Tag Archives: squats

The Ultimate Guide to Great Glutes

A great butt can stop traffic and even score you a few free drinks at the bar, but a person’s butt is also the window to their fitness. Chances are, if your glutes are in great shape, so is the rest of you. In addition to having a well rounded fitness routine, a tight and firm butt is also a great indicator that someone has a healthy and clean diet.

Most people think that the shape of their butt is the shape of their butt and there is nothing they can do about it. Some people are born without that crease under their tush, some are destined to always have it, some have cellulite, and some are smooth as a baby, right? Wrong.

Men tend to gain weight around their middles, and women tend to gain weight around their butt and hips. It’s just science. No one, however, is born with a high tight, bullet bouncing tush- it takes work. Therefore, you should work your glutes like they are a badge of honor.

Whether you want to get rid of your cellulite, wear boy short undies with confidence or add a little shape to your flat-as-a-pancake tush, we’ve got your plan to whip your butt into shape.

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Posted on June 10, 2023 by Kelly

Exercises That are a Complete Waste of Your Time

I want to start this out by saying, that in no way is exercise ever pointless or a waste of time. Something is always better than nothing and any amount of exercise should be celebrated.

That being said, there are a lot of “classic” exercises people stick to that really aren’t doing much for your fitness- either because there is a more effective way to work the same muscles, or the exercise you think is hitting certain areas really isn’t hitting anything at all.

People get a little prickly when you tell them their tried and true favorite anything isn’t working for them- but especially when it comes to messing with someone’s health routine. In fact, in the American Council on Exercise personal training certification manual it flat out tells you if someone isn’t going to hurt themselves, either with exercise or nutritionally, like in the case of supplements and vitamins, let ’em be. It’s better to not turn anyone off of diet and exercise than try to be right if it really isn’t life and death.

So, just for fun, let’s take a look at some exercises that people waste a lot of time on, and how it could be better spent in the pursuit of fitness.

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Posted on May 2, 2023 by Kelly

2024 New Year’s Butt Blast Workout

2024 is rapidly approaching and it’s time to ask yourself, is your bottom half where you what it to be?

This 2024 New Year’s Butt Blast is a workout designed to target every muscle of the lower body and push it to the max. Every muscle is challenged, both strength- and endurance-wise. The front squats and squat jumps are designed to target the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, and calves, all while increasing your heart rate to burn calories and build endurance. The lunges, backward lunges, and side lunges are designed to target the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors. The step-ups are designed to target the quadriceps, calves, glutes, and hip flexors all while increasing your heart rate and, lastly, the bend over kickbacks are designed to target the glutes and hip flexors.

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Posted on December 28, 2023 by Matt

Use Your Body Weight as Effective Fitness Equipment

Body weight exercises are an effective and inexpensive way of working out. By using only the resistance of your own body, you can gain strength, endurance and inner peace. Body weight exercises are great because you can get an effective workout anytime, any place, with no equipment. Walking, swimming, dancing and yoga are all considered body weight exercises. While I encourage you to explore those, here are a couple specific body weight exercises to try out:

The Superman Lie on your stomach with your arms and legs outstretched, with a neutral spine so your elbows are by ears. Contracting your lower back, gently lift your arms and legs off the ground, hold for a few breaths, and slowly release them back to the floor. Repeat. This exercise works your lower back and core. (more…)

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Theresa

Blast Calories While Trick or Treating

There are many October activities that are fun and incidentally, great exercise. Corn mazes, haunted houses, harvest festivals, pumpkin patches, scavenger hunts and colored-leaf-scouting all provide great reasons to get outside the house and get moving. Let’s be real though, for many kids Halloween is still all about the trick-or-treating. A lot of parents dread the night of walking up and down the block, endlessly taking step after step. The attitude there is all wrong. Trick-or-treating is the perfect family outing! This year, maximize the time you spend taking your kids door to door. Make it fun and make it active. Here are a few ways to do just that:

  • Trick-or-treat in an area where the homes are farther apart. More walking equals more calories burned.
  • Whenever it’s a viable option, use stairs. (more…)
Posted on October 8, 2023 by Theresa

Everything You Need to Know About CrossFit

CrossFit is a brand or style of strength and endurance training that combines almost every aspect of sports training available. From gymnastics and weight training to sprinting and pushing the body to max, this style of training improves your endurance, stamina, over-all strength, speed, power, agility, flexibility, balance, coordination, and mental toughness. Phew.

I recently took a CrossFit class and was sore for a week. I normally do traditional cardiovascular training (jog 30 to 60 minutes) and standard weight training (45 of strength training) and consider myself a workout veteran, but CrossFit challenged me to almost failure (which is good because the gym is the only place where failure is encouraged). The class I took consisted of a jump rope warm up, jumping from balance beam to balance beam, squats, shoulder presses, and pull-ups. It was an amazing workout! Every workout is different, though, and you are encouraged to compete against yourself to finish the workout as fast as you can. (more…)

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Matt

The Tabata Protocol Offers the Shortest and Most Intense Workout

I am a big fan of mixing it up when I exercise. I am easily bored, almost certainly A.D.D., and need to have a different routine in order to keep myself engaged and present. I try to work out three mornings a week with a Crossfit instructor. Recently, my instructor introduced me to the concept of Tabata.

The Tabata Protocol has been said to be simply the best supra-aerobic cardio workout ever created. Izumi Tabata researched the concept of a quicker more intense workout vs. a traditional 60 minute aerobic workout. The 4 minute exercise group had to bike at 90 RPMs at 170% of VO2max. That’s a very high speed and level of intensity.  At the end of the 6 week study, the 4 minute exercise group had improved both their aerobic and anaerobic markers of fitness. The 60 minute group improved their aerobic fitness (not as much as the 4 minute group) and saw no change in their anaerobic fitness. (more…)

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Carmen

Avoid Knee Pain with Correct Form

The most common complaint among exercisers is knee pain, especially during squats and lunges. If you suffer from knee pain, it may be easy to write these exercises off, but more often than not, the pain you experience may have more to do with your form than your joints themselves.

Squats and lunges do put a lot of pressure on your knees, which can cause a sharp pain right in the center of your kneecap. If your knees are sore during or after performing these exercises, a simple adjustment of your form may do the trick.

They seem simple: just bend your knees, right? Not quite. Where you place your weight during these exercises can mean all the difference. Proper form for squats and lunges will not only eliminate most knee pain, it makes the exercises more effective. (more…)

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Kelly

Best Exercises for a Sexier Booty

It’s summer time, and with the hot weather, there’s no hiding a saggy tush. Toning and tightening your glutes is the only way to give your butt the lift it needs and lessen the appearance cellulite (which we can all use.) Here are your top three exercises to create a shapely backside you’ll be proud to show off in your teeny bikini:

Jump Lunges Adding plyometrics, or jumping, to your standard lunges will increase the blood flow to your working muscles by 25 percent, which helps fuel your muscles and power your metabolism, giving you greater results in less time. Start in a lunge position, left leg forward, hands on hips, both knees at 90 degree angles. Push off from your front heel, propelling your body into the air. In mid-air, switch your feet so your right leg is now in front. Land with soft knees and slowly lower back into a lunge, both knees at 90 degrees. Repeat, performing 8-10 lunges on each leg. (more…)

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Kelly

Get a Hot Beach Bod with ‘Insane’ Workout

One of the biggest pleasures in life is enjoying the sunny beach and over-looking the ocean. It is definitely one of the finer creations on this great Earth.

Today, we’re going to look at my Insane Beach Workout, which will leave you tired, sweaty, sandy, and refreshed all at the same time. Anybody can get a hardcore workout at their local gym or fitness club, but the beach is where it’s at!

The total body Insane Beach Workout below is designed to target every muscle in your body, and make your heart pound right out of your chest. For those with limitations, please be careful and talk to your physician before you start a new workout routine.

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Posted on May 18, 2023 by Matt

The Ultimate 3 Day Workout

Working out can be rather boring and monotonous. I have designed a three day exercise plan that provides you with a total body and cardiovascular workout. This workout consists of super-sets, combination lifts, and cardiovascular movements. This workout is designed to increase the heart rate and shed those inches for the ultimate toning effect.

ball squatsDo this workout three times a week

Jog (10 minutes)

Incline/wall push-ups (20 reps)

Ball squats (20 reps)

Floor crunches (100 reps)

Stairs (50)

Seated rows (30 reps)

Step-ups (20 reps each leg)

Lat Pulls (30 reps)

Jog (10 minutes)

Shoulder Press with DB squat (20 reps)

leg pressLeg Press (20 reps)

Ball crunches (100 reps)

Tricep extensions (30 reps)

Biceps curls (20 reps)

Plank (hold for 1 minute)

Repeat (only if you can)

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Matt