Abs and Arms: Up and Down Planks

Not a fan of regular crunches? Me too. Here is a great plank variation you can try. The up and down motion works your abs a little harder. And of course, if you find it difficult to stay in the plank position for a long time, this helps make it more dynamic.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Leg Day Routine: Donkey Kicks, Supported Lunge, and Static Raised Lunges

Well, it's leg day somewhere always :) If you are looking for some new exercises to diversify your leg day routine, here are some. All you need for these is a chair, table, or stool. Do each of these for about 4 sets of 10 reps on each leg (that's 20 per set) to really burn those glute, quad, and hamstring muscles.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Abs Work: Spider Planks!

I always get the questions about how to build abs, and so I write about abs exercises a lot. Remember that abs requires 3 things: A good diet, Lots of cardio, and Some strength training. Strength training is mostly the exercises that we all know (like planks and sit-ups) that help build the abs muscles. In order to build the muscles, you have to target all the different abs muscles.

The muscles we are focusing on today are the obliques (sides of the abs) and spider planks are great for the obliques. You start by doing a few sets of a few of them and build up as you grow stronger. Start with about 3 sets of 10 reps. Watch the video below for a demonstration of the exercise!

Cheers Eights & Weights!

My First NYC Marathon is Done!

Oh Lord, I can't believe I actually qualified, trained for, and ran this marathon! I have had my eyes on the NYC Marathon for a long time as the biggest marathon in the world. In fact, I have had my eyes on a marathon for a long time. It's so difficult to believe you can actually make your body run 26.2 miles at once.

But with the support of my friends, the right running schedule, and the right strength training and stretching schedule, yesterday I successfully ran my first marathon. This is totally going on my resume by the way.