Push-ups on The Ball

Last month I mentioned that the two best exercises to do to get your arms ready for beach season are dips (for triceps)and pushups. Pushups on the floor (on your toes) may seem very challenging but a great way to work up to that is to do pushups on the ball.

To do pushups on the ball:
-Start kneeling behind the ball.
-Engage the abs and roll out onto the ball (face down) until your knees are on top of the ball.
-Walk your arms out so that your hands are wider than your shoulders. (Hands should be in line with shoulders)
-Bend the elbows lowering your chest towards the floor.
-Perform 10-15 of these.
-Remember not to flop over when you are done. It is important to get off of the ball the same way that you got on it. Walk your hands back until you are kneeling behind the ball.

As you improve you can walk your body further out on the ball until your toes are on the ball. (see picture below)

More Fun with Pushups

Here is another way to build strength, work up to doing pushups on the floor, sculpt beautiful arms and have fun. Read a good article from Women's Health Magazine.

P.S. To all you moms out there who think that doing pushups is impossible, just think how strong your arms already are from lifting children, car seats, strollers, groceries...Pushups will be a piece of cake!

P.S. again Expectant moms can do pushups too!

Getting the Arms Ready for Beach Season (Part 1)

The best exercise for getting your arms ready for the summer is pushups. (Did I just hear a groan?) :) It's true, pushups will sculpt your arms much better than bicep curls.



My clients know, I do not believe in "girlie" pushups where your knees are on the floor. But there is a way to work up to doing pushups on your toes:incline pushups.

To do incline pushups, all you need is an elevated surface: a window sill, a counter top, a bench, table, sofa, etc. The surface just needs to be wide enough so that your hands can be wider than your shoulders when you perform the pushup. From here, everything else is the same:

1) Walk your feet back so that your body is straight.
2) Tuck your tail bone under and come up onto your toes, shifting forward so that your chest will land between your hands.
3) Your hands are wider than your shoulders but in line with your shoulders.
4) Bend your elbows and lower your chest towards the bench (or table or window sill, etc) Make sure that your whole body comes down in one piece.

If it is too difficult and you can only do a couple of pushups, find a higher surface. The reason why regular pushups on the floor are so difficult is because gravity has a greater effect when you are parallel to the ground. (yes, I did pay attention in physics on occasion.) :) The higher the surface you choose the less challenging the pushup will be. You want to be able to do at least 10 and then work your way up to 15 repetitions. Once you can do 15 with no sweat (figuratively) then find a lower surface to use. You will be doing pushups on the floor in no time!

Do 2-3 sets of these 2-3 times per week to get your arms ready for the summer and to be stronger than you ever thought possible!

Loser Moms are back at it!

The Loser Moms are back from the Blogher Conference in California and are ready to get back to their fitness routine.

Since it is a relatively nice day for August in DC, we worked out on the deck at City Fitness. The workout conisisted of a circuit of the following exercises:
-Wall Ball using a 6 pound ball (This was Sarah's first time doing wall ball)
-Rows using the TRX
-Hyperextensions on the ball
-Shuttle Run
-Crunches with the ab mat
-Pushups

Each exercise was done for one minute per round for three rounds with a one minute break between rounds.

They warmed up on the treadmill then did two sets up plank (Sarah did her first full minute of plank today! Yea!) and bridge. They cooled down with obliques and stretching.

Did I mention that Devra finally wore a pair of real tennis shoes that belong to her? I was so happy!

Now it is time to set new fitness goals!

Thanks to Jake Renner for his filming skills!

Loser Mom's First Workout

Today was Devra and Sarah's first real workout. They made it through with flying colors! We did our workout on the deck at City Fitness Gym because it was so beautiful today!!

We started off with plank and superman to strengthen the core. Then we moved on to ball squats, pushups, rows with the TRX and stepups (for cardio). I like to put one to two minutes intervals of cardio into workouts to make sure that clients are burning calories through the duration of the workout by keeping their heart rates elevated. We ended with some core work on the BOSU and stretching.

Check out more about the first workout on their blog: Loser Moms.

Hiking-A Wonderful Post-Natal Workout Alternative

If you are looking for ways to add fun and exciting activities to your post-natal fitness regime, try going hiking. The DC area has wonderful opportunities near by for hiking. This past Saturday, I went to my favorite local hiking place: The Catoctin Mountains, which are located only an hour outside of DC.

Hiking is a great test of your cardiovascular (and muscular) endurance. You need good core strength to balance as you walk on logs and rocks to cross streams. (Or to keep you up right on rocky paths) You can also build muscular strength by climbing rocks.

You can even go hiking right in DC in Rock Creek Park. Or just take a nice walk on your neighborhood trails. You don't have to choose between doing cardiovascular workouts or strength workouts during you walk either. You can do strength building exercises along the way. For example, you can do dips and push-ups on park benches. You can do squats every time you pass a fire hydrant. Bring your resistance band along and you can do rows using light poles. The possibilies are endless!

Don't forget to bring lots of water and to stretch before and after.

So grab a friend, get outside and get fit!

Two New Hot Mamas!

I am working with two new Hot Mamas this week, Devra and Sarah. Both are mothers that are looking to get back into shape.

I met with them for the first time on Thursday, May 22 at City Fitness Gym in Cleveland Park to conduct a fitness assessment. This is the first step in any personal training relationship. The fitness assessment starts off with us discussing each of their individual health histories (both are very healthy) and their long- and short-term fitness goals.

Then we moved on the the actual physical assessments which include:
A posture assessment on the treadmill
An over head squat (another posture assessment)
The pushup test
The situp test
Flexibility tests
The step test (for cardiovascular endurance)
and anatomical site measurements.

Everything went very well and they were still smiling when they left.

We are going to meet twice a week from now on. Check back to see how these Hot Mamas are doing and what they are doing to acheive their fitness goals!

You can follow their progress and cheer them on at Loser Moms!