August Arm Loving Challenge Week 3 Thursday!

Wow, we are about halfway through already. Just about 4 more challenges to go! This is the challenge for this week, and although most of the exercises should be familiar by now, I have added links to how to do each right. Remember that form is key, and you should be pushing yourself more each week.

Abs Week: Plank Oblique

Yes, I've ordained it abs week! Women and men alike both struggle with getting firmer flatter abs. This week, I thought it would benefit us all to introduce some new abs routines that you may not have tried before. Sick of crunches? Try these out. There will be a new one every day.

Today, we're looking at the plank oblique. Here are a few steps to guide you:

Get into a plank position with your elbows on the floor beneath your shoulders. Keep your whole body as straight as possible from crown to heel.

Slowly lift your left foot off the floor and bring that knee towards your left elbow, keeping your left foot off the floor.

Bring your foot back to the starting position and repeat with the opposite knee.

Here is a great video to help:

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Exercise.com

Abs: Doing the Elbow Plank

Whenever summer comes, I always get questions about exercises to help trim the abs. I think we all know there is no magic formula to get great abs besides controlling your diet, doing cardio to control your weight all over, and then doing strength training to tone the abs. I'll be showing you some basic strength training moves over the summer that you can incorporate into your routine so you're not on the floor doing crunches all day (mostly because that won't get you anywhere). 

The plank is one of these strength training exercises. And I think it is both heavily underestimated and done wrongly at the same time. You can either do the plank on your elbows or your palms. Doing it on your palms gives your upper arms more of a workout than doing it on your elbows. But we'll focus on the elbow plank today.

Here are a few tips to get the elbow plank right:

• Keep your elbows at about a 90 degree angle under your shoulder.
• You should be resting only on your elbows and toes.
• Hold your abs tight tight tight!
• Try to keep your body in a straight line from the back of your head down to your heels.
• Do not stick your butt out or sag our pelvis towards the floor.

I know that probably doesn't mean much without the visual. The video below give a good look at what the elbow plank should look like. Plus, it gives the dudes all something to aspire to :) The instructor is pretty excitable which makes it fun to watch as well.

Cheers Eights & Weights!