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    yogi-health:

    Hip opening poses work to open the joints and muscles around the hips. They helps to keep the pelvis and hips in proper alignment, which prevents strain and tightness in that area. Having flexible hips can ease back pain, improve circulation in your legs, help you to walk easier. Hip openers also have mental and emotional benefits. We hold a lot of tension in our hips from stress, anxiety, sadness, fear, and other negative emotions. Once that tension in our hips is released, the emotional benefits are felt. Below is a list of hip opening poses. When doing these poses, concentrate on your breath and relax your body.

    Thanks, Deidre! I will start working on these! :)

    ACL Tears

    Within the last decade, the amount of ACL tears in adolescents has increased by 400%. Since this injury cannot heal without surgery, you need to visit a doctor if your knee feels unstable, because it will require surgery. If you choose to keep exercising with the injury, you can cause even more damage and be out of your sport for longer, or possibly be out of it forever.

    One way to prevent ACL tears is to strengthen the muscles around it. A simple preventative exercise you can do every day is the box jump. Jump up and down on and off a stair about 10 times as quickly as you can. This will build the muscle around your knee so there’s extra support.

    You only get one body and not every part of it can heal on its own! So take preventative measures to take good care of it!

    (Source: healthylivingforyou)

    fitvillains:

    Weekend Workout: The Dominatrix

    Ready to get whipped?

    This is a BRUTAL total body workout for beginners to advanced alike. You don’t need equipment, but advanced exercisers can add more of a challenge by adding dumbbells to the movements.

    YOU NEED to push yourself through this workout! The Dominatrix requires nothing but your undying servitude. Imagine you have someone there cracking the whip as you move through it. It goes fast, but the more effort you put in, the more you’ll get out of it.

    You’ll complete all 10 exercises (no breaks) for 69 seconds each (I know, I couldn’t help myself!). Rest 69 seconds & repeat the circuit twice.

    Do your best and make modifications to YOUR level (I added modifiers to each of the descriptions below). Beginners who find it challenging can add a short 30 second breaks when needed. Advanced exercisers can add a third circuit or add weight to each of the exercises.

    Time: 30 minutes including warm up.

    Equipment: Chair, timer (or stop watch), a mat. Dumbbells are optional.

    How To Do It

    Warm Up: 5 minutes. Jog in place, squats, jacks, jump rope etc. Don’t stop moving for 5 minutes, then take a quick water break before starting.

    Set your timer for 22 rounds of 69 seconds each. Hit ‘Start’ and complete all 10 exercises for 69 seconds each. Rest 69 seconds & repeat the circuit.

    Cooldown: Walk in place for 2-3 minutes, then stretch.

    Exercise Details & Modifications

    Crack The Whip Leaps

    (a.k.a. Sassy Skater Jumps).

    From standing, get low in an athletic stance (knees bent). Pushing off your left leg, leap to the right landing on your right foot & crossing your left leg behind you (tap to the floor or stay balanced). As you land, bring your left arm in front and imagine you’re cracking a whip 10 feet in front of you. Repeat alternating sides.

    The deeper and faster the movement, the harder it is. Go your own pace.

    Modifiers: Beginners can step from side to side & reduce range of motion. Advanced can hold a medicine ball or dumbbell tight to the chest as they leap, or simply get lower/faster in the movement.

    Ass Kickers

    (a.k.a. Butt Kick Runs)

    From a standing position, run in place, bringing your heels as close to your butt as possible. Squeeze the glutes & hamstrings as you hop from foot to foot.

    Speed & intensity are key here. Pump your arms as you run for a bonus burn, and only go as fast as you can while maintaining proper form. Contract the abs to keep from swaying from side to side.

    Modifiers: jog in place or high knee runs.

    X-Rated Plank Pushups

    (a.k.a. Pushup With Swivel)

    Drop down into a plank or pushup position. Keeping your hands directly under your shoulders and core tight (get that butt DOWN), rotate your right knee to your left elbow (see pic). Twist through the core, and repeat on the other side (like drawing an ‘X’ with your knees). Return to plank and do 1 pushup. Repeat.

    Modifier: come to your knees for the pushup, and reduce range of motion & speed. Advanced people: try the pushup on one leg, alternating sides.

    Butt Burners

    (a.k.a. Step-Ups with Reverse Leg Lift)

    You’ll need a chair, bench or step for this one. Plant your right foot in the center of your chair and push through the heel to lift yourself up, drawing your opposite knee into your chest as you step. Step down, stay standing tall and lift your right leg out behind you. Without replacing your right foot to the ground, swing it through back to the step up. Repeat. 

    Note: the photos have you facing different directions, but I want you to face the chair as though you were stepping on it, and balance for the lift keeping your posture tall. You don’t need to lift high, just enough to feel the contraction. Keep your core tight so you don’t over-extend your lower back & tap down for balance (or use the chair) if you need to.

    Modifiers: Beginners can just do the step up without the lift. Advanced? Add dumbbells.

    Torture Table Crunches

    (a.k.a Crab Crunch)

    Sit with legs in front of you, knees bent, and feet hip-width apart on the floor. Place hands shoulder-width apart on floor behind you, with thumbs forward and fingertips at a slight diagonal. Lift your hips off the floor and extend right leg just barely off floor; bring left hand behind head.

    Crunch forward, bringing right knee toward chest and rotating left elbow in to meet it; for more challenge, simultaneously bend right elbow to dip toward floor.

    Alternate sides for each rep, or do 30-ish seconds per side (since you’re doing the circuit twice, you can opt for once on the right, and once on the left).

    Modifiers: Come to table top, and simply alternate bringing your knees to your chest. If that’s too difficult, beginners can also do bicycle crunches instead.

    Assassin Lunges

    (a.k.a. Lunge With Rotation)

    From a standing position, lunge your right leg forward and lower your body down (weight in the heel of the lunging foot). Clasping your hands together (I recommend making a “finger” gun) & keeping your hips facing FORWARDS, rotate towards the right wall. Imagine you’re shooting someone directly to the right of you. Rotate back to center & push through the heel to return to standing. Repeat alternating sides.

    Modifications: Use a dumbbell instead of a finger ‘gun’ for added intensity. Beginners can reduce range of motion (just do regular lunges) and reduce speed.

    Squat Hold

    (didn’t need a more painful name. It’s painful enough right?)

    Feet wider than shoulder width apart, sink down into a squat. Keep your chest open, and push your butt to the back of the room. Weight should be in the heels of your feet, and thighs parallel to the floor (or past parallel if you’re advanced). Make sure your knees stay over the top of your toes but not beyond. Arms out in front of you for balance, or behind your head for a challenge. Hold it here.

    Modification: you can do a wall sit instead, or take mini-breaks when you need to. If you get tired, try simple body weight squats until you can hold it again. 

    Advanced? Add pulses.

    Kill it. Don’t let it kill YOU.


    fitnesstreats:

    Pro bikini glute workout! Tips from a pro. She demonstrates the whole routine in the video.

    1. Leg press feet together, 10-12 reps +partial reps at the end, 3 sets
    2. Smith press lunge, 10-12 reps (heavy weight), 3 sets
    3. Butt blaster, 10-15 reps, 2 normal sets + 3rd set as a drop set, hold the contraction!
    4. Cable kick backs, 10-12 reps + partial reps at the end, 3 sets
    5. Hip abductor, sitting forward, 10-12 reps + partial reps at the end, 3 sets

    I did this routine today. My butt was not used to the heavy weight & low reps. I used to do 20 reps for lower body exercises, but doing 10-12 heavy reps is actually nicer and quicker. It’s a great specific routine for your butt muscles only because contrary to a lot of leg/butt routines you feel it in mainly in your glutes and not in your quads.  

    (Source: bodybuilding.com)

    Get a Runway Ready Body with Workouts From The Victoria’s Secret Angels

    Also check out workout tips from the VS Angels here!


    Enjoy! Check out the GIFs if you want the moves isolated without all the talking of the video!


    How Adriana Lima Gets Her Body Runway Ready


    She’s so pro! Haha. She just makes it all look so impressive.

    (Source: healthylivingforyou)

    fitnessloveaffair:

    Get Your Best Legs

    First know that you can’t reduce fat in just one place. Your body takes a little bit of fat from everywhere, more or less in some places due to your genetics. Doing a ton of leg exercises isn’t necessarily going to make all that fat disappear, at least not by itself. We do these exercises to shape and tone the muscles so your legs have a great shape. If you aren’t eating healthy and doing cardio those sexy muscles are going to be hidden no matter how many squats you do. Gaining muscle helps, it increases the metabolism thus burning more calories, but you have to work the rest of your body and have a clean diet too.

    Try to do one video or pick five exercises and do 3 sets of 8-12 reps (or until you feel the burn) about 3-4 days a week. Do cardio 3-5 days a week too, it can be running, biking, swimming, Zumba, kickboxing, whatever gets your heart pounding and sweat dripping. You can combine strength workouts and cardio into the same day if you want. Make sure to eat protein after your workouts, it helps build muscle!

    These are, in my opinion, the best thigh and leg exercises and videos. I’ve included links to instructions for most of the exercises and a variety that you can do at home or at the gym. If you workout at home try to get some 8-10 lbs dumbbells, or get a backpack/duffel bag and fill it with heavy books to challenge yourself.

    If you have access to a gym try these machines & equipment:

    If you don’t have access to a gym try these exercises at home:

    These are my favorite leg videos:


    fitnesstreats:

    Push-up Variations!


    Level 1 (blue): Beginner

    • Child’s pose push-up: start in a child’s pose position and slide forward extending your legs, keeping your nose only a few centimeters from the floor. It is normal for you butt to stick out on this one.
    • One leg up knee push-up: a knee push-up maintaining one leg in the air. 
    • Bent leg push-up: a push-up on your toes but with your legs bent.

    Level 2 (red): Intermediate/Advanced

    • Push-up jacks: jump the feet apart as you bend the elbows into a pushup. As you push back up, jump the feet back together.
    • Tricep push-up: focus on holding your elbows against your sides.
    • Power push-up: Do a push-up and pop yourself back up trying to keep your feet together (not like me in that animated gif -my form sucks on this one :)

    The Hunger Games Workout

    Cassey is so cute! I’ll be trying this!

    (Source: healthylivingforyou)

    fitvillains:

    Partner Squats: A Hysterical Challenge

    This is a wicked bootcamp move I use often with my students! It’s a tougher variation of the wall sit: having a partner makes it more challenging to find & keep your balance.

    Today: find someone close to your height, and give it a try!

    Tips:

    • Go back to back first, then slowly lower down & walk your feet out until you’re in a squat.
    • Use each other for balance, but place your weight in the heels of your feet.
    • Try to be a ‘wall’ for your partner. The more planted & stable you are, the easier it is on your quads.
    • Keep your core tight!

    Once you have the basic partner squat down, pass a ball (or a weight) from side to side, without breaking your squat. This will challenge your core: keep your hips facing forward and twist through the torso as you pass.

    Do 20 reps one way, and 20 the other. You can also pass it overhead and/or between your legs.

    Yay! Another exercise to do with Drewy.

    (Source: skinnycas)

    fitnessgifs4u:

    Stand with your back straight and your feet shoulder-width apart. 

    Step forward in an elongated stride and place one foot in front of you. Most of your weight is on your front foot. Your other foot stays behind you with your heel off the floor. 

    As you lower your body, bend both knees. Go as low as you can and pause at the bottom. You don’t want your front knee to go past your toes and you want the trail knee as close to the ground as possible. 

    Raise to the starting position in an elongated stride and repeat. 

    After doing the recommended amount of repetitions, change legs.

    Click HERE and follow for more Fitness Gifs 4 U everyday.

    (Source: g3tf1t)

    I’m gonna pomodoro. Take notes for 25 minutes, 5 minutes break. In that break I’ll do mini workouts from this. Game on!

    (Source: watchmedrop20)