Tag Archives: core

The ‘Core’ of the issue! With a little help from Jillian Michaels

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Admit it, we all pause to stare at a pic of someones great abs right? You do this too right?…come on, don’t leave me hangin’. Ok, phew, I’m not the only one! ;)

See you stared!

**We cannot all have abs like the photo above…the important thing is for us to strengthen our core so that we prevent back injuries while performing our daily activities. I am fit but my abs don’t look like that nor do I punish myself because they don’t. :) but it’s still ok to stare… ;)

I decided to pick an older fitness DVD to do the other night just to mix it up a little. I was going through my selections, I have a lot, and since I love Jillian Michael’s, when I spied her Six Week 6 Pack I knew that was the one to do. I have been focusing more on running lately so this would be a good addition to keep my core strength up. :)

Don’t be fooled by JM’s smile…lol

I think in the past we all thought in order to strengthen and tone our mid-sections we had to do a kazillion crunches!!! Nope, that is not the case anymore. New science has changed this thought process and the trainers and exercise gurus (Jillian!) now know that in order to activate the core you need to stabilize the core muscles.

a little core anatomy :)

Our transverse abdominis are the primary muscles we need to focus on in order to get strong, lean abs. Have you ever heard from an instructor to “draw in your core”? We should be drawing in our core all day. This is what stabilizes and strengthens the midsection so ‘suck in your belly buttons’ toward your spines people!

I was thinking as I popped in the JM DVD that I as going to have to do another DVD or perhaps go for a short run after because I wouldn’t be getting a “yell out for momma” workout with just this abs routine…ha…ha…ha…oh how had  I forgotten this was Jillian’s workout!!!!!! She starts out all smiles and lollipops but then once the warm up is over she has no mercy…
…as an aside here…do you think she can hear me when I say “holy F%$# Jillian”? I know I am not alone in this comment because I see it repeated over and over on FB, twitter and internet comments!!!

In level one she puts you through a series of planks, crunches, stabilizers and cardio to burn your core and overall body fat. You are thanking all that is holy that you are nearing the end when she throws this little tidbit of info at you…after this last exercise we are going to repeat the entire sequence one more time through!!! Oh and just FYI…she speeds the entire 2nd sequence up…you know, as a favour to you so that you can burn more calories…ahem…language please…
I really love the way Jillian arranges her workouts though, this one in particular reminded me of a tabata routine in that it went from one exercise to another with no rest and included cardio to burn overall fat and boost your metabolism. Each exercise brought me to almost failure, where I thought “ok, I will have to take a break here” then you hear JM say “ok, 5 more seconds” and you know you can hold on for 5 seconds more.
You won’t get bored with this routine either as there are so many exercises squeezed into this DVD, but not so many that it will make you feel overwhelmed. As always, JM has a beginner, average and advanced version represented so that you can work at your level. If you find the advanced too easy, then add weights or heavier weights. I used a 15 lb dumbbell for the exercises where JM used weights.
Not only will you feel awesome because you worked out but you will feel balanced as she makes sure to incorporate your back into the routines.

Needless to say, I did not feel the need to do another workout once I finished this 30 minute routine. Here I am after the W/O and going into the cool down phase…not a pretty picture but you need to see the sweat as proof! ;)

see the SWEAT??? she’s ‘evil’ lol

Ok now, get your workouts done then go here and enter my giveaway!
http://fitpsychology.com/?m=20120628

in fitness and health

Denise ♥

 

Fitness and Charity wrapped up in one :)

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Palpable:  (esp. of a feeling or atmosphere) So intense as to be almost touched or felt.

So yesterday I went to a Bellyfit Live class held to raise funds for a local charity – Y.A.N.A.(You Are Not Alone)   http://www.yanacomoxvalley.com/index.html
This is a wonderful charity founded in 1986 that helps families with their travel expenses and living costs if their child is sick and needs to go to a bigger hospital for an extended period of time for specialty care ie: cancer treatment :(

DJ em.ash, YANA representative, Leanne our Bellyfit instructor and Island Pilates and Fitness owner

 

Now about Bellyfit :)   (no not Belly Dance)

Whoop, whoop what a workout. I have taken Leanne’s class several times at her studio Island Pilates and Fitness so I knew what fun I was in for! I find it hard to explain to people exactly what Bellyfit is so please copy and paste the URL below for an accurate  description and a short video. What I can say is this a real workout! My arms are sore in a happy way today and I can feel my hips singing out with glee. The women only class swells with energy that is palpable as we all connect with our mind/body to begin the class. With Leanne’s calming voice we tune in to our bodies to find our heart centre as DJ em.ash spins the beats in a slow hypnotic rhythm.

DJ em.ash...only guy allowed in the room ;)

Once we’ve focused ourselves on where we stand, the music starts to increase in tempo and BAM! Leanne has us getting our sassy on. We’re hip popping, grape vining, Bollywood’ing, African Dancing our way through a 1/2 hour cardio session that is not for the faint of heart.  I was sweating so much I could not see as it was running into my eyes.

That's me on the far right in the pink racer back tank ;)

Next comes the isolation moves to work our core. I never knew my rib cage could move around in a circle without my hips following them! Once we flow through this section we move onto some pilates/yoga inspired mat moves which challenge our core and balance all the while stretching out our nicely heated up muscles.

mat work at the end of class...so relaxing. and OMG that little girl did the whole class with her mom!

I should add this class also has several Mudra’s within the moves which I cannot begin to remember but my favorite is always the Mudra for gratitude! I have much to be grateful for especially when I think of what the families that we were raising the funds for are going through.

I truly hope you are able to try a Bellyfit class somewhere in your town. It has grown in popularity and there are now classes in several cities in Canada. Remember how Zumba took you by force? Well Bellyfit will do the same!

http://www.bellyfit.ca/about/

If you ever travel to the Comox Valley be sure to check out Leanne’s studio – Island Pilates and Fitness for Yoga, Pilates, Bosu, dance inspired fitness classes and of course, Bellyfit!

http://www.islandpilates.ca/

What new fitness class have you tried lately?

Don’t you love when fitness and charity events combine?

in fitness and health

Denise :)