The Barbell Guillotine Bench Press is May's exercise of the month! Its primary focus is to build up and bring out the definition of the upper chest just below the clavicle or (collar bone).

To perform the movement lay with your back flat on a bench and feet flat on the floor - grasp the bar with a shoulder width grip for maximum emphasis on chest; the closer together your hands are on the bar the more tricep you will use, the farther apart your hands are will put more emphasis on the front deltoids. Position yourself under the bar so that when you lower the bar it comes down to your neck. Press the bar back up until your arms are straight, but not locked out and repeat. This excercise can also be performed using a smith machine if you are working out alone and need to self spot.

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April's Excercise of the month is all about Abdominals! Hanging Leg Raises!
Hang from a chinning bar either with your hands or arm straps if available. Start with your legs hanging straight down below you then slowly lift your legs with knees slightly bent flexing your hips as you bring your knees up toward your chest, lower slowly without swinging and repeat. For working the obliques try turning both knees to one side and then raising them up to the chest - definitely harder but a great workout!

>http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2008/01/05/lodi_living/1_resolutions_080105.txt

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March's exercise of the month is for your mind. After all the chaos of the holidays we can all feel a little stressed out! My mantra for March is Meditation - wether you find a yoga class to attend or just 10 quiet minutes to yourself to sit and clear your mind find the time this month to meditate. I know we all get busy maybe 10 minutes isn't realistic for you yet - try starting with 2! You will be surprised at how much clarity it can bring to all the stuff going on in the nogin!

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Bench Dips for the Triceps is February's focus. I like bench dips because you are forced to use your own body weight for resistance. Compound movements such as bench dips, push ups, pull ups and squats are great to train with because they increase total core strength and stability.

To perform the bench dip position yourself between to benches your palms should be flat on the bench fingers facing forward, the bench opposite of you should be placed so that just your heels are resting on the edge. From here lower your body down so that you have a 90 degree bend in your elbows then push yourself back up to the starting position by straightening the elbow and repeat.

Beginners - May want to start out with just one bench to build up strength.To perform - leave your feet flat on the ground with your knees bent at 90 degrees then follow the same movement as above. Make sure to keep your back straight and butt close to the bench

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Come down and visit me at 24 Hour Fitness Systems Gym in Lodi! Give yourself or that special someone the gift of health this holiday season! Right now you can get a3 month gym membership, 2 FREE Training Sessions with me, a massage with our on site therapist and a Cool Fitness System Back Pack, with Hat, Headphones and Waterbottle for only $117! Ask about our HOLIDAY GIFT PACK! 1-209-866-2800!

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Want wings? Do Pull Ups! Having a nice sculpted back and V-Shape taper is definitely coveted in the gym, not to mention the core stability a strong back provides. Pull ups are by far the best exercise for the back. Because most individuals just starting training are not strong enough to do them alone - the assisted pull up is a great starting point.

Most gyms have a pull up machine with a pin set weight stack that you can adjust based on how much of your own body weight you are able to pull - so lets say for example you way 120lbs but can only pull 60lbs of your own body weight you would set the pin at 60lbs. As your strength increases that 60lbs will go down to 50 and so forth until you can eventually do a pull up with your total body weight which is a huge accomplishment for most! There are two types of Assisted Pull Up machines: Standing and Kneeling. Once you have determined the correct weight face the machine and grab ahold of the pull up bars at the top of the machine, next place your feet or knees depending on the machine on the movable platform. Now slowly straighten your arms lowering your body down and keeping your abs in and back straight pull yourself back up bending at the elbows.

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Lying Concentration Cable Curls

This is by far my new favorite excercise for biceps! The main focus is on the peak or top area of the bicep ( that is where you should feel it if you do it correctly) You are actually lying down on the ground (on your back) when you perform the excercise.

1.) Fit the cable with a single handle attachment
2.) Grab the handle and lay down on the ground on you back knees are bent, slide down towards the pulley
getting your crotch as close as you can - without actually touching.
3.) Stradle cable placing one foot on each side of the pulley, cable will be directly in between your legs
4.) Start with your bicep curled so that your palm faces your chest - elbow is pointed out, then slowly
extend forearm until you feel the lengthening in the top of the bicep at that point go ahead and curl it back in - concentrating your contraction on the upper peak of the bicep.

This is a great way to help isolate the bicep and take the shoulder out of it completely - performing concentration curls with dumbells is similar to this but when you are seated upright and the weight becomes heavy you can cheat easily by using the shoulders. Looking for something different to add to your routine give this a try!!! My biceps are so sore!!!!

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Happy Labor Day everyone! I was fortunate enough to have been invited to the beach this weekend by some really great new friends of mine who live there. Thank you Sue, Diane, Carla and Dollie! We had such a good time! When we got there we had to hike down this massive flight of stairs with all of our stuff and it got me to thinking - this has great workout potential, in fact others were thinking the same on my way down I passed a few joggers running up! Nothing to original here but it is fun so try it out! If you are fortunate enough to live by the ocean - Good For You! If not this is something new you can try and a good reason to go visit and stick your toes in the sand!

1.) - climb down the stairs to the sand once you get to the sand you are going to jog lightly or speed walk to the waters edge for your warm up

2.) - Do a set of 10 modified or depending on your fitness level regular push ups

3.) - run back up the beach to the stairs and run all the way up - I recomend for beginners that you stop and check your heart rate at least half way up if you are feeling extremely winded and of course if you are stop for a moment to do some deep breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Continue on till you reach the top.

This is a great simple workout that works for everyone. Doing this circuit once for beginners at a slower pace and 3-5 times at a faster pace ( sprinting ) for intermediate to advanced.

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This is probably one of the most common questions I get from new clients - What is the difference between training with the machines and training with the free weights. Some people say that machines are better and some say the free weights are better so lets clear the air. Machines are great for beginners to weight training because they allow you to soley focus on the one muscle group you are training. For example lets use the chest press. When you sit down at the machine you have a seat to sit on, a back support rest, and two handles that are fastened to the machine that will only move in the set correct range of motion. Now when doing the same exercise using the bench and barbell there is a little more involved. You are lying down, the bar will move in whatever motion you put it in and you are forced to use your abs to balance yourself, you must have enough strength and control in your arms to correctly lower the weight and press it back up. Definitely requires more coordination and balance. So with the free weights you are training the chest but your other muscles are also used as stabilizers. I train with both machines and free weights they are both great- but definitely start out on machines to learn correct form and positioning so that when you do move onto free weights you are using them correctly.

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Last weekend we took off for the hills to enjoy some of this beautiful weather. Being located in Lodi is actually pretty awesome we have so many great places to go and visit that are literally right in our own backyard. Being the active outdoorsy people that we are and also having our four year old little girl we needed a get away that wouldn't be too far to drive and would offer up hiking that the whole family could handle. We found Chaw - Se National Park, located in Sutter Creek, Ca off of old Highway 49.

The main attraction to the site is an old indian grinding stone, where hundreds of holes have been ground into a massive rock from grinding acorns from the surrounding oaks. In addition to the stone there is some of the most beautiful rolling prarie and hills to hike along - perfect place for a picnic. From Lodi I think it took us maybe 40 minutes - not bad for a day getaway! It offered great trails that had enough of an incline to be challenging, and of course if you want to run them you can really get a workout! Check this place out!

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Some people call it focus others say they are in "The Zone" and that when they are in it they are able to have a phenomenal workout. I call it putting your mind in your muscle - I know my clients have heard me say this time and again - but it works. Its amazing what a difference it makes when you conciously work out and think about the muscle you are training verses just going through the motions. This article gives some great pointers on how to do this if you aren't already. http://www.building-muscle101.com/staying-focussed-for-weight-training.html

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Super setting exercises is one of my favorite ways to train when I need to get my workout in but am short on time. Between juggling the house, kids, business, school, 2nd job and volunteering to be chaufers and coaches to our kid’s soccer, football teams act. Who has extra time? It is hard with all this extra stuff going on to make it in for a workout - if not from sheer exhaustion alone! :) So what I do is superset! Basically what a Super Set Does is pair up two exercises for the same body part like a Push Up and Bench Press for chest or; for directly opposing muscle groups like the biceps and triceps. The two exercises are to be performed one right after the other with no rest in between. So essentially you are cramming two different exercises into one set! Not only does this give you a great pump in your muscles but it also gets your heart rate up a bit and incorporates a little more cardio into your workout - Who couldn't use more cardio? Well I guess there are some of us who don't have to do cardio - but that’s just wrong and disgusting alright. I was talking to this guy at the gym the other day who said he had such a hard time gaining weight that he would be picking up and eating extra calories off the floor if he could. Boy I wish I had that problem - Don't you? So if you’re short on time but need a great explosive workout try Super Setting your next workout! Here are some examples of workouts I like to do for myself and my clients.

Continue reading "Super Sets " »

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Are You Maximizing Your Cardio?

One of the most common questions I am asked by men and women is, “How do I get rid of this?” This is usually accompanied by them grabbing some excess skin on their body usually in or around the stomach area and or butt. The other question is How do I get rid of this followed by what we call the wave where they reach out there arm and proceed to wave their hand back and forth where the skin on the back of the arm loosely waves back and forth on its own! My answer is Cardio, Cardio and yes more Cardio. Usually they reply with but I am on the treadmill for an hour at least 3days a week! Yes I say but are you sweating or out of breath at the end of that hour? Usually the look I get is that of bewilderment. And then an answer of No why?
The reason is simple if you are not getting into your target heart rate zone, the zone in which your body starts to burn fat – you are wasting your time! Your target heart rate should be between 60-80% of the maximum your heart can beat. No one wants to hear that they are wasting time in the gym when they thought they were doing so good but the truth of the matter is that unless you are getting your heart rate up you are not burning an effective amount of calories to lose the fat. If you train with me you know that losing the fat is simple 1lb of fat = 3,500 calories, if you create a deficit of calories through doing your cardio the right way and eating right you can lose up to 1-2lbs of fat per week.
One of the funniest things I think of when it comes to cardio is being in spin class one weekend and remembering the instructor telling a girl that she needed to have a towel with her to cover the handle bars of the bike because in that class we sweat a lot and we like to keep the bikes clean. Her reply was “I don’t sweat.” My immediate thought: Honey if you’re not sweating you’re not working hard enough!
Figuring out your target heart rate is not brain surgery. It is determined by age and fitness level being beginner, intermediate and advanced. There is a formula you can do or simply use the chart I have provided below. Once you have your number how do you know if you are staying within that range during your workout? Most of the cardio equipment except the revolving stairs at the gym has heart rate sensors on the handles for you to hold on to that will tell you where your heart rate is allowing you to determine whether or not you need to increase or decrease the intensity of your workout. The other thing I have found to be useful is a heart rate monitor. There are several types and brands of heart rate monitors ranging from $50 - $200. The one I have is a watch with a heart rate monitor built into it that only cost me $55 at Big 5 Sporting Goods. It does the job and the price fit into my budget. I really like to run and with the timer and monitor in one I can see how long I’ve been running as well as see where my heart rate is at. The other thing I like about having your own heart rate monitor is that it gives you the freedom to take your workout outside - so if you are serious about fitness and tired of playing the guessing game of whether or not you’re burning the calories this is a really good tool to have in your toolbox.

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