sit ups-related stories
Lo Bosworth, Healthy Cocktails, and Good Eggs - Week in Review - December 15 to December 21
Is weight loss on your list of New Year's resolutions? Try one of these three foods to tip the scales in your favor.Another season of The Biggest Loser is over. Bev has the wrap-up.
Fitz interviewed Lo Bosworth of The Hills. Find out how she stays fit and trim for reality TV.
Ditch the egg whites once and for all and eat the whole egg. Why? Jonny has a few good reasons.
Here's one more reason to include those healthy carbs in your diet ... low-carb diets cause memory loss.
Want to do a perfect sit-up? Maggie says you just need to learn your alphabet.
Fitz has a two-pound rule when it comes to gaining weight, but she wants to know: What's your weight-gain breaking point?
Looking forward to an upcoming holiday party? Bev shows you how to order drinks that are more nice than naughty.
Water can get boring ... here are five alternate ways to stay hydrated.
Happy holidays, everyone!
Push-Ups are Illegal in Santa Monica
This may sounds like an April Fool's joke, but I kid you not: In Santa Monica, a man was recently arrested for doing push-ups and sit-ups on a popular running and jogging path. What's the problem here? There's just one issue -- a sign that clearly states that running and jogging only are allowed on the strip of land.
OK, I guess the better question is: Why? Years ago, the running-only rule was established to keep homeless people and vagabonds from camping out on the strip of land so legally speaking, the police do have a right to stop people from exercising. Still, it's awfully silly to arrest someone for doing something good. Couldn't they implement some sort of 'no stopping' rule?
(via Calorie Lab)
Get an 007 body with the Bond workout
Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment
From Sean Connery to Roger Moore, to Pierce Brosnan, to the new kid on the block, Daniel Craig... James Bond has been a symbol of suave and sexy. Thanks to celebrity trainer, Mary Sullivan, you can get fit like Bond, James Bond.- Biceps are Forever. Use hand weights or even canned goods to complete these bicep a tricep curls.
- The Abs Are Not Enough. Alternating sit-ups and leg lifts are the keys to Bond-like rock-hard abs.
- For Your Legs Only. This stationary seat move and some power lunges will get your legs in great shape.
- The Man with the Golden Pecs. Arm presses and press-ups will define your pecs in no time.
Jumpstart Your Fitness: With a foam roller workout
When you're stuck in a rut sometimes all you need to do to get back on track is to switch things up and try something new. I've tried a lot of different ways to workout, like with a stability ball, resistance bands, free-weights/dumbbells, a stepper, etc, but here's something I have yet to try: a workout using a foam roller.Foam rollers can help with strength, balance, and even stress relief. Foam rollers themselves are very similar to the foam "noodles" kids use in swimming pools, but they're thicker and shorter. The primary benefit of adding foam rollers to your workout is an increase in calories burned and better core strengthening due to the balance challenges added to traditional moves like squats, arm exercises, and even massages. Try some of these foam roller moves from Alive.com and see if you don't feel muscles working that you didn't know you had!
Fit Factor: What's old is new again
These days, we have access to an overwhelming amount of fitness gadgets and gizmos, not to mention snazzy programs and classes that incorporate everything from martial arts to hula hoops to modern dances and the like. But, like many things in life, we are often exposed to so many flashy and new ways of doing things that we eventually come back to the inevitable truth: that the old way of doing things is sometimes the best way. Another way of putting it? Simple is best.
Don't mistake me for old fashioned--I've tried the super cardio hip hop dance kickboxing classes, and some of them really do work at whipping you into shape (and they're fun too!) But at the end of the day, some of the best exercises are the ones that we, and our parents, and our parents' parents all learned in school: Things like running, jump-rope, calinsthetics and so on.
Don't mistake me for old fashioned--I've tried the super cardio hip hop dance kickboxing classes, and some of them really do work at whipping you into shape (and they're fun too!) But at the end of the day, some of the best exercises are the ones that we, and our parents, and our parents' parents all learned in school: Things like running, jump-rope, calinsthetics and so on.
Sit-ups: A total waste of time?
Are sit-ups a total waste of time? If you enjoy doing them then the answer is 'no,' although if you're doing them just to build core strength you might be wasting your time. Why? Sit-ups and crunches have been around since the very beginnings of exercise, and it's not that they don't build strength and tone but in truth there may be better more effective ways to get the same results. Sit-ups and crunches are essentially isolation exercises, and doing comprehensive moves that involve your whole body where the abs and core can develop in coordination with the rest of the muscles can provide a strong core along with strong arms and legs and everything else. I'm not a personal trainer, but I bet there's arguments on both sides of this issue: sit-ups or no sit-ups? That is the question.
Reduce injury risks when exercising
Healthy Habits, Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Men's Health
If you are having trouble balancing during certain exercises using a spotter is a good idea until you build up body muscles that will hold you for that particular exercise. Spotters are not just for weight lifting.One of the most important things to know with exercise is proper body alignment and balance. Maintaining a good position with your head so that you are not pulling on your neck while doing sit ups or other ab exercises is important to reduce your risks of injuries. If you're doing a set of abdominal exercises and your neck hurts but not your stomach then you might want to look and see how you were lying or how you were holding your head because you're neck shouldn't hurt after you've been doing abdominal exercises. You need to check your body alignment. If you are holding your hands behind your neck and you're actually irritating your neck or straining then you are doing either too much or trying to go too fast and you are straining and that is creating stress on your neck.
One of the top exercises that you can do for abs is a reverse crunch. Lie down on a bench with your knees bent and your upper legs at a 90 degree angle with your torso. Hold the bench above your head for stability. Use your ab muscles to pull your knees toward your chest until they reach your elbows. Hold the crunch position for three seconds and return to the starting position. Doing ten of these in your exercise routine every day will give you a toner midsection.























