[ad_1]
Balancing her roles as a busy doctor and mother, Seeman keeps her workouts efficient, typically lasting 45-60 minutes. Currently training for a bodybuilding competition, she focuses on strength training complemented by high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and active recovery. Her morning routine involves an early morning workout, followed by a nutrient-packed breakfast of protein, healthy fats, and a portion of carbs to fuel recovery and muscle growth.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
While abs workouts and glutes routines are great in isolation—we’re all for moves that go double-duty, targeting both of these important muscle groups. This core exercise from fitness instructor Dino Malvone does just that—while keeping it accessible for beginners and gym buffs alike. Here’s how to do the move, plus tips, modifications, and the benefits you can expect to see with this effective exercise.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Beauty & Health Editor
Hannah Frye is the Beauty & Health Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including beauty, women’s health, mental health, sustainability, social media trends, and more. She previously worked for Almost 30, a top-rated health and wellness podcast. In her current role, Hannah reports on the latest beauty trends and innovations, women’s health research, brain health news, and plenty more.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
While bodyweight exercises can take you far, if you’re able to add weights to your routine, you should. And this lower body workout with weights is a great place to start, since it takes exercises you may already be familiar with – air squats, lateral lunges, step-ups – and just adds resistance.
But first, a primer on the benefits of strength training. While many people focus on the aesthetic benefits of strength training, resistance training has other upsides. “Strength training builds bone density,” says Bertha Muñoz-Lewis, a certified strength and conditioning specialist. It also strengthens muscles, and “strong muscles protect joints, tendons, and ligaments,” she adds. Weight training can improve balance and coordination, reducing your risk of falling or injuring yourself. In short, “It’s imperative for women of all ages to add a true resistance training program to their workout routine in order for their bodies to be resilient, durable, capable, and functional as they age,” says Muñoz-Lewis. “It’s our body armor.”
A lower body workout with weights can activate the glutes and muscles surrounding the hips, along with the quadriceps and hamstrings. These are key muscle groups of the posterior chain that help make up the foundation of the body. We use them not just in the gym, but in many of our daily movements – everything from picking up groceries to dancing or playing sports.
If you’re totally new to fitness, consider checking in with your doctor or healthcare provider before trying this workout to make sure you don’t have any injuries or limitations that would prevent you from being able to complete it. If you’re ready to dive in, start with a dynamic warm-up including five minutes of low-intensity cardiovascular activity, such as a light jog, indoor cycling, jump rope, or jumping jacks. Then check out our guide about how to choose the right weight and get started.
Bertha Muñoz-Lewis, MS, CSCS, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the co-owner of House of Champs in Felton, DE. She creates and oversees the strength programs for student-athletes from elementary school age through the collegiate level, and also runs her women’s strength program known as B.yond Strength.
Equipment needed: Dumbbells or Kettlebells. As a starter weight set, we like the PS Neoprene Dumbbell ($7-$20), available in three, five-, eight-, and ten-pound increments, or the Stakt Weights ($98), which can be adjusted to clock in at two, four, and six pounds each.
Directions: Perform eight to 10 repetitions of each of the first five exercise, moving directly from one to the next with no rest between each move. After completing all five lower-body exercises with weights, finish with the core burner: choose one, two, or all three of the core exercises from the options listed below and perform them for 25 to 45 seconds each to finish each set. Then, rest for one minute. Repeat the entire sequence again for two to three sets.
Read on for explanations of how to do each exercise, including form and technique tips.
[ad_2]
Jade esmeralda
Source link
[ad_1]
There’s plenty of misinformation out there about building muscle, like the common myth that you’ll automatically “bulk up” if you eat enough protein and start lifting weights. For this reason, it’s best to stick with expert advice and limit unofficial tips and tricks you may have found online (hello, gym TikTok).
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
In this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast, JJ Virgin explores what it means to “Age Powerfully” and how to achieve it. Virgin, a celebrity nutritionist, Fitness Hall of Famer, personal trainer, New York Times bestselling author, founder, and podcast host, has been at the forefront of the wellness industry for decades.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
When you think about abdominal exercises, most require you to lie down on the ground, ideally with a yoga mat situated under your body. But if you’re in a crunch (pun intended) and only have your body and some open space available, don’t fret. You do have another option for challenging your core: standing abs exercises.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Yoga has so many benefits for the body, mind, and soul. And one of those benefits? Strong and lifted glutes. From your classic chair pose to more advanced moves like revolved half moon, you can work all the glute muscles in just a few minutes with this simple five-move flow.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
I have waxed poetic about my love for working out at home to truly anyone that will listen. It’s not only free (well, besides rent), but it suits the ebb and flow of my typical workout routine. Over the years, my exercise interests have changed with the season as I’ve flipped through a broad range of workouts (see: swimming, running, weight lifting, walking, HIIT, yoga…you get the picture).
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
mbg Beauty Director
mbg Beauty Director
Alexandra Engler is the beauty director at mindbodygreen and host of the beauty podcast Clean Beauty School. Previously, she’s held beauty roles at Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, SELF, and Cosmopolitan; her byline has appeared in Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and Allure.com.
Image by mbg Creative / courtesy of source
July 15, 2024
We love celebrating women on top of their game. In our new series Game On, we’re interviewing top athletes about their well-being routines—covering everything from nutrition that makes them feel strong to the moments that bring them joy.
Heading to the 2024 Paris Olympics to represent Team USA in beach volleyball is a superstar duo known as TKN. Last week, we chatted with one-half of that pair, 27-year-old Taryn Kloth—and today, we get to catch up with the other half, 26-year-old, 5-foot-6-inch athlete Kristen Nuss.
The duo heads into the Olympics with a lot of buzz: They currently rank second in the world and effortlessly clinched the first spot on Team USA with nearly three months left to spare during the qualifying timeline.
With visions of gold in the not-so-distant future, Nuss chatted with me all about how she’s preparing her body for the road ahead, how she finds mental clarity, and what accessories she must have with her on the sand.
Kristen Nuss: My approach may be different than most. I have found over the years that if I get super focused and “locked in” that I actually don’t perform well. So I try to be a little more laid back.
Taryn probably talked you through our routine of listening to the same AirPod [ed. note: In Kloth’s Game On interview, she shared that they listen to the same music by sharing AirPods during warm-ups to help them get in the same mindset]. So, in warm-ups, I just try to keep it fun and relaxed. You can find me jamming out to whatever song is playing in my head. Chatting with our coaches.
I’m not super focused—keeping it very light. It’s just having fun. Because, honestly, that is what I find I need to perform my best.
Nuss: In beach volleyball, we don’t have a ton of equipment. We get on the court, and we’re in our bathing suits. But an absolute necessity is sunglasses. I could not play this sport without sunglasses.
We wear Zenni Optical Sport Performance Sunglasses. We like them because they have a lot of options for competition sunglasses with different lenses and styles. It’s great to be able to have fun with it—even being able to match the color of our lenses with our suits. Or depending on what the sun is doing that day, we’ll pick lenses to help performance. The different lenses will help with visibility based on the sunshine.
For example, if there are no clouds and it’s just pure sun, some of the lenses are better for that. Or other lenses don’t block as much of the sunlight. Some lenses will help adjust the color you’re seeing—so it’s a little yellow or a little darker. A lot of that depends on your personal preference.
Oh, and then sunscreen and my hat. That’s pretty much it. That’s pretty much all the equipment and everything that I need to perform during the competition.
Image by mbg Creative / courtesy of source
Nuss: Sleeping issues before something big is for sure a thing. There’s been countless nights before a big game or a championship match laying in bed, and I’m just like, Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep. But I cannot shut my brain off!
If that’s the case—if it’s one of those nights—I tend to focus on my breathing. I just take really deep breaths, in and out, and really just hone in on that. Then I’ll also just start counting and I’ll just count. It gives my brain something to do other than think about that one thing—the match. It makes my brain focus on something other than, OK, what’s going to be the weather tomorrow? What’s the play? How am I going to perform?
Other than that, before I go to bed I like to get off my phone. I read a book before—which again is really helpful if it’s the night before a big game and I know I am going to struggle to sleep. Reading just helps me calm down and get off the screen.
Nuss: Honestly, before a big game—and especially depending on when we play—a good ol’ peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That is a solid pregame. It’s the perfect snack to give you the energy and carbs that you need. We [Kloth and I] eat them a lot when we travel.
Day to day, I follow a high-protein diet. It’s just about eating a ton of protein in every meal that we get. I personally love doing higher protein, lower calorie, and a lot of quantity because I am someone who enjoys that feeling of fullness.
High protein. Low calorie. High quantity. That’s the goal.
Nuss: I give a ton of credit to our coach. He structures practice where there are some days that it’s just going in to get reps—but then there are the days we just get after it.
You want practice to be harder than the game itself. That’s where the resilience gets built—in those practice moments when you’re in a really hard drill, he’s just crushing balls at you, then you’re having to do some sort of serve receive and constantly just execute. You get to the point where your brain is like, Go, go, go—but your legs are dying and just stop working.
I feel like if you can push through that in practice, then you’ll be OK. In a game you have adrenaline pumping through you, so you know OK, I can get through this. This is easy.
Nuss: Do you consider walking?
Nuss: Well, I absolutely love just going on a walk. It’s also just good for the mental side of things—just leaving the phone at home and just going for a stroll.
Especially when we’re at these tournaments internationally and we’re at these events set in these glorious places. It’s so fun to explore! That’s something Taryn and I really enjoy doing—just going out and exploring.
Nuss: I think for me, a great team is someone that’s going to instill confidence in you and build you up. Especially in beach volleyball, you need your other half on the court to be successful.
I’ve seen situations where someone might get a bad set, and the teammate will roll their eyes. It’s like, Why are you tearing down your partner? Your partner is the one person who you need the most to succeed at this.
So I think a good teammate is someone who instills that confidence and trust in you during those hard times, like say, when you aren’t playing your best game. A good time is going to be someone who is still there and they’ll still have utmost trust.
I think that is something that Taryn does so much for me. I know that she trusts me so much that in hard times she still believes in me. And that belief is something that’s hard to come by.
Nuss: Dream big—no dream is too big.
I’m a little undersized compared to most other beach volleyball players. Every single time I turned on the TV, no one looked like me height-wise. I would look up the heights of players and everyone was at least 2-3 inches taller than me. But I just kept on going.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Cardio should be seen as a complementary workout. “Everybody should have some type of base cardio,” Campbell advises, primarily to support cardiovascular health. This can include activities like speed walking, rucking, jogging, sprinting, biking, and more—that’s right, it doesn’t have to be running.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
When it comes to fitness, we all want to get the most bang for our buck. In an effort to get fitter and stronger, many people combine strength and cardio exercises into one gym session. However, it turns out that this popular training style might not be bringing you any closer to your goals.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
On upper-body days, McKenna advises doing cardio either before or after your weight training session—whichever you prefer. Choose a form of cardio that primarily engages your legs (like running or using a stair stepper) rather than your arms.
On leg days, “I recommend a 10-minute walk beforehand to loosen your muscles and prepare your glutes, thighs, and hamstrings for strength training,” McKenna suggests. “The last thing you want is to go for a run after deadlifting 150 pounds.” If you opt for more intense cardio on these days, do it after your weight training session to avoid compromising your lifting performance.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
My fitness routine used to center solely around marathon training, but I’ve learned I thrive on exercise variety in the last few years. So when I was asked to test Apple Fitness+, I jumped at the chanced to review the platform’s robust library of workouts.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Of course, if you’re worried about form or are new to the workout, please feel free to use a machine. “I would rather somebody do something than nothing, and I would rather not let the fear of injury or failure keep you from your best health,” Wright explains. But if you can, she recommends taking off the training wheels, so to speak, and letting your body do most of the work with weights.
[ad_2]
[ad_1]
Ready to begin your journey to a stronger, healthier you? Whether you’re brand-new to strength training or only have a little bit of experience from group fitness classes, I’ve created a four-week, easy-to-follow strength training guide for mbg. The goal: I want to help you feel stronger and more confident working with weights.
[ad_2]
