GO Exercise

Even as snow falls outside and we gather with our families for the holidays, we know that spring, with its warm weather and revealing clothing, is just around the corner. Will we be ready?

The new year is a great time to rededicate yourself to a fitness regimen. The holidays break up the monotony of our routines, and we have the opportunity to reinvent our schedules to make time for exercise. If you’re an equipment junkie, you may find that giving yourself some good exercise equipment as a Christmas present will get you back on track. Or sign up for a class in a new sport or martial art!

Sometimes it seems like no matter what we do, we just can’t get our bodies to strengthen further. We plateau and just keep doing the same exercise week after week with no change.

One great way to jumpstart our bodies is to perform the same exercise, with lower weights, in slow motion. The gradual motion, when controlled properly, isolates individual muscles and insures that each is worked to it’s maximum capacity. You should feel a dramatic increase of intensity if you double the duration of each lift, and, just as important, each gradual lowering of the weight.

Be sure to eat and drink well after a workout like this; your body will need it!

The simplest way to exercise your abdomen is the good, old fashioned “crunch”. Lying on your back, bend your knees to roughly right angles. Fold your hands on your chest, and slowly raise your head, then lower it back down. Be sure to use your stomach muscles specifically - the best way to do this is to intentionally flatten your back before you begin the crunch. Make a conscious effort to touch your back down to the floor one vertabrae at a time, like a scorpion unfolding.

When you want to work the sides of your abdomen, perform the same exercise with your legs bent sideways, so they lie flat on the floor, first to one side, then the other.