can cause serious damage. It’s critical to avoid any of these symptoms when taking your workouts outdoors or into high temperatures.

Conclusion

• Working out in the heat can be challenging and invigorating all at once. It helps promote detoxification and build endurance, but it can also be dangerous if it’s not done correctly.
• To work out in the heat safely, it’s critical to stay hydrated (drink plenty of water before, during and after your workout), eat or drink electrolyte foods, keep your workout time short, avoid hours of direct sunlight, wear loose-fitting clothing, and use an ice pack to cool yourself off.
• Exercise in the heat can be useful for promoting blood circulation and sweating, building tolerance to stressful situations, and making you a more competitive athlete. However, if you notice any signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, stop your workout, reduce your body temperature and hydrate.

The post Tips for Working Out in the Heat Safely (Plus Its Benefits) appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Have you ever tried cross-country skiing in your own neighborhood? It may sound bizarre, but there’s a type of exercise called “nordic walking” that involves the use of skiing poles and can help you to burn more calories than your usual stroll.

This type of exercise takes walking to lose weight to a whole new level.

Nordic walking can be done on sidewalks, grassy terrains and wooded trails. It supports stability, improves coordination, works several muscles and promotes heart health.

This total-body workout can be your new go-to, and it’ll get you outside more often too.

What Is Nordic Walking?

Nordic walking was originally done during training sessions for cross-country skiers. It’s popular in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe and drawing attention in the U.S. as an effective workout.

To practice nordic walking, you walk with ski poles, moving the opposite arm with the opposite leg as you go. The poles make walking a bit more challenging because you’re using arm and core strength to keep them in front of you as you move.

Why go nordic walking? The intensity level is higher than regular walking, so you work more muscles and burn more calories. It’s a form of cardiovascular exercise, too, which explains why it’s so popular among older adults in Switzerland and other Scandinavian areas.

Nordic Walking Benefits

The major benefits of nordic walking come from the way it activates more muscles than plain old walking, while engaging your core and burning more calories. Here’s a rundown of the many nordic walking advantages:

1. Burns More Calories

Nordic walking is said to increase calorie burning by 10 percent to 20 percent, even though your body won’t feel this increase of intensity.

A 2019 study published in Clinical Interventions in Aging found that nordic walking significantly decreased BMI, reduced android fat and lowered leg fat when compared to regular walking. Researchers concluded that nordic walking can serve as a primary tool to counteract the obesity and overweight state in middle-aged adults.

2. Works the Upper Body

Who knew you could work your arms, shoulders, chest and back muscles while walking? Walking with poles works many more muscles in the body, especially the upper body, which doesn’t get much love when walking without poles.

A randomized trial found that a 12-week nordic walking training routine improved shoulder mobility and reduced tenderness in upper body muscles. To boot, nordic walking does not strain the upper body like walking with weights can.

So not only are you working these muscles, but you’re able to relax the shoulders, maintain proper posture and get into a rhythm at the same time.

3. Increases Stability

Nordic walking is popular among older adults because it provides added stability. Using the poles offers better posture and balance, which can be especially helpful for people with knee, leg or back problems.

A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that among adults ages 60–92, nordic walking was able to improve dynamic balance, functional balance, flexibility of the lower body and aerobic capacity. Researchers concluded that this type of aerobic exercise is able to improve muscle strength, balance ability and quality of life in the elderly population.

Another study evaluated the effectiveness of a six-week nordic walking training in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Results showed that this form of exercise improved functional performance, quality of gait and quality of life.

4. Boosts Heart Health

A systematic review published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which involved the analysis of 1,800 patients, found that nordic walking has beneficial effects on resting heart rate and blood pressure compared to brisk walking. In addition, patients experienced improvements in oxygen consumption and other measures of quality of life, according to researchers.

5. Gets You Outdoors

One of the best things about nordic walking is that it gets you outdoors, exploring different terrains. You can walk in your neighborhood, on hiking trails, on ski mountains during the offseason and anywhere else that has a ground to walk on.

A systemic review published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness indicates that performing outdoor physical activity bears social, psychological and physiological benefits. Researchers found that these benefits were apparent in youth and seniors in helping prevent several health conditions, including vitamin D deficiency, multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis.

Equipment

There are a few types of poles available for nordic walking. Some nordic poles have gloves attached to the ends of the poles, which requires you to use your palms to control the poles rather than your fingers. There are also poles with straps and grips but no gloves.

Nordic poles comes with material and tip options. Aluminum and carbon fiber poles are popular because they are lighter and best for shock absorption.

Some poles have pointed tips that are best for unpaved trails, rubber tips (or “paws”) that are better for paved trails or sidewalks, and “baskets” that are added to the tips for walking in the snow.

There are even collapsible poles that can fit into a suitcase when you travel. What a great way to explore new trails while getting an even better workout.

How to Do It (Techniques)

It may take a few tries to get used to walking with poles and nailing down your preferred technique. Here are two types to try:

• Double poling: This technique involves placing both poles in front of you symmetrically and then pulling yourself forward as you walk. You take a couple of steps forward to meet your poles and then place them in front of you again.
• Single poling: This is how most people use their poles in cross-country skiing. You use one poll at a time, moving it up as you step with the opposite side’s foot. The pole and opposite foot move up at the same time, and as you get used to the rhythm, you increase your speed and intensity.

Once you’ve established your technique, you can play with the rhythm and try out different terrains. You can make this a high-intensity workout by poling at maximum effort for two to three minutes and then slowing down to recover.

Risks and Side Effects

If you’re new to nordic walking, start slow, and build up your momentum over time. Research what kind of poles are best for your desired terrain.

Once you get used to the rhythm, you can speed up your walk and arm motions. If you feel winded or dizzy while walking, cool down, and consult your health care provider if it continues.

Conclusion

• Nordic walking is waking with poles, just like cross-country skiing. It can be done on any terrain and is a popular form of exercise in Scandinavian areas.
• Compared to regular or brisk walking, using poles does a better job at burning calories, building upper body strength, boosting heart health and improving overall quality of life.
• Nordic walking is particularly popular among older adults because it improves stability, balance and overall strength.

The post Nordic Walking Burns (More) Calories, Builds Muscle & Promotes Stability appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Can 10 minutes of exercise a day really have an effect on longevity? It can be difficult to discern what advice is right these days.

Exercise science is a relatively young field. That’s why it feels like every day there’s a new study telling us how to work out for better health:

• “You need to walk 10,000 steps a day.”
• “You don’t need to walk 10,000 steps a day.”
• “Exercise before breakfast!”
• “High-intensity interval training is best!”

We’re so bombarded with fitness advice on a daily basis. It’s no wonder many of us fall victim to “analysis paralysis.” We’re so busy overthinking our workouts, we never actually get moving.

New research released by the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2022 offers some great motivation — while keeping things simple. How simple? How about just 10 minutes of exercise a day?

Study Findings

There are lots of studies looking at how adding a half hour or more of exercise daily can reduce the risk of premature death, but this first-of-its-kind study aimed to find out if relatively modest bouts of exercise daily — as small as 10 minutes a day — could help adults live longer.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 5,000 study participants involved in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They specifically looked at physical activity levels of people ages 40 and older.

Importantly, the exercise activity of each person used in this study was measured by a device — and not self-reported. (Sometimes people overestimate the amount or intensity of their workouts when reporting their own results.)

As in all well-designed studies, scientists made adjustments to factor other things that could influence findings, including smoking status, alcohol use, BMI, ethnicity, race and more. Even after all of that, they discovered that just 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day could produce profound effects.

In fact, 10 minutes of exercise a day could save an estimated 110,000 lives a year in the United States. That’s a nearly 7 percent decrease in the number of deaths per year.

Adding 10-minute additional increments also reduced the number of unnecessary deaths:

• 20 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day prevented 209,000 deaths, a 13 percent decrease in deaths per year
• 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily prevented 279,00 deaths, a nearly 17 percent decrease in deaths annually

What It Means

Information overload can sabotage efforts to exercise and maintain (or get to) a healthy weight. By keeping things simple and exercising at a moderate or vigorous pace for just 10 minutes a day, you can increase your odds of living longer.

Measuring Your Heart Rate to Hit Target Heart Rate

In order to know if you’re hitting the “moderate” or “vigorous” exercise levels, you’ll need to be able to estimate your target heart rate or learn how to use cues from your body.

To keep things simple, you can use the talk test to figure out if you’re hitting a moderate or vigorous heart-rate level.

Source: CDC

You can also use a perceived exertion scale or target heart rate and estimated maximum heart rate calculations to determine what moderate or vigorous movement is for you.

Of course, everyone is different, so walking briskly up a hill could be moderate for one person and vigorous for the next. Avoid comparing yourself with others, and focus on yourself. And then be proud of whatever movement you chose to hit your 10 minutes (or more!) of exercise.

For those looking for both low-impact exercise/sport yet still raising the heart rate, consider swimming or pickleball.

Conclusion

• It’s easy to get bogged down and demotivated when you’re trying to figure out the best way to get your physical activity in each day. There’s so much information out there!
• A landmark 2022 study provides inspiration to keep things simple, showing the benefits of 10 minutes of exercise a day.
• Just 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day can drastically lower the risk of early death in people 40+.
• Adding 10 minutes per day of physical activity can save the lives of more than 110,000 people annually. The number of deaths prevented rises to 209,000 a year with 20 minutes of daily, moderate to vigorous exercise and 272,000 with 30 minutes a day.
• There are a number of simple ways to figure to know if you’re hitting the moderate or vigorous heart-rate target. Figure out your range. Then, write it down on a note card or Post-it. Place it somewhere prominent in your home or workspace for inspiration.
• Incorporate movement that works for you — and what you enjoy! If you love being in nature, try to pair being outside with your workout or vigorous activity. If you love reading, try enjoying your book while walking on a treadmill, using an elliptical machine or arm cycling.
• Even on days when you’re “not feeling it,” still try to coax yourself into 10 minutes of brisk movement — this small thing could save your life.

The post 10 Minutes of Exercise a Day Could Save Your Life If You’re 40+ appeared first on Dr. Axe.

It’s can be tempting to skip the stretching aspect of training when you feel like it’s not providing any real payoffs. However, a large body of research shows that there are in fact many benefits of flexibility exercises and stretches — including preventing injuries, reducing pain, and assisting in posture, balance, mobility and performance.

What exactly is flexibility? Flexibility is defined as “the quality of bending easily without breaking.”

It’s what helps keep our muscles elastic, rather than allowing them to shorten and stiffen. This is important not just for athletic performance, but also for everyday activities that improve quality of life (especially among older people).

What are examples of flexibility activities? These include stretching, foam rolling, yoga, pilates and tai chi.

As explained more below, it’s ideal to incorporate several different types into your routine. This way you target multiple parts of your body that can wind up becoming tense and tight, such as your hamstrings and shoulders.

Benefits of Flexibility

People who are flexible have the ability to to lengthen one or more joints and move through a greater range of motion without limitations or feeling pain. According to experts in flexibility, such as physical therapists and orthopedics, the importance of staying flexible shouldn’t be overlooked — since it’s one of the keys to preventing injuries, aging gracefully and remaining independent in older age.

In case you need a refresher about the many benefits of flexibility, here are the top reasons to include stretches and flexibility exercises, such as yoga, in your training routine:

1. Can Help Prevent Injuries Due to Tightness

How does being flexible prevent injuries? Flexibility reduces imbalances and muscular compensations that can contribute to strains, pulls and tears.

It can also decrease tension in muscles and helps prevent tightness from causing too much stress on neighboring joints.

Essentially, we need to stretch to lengthen muscles so risk of injury is reduced, since inflexible muscles and joints overcompensate for other ones that are too tight.

2. Improved Range of Motion Enhances Performance

According to Harvard Health Publishing, “a well-stretched muscle more easily achieves its full range of motion. This improves athletic performance — imagine an easier, less restricted golf swing or tennis serve — and functional abilities, such as reaching, bending, or stooping during daily tasks.”

Greater range of motion in certain body parts, such as your in your hips and knees, allows you to get the most benefits from your workouts because it helps you push yourself further, sink deeper into exercises, and ultimately allows you to keep training for longer and at higher intensities.

Flexibility is also important for decreasing straining and discomfort while working out, which makes it easier to push yourself more and then recover more easily.

3. Enhanced Mobility Assists in Everyday Activities

People who regularly perform flexibility exercises tend to experience less pain and can more easily do everyday tasks like bending down to tie a shoe, walking upstairs, picking things up from the floor, or getting up from chairs or couches.

This is why flexibility becomes even more important as people age, since it reduces the risk for poor balance, falls and accidents.

4. Helps Improve Posture

Sitting for long periods of time and failing to stretch after exercise can both take a toll on your posture and mobility. For example, too much sitting often causes tightness in muscles in your low back, hips and calves.

Flexibility exercises can help improve posture and decrease slouching and pain in people who sit for prolonged periods of time or who are mostly sedentary. For example, upper-back and shoulder stretches can decrease neck pain and headaches, while leg and hip stretches can reduce sciatic pain and knee pain.

Stretching is also helpful for people with arthritis and spinal problems (as long as it’s done correctly).

How to Become More Flexible

When working on improving your overall flexibility, make sure to focus on these areas of the body, which tend to be the tightest:

• Hamstrings
• Lower back
• Hips/hip flexors/piriformis muscle located on the outside of the butt
• Calves
• Lower back
• Shoulders
• Neck

How should you incorporate stretching into your training?

If possible, do a combination of stretches and activities, like yoga, static stretching and foam roller exercises. (See below in FAQs for more about the different types of stretching exercises.)

Foam rolling, also called myofascial release, is a form of self-massage that you can do to loosen up sore muscles and tight joints and aid in muscle recovery either before and/or after a workout. Myofascial release describes what happens when you apply pressure to certain muscles to eliminate adhesions that can lead to stiffness and tension.

You can do foam rolling at home using an expensive roller or include other modalities including rolfing, massage and the Graston technique.

What are the benefits of yoga for flexibility? Yoga is a form of dynamic stretching that uses many different parts of your body.

It links movement with breathing and can also help you relax. Studies show that people who do yoga regularly tend to have better range of motion, balance and even a better handle on stress.

Which stretches are best for becoming more flexible?

To improve flexibility in your hamstrings, hips, back, shoulders and so on, incorporate the stretches below into your regular routine. Hold each stretch for about 10 to 30 seconds, repeating two to three times if you’d like:

• Forward Fold — Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Bend forward at the hips, lowering your head toward floor and reaching toward your toes.
• Downward Dog — Get into an upside-down V position. Press your heels down toward the floor while pushing away the ground with your hands and keeping your shoulders down and rolled back. Lift up through your core to push your hips up and back.
• Puppy Pose — Start on all fours, then reach your arms as far forward as you can. Push your hips up and back toward your heels.
• Twisted Lunge —  Get into a lunge, then place your hand on the floor and twist your upper body to the opposite side. Repeat on the other side.
• Butterfly — Sit on floor and bring your heels together with your knees bent, moving your knees out and down toward the ground.
• Kneeling Side Bend — Start by kneeling, then step one leg out to the side. Reach your opposite arm up and over toward your extended leg to stretch the sides of your body.
• Standing Quad Stretch — Stand with your feet together, bend one knee and reach your heel back toward your butt as you pull your foot to release the front of your leg.
• Knee to Chest — Lie on your back and pull one knee at a time into your chest as you extend the opposite leg out.
• Figure Four — Lie on your back with your feet flat, then cross your left foot over your right quad. Lift your right leg off the floor and grab onto the back of your right leg and gently pull it toward your chest. Repeat on the other side.
• Laying Torso Rotation — Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet together, flat on the floor. Put your arms out to each side. Tighten your core and lift both knees toward your chest, then lower them together to the left side and repeat on the other side.

Other Flexibility FAQs

What are the three types of flexibility techniques?

There are considered to be three main types of stretching methods for improving muscle flexibility. Each has its own uses and benefits:

• Static stretching — consists of holding muscles in their maximal lengthened position (at the point of discomfort) for around 30 seconds. An example is bending over to touch your toes and holding this position.
• Dynamic stretching — a method of stretching the muscle via movement of the limbs/joints. An example is swinging your leg back and forth in wide circles.
• Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) — when the muscle is contracted in an already fully lengthened position and held briefly. This is usually done with help from a training partner or therapist. An example is someone lifting a leg straight up to contract the hamstrings as much as possible while a therapist resists the movement and assists the stretch for about 10 seconds.

How often should you stretch? 

If possible, do some type of stretching every day, whether it’s yoga, tai chi exercises or simple calisthenics you do at home. You don’t need to do a lot to reap the benefits. Just 10 minutes is enough to make a difference in mobility, balance and comfort.

Try doing stretches at roughly the same time each day so it becomes an engrained habit. You might choose to stretch after a morning workout or mid-day walk, after a hot shower, or before bed.

Should you stretch before or after working out?

Experts now believe that dynamic stretching should ideally be done briefly as part of a warm-up routine, and then static stretching should be done as part of a warm-down routine after working out, such as after doing a HIIT workout or quad exercises.

While static stretching does have its perks after a workout (it can increase range of motion), dynamic stretching and PNF seem to be more effective as part of a warm-up, since both increase blood flow and oxygen to muscles and stimulate nerves more than static stretching. You can also incorporate foam roller exercise before workouts to improve blood flow and loosen up muscles and joints.

Overall, static stretching should be used after workouts to increase flexibility and range of movement, while more dynamic stretches should be done prior to sports or power workouts.

How long should you stretch?

When warming up, aim for five to 10 minutes of dynamic movements. After five to 10 minutes your muscles should feel a bit looser and warm.

After a workout, do another five to 10 minutes of static stretching or foam rolling as part of a cool-down routine.

Risks and Side Effects

When stretching or foam rolling, try pushing yourself to the point of “mild tension,” but don’t go far enough that you feel lots of pain or burning. Remember to keep breathing while you stretch and to deepen into flexibility exercises slowly as you monitor your body.

Visit your doctor or a physical therapist if you experience any sharp pains and suspect you have an injury. Rather than trying to treat an injury yourself, it’s best to get evaluated by a professional in order to prevent worsening any damage.

Conclusion

• Staying flexible by stretching, using a foam roller and doing dynamic warm-ups can help prevent injuries, improves recovery after exercise, and help improve physical performance, range of motion and mobility.
• What are the best flexibility exercises? Examples include stretching, foam rolling, yoga, pilates and tai chi. Focus on doing flexibility exercises that target tight areas like your hamstrings, hips, shoulders, lower back and neck.
• Prior to a workout or competition, try dynamic movements rather than static stretches to loosen up. After working out, hold the stretches described above for about 30 seconds each.

The post Benefits of Flexibility + How to Improve It appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Whether you’re already an avid hiker or mostly new to hiking, you’re probably curious about how this type of exercise can benefit both your physical and mental health. The good news is there are plenty of health benefits of hiking.

Does hiking tone your body? Is hiking a good way to lose weight?

According to the American Hiking Society, “Countless studies and research have consistently shown that regular exercise not only improves our overall health and fitness, but lengthens and improves the quality of our lives.”

Because it’s considered a “whole body workout,” plus a way to practice mindfulness, studies show that benefits of hiking include building strength in your lower body (considered a great leg workout), relieving stress, helping prevent obesity and heart disease, and more.

What Is Hiking?

Hiking is a recreational activity in which you walk in nature. As opposed to commuting by foot, hiking is all about walking for pleasure and also for exercise.

It’s thought to be one of the world’s most popular outdoor activities.

Going hiking usually involves long and sometimes vigorous walks, typically on trails or footpaths in the countryside, on outdoor hills or on mountains — however it can also include easier hikes on flatter trails that are manmade. A “trek” is a bit different than a hike because it’s more challenging, requiring a longer journey that is completed over a number of days or even weeks.

You can hike just about anywhere that has hills. In the U.S., some of the most popular hiking destinations include Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park and Zion National Park.

Benefits of Hiking

What does hiking do for your body? Becoming a hiker can contribute to your health in a number of ways, including by toning your legs and back and reducing stress. Here’s more about the many benefits of hiking (when done safely of course!):

1. Builds Strength in Your Lower Body and Back

Hiking is a form of low-impact aerobic exercise that can help build stronger muscles and bones, especially in your legs and back. If you do lots of walking, stepping and climbing uphill, it’s even better for increasing strength and muscle mass, and when you walk on uneven surfaces, you engage your core and improve stability.

This form of exercise is also effective at helping improve your balance and range of motion, since tougher climbs can force you to stand periodically on one leg, lunge forward and so on.

2. Boosts Stamina and Heart Health

Regular physical exercise reduces the risk of dying of coronary heart disease and decreases the risk for a number of other chronic health conditions too.

For example, exercising regularly, such as by hiking, lowers blood pressure and may help prevent some people from developing colon cancer, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Most of these positive effects are due to hiking’s ability to get your heart rate up and work your lungs, improving circulation and oxygenation. Hiking can also help decrease inflammation tied to stress and reduce weight gain, which benefits overall health.

3. May Help You Lose Weight

Like other forms of exercise, benefits of hiking include helping you to control your weight, such as by dropping excess body fat or preventing unwanted weight gain.

Research demonstrates that, on average, you can burn about 80 to 100 calories for every mile you walk. (You use even more energy if you have a higher body mass or if you walk uphill.) If you hike for about an hour at a moderate to fast pace, you can burn several hundred calories, which can be beneficial for your waistline and overall body composition.

4. Helps Reduce Stress

As Greater Good Magazine explains, “The experience of hiking is unique, research suggests, conveying benefits beyond what you receive from typical exercise. Not only does it oxygenate your heart, it helps keep your mind sharper, your body calmer, your creativity more alive, and your relationships happier.”

Research suggests that there are synergistic effects of physical activity and time spent in nature, meaning the two are even more powerful when done together. Studies shows that spending time in nature provides most people with mental relief from stress, depression and anxiety symptoms, especially if they are also exercising or being active while outdoors, such as in “green spaces.”

Hiking (and simply walking too) releases “feel good” chemicals in our bodies, including endorphins, that are known to lift our moods and fight pain. Exercise plus time outdoors also has various other effects on the brain that decrease tension, depression, rumination and worry and improve problem solving and feelings of connectedness (“the sense of being small in the presence of something bigger than yourself”).

Becoming a hiker might also improve your sleep by making you feel more calm and tired, which translates to a clearer mind and greater energy the following day.

5. Supports Brain Health and Cognitive Function

Not only can hiking boost your mood, but it’s also associated with other mental health improvements, such as greater creativity, memory recall and problem solving.

A number of studies have found that exercising outdoors can lead to more mindfulness, greater self-awareness and enhanced sensory perception (of sights, smells and feelings).

Researchers have uncovered that hiking uses parts of your brain designed to help you navigate through your environment, including the retrosplenial cortex and the hippocampus, which help aid in memory.

There can also be a beneficial social component to hiking if you choose to get others involved, such as by hiking with a partner or joining a group that regularly hikes together. This can foster a greater sense of connection and decrease loneliness, which are tied to better mental health.

Some studies have even found that exercising outdoors can help your relationships by making you more empathic, helpful, open-minded and generous.

6. Decreases the Risk for Osteoarthritis and Bone Density Loss

In addition to making you stronger, benefits of hiking also extend to your bones, joints and connective tissues. Hiking is low-impact enough that it shouldn’t add lots of stress and strain to your joints, but it’s a form of “weight-bearing exercise” — which means it strengthens your bones.

Weight-bearing exercise can help relieve pain associated with osteoarthritis, as long as you don’t overdo it. It’s also recommended for prevention of osteoporosis and loss of bone density, which can increase susceptibility to breaks and fractures.

How Much to Do + Potential Risks

The type of hiking that’s best for you to do depends on your skill level and general fitness. People who are more active and stable in their lower bodies can benefit from inclining up steeper hills and trails, while those who are newer to hiking are better off sticking to flatter dirt paths and less vigorous trails.

To reduce your risk for falling or getting injured always wear high-quality shoes when hiking. Be careful about hiking on slippery dirt or mud, very rocky paths, or under overhanging branches.

Follow trail markers if possible, and be aware of wild animals that may be in the area crossing your path.

If you’re going on extended hikes and treks, be careful to prepare ahead of time with the supplies you’ll need, such as water, and aways practice “good hygiene” (defined as routine cleaning of water, cooking utensils and cleaning your hands often).

The National Park Service’s website is a great resource for finding all types of hiking trails. There are more than 400 national parks for you explore across the country, depending on your experience and preferences.

Is it good to hike every day?

Assuming you aren’t suffering from injuries, feeling exhausted or straining yourself too much, hiking (and simply walking uphill) can be a good type of exercise to do just about every day. When it comes to more vigorous, long hikes, give yourself some time to rest between hikes to help your muscles and joints recover.

Overall it’s best to listen to your body to avoid overtraining. However, experienced hikers can typically do some form of hiking daily without hurting themselves.

Conclusion

• Whether you’re an experienced hiker or new to this type of exercise, you can benefit both physically and mentally from hiking. Not only does it help improve aerobic fitness and endurance, but it’s also a natural stress reliever.
• Benefits of hiking can include improved resilience against anxiety and depression, strength, bone density, balance, heart health, and weight management.
• There are endless places to go hiking depending on your skill level, such as on trails, mountains, steep hills, etc. Start with easier, shorter hikes, and increase the intensity and duration as your body adjusts.

The post Benefits of Hiking for the Body and Mind appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Is it okay to workout on an empty stomach? Ultimately, it depends on your body composition, goals, overall health and preferences.

Working out while fasting, also called “fasted cardio,” does have some advantages — such as potentially leading to more fat loss and preventing indigestion while exercising. On the other hand, it’s not for everybody, since it may make some feel weaker and lethargic while working out.

If you’re curious about how meal timing can affect your workout performance and results, read on to find out about the benefits and drawbacks of working out while in a fasted state.

What Is Fasted Cardio?

Fasted cardio describes doing aerobic or endurance exercise on an empty stomach, without eating anything beforehand. This is called being in a “fasted state,” which is considered to be 4 to 6+ hours after your last meal or snack.

In order for you to truly be in a fasted state, in which your glycogen levels are low, some experts say you’d have to go more than 9–10 hours without eating anything. Fat and carbohydrates are the most important fuel sources for skeletal muscle ATP synthesis, so when carbohydrates are mostly not available due to fasting, fat is utilized instead.

Most people do fasted cardio workouts in the morning, before eating anything for breakfast. This may mean that someone has been fasting for 8 to 16 hours or more overnight, depending on their schedule and when they stop eating at night. For many people, the morning is the easiest time to workout without any “fuel” in their system because they’ve just gotten up and have already fasted through the night.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting

Health Benefits

What are the benefits of fasted cardio? Based on available research, here’s what we know about the potential perks of working out without any food in your system:

1. May Boost Fat Burning and Weight Loss

Does fasted cardio actually work for weight loss? There’s some evidence from studies suggesting that it can. Researchers involved in a 2016 meta analysis concluded that “aerobic exercise performed in the fasted state induces higher fat oxidation than exercise performed in the fed state.”

When in a fasted state, your body doesn’t have any glucose/glycogen available to be used as a quick source of energy, so it utilizes stored energy instead.

This means that your body pulls from energy stored in your muscles and from stored body fat (via fat lipolysis and fat oxidation) in order to keep you fueled. Lipolysis is the metabolic pathway through which lipid triglycerides are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol to be utilized during fasting or intense exercise. The result is that you may boost your “fat burning” potential, although it’s likely not to have a dramatic effect in most cases.

Another way in which fasted cardio may support fat loss is by spiking post-exercise calorie-burning. Essentially after your fasted workout is done, your body uses up extra calories to help you recover, which raises your metabolic rate a bit for about 24 hours.

That being said, not every study has found this benefit to be true. A 2020 article published in the Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine states that “Our review of the literature suggests that there is little evidence to support the notion of endurance training and fasting-mediated increases in fat oxidation, and we recommend that endurance athletes should avoid high intensity training while fasting.”

The researchers add that …

Fasting decreases body weight, lean body and fat content in both trained and untrained individuals … However, there are conflicting data regarding the effects of fasting on glucose metabolism in highly trained athletes … Differences in experimental design, severity of calorie restriction, duration, and participant characteristics could, at least in part, explain such discordant finding.

2. Can Decrease Nausea

If you struggle with feeling nauseous while exercising, is it good to workout on an empty stomach in the morning? It can be, assuming that a full or partially full stomach is to blame for your indigestion. If eating before doing cardio makes you feel uncomfortable, you can try either having nothing beforehand and perhaps some water or coffee.

If you find that the sensations of “lightness” in your stomach feels better while exercising, then fasted cardio might be a good fit for you.

Everyone is a bit different when it comes to their eating preferences around workouts; some like a small pre-workout snack before exercising, some prefer a bigger meal a couple hours before a workout, and others like to consume nothing at all. Feel free to experiment and see what works best for you.

Drawbacks

1. Might Make You Feel Fatigued More Easily

There’s a chance that fasted cardio might cut your workout short if you leads you to feel tired and unmotivated more easily. Again, this comes down to the individual.

Overall, the effects of fasting on physical performance remains unclear, with some studies reporting decreased performance, some showing increased endurance, and others reporting no significant correlation or effects.

If you’re waking up early for a workout after a good night sleep, then you might have plenty of energy even without a meal. However, if you work out later in the morning on an empty stomach, after you’ve already been up for several hours, fatigue might be an issue. So it seems to depend on your unique schedule, body type and other factors.

2. Could Lead to Weakness and Less Power Output

Some find that fasted cardio causes side effects like dizziness, low blood sugar and lightheadedness. You may find that you aren’t able to push yourself as hard when fasted due to feeling weak, in which case you’ll be scarifying physical performance.

For example, one study concluded that “Overnight fasting compromises exercise intensity and volume during sprint interval training but improves high-intensity aerobic endurance.” Another meta analysis uncovered findings indicating that pre-exercise feeding enhanced prolonged, but not shorter duration aerobic exercise performance.

If you tend to experience lethargy when “running on fumes” during a workout, consuming a snack plus water to keep you hydrated before working out can be a better solution than skipping food altogether.

3. May Contribute to Muscle Breakdown

Although we’ve mostly been talking about fasted aerobic workouts, it’s still important to point out that fasted exercise may negatively impact muscle growth and strength.

Some studies have found evidence that fasted workouts cause muscle tissue to be broken down for energy, thereby making it more difficult to put on muscle and to build strength and endurance.

So if you’re into bodybuilding, cross training and lifting weights, there’s potential for fasted aerobic workouts to hinder your results. It’s not a deal breaker, but you’ll want to be mindful about how often and how intensely you do fasted cardio.

Should You Try It?

So what’s the bottom line, is fasted cardio better than fed cardio?

As you can probably tell by now, one approach isn’t necessarily better than the other. While fasted cardio can offer some benefits for amplifying fat loss, if weight loss is your primary goal, your total energy balance and calorie intake will be the ultimate determinant of whether or not you lose weight.

Keep in mind that you may experience an increased appetite after exercising in a fasted state, which can cause you to overeat afterwards if you’re not careful. If eating a very calorie-dense meal following a fasted cardio workout causes you to have a positive energy/calorie balance at the end of the day, this isn’t going to help you to reach your weight loss goals.

Here are some things to consider if you do want to give fasted cardio a try:

How long should you do fasted cardio?

Experts tell us that it’s probably best to stick to moderate intensity cardio for up to an hour when fasted. However, if you personally have energy to do even more without feeling negative side effects, a longer or high-intensity workout can also be appropriate.

Your best bet is to probably start out by trying 20–30 minutes of fasted exercise, and then increasing intensity and duration if you feel good doing so. Listen to your body and avoid pushing too hard to the point where you feel lightheaded or famished.

What should you eat after fasted cardio?

You’ll want to fill up on a combination of protein and complex carbohydrates, which help you refuel and support muscle recovery. Fiber and healthy fats are also important components of a healthy post-exercise meal because they’ll help control your appetite and prevent you from overeating.

Some examples of good recovery meals post exercise can include: a protein smoothie with fruit, hemp seeds and coconut milk; a salad with protein and avocado; quinoa with hard boiled eggs and veggies; an open face sandwich with meat/fish/eggs and a side salad dressed with olive oil.

Can you have coffee before fasted cardio?

Most people find that coffee in the morning before working out gives them a welcomed boost of energy that helps them push through a workout. As long as you also drink water to prevent dehydration, and don’t feel jittery or nauseous from having coffee alone, then this seems to be a fine option.

Should you combine intermittent fasting and fasted exercise in the morning?

This can be a good strategy if you’re already accustomed to practicing intermittent fasting (IF). People who incorporate IF into their routines likely have more opportunities to do fasted workouts since they are skipping meals anyway, most often breakfast in the morning. You’ll want to listen to your body and look out for weakness and other warning signs, but as long as you feel good combining these two approaches then there’s no reason not to.

Final Thoughts

• What is fasted cardio? It’s another way to describe working out on an empty stomach. Most often people do this in the morning after they’ve fasted overnight for 8+ hours.
• Potential benefits of fasted cardio include increased fat burning, help with weight loss, and less indigestion. However, drawbacks can include increased fatigue and weakness while exercising, and a bigger appetite once the workout is over.
• Does it work for weight loss? It can, but weight loss really depends on someone’s overall day and energy/calorie balance. A fasted workout can slightly boost calorie and fat burning, but in order for weight loss to happen, someone still needs to consume less calories than their body is using each day.

The post Fasted Cardio: Should You Try It for Fat Loss? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

“What are EMOM workouts?” I shouted to my husband, who was lifting weights with headphones on.

“Huh?” he yelled back.

“An EMOM?”

“Oh. I think it’s a religious leader in a Muslim community,” he answered.

Greg clearly was not hearing hearing me correctly over his heavy metal, but he did accurately define an “imam.”

I gave a little chuckle. As a seasoned fitness trainer of 20-plus years, he certainly knows the definition of an EMOM workout — including EMOM workouts for fat-loss success. And the timing to talk about this couldn’t be better. A March 2021 study suggests that the average American gained a half pound every 10 days over the last year. If you’re one of the many people who gained 20-plus pounds recently, it’s time to turn the tides and focus on sustainable, safe and FUN workouts that target fat. Enter the EMOM … including options for beginners, weightlifters, cyclists, kids, runners and more.

Let’s take a closer look at how this workout style can work for you.

What Is an EMOM Workout?

EMOM stands for “every minute on the minute.” A highly customized interval workout style made popular by CrossFit, the idea is that a person completes a certain amount of reps of a particular exercise within each 60-second period.

It’s important to note, though, that recovery time should be built in to EMOMs, so you shouldn’t be working the full minute. (If you are, that’s a sign your EMOM workout needs to be dialed back a bit.)

“EMOM or every minute on the minute is a form of interval training in which the exerciser performs a task or exercise when the clock starts at the top of each minute,” explains Prentiss Rhodes, a certified personal trainer and master trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

The idea is you complete the exercise in about 45 seconds or so, with at least 15 seconds of rest time before the next minute starts.

These interval workouts can be endurance-based, strength-based or a mix of both. You can incorporate weights or exercise bands or complete an entire EMOM workout using bodyweight exercises.

A more cardio-based EMOM includes very light weights or no weights and higher reps, while a more strength-based EMOM includes heavier weights and fewer reps.

In short, these highly customizable EMOM workouts are a dynamic way to tinker with your work-rest ratio while introducing a fun, time-based twist to freshen up your workout routine and keep you focused.

For example, an EMOM workout could be as simple as this:

• Hit “Start” on a timer.
• When the first minute begins, complete a specific, pre-determined number of reps within that minute (for instance, 10 pushups, 12 squats or 10 bent-over rows, etc.).
• When you complete the prescribed number of reps, you have the rest of the minute “off” to rest.
• At the top of the next minute, you begin that exercise again, aiming to hit the number of reps and resting for the rest of the minute when you do.

“This type of training can help the exerciser with several different adaptations,” explains Rhodes. “If one does a high-intensity resistance interval from 1 to 5 repetitions EMOM, you could potentially train the body to have a burst of high-end strength over a long period of time while potentially minimizing fatigue.”

Rhodes adds that this is useful for athletes in combat sports, such as MMA, when you may need a burst to secure a takedown, or for gridiron sports like American football and rugby.

Thankfully, the EMOM concept isn’t only for elite athletes.

Because EMOMs combine high-intensity bursts with shorter periods of rest, they prime the body for fat burning that will last even after the workout.

And although the EMOM concept may seem new, Rhodes notes that Gosta Holmer developed a type of interval training in the 1930s, now known as Fartlek training, which was used to concurrently develop both the speed and endurance of Swedish cross-country athletes.

“Researchers such as Dr. Izumi Tabata and Professor Martin Gibala, along with other professors, have extensively researched the benefits of interval training and have written several popular interval training protocols, while groups such as CrossFit really popularized the concept of interval training for the general population since the late 1990s.”

EMOM is a type of high-intensity interval training and puts a fun twist on HIIT workouts, and it also shared some characteristics with a Tabata workout. With EMOM workouts for fat loss, endurance and/or strength, you’ll be watching the clock — but not because you’re bored!

Best Candidates

Whether you’re looking for EMOM workouts with no equipment, bodyweight EMOM workouts, full-body EMOM workouts or EMOM workouts with dumbbells and weights, there are a few important things to consider, according to Rhodes. “Interval training may be used for any exerciser, but you want to consider a couple of points…”

• Make sure you’re healthy; this includes muscle, joint and cardiovascular health.
• Make sure you understand the exercise technique.
• Make sure you can perform the exercise under control and with a full, pain-free range of motion. (This means you practice it outside of EMOM sessions to master the movement.)
• Make sure you’re hitting the appropriate volume and intensity. Hiring a certified trainer or taking classes with a certified trainer makes this part easier.
• Don’t overcomplicate it. “The name of the game should be success for the trainee, and it should be fun,” Rhodes adds.
• Keep the repetitions, exercise progressions and the duration of the EMOM workout manageable so the trainee can complete the workout.

Benefits

• Highly customizable
• Affordable — no equipment or gym membership or subscription necessary
• Generally shorter workouts between 10 and 20 minutes (they can be even shorter!)
• Induces body’s fat-burning capacity

How to Build Your Own

What I love about EMOM workouts is the flexibility in building a training session. An EMOM can be squeezed into any part of your day, and you can constantly switch it up so you remain excited about your workouts.

Remove the guesswork. 

So how many reps should you plan for each minute? Well, it depends.

If you can easily do 30 pushups in a minute (hello, overachiever!) you’d want to knock that down to maybe 7 or 8 for an easier EMOM interval that would last less than 15 seconds).

“Now, when you train, it is your goal to do 7 to 8 reps every minute on the minute for the desired time, in this case, 12 minutes,” Rhodes says.

Note: If you hit failure, knock a couple of reps off of your cadence and resume with the new number on the following workout, Rhodes suggests.

Adjust for heavier weights. 

Remember, you can do resistance training in EMOM format, too. If you’re doing exercises with a barbell or heavy kettlebells, pick a weight you cold do for 10 to 12 reps, but start out with a single rep every minute minute on the minute for 10 to 12 minutes. (Note: Heavier weights are for people who have already been weight training for some time.)

Get on board with customization. 

Here are some ways you can customize an EMOM:

• Instead of reps, you can also work timed EMOMs into the mix. For instance, 20 seconds of mountain climbers or jumping jacks on odd minutes, with a 40-second recovery. Exercises like jump rope and farmer’s walks also work well using timing instead of reps. “These would be time-based activities to 10- to 45-second EMOM sets,” Rhodes says.
• You can do one specific exercise every minute on the minute, or mix it up into more of a circuit. Example: Minute 1: Pushups; Minute 2: Bent-over rows; Minute 3: 20-second wall squat or 10 squats (And repeat this three times.)
• Regardless of the EMOM mashup you create, make sure that you’re getting at least 15 seconds of recovery each minute.

Keep it simple.

Avoid the temptation to add a bunch of exercises to your workout. If you’ve got 15 minutes, focus on a 3-exercise circuit to repeat 5 times.

EMOM workouts are often about 10 or 15 minutes. But you can even try mini EMOM sessions throughout the day to trigger your body’s fat-burning potential and improve your mobility.

For instance, when I work with middle school kids in an after-school program focused on gardening, we always start with a 3-minute EMOM just to get the blood pumping and our bodies warmed up.

The first time I walked through the doors and told them we’d be doing a mini workout, I was greeted with a lot of whines and sad faces. Now, though, they actually ask for an EMOM and even bring their own ideas.

Here is an example of a super quick, 3-minute EMOM for students, desk workers or anyone who wants to sneak in quick bursts of fitness throughout the day:

• Minute 1: 15 jumping jacks
• Minute 2: 10 standing crunches
• Minute 3: 20 air punches or air shoulder presses (AKA “raise the roofs”)

For a More Cardiovascular Effect…

Alternatively, you can do exercises for a longer time or for more repetitions every minute on the minute and create a cardiovascular exercise-type effect, Rhodes notes.

Here’s an example of this type of EMOM workout to perform for 12 to 20 minutes:

• Odd minutes: 20 seconds of mountain climbers
• Even minutes: 5 pushups

EMOM Workouts

If your’e taking in this info and now wondering, “How do I make an EMOM workout,” have no fear. We’re here to help.

#1. Beginner-Friendly, Circuit-Style EMOM

This is one example, but it’s highly customizable to your current fitness and mobility needs. Swap exercises, and use modifications as needed to make it work for you.

• Minute 1: 10 squats
• Minute 2: 7 pushups (you can do push ups on a wall or on the floor with your knees down as modifications)
• Minute 3: 15 seconds mountain climbers (modify by doing standing mountain climbers or mountain climbers with your hands on an elevated surface)

Continue for the desired time and number of sets.

#2. Kettlebell Swing + Pushup Workout

This one (and No. 3 below) are a bit more advanced for folks who are already working with weightlifting and kettlebells. (Try our kettlebell workout.)

• Odd minutes – 10 kettlebells swings
• Even minutes – 10 pushups
• Hard day: 30 minutes
• Medium day: 20 minutes
• Easy day: 12 minutes

#3. Barbell Complex Workout – EMOM

Perform one clean and press, one front squat and one row every minute on the minute.

• Hard day: 20 minutes
• Medium day: 12 minutes
• Easy day: 8 minutes

#4. Varied Intensity Interval – EMOM

• Minute 1: Renegade Row, 3 per side
• Minute 2: Mountain Climber x 20 seconds
• Minute 3: Kettlebell Clean and Press x 5 reps
• Minute 4: Mountain Climber x 10 seconds (at a bit of a harder pace than minute 2)
• Minute 5: Air Squats x 20

Rest 2 minutes then repeat 2 to 3 sets.

#5. Running or Cycling EMOM

Step 1: Do your warm-up, mobility and light core exercises.

Step 2: Take 5 to 10 minutes to warm up in zone 1 (you should be able to talk).

Step 3: Take another 5 minutes and increase the intensity to zone 2 (talking should be difficult).

Step 4: EMOM for 10 minutes – pick your variables.

This can be time (for instance, 10-20 seconds), incline, resistance level or speed); aim for vigorous activity here that leaves you short of breath, but you can still get a sentence out.

Go for your desired variable (for instance, 15 secs at 200 RPM while cycling or a certain speed if running on a treadmill); recover for 45 seconds at a very easy pace.

Step 5: 5-minute cool down at an easy pace.

Final Thoughts

• EMOM stands for every minute on the minute, and it’s a highly customizable, interval-style workout that fuels fat burn.
• It’s an interval-style of training made popular by CrossFit.
• An EMOM involves starting a timer and performing a predetermined number of reps of a particular exercise before the minute ends. Whatever time you have left is your rest period.
• Aim to get at least 15 seconds of rest within every minute.
• You can focus on endurance, strength or both when creating an EMOM workout.
• Before starting an EMOM workout, make sure you can correctly perform the included exercises in a full, pain-free range of motion.

The post EMOM Workouts: A Fun Way to Activate Your Fat-Burning Potential appeared first on Dr. Axe.

With the stay-at-home program in place, it can be challenging to keep up a normal routine let alone a home workout for legs. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only 1 in 3 adults gets the recommended activity per week.

If you do manage to get a workout in at home it might be push-ups or crunches but it’s vital to do leg workouts. They support everything from posture to looking proportionally balanced.

In this article, I’ll cover home workouts specifically for legs. I’ll go into picking the right workout type, the best type of leg exercises, four reasons why it’s beneficial to workout legs and give an example of a home leg workout. The article focuses on bodyweight exercises and no equipment is needed for the workouts.

Choosing the Right Workout Type

When it comes to bodyweight leg exercises, there are a couple general types. Depending on how you create the workout and what your goals are, you can focus on either strength, hypertrophy (muscle growth), power or conditioning.

Strength and Progression

Strength leg workouts are slower in pace and require more rest time between sets. They typically consist of doing 4 to 8 reps. The goal is to strengthen the muscle fibers and create overall stronger legs. To do this, you need to be adding weight, making the exercises harder each time and working through what is known as progressive overload.

Progressive overload is just adding more of a challenge to your body over time so it can grow. You can do this by adding more and more weight or, if doing bodyweight leg workouts, by doing harder variations of the leg exercises.

For example, you can do squats to strengthen the legs but once you get to a point where you can knock out 8 squats back to back then in order to keep improving strength, you must then create more of a challenge so the body adapts. You can add more of a challenge by using dumbbells, barbells or, for home workouts, a weighted vest. If you’re only doing bodyweight leg exercises, then you can create more of a challenge by doing single leg exercises such as the pistol squat.

The pistol squat is a squat you start on one leg, your other leg is pointed straight out in front of you parallel to the ground. You slowly lower yourself down with just the one leg then raise yourself back up. This is an advanced exercise and requires superior leg strength and balance.

The next level of progression from just squats would be the assisted pistol squat, which is basically doing the pistol squat but holding onto a chair, TRX band or something else to lighten the load.

If you are going to hold a chair or other home object for pistol squats make sure you can stabilize it as much as possible to reduce the chance of injury.

Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy training is around 8 to 12 reps and that focuses on growing the muscle size. I know sometimes women don’t want to get that bulky look so they won’t do strength or hypertrophy training. But that’s not the case unless you really try hard to get bulky.

Working out lower body will tone the legs. If you are worried about getting too big, I can promise you that won’t happen overnight — it takes months to years of heavy training. The same principle of progressive overload applies here.

Power

Power training involves fast and explosive movements such as plyometrics like jump squats or box jumps. This type of exercise taps more into the conditioning side as well because it gets your heart rate higher than strength or hypertrophy training.

I love bringing in these exercises in between strength exercises to get a little bit of fat burn. I’ll show you some detailed examples in the workouts listed later.

Conditioning

Conditioning has a focus on keeping the heart rate high and can be included in workouts or act as stand alone workouts. This is typically running, swimming, biking, sled pushes, etc. The goal is for cardiovascular endurance.

I’ll typically do light conditioning — such as walking, light jog or elliptical — on non-strength days, which is about one to two days a week.

Best Leg Exercises

When choosing bodyweight leg exercises, they generally fit into four categories. These four categories fit most leg exercises in them with multiple progressions, regressions and variations.

It’s good to incorporate most of these in workouts and just pick the rep range/power output level that fits your goals. Without further ado, here are the four leg exercise categories.

1. Squats

Squats are the foundation behind so many leg exercises and having good form with them is essential because you don’t want to create muscle imbalances or get injured. Muscle imbalances lead to sore knees, bad back, etc. Squats are also fundamental for any butt workout and are considered one of the top quad exercises.

Bodyweight Squat

Standing with feet shoulder-width apart. Proceed to lower yourself, leaning forward a bit is okay but try to keep your shoulders pointed forward as best you can instead of angling straight at the floor. Lower yourself until your thigh (quads/hamstring part of the leg) is parallel to the floor. Then raise yourself back up.

Common pitfalls with people are not going low enough and when squatting people tend to angle their upper body more and more forward towards the ground than what’s needed. Both happen because of a few reasons, the biggest typically is not enough leg strength yet. One way to begin squats is to put a chair behind you under where your butt lowers to, tap the chair with your butt and raise yourself back up.

If you can master the basic squat, everything else comes after. There are dozens of variations of squats and multiple ways you can progressively overload them.

Other bodyweight squat variations and progressions are: jump squats, sumo squats, hindu squats, pistol squats and many more.

2. Lunges

Lunges are great for hitting different leg muscles that the squat may have missed and to work them at varying angles.

Bodyweight Forward Lunge

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift and move one leg forward far enough that your center of gravity is in the middle, not too far one way or the other, and your extended leg’s knee aligns with your foot.

Then lower yourself down until your back leg’s knee comes a few inches from the ground and lift yourself back up, making sure not to round your back. Return back to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg. That’s one full repetition of a lunge.

To make this more difficult, you can make it a jumping lunge. Where you have the same split leg stance, when you come up you jump in the air switching the position of your legs and lower yourself back down and repeat.

If it’s too hard on your knees, then opt for a reverse lunge.

Other bodyweight lunge variations are: rear lunge, jumping lunge, walking lunge and more.

3. Side Steps

Performing exercises that move in a different plane of motion than normal activity causes the body to strengthen areas that may be underworked. An example of this is by side stepping or doing side lunges. This is great because it hits muscle groups on the lateral (outer) and medial (inner) sides of your body.

Bodyweight Side Step

Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, take one leg and move it out to the side. Keep your weight and center of gravity over your planted leg and lower yourself slightly as the leg moves out. Then move the extended leg back to starting position, all while keeping your center of gravity in place with knees bent. Keeping your center of gravity in one place and also your knees bent, move the opposite leg out to the side.

Again, with your center of gravity over the planted leg. Your planted leg should be slightly bent, keeping constant tension on whichever leg is planted. 

The next progression to this is the side lunge. 

Other bodyweight side step/lunge variations are: resistance band side step/lunge, skaters, side lunge with hop and more.

4. Static/Holds

When you hold yourself in place and have constant muscle tension without moving the joint that’s what is known as isometric exercises. For example, the plank exercise is one such move.

These are good for strength and balance improvement, as well as strengthening connective tissue like ligaments and tendons. Yoga, barre and other similar fitness styles often use isometric workouts. 

Examples of bodyweight leg isometric exercises are wall sits, bridges and yoga holds. 

Benefits of Strong Legs

Legs are the foundation everything in the body is built on. 

I first started working out over 12 years ago. My friends and I played ice hockey and would lift weights to help with it. One of my friends and I would typically skip leg day. Frankly, we just didn’t like it and thought the girls cared about biceps anyways.

My other friend would always push us to do leg day because he knew the importance of it. Eventually, I started exercising the lower body more and now love working out legs and the feeling of having a powerful lower body.

1. Posture

Having strong legs will help keep good posture. It’s important because it’ll help keep your back pain-free, reduce muscle imbalances, lower the chance of injury, cause less tension on joints and even help keep internal organs functioning properly. (1, 2)

Over a year ago, I was in a head-on car collision and had multiple injuries. Thankfully, I’m doing okay now, and it could’ve been worse. Something I realized from getting physical therapy, chiropractic work, MRI scans and electrical muscle stimulation three to four days a week? Posture matters.

The many doctors I talked to explained to me that sitting poorly in a chair over time can disrupt the discs in our back. When those are disrupted, then it can cause nerve pinching, which creates aching and tingling in arms/legs and cause back pain. Keeping good posture can help reduce back pain and nerve pinching in the long run.

2. Improved Stamina for Day-to-Day Activities

Walking, groceries, climbing stairs, playing with kids, cleaning and getting off the couch all require movement from the legs. The more you workout your legs, develop cardiovascular endurance in them and strengthen them the easier day to day tasks become.

It may not seem like a lot but over time you’ll find you may be able to walk up the stairs easier, carry more groceries without getting as winded or run around with kids all while keeping up physically.

These may seem like trivial things, but in reality it means so much because it opens doors for your life, deepens relationships and can bring more joy to you. For example, if your significant other looks to you for support with household chores, then you may find you have more energy and stamina to get up off the couch while watching a show and help out. That respect for his or her wishes will make them happier and in turn grow a better relationship over time.

Also, if you have kids, or are ever around kids, you’ll have more energy to run around with them, kneel down to their level and play more easily. In the long run, these little things matter and can add more joy to your life.

3. Reduce the Chance Of Injury

Strengthening legs can reduce the chance of injury. More often than not when injuries happen (that aren’t blunt trauma), it’s because connective tissue, weaker muscles or imbalanced muscles didn’t hold their own resulting in damage to the body. (3)

For example, knee injuries can happen because the ligaments and tendons in and around the knees aren’t strong and, therefore, get injured from twisting the wrong way, having too much pressure on them or by being pulled in a dangerous direction. This can happen with light or heavy exercise, playing basketball, climbing stairs or other day-to-day situations.

4. Strong and Toned Legs Look Good!

You’ve probably seen those guys in the gym that have a hulking upper body and skinny legs. Something just looks off about it. I’m not judging them because I used to be one of those guys for a long time before I started to realize the importance of strong legs, plus how much I like the look of a muscular lower body.

Strong legs represent masculinity in men and powerful femininity in women. For both genders a proportional body just looks good!

Home Lower Body Workout Routine

Even at home you can get in an excellent leg workout with no equipment. In this workout, I’m going to show you what’s called an AMRAP workout. It stands for: As Many Rounds As Possible.

In each AMRAP group, there will be a couple exercises with repetition goals. The goal is to get through the exercises in each AMRAP group as fast, and safely, as possible; that’s one round. Then repeat that set of exercises until you’ve gone through all of them again; that’s another round.

The goal is to get through as many rounds as possible, as the name suggests, in an 8-minute duration. After that 8-minute AMRAP group, take a break for 2 minutes. Repeat for the remaining AMRAP rounds. (You can also try our inner thigh workout.)

Home Workout for Legs: 30 Minute HIIT

I put in plyometric (jumping) exercises but if they’re too much just regress it to the non-jumping version of that exercise.

1. Warm Up: 

• 1 minute jumping jacks
• 1 minute knee-ups
• 12 squats
• 30 seconds mountain climbers

2. First AMRAP: 8 minutes

• 12 split squat hops
• 12 Hindu squats (squats on tiptoes)
• 12 reverse lunges
• 12 sumo hops

3. Rest for 2 minutes

4. Second AMRAP: 8 minutes

• 12 squat jumps
• 12 side lunge (6 per side)
• 12 reverse lunge to single leg jump (6 per side)
• 12 squats

5. Rest for 2 minutes

6. Third AMRAP: 8 minutes

• 12 squats
• 12 lunges (6 per side)
• 12 ice skaters
• 30 jumping jacks

7. Cool down: Stretch and catch breath 

Precautions

If you’re working out at home make sure you have an open and safe area to exercise. If you have any medical ailments, or are a beginner without the supervision of a fitness professional, please consult with your physician before engaging in any new exercise program.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to work out legs because they help with posture, improve daily stamina, reduce the chance of injuries and create a balanced, aesthetically pleasing look with the body.

When doing a lower body workout at home, there are different styles of exercise that can be applied to the workout depending on the goal. Strength training helps with building strong muscles and laying a solid foundation. Hypertrophy training builds and tones muscle. Power training focuses on explosive movements to build strength, helps in fat loss and has more of a conditioning benefit than the other two.

The above home leg workout can be done in just over 30 minutes. It combines all exercise types (strength, hypertrophy, power, conditioning) into the workout to give a balanced approach.

The post Home Workout for Legs: No Equipment Needed to Burn Fat and Get Strong appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Getting regular exercise is a great way to help you stay fit at any age, and as you get older, it’s even more crucial to stay active.

If exercise is already a part of your every-day life, that’s great, but what can you do if you have mobility issues that prevent you from engaging in certain types of activities?

While exercising may be challenging for those with limited mobility, you can still make great strides toward your fitness goals by starting with simple chair exercises for seniors.

Benefits of Exercise

Exercise can improve your physical health and well-being. It can also help you control your weight, which may help prevent serious medical conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

Exercise produces endorphins, which are the “feel good” hormones, so getting regular exercise can also improve your mental health, improve the quality of your sleep, relieve stress and anxiety, and boost your mood.

Regular exercise can also improve your balance and flexibility, increase your strength and stamina, and help prevent bone loss. Exercise can help you stay healthy, fit and strong, which may reduce your risk of falling. According to the National Council on Aging, falls are the No. 1 cause of fatal injuries for seniors age 65 and older.

10 Chair Exercises for Seniors

If you’re thinking of doing chair exercises, but you don’t know where to begin, the 10 exercises below are all great options. These exercises focus on different parts of the body, including arms, core and legs, as well as some gentle stretching exercises.

These are simple exercises, and you can do them while seated in your chair.

Arms

1. Seated Bicep Curls

Sit in a chair with your hips back, your core tight and your back against the back of the chair. While using a set of dumbbells or a resistance band, start with your arms down and elbows tucked in, then curl your arms up toward your shoulders, and lower them to the original position.

2. Isolated Tricep Extensions

Sit in your chair so your back is against the back of the chair. Begin by raising one elbow up into the air with a dumbbell in your hand. Let the dumbbell drop back before slowly raising it over your head while supporting your elbow with the other hand. Return to the starting position.

3. Seated Shoulder Press

Sit in your chair with your back against the back of the chair. With a tightened core and a straight back, begin by holding a dumbbell in each hand and your arms raised and bent at a 90-degree angle, with your elbows out toward the sides of your body.

With your palms facing up, extend your arms straight up, keeping them parallel until fully extended. Then slowly lower your arms to the starting position.

Core

4. Extended Leg Raises

Sit near the front edge of the chair, and grab the sides of the seat with your hands. Extend both legs out in front of you with your toes pointing upward. With a straight back and a tightened core, slowly lift, alternating one leg at a time, as high as you can before returning to the starting position.

5. Tummy Twists

Sit toward the front edge of the chair. With a tightened core and straight back, hold a medicine ball or other weighted object in front of you. Bend your elbows, and rotate the upper part of your body to the left, rotate back toward the center, then rotate toward the right and back to the center.

6. Seated Knee-to-Chest

Sit forward on the edge of the chair, and grab the seat with both hands. Keeping your back straight, lean back so your back is against the back of the chair, and extend your legs out in front of you. Slowly raise your legs and pull them in toward your chest while bending your knees. Then slowly lower your legs back into the starting position.

Legs

7. Knee Extensions 

Sit in your chair with your back against the back of the chair. Grab the seat of the chair with both hands for stability. With a tightened core and straight back, lift one leg in front of you until it’s fully extended, then slowly return to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg.

8. Seated Calf Raises

Sit in your chair with your back against the back of the chair. Grab the seat for stability. With your legs at a 90-degree angle with the chair and your feet on the floor, tighten your core and push the balls of your feet down toward the floor while lifting the heels up. Return to the starting position.

Stretches

9. Seated Side Stretch 

Sit toward the edge of the chair with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor. With one hand, grab the seat for stability, then raise the other hand up toward the ceiling in a curved position. Slowly bend in the direction of the extended arm, hold for 10–20 seconds, then return to a straight position before repeating with the other arm.

10. Seated Hip Stretch 

Sit in your chair with your feet flat on the floor and your core tightened. Cross one leg on top of the other leg so the ankle of the crossed leg extends past the leg underneath it. With a straight back, slowly bend forward as far as you can. Hold for 10–20 seconds and repeat before alternating to the opposite leg.

Risks and Precautions

With any exercise program comes the potential for injuries. It’s important for you to talk with your doctor before beginning any exercise program to make sure you are doing exercises that are right for you.

This is especially important if you have any mobility limitations or if you have recently had surgery or other medical procedures. Clearing your plans with your doctor may help prevent injuries from happening and keep you safe as you improve your health and fitness.

Now is as good a time as any to begin taking steps to improve your health and stay fit, and these simple chair exercises may be just the thing you need to get started.

Joseph Jones has been writing senior care and aging-related articles for years. He got his start while writing for a personal blog before he was offered to work at California Mobility in 2018 as the Content Marketing Manager, creating highly informative guides and health awareness articles for aging adults.

He’s currently contributing to a variety of blogs in the senior health industry in hopes to spread information about taking care of seniors and what to expect in the aging process.

The post 10 Chair Exercises for Seniors — for Better Strength and Mobility appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Imagine you’re watching the Olympics and you see a rings gymnast come next. He powders his hands and takes a few breaths to ready himself before going into the routine. He jumps up to the rings and starts to pull himself up. He makes it look so easy but we all know how difficult it is.

That’s the result of mastering the pull-up and progressing it to the most extreme levels. Don’t worry, we’re not going to learn how to be an Olympic gymnast in this article, but we will break down the benefits of pull-ups and how to do them no matter what skill level you’re at. 

Having worked out for over 10 years and a NASM-certified trainer, I can honestly say that the pull-up is my favorite exercise, in part because it’s a more natural motion for all of us.

I know some people out there think that pull-ups are too hard and don’t even want to get started, but I want to reassure you that there’s ways to make it easier to start with in order to eventually move to full bodyweight exercise pull-ups.

At the end, I’ll give simple ways to get started so you can begin your pull-up journey no matter where your fitness is at now. 

What Is a Pull-Up?

A pull-up is an exercise where you pull yourself up from a hanging position typically holding onto a bar designed for them. The motion of the pull-up activates several back muscles such as the latissimus dorsi (lats), trapezius (traps), rhomboids, biceps and requires core (abdominals) stabilization to keep everything stabilized. 

Think about a superhero movie. Not all superhero movies have this but in some there’s a part where a character is hanging on the edge of a cliff and they’re dangling only inches from doom. Then, they muster up their will, grunt and eventually pull themselves up from the ledge to safety.

That general movement from hanging to pulling up is the basis of what the pull-up is.

Benefits

Now that you know pull-ups are necessary for superheroes, why would you ever do them? There are several reasons pull-ups are great for us and our bodies, but I’ll summarize it here with just four reasons.

1. Pull-ups Create a Strong Frame and Body

In our society so many of us are hunched over at work cranking away on our computers. We also over emphasize the push-up and chest exercises, which can create muscle imbalances in our upper torso if we don’t stretch, ensure corrective training is in place and strengthen the opposing muscle group. 

As we’re hunched over at our computers and doing do many chest tightening exercises, we run into a problem called upper crossed syndrome. Upper crossed syndrome is when the muscles in the neck, upper back and chest become imbalanced and get either too tight or overstretched. It’s when our head protrudes and our upper back slouches. 

Pull-ups can help combat upper crossed syndrome, slouching shoulders and poor posture to create a strong body and frame. Because the pull-up requires several back muscles to activate, it’ll build the powerful posterior (muscles located on the back of the body) chain for us to stand up right, reduce our muscle imbalances and set a foundation for further growth.

2. Pull-Ups Work Several Muscle Groups At Once

The pull-up requires several muscle groups to achieve the intended outcome of pulling the body up. That’s another great benefit with the pull-up because it requires core activation on top of all the back muscles that are worked. This is good because we can work several muscles in just one exercise, therefore getting a better workout for the amount of time and effort put into it.

There is a research article by Jennifer K Hewit, at the Department of Physical Education, that explained a study done with 41 uninjured men and women to see what muscles were most activated for variations of the pull-up. They found, in the standard pull-up exercise, the rectus abdominis (the abdominals) was activated the most followed by the biceps, lats and traps, in that order. (1)

This shows that multiple muscle groups are active during the pull-up and is one of the reasons I like doing it so much. 

3. Multiple Variations to Pick What Works Best

The pull-up is a diverse exercise that allows for freedom, creativity and customization. The standard pull-up is to grip the bar pronated (overhand) with a grip going wider than the shoulders. However, the hands can also come close to the center of the body, supinated (underhand) and it doesn’t always have to be bodyweight at first; starting with a pull-up machine is possible. 

The reason the pull-up has so many variations is because it doesn’t require a sitting position, cables, machines, presses and so many more limited impediments on the body. 

4. For Beginners and Experts

To start with pull-ups, you can begin with the pull-up machine that’ll help reduce the weight you have to lift. Then as you get stronger you can reduce the weight on the machine more and more until you progress to doing eccentric bodyweight pull-ups. 

Eccentric bodyweight pull-ups are done body either jumping or using a bench to get yourself above the bar in a normal pull-up position. Then you slowly let yourself go back to the starting point of hanging in pull-up ready position. You jump up or use the bench to again get you above the bar and repeat. That will help you build the strength you need to eventually progress to full bodyweight pull-ups.

After you move to bodyweight pull-ups, you can go into weighted pull-ups. As you get stronger and stronger, you then have the option to begin doing calisthenics.

Calisthenics is an exercise style that utilizes the body’s weight for workouts. Examples of expert calisthenics workouts are doing muscle-ups (pull-up that transitions to lifting the torso above the bar) to then jumping on top of the pull-up bar.

Another example is is doing a front lever, which is when you see the guys start in a pull-up position then move towards hanging there horizontally with their legs out front and torso angled backwards. And most of that starts with being able to master the pull-up. 

How to Do A Pull-Up Properly

Now you know what a pull-up is, what it’s good for and how much freedom it offers, then how do you do a pull-up properly?

First, be aware the pull-up is a back exercise that should be using your lats, mid traps and rhomboids to lift you, with biceps as support. The visualization here would be to not pull yourself up with your forearms and elbows but instead squeeze yourself up by bringing your elbows down towards your back. 

1. Start off by grabbing the bar above you a little wider than shoulder-width.
2. Stabilize the core, lower back and glutes to keep a strong base.
3. Make sure your elbows are pointed out to the side not in front.
4. Lift yourself up and as you do remember to squeeze your elbows down.
5. Keep your neck vertical and looking straight.
6. As you get to the top, be sure to keep your head neutral, not cranking your chin forward to get higher.
7. Once you reach the top of the pull-up bar, your eyes and chin should be slightly over the pull-up bar.
8. Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting point, letting your arms go to 95 percent full extension

Avoid: Going halfway down and then back up. You won’t work the full range of motion; to make progress, you want to ensure good form. 

Because there’s so much freedom with the pull-up, there’s also incredible room for error. A pull-up can easily be done with poor form using more biceps while under-utilizing the lats, mid-traps, rhomboids and then swinging to get momentum.

Just be sure to do it in a controlled lift with good form, using the machine pull-up first if you can’t do bodyweight pull-ups yet. 

Pull-ups vs. Chin-ups

There seems to be confusion around doing a pull-up and a chin-up. They are different exercises that focus on similar muscle groups but each one is good for various reasons. 

The pull-up has the pronated (overhand) grip with hands wider than shoulder-width. It mainly focused on using the lats, mid traps and rhomboids to lift with supplementary help from the biceps. This exercise is beneficial for people who want to get more width in their back for that V-shape. 

The chin-up has a supinated (underhand) grip with hands shoulder-width or closer. It mainly focuses on using the lats and biceps to lift with supplemental help from the mid-traps, rhomboids, teres major/minor and posterior deltoids.

This exercise is beneficial for people who want to build their biceps more than widen their back; it’s also easier than a pull-up and a good place to start in order to progress to a bodyweight pull-up. 

Getting Started

To get started you can try the machine pull-ups and choose weight that lets you easily do pull-ups to get a feel for them.

If you don’t have a pull-up machine at the gym you’re at, then you can take a bench, bring it under the pull-up bar and do eccentric (getting help to lift yourself above the bar and then slowly lowering down) pull-ups to build strength in order to progress into bodyweight pull-ups. 

Some people have a more difficult time with pull-ups due to their body, genetics and muscular physique. Just be sure to take it slow, be patient and not judge yourself. You may just find that you really enjoy doing pull-ups and have now opened a whole new door of possibilities.

Chaz Wolfson is the creator and content moderator behind The Fitness Wrangler. A Certified Personal Trainer (NASM), he trains clients at a local gym in Tampa, FL. Having dealt with difficult gut issues, put on unwanted weight and suffered through various diseases, he learned to remedy his gut health issues and lost 30 pounds. He’s now on a mission to discover why he got so unhealthy, how to reverse it and in the process share what he’s learning to help others overcome their own chronic health issues to take control of their fitness.

The post How to Do Pull-ups and 4 Benefits of This Exercise appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Triceps are the ultimate hybrid muscle. Not only are they responsible for arms that look both strong ad sexy, they also contribute mightily to some big lifts like the bench press and shoulder press. The triceps are equal “show and go” muscles.

Anatomy of the Triceps

The main role of the triceps brachii is to extend the arm at the elbow. Just as the prefix of the name implies, the triceps are made up of three distinct parts: the long head, the lateral head, and the medial head. All three contribute to overall strength and a powerful aesthetic.

The lateral head is the one that juts outward from the body and, when highly developed, creates the most impressive silhouette. The long head is located on the bottom side of the humerus, close to the body. Together, the long head and the lateral head form the coveted “triceps horseshoe,” the inverted U-shape that can be seen on bodybuilders and athletes who have well-developed arms and low levels of body fat. The medial head is mostly covered by the long head and lateral head, but contributes overall mass to the upper arm.

It’s possible to isolate the three different heads with certain variations of triceps exercises, but the best triceps workout for mass will hit all three heads equally. Whether you do your triceps workout with dumbbells at home or your triceps workout at the gym with every imaginable piece of equipment, it’s relatively easy to stimulate the entire muscle.

Your Triceps Workout

The triceps are a relatively small muscle and recover quickly. The best triceps workouts combine compound movements and isolation exercises with an emphasis on training frequency more than volume. Since strong triceps are crucial for pressing movements — locking out the elbows at the end of a bench press or shoulder press —  weak triceps can hinder overall muscular growth.

For that reason, it’s a good idea to add a small dose of relatively heavy low-rep compound exercises to a steady diet of isolation movements using moderate weight and high reps, which are most effective for muscular growth.

5 Top Triceps Training Tips 

1. Pick the right triceps exercise

There are dozens of different triceps exercises, but not all of them are right for everybody. While there are a few basic rules to follow when you are designing a triceps workout routine for mass and strength, one idea supersedes all others.

“What do you feel the most? If you do an exercise and it burns and your muscle gets really pumped, then that’s the one you stick with,” says Chris Zaino, DC, IFBB professional bodybuilder, and former Mr. America. “This goes for every exercise. If you do an exercise and you feel nothing but your joints, and you don’t feel the muscle working, then throw it away.”

2. Start with a heavy compound exercise

After eliminating any exercise that causes pain or doesn’t fully activate the muscle, the best triceps workout begins with a heavy compound exercise that uses both the elbow joints and the shoulders, says strength coach Jay Ashman, NASM PES, owner of Kansas City Barbell in Kansas City, MO, and co-founder of Elite Athlete Development.

Close-grip bench presses or floor presses are good choices.

3. Follow with two to three isolation triceps moves

From there, chose two to three isolation exercises (meaning only your elbows will be moving). The trick is to choose a selection of exercises that vary the angle of the humerus to the torso.

Ashman recommends including one exercise in which the elbows are against your body, such as a pushdown. Another exercise should have the upper arms perpendicular to the torso, the way they are in a close-grip bench press or machine press, which emphasizes the lateral head and medial head of the triceps.

4. Make sure to activate the long head of the triceps

Finally, add an exercise in which the humerus is at an angle that is greater than 90 degrees from the body, such as an overhead triceps extension. This position is best for activating the long head of the triceps.

5. Go to the gym?

It is not necessary to go to a gym for a great triceps workout, but it does help. You can get bigger arms by doing a triceps workout at home with just your bodyweight, or a triceps workout with dumbbells only. However, a cable machine is an excellent tool for a triceps workout and will allow you plenty of variety in your exercise selection.

Common Questions About Triceps Workouts

How often should you train your triceps?

Deciding on what day to perform your triceps workout is determined by how well you know yourself, rather than sports science. For instance, a chest and triceps workout is a natural pairing, but your triceps are engaged whenever you bench press or overhead press. If your chest day is 21 sets of different types of bench presses, then your triceps get enough stimulation for that day.

On the flip side, some people like to do a biceps and triceps workout, since they do not exhaust each other. This will all come down to personal preference and your ability to adequately recover from the workout.

Ashman suggests training the triceps two to three times a week. The latest scientific literature bears that out. A study published in the journal of Sports Medicine showed that training a muscle two or more times a week results in superior gains in size and strength when compared to training it once a week. (It was inconclusive if three times was better than twice, however.)

What are the training keys for triceps isolation exercises?

Triceps workout are typically dominated by isolation exercises, in which only a single joint is moving (the elbow is this case.) For efficacy and safety, there a few important things to remember when it comes to isolation exercises. 

“In any kind of isolation move you want to focus on the stretch to contraction,” says Ashman. “For each rep, let the muscle stretch as much as you can. Then, when you lock it out, you want to flex as hard as you can.”

For instance, during an overhead triceps extension, let the weight pull your hands down as far as possible. Make sure you can feel the stretch in the back of your arms. When you press the weight up and lock out the elbows, flex your triceps for a full two-count. Each rep should be slow and deliberate. Focus on the muscle, rather than getting through the movement. 

Keep the weight moderate and the reps high, not only for safety — low reps and heavy loads during isolation exercises is a recipe for injury —  but also because it’s the best strategy to induce muscle growth.

A study published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine showed that trained subjects who used a more moderate weight for higher reps enjoyed greater gains in muscle size. Save the test of strength for the bench press or squat.

Triceps Workout 1

This is a classic triceps workout, designed by pro bodybuilder and chiropractor Dr. Chris Zaino. It is a perfect introduction to triceps training for the beginner lifter, but has also helped Zaino himself craft a world-class set of triceps. 

Triceps Exercise, Sets and Reps

1. Decline Skullcrusher — 3 sets to failure

2. Close-Grip Bench Press* — 3 sets of 8–12 reps

3. Triceps Pushdown** — 3 sets of 10–12 reps***

4. Dips — 3 sets to failure, with 3 negative reps

*Use the same EZ-bar for both exercises
**Use whatever attachment feels the best
***Finish with three reps of a slow negative and then three partial reps

Triceps Workout 2

This session is slightly more advanced and calls for a greater degree of mind-muscle connection. With a reliance on rep count over load and no bodyweight exercises, this is a good triceps workout for women.

Triceps Exercise, Sets and Reps

1. Floor Press — 3 sets of 5–8 reps 

2. Overhead EZ-bar extension — 3 sets of 10–12 reps

3. Reverse-Grip Pushdown — 3 sets of 10–12 reps

4. Banded Pushdown* — 100 reps

*As many as necessary to hit 100 reps

Triceps Workout 3

Best for the intermediate to advanced lifter, this workout utilizes exercises that demand concentration, body control and core stability. It also includes a significant amount of training volume, making this a good triceps workout for men interested in adding more size to their arms. 

Triceps Exercise, Sets and Reps

1. Close-Grip Bench Press — 3 sets of 4–6 reps

2. Rack Triceps Press — 3 sets of 10–12 reps

3. Tate Press — 3 sets of 10–12 reps

4. Bench Dip — 3 sets of 15–20 reps

5. Pushdown — 3 sets of 20 reps

Triceps Exercise Descriptions

Bench Dip

This is a highly effective triceps exercise without weights. Place your heels flat on the floor with your legs extended and your palms on the edge of a flat bench. (For a greater challenge, elevate your feet onto some form of riser such as another bench or a plyo box.) With your hips off the bench, extend your arms and support your weight by your heels and palms. Slowly bend your elbows, allowing your hips to descend below the level of the bench. Make sure your elbows stay close to your body. Reverse direction by extending your arms and returning to the start position. Squeeze your triceps hard at the top of each rep.

Rack Triceps Press

In a Smith machine or power rack, set a bar at about hip height. Get into an incline push-up position with your hands on the bar in an overhand grip. Keeping your body rigid as if in a plank, bend at your elbows and lower your forehead towards the bar. Once your head comes level or slightly below the bar, reverse the direction and press back up to the top position. The lower the bar on the rack, the more difficult this exercise becomes. A good set is to “run the rack”: Start with the bar in a relatively low position (knee-height) and raise it one position for each consecutive set.

Dumbbell Floor Press

Lie face-up on the floor with a dumbbell on either side of you and your legs extended. Grasp a dumbbell in each hand, with your upper arms pressing into the floor and your elbows close to your sides. (The angle between your upper arms and your torso should be no greater than 45 degrees.) Take a deep breath, tighten the muscles in your abs and glutes and press the weight up. Slowly bring the dumbbells back down until your upper arms make full contact with the ground and come to a complete stop. Do not let your elbows slam into the ground. After a beat in which the dumbbells have been completely still, tighten your core, drive the backs of your heels into the ground and press the weight back up to full lockout. 

Overhead EZ-Bar Extension

Hold an EZ-bar with an overhand grip and your hands inside your shoulders. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees. Press the bar over your head to begin. Form this position, bend at the elbows and bring the weight behind your head until you feel a deep stretch in your triceps. Then slowly press it back up. Keep your upper arms stationary and your elbows pointing forward and close to your head for every rep.

Neutral Grip Press

This is essentially a triceps bench press. Lie face-up on a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the weights with a neutral grip, palms facing each other, and your arms extended. Strongly push the weights against each other so they are in contact for the entire duration of each set. Slowly bring the dumbbells down until they barely touch your sternum. Press them back up until your elbows are locked out. Forcefully contract your triceps when the elbows are fully extended. Keep pressure on the point the weights touch for the entire rep. This exercise is best done with hexagon dumbbells that have a flat surface. Dumbbells with perfectly round weights can be unwieldy and difficult to maintain that inward pressure.

Pushdown

The classic triceps pushdown is staple of any triceps workout, with dozens of variations available in most gyms. The type of handle, the width of your hands, or performing unilateral versus bilateral exercises are just a few ways to change up this exercise. No matter which variation you choose to do for your triceps workout, keep your elbows pinned to your sides throughout each repetition. If your elbows move forward, the stimulus comes off the triceps and onto the chest, core, and front delts. Stand in front of a high pulley with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, and head in neutral alignment with your spine. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip. Use a hammer-grip if using the rope attachment. Bring the weight down and hold a hard contraction at the bottom of the rep for a two-count and then bring the weight back to the top with control.

Reverse-Grip Pushdown

Select a bar attachment and place it on a high pulley. An EZ-curl bar tends to be more comfortable than a straight bar for this exercise. You may also use a D-handle and perform this exercise with one hand at a time. Stand in the same position as on overhand pushdown. Grasp the bar with an underhand (palms-up) grip. Use a lighter weight that you use for traditional pushdowns. Perform each rep slowly and deliberately. The change in grip puts more emphasis on the medial head of the triceps and it feels differently when activated. It might take a few reps to establish a strong mind-muscle connection. 

Close Grip Bench Press

Lie on a bench and grip the bar with your hands just inside your shoulders. Do not place your hands right next to each other. The hands should be several inches apart. Lift the bar, tuck your elbows in close to your sides, and slowly lower the weight to your chest. Activate your triceps and press the bar up until it is fully locked out. Squeeze your triceps hard at the top.

Decline Skullcrushers

This two-arm triceps extension is a slight variation on the classic skullcrusher. This version shifts much of the stress from the elbows onto the lats. Sit on a decline bench with rollers that secure your legs in place. Holding an EZ-bar with a close grip, lower yourself down so your back and head are resting on the pads. Extend the bar directly above you with your arms locked out. Slowly, bend at the elbows and lower the weight  just past your forehead. Pause for a moment and press the weight back to the starting position. Forcefully contract the triceps at the top. The upper arms should be motionless throughout the movement.

Tate Press

Lie face-up on a flat bench and hold a pair of dumbbells with your arms extended and your palms forward, like the beginning of a bench press. Keep your elbows pointed outward and the weight slightly outside your shoulders. Slowly bend at the elbows and arc the end of the dumbbell toward your chest. Allow the weight to touch your chest but do not let it rest. Return along the same semi-circular path. Keep the upper arms stationary the whole time. At the top of the motion, lock out your arms and hold the contraction for a beat until you bring the weight back down. Use relatively light dumbbells with his exercise and move the weight very slowly and deliberately.

Dip

Find a set of parallel dip bars that allows you to place your hands shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. A narrow grip will place more focus on the triceps rather than the pecs. With your arms extended and your feet off the floor, bend your arms and lower your body until your elbows are bent 90 degrees. Extend your elbows and press yourself back up. Keep your triceps pinned back, your elbows pointing behind you and your body straight and perpendicular to the floor. If you are new to this exercise, try hopping dips. Jump to the top of the rep and then slowly lower yourself back to the ground. Dr. Zaino recommends these at the end of a set when your muscles are nearly exhausted.

Banded Rope Pushdown

Thread a large exercise band over a pull-up bar or the top of a power rack. Grasp the band in each hand with a palms-in grip. Start with your elbows bent and pinned to your sides and your hands near your sternum. Some tension should already be on the band. Extend your elbows, stretching the band. Flex your triceps hard when your arms are locked out, and then slowly return. Come back just far enough that the tension does not completely dissipate. Another option is to perform these quickly, for sets of 50 reps or more.

Final Thoughts

The triceps are small but important muscles when it comes to creating a strong and beautiful body. But triceps workouts put a lot of strain on your elbows, which already receive plenty of wear and tear during your other weekly workouts. If you do experience elbow pain, stop doing all dedicated triceps and biceps exercises until the pain subsides.

The muscles in your arms will still get stimulation when you exercise the bigger body parts such as your chest and back. While you recover, perform a few sets of very light high-rep pushdowns, to flush the area with nourishing blood and speed up recovery.

Read Next: The Best Chest Workouts and Chest Exercises for Size and Strength

The post 3 Triceps Workouts: The Secret to Awesome Arms and Super Strength appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Over the last few decades, we’ve seen a measurable increase in chronic lower back pain in the U.S. It is estimated that at some point in our lives, 80 percent of Americans will experience back pain. This has led to chronic lower back pain being the second leading cause of disability in the U.S., which means that sufferers not only deal with pain but high medical bills and missed work. (1)

Though the prevalence of chronic lower back pain is high, some of the most common causes are due to mechanical issues or the way the body moves, rather than serious illness. For most people whose back pain is mechanical, it means that through lower back exercises, including rehabilitative exercises, stretching and strengthening, we can drastically reduce and often eliminate the presence of low back pain.

That being said, correctly diagnosing your lower back pain is the first step to understanding the cause as well as creating and implementing the right treatment plan to find lower back pain relief. (2)

Common Lower Back Injuries & Pain

Lower back pain can be the result of acute injury like a bulging disc or from chronic repetitive movement that can cause issues like a pinched nerve. On the flip side, tight and/or weak muscles in a major muscle group like the hip flexors can cause persistent pain. Regardless of the cause, the objective is the same. To reduce and eliminate pain.

Some of these injuries will require outside help from a medical professional like a chiropractor or spinal physician. Others, like those issues related to weak or tight muscles, can be treated through lower back exercises and stretches. And when your back is strong and your body is flexible, not only do you feel better, but the likelihood of developing lower back pain will be greatly reduced.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of lower back pain. The spinal discs that act as shock absorbers for the vertebrae naturally degenerate over time through the aging process. The pain is most often felt in either the cervical spine and the lower back and can also be related to other issues like a herniated disc or osteoarthritis. (3)

Pinched or Compressed Nerve

The pain of a pinched nerve is caused by that nerve being compressed between ligament, tendons and bone either through repetitive motion or that area being held in a particular position for a long period of time. The treatment options vary from medication to physical therapy to surgery depending on the severity.

Muscle or Ligament Strain

Muscle and ligament strains are very common and can occur when the muscles are stretched too far. Lifting an object that is too heavy, over stretching the lower back muscles, falling and/or extreme physical exertion can weaken the muscles in the lower back which creates instability in the spine and can cause pain. In this case, treatment options include rest and anti-inflammatory medication as well as light stretching and improving overall strength and muscle tone. (4)

Lack of Exercise

As humans, we are meant to move. When we can’t, either because of health issues or lifestyle factors, our muscles and joints become tight and weak. This is how pain develops over time. But when lack of exercise is the predominant cause of lower back pain, the treatment becomes simple. A little exercise goes a long way especially when you focus on lower back exercises and stretches.

4 Benefits of a Strong, Flexible Lower Back

Our body was engineered for efficient movement. The organization of our bones in combination with the way our ligaments, tendons and muscles are linked together creates a connected system that is able to express functional movements we perform every day. By strengthening the muscles in our back with targeted lower back exercises, we will not only reduce pain, but improve upon other areas like spine stability and posture.

1. Improved posture and spinal stability

The erector spinae, or the muscles that form two columns that run along either side of the spine, assist muscles like the abdominals, hip flexors and obliques in holding the body in an upright position. By strengthening these muscles groups, you improve posture and stability by increasing muscular endurance and activation.

2. Improve balance

Balance is a critical tool for us as humans. Learning to walk upright allowed us to better adapt to our environment and helped guide us into a new era of human existence. We have been able to expand on the capabilities of the human body as expressed through sports like gymnastics and CrossFit. And though these activities might not be for everyone, maintaining balance is a key component of lifelong musculoskeletal function and preventing falls and injuries for everyone.

3. Build lean muscle

The saying goes, muscle weighs more than fat. And it’s true. But what we don’t always discuss is that as you build more muscle through bodyweight strength training and weightlifting, your body will need more fuel to sustain itself. Fat is a form of fuel so combining strength training with proper nutrition will not only help build lean muscle but will encourage weight loss as well.

4. Reduced back pain

We know that a lack of exercise can cause lower back pain through muscle strains and tight muscles. So when we incorporate exercise into our week, we not only will improve our overall health and well-being but significantly reduce our chances of developing back pain. 

Best Lower Back Exercises

What can I do to strengthen my lower back? (Also learn how to get rid of back fat.) When thinking about lower back workouts, you want to include leg and low back exercises (like squats and deadlifts), but also abdominal exercises (like crunches and plank holds), as well as movements for your upper back (like pull-ups and ring rows). For the fullest and most focused workouts to improve lower back strength and function, make sure you target the following muscle groups:

• Erector spinae
• Latissimus dorsi
• Gluteus maximus, medius and minimus
• Hamstrings
• Abdominals
• Hip flexors
• Obliques

What exercises strengthen the back? Almost any exercises can train your core and lower back muscles. The key is to perform each exercise with good posture and a tight core to reinforce good habits and increase the effectiveness of each movement. Here are the top lower back exercises:

1. Arch Hold

Start on your belly with your legs straight and arms extended overhead. Lift your legs and your chest to create a banana shape with your body. Stay long and extend your biceps by your ears. Squeeze your butt to create strength and tension along the back body. Hold this position for 30 seconds, rest and then repeat 2–3 more times.

2. Swimmer Kicks

From the arch hold, begin to make small “kicks” with the arms (forward, parallel to ground) and legs (fbackward and parallel to ground). This exercises add dynamic movement to the arch position. Complete 50 repetitions of swimmer kicks. This is also a great glute exercise. 

3. Forearm Plank

From the top of a push-up, or plank position, drop down to your forearms. Drive your forearms down into the floor as you pull your belly button up towards your spine. Engage your legs and squeeze your butt. Hold this position for one minute, rest, then repeat two more times.

4. Bird Dog

Don’t let the name fool you. This exercise is a great practice in balance and core control. From the top of a push-up with your hands underneath your shoulders and your legs strong and core tight, extend your right arm forward as you lift your left foot off the ground. Return to planks and then extend your left arm forward and lift your right foot up. Return to plank. Continue to alternate back and forth between sides for one minute. Rest, and then repeat two more times.

5. Squat

A proper squat requires ankle and hip mobility as well as core, back and glute strength. And it’s for these reasons that this movement made it onto this list. The better our squat, the stronger, more coordinated and healthier our bodies will be. (5)

Start with your feet shoulders distance apart. Turn your toes forward (if ankle mobility is an issue, turn your toes out slightly). Pull your belly button in towards your spine and widen your collar bones. Keep your heels firmly planted on the floor as you bring your hips back and down, and then below the line of your knees. Perform three sets of 20 reps.

Up until now, we have looked at movements that require little to no equipment. The final two movements will require a bit of external weight. Dumbbells, kettlebells or a barbell will work best for both the bent row and deadlift.

6. Bent Row

Start standing with your feet hips distance apart and two dumbbells in your hands, palms facing your thighs. Bend your knees slightly and bow forward as you hinge at the hips. Let your arms hang down towards the ground. Pull your belly button in toward your spine as you widen your chest. Bend your elbows, bring the dumbbells to your outer ribs by drawing your shoulder blade together. Then straighten your arms and return back to the starting position. Perform three sets of 10 reps.

7. Deadlift

Stand with your feet hips distance apart with dumbbells or kettlebells in both hands. Keep your core tight and your chest wide as you bend your knees slightly. Begin to bow forward as you bring the dumbbells to the outside of your mid shins. Your back should be flat, your heels should be down and your shins vertically stacked over your heels. Then, press through your feet and come back up the same way you went down. Perform 10 reps of this movement 2–3 times.

Bonus: Try These Lower Back Exercises from Dr. Josh Axe!

Best Lower Back Stretches

While lower back exercises are key to a strong back, equally important are lower back stretches. Flexibility and mobility are a major component of a healthy and pain-free body. Tight muscles can shift the alignment of the joints and overtime, can lead to pain. Sciatic nerve pain and piriformis syndrome are the result of nerves being pinched in the lower back. One of the treatment options for both of these issues is stretching.

How do you stretch out the lower back? One effective option is through the practice of yoga. It has been proven that intense stretching and/or yoga can significantly improve chronic lower back pain and even eliminate it. A research team lead by Dr. Karen J. Sherman of the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle found that out of 228 participants, those in both the intense stretching group and the yoga group, found better overall results after three months than the control group. (6) The poses from yoga practice can provide excellent guidance on ways to ease our lower back pain.

Each of these poses targets either the hamstrings, lower back, glutes or a combination those areas. For each postures, breathe deeply while you try to hold the stretch for at least one minute and no more than two.

1. Seated Forward Fold

Sit tall with your legs straight out in front. Curl your toes toward your shin. Reach your arm straight overhead and fold forward. Continue to extend your chest toward your toes. You should feel a stretch in the backs of your legs and/or the lower back.

2. Head to Knee Forward Fold

Sit tall with your legs straight out in front. Bring your right foot to your inner left thigh or knee. Reach your right arm up overhead. Turn your torso to face your left knee and bow forward. Reach for the outside of the left knee, calf or ankle as you fold forward. Continue to reach your chest over your left thigh. This pose will target the right lower back and the left hamstrings. After one minute, switch sides.

3. Cat and Cow

Start on your hands and knees. Press through your palms as you round your upper back. Draw your chin to your chest as you widen your upper back into cat pose. Then, draw your belly button down towards the floor as you draw your shoulder blades together to come into cow pose. Move back and forth between these two poses 10 times.

4. Seated Crossed Leg Forward Fold

Sit with your legs in a comfortable crossed leg position. Sit up tall, reach your arms overhead and then fold forward bringing your hands to the floor. Continue to reach your hands forward as you hold this position for one minute. Then, switch the cross of your legs and repeat.

5. Eye of the Needle

Lie on your back and place your feet flat on the floor. Bring your right foot over and above your left knee. Press your right knee away from your chest and draw your left knee toward you. Thread your right arm through between your legs and grab for the back of your left thigh or the top of your left shin. Draw your left knee in and relax your head and upper back on the floor. Hold this position for one minute, then switch sides.

6. Reclined Spinal Twist

Lie on your back with your leg extended straight on the floor. Draw your right knee toward your chest. Scoot your hips to the right and let your right knee fall to the left. Extend your right arm out to the right. Allow your body to relax into the twist. Hold this pose for one minute, then switch sides.

Lower Back Exercise Protocol and Precautions

When introducing lower back exercises into your weekly routine, there are a few things to consider. First, build up slowly. Incorporate one or two back strengthening exercises into your routine but keep the total rep count low, no more than 50–75 reps to start. As you build strength and awareness during these exercises, you can increase the rep count.

Second, be mindful of any pain you experience. We never want to work through pain, especially when it’s related to your lower back. And third, proper alignment is critical when performing these exercises, especially during squats and deadlifts.

Final Thoughts

Living with pain is never fun because pain decreases your ability to live your life to the fullest. It can also be an indication of an issue that should no longer be overlooked. We can prevent lower back pain and ultimately the underlying issues that are the cause of that pain through lower back exercises and lower back stretches that we can do at home or at the gym.

These type of exercises are simple and can be done with little to no equipment. And by incorporating a few lower back exercises each week into your daily routine, you can eliminate, reduce and prevent the type of chronic pain that affects millions of people each year.

Read Next: Leg Workouts for Women

The post The Best Lower Back Exercises & Stretches for a Strong, Pain-Free Back appeared first on Dr. Axe.

A busy schedule may have kept you from getting to the gym in the past, but it’s hard to argue that you don’t have just about 15 minutes to spare for a workout.

If you’re not the type of person who either has the time, or wants to devote the time, to working out for hours each week, a recent study uncovered a finding you’ll be happy to hear about: just three 13-minute workouts per week should be enough to build significant strength and endurance!

In fact, if you commit to just three short but high-intensity workouts each week, you can expect to experience fitness-related improvements that are similar to those achieved with a substantially greater time commitment. (1)

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What Is the 13-Minute Workout?

The “13-minute workout” is based on results from an August 2018 study that was published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. The purpose of the study was to evaluate muscular adaptations between low, moderate, and high-volume resistance training protocols. The effects of varying levels of high-volume resistance training were evaluated in 34 healthy adult men.

The men were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups:

1. A low-volume group that performed 1 set per exercise per training session,
2. A moderate-volume group that performed 3 sets per exercise per training session, or
3. A high-volume group that performed 5 sets per exercise per training session. All workout routines consisted of three weekly sessions performed on non-consecutive days for eight weeks.

At the end of eight weeks, what did the researchers find? Surprisingly, results showed that all men experienced similar increases in strength and endurance (no significant differences were found between the three groups). Despite the fact that the low-volume group was only performing 1 set of each exercise, they achieved results that were on par with the group performing five times as many sets!

Men from all groups experienced muscle hypertrophy (increased muscle size), but the higher-volume group was found to have the greatest increase in the size of the elbow flexor, mid-thigh and lateral thigh muscles. Therefore, the researchers concluded that “muscle hypertrophy follows a dose-response relationship, with increasingly greater gains achieved with higher training volumes.”

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13-Minute Workout Protocol

Conventional strength-training advice has long told us that we should be completing several sets of exercises each workout, aiming for between 8 to 12 repetitions per exercise during each set.

But now that you know it’s possible to experience increased strength in less time, with as little as three brief workouts per week, let’s talk about how to make the most of a 13-minute workout.

1. Keep the intensity high

Because you’re doing as little as one set of each exercise during a workout (a set is a given number of repetitions of an individual exercise), you want to go “all out” in terms of effort.

The goal should be to “lift to failure,” which in weight training means you repeat an exercise to the point that your neuromuscular system can no longer produce adequate force to keep going. In other words, you try so hard that your muscles couldn’t keep lifting even if you wanted them to. (2)

Research suggests that training to failure, especially during the last few reps, increases lactic acid production which stimulates muscle growth, including of your larger muscle fibers.

2. Focus on compound movements that engage multiple, large muscle groups

Compound exercises are “multi-joint movements” that work several muscles or muscle groups, such as your chest, back, core, quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings and calves. Some examples of exercises that the men in the study mentioned above completed included the bench press, lateral pull-down, machine leg press and others. Other compound exercises include: reverse lunges with overhead press, weighted squats and squat jumps, loaded carries, pull-ups, and push-ups. (3)

3. Do 8–12 reps

Rather than using a high rep range, during each set the men completed 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise. Lifting heavy weights during compound lifts can lead to widespread muscle growth, improved performance, and better balance and coordination, all in less time. (4)

4. Full-body workout 3x a week for 8 weeks

Complete a full-body workout three times a week, aiming for a minimum of eight consistent weeks in order to see results. Do your workouts on non-consecutive days; in other words, take a rest day between workouts to allow your muscles to recover. Because you’ll only be doing one set of each exercise, expect the whole workout to take less than 20 minutes.

5. Add in some Burst training

When it comes to efficient workouts, one way to achieve great results in little time is to do burst training style workouts, which can be done at the gym, on a track or field, or at home.

No gym membership? No problem — try burst training at home. This will involve exercising at 90–100 percent of your maximum heart rate for 30–60 seconds, followed by 30–60 seconds of lower intensity exercise or resting.

Pick a handful of exercises and “burst” for 10–20 minutes total, 3–5 times a week. Try including: running in place, jumping jacks, high jumps, squat pulses, jumping rope, push-ups and burpees.

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Final Thoughts on the 13-Minute Workout

• A study published in August 2018 found that significant improvements in strength and endurance can be attained by performing just three, 13-minute workouts per week. Results showed that full-body, strength-building workouts were shown to lead to impressive results when completed over an 8-week period.
• This particular study tested the effects of different volumes of resistance training across three groups of men. All groups completed similar strength-building workouts, but one group did only one set of each exercise, another group did three sets, and another group did five sets. The men who did only one set gained as much strength as those who had done three or five sets!
• Even though men in all groups achieved similar strength and endurance results, muscle hypertrophy was found to follow a “dose-response relationship,” meaning higher training volumes (more sets) resulted in greater muscle gains.
• If you prefer to workout at home with little to no equipment, try burst-training — a form of high intensity training where you do compound/full-body movements at 90–100 percent of your maximum heart rate for 30–60 seconds at a time.

Read Next: 3 Easy, 10-Minute Workouts You Can Do at Home — Less Can Be More!

The post The 13-Minute Workout Protocol & Its Impressive Results appeared first on Dr. Axe.

The muscles of the back are underrated when it comes to both function and appearance. The back muscles are equal or even greater in potential power output compared to the chest, yet many of us train the chest far more. Meanwhile, the biceps are mostly a “show muscle” rather than a “go muscle,” yet they often receive more attention than back training.

And that’s a shame, as the back is such a key muscle group for functional and athletic movement, plus it’s a well developed back is not only attractive but can you help give you a healthy, balance physique. Check out the back anatomy below, plus how to train it with various back workouts.

Anatomy of the Back

The back is home to some of the largest and strongest muscles in the body. The three most significant muscles that will have the greatest impact on how you look and feel are the rhomboids, the erector spinae and the latissimus dorsi, better known as the “lats.” (Several other small but important muscles — such as the teres major, teres minor and the quadratus lumborum — get stimulated in the course of training the other three.)

The latissimus dorsi, which is literally translated to “broad back” from Latin, are dual large triangular-shaped muscles that originate in the lower back, run up through the arm pits, and insert into the upper arm. This characteristic solidifies the lats as being the only link between the pelvis and shoulder complex.

An athlete with well-developed lats, such as a pro boxer, will achieve a symmetrical cobra hood shape when they flex this muscle. The lats are responsible for several different motions of the arms, such as adduction (bringing the arms towards the midline of the body), extension (swinging the arm behind the body) and rotation (crossing the arms across the torso). 

These massive muscles, along with the lumbar erectors and gluteus maximus, are crucial to athletes because they aid in deceleration as well as assist in stabilization with rotational patters through the trunk. Incidentally, exercises for the lats are the second best biceps workout you can do, since the pulling motion activates the biceps with every rep. 

The rhomboids are a diamond-shaped muscle of the upper back that attach from the thoracic vertebrae to the scapula. They are primarily responsible for retracting the scapula and pulling it towards the spine. You’ll hear the phrase “retract the scapula” constantly in the context of back workouts, and for good reason. Weak and flaccid rhomboids can be a leading cause of poor posture and an overall unattractive look of the entire upper body.

The erector spinae (Illiocostalis, longisimus, spinalus group), also sometimes called “spinal erectors,” are made up of three muscles that run vertically on either side of almost the entire length of the spine. They are responsible for extending the spine, so they are vitally important for maintaining good posture as well as providing the necessary stability to pick a heavy object off the floor. Thus, lower back exercises are just as important in your back workouts as your lats and rhomboids. 

Thick, well-developed erector spinae create a beautiful and powerful aesthetic. They are a favorite vanity muscle of hardcore athletes such as powerlifters, bodybuilder and wrestlers, who know that strong rope-like erectors are the product of years of hard work.

How Do You Exercise Your Back?

Growing the muscles in your back takes a diligent and disciplined effort. Back workouts should be performed regularly, once or twice a week, with a healthy dose of volume, moderate loads and strict form. The large muscles of the back can move a lot of iron, and exercises are stable and relatively safe, compared to training your chest or shoulders. There is often a temptation to add more weight than necessary, which can be counterproductive to getting the back muscles to grow.

“When you are talking about general fitness and bodybuilding, you need to focus on technique first,” says Scott Marshall, CSCS, MS, owner of Muscle Underground Strength & Conditioning Center in Chatsworth, Calif. and former coach at California Lutheran University and California State University at Northridge. “If your form is off and you’re jerking through a movement, deadlifting 315 pounds is not going to grow your back faster than deadlifting 250 pounds.”

“Focus on the muscle, not the movement,” is a common saying in training circles. Powerlifters, CrossFit’ers, Olympic lifters and other competitors are movement-based athletes. They want the heaviest load possible to travel from point A to point B.

That is not you. Instead, focus on the feeling of the muscle as it moves from a stretched position to a contracted one. As the reps build up in each set, pay attention to the blood rushing to swell the muscle bellies. Imagine you can feel the muscles recruiting every possible fiber for the task. Clean technique, a full range of motion and rep counts in the 10 to 12 range are the hallmarks of muscle growth. Don’t get caught up with the amount of weight you are moving.

Difference Between Bodybuilding and Athletics

The differences between back workouts for athletes versus the guy in the gym who is looking to build muscle are significant, but there is some crossover. Both types will be doing similar exercises, but applying them in different ways. Here’s how Marshall describes it: 

I have athletes doing deadlifts and rows, but the volume is lower because there’s a lot more to work on for an athlete. I wouldn’t have a ‘back only’ day for MMA fighter. Athletes shouldn’t do five different movements for five sets each. A track and field athlete doesn’t need 30 sets of back. For a bodybuilder, your main priorities are putting on size and putting it on proportionally. You want to train one body part every five days, blast it, and let it grow. For an athlete, everything has to come back to the sport. You don’t want to worry about their back being big and massive, you want it to be functionally strong.

Functional strength is an asset for everyone, not just athletes. The workouts below progress from being mostly bodybuilding-style isolation movements to incorporating more compound exercises that athletes might use. As you get more experience and create a stronger mind-muscle connection, you can start to use more complicated functional-strength exercises to help stimulate muscles that may have grown accustomed to the movements in the first workout.

Back Workouts, Including How to Design a Back Workout

When you walk into your gym on back day, where do you start?

“I usually choose five different exercises for back,” says Marshall. “I choose two pull-down movements, two rowing movements, and one lower back movement. I prefer to start with a pull-down exercise or a pull-up because they really warm up my shoulders and they stretch my lower back by decompressing it from a hanging position. I feel that is better than starting with rows or deadlifts.”

This is just a starting point, and individuals may vary. Some people may feel more stimulus from rows than from pull-downs, and vice-versa. Try to craft a well-rounded back workout but also pay attention to how your muscles feel. Focus on the exercises that allow you to squeeze the muscles at the point of peak contraction and move the scapula in and out. If that means you do slightly more pull-downs than rows, so be it.

Marshall does have on piece of advice that applies for everyone. He recommends leaving the lower back exercises for the very end of the session. Rows and deadlifts demand stability and support from the muscles of the lower back. If those muscles are already fatigued before your sets of bent-over rows or deadlifts, chances are your form will break down during those exercises. That’s not only counterproductive to building muscle, it can also be dangerous.

How do I strengthen my upper back?

When most people think about back workouts, they focus on the lats to give them that desirable width on top of a narrow waist, or on the lower back to build strength and stave off injury. However, the upper back is vitally important for back health and creating a beautiful body.

Weak muscles in the upper back, combined with tight chest muscles and lats from too much bench press and too little flexibility training, leads to a crab-like posture called kyphosis. This closed down stance not only looks bad, but creates more compressive loading on the vertebra and can eventually lead to debilitating injury. (1, 2) (Kyphosis gets even worse if you spend your workday hunched over a computer.) 

“Upper back work is crucial for good posture and strength,” says Marshall. “Improper posture generally leads to improper movement patterns.”

One way to determine if your upper back needs more work, is to see if deadlifts and rows pull you forward. Strong posterior delts, rhomboids and lower trapezius help keep your chest elevated during those movements, easing strain on the lower back.

One of the best exercises for the upper back is the face pull. Popularized by powerlifters, whose sport necessitates that they do a lot of bench pressing, face pulls can be performed on both back and chest days to ensure balance between the front and back of your body.

How do you work out your back at home?

The list of exercises below contains several cable movements and plenty of barbell-based exercises. Does that mean a back workout has to be performed in the gym? Not at all.  You can get a great back workout at home with a couple pairs of dumbbells, or a set of adjustable dumbbells.

You may not be able to hit the variety of angles that machines in the gym allow, but dumbbell back exercises have their own advantages. A recent study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine showed that performing unilateral (one-armed) rows leads to greater activation in certain core muscles when compared to a two-armed machine row. (3)

Exercises such as the renegade row, suitcase deadlift, one-armed Romanian deadlift and one-armed row can help strengthen potentially weak links in your kinetic chain. (For instance, your lats might be strong enough to use a certain weight, but if your core is too weak to hold you in the position to row a heavy barbell, your muscles won’t receive the stimulation they need to grow.) This leads to a greater ability to push heavier loads, which in turn leads to more muscle development.

Adding some unilateral training to your back workout might be just what you need, and is exactly what you’ll get with a dumbbell-based back workout at home.

Back Workout 1

Chris Zaino is a Doctor of Chiropractic, IFBB professional bodybuilder, and former Mr. America. Here, Zaino demonstrates a highly effective and safe back workout routine that is perfect for the beginner and intermediate lifter.

Zaino insists that heavy weight is not the key to bigger back muscles. He recommends using a lighter load and focusing on a full range of movement, slow reps to increase time under tension, and an emphasis on peak contraction of the muscles. This advice applies to back exercises for men or women. 

Back exercises:

• Seated Row — 4 sets x 10 reps
• Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown —4 sets x 10 reps
• T-Bar Row —4 sets x 10 reps
• Dumbbell Pullover — 4 set x 12–15 reps
• Bent-Over Row — 4 sets x 10 reps, then superset with Deadlifts 4 to failure

Back Workout 2

This back workout routine builds on the first training session but includes slightly more advanced exercises, including unilateral movements, and a greater reliance on compound exercises rather than isolation exercises.

Exercise Sets Reps

Close-Grip Pulldown — 4 sets of 10–12 reps

Reverse-Grip Pulldown — 4 sets of 10–12 reps

Inverted Row — 3 sets of 10 reps

One-Arm Dumbbell Row — 4 sets of 10–12 reps

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Bent-Over row — 3 sets of 10 reps

Hyperextension — 3 sets of 15–20 reps

Back Workout III

Like the second workout, this back workout places slightly more demand on the entire body. These exercises engage not only the muscles of the back but those in the core, glutes, and hamstrings as well. This workout also helps build “starting strength.” Most exercises take advantage of the stretch reflex, the energy that get stored up in a contracted muscle and then expended to help you get out of the hole during a squat or press the bar off your chest in a bench press. These exercises all begin from a dead-stop, and help your body develop both strength and power.

Back exercises:

• Face-Pull — 3 sets x 15 reps
• Pull-Up — 3 sets x 10 reps
• One-Arm Pulldown — 4 sets x 10–12 reps
• Renegade Row —4 sets x 10–12 reps
• Pendlay Row —4 sets x 9–10 reps
• Deadlift — 3 sets x 8–10 reps

Back Exercises Instructions:

Seated Row: Take a V-grip cable attachment and fasten it to a low cable pulley. Once you are seated, hold the handle at arms’ length in front of you with your palms facing each other. Set the stack to a slightly lighter weight than you think you can handle. Pull the handle towards your midline until it almost touches your stomach and bring your elbows behind you. Focus on bringing your scapula together and letting your back do the work rather than your arms. Hold the top of the rep for two seconds and squeeze the muscles. Slowly return the weight until your arms are fully stretched out and repeat.

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown: Attach a wide-grip bar to the high pulley of a lat pulldown machine. Sit in the chair and set the rollers so they press into your thighs. Grasp the bar with a relatively wide grip, wider than shoulder-width just outside the camber of the bar. Without jerking the bar, slowly bring it down to chest level. Squeeze the lats at peak contraction and allow the bar to return under control until the elbows have about a five-degree bend. Do not let the arms fully extend.

Advanced Option: When you become too exhausted to bring the bar all the way down to the chest, lowering the bar to face-level for a few reps and then to the top of the head for a few more.

T-Bar Row: Load one end of an Olympic barbell with 25-pound plates. (The smaller diameter of these plates will give you a better stretch than using the larger 45-pound weights.) Place the unloaded end in the corner of a room, in a landmine device, or under the post of a heavy dumbbell. Take a V-grip handle and slide it under the barrel of the weighted end of the barbell, where you would usually place a collar. (If your gym has a T-Bar bench, your chest will make contact with the pads of the station.) While keeping your back as straight as possible, bend yourself at your waist until your body is almost parallel to the ground. Take hold of the V-grip handles on the T-bar. Engage your lats, and, without recruiting your traps, pull the bar as close to your sternum as you can, bringing your elbows directly behind you. Squeeze and hold this position for a second before lowering the weight to the starting position.

Dumbbell Pullover: Lie perpendicularly across a flat bench with your lower back on the bench and feet flat on the floor with legs bent 90 degrees. Hold a dumbbell at arms’ length overhead. Keeping a slight bend in the elbows, lower the weight behind your head as far you can to stretch the lats. Think about leading with your elbows rather than your hands as you bring the weight back up overhead until it’s above your chest. Move slowly and concentrate on the movement. It takes a little time to get the feel of this exercise.

Bent-Over Row: Hold a barbell in front of you with an overhand grip and arms extended. Slightly bend your knees and then hinge at the waist so your torso comes forward until it is almost parallel to the floor. Powerfully contract your core and row the bar up to your bellybutton. while keeping the back flat and your gaze aimed forward. Slowly lower the weight until your arms are again fully extended. Since this exercise places a lot of stress on the lower back, feel free to use a weight belt.

Advanced Option: When you finish a set of bent-over rows, perform a superset of deadlifts to failure, which might only be 5–6 reps. Perform this superset near the end of the workout because it will quickly exhaust your lower back. Once the lower back loses its ability to maintain rigidity and stability, it can make other back exercises far more difficult and even dangerous. 

Inverted Row: Set the bar of a Smith machine, or place a barbell in a power rack, at waist-height. Lie on the floor underneath the bar and grasp it with an overhand shoulder-width grip. Your body should form a straight line, with your weight only supported by your heels and hanging from the bar with extended arms. Raise your chest to the bar by pulling the bar and driving your elbows behind you. To increase the degree of difficulty, perform this move with your feet elevated on a bench or using a TRX or suspension trainer instead of a barbell. (Check out a TRX workout.)

Reverse-Grip Pulldown: Attach a wide-grip bar to the high pulley of a lat pulldown machine. Sit in the chair and set the rollers so they press into your thighs. Grasp the bar with a relatively narrow underhand grip, so the palms of your hands are facing you. Without jerking the bar, slowly bring it down to about chest level. Squeeze the lats at peak contraction and allow the bar to return under control until you feel a strong stretch in your lats and biceps.

Close-Grip Pulldown: Attach a V-handle to a high cable pulley and sit in front of it so when you hold the handle, your arms are extended overhead. Place your knees under the pad. Keeping your upper body erect and chest up, pull the handle down until it touches your chest. Hold this position for a second before returning to the starting position.

One-Arm Dumbbell Row: Grab a dumbbell with one hand and brace your other hand on a sturdy object like a bench or a dumbbell rack. Bend over so your torso is almost parallel to the floor. Let the dumbbell hang at arms’ length in front of you. Keeping your elbow close to your body, bring the dumbbell up and back toward your hip. Once you’ve pulled the weight in as far as you can, squeeze and hold it before lowering the weight to the starting position.

Hyperextension: The hyperextension is one of the best exercises for back pain. Position yourself at the hyperextension bench so your legs are locked in but your upper body is free. Hold a weight across your chest and bend at the waist while trying to keep your back as straight as possible. After you’ve bent over as far as you can, concentrate on activating the muscles in your lower back to return to the starting position.

Pull-up: An old-fashioned pull-up is the single best back exercise without weights. Grab the bar with a grip that is wider than shoulder-width but comfortable. Let your body hang at arm’s length. Engage your lats and pull yourself up until your chin is level with the bar. Try to hold that position for a second before slowly lowering yourself back down. If you can’t do pull-ups with your bodyweight, use a band to assist you or practice “negatives:” begin at in the top position and very slowly lower yourself down. If your bodyweight isn’t enough resistance, use a belt with additional weight hanging on it.

One-Arm Pull-Down: Attach a D-grip handle to the high pulley of a lat pulldown machine. Sit in the chair and set the rollers so they press into your thighs. Grasp the handing with a neutral grip, so the palm of your hand is facing to the inside. Activate your core and keep your shoulders squared. Without jerking the handle, slowly bring it down to about shoulder level. Do not allow your body to rotate side to side. Squeeze the lats at peak contraction and allow the handle to return under control until you feel a strong stretch in your lats and biceps.

Renegade Row: Get into a push-up position, with each hand supported by the post of a dumbbell that is about shoulder-width apart. (Hex dumbbells are the best to use for this exercise since they do not roll.) Spread your feet wide to create a solid base. Alternately row each dumbbell to your torso. Fight to keep your midline stable and centered by flexing your core. Keep your head aligned with your spine and your gaze on the floor a few feet in front of you. To increase the degree of difficulty, add a push-up between each row.

Pendlay Row: Start with the loaded bar on the floor. Grab the bar with a double overhand grip and sit back like you’re going to deadlift. Your back should be almost parallel to the floor. Flex your lats, tighten up your core, and get ready to pull. The pull needs to be powerful enough to get the bar off the floor but do not use your hips to drive it up. Stay tight and explosively rip the bar off the floor and bring it to your upper stomach. Let the bar come to a full stop on the floor and then set yourself back up for the next rep. Use a relatively heavy weight for five to 10 reps.

Deadlift: With a loaded barbell on the floor, grasp the bar with an overhand grip about shoulder wide. Begin with the bar as close to your shins as possible. With your hips down, head neutral, and chest up, push through the floor with your feet as you extend your knees and hips to lift the barbell.

Romanian Deadlift: Hold a barbell across your thighs with an overhand grip and arms extended. Bend slightly at the knees and hinge forward at the hips lowering the bar almost to the floor. Maintaining that same slight bend in your knees, keep the muscles in your lower back contracted and spine in a neutral position. Drive into the floor with your heels as you extend your hips forward and pull the bar back up to the starting position.

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Bent Over Row: Hold two dumbbells in front of your body with your arms extended. Bend slightly at the knees and hinge forward at the hips lowering the dumbbells in front of you and almost to the floor. From there, flex your elbows and row the dumbbells up to your torso and then slowly back down. Maintaining that same slight bend in your knees, activate the muscles in your lower back as you extend your hips forward and pull the weight back up to the starting position.

Face Pull: Attach a rope to a pulley station set at about chest height. Grasp both ends of the rope with an overhand grip. Step back and assume a staggered (one foot forward) stance so you’re supporting the weight with outstretched arms. Bend the knees slightly for a stable base. Retract the scapulae and pull the center of the rope slightly up and towards your face. Think about pulling the ends of the rope apart, not back.

Precaution

When it comes to back muscles, it’s almost impossible to warm them up too much. Every workout should begin with five to 10 minutes of general cardio and then some bodyweight exercises such as jumping jacks, bear crawls, push-ups, Supermans and lunges. After that, spend a few minutes using a foam roller on your lats and upper back. This extended warm-up will also burn off some calories. (Since there are no specific exercises for back fat, you must achieve a daily caloric deficit to bring out the definition out in your muscles.)

The next phase of the workout is what Marshall calls “movement preparation” in which you prepare the body for the specific type of motions it will perform in the workout. Since so many back exercises rely on retracting the scapula, he suggests an exercise that trains this specific motion. Sit on a seated row machine with a wide-grip handle. Pull the bar and bring your torso to 90 degrees so there is tension on the cable and your arms are fully extended. Now, practice retracting your scapula as much as possible but without bending your elbows. Slowly allow the weight to separate the scapula and then bring them together again. This is a very short movement, but an important one. Perform three sets of 15 reps. After some light sets of your first exercise, you will be ready to get into your main work sets.

Final Thoughts

Remember this mantra: “Focus on the muscle not the movement.” Instead of the ego-gratifying game of chasing numbers on the bar or weight stack, concentrate on how each exercise makes your muscles feel. This is the best guidepost in your quest for a better back. Now, use these back workouts to get after it!

Read Next: How to Get Rid of Love Handles

The post Back Workouts: The Quickest Way to a Strong, Sculpted Back appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Spin class is in a class of its own when it comes to cardio workouts. Crushing the pedals to the beat of the (usually really loud) music, infectious instructor energy and maybe a touch of competitive spirit with the person riding beside you makes this form a cardio almost addictive.

But is spinning, also known as indoor cycling, the best use of your time, depending on your wellness goals? And what are the potential risks people rarely hear about? Let’s take a look at spin class benefits, set the record straight on some of the bad press and learn how to dive into a sensible indoor cycling routine to maximize the benefits of spinning.

What Is Spin Class?

Indoor cycling, also known as spinning or spin class, involves pedaling on a stationary bike, also known as a flywheel, using various levels of speed and resistance. Different positions on the bike are also used to target different muscles. Spinning is actually the trademarked name associated with one particular type of indoor bike, but it’s synonymous with “spin class” and “indoor cycling.”

The spin class definition? It’s a form of exercise using a stationary bike with that focuses on (1):

• Endurance
• Strength
• Intervals
• High intensity
• Recovery

The concept of riding an indoor stationary bike has been around for some time. In fact, there’s a photo of a woman indoor cycling in the Gymnastics Room of the Titanic in 1912. And long before that, Francis Lowndes patented his “Gymnasticon” in 1796. Other early indoor cycling models resemble a bike set up on rollers. (2)

Things are much different today. Modern-day spin classes generally include charismatic instructors, music and lighting effects. A small study even found that an indoor rider’s sense of pleasure was significantly higher when riding to music during class. Music and dimmed lighting during spinning class actually led to riders feeling less tired after a ride. And interestingly, the music and lighting didn’t cause participants to work harder, but they enjoyed the class more. (3)

Technology also brings even more spinning class opportunities. The Peloton bike, for instance, allows home riders from all over the country to take live and on-demand indoor cycling classes with instructors and riders in New York City.

(Another new activity worth trying that is wildly popular across the U.S.? Pickleball. Give it a try.)

Benefits

1. Weight Loss/Calorie Burn/Better BMI

Is spinning a good way to lose weight? Many studies suggest it is, but even if you’re taking indoor cycling classes and don’t see the scale budge, don’t panic. In a small study of female adolescents, researchers found a 16-week spinning program didn’t result in weight loss but did improve BMI chart readings and reduced body fat percentages. It also triggered healthier blood glucose levels. (4)

In another small, but promising, spinning weight-loss study in Italy, researchers found that women leading a sedentary lifestyle experienced the following results without making any changes to their diets.

After 24 spin classes: (5)

• 2.6 percent decrease in body weight
• 4.3 percent reduction in fat mass
• 2.3 percent increase in lean mass
• 6.5 percent lower resting heart rate

After 36 spin class sessions:

• 3.2 percent decrease in body weight
• 5 percent reduction in fat mass
• 2.6 increase in lean mass
• 9 percent lower resting heart rate
• Increase in cardio-respiratory fitness

How many calories do you burn in a 45-minute spin class? That’s a question I get a lot, and of course, the answer varies depending on a number of factors, including your weight and intensity of your workout. But a general calorie-burn range is 400 to 600 calories per hour.

Calorie burn isn’t the only benefit, though. Spinning two to three times a week for three months has the power to greatly increase your exercise capacity, along with lowering triglyceride and cholesterol levels, too. (6, 7)

2. Time-Crunch Friendly

If you’ve only got 20 or 30 minutes for a workout, indoor cycling interval training is a great option because it also pumps up your post-workout calorie burn. Post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), also known as the “afterburn effect,” means your metabolism is revving even though you’re not exercising anymore. It’s one of the top benefits of high-intensity interval training. That’s why so many spin instructors work intervals into spinning classes. (8, 9)

3. Better State of Mind

In psychology, “affect” means how someone experiences feelings or emotions after interacting with some sort of stimuli. A study published in 2015 in the Journal of Mental Health found that taking an indoor cycling ride at home or in an instructor-led class improves your post-exercise mood while diminishing negative emotions. However, participants reported enjoying the instructor-led indoor cycling session more than the solo spin workout. (10a, 10b)

A 2015 study published in the Journal of Diabetes Complications found a 12-week spinning class also lowered anxiety and depression symptoms in participants. The spinning workouts increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, which helps alleviate central nervous system dysfunction. (11)

4. Leg and Bum Toning

Is spin class good for toning your bum? I consider it a solid butt workout as well as an inner thigh workout and quad exercise, but recommend using it as a supplement to gluteus medius and gluteus maximus resistance training, not a substitute. (In other words, you’re not off the hook when it comes to clamshells and squats!)

What muscles are used in spinning class? Here are some of the main ones:

• Lateral head of the gastrocnemius (12)
• Hamstrings
• Quadriceps
• Gluteus maximus (13)

Indoor cycling is most commonly known for its cardio benefits, but we now know it can build lower body muscle and is a great leg workout, too. In 2015, a team of researchers from Japan and the U.S. published a study showing that indoor cycling takes longer than traditional resistance training to build muscle due to a slower hypertrophy rate. Still, spinning does build muscle, particularly in older riders. The researchers concluded that “higher-intensity intermittent cycling may be required to achieve strength gains.” (14)

5. Better for Joints Than Most Other Cardio Exercise

If your joints are begging you to give up on high-impact, long runs, spinning could help fill your cardio void while salvaging your joints. As always, check in with your doctor before beginning a spinning routine. They’ll want to clear you if you have any heart issues, injuries or, recent surgeries or other pre-existing conditions. (15)

6. Community

Whether you’re taking online spinning classes on a Peloton bike or heading to your local gym for a class, one thing is for sure: spinning builds community. And in the exercise world, that also brings accountability and consistency. Who knows, someone in your new spinning class could end up being the inspiration you need to really get back on track.

What You Need to Know About Spin Class (Before Going!)

This is really important if you’re about to hop on a home spin bike or head to a spin studio: Know your limits, monitor your heart rate and resist the urge to overtrain. There are some legit spin class horror stories out there. (Yes, lawsuits about pedal lacerations and getting stuck in pedals are a thing). (16, 17)

But if you use your head, prep properly and understand your limits, hitting the saddle for a ride could be the start of a truly positive, life-changing experience. Before we jump into a spin class Q&A for beginners with one of my favorite indoor cycling instructors, let’s first clear the air regarding some recent bad spinning press.

It’s true that rhabdomyolysis is a risk when you go too hard too soon with most forms of exercise, including indoor cycling. Also known as “rhabdo,” the complex condition involves skeletal muscle quickly breaking down. This leads to the leakage of muscle proteins and other muscle breakdown products from the cell and into the blood. Myoglobin, creatine kinase, aldolase, lactate dehydrogenase and electrolytes are all things that can start leaking out of cells and into the bloodstream when rhabdo sets in.

Symptoms range from none to life-threatening acute kidney failure. And spinning is sometimes the culprit, along with other forms of exercise like CrossFit, weightlifting, long runs and exercising in hot, humid weather.

A new term coined “white-collar rhabdomyolysis” developed as more and more sedentary and untrained working professionals started coming down with the condition due to training too hard too soon. Related to that,  a 2016 study published in Internal Medicine Journal found that cases of spinning-induced rhabdomyolysis are on the rise.

Korean researchers found that spinning could be a significant cause of rhabdo in young, unfit women. And symptoms can be severe, requiring hospitalization. The study authors recommendation? Take it easy during your first spinning sessions. Don’t push too hard. (You’ll still get a great workout.) (18)

Thankfully, your first spinning class doesn’t have to take a tragic turn. In fact, spin class can transform your health. To help you get the most out of indoor cycling, I asked Denis Morton, an instructor at Peloton, to share some of his best spin class advice.

Q: How do you help coach someone completely new to spinning to make sure they don’t go too hard too soon?

DM: Almost every ride, I say, “I make suggestions, you make decisions,” which means that I’m suggesting a framework for a workout that, with a little adjustment, can be enjoyed by Olympic athletes and first-timers alike.

Remember that it’s supposed to be fun, and that exercise is intended to strengthen us and help prevent injury. It’s easy to get excited and overdo it, so if at any point you feel uncomfortable with what’s happening, take a moment to back off and reassess.

Everybody is different, so remember that whatever metrics the coach is suggesting (cadence, resistance, intensity and so on) are intended to be adjusted for each individual. What’s right for you may not be exactly what the coach is suggesting, and that’s OK! Have fun, ride at a comfortable pace and intensity, and do what makes you feel good!

Attire & Spin Shoes

Q: What shoes are appropriate for someone’s first indoor cycling class, no matter where they take the class? “What to wear to spin class” is a common question. Any advice?

DM: I always recommend riding in indoor cycling shoes. Cycling shoes have stiff soles that deliver power to the pedal more efficiently, reduce strain on the muscles of the foot and nearly eliminate the possibility of feet slipping out of cages or straps, which can be dangerous when pedaling at speed.

Q: What’s the ideal attire for beginners in spin class?

DM: The ideal attire for indoor cycling should be light and breathable while allowing you to move easily. Avoid heavy, restrictive clothing or anything with straps or accessories that could pose issues during exercise.

Form

Q: What are important ways to check in to make sure proper form is maintained throughout a ride?

DM: If you’re new to an activity, let the staff and/or instructor know. They should take time to make sure beginners are comfortable before starting. The instructor should lead by providing a solid visual example of body mechanics, so start by emulating what the instructor is doing.

Beyond that, good coaches will give frequent cues regarding posture and form, so pay attention. Finally, if you have questions before or after class, don’t be shy. We get into this business because we love helping people, and you won’t be the exception.

Q: Could you share any tips on how to get positioned on a bike? Like how high should the seat be, what are some cues to have good shoulder form and so on?

DM: To get set up, start by adjusting the seat height to the height of your hip when standing next to the bike. That will be a good starting point.

When you’re riding, you want about a 5-to-10 degree bend in your knee when your leg is fully extended. In other words, if your leg is locking when extended or deeply bent at the top of the pedal stroke, find a comfortable middle ground.

From there, bring either foot to the most forward point of the pedal stroke, and adjust the seat forward or back to bring your kneecap directly above the “laces” area of your shoe.

There’s room for adjustment to your comfort here, but the safe range will leave your knee above the front of your shoe at the front of the pedal stroke. Once you’ve adjusted for your lower body, adjust the handlebars so that when your hands are resting on them, you have a moderate forward lean with an easy, natural bend in your elbows. Sitting vertical reduces our power, whereas too extreme a forward lean places strain on the lower back.

You want a long, neutral spine, so aim to avoid arching or rounding your back, and keep your shoulders back and down. This will be a good start, but once you feel comfortable with your setup, don’t be afraid to play with it, or experiment with one adjustment at a time to see if there’s something that works better for you.

Length of Class

Q: What’s the ideal intensity and length of class for a beginner? How does someone know when they’re ready to progress, and what does smart progression look like?

DM: Beginners come in every shape and size. If you’re brand new to exercise or cycling, I recommend trusting your caution — better to take it easy in the beginning and feel confident returning than to risk overexertion or injury.

If you’re already an athlete and it’s just your first cycling class, you may be more comfortable diving into the deep end. As a general rule, start with shorter, less intense classes, and increase the duration and intensity only when you feel comfortable and confident.

Q: Is there anyone who shouldn’t take a spin class?

DM: There are injuries and conditions that might prevent people from cycling, but your safest bet is always to check with a professional healthcare provider before beginning any new exercise routine.

More Spinning Info

Types of Spin Classes/Where to Take Spin Class

Whether you’re logging on to a Peloton account, spinning with YouTube videos or heading to a local gym to spin, find a class that allows you to work at your own pace. And find one that you enjoy!

Look for instructors with spinning and fitness certifications, and ones that encourage you to work at your current ability. Music and time of day of classes are also considerations when looking for a spinning class. Always use a heart rate monitor and use your body as a guide to make sure you’re not overtraining or injuring yourself.

Here are some examples of  different spin class rides:

• Beginner
• Intervals
• Rhythm
• Metrics

Precautions 

Be under control. One of the easiest ways to injure yourself during cycling is to set the resistance too low and pedal too fast. Things can get out of control really fast. You don’t want to overdo it, but aim to set your resistance high enough so your legs are in control. You don’t want to be going too fast or bouncing out of your seat. Be stable.

Beware of rhabdo. As mentioned earlier, spinning-induced rhabdomyolysis is a possible, but rare threat of overtraining on the bike. This is a rare side effect of overtraining, but one to know about so you can take proper steps to prevent it.

The noise factor. A Vox reporter’s investigation found sound levels during some spin classes that actually violate the Department of Labor’s guidelines for a safe noise environment. Spending more than 15 minutes at the 100-decibels noise range the reporter routinely found could cause hearing loss over time.  Vox also report this eye-opening stat: (19)

A single 45-minute indoor cycling class was nine times the recommended noise exposure for an eight-hour workday.

A 2016 looking at 17 different spin classes around the Boston area found class music levels routinely rose above 100 decibels. (20)

Overtraining. Too much of any type of over-exercising puts you at risk of overtraining symptoms and side effects. These include:

• Increase in cortisol levels
• Cortisol-related weight gain
• Weakened immune system
• Increased soreness
• Joint pain
• Sleep trouble
• Moodiness
• Digestive distress
• Adrenal fatigue
• Heart damage
• Muscle wasting
• Inflammation
• Missed or irregular periods
• Rhabdomyolysis (a rapid breakdown of skeletal muscle)

Common injuries. Aaptiv identifies the most common indoor cycling injuries as: (21)

• Knee pain (also known as cyclist’s knee or patellofemoral pain syndrome)
• Back and should pain
• Wrist pain
• Foot pain
• Saddle sores

Most of these can be prevented by:

• Training at your current fitness level
• Avoiding overtraining
• Making sure cycle shoes fit properly
• Making sure bike is adjusted to fit you
• Avoiding tense shoulders and hunched over posture
• Strengthening your core
• Avoid leaning too much weight on your handlebars
• Making sure you aren’t completely taking all the bend out of your knee on the downstroke
• Wearing padded bike short initially, if needed

Also, mixing it up is important in exercise because the body adapts and because you don’t want to keep training only one particular set of muscles. If you sit all day and then indoor cycle, you’ll want to pay special attention to hitting exercises that strengthen your core and mid-back area on other workout days.

Final Thoughts on Spin Class

• Taking spin class regularly can help improve lower body strength, lower blood glucose levels, trigger weight loss and improve your BMI and even increase your mood for hours after exercise.
• Avoid overtraining and going too hard too soon to lower your risk of common indoor cycling injuries.
• Always make sure you’re well-hydrated heading into a class (and hydrate during class, too.)
• If noise levels are too high in spin class, approach the instructor and gym and ask for more reasonable levels to preserve hearing health.
• There are opportunities to take a spin class at many gyms, training studios and even in your home.

The post Spin Class: A Checklist for Beginners + Benefits of Indoor Cycling appeared first on Dr. Axe.

If you are sitting down and reading this article right now, you should stop! Okay, well don’t stop reading, but you might want to stand up to finish it. I will make sure to give you some exercises to do at your desk later, and you’re going to want to.

Why? Well, if you are like most people today, chances are you are spending too much time tied to your desk buried in emails. Or maybe you’re whiling away the time mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram because you have a fear of missing out.

Our modern lives have been engineered so that we can spend most of it sitting down. Unfortunately, sitting is literally killing us.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 3.2 million deaths can be attributed to lack of physical activity. (1) Our sedentary lifestyles are responsible for increasing our risk of diabetes and heart disease as well as a loss of muscle and bone strength. Perhaps even more alarming is that people who exercise regularly are probably still not getting enough movement in their lives to counteract the deleterious effects of sitting too much. (2)

All That Sitting Is Making You Fat

On average, we spend about 9.5 hours a day sitting. Compare that to the 7.5 hours of sleep we are getting on average, we are doing a lot of sitting.

Then let’s look at the typical work day. Most likely, you commute to and from your job in a car with comfy bucket seats. Or at the very least you may be sitting on something a little less comfortable if you commute by train or bus, but still sitting. You roll into the office and sit down at your desk and stare at your screensaver of a remote tropical beach while listening to voicemails. Meetings, conference calls, and maybe even a little gossip session, probably all done while sitting.

Did you have your lunch delivered so you could eat at your desk and keep working? At the end of the day, you sit down for the commute home where you most likely can’t wait to hit the couch.

See how much and how quickly it can all add up? That’s the reason that hour on the elliptical isn’t going to save you! The impact of all that sitting is an increased rate of obesity. (3)

The good news is that with a little more activity throughout the day, we can actually reverse the inevitable weight gain — maybe even lose up to 20 pounds — associated with such a sedentary existence.

One study looked at the resting metabolic rate (RMR) of obese women. The original assumption was that their RMR was going to be lower than their leaner counterparts. What they actually discovered was the obese group sat an extra 2.5 hours a day. By increasing their daily physical activity alone, they could expend an additional 300 calories a day. (4)

Little changes here and there can go a long way in keeping you healthy and happy.

Also, We Are Sitting Wrong

There are countless ways you sneak more activity into your day, aka exercise hacks. There are exercises to do at your desk, such as chair exercises and stretches you can incorporate into your daily routine. But before we get into the various ways you can exercise at your desk, one of the best ways to eliminate back pain and stiff necks is to make sure you are sitting properly.

Let’s be honest here, for all the sitting we do, we aren’t very good at it. We do a lot of slouching and craning our heads forward. Our heads are heavy, and the further forward we have them as opposed to being aligned with our spine, the heavier they become.

By maintaining a forward head posture, you are constantly compressing all the nerves that lead to those awful headaches at the base of your skull. Being chronically out of alignment causes fatigue and aches and can have consequences as severe as asthma, sciatic nerve pain, disc compression and arthritis.

Making sure your desk chair is the right height can drastically reduce neck and back strain. Your feet should be able to be flat on the floor and your knees and hips at a 90-degree angle. Keep your lower back pressed against the chair to help maintain good posture. One of the most important things you can do to avoid forward head posture is to make sure the top one-third of your monitor is above eye level.

Stretch at Your Desk 

These 10 stretches you can do at your desk will keep you bendy and feeling good. Like yoga … at your desk. 

1. Rubber Neck
Sit up tall and drop your right  ear down towards your right shoulder (you don’t have to touch it!) and hold for a few seconds and repeat for the left side.

2. Reach for the Stars
Interlace your fingers and reach up towards the sky, as high as you can … keeping your palms facing up towards the ceiling.

3. Look Around
Turn your head the left and try and look over your shoulder and hold for a few seconds … repeat on the right.

4. Bobblehead
Drop your chin down towards your chest and GENTLY roll your head from side to side.

5. Shrugs
Raise both shoulders up towards your ears and hold for a few seconds and release. Repeat a few times for good measure.

6. Chest Opener
Bring your hands behind your back, press your palms together, sit up tall and hold for 5–10 seconds.

7. Seated Toy Soldier
Sit up tall and extend your right arm all the way up towards the ceiling. Straighten your left leg out and raise it up as you bring your right arm down and try to touch your left foot. Do 8–10 on each side.

8. Knee Hugger
With a bent knee, lift your right leg up and grab it with your arms and pull it in as close to your chest as you can. Hold for 5–10 seconds and make sure and do it on the left side, too.

9. Reach and Bend
Extend your right arm over your head and reach out as far as you can to the left and gently bend over. Hold for a few seconds and do it the other way.

10. Knee Press
This one stretches out the glutes. With your right ankle on your left knee, gently press against the right knee a few times. Of course, after you’re done with the right side, be sure and give the left side some love, too.

When You’re Ready to Upgrade, Exercise at Your Desk

Stretching is fantastic, and it’s definitely something you should be including in your office workout plan, but what if you’re ready to take things to the next level? Check out the following 10 exercises to do at your desk. Go ahead, mute that conference call you are on, get your blood flowing and challenge your muscles.

1. Walk/Jog/Run in Place

30–45 seconds. 3–5 times. This one is as simple as it sounds. Stand up from your chair and get to it. Anyone can do this one, you are in control of the intensity based on the pace you choose. Want an even bigger challenge? Bring your knees up to waist level.

2. Push-Ups

Now, before you panic at the thought of getting on the floor in your office … don’t! Remember, you are saving your life! Plus, there are options besides the floor. The modifications are to do them on the wall or on the edge of your desk. If you are going to do them against the wall though, make sure it’s not a cubicle wall or you could end up on your co-workers desk. 10 reps. 3 times.

3. Squats

From your chair, stand up, sit back down and repeat 10 more times. Simple! (It’s also a great butt exercise.)

4. Tricep Dips

Tricep dips can be done pretty much anywhere. Use your desk or your chair if it doesn’t have wheels on it. Position your hands shoulder-width apart on that desk or chair, then move your butt off the front with your legs extended out in front of you. Straighten your arms, keeping a little bend in your elbows to keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints.

5. Pretend Jump Rope

Hop on both feet at once, or alternate. Increase the intensity by adding the arm movements you would do if you had a rope.

6. Calf Raises

Stand up behind your chair and hold on for support. Raise your heels off the floor until you are standing on your toes. Slowly lower yourself back to the floor. Do 3 sets of 10.

7. Glute Squeeze

This is an isometric move. Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can and hold for 10–30 seconds.

8. Shoulder Press

Look around the office and find an old phone book or a ream of paper, something that weighs a few pounds. Hold it at shoulder height and then raise it all the way overhead. 10 reps. 3 times. 

9. Wall Sit

Another great isometric move. Stand with your back against the wall and slowly lower yourself into a seated position and hold for 10–30 seconds at a time.

10. Lunge

You can keep this move stationary and do it at your desk, or you could go all out and lunge down the hall to the printer and back. With one leg in front of the other, gently lower the knee of your back leg down towards the ground. Like you were going to propose to a co-worker. 10 times on each leg.

Leave Your Desk, Exercise Everywhere 

Burning some extra calories at your desk is one thing, but how about getting even more movement throughout the day? These next 10 ideas are pretty ambitious. I would recommend picking one or two to start with and not trying to implement them all at once.

1. Park farther away

There is something strangely gratifying about the ability to get the nearest parking spot to the entrance, but parking at the edge of the lot will help you get a lot of extra steps in your day. 

2. Take the stairs

Don’t like making small talk on the elevator? Take the stairs instead. The stairs are a great way to increase your heart rate and tone up those legs.

3. Do it yourself

Having an assistant may be a perk of your job, but if you got your own coffee and walked over to the copier more often you would be spending less time sitting.

4. Stand up

If you have to be on the phone a lot, what better time to stand up and do some stretches. Seriously, go ahead, the other person can’t see you!

5. Take a walk break

Schedule 10–15 minutes a day to just walk. See how many steps you can get on your fitness tracker. If it’s nice outside, go get some fresh air. Put it on your calendar to make sure it happens. Better yet, find someone to go with you and hold hold each other accountable.

6. Live chat

What if instead of picking up the phone or sending an email over to Bob in accounting, you actually went and paid Bob a visit? You get to move more, and I’m sure Bob would appreciate the company once in awhile.

7. Walk and talk

Why not have a walking meeting next time instead of sitting in a cold conference room at a table with stale donuts? And because exercise improves brain function (5), you may come up with some of your best ideas!

8. Commute differently

If you live in a city and rely on public transportation, try getting off the train or the bus a stop or two away from your usual stop and get some extra steps in. If you live close enough to work, skip the bus and hop on your bike or lace up your sneakers and hit the pavement.

9. Get to cooking

When you spend time in the kitchen chopping veggies and looking in the oven you are being more active than you realize. The added benefit of this is preparing your own meals is a much healthier alternative to fast food or something you just throw in the microwave.

10. Walk and fly

If most of your time is spent in airports waiting to go to the next town, use that time to your advantage. Airline travel can be frustrating with all the layovers and delays, but walking around instead of resigning yourself to your gate for another hour could actually relieve some stress. (6)

The Takeaway

You now have an arsenal of tips and tricks you can use to help boost your health and reduce your waistline. The most important thing is to be aware of how much time you spend sitting and get up and do something.

Ideally you should get up from your desk at least once an hour, even if it’s not exercises to do at your desk. Set an alarm to remind you to stop squinting at that Excel worksheet and get up and move. Walking for just two minutes an hour can reduce the negative effects of sitting. You aren’t still sitting right now are you? Get up, get moving!

Read Next: 6 Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises 

The post 20 Exercises to Do at Your Desk — Get Fit at Work?! appeared first on Dr. Axe.

What is burst training? Well, it can burn belly fat fast and involves exercising at 90–100 percent of your maximum effort for 30–60 seconds in order to burn your body’s stored sugar (glycogen), followed by 30–60 seconds of low impact for recovery. This causes your body to burn fat for the next 36 hours to replace your body’s vital energy (glycogen) stores.

You only need to do 4–6 sets of 30–60 second bursts 3 times a week to see marked changes and improvements. More is not always better — make sure you have days of rest.

I want to explain the No. 1 mistake people are making in the gym, today. This mistake is leading to some pretty big consequences like:

• Causing you to age faster
• Breaking down your joints
• Causing your body to STORE fat, instead of burn it
• Causing your hormones to get out of balance

The number one mistake is doing way too much cardio. Most people who want to burn fat and lose weight falsely assume that going to the gym and doing traditional aerobic exercise, like jogging on the treadmill, is the best way to see results.

But recent research is proving that long distance cardiovascular exercise is NOT the fastest way to burn fat and lose weight.

If you’ve been spending hours on the treadmill and not seeing any results, it’s because long distance cardiovascular exercise can decrease testosterone and raise your stress hormone levels like cortisol (1). Increased levels of cortisol stimulate the appetite, increase fat storage, and slow down or inhibit exercise recovery.

A study in Psychoneuroendocrinology showed evidence of long-term high cortisol levels in aerobic endurance athletes. Researchers tested levels of hair cortisol in 304 endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, and triathletes) and compared to non-athletes.  The results showed higher cortisol levels with higher training volumes. (1)

The Journal of Sports Sciences found that long periods of aerobic exercise increased oxidative stress leading to chronic inflammation. (2)

So, What’s the No. 1 Exercise to Burn Fat Fast?

If you want to see results fast without the negative benefits of cardiovascular exercise, your best option is burst training. Burst training (aka interval training) combines short, high intensity bursts of exercise, with slow, recovery phases, repeated during one exercise session. Burst training is done at 85–100% maximum heart rate rather than 50–70% in moderate endurance activity.

Similar exercise methods to burst training include High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT workouts) and the Tabata method. With burst and other types of interval training, you are getting the same cardiovascular benefits as endurance exercise but without the negative side effects. Also, burst training is the fastest way to lose weight and burn fat fast.*

Essentially, burst training is exercising like a sprinter rather than a marathon runner.

One of the major benefits of burst training is that it can be done in the comfort of your own home with no or minimal equipment. An easy example of burst training would be going to a track and walking the curves and sprinting the straight aways. Or getting on a spin bike and cycling hard for 20 seconds then going easy for 20 seconds, then repeating that cycle for between 10 to 40 minutes.

Burst (or interval) training isn’t necessarily new. Elite athletes and Olympians have known this secret to exercising and have been doing interval training for years. The research proves that anybody – not just elite athletes – can do interval training and achieve amazing results, no matter your experience or fitness level.

Research from the University of New South Wales Medical Sciences found that burst (interval) cardio could burn more than three times more body fat than moderate cardio. The researchers studied two groups and found that the group who did eight seconds of sprinting on a bike, followed by 12 seconds of exercising lightly for 20 minutes, lost THREE TIMES as much fat as other women, who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes. (3)

The reason burst training works is because it produces a unique metabolic response in your body. Intermittent sprinting causes your body to not burn as much fat during exercise but after exercise your metabolism stays elevated and will continue to burn fat for the next 24–48 hours!

Also, chemicals called catecholamines are produced, which allow more fat to be burned — this causes increased fat oxidation and drives greater weight loss. The women from the study lost the most weight off their legs and buttocks.

Another study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, April 2007, researched eight different women in their early 20s. They were told to cycle for 10 sets of four minutes of hard riding, followed by two minutes of rest. (4)

After two weeks, the amount of fat burned increased by 36 percent, and their cardiovascular fitness improved by 13 percent.

What Is Burst Training?

1. Strength/Resistance Training

The primary hormone response invoked by strength and resistance training is elevated levels of human growth hormone. This hormone is essential for fat mobilization. It also signals fat burning enzymes and aids in muscle mass development. HGH levels are raised most during sleep, in direct proportion to exercise intensity during your workout.

Strength training will improve your glucose tolerance and increase insulin receptor sensitivity. This will help your body become a fat burner, rather than a sugar burner. This type of exercise also creates a bigger metabolic afterburn than aerobic training, while also increasing fat-free muscle, bone density and metabolism.

2. Cardio/Aerobic Training

There are many benefits associated with cardio and aerobic training, but also many negatives. Cardio training will lower your resting heart rate, lower blood pressure, keep your brain young by increasing circulation to the brain and aids in detoxification by stimulating the lymphatic system.

But long distance cardio training decreases testosterone levels, decreases the immune system post exercise, and raises stress hormone levels (cortisol). Increased levels of cortisol stimulate the appetite, will increase fat storing and slow down or inhibit exercise recovery.

So how do we get the benefits without the negatives? Burst train to burn fat.

*Results not typical, as regular exercise and proper nutrition are essential to achieving and maintaining your desired physique. Even using the same exact program of diet and exercise, be aware that individual results will vary.

Read Next: 7 Ideas for Burst Training at Home

The post How to Do Burst Training appeared first on Dr. Axe.

There is nothing like standing in line at the grocery store only to be surrounded by glossy magazine covers of perfect, chiseled abs. Glistening, rippling six-packs all blur together into one massive reminder that your waistline could probably stand some improvement. And perhaps it sends you back on your mission to burn belly fat with ab workouts.

Maybe you sheepishly look at the items in your cart and question some of your choices. Maybe you stand up a little straighter and suck in your tummy a little more. But often you’re left with a nagging feeling that it can’t be done. 

That’s because while almost everyone wants great abs, nobody seems entirely sure how to get them. For most folks, they become just short of mythical, like unicorns. Finding a unicorn would actually seem easier to acquire than elusive six-pack abs.

However, there are tried-and-true ab workouts that can strengthen and define your midsection as long as you also address the diet side of the ab equation. For some, that might mean learning how to lose 20 pounds alongside beginning specific workouts that target the midsection. Let’s find out more.

Where We Went Wrong with Our Middle

How did we become hyper-obsessed with this one particular body part? In the 1970s, you probably wouldn’t hear “abs” used outside of Venice Beach and bodybuilding circles. Only in the late ’80s, with the influx of magazines like Men’s Health and Shape that figured out how to prey on our vanity with their monthly covers of Photoshopped sculpted bare torsos, did our obsession really kick in.

Along with that incessant desire came a constant barrage of late-night infomercials not-so-subtly suggesting we needed a particular contraption to help us rock, sway and roll our way to abdominal perfection. As you’ve guessed, most of those devices didn’t work but instead found their way to remote shelves in thrift stores and garage sales around the country.

Meanwhile, our ever-increasing girth continued to vex us.

Why? Without changing your body composition and significantly reducing your overall percentage of body fat, you simply won’t have visible abs.

First Steps to Flat, Defined Abs?

1. Start Burst or High-Intensity Interval Training

One of the most effective and efficient ways to lose unwanted pounds is by doing burst training or HIIT workouts. High-intensity interval training-style, ab-friendly workouts are known to be an excellent way to burn fat in a short period of time and help improve the physical performance of athletes of all kinds. (1)

It turns out that those endless hours of cardio we were told were good for us actually wear down our joints and increase our stress hormones — causing us to store fat rather than lose it!

2. Consume Fat-Burning Foods & Follow an Eating Plan Full of Them

On top of adding this efficient, calorie-scorching burst workout, you also want to consider adding some fat-burning foods to your meals. Adding blueberries, grapefruit and green tea to your diet is effective for fat loss because they contain compounds that help burn belly fat. Sometimes losing fat around our midsection isn’t always as easy as “eat less, move more.”

What types of eating plans include these kinds of foods and, more, can boost weight loss? You may want to try a ketogenic diet, which basically puts your body in ketosis, a metabolic state where most of the body’s energy comes from ketone bodies in the blood. This in contrast to a glycosis state, where blood glucose — sugar — provides most of the energy. That means your body is burning fat for energy rather than carbohydrates.

More simply, you can follow a low-carb diet that also can shift your body from a fat burner to a sugar burner.

3. Stop Eating Metabolism Death Foods

We want to try and rev our metabolism rather than slow it down, but that’s exactly what certain foods like fruit juice, grains and canola oil can do for many people. These metabolism death foods can shock your body into a fight-or-flight response, altering the focus of your metabolism and causing multiple health problems, including hormone imbalance, fatigue, digestive disease and, yes, weight around the middle.

4. Don’t Forget About Supplements & Essential Oils

Often, in the pursuit to lose weight, you may only rely on diet and exercise, leaving two valuable tools out of the equation. Supplements like whey protein can help you gain lean muscle while losing fat, no easy feat.

Also, you can even turn to essential oils for weight loss. For example, cinnamon oil can balance blood sugar, which can help with weight loss and reduce those cravings for sugar over the long term.

FYI: The Crunch Is NOT the Go-To Ab Move Anymore

As much as late night television, infomercials and that cute group-exercise instructor want us to believe we can crunch our way to a cut core, science doesn’t arrive at that conclusion.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville set out to determine the efficacy of abdominal-only exercises on abdominal fat. They took 24 healthy, sedentary people (14 men and 10 women between the ages of 18–40) and put them into two groups. Researchers tested abdominal muscular endurance and body composition of both groups at the beginning. (2)

During the next six weeks, one group performed 10 repetitions of seven different abdominal exercises, five days a week. The other group members continued their lives as normal. They didn’t do one single crunch.

The results? Neither group experienced weight loss, reduced body fat percentage or reduced their abdominal circumference. The only noticeable change: The abs group increased their muscular endurance and could perform more crunches at the end of the six weeks.

Abs 101

Let’s say you’re determined to get chiseled abs. The first step requires figuring out what exactly our “abs” are and what purpose they serve.

For better or worse in recent years, “core” has become synonymous with “abs.” We have now become “core-crazy.” While emphasis still focuses primarily on the aesthetics of the rectus abdominis, abdominal training has become more comprehensive and less reliant on just doing thousands of crunches.

Let’s briefly look at what we mean by “abs”:

• The rectus abdominis is the relatively large, most visible muscle of your abdominals. Its main task involves moving your spine forward and to the sides.

• Obliques — internal (3) and external (4) — run along your sides and are key players in trunk rotation.

• Way below the surface lie the transverse abdominis (5), working hard to stabilize your spine.

In other words, several muscles make up your core, so a single exercise like the crunch is going to be an ineffective way to train them.

What’s their purpose?

Why should we even bother working our abs and trying to strengthen our core? There are several compelling benefits aside from looking better in a swimsuit. A strong core helps with balance and stability, improves your posture, and can help eliminate back pain. (6) Those reasons alone far outweigh the superficiality of just having a six-pack.

Let’s move beyond crunches and examine some other ab workouts to include in your core repertoire. There are several sports that can help you strengthen your core and still manage to have fun, all while performing exactly zero crunches. Basketball, tennis, volleyball, cross-country skiing, boxing and wrestling (!) all work the core.

If you happen to live near the beach, surfing is an excellent way to burn calories and work all the major muscles in your midsection. If you live near water but surfing isn’t your thing, kayaking is another great way to workout. Similar to kayaking, a rowing machine, also known as an ergometer, can be be used indoors, year-round, regardless of whether or not you are near water.

If chronic stress is something you need to address, consider going to that kickboxing class at your gym. Not only will it burn hundreds of calories and challenge your abs through various kicks and punches, but hitting a bag does wonders for reducing your overall stress levels.

Although not as exciting and not nearly as efficient at caloric expenditure, Pilates has been shown to effectively activate the transverse abdominis and internal obliques. (7)

Meanwhile, there are many popular workouts on the market that promise washboard abs. Many of these push you to your limits, until you get injured or suffer overtraining syndrome. Also, there is research indicating that these extreme workouts may not be so good for us either. (8) With the fast-paced, advanced moves paired with little to no rest, these ab workouts are definitely not for beginners. If you suffer from any type of knee pain or arthritis, you may want to choose an easier option.

Best Ab Workouts

If you aren’t ready to take up surfing or kayaking just yet, let’s take a look at some more traditional moves you can incorporate into your ab workouts. To keep things simple and effective, these are all bodyweight moves. Just you and gravity, no additional equipment necessary.

Perform each of the following moves for 30–45 seconds, 3 times through. Do this routine 3 times a week, coupling with a burst-style workout or, at the very least, walking workout.

1. The V-Up

This move really targets those upper abs. To do this one, lie down on your back with your arms and legs extended. At the same time, raise your arms and legs up off the floor. Your goal is to touch your toes with your fingers.

2. Reverse Crunch

If you are looking for an effective way to challenge your lower abs, this one will definitely do the job. You’ll want to lie down on your back again and really press your lower back into the ground. Next, place your arms down at your sides, palms down. Lift your feet off the ground and make a 90-degree angle at your knees. Contract your rectus-abdominis and raise your legs toward the ceiling.

3. Knee to Elbow Crossunder

To begin this one you’ll want to be in plank position on your hands and toes. From there, with as much control as possible, tuck one knee in and over to your opposite elbow. Pause there for just a second and bring it back to the starting position and switch sides.

4. Flutter Kicks

Another lower abs burner! On your backside with your hands placed under glutes, you’re simply going to lift both legs off the ground a few inches and alternate gentle, little kicks. This is a small movement, remember they are called “flutter” kicks not “giant flailing legs kicks.”

5. Side Plank

Lie down on your side for this one, we’re going to challenge those internal and external obliques. With your arm at a 90-degree angle make sure your elbow is directly beneath your shoulder. Then, imagine if you were stuck between two panes of glass, you are trying to make your entire body in a straight as line as possible. With your legs stacked on top of each other, lift your whole body up toward the ceiling, supporting yourself with your elbow and the bottom foot.

Parting Words …

For all the emphasis society tends to put on having a well-defined torso, I think you have to answer a very important question before you wage full-out assault on your midsection. Is it worth it? While the achievement of having visible abs may make you the envy of your friends, it does nothing to increase your functionality. The reason being, as we discussed earlier, the fact that you can see them is essentially a byproduct of being super lean, not increased strength. In other words, a strong midsection is important, but visibility is optional.

The never-ending quest for the leanness required to have visible abs can become dangerous for some. Constantly obsessing about everything you eat can lead to not eating enough for your body to heal and repair itself after workouts — or even worse, starvation mode. Not getting enough calories and quality nutrients your body needs can wreak havoc on your metabolism as well. (9)

For women, the consequences can be even more severe. Not eating enough calories can cause hormonal issues and lead to irregular periods. Women with irregular periods can also have a decrease in bone mass and are subject to significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety. (10)

Developing great abs takes a lot of work and discipline. But there are lot of other things to pursue that would pay far better dividends than having rock-hard abs. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn to play the guitar or pick up another language?

Fitness should be about having fun and discovering all the amazing things your body can do. It shouldn’t be about waging war and going to battle every day for such a superficial and elusive goal. And lastly, let me leave you with this question. If your desire for six-packs abs is to gain approval and acceptance from other people, do you want to be approved and accepted by people who use that as criteria?

Read Next: Boost Your Metabolism with HIIT Workouts

The post Ab Workouts, Including the Best Exercises that Are NOT Crunches appeared first on Dr. Axe.

There’s a reason Superman has an “S” on his chest. A large well-developed chest sends a message of supreme confidence and power. So, how do you increase your chest size? What exercises will grant you those superhero proportions?

The best chest workout takes several factors into account: exercise selection, number of reps, how long you rest and even the speed of the bar. When you understand these variables, it’s easier than you think to build a chest that is big, strong and injury-proof.

Anatomy of the Chest 

Three muscles make up the chest but are truly dominated by one: the pectoralis major. Commonly called “the pecs,” the pectoralis major are the large twin muscles on either side of the sternum and one of the most sought after vanity muscles. When people talk about how to get a bigger chest, they are invariably referring to the pectoralis major.

The pectoralis major is a massive contributor in pushing motions that involve the arm and the shoulder. Whether you are moving furniture or on the defensive line of a football team, the pectoralis major will be doing most of the work. These muscles control many of the motions of the arms and shoulders, including:

• transverse flexion — the hugging motion of bringing the hands together in the middle of the body with your elbows pointed out; internal rotation, bringing the forearm across the center of the body
• transverse adduction — moving the upper arms toward the center of the body while the back of the arm is facing downward
• extension — moving the upper arms down and to the rear; and adduction, bringing the upper arms down and to the side of the body (1)

The pectoralis minor is a much smaller muscle that runs above the pectoralis major and inserts at the clavicle. Along with the serratus anterior (the shark tooth-shaped muscles that run along the outside of the rib cage, and make you look incredibly fit when your body fat levels are low enough to see them), the pectoralis minor controls the movement of the scapula.

Collectively, the muscles of the chest complex are short and can provide a platform for generating a large amount of force. Some strength athletes have bench pressed upwards of 1,000 pounds in recent years. However, these muscles maintain an intricate relationship with the generally delicate makeup of the shoulder girdle.

Anyone who has spent years in the gym will most likely experience some shoulder pain from years of abuse that heavy chest exercises heap on the much smaller muscles of the shoulders. The chest workouts we describe here can circumvent that fate, however, by using modern warm-up strategies, proper lifting technique and a more sophisticated approach to sets and reps.

Multiple Nerve Innervations Boost Chest Muscles

The pectoral muscles have a specific feature that makes training them slightly different than your biceps or deltoids. The chest muscles have five different nerve innervations, points where the nerve branches out and addresses the muscle fibers via the motor units.

“Nerve innervations are the basis for muscle action,” says strength coach and kinesiologist, Brian Richardson, MS, CPL2, NASM-PES, co-owner of Dynamic Fitness in Temecula, California. “Nerves run down that motor unit to the motor end plates and attach to muscle fibers. Then, whatever the motor unit is addressing those fibers will contract. The beauty of having more nerve innervations within a muscle is that you can generate different contraction spectrums.”

Multiple nerve innervations allow you to stimulate different aspects of the chest muscles. To take advantage of this physiology, you’ll want to choose chest exercises that will hit the pecs from multiple angles in a myriad of ways.

How Do You Increase Your Chest Size?

When it comes to choosing chest exercises, what kind of chest workout is right for you? If you want to look strong and fill out a t-shirt with dense, hard muscle, then you need to train like a bodybuilder. The phrase “bodybuilder” often conjures up images of oily, juiced-up guys in bikini briefs posing on a stage.

However, bodybuilders are masters at increasing the size of a muscle. Unlike athletics or first-responders who train for “functional strength,” the No. 1 priority for a bodybuilder is to improve how a muscle looks — its size, its symmetry, and how it appears in relation to the rest of the body. And if we are being honest, that’s what most folks in the gym are interested in as well. 

To coax your chest to grow, you want to direct as much stimulus as possible on the pectoralis muscles. You want a chest workout that allows you to isolate the pecs while taking the other muscles out of the equation.

“Scientifically, you want less emphasis on the core and more on the pec major. That means you want to be on a stable platform, such as the flat bench press, dumbbell bench press and incline bench press,” says Richardson.

A study published in the journal The Physician and Sports Medicine found that the best chest exercises for stimulating the pectorals are stable movements, such as the bench press and push-ups performed on the floor. (2a) Exercises performed on an unstable surface, such as an exercise ball, recruited more muscle fibers in the core but fewer in the chest.

Additionally, using an electromyography (EMG) device to measure minuscule amounts of electricity generated by muscles below the surface of the skin, one can determine which chest exercises recruit the most chest muscle. The EMG shows that while the flat bench is valuable for chest development, the incline (and decline) bench press actually activates more muscle tissue. (2b)

A bodybuilding-style workout that isolates the muscles, calls for a strong stable base, and utilizes a relatively high rep scheme (more on that later,) is also the perfect workout for anyone who is relatively new to weight training. And this chest workout is not just for looks. Many bodybuilders are incredibly strong, and this selection of chest exercises will make anyone much stronger, especially newcomers to the gym.

How Do You Get a Wide Chest?

A wide chest helps create the Holy Grail of fitness: the v-taper. A narrow waist to a wide chest topped with pronounced shoulder caps has been celebrated since man first began to paint and sculpt. To ensure that your chest muscles grow both thick and wide, use a wide variety of exercises with a full range of movement. Regularly mix up the hand placement of where you grab the bar or place your hands.

Lastly, don’t neglect training your back. The width of your chest can be improved by fixing your posture. Too many chest workouts for men lead to a closed-in crab-like posture called kyphosis. Training your back with row variations (such as ring rows, inverted rows and TRX rows) as well as deadlifts and other spinal extensor exercises can improve your posture and stave off back pain while giving you the appearance of a wider chest and a more dramatic v-taper. (3) (Check out a TRX workout.)

Similarly, some might covet the striations in the chest of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger and ask “How do you tone your chest?” The answer is “a toned muscle is a big muscle.” A muscle simply gets bigger or smaller. It’s body fat that obscures the lines and cuts that makes a muscle look so good. Use the workout strategies here to force the chest muscles to grow. After consistent training and size gains, you can begin to work on lowering your body fat to see the beautiful detail of the muscle you built.

How Many Chest Exercises Should You Do?

One of the most important questions about an effective chest workout routine is, “How much is enough?” While the upper threshold can vary widely depending on the individual, the minimum amount of work has been clearly established.

A recent study published in The Journal of Sports Sciences found that 10 or more sets per week for a given body part produced the most muscle growth in trained subjects. (4) You might get even more growth out of 20 or 25 sets (as long as you can recover), but 10 or more sets per week should be your minimum.

Dr. Chris Zaino, DC, is an IFBB professional bodybuilder and former Mr. America. In his workout, Dr. Zaino suggests 12 to 16 sets per workout. You can spread this volume out over three to five different pectoral exercises.

Chest Exercises for Women

The most effective chest exercises for men are also the best ones for women. However, women should approach certain exercises with caution.

“Women have less cervical extensor muscle mass than men, therefore the position of the head and neck is critical during pressing exercises,” says Richardson.

When performing chest exercises where the head and neck are not supported, such as the Swiss ball dumbbell bench press, the extensor muscles in the neck can quickly become fatigued in women. During those sets, Richardson recommends pressing the tongue firmly to the roof of the mouth, which recruits more muscle fibers in the extensor muscles, increasing stability and overall comfort.

How to Have a Safe Chest Workout

Heavy chest workouts have caused innumerable shoulder problems. A proper warm-up can dramatically decrease your risk of injury.

Before every chest workout, go over your soft tissue with a foam roller. To get to the pectoral muscles, you can use a lacrosse ball or softball placed on the floor. Roll it across the muscle fibers at a speed of one inch per second. When you find a particularly painful spot, hold the pressure on it for 30 seconds. Next, grab an elastic exercise band and make some X and T shapes with your arms, using the band for resistance. Perform five to 10 minutes of cardio and be sure to do some warm-up sets of each exercise with a very light weight or empty bar. (These do not count as part of your work sets.)

When using a barbell during the workout, do not feel like it needs to touch your chest. This habit was created by massive bodybuilders and powerlifters who had giant chests. Instead, stop the bar two to three inches (about the height of your fist) above the chest before pressing it back up.

Chest Workout No. 1

Here, Dr. Zaino recommends a chest workout designed to promote rapid muscle growth, that is appropriate for any level. 

Chest workout No. 1 training protocol:

• Incline Barbell Press — 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps
• Flat Barbell Bench Press — 3–4 set of 8–12 reps
• Slight Incline DB Press — 3–4 set of 8–12 reps
• Cable Flye to Cable Chest Press — 3–4 set of 8–12 reps

(See all chest exercises below.)

Chest Workout Plan

No matter what your training session is like — whether you are doing a strict dumbbell chest workout or a chest workout without weights —  a few variables are going to stay the same.

Tempo: This is the speed you will move the weights, and is one of the most important factors for building muscle. While athletes may want to practice using fast and explosive movements, a slow tempo increases the amount of time under tension the muscles experience, ultimately leading to more growth.

For a stable exercise, like you find in Workout No. 1 demonstrated by Dr. Zaino, perform a 3-1-3 tempo. That means you take three seconds to lower the load, pause for one second at the bottom, and then take three seconds to bring the weight back up. This delivers constant tension to the chest muscles.

For many of the exercises in Workout No. 2 and Workout No. 3, a 2-0-2 tempo will be more appropriate.

Reps: Studies have shown that the best range of reps for muscle hypertrophy is roughly 8 to 12. May experts now feel that even going up to 20 or 25 can elicit profound gains. Using relatively high reps, and thus lighter weight, also decreases risk of injury. But wait: When do you test your one-rep max and see how strong you are?

“You never do a one-rep max,” says Richardson. “Instead, do a five-rep max and calculate it. I understand that people like to do it, but don’t do it too often. For instance, you can test it, and then test it again eight weeks later.”

Rest: For your best chest workout, rest at least 60 seconds between each set, and as long as two minutes. This gives your muscles enough time to recover and perform some quality contractions during the next set.

More Advanced Chest Workouts

As your body get stronger and your neuromuscular system gets accustomed to the exercises in Workout No. 1, you can start to introduce new exercises that present novel challenges. Some of these multi-joint exercises will call for greater core muscle activation and slightly less stimulus to the pectoral muscles. Introducing a fresh stimulus and ultimately creating a stronger kinetic chain, will help boost the results of your chest workout over the long haul.

Chest Workout No. 2

Chest workout No. 2 training protocol:

• T Push-Up — 3 sets of 10 reps
• Swiss Ball Dumbbell Press— 4 sets 10–12 reps
• Hammer Strength Incline Press —4 sets 10–12 reps
• Three-Way Pulley Flye — 2 sets of 10 reps
• Dips — 3 sets of 8–12 reps

(See all chest exercises below.)

Chest Workout No. 3

Chest workout No. 2 training protocol:

• Spider-Man Crawl — 2 sets of 20 yards
• Incline Swiss Ball Dumbbell Press — 4 sets of 10–12 reps
• Decline Bench Press — 4 sets of 10–12 reps
• Machine Press — 4 sets of 10–12 reps
• One-Arm Pec-Dec — 3 sets of 12 reps

(See all chest exercises below.)

The Best Chest Exercises

Incline Barbell Press: Lay on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Unrack the bar, take a deep breath and slowly lower the weight until it’s about three inches from your clavicles. Contract your pectorals and focus on pushing through the meaty part of the thumb and index finger as you press the bar back to the top.

Flat Barbell Bench Press: Lay on the bench with your feet flat on the floor. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Unrack the bar and slowly lower it until it’s about three inches from your chest. At the bottom of the rep, your elbows should from a 90-degree angle. Squeeze the muscles in your chest and press the bar back to the top, pushing with the web of your hand.

Slight Incline Dumbbell Press: Set a bench to about a 30-degree incline. Hold a dumbbell in each hand just outside your shoulders. Press the dumbbells up, but don’t let them touch each other, which releases the tension on the muscles. Slowly return and repeat.

Cable Flye to Cable Chest Press: With pulleys set to just higher than shoulder height, grasp a D-handle in each hand. Bend your elbows slightly bent slightly — you’ll want to lock them in this position— and flex your pecs to pull the handles together in front of you. Keep your chest up and think about touching the inside of your elbows together. Pause a moment for a peak contraction, then slowly allow the handles to return to the start position. When you hit failure after a set of flyes, turn the move into a standing chest press until you can no longer continue.

T Push-Up: Perform a traditional push-up. As you come to the top, bring your left hand off the ground and bring it to your chest. Place it back on the ground and repeat, this time bringing your right hand off the ground.

Swiss Ball Dumbbell Press: With a dumbbell in each hand, sit on a stability ball with your feet flat on floor. Walk your feet forward and allow the ball to travel up your body until it is under your upper back and your torso is parallel to the floor. Contract your car and press the dumbbells upward. Pause at the top and then slowly lower the weights until your elbows form a 90-degree angle. Press back to the top and repeat.

Hammer Strength Incline Press: Adjust the machine so your back rests against the pad and your feet are flat on the floor. The handles should be aligned at about shoulder level when you sit down. Press the handles away from you until your arms are fully extended, but without locking out your elbows. Slowly bring the handles back down, but don’t let the weight touch down between reps.

Three-Way Pulley Flye: In a cable crossover station, set both pulleys to their highest point. Grasp a handle in each hand and place your feet in a staggered stance with the back heel off the ground (switch the forward foot every set). Contract your core, tilt your torso forward and forcefully bring your hands together in an arc until they are within one inch of each other, keeping the palms facing in. Keep a slight bend in your elbows at all times. After 10 reps, slide the pulleys down to about sternum height and repeat for 10 more flyes. Lastly, drop the pulleys to their lowest point and perform 10 more reps with the palms facing up. Rest only for as long as it takes you to change the height of the pulley.

Dips: Get into the starting position on a set of parallel bars, with your arms locked out and supporting your weight above the bars. Slowly lower yourself down with your upper body leaning forward and your elbows flared out slightly. Descend until you feel a stretch in your chest, but don’t go farther than a 90-degree bend in your elbows. Slowly return to the starting position.

Spider-Man Crawl: Get into the top of a push-up position and then drop down to about four inches above the floor. Your elbows should be close to forming a right angle. Push with one arm as you reach with the other arm. When you reach forward, bring the opposite knee as close to its same-side elbow as possible. Repeat this pattern until you travel 20 yards. Keep your hips at the same distance from ground for the entire length of the crawl. Don’t let them get sloppy and rotate back and forth.

Incline Swiss Ball Dumbbell Press: Hold a pair of dumbbells and sit on a stability ball with your feet flat on floor. Walk your feet forward and drop your hips so the ball is on your mid-back so your torso is at a 45-degree angle to the floor. Tighten your torso and press the dumbbells upward. Pause at the top and then slowly lower the weights until your elbows form a 90-degree angle. Press back to the top and repeat.

Decline Bench Press: Grasp the bar with your hands just wider than your shoulders. Unrack the bar and slowly bring it down to our lower chest. Do not let the bar drift too far forward over your face. Extend the elbows and bring the bar back to the top.

Machine Press: Set the height of the machine so the handles are about shoulder-height. Tighten your core, squeeze your pecs and slowly press the handle forward. Concentrate on contracting your pecs at the top of the movement. Slowly return and repeat. 

One-Arm Pec-Deck: Sit on a pec-deck machine and set the height of the seat so the handles are about shoulder-height. Grasp the right handle, placing your left hand on your hip. Maintaining a slight bend in your right elbow, bring your hand just past the centerline of your chest. Slowly and with control, being the hand back to the start. Keep tension on the arm for the whole set. When all reps are completed, switch hands.

Final Thoughts

The key to developing your chest is consistency. Doing the work, eating the right foods, and getting enough rest, day after day, will bring the fastest results with the fewest injuries. If you can stay consistent, you can continue to improve for years to come. “This is a long-term game,” says Zaino. “Longevity is the key.”

Read Next: The Best Shoulder Workouts for Women

The post The Best Chest Workouts + Chest Exercises for Size & Strength appeared first on Dr. Axe.

You don’t need a gym membership. You don’t need fancy, expensive equipment. You don’t even have to leave your bedroom if you don’t want to! Burst training is a type of exercise that you can do anywhere, anytime.

It involves exercising at 90–100 percent of your maximum heart rate for 30–60 seconds, followed by 30–60 seconds of lower intensity exercise or resting.

And it’s the most effective way to burn fat and lose weight. Studies have shown that people who do this type of burst or interval training lose SIX TIMES MORE FAT than people who do long distance cardio exercise.* And they exercise for HALF THE TIME!

Here are some ideas to get you started. You can roll right out of bed in the morning and try any combination of these exercises. Pick a handful and burst for 10–20 minutes 3–5 times a week.

1. Run in place

Keep your knees high and the speed fast. Make it really count!

2. Jumping Jacks

This reminds me of my high school gym class days. But maybe they were onto something. See how many jumping jacks you can fit inside 30 seconds.

3. Squat pulses

With your feet shoulder distance apart, squat low and move up and down slightly. Make sure your knees don’t come past your toes.

4. Jump rope

Connect with your inner child and pick up a jump rope. Can you still double dutch?

5. Bike

You can exercise in bursts either on a spin bike indoors or a bicycle outside. This is also a great exercise that can involve the whole family.

6. Swim

Ok, so this one only works if you have a pool at your house. But if you don’t, you can swim in bursts anytime you’re at a lake, beach or community pool.

7. High jumps

You don’t have to be Michael Jordan to get benefits from high jumping. Simply stand in place, reach your arms above your head and jump as fast you can for 30-60 seconds.

*Results not typical, as regular exercise and proper nutrition are essential to achieving and maintaining your desired physique. Even using the same exact program of diet and exercise, be aware that individual results will vary.

Read Next: HIIT Workouts Beat Conventional Cardio + 3 Plans

The post 7 Ideas for Burst Training at Home appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Most people think that if you want to get in a good workout, you need:

• A lot of time (at least 1 hour)
• A full gym with weight machines and equipment
• Machines for cardio

Well, if you’ve been avoiding exercise because you think too much time or equipment is required, then I have some good news for you: You don’t need either of these things to stay in shape.

Home bodyweight workouts are a great way to stay in shape, and as an added bonus, you can do them from the comfort of your living room! (Read: No expensive equipment required.)

The key to making these at-home 10-minute workouts quick and effective is to keep your rest periods short and to focus on using correct form during the entire workout. 

The following three full-body workouts keep those considerations in mind, and they also take just 10 minutes each. Again, make sure you focus on the quality of each move to help tone and strengthen your body from head to toe.

6 Easy Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do at Home

But before we get to the at-home 10-minute workouts, let’s go over the six main exercises that are incorporated into each workout.

The Squat

Squats work your butt and leg muscles.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointed out.
2. Sit your butt back and down as if you’re sitting in a chair.
3. Keep your heels firmly planted on the floor.
4. Keep your chest up and reach your arms out in front of you to help with balance.
5. Stand back up and flex your butt and legs at the top.

The Push-Up

Push-ups work your chest and arm muscles. They are also great for training core stability.

1. Get into a high plank position with hands and feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Engage your core and leg muscles to keep your torso and legs in one straight line.
3. Bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor.
4. Keep your gaze about one foot in front of you, so that your neck stays in neutral and head does not droop.
5. Press back up to the high plank position and flex your chest and arm muscles.

If push-ups are too hard and you need to modify, you can do so by lowering your knees to the ground. 

If you’re looking for even more challenge, go with the burpee exercise that incorporates the push-up.

The Reverse Lunge

Lunges are great for working your legs, glutes, and abs.

1. Start by standing with your feet together and hands on your hips.
2. Take a big step back with one foot and lower your back knee towards the ground, stopping 1 inch from the floor.
3. Check your form by making sure your front knee is bent at a 90-degree angle. If your knee is jutting out past your toes, then shift your weight back or take an even larger step backward with the back leg.
4. Press into the ground to come back up to standing and switch sides. For the workouts below, count each side as 1 rep.

The March in Place

A great way to add cardio to your workouts is to march in place, a low impact exercise. (Note: If you want to increase intensity, simply jog in place.)

1. Start standing with your feet together and hands on hips
2. Lift one knee up to hip height.
3. Lower that leg and switch sides.
4. Find a steady rhythm that gets your heart rate up.

The Double Crunch

Double crunches target both your upper and lower abs to give you a complete abdominal workout.

1. Lie on the ground on your back with your hands behind your head.
2. Lift your legs and bend your knees to form a table top position with your shins.
3. Crunch your chest towards your knees, lifting both your shoulders and hips off the ground simultaneously.
4. Slowly lower to tap the ground with your elbows and heels, then repeat. Note: Do NOT strain your neck — your abs should be doing all the work.

The Mountain Climber

Mountain Climbers are an excellent low impact cardio and core training move.

1. Start in a high plank position with your hands and feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Raise one knee towards your chest, engaging your abs.
3. Switch sides without pausing in-between.
4. Keep your arms and shoulders stable throughout the movement.
5. For the workouts below, count right and left as 1 rep.

3 At-Home 10-Minute Workouts

NOTE: Each of these workouts are written for the intermediate level, so be sure to adjust them to better suit your own starting point if you need to. Here’s how:

Beginners: It’s better that you practice good form and gently introduce a new type of training to your body than to rush it and risk injury or poor performance. If the clock makes you feel rushed, then count your reps instead, replacing the timed intervals with just 5–10 reps per exercise.

Intermediate: Follow 30-second work periods, 30-second rest periods

Advanced: Follow 45-second work periods, with 15-second rest periods

Now, let’s get to the at-home 10-minute workouts!

1. Lean Strength Workout

• Complete all exercises as a circuit
• Repeat circuit 2X

Squats, 30 sec | 30 sec rest

Push-Ups, 30 sec | 30 sec rest

Reverse Lunges, 30 sec | 30 sec rest

Double Crunches, 30 sec | 30 sec rest

Mountain Climbers, 30 sec | 30 sec rest

2. Home Heart-Pumping Cardio Workout

• Complete all exercises as a circuit
• Repeat circuit 2X

March in Place, 60 sec

Push-ups, 30 sec | 30 sec rest

Lunges, 30 sec | 30 sec rest

March in Place, 60 sec

3. Crazy 8’s

• Set a timer for 10 minutes
• Complete all 4 exercises as a circuit
• Track how many rounds you can do before 10 minutes are up. This way, you’ll have numbers to beat next time you do this workout.

Double Crunch, 8 reps

Reverse Lunge, 8 reps

Squats, 8 reps

Mountain Climbers, 8 Reps

Jessica Gouthro writes for PaleoHacks, a top source for amazing Paleo recipes, fitness tips and wellness advice to help you live life to the fullest.

Read Next: 10 Exercise Hacks to Try Now

The post 3 Easy, 10-Minute Workouts You Can Do at Home — Less Can Be More! appeared first on Dr. Axe.

If you’ve ever been in a gym, sporting goods store or even the fitness aisle at Target, you’ve probably seen a foam roller. If you felt confused about how to use one, you’re not alone. While becoming more mainstream, foam rollers still remain a mystery to many people and even trainers.

Foam roller exercises, also called myofascial release, is a form of massage that fitness-minded folks do either before exercise to loosen up sore muscles and tight joints, or after a workout, in an effort to aid muscle recovery.

Foam roller exercises and other self-myofascial release techniques have become increasingly popular, and for good reason. Partly that stems from a better understanding about the healing benefits of soft tissue care, or massage. Massage can ultimately become cost-prohibitive since unless you are an athlete or just have a few hundred extra bucks lying around, you probably opt infrequently for a massage as a luxury or a splurge more than a necessity.

Rolling yourself out on a foam roller becomes an affordable alternative to massage therapy. Those dense, round pieces of foam can deliver many benefits of therapeutic massage without the cost.

What Is Myofascial Release?

You might wonder what myofascial release means. Fascia is sort of like plastic wrap that covers pretty much every part of your body, comprised of collagen fibers that surrounds and penetrates your muscles, organs and nerves. (1) Fascia essentially holds us together.

Of course, sometimes holding everything together can take its toll on your body. It’s no different for our fascia. Through overtraining, it can become sore and restricted. Because of little tears that sometimes don’t heal properly, adhesions develop. If the connective tissue surrounding your muscle becomes restricted, you’ll notice your muscles will also become restricted in their movement.

Myofascial release describes what happens when you apply pressure to the affected areas to eliminate adhesions and release tension, ultimately improving movement and restoring the body back to its natural state. Foam rolling, myofascial release encompasses a wide range of modalities including Rolfing, massage and the Graston technique.

5 Health Benefits of Foam Roller Exercises

While there are many reasons to incorporate foam rolling into your fitness routine, let’s briefly look at 5.

1. Improved flexibility and increased joint range of motion

For years, stretching was the standard method to decrease muscle tightness and improve flexibility prior to either working out or performing a sport. Newer research, however, shows foam roller exercises before an activity can lead to an increase in flexibility. (2)

2. Better circulation

Because blood carries oxygen throughout the body, good circulation becomes crucial to overall health. Among other reasons, a decrease in our circulation can lead to a whole host of problems like numbness in our limbs, impaired cognitive ability (the ability to think clearly!) and a weak immune system. Myofascial release can help improve circulation by breaking up the tight areas where blood flow may become restricted.

3. Stress reduction

Foam roller exercises can help reduce stress post-workout. One study found myofascial release can lower cortisol, your stress hormone that you want to seriously dial down after a strenuous workout. (3)

4. Reduce exercise-related soreness

Whether you are an experienced athlete or a weekend warrior, you’ve probably experienced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). (4) Simply put, DOMS is the pain and stiffness in your muscles that can typically set in anywhere from 24–48 hours after an intense workout.

However, research finds foam rolling can substantially reduce the chances of that soreness creeping in so that you don’t spend the day after your first cycling class stuck on the couch wondering why your legs hate you so much. (5)

5. Prevent injury

Treating an injury becomes much easier when you avoid it in the first place. Oftentimes a consistent routine of proper stretching techniques combined with foam roller exercises can prevent many injuries associated with tightness and overuse, such as iliotibial band syndrome and other common running injuries.

The iliotibial band runs from the top of the leg by your hip to just below your knee. It tends to be particularly susceptible to injury, especially in runners. One caveat: If not done properly, you can do more harm than good. (6) Rolling on an already inflamed area can actually increase inflammation, thereby giving you the exact opposite effect you are trying to achieve.

The Best Foam Roller Exercises

Now that you have a pretty solid understanding of exactly what foam rolling is and how it can benefit you directly, you are probably wondering how to incorporate them into your fitness routine.

Ideally, the following exercises should be done for about a minute on each area to allow the muscle to relax. As you roll, take some slow, deep breaths. We have a tendency to hold our breath when we are concentrating on something, especially when something feels new to us. Remain mindful of your breathing during this process.

Hamstrings and Glutes

So many of us have extremely tight hamstrings from sitting at our desks all day, which can cause lower-back pain. It’s why you can benefit from hamstring stretches and exercises that involve the foam roller.

To roll out your hamstrings and glutes, start by sitting on the floor and placing the foam roller long ways underneath your legs. You will use your arms to support yourself and adjust how much pressure you are applying to your legs. The more body weight you transfer to your arms, the easier things will be on your hamstrings.

If you feel like you need to put more pressure on your hamstrings, simply shift more of your bodyweight to your legs and less in your arms. You will want to just roll yourself along the roller from your glutes down to just above your knees. Again, spend about a minute here and make sure you’re not holding your breath.

Quadriceps (The Front Of Your Legs)

The front of our legs can certainly become sore and tight. Balance becomes crucial, so if you’re going to work on those hamstrings, turn over and give equal attention to your quads.

To do this, place the foam roller underneath your legs and with your body weight on your forearms, begin to roll yourself back and forth from the top of your knees to your pelvic bone. You will want to keep your abs engaged on this one and keep your feet off the floor as you’re rolling.

Iliotibial (IT) Band

Although IT band issues are usually associated with runners, everyone can be affected with IT band issues and can result in knee and lower back pain. You need to begin working on knee strengthening exercises as well as foam roller exercises for the IT band.

To roll out your IT band, you’ll want to position yourself with the side of your leg on top of the roller. You can take some of the pressure off the IT band directly by transferring your body weight to your arms as you roll from just below your hip to the top of your knee and keeping your other foot on the ground so that your opposite leg supports you.

Upper Back

We sit a lot, which can take its toll on our upper backs. This exercise becomes a great way to loosen up knots associated with phones that won’t stop ringing and rush-hour traffic that won’t move when you have a car full of crying kids and a pint of ice cream melting over all your other groceries.

Place the foam roller perpendicular to your body and lean your upper back against it. Place your hands directly behind your head, lift your hips off the floor, and gently begin to roll from the top of your shoulder blades to the middle of your back.

Complications and Precautions Regarding Foam Rolling

As with most things, start slowly with your new foam rolling routine and gradually increase over time. Try incorporating either before or after a workout a couple of times a week and then go from there.

If don’t currently have a workout routine, you can still reap all the benefits of foam rolling. Using one during commercial breaks of your favorite show becomes a great way to initiate foam rollers into your routine. Some other common foam rolling mistakes include:

Slow It Down

I often see people rolling back and forth on a foam roller like it’s some sort of competition to see how quickly they can do it. Using a foam roller isn’t like racing to the finish line. You want to slow it down and give your muscles enough time to actually relax and begin to break up the adhesions in your fascia.

Spending Too Much Time on Sore Spots

Can we permanently shelf the “no pain, no gain” mentality? We are programmed to believe that if a little bit of something is good for us, then clearly MORE must be even better. As with many other things, that’s not the case with foam rolling. Spending too much time (over, say, a minute) applying pressure directly on a knot means you might hit a nerve or damage the tissue, resulting in some nasty bruising. Spend about 20 seconds on a knot and don’t try and be a hero by seeing how long you can take the pain.

Foam rolling should be modified or avoided by people who have osteoporosis and by pregnant women. Osteoporosis causes bones to become brittle and fragile. Risk of breaking a bone could be greatly increased by foam rolling.

Pregnant women release a hormone called relaxin, which allows the body to relax the joints, especially in the pelvis, to let the baby pass through the birth canal. During pregnancy, stretching and foam rolling (especially if you are inexperienced) can actually cause more harm than good.

Final Thoughts About Foam Rolling Exercises

Foam rolling becomes a great tool to have in your arsenal to feel better and prevent injury.

It’s inexpensive, easy to use, and provides benefits for athletes and laypeople alike.

Always pay attention to your body. If something doesn’t feel right or pain becomes worse, see your physician to determine the underlying problem.

Read Next: 9 Running Tips for Beginners

The post 5 Ways Foam Roller Exercises Can Improve Your Workout appeared first on Dr. Axe.