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Showing posts from November, 2013

The Easiest Way to Burn 600 EXTRA Calories a Week

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iStock/Thinkstock What if you could work off that slice of pizza without doing a single squat? Good news: You can.  You can burn more than 40 calories per hour just by standing , according to a new study at the University of Chester in the U.K. In a small study of 10 office workers, researchers asked the volunteers to stand up while working for at least three hours each day for a week. They found that standing raised their heart rates just enough that they burned an extra 0.7 calories per minute, or 42 calories per hour. It might not seem like much, but standing for three extra hours a day during the work week adds up to 630 calories burned! So aside from hiding your chair, how can you log more standing hours? First, ask your company if they’ll allow you to buy or build a  standing desk . If not, you can always try these simple tweaks to get off your butt for at least three hours every day and  stand up for your health : Stand up while watching your favorite fall show.  It’s more suspe

3 Ways to Train Harder on a Treadmill

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iStock/Thinkstock It might be best known as a warm-up, a cool down, or a last resort when all of the ellipticals are taken, but  the treadmill  is making a comeback: In fact, the machines account for nearly 60 percent of annual home fitness equipment sales , according to the most recent data from the National Sporting Goods Association. And a few trendy gyms are getting in on the action with group treadmill classes like Tread and Shred at Equinox and Tread Bootcamp at Crunch Gyms. Here’s why you might want to give this throwback another go: Treadmills allow you to customize your workout, speed, and terrain in a way that just isn’t possible on a  trail , says Jessica Matthews, M.S. an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise (ACE). With a few buttons you can switch it up and challenge your body in new ways—which makes it an essential tool for staying fit. What's more, treadmills tend to calculate the number of calories you burn with more precision than other machi

8 Ways to Stick to Your Workout

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1. Just Show Up On low-energy days, head to the gym with the promise that you can leave after you finish your warmup. "Tell yourself you'll just do the Dynamic Warmup," says Rachel Cosgrove, author of The Female Body Breakthrough and creator of the  Look Better Naked  fitness program. "Once you get to the gym and get your blood pumping, chances are you'll finish your full workout. Ninety percent of the time, my clients do." 2. Play the Percentages Have your body-fat level measured early in the program and then toward the end to gauge your fitness progress. "You'll actually have numbers that you can shoot for, and something that you can definitely measure, as opposed to, 'I just want my abs to look better,'" says Tim Kuebler, a certified trainer in Kansas City, Missouri. A body-fat percentage from the high teens to the mid-20s is considered healthy for most women (ranges vary by age), according to the American College of Sports Medicine.

The 15-Minute Anytime, Anywhere Workout

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You don't need a pricey new fitness class to shake up your routine. Work out any time, in any place, with this  total-body plan —which uses nothing but a household hand towel—created by Melissa Paris, a New York City–based personal trainer. "The key to seeing continued results and avoiding plateaus is to keep challenging your body in different ways, whether that's with new moves, a new environment, or new equipment," says Paris. "Incorporating a towel into your routine is a no-cost and efficient way to take your workout to the next level." That's because with every exercise, the towel provides either friction (as in the lateral lunge) or tension (as in the seated oblique twist) to help engage muscles that would otherwise be missing the action. So rather than using the towel to dry off, use it to break a sweat. Complete the exercises as instructed, moving from one to the next with little or no rest in between. Stop for 30 to 60 seconds at the end (if need

5 Ways to Feel Freaking Amazing …Even on the day of the week you’re feeling your least hot

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As if you needed another reason to dread the first day of the workweek, women tend to feel their least attractive on Mondays , according to a new study from PHD, a global media and communications agency. The company surveyed 684 women about what days and times of the week they felt least sexy, and more than half of the participants said they felt their worst on Mondays. Sundays, meanwhile, came in second with 39 percent of respondents saying their confidence was at an all-time low on that day. So why are women feeling not-so-hot on Mondays? According to the survey results, it’s tied to the start of the workweek: There’s a ton of stress affecting women’s appearances and often a lack of motivation to even try to look good. 4 Ways to Love the Skin You're In: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/beauty-tips-and-tricks Silence Your Inner Critic  http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/self-criticism Beat Your Bad Mood in 30 Seconds or Less: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/how-to-be-hap

Muscle-Sculpting Yoga

Yoga Strong "How did you get those arms? Do you lift weights?" Yogis hear these questions all the time and smile knowingly as they respond, "Nope. Just yoga." Yoga requires nothing but ourselves—no weights, no machines, just the ability to lift and hold our own body weight. If the gym feels like a prison, then yoga is a playground. Yoga is composed of endless postures; you never have to do the same practice twice. There is a variation for every pose, and just when you've mastered a pose, you'll learn a new transition that takes it to the next level. This kind of training creates a long, lean body that shows strength without bulk. Do these four poses as a sequence two to five times a week.   1. Plank Begin on all fours with your arms straight and shoulders stacked over your wrists. Have your palms flat and shoulder-width apart. Curl your toes under and step both feet back until your legs are straight and your feet are hip-width apart. Bring your shoulders, hi

The On-the-Go Cardio Workout

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A workout that  builds muscle  and counts as cardio? That's serious multitasking. One that blasts calories and increases strength using just your body weight? That's seriously genius. Rev your heart rate and your hot-body results with this 24-minute  no-equipment workout  created by Brynn Jinnett, founder of Refine Method. Perform the following four exercises in order as prescribed. Complete four total rounds. MOVE   1 Squat Jump Kagan McLeod Stand with your feet hip-width apart, then bend your knees to lower your body into a squat (a). Pressing through your heels, straighten your legs as you jump off the floor (b). Land softly and immediately lower into another rep, and continue for 30 seconds. Rest 15 seconds, then continue to the next move. Quick Tip:  Make it easier by skipping the jump every other rep (and just performing a regular squat) MOVE  2 Bear Crawl Kagan McLeod Start on all fours, back flat and core tight, then slightly lift your hips to raise your knees off the f