All females constantly face challenges given the complexities of having a body type or shape which maybe different from those around you, mood swings, hectic and fast paced modern lifestyle among numerous obstacles that may hinder you from reaching your fitness goals. The increasing need to look good and live longer from having a healthy lifestyle outlives any popular beliefs on drastic weight loss. Scientific studies have proven that one of the secrets to achieve these ideals is fitness and exercise. You are never too out of shape, young or too old to get started. All you need are determination, time, patience and commitment to make fitness a part of your daily routine.
In a society where we have become dependent to machines rather than physical activity to get moving, it is a challenge to incorporate fitness in our daily lives. Statistics have concluded that obesity and the problems that accompany it (high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, etc) are on the rise. Women should take the initiative to get active and avoid developing such threatening health conditions.
Female Work out blog aims to give you simple yet unbiased advice so you can get rid of those fads, fitness hype, magic weight loss pills and false promises. We are your online resource of information that every females should know about nutrition, weight training, supplementation, motivation on fitness. Congratulations on taking the first step to a healthier and happier you!
Pilates is believed to be a key to have a sleek, sculpted stomach. The secret to maximize the potential benefits of Pilates is to know how to engage your core. You’ll miss out on its tummy shrinking benefits if you don’t know how to execute the exercise properly along with some tips below.
Take a breath
The key to a flat abs thanks to Pilates is to engage the deepest abdominal layer called the transverse abdominis. Breathing into your belly and chest will create slack in your stomach thus the deep muscles are not activated. You should inhale during a Pilates move by sending air into your sides as if you are growing wings.
Back into action
Your abs and back depend on each other to make your tummy tight or not so tight. When you do any Pilates exercises that requires you to lie down on the floor, keep a small space between your lower back and the mat. Don’t arch your back or press into floor during movements. Keep your spine in line so your abs is in the right position to properly engage. This smart move will make you less prone to injury.
Get down
Always engage your pelvic floor. The pelvic floor is the sling of genital muscles found in the area underneath the pelvis. By doing so, it automatically activate the transverse abdominis. The pelvic floor makes up the base of the core so you should tighten it to work your abs from all angles. As you lie on the mat during Pilates class, think of pulling your inner-thigh muscles up behind your belly button. Think of doing a Kegel exercise before each move.
The most difficult areas of the body to lose fat is the waist. It takes a big amount of discipline and dedication to take it off. The reasons why fat is stored in the belly section can be because of pregnancy, a beer belly, couch potato, or from sitting in a cubicle. The good news is it’s possible to take control and make your waist look fit again.
Read below to know simple ways to lose fat found on your waist.
Tip 1 - Drink plenty of water. Refrain from consuming pop soda, juice, and other highly sugar processed drinks. Water helps your body lose weight.
Tip 2 - Aim to have at least 7 hours of sleep. When the body is deprived of sleep, it produces two important chemicals namely insulin and leptin. Insulin is produced by the body during sleep to regulate blood sugar and helps the body to naturally burn calories. The body produces Leptin during sleep. It suppresses the appetite in a natural way.
Tip 3 - Steer away from foods high in saturated fat and trans fat immediately. It means to avoid butter, margarine, salty and sugary snacks. If you can’t avoid foods such as potato chips, corn chips, ice cream, cookies, cake, and other highly processed snacks, consume them sparingly. Do not indulge on these kind of processed foods all the time. Saturated fats are difficult to remove from the body.
Tip 4 - Keep stress in check. High level of stress has been found to cause build up of fat deposits in the mid-region of the body or your tummy area. Incorporate relaxation time into your schedule to help manage stress. Studies has shown that yoga, massage, bath, meditation, prayer, stroll at the park can curb stress and help the body balance itself.
Tip 5 - Burn excess calories by using more calories than what you eat or drink. The amount of calories that you burn each day should exceed the number of caloric intake to lose fat. It is best to keep a record of the calories you use during work out or any physical activity and the calories you eat or drink each day.
Tip 6 - Gradually increase the amount of exercise. Target moderate exercise 4 to 5 times per week. Moderate exercises can be in the forms of swimming, walking, light jogging, treadmill, and gardening or yard work. The exercise helps increase calorie burning and help to eliminate build up of triglycerides.
You can have a slimmer body and feel amazing by following these simple exercises. Follow this guide to change your body for the better.
Lawn mower
Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart, knees bent, a weight in each hand with arms in front, palms facing in. Bend over slightly from hips. Keep lower body still as you rotate torso to left, driving left arm behind you with elbow bent (as shown). Return to start; repeat on right side for one rep. Do reps.
• Works arms, shoulders, upper back, obliques, butt, legs
Booty lift
Lie faceup with knees bent, feet flat on floor, a weight in each hand at waist. Keeping knees aligned, extend right leg. Then, push through left heel as you lift hips off floor as high as you can (as shown). Lower hips, keeping leg extended. Do reps. Switch sides; repeat.
• Works lower back, butt, legs
Russian get up
Lie faceup with legs together, a weight in right hand, arm extended straight up; left arm at side. Contract abs and peel up to a seated position, raising right arm overhead (as shown). Slowly roll back to start one vertebra at a time. Do reps. Switch arms; repeat.
• Works abs, arms
Single-leg squat
Stand with knees soft, arms at sides. Bend right knee and sink down as if sitting in a chair while lifting straightened left leg off floor and arms to shoulder height (as shown). Return to start. Do reps. Switch sides; repeat.
• Works abs, butt, legs
Swing low
Balance on left leg, right knee up and bent 90 degrees; a weight in each hand. Extend right leg behind you as you reach right arm toward left knee (as shown). Return to start raising right arm diagonally overhead. Do reps. Switch sides; repeat.
• Works arms, upper back, abs, butt, legs
Pike walk
Start in push-up position, a weight in each hand. Keeping weights planted on floor, raise butt toward ceiling as you slowly walk feet toward hands, heels lifted (as shown). Go as far as you can with legs straight. Walk back to push-up position; repeat.
• Works abs, shoulders, chest, legs
Supa flye
Start in push-up position with a weight in left hand. Raise left arm and right leg off floor in line with your body. Contract abs to help you stabilize as you bring left elbow to meet right knee (as shown). Return to raised push-up position. Do reps. Switch sides; repeat.
• Works arms, shoulders, abs, butt, legs
Crouching tiger
Stand with feet staggered hip-width apart, right foot in front of left, with a weight in right hand and arm raised overhead. Keeping right arm raised, bend knees and crouch to floor (as shown). Return to standing. Do reps. Switch sides; repeat.
• works shoulders, arms, upper back, abs, butt, legs
Have you been spending several hours at the gym but haven’t seen any signs of reaching your fitness goal? Do you leave the gym feeling you have progressed or gone backwards?
You may know it but you could be one of those people who waste time at the gym. Have you mentally run down what you usually do at the gym? Read on to know time wasters at the gym so you avoid committing it yourself.
Time waster #1 - Warming up for too long
You just may be one of those people who warm up far too long that it shortens workout time by a huge amount. Warm ups are essential but it shouldn’t go for more than about 10 minutes.
The thing is, if you are young and go to the gym three or more times per week then chances are your body is limber, healthy and can resist a fair amount of work. The fitter you get the less you SHOULD have to warm up. However, better safe than sorry - don’t ever miss your warm up!
Time waster # 2- Water break
I have seen that many women don’t carry a water bottle but chooses to use the drinking fountain. If this is you, limit your water break in between sets and don’t take the scenic route!
Time waster # 3 - Hot guy/girl alert
If you think the gym place is a haven to spot a hot chick or talk to a hot guy, then you are in there for the wrong reasons. The gym is for working out while the bar is for picking up!
If you go to the gym to meet someone then you are going to make small amounts of progress. Check how much time you spend showing off your booty or trying to chat up that special someone and see if it does negatively affect your progress.
Time waster # 4 - Rest in between sets
Just like warming up, resting is essential but doesn’t mean it should be done for too long. Intend to push yourself more and more so you will never come to a plateau or standstill.
Time waster # 5 - Not pre-planning your workout
When you go to the gym without any action plan on what to do, chances are you could end up wasting time. I am guilty of this act sometimes. I would go to the gym without any sort of a personal workout routine. After I’m done with a couple of sets, I linger around trying to find something else to do. This usually happens when you think you have made enough progress to stall and just waste time.
Time waster # 6 - Spas
Don’t let trips to the sauna and spa account for more than one third of your total time spent at your local health club. Spa and sauna should be seen as a post workout treat.
Time waster # 7 - Waiting for machines
I’m sure all gym bunnies experience having to wait for their turn to use a piece of equipment, myself included. There are ways to go around this so you don’t have to wait.
If someone is on the equipment you plan to use, look around to check if there is something similar you could do instead. If you can’t find any, ask the person how long they are going on it. If they say they will be using it for a long time, ask them if you can trade time resting and using the machines. This plan might not work for all equipment but is applicable to things like the triceps pushdown, cables, fitness balls, and most machines with the pull of the pin for weight changes.
Time waster # 8 - Workout pretenders
This is the most time waster of all. There are people who look like working out but are just going through the motions. You may be lifting the two-pound dumb bells doing 300 reps of biceps curls. This is a plain waste of time! It would be better if you pick up heavy weights and do five reps. It is the same exact with the stationary bike, don’t set the on the lowest setting where you are basically pedal on air. Set the difficulty on a hill and pedal away!
Time waster # 9 - Sitting on the toilet
Some people find time to just sit on the toilet thinking or day dreaming time away. I’m guilty of that when I feel bored with gym time. If you need to take a trip to the toilet, make sure not to idle your time for more than 10 minutes taking a power nap.
Time waster # 10 - Working out everyday of the week.
Here is the top time waster: working out too often! Chances are, your muscles will become sore if you consistently work them out every day. Muscles in their sore state will not make any progress of reshaping. You end up wasting much of your precious time when you do. If you have that luxury of time to go to gym every single day, mix your cardio and weights to give certain parts of your body rest between days of work out.
Contrary to what most people think that restrictive dieting as the best way to lose weight, it is, in fact, a dangerous choice to make.
Let’s talk about yo-yo dieting. Almost all women are guilty of observing yo-yo diet. It is characterized by a cyclical pattern of repetitious loss and gain of body weight. Some of the ways people choose to do this include skipping meals and consuming very low calories.
Be very careful about sudden shift of weight or weight cycling. There is a growing evidence that weight cycling eventually lead to cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as hypertension and diabetes. The risks involved seem greater in people with normal weight or slightly overweight than in obese people.
According to The US National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity, weight cycling or “yo-yo dieting” produces psychological and physiological health hazards.
1. The amount of fat stored in the body increases with each cycle of up-and-down dieting.
When a person loses weight, both fat and muscle tissue is shed off. When the weight is put back, however, it tends to be made up of a greater proportion of fat and less muscle, making the person “fatter” than ever. A history of loss and gain is associated with greater amounts of fat stored in the abdomen. As a result, the pattern of fat distribution in the said area is linked to greater risk of heart disease and diabetes.
2. Yo-yo dieting has a definite affect on food preferences, increasing the craving for fat.
Fat is the most concentrated source of calories in the diet. The body appears to store calories from fat more easily than surplus calories from carbohydrates or protein.
3. Repeated cycles of loss and gain take a psychological toll.
Many dieters see themselves as failures after every unsuccessful attempt to keep off excess weight. The result, over time, is lowered sense of self-esteem coupled with depression and guilt.
4. People who repeatedly lose and regain weight are weakening their immune systems.
Women who have tried losing weight more than five times will have about one third lower natural-killer-cell function. In contrast, women who maintain the same weight for five or more years have 40 percent greater natural-killer-cell activity as compared to those whose weight had remained stable for fewer than two years.
5. Some studies suggest that weight cycling may increase the risk for certain health problems.
Weight cycling can cause diseases such high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and gallbladder disease.
Yo yo dieting as a strict diet is followed by a rebound in weight. Aim to keep a stable weight rather than weight cycling. It will only worsen the pattern of weight loss due to stressing the body and damaging the metabolism.
Here are simple moves you can do right at home. This total body work out offers a basic routine that targets the entire body. Exercise your chest, back, shoulders, arms, legs and abs in a short period of time. This is perfect for stay-at-home women who are familiar with basic strength moves yet seeks to do a simple home workout.
A word of precaution: seek medical advice before attempting any work out most especially if you have any injuries, illnesses or other conditions, and change any exercise that causes pain or discomfort.
Prepare your equipments before you embark our total body home work out. you need a barbell, dumb bells of various weights, an exercise ball, a weight bench, and an exercise mat.
Detailed instructions for each exercise can be found below (click on pictures and links).
• Warm up with 5 minutes of light cardio, or warm-up versions of each exercise.
• Beginners: Start with no weight for 1 set of 14 to 16 reps, or try a beginner workout.
• Intermediate/Advanced: Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps with enough weight so that you can only complete the desired number of reps.
Bench Press
Lie on a bench, step or floor, and hold a medium-heavy barbell straight up over your chest. Bend your elbows and lower the weight until elbows are at 90 degrees. Press back up and repeat.
Target muscle: Chest
Lateral Raise
Hold light-medium dumbbells and, keeping elbows slightly bent, lift arms out to the sides to shoulder level. Lower and repeat.
Target muscles: Shoulders
Barbell Row
Hold a medium-heavy barbell and tip forward to 45 degrees, keeping your back flat. Squeeze back to pull the weight in towards the belly. Lower and repeat.
Target muscle: Back
Back Extension
Lie face down and squeeze the lower back to lift your chest a few inches off the floor. Lower and repeat.
Target muscle: lower back
Hammer Curls
Holding medium-heavy dumbbells, perform hammer curls with your palms facing each other. For added intensity, stand on one leg for a balance challenge, switching legs with each set.
Target muscle: Biceps
Kickbacks
Bend forward, keeping back flat and abs in, and hold light-medium weights, elbows bent. Straighten the elbows to engage the triceps. Lower and repeat.
Target muscle: Triceps
Deadlifts
Stand with feet hip-width apart, and hold weights in front of your thighs. Tip from the hips and lower weights towards the floor, keeipng your back flat and shoulders back. Return to start and repeat.
Target muscles: Glutes, hamstrings, and back
Static Lunge
Stand in split stance and bend both knees, lowering into a lunge while keeping your front knee behind the toe. Lift back up and repeat before switching sides.
Target muscles: Quads, hamstrings, glutes
Squats
Place a medium-heavy barbell on the upper back/shoulders or hold dumbbells in either hand. Bend the knees and lower into a squat, knees behind the toes. Push back to start and repeat.
Target muscles: Quads, hamstrings, glutes
Ball Crunch
Lie down with the exercise ball under the lower/mid-back. Squeeze the abs to lift the shoulders off the ball in a crunch. Lower and repeat.
Target muscle: Abs
Bicycle
Lie on the floor and bring the knees into the chest. Straighten the right leg as you twist the body, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee. Repeat on the other side in a cycling motion.
Lawn mower
Booty lift
Russian get up
Single-leg squat
Swing low
Pike walk
Supa flye
Crouching tiger
Be very careful about sudden shift of weight or weight cycling. There is a growing evidence that weight cycling eventually lead to cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as hypertension and diabetes. The risks involved seem greater in people with normal weight or slightly overweight than in obese people.
Kickbacks
Deadlifts
Static Lunge
Squats
Ball Crunch
Lie on the floor and bring the knees into the chest. Straighten the right leg as you twist the body, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee. Repeat on the other side in a cycling motion.