- Stair Running
You don't need to
conquer the steps of the Philadelphia
Art Museum to feel like a champ. Whether you race around your spiral staircase
or dash up the office stairs, the amount of time you exercise here is key. For a sufficient cardio workout, maintain an elevated
heart rate for a minimum of 23 min. while scaling cement or marble mountains. You'll strengthen the heart and entire leg musculature.
You'll also work glutes, the biggest metabolic ally of all. Move over, Balboa. There's a Goddess in town.
1. Warm-up
with a fast-paced walk for three to eight minutes to get blood pumping. Don't forget to stretch calves before climbing your
stairway to fat-burning heaven.
2. Wear
shoes with lateral stability and strong ankle support, since you'll be moving side-to-side on the staircase.
3. Vary
cadence: start with running a single stair, then every other stair, then skip like a hop scotch maven. Or run slowly for three
minutes, sprint for five, return to three...until you hit your time minimum.
*Tips
by Gunnar Peterson. A Duke University
grad, Gunnar is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and American Council on Exercise. A personal
trainer for over 15 years, his celebrity clients include J-Lo, Jamie King, Penelope Cruz and Amber Valetta.
Getting
Started: Run
1. Develop a healthy habit!
Studies show that it takes approx. 21 days for your brain to form one. Start your running program with one mile, progress
to two, then to three... In just 21 days, your routine will become second nature.
2. Too tired to run? Speed
walk. One hour of walking burns the same amount of calories as a half-hour run. Heel, ball, toe..heel, ball toe...
3. Carry one water bottle
to hydrate. Carry two for resistance.
*Tips by Ary Nunez, founder
of Gotham Global Fitness
2.TRIBAL YOGA
Bongo drums. A candle-lit
room. Spandex-clad bums that reach high into the air. No, we're not describing
a bad romance flick on late night public access. We're talking about Tribal Yoga: the newest yoga trend to combo basic Hatha
Yoga with West African dance moves. This trend works your entire body, while encouraging a full range of motion and proper
alignment. You'll also strengthen muscles and connective tissue, which helps prevent injuries. The class begins with traditional
yoga poses like Warrior I, but as drum beats increase their pace, students transition into African dance moves and finally
end in a yoga stretch. Just when you thought you'd seen it all...
1. Stretch hamstrings and
lower back to limber-up. Hold a seated hamstring stretch for 20 sec. Do not bounce. To relax your lower back, try an Elevator
Stretch: lying on your back, roll over and try to touch your feet behind your head at the same time. Relax into the stretch
and hold.
2. Toss the Masai Warrior
uniform. Loose clothing like the Semi-Fit Yoga Sport Top and Dri-FIT Yoga Pant let you move and stretch freely to the bongo
beat.
3. At first, you may feel
awkward transitioning from downward dog to drum circle-all in one workout. So bring a friend, burn a few calories and have
more than a few laughs together!
*Tips by Gunnar Peterson.
A Duke University grad, Gunnar is certified
through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and American Council on Exercise.
3.KICK BOXING
A personal trainer
for over 15 years, his celebrity clients include J-Lo, Jamie King, Penelope Cruz and Amber Valetta.
Martial arts have
always been touted as the best way to shape up, burn calories and kick your way to a less stressed life. Perhaps that's why
kickboxing is sweeping gyms across the globe. Even in Asia, where women were historically discouraged
from participating in martial arts because of its image as a sweaty sport, kickboxing is now in vogue.
A kick
boxing class generally lasts about one sweat-filled hour. It takes the inner discipline of martial arts and combines it with
energizing music to give you a fat-burning workout that just happens to empower your mind, body and spirit along the way.
By combining a blur of swift
kicks, fast punches and strength training, kickboxing offers the student a total body workout, including increased flexibility,
improved muscle tone, coordination and cardiovascular training.
Students profess different
reasons for their attraction to kickboxing. Some are drawn to the physical fitness and muscle toning aspects. Others seek
to add discipline and self-control to their lives. While still others want to learn safety and self-defense. Any way you look
at it, kickboxing proves to be an excellent method to improve mental and physical well-being.
Guess
you could say it helps you kick butt, literally.
4.STRETCHING
No two people are
alike. And stretching gurus are well aware of this fact. Experts recognize there's no such thing as a norm for flexibility. And flexibility is not the same throughout your body. You need to make it personal.
But moreover, you need to listen to you body.
For example, pain is bad.
We're all taught "no pain, no gain." But when it comes to stretching, you're not doing your body justice if you find yourself
holding your breath to hold a pose. The point is to loosen up. That's right, loose. If your body feels pain, it will contract
to protect itself, totally defeating the purpose. If you sense pain, stop, locate the exact point that aches and ease up ever
so slightly. This practice actually allows you to eventually deepen your stretch. But remember, eventually!
Apparently, cats seem to
know what they're doing. The benefits of stretching are numerous. Eastern philosophy connects tight muscles with stuck chi
or the life force. So a simple stretching regimen can put your body back in balance. It can relieve fatigue, crankiness and
improve your overall mood. Making you one happy cat. It can also ease soreness from a strenuous workout and improve body alignment.
A brief ten minutes can put you in a better place physically and emotionally. 20 minutes provides many lasting physical benefits.
And a 50 minute stretching or body sculpting class can get your heart rate going enough to actually burn calories.
So stretch. Stretch before
a workout. Stretch after a workout. Stretch in the morning. (But wait about 10 to 15 minutes for your muscles to wake up.)
Stretch at work. Stretch every day. Stretch kitty, stretch.
