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I’m a HUGE fan of rocking for a variety of reasons:
Let's break it down:
You can play with the direction you go in (you don’t have to go forwards and backwards, you can also go side to side, in a circle, diagonally; go nuts!). You can play with tempo (go slowly or quickly). You can play with taking one limb off the floor while you rock (so, for example, reach one arm straight out in front of you and do a few slow rockbacks and then switch arms; does it feel different from one side to another? You can also do this reaching one leg straight back. You get the idea.) You can also lift your knees off the ground an inch and slowly go back and forth (again, make sure you’re breathing!). The first time I did this variation, my quads were so sore! The rockback is also a great, safe way to either warm up your squat pattern or to reestablish your squat if your body’s had a really hard time getting into that position during training sessions. Rockbacks can be really great to help with mobility in arthritic knees, hips or shoulders! Don’t go into pain but slowly play with the range of motion you can manage. If you have tender knees, make sure there’s padding underneath them and if kneeling on the floor is still too much, elevate yourself by placing your hands on a steady chair or bench and your knees off the ground. In terms of how to incorporate this into your own workout, there are a few things you can do:
So play on and warm up, friends!
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This month's Do-It-At-Home exercise is a scorcher! TruFit Evanston trainer Sarah Laspas takes us through this compound plank exercise that you can use as your whole workout OR work into a routine. Here's what Sarah has to say about this exercise: "While sit-ups and crunches may get you 'vanity abs', they aren’t particularly effective when it comes to strengthening your entire mid-section, which is the make-or-break step in laying a solid fitness foundation. Since trading in traditional sit-ups and crunches for exercises like the one I demonstrate in the video, my core is the strongest it’s ever been, I no longer dread doing ab work, and I don’t experience lower back pain anymore. I recommend doing core work throughout your workout rather than saving it all until the end, otherwise it becomes way too tempting to skip it all together. One way that works for me is to do a core-centric exercise in between sets of another exercise that doesn’t work the same muscles. For example, I might do the exercise shown in the video in between sets of squats with hammer curls, but I would not do it in between sets of push-ups or shoulder presses because the plank variations in the exercise require your chest and shoulder muscles to do some work." Ok, are you ready and intrigued?? Let's watch! Let's recap the exercise directions:
Now, for an at-home circuit like the one Sarah was suggesting, here's a little something you could do (click on the exercise names for videos): Exercise 1: Goblet squats 10-15x (if you don't have weights at home, try holding something like laundry detergent or a big book) Exercise 2: Prone swimmers 15x each side Exercise 3: Single leg reaches 10-15x each side Exercise 4: SARAH'S AWESOME EXERCISE! Do each exercise back to back as a circuit for 20-30 minutes! And you'll be SMOKED and ready to conquer the world! Try it out, let us know what you think by leaving us a comment! To learn more about Sarah, head to her website or email her at sarahlaspas@gmail.com!
Holiday season is here and a lot of us will be traveling! And, you know, we all WANT to work out but sometimes we have hurdles: We don't know where to work out, we don't know what to do, we don't have equipment, we don't have time. We at TruFit Personal Training Studios want to remedy that for you! Below you'll find a workout that you can do almost anywhere, that's spelled out for you, that doesn't really require equimpent and that should just take you 30-45 minutes (after a quick warm up)! Check it out below (with the sound on)! Do it, share it, love it, share it, leave your comments below, share it... Enjoy! This month, Mary Cox is going to show us a booty and inner thigh blaster that you can do at the gym and in the comfort of your own home! Mary explains this exercise SUPER well and here are the biggest points to keep in mind:
If you're looking for sliders to use at home, you can find them here! To learn more about Mary, click here! This month Sonny, one of the awesome trainers at TruFit Personal Training Studios, is demonstrating an exercise you can do pretty much anywhere as long as you have something as simple as a book! The Multifidus Lift is an exercise that helps strengthen these deep core muscles to help us move more functionally through life with a lot less lower back pain! So pay attention if you sit a lot during the day or spend a lot of time in the car becasue this one's for you. First some quick anatomy in case you don't know what the multifidus is.  The multifidi muscles run up and down the spine, laying superficially on top of it. This deep core muscle helps stabilize the vertabrae so they can work in a more healthy and efficient way. In other words, strong and functional multifidi = happy back! What you'll need: A yoga block or a book. The set up:
Give it a try for a few weeks and start paying attention to how your body and your daily movements -- bending, twisting, reaching for things -- feel! To get in touch with Sonny for a consultation, you can reach him by phone at 630-640-0013 or at nsonnyle@gmail.com! Ah, bird dogs. This looks like such a simple exercise but we trainers see it done incorrectly so often (which is silly because then you don't get the benefits of the exercise!). Here, personal trainer Kathryn Lehner breaks down why she loves the exercise, how to do it and how to make it harder. Some great cues:
You can do this daily as part of a movement flow, as a warmup before a workout or even between exercises as a reset. To book a consultation with Kathryn, email her directly at kathryn.lehner@gmail.com or call 847-312-4578! Move around and feel good, everyone! |
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