Three machines that are worth your gym time
Health columnist Kelly Turner explains the benefits of three machines for a great gym workout.
By On Exercise
By Kelly Turner Special to The Seattle Times
The gym is full of twisted metal contraptions with more handles and levers than a medieval torture device, but knowing which machines are worth using cannot only save you time, but get you results faster than you expect.
People like to stick to what they know, and this is no truer than in the gym, which can be an intimidating place for most. The only way to truly get results, however, is to mix up your workout. Doing the same routine, in the same way, day in and day out will eventually hinder your progress. (more…)
How Fit Are You? 3 Simple Tests to Find Out
By Bill Phillips and the Editors of Men’s Health
Ask 10 experts for their definition of fitness, and you’ll hear 10 different answers. That’s because how you define the word depends on the type of performance you expect. Some athletes need to develop a particular type of fitness over all others—powerlifters at one extreme, marathoners at another—but most of us are at our best when we achieve balanced fitness. In other words, we’re good at everything a healthy, active man needs to be able to do. (more…)
Upgrade Your Abs Exercises
If your belly refuses to flatten, your workout is probably stale. Upgrade your favorite exercises with these tweaks and revisions. Plan on putting these moves into practice and get ready to experience transformed abs.
SIDE PLANK AND ROW(Replaces: Side plank) (more…)
Brrrr: 10 tips for cold-weather runners
Posted by Don Shelton
If you’re a Seattle runner like I am, you’re no stranger to running in cold, rainy weather. But the kind of bone-chilling temperatures and ankle deep snow that’s hitting the area now is a different matter.
We’re here to help. If you’re looking for some advice on how to stay safe and avoid a pratfall or injury, look no further. Here are 10 tips for runners to weather any kind of nasty extremes, courtesy of running coaches Jess Cover and Sam Davis from RunVermont. These folks seem to know their cold-weather stuff.
So read up and run on.
1. Layer, layer, layer: Layering clothes provides the perfect balance needed for winter running to avoid over- or under-dressing. When done properly, layers will trap the air warmed by your body while still allowing moisture and sweat to be wicked from your skin. Choose layers that can easily be tied around your waist once you begin to warm up; it’s important not to overheat while running since this can put you at risk of hypothermia. (more…)
How to Do the Perfect Pushup
By Bill Phillips and the Editors of Men’s Health
Aug 15, 2011
When was the last time you did a pushup? Choose the most applicable answer:
A) “Gym class, sixth grade.”
B) “Why would I ever do a pushup?”
C) “Yesterday.”
Scoring: If you answered A or B, you’re like most men. If you answered C, you probably work at Men’s Health.
Most guys abandon the pushup for the bench press sometime around puberty. That’s a shame—pushups have a lot going for them. You can do them anywhere. They don’t require any equipment. And they’re more effective at building rippling muscles than you probably realize.
In fact, researchers recently discovered that performing pushups as quickly as you can is one of the best ways to build explosive upper-body strength, according to The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. This pushup method was more effective than doing plyometric pushups (think: clapping between each pushup), and fall pushups, where you drop from a kneeling position and try to push your way back up to the starting position.
Why is quicker better? Take a look at a vertical jump: “If you do a quick knee bend before jumping, you’ll always jump higher than if you don’t,” explains N. Travis Triplett, Ph.D., one of the study’s researchers. The same type of action occurs when you do pushups as fast as possible. Dropping your chest toward the ground and pausing ever so slightly enhances the motion of pushing yourself back up—and ultimately helps you build more explosive strength, says Triplett.
You won’t be able to maximize your strength if you don’t perform the pushup correctly, though. Here’s the right way to perform the move:
Yoga Exercises May Alleviate Lower Back Pain
7 Yoga Exercises That Help Osteoarthritis
By Kate Hanley, Special to Lifescript
Are you fed up with the back pain and misery of osteoarthritis, a painful degenerative joint disease? Regular yoga practice can help. Here are 7 easy exercises to improve mood and mobility, build strength and stability and increase circulation for osteoarthritis sufferers. Plus, how much do you know about yoga? Take our quiz to find out…
What do yoga and osteoarthritis have in common?
Osteoarthritis is an age-old, degenerative joint disease that takes a toll on your physical and emotional health. Yoga is an ancient therapy that can restore both. Recently, science has begun to connect the dots between the two.
A 2008 randomized, controlled study revealed that dozens of women eased their chronic low-back pain by participating in a one-week intensive yoga program to help osteoarthritis.
“By its very nature, yoga is good for arthritis because it relieves the disease’s major disability” – reduced range of motion – “without causing further trauma to joints,” explains Loren Fishman, M.D., co-author of Yoga for Arthritis (W.W. Norton).
It also:
- Builds strength, which provides greater stability to joints.
- Improves posture, which minimizes joint trauma caused by misalignment.
- Increases the circulation of synovial fluid, which nourishes and protects joints.
- Promotes a confident attitude, and reduces anxiety and irritability.
“The key is practicing regularly,” says Ellen Saltonstall, a New York City yoga teacher and co-author of Yoga for Arthritis, who also has arthritis in both hands, one foot and lower back.
The best part is you can do yoga on your own whenever you have time. To help osteoarthritis, aim to complete at least one pose each day, she suggests. If that’s too ambitious, make it every other day.
Before starting, consult your doctor and an experienced yoga teacher to learn the right alignment. To find a qualified teacher, ask a chiropractor, acupuncturist or other trusted health-care provider for referrals, or search the website of the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
Here are 7 easy yoga exercises for low-back pain adapted from Yoga for Arthritis by Fishman and Saltonstall. (Reprinted by permission of W.W. Norton.) During each pose, breathe slowly through your nose.
New Camps and Classes at the MAC
Like to Run? Want to tone up, lose weight AND have fun while doing it? The MAC has a program for any fitness goal and every fitness level!
Total Boddy
Indoor/Outdoor Conditioning Camp:
Improve:
- strength endurance
Group Stretching
- cardio
- core conditioning
- flexibility
- speed, agility, quickness
- balance, power
Through:
- resistance bands
- dumbbells
- body bars
When:
10 Weeks (20 sessions) |April 5th-June 9th |Tuesday & Thursday | 6-7am
Where:
Magnuson Athletic Club and Arena Sports |Magnuson Park |Building 27
MAC & Arena Sports Members: $130
Non-MAC & Non Arena Sports Members: $180
Drop-In: $12
Maryann Boddy is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer at the Magnuson Athletic Club. She played DI soccer at Seattle University and has a Master’s in Sport Administration and Leadership. The Total Boddy Conditioning Camp is a fitness program that will help you burn fat, tone up and improve athletic performance through a well-rounded platform of bodyweight, circuit and interval training. With the use of resistance bands, body bars and dumbbells both indoor and outdoor, the camp will be fun and unique as well as challenging for people of all fitness levels.
Waterfront property at the MAC
Like to Run? Join the MAC Running Pac
The Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon is coming up on June 25th, 2011- if you’ve registered or have always wanted to train for a 1/2 marathon, now is your chance!
What:
Join our 9 week training program to improve speed, endurance, flexibility and core strength. Enjoy beautiful morning runs on the Magnuson Park Lake Trail, the Lake Washington Loop abd the Burke-Gilman Trail. Find encouragement in the Pac and empower yourself to achieve your PR!
When:
9 Weeks (18 sessions) | April 25th- June 22nd |Mondays & Wednesday |6-7am
Where:
Magnuson Athletic Club |Magnuson Park |Building 27
MAC Members: $90
Non MAC Members: $144
The MAC Running Pac is led by NASM Certified Personal Trainer Maryann Boddy. She is excited to bring her experience as a DI women’s soccer player at Seattle University and enthusiasm for fitness to the running community. The program will include a 9-week training card with flexibility, core and cross training guidelines.
Please email mboddy@macseattle.com or call (206) 452-1500 for more info.
