Ok ladies, I know women who at some point have mentioned the areas of their body they have the most troubles targeting. The top three I have heard are the triceps, the inner thighs and the lower abs (they are so tricky!). So I have been trying a few workouts and exercises on myself to see if there are any positive results. Being of a smaller frame I understand that most women are scared to start pumping iron in fear that that they will bulk up and look like mini Arnolds'. The truth is ladies, the women that do body building and have that intense muscle structure have to train beyond the 30 minutes 4-5 times a week... actually they train about 4 hours a day, every day of the week, and eat a very very lean diet. So in all honesty I am sure you will not be the next Miss Iron.
Below you will find a few workouts that will become your new best friends and if you do them religiously at the gym you will start to see results as I have. Now let's keep in mind a few things before you go looking for something that will not happen right away.
1. Everyone already has muscle, but in most cases that muscle is covered in a fatty layer and that is why you could be strong but look like you eat McDonalds every day.
2. Remember losing fat and gaining muscle is a 50/50 relationship between exercise and diet. If you go to the gym to work out, don’t reward yourself with a Tim Horton's Honey Crawler and a sugary drink... allow yourself to relax in the hot tub or sauna for 15 minutes before heading back to reality.
3. Building muscle takes time – don’t expect that you do to the gym three days in a row and you will see results. When I say I can finally see results I mean, I am already fit and have been doing these exercises for over five months now. Being healthy and fit is not an over-night thing; it has to be a life-long commitment.
So now that we understand the commitment this will take among other things, here are the work outs I have been testing out! Good luck and if you use them give me some feed back!
Lower Abs
Reverse Crunch - As with doing a Basic Ab Crunch, lie on the floor; raise your legs, and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle. Cross your ankles. Clasp your hands behind your head to hold it lightly, elbows pointing to the sides. Using your abs ONLY and not your hips or legs, rock your hips off the floor toward your chest. Then let your legs effortlessly return to starting position--but be careful not to let your thighs fall down past a 90-degree angle to the floor; this will help prevent lower back pain and injury. This exercise will feel good on your lower back. Advanced: Instead of bending your leg keep them straight, start about 2 inch off the ground with your hand palm down under your buttocks. Lift your legs as straight as possible up and pop your hips using your abs ONLY. Then return to 2 inch off the floor with straight legs and repeat.
Alternate Toe Touch with Medicine Ball - Lie on the floor with your arms and legs extended, holding the medicine ball. Keeping your arms extended with the medicine ball above your head, raise your torso to a 45-degree angle off the floor; simultaneously lift your left leg to meet the ball. Slowly and with control, lower your left leg, then slowly raise your right leg to meet the ball. Continue alternating. Each alternating side of this lower abdominal exercise equals one rep.
Abdominal Leg Raises - Lie on your back. Put your legs together, inner ankle bones touching. Rest your arms on the floor alongside your torso. Press your lower back into the floor to prevent pain or injury. Slowly raise your legs off the floor until they form a 90-degree angle to your torso and are perpendicular to the floor. Keep your legs as straight as possible to really work your abs. Now slowly lower your legs, but keep them just above the floor. Repeat. NOTE: If you have lower back pains put a pillow under your lower back, this will assist to minimize any aches.
NOTES: Always focus on "belly-button to spine" Keep your abs tight and DO NOT let your legs, arm or back do the work for your abs!
Inner Thigh
Sumo Squat with Mini Jump - Wide open legs, toes pointing out. Squat and push hips back, imagine you are sitting on a chair. Don’t squat pushing knees forward, knees must stay behind toes. Keep back straight, shoulders back, don’t arch your back. You can bring your arms in front of the body and to add challenge to this exercises – tighten arms too (this is isometric tension for your arms and increases the effectiveness of this exercise). Now if you really want to maximize the effect on your inner thigh instead of going up, jump. Jumping boosts heart rate and breathing up, more oxygen will come in your lungs and you will burn more fat. Oxygen takes part in the process of converting fat into energy and this is the reason so many people run to lose weight. Advanced: Use a dumbbell and hold in between your legs, holding it vertically. Allow your legs to take the weight; do not use your arms.
Legs Open with optional crunch - Lie on your back; bring legs up, feet pointing to the ceiling, arms extended behind lying on the ground. Wide open legs, you must feel stretch in your inner thigh muscles or you do nothing. While opening legs lift your body (crunch) and bring arms between your legs. Gather legs, bring body and arms back. Beginner can do this exercise without crunch and put hands under buttocks for support. This exercise targets your inner thighs and stomach muscles. Complex exercises, involving more than one muscle group, burn more energy so you pull more from your stored fat. Complex exercises are important for burning belly fat and cellulite.
Reptile Push Up - Take position for push up. Now bring knee against the same shoulder, you can turn your head to point against the knee. Then bring foot back and do the same with the other knee. If you can’t hold push up position, you can do this staying on hands and knees too. Advanced: start with push up and then bring knees against shoulder - Alternate push ups and knees. This is really hard to do exercise but so rewarding.
NOTE: Always focus on keeping your back straight and posture good - head over shoulders over feet.
Triceps
Hanging Dips - Not only great triceps exercise but also a great shoulder, core and balance exercise. On a bench, dip down till 90 degrees make sure not to go lower as this can put pressure on your shoulders. A great tip… slow the move down so it takes 4-6 seconds to lower to 90 degrees then press up and repeat the slow negative (lowering).
Dumbbell Tricep Extension - Sit straight or stand for this one. Grab a dumbbell holding it over your head with both arms and slowly lower down behind your head… and return to start. You can also use just one arm at a time but of course make sure to lower the weight you would use.
Skull crusher - I just like the name of this move… Lay on a bench with a small barbell, the gym often has smaller 3 ft. pre-weighted ones… hold it up straight and slowly bend the arms lowering the bar towards your forehead. Work on slow lowering of 4-6 seconds.
NOTE: Always focus on the area you are targeting, ensure all of your hard work is going where you want it to. Don't let your elbows and arm go side to side, keep them tight to your body and tense. As for leaning the fat out on your abdomen area, cardio (25-35 minutes moderate speed, no panting, no shortness of breath and no wheezing! MODERATE, heated and accelerated heart rate with a slight incline) and good posture are great stepping stones to washing that layer of fat away so you can start to see the results of your hard work with the exercises above!
Good Luck!
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