Be Fit Fitness Blog

Outdoor Strength Training and Toning Exercises

In this stair workout video Kim Lyons demonstrates exercises for the stairs that can be done outdoors or in your home. It’s especially great if you are doing some cardio exercise outside such as biking or running and you don’t want to come indoors for a workout. In this way you get to enjoy being outdoors along with incorporating some strength training exercises into your outdoor workout. This stair workout is great for toning and fat loss.

This video is excellent in the sense that Kim Lyons shows you several different exercises working different parts of your body both beginner and advanced exercise versions. She explains each exercise and how you should be properly performing them. Unfortunately I find that the video picture quality is very poor, very pixilated. Regardless, the content on this video is excellent!

She begins with the Windmill Pushup on the stair. She shows you the beginner and more advanced versions. They are basically the same. The only difference is that for the advanced version you are going more against gravity, therefore it’s a much tougher exercise.

She then shows you a calf workout and side lunges and encourages that you do some cardio in between these exercises.

Her final exercise (which is an advanced exercise and quite difficult) she calls Spider Monkey Stairs.

Here’s Kim Lyons from Fast Track To Fat Loss

You may prefer to rest between weight training sets, but here is a great exercise with variations for your abs from Kim Lyons of Fast Track to Fat Loss. Not only does this exercise work your abs real hard, it also improves your balance and posture. Balance and form are really critical when doing this exercise properly since it is done on a bench. Kim Lyons does an excellent job in showing you how your body should be aligned when performing this type of abdominal crunch on a work bench at the gym or in your home. She also shows you the proper movement as well as variations of this exercise that will also work your obliques.

Also, doing a different exercise for a different part of your body in between your weight training sets is great if you are in a hurry and you want to do a quick and effective workout.

Kim Lyons, Fast Track To Fat Loss

Here is an excellent video from Kim Lyons for your shoulders. She demonstrates several different shoulder exercises that work out and target the shoulder muscles from 3 different angles with several variations for each and excellent explanations for proper form and technique and what to look out for when doing each of these exercises.

In the first exercise, she demonstrates front shoulder raise for the front deltoid muscles using different gym equipment beginning with an 8-Pound Exercise Ball.

In the second exercise she works the medial (middle) deltoid muscles using Basic Resistance Bands
for lateral raises as well using dumbbells.

She also gives you an example of a rear deltoid exercise. Many people tend to neglect the rear deltoids.

I feel that it’s very important to work out your shoulder muscles. Strong, toned and sculpted shoulders also add to a beautiful physique for both men and women. I hope you learn a lot from this excellent shoulder video.

Here are some leg exercises that can easily be done at home using just your standard barbell and your own body weight as resistance.

Calf Raises – Stand up straight then rest the barbell on your upper back. Your feet should be planted apart at shoulder’s length for balance and stability, keeping your legs straight without locking your knees. This will be your starting position. Exhale as you lift your body using your toes by extending your feet. Lift yourself as high as you can then hold the position and contract for a second. Inhale as you slowly go down to starting position, taking care to keep the contraction in your calf muscles. You can create a variation by doing unilateral calf raises in order for you to target a weaker leg.

Lunges – Stand up straight with the barbell resting on your upper back. Keep your legs together with your knees relaxed but not bent. Keep this as your starting position. Inhale as you take a step forward, bending your rear leg as you do so until your knee almost reaches the floor. Only go down as low as you can go and then hold it for a second. Exhale as you push yourself back up to starting position slowly and carefully without releasing the tension in your calves. Repeat with the other leg and make sure that you do the same number of repetitions and sets for each extremity.

Sumo squats – Stand up with the barbell stationed behind your upper back. Assume a wide stance with your legs spread apart wider than your shoulders. Set your legs straight without locking your knees and point your feet outwards. Contract your core muscles and arch your lower back to help lessen the pressure on your spine. Keep this as your starting position. Inhale as you lower yourself down by bending your knees until you form a 90 degree knee angle. Keep the position and contraction for second then exhale as you push yourself upwards while still maintaining the tension in your core and leg muscles.

Since you are doing these exercises at home, make sure that the weights you are using are easy to carry while still able to give you a satisfactory workout. These leg exercises are done with 3 particularly long sets of 15-25 reps per leg.

Article written by Brad Jones of Ultimate Fitness Gear, your best source for the Shaun T Insanity Workout routine.

By Kim Lyons

How long you should you work out and at what intensity level to achieve the best fat loss results? This is a question many people have when it comes to working out and losing weight. I know that you want to maximize your time and effort to achieve the best results, so I thought I’d share my answer with you.

For the past decade, dieters and fitness enthusiasts have been mislead into thinking that lower intensity exercise is the best way to burn fat. This is likely because exercise at lower intensities primarily uses fat as the “fuel” source while higher intensity exercise uses carbohydrates as fuel.

However, the most important factor in losing fat with exercise is the total number of calories burned and not whether the calories burned are from fat or carbohydrates.

I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve trained who have refused to work hard because they were afraid it would take them out of their “fat burning zone.”

Research and our Fast Track to Fat Loss program success stories have proven, time and time again, that exercising at a low intensity to stay in the “fat burning zone” is incorrect. At lower intensities, you burn more calories from fat but you burn fewer total calories. Remember, in order to lose fat, you must create a caloric deficit. That is, you need to expend (burn) more calories than you consume. There are no exceptions to this rule.

So, whether your cardio sessions are 15, 20, 30 or 45 minutes long, the higher the intensity, the more total calories you will burn. And the more total calories that you burn, the more fat you burn.

In addition, higher intensity exercise not only burns more calories, it also elevates your metabolism more (and longer) after the workout is over. That’s right, with higher intensity exercise, you can actually condition your metabolism to work more efficiently throughout the day! Of course, be sure to exercise at a safe range for your fitness level.

I hope I’ve cleared up the confusion on exercise intensities and burning fat and I hope to see you at my weekly Live Chat.

The V-bar pullup is a compound exercise that targets your lats as well as your biceps, middle back and shoulders. You build strength on each muscle as you pull yourself up and down the pull-up bar.

Before beginning this exercise, make sure that you have done your stretches and warm-up.

How to perform this exercise…

Place a V-bar at the middle of a pull-up bar. If your pull-up bar already has neutral grip handles, there is no need to do so. The V-bar should be secure prior to execution of the exercise. Hold the bar with both palms facing each other. Stick out your chest and slightly incline your back backwards so to concentrate the action on your lats. Let your body hang with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and your ankles crossed. This is your starting position.

Exhale as you pull your torso up as you incline your head slightly to the right to avoid getting bumped at the chin-up bar. Keep the motion in your lats and continue lifting until your chest is almost in contact with the V-bar. Hold the position for a second, maintaining the contraction in your torso, and then inhale as you slowly lower your body back to starting position. Maintain the tension in your torso at all times throughout the exercise and do not just drop your body. You will only injure your muscles as you do so. Do the same procedure again this time with your head leaning slightly to the left.

Repeat with the recommended alternating number of repetitions and sets. If you do not have the strength to perform this exercise, you can use a pull-up assist machine or have a spotter lift your legs. If you want a more challenging workout, use a weight belt to hold a few extra weights.

Written by Daniel Lee from Extreme Home Workout, your top site to Get Insanity by Shaun T.

Are you looking to tighten and tone your butt for the summer? If you haven’t started to focus on exercising your gluteus muscles, it’s not too late. Despite the fact that many leg exercises either on the floor or with machines and exercise activities will in fact work out your gluteus muscles, it’s a good idea to do at least one exercise that specifically focuses on and targets these muscles. You can do it using machines at the gym or simple, effective floor exercises. In fact there’s one exercise that I want to point out that the technique, method is almost basically the same whether done on the floor or using a machine. The only difference is that with the machine you can add on weights.

If you have a gym membership and your gym carries excellent machines, LifeFitness has a really good machine to work out your butt. Actually, it also works out your other leg muscles. I find that it’s an excellent all-leg workout machine, especially if you are pressed for time. I use it in late winter to early spring to get ready for rollerblading. Basically on this machine you can adjust the weights to the appropriate level. Now lean forward a little to grasp the handles, with your chest pressed against the adjustable padding in front of you. One leg remains on the floor, with your knees bent a little, you then press the other leg against the foot rest and push backwards and outwards with it basically as far as you can go. Now you bring the leg in as close as you feel comfortable or as close as you can. Do this for about 12-15 repetitions then repeat for the other leg. 3 to 4 sets of this is fine, once a week.

If your gym does not have such a machine, you can of course do a similar and just as effective or more effective exercise. Press your hands and knees against the floor (the doggy position). Keeping your legs bent at a right angle, push your leg upwards just a little above your waist. Now bring your leg in towards your chest but not touching it. Again do this for about 12-15 repetitions then repeat for the other leg. 3 to 4 sets of this is fine, once a week.

Other great exercises for your butt include stair climbing and rollerblading.

In summary, getting Buns of Steel
for a man or a woman has many advantages. They range from looking great and feeling confident in how you walk or look like at the beach in a bikini or bathing suit to the strength training benefits that arise whether you play sports, jog or rollerblade. It’s also a great way to stretch out those tight butt muscles, especially if you have a desk job at work.

You’ve probably seen all these websites promoting full-body workouts in 7 minutes a day and guaranteeing you amazing bodybuilding, toning or weight loss results. Well, save your hard earned money.

Let’s look at this logically. If evolution intended humans to exercise for only 7 minutes a day and end up achieving amazing results, than our bodies would have evolved that way, but they didn’t and probably never will. If anything, lack of exercise and inactivity will continue to be a health problem in the future. Limiting yourself to a very limited and set amount of time for exercise will hinder your strength and cardiovascular system in the long-run. It’s pretty obvious why.

Also, if you could train from only 7 minutes than Olympic athletes would be doing this instead of the long hours they put into various training programs.

The human body was meant to be active whether through exercise, work or some other activity. Sure you can focus on a 10 minute exercise for a certain body part like your abs, but not your entire body. Exercise should not be just viewed as a way to achieve a certain look… A healthy and toned look is important but it’s more than that! It’s a major health benefit for you and it can be a social thing too especially if you exercise with friends or socialize with friends at the gym. It’s a chance to get away from stress and the daily routine of life, a chance to do something else. So if you are limiting yourself to only 7 minutes a day of exercise, you will be missing the whole point of exercise.

What exercise program works best for you is something that you will figure out over time or with the help of a personal trainer.

Ice skating is a very enjoyable way during the colder months of the year to get some exercise, spend time with friends and enjoy the outdoors. It’s another way to vary your exercise during the year either during the day or in the evening. Well, I got my first chance this season to lace up my skates and go skating this past weekend. The earliest for me in many years!

Most people will get most of their cardiovascular exercise during the colder months indoors either at home, at the gym or playing recreational sports. Ice skating is another way to get a light cardio and good leg workout in, without it feeling like you are exercising. Usually time passes by very quickly when you go with a friend or friends.

Most ice rinks will rent ice skates, but with them being so inexpensive to purchase new or used and they last for many years, it’s an inexpensive and fun way to exercise and get some fresh air. If you don’t now how to ice skate take a few lessons or get a friend to teach you.

Also, with the advent of synthetic ice, many warmer climates now have skating rinks. Is it possible one day to see synthetic ice skating rinks outdoors in the middle of summer? That would be quite a novelty for everyone at first!

Today I would like to let you know about a free 2-week workout plan that you can receive. All you have to do is fill out a simple questionnaire. It’s that easy. Plus you will receive 2 free fitness guides: “Who Else Wants to Gain 15 Pounds of Muscle in 12 weeks” and “Who Else Wants to Lose 40 Pounds of Fat in 12 weeks”

Get your free 2-week workout plan here.