Four Ways to Toned Thighs

The holidays are upon us and for many that means rushing to stores, going to many Christmas parties, spending time with friends and family, and not having much time left over to work out. Good news! We have listed four quick and easy workouts that will work those extra holiday goodies away! 

Workout Time: 15 minutes    Intensity: Medium

Doing each exercise between 20 and 30 times. Try to do 2 to 3 reps of the complete exercise.

Second Position Plie

Feet should be shoulder width apart and toes should be pointed out. Make sure to not over extend your legs, feet should be in line with knees, not further back. Once in position, bend knees and get as close to the floor as possible while keeping the bum tucked under, feet on the floor, and torso straight. Rise up slowly. Complete at least 20 second position plie's 

Squat Kicks

Feet should still be should width apart but shifted forward so they are parallel to one another. Squat down keeping the bum tucked in and torso as straight as possible. Rise up slowly and kick the right leg up. Your torso should go to the opposing side so you almost make a "T" with your body. Make sure the right foot is flexed and the leg is rotated so your knee is pointed straight out. Bring the leg down and continue alternating the kicking leg until you have done at least 20 per side. 

Bridge Position with Leg Extensions

Lay on the floor in bridge position with only the top of your shoulders and soles of your feet touching the floor. Tuck your chin in so the neck is straight. Once comfortable, bring right leg straight up so it is perpendicular with the floor. Make sure to keep your hips even during this entire exercises. Either hold here for 30 seconds to a minute or lower torso 2 inches from the ground and slowly come back up as high as you can. Complete 20 to 30 before going on to the next leg.

If having the leg perpendicular is too difficult, lower it so it is almost parallel to the ground.

V-Outs

Lay on the ground with the entire back flat, if you need to place your hands under your tail bone that is fine. Lift both legs so they are perpendicular with the ground. Separate legs as far as possible so they make a "V" shape. Hold for 3 seconds and slowly bring back together. Make sure you are looking towards the ceiling and not stressing your neck.

To work it a little more, raise your upper body so your shoulders, neck, and head are off the ground. Use your hands to support your neck and make sure not to stress it.

Second Position Plie

Feet are shoulder width apart. Make sure to keep the torso straight and bum tucked in.

Squat Kicks

Squat down keeping torso straight. Try to touch your elbows to knees every time.

Squat Kicks

Kick leg out and make sure it is not going forward at all but directly to the side. Flex foot and keep legs firm.

V-Outs

Legs should be at 90 degrees and straight. Your entire back should be on the floor.

V-Outs

Separate legs so they make a "v" shape. Hold for three seconds then go back to starting position

Bridge Postion with Leg Extension

Body should be straight, foot flexed, and hips even.

Bridge Position with Leg Extension

Bring torso about two inches above the floor, hold, then come back to starting.

Bridge Position with Leg Extensions

Intermediate. Make sure to keep leg straight and foot flexed.

Simple Systems: The Most Important Workout Component

Let's face it, if you want to get the most out of a workout, you need a heart rate monitor. Knowing your heart rate is vital to knowing if your workout is going good or if you need to alter your out put. Here are a few of my favorite heart rate monitors ranging in price and perks for beginners to marathoners.

The Polar FT4F is a great first heart rate monitor watch. It is simple, has a back log of ten workouts, and well priced at about $60. 

The Polar RS300X SD Heart Rate Monitor watch is definitely a step up from the introductory heart rate monitor. This is great for monitoring speed and distance while jogging and is compatible with both Mac and PC. Yep, you can view your workout trends and totals via your computer! This is a step up in price at about $100

Garmin has done well with the Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver with Heart Rate Monitor. GPS locates you and know exactly where you have been along with the speed and distance you covered. This watch is great for marathoners and half marathoners and it makes complete sense why! MotionBased also gives a precise workout overview even when you are indoors. This watch is not for the novice with a price of about $300.

15 Minute Tone at Home

Total time: 15.5 minutes    Calories burned: 120    Workout intensity: Very intense

Amanda Russell has been featured in the latest Women's Health magazine with a 15 Minute Tone at home workout. I love these little tid bits on health and working out that magazines like Women's Health and Shape do, but I rarely every do them for fear that I will not get as good a workout. If you have ever felt this way, I completely understand! That is why, I have done the 15 Minute Tone at Home workout... to let you know if it is worth your time!

The workout is comprised of four exercises you do in 30 second intervals and with 4 reps each. The first 30 seconds was alternating leg squat kicks, followed by a one minute break and 30 seconds of jumping lunges. This was done 4 times total before moving on to the final two sets. The final two exercises were 30 seconds of stacked foot push-ups and 30 seconds cross body mountain climbers done in the same 30 second/1 minute ratio.

The first exercise was great, I loved the squat kicks and could definitely feel it in my legs. The jumping lunges were a bit more difficult and left me feeling very unbalanced quite a few times. I had to change from jumping lunges to regular after the second rep due to pain from an old ballet injury in my knee. The regular lunges were great and I do not feel I missed out on much. This first part of the workout was the cardio section for sure, my heart rate got up to 85 bpm and stayed there almost the entire time. 

Exercises three and four were more geared towards the torso and arms. The push-ups were rather intense for my arms, but I did not feel any real difference between the stacked and original versions. The cross body mountain climbers did a complete number on my abs, with a little extra for my obliques and inner thighs.

The work out was great, overall! I worked up quite the sweat in fifteen minutes, but was very happy it was over. Although it was nice to change up my workout routine, I did find myself bored about mid-way through.  This is the type of workout I would do again if I was short on time and wanted something very intense but did not care about fun. 

For the full article, check out the Women's Health November issue.

Workouts for the Bum

Happy Halloween everyone!! To get in the Halloween spirit and work off some of those sweets that go hand-in-hand with Halloween, I have decided to add two of my favorite videos that work the bum.

First off is the Tracey Anderson butt and thighs webisode. Tracey Anderson is a hardcore trainer who works with people like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. They pay a lot to have her but we get her webisodes for free. Score-sees! This workout on the bum is a bit intense and I can, pretty much, guarantee that you will be feeling it tomorrow!

Next is one of my personal faves, the Amanda Russell hip, bum, thighs workout. I love this workout. It is crazy simple but very effective. Fifty lunges followed by fifty squats and ending with twenty-five back extensions. Amanda recommends doing as many reps of this as possible in fifteen minutes. Since I had just completed the Tracy Anderson, I decided to settle at two. The only change I made to this is with the squats on the second rep. Instead of keeping my feet forward, I turn them out so I am doing a second position plie. Just make sure to keep you back straight and your bum tucked in.

What is the best thing about both these workouts? Together, it should only take about 30 minutes! Yep, a solid workout for the hips, thighs, and bum in 30 minutes or less... Now that is what I call a Halloween treat!