Triceps: Pike Pushups

Triceps are tough. They are painful to work out but you usually have to do very targeted exercises for them. Well, here is one: the Pike Pushup. You will start to feel these pretty quickly. I usually like to do 3 rounds for about 1 minute each.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Moving Pushups

Want to incorporate more of your core in your pushups? Try these moving pushups. Take it slow at first until you are confident in your posture. Speed is great, but you want to make sure you are targeting the right muscles. How? Keep your core tight and your lower back as straight as possible.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Can't do a Full Pushup? Start Here!

There is absolutely no need to feel embarrassed because you cannot do a full pushup. For the ladies, men naturally tend to have more upper body strength and so it might take you a while to build any strength there at all. For the gentlemen, you still need to practice to be able to do anything so don't feel like you've got it.

If you cannot do a pushup, where do you start?

August Arm Loving Challenge Week 4 Thursday

Only one more week till the challenge is over! Next week, the challenge will be a little tougher as we have to push more towards the end. 

Please look out for the September challenge coming soon. And it comes with prizes ;)

Cheers Eights & Weights!

August Arm Loving Challenge Week 3 Monday

A few points to note:

• For a demonstration of "Walking into a pushup", please visit the @eightsnweights Instagram page or check this link here.
• Chair dips are tricep dips done with the palms on a chair. 
• High planks are just planks in the upper pushup position, with palms on the floor instead of elbows.
• Forward arm circles involve straightening out and rotating your arms forward in a circular motion. See a description here.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Knee to Elbow Plank

It's still August, which means we are still focused on our arms. The knee to elbow plank is a great exercise to work your arms and obliques. But as with any exercise, you have to do it right to yield the right results. Watch the video below for more instructions.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

August Arm Loving Challenge Week 2 Thursday!

It's that time of the week again! Today is all about the arms. Get to it!

For instructions on these exercises, please visit out Instagram page (@eightsnweights) for videos. A detailed video on the "Pushup - Side plank - Pushup" can also be found here. You can choose to either stack your legs on each other in the side plank or have them how I did in the video.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Ready for Some Upper Body and Core Work?

Your bum is still hurting from the booty challenge, right? Unfortunately, that does not mean you stop working out. You still have to make sure your overall body gets some attention with cardio, and that individual areas stay toned. 

Today, we'll be focusing on the upper body and the core. Try the workout above and let me know how you feel. It seems simple enough - 10 reps of each, then 15, then 20, then back to 15, and back to 10. And make sure you use dumbbells that challenge you! Nothing should be under 5lbs please.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Body Rock's Hiit Workout

So prepare yourself for the madness that is about to hit you. I found this core and arm workout on BodyRock.tv called Girl On Fire. It is part of their Hiit Workout Series. I tried it, and thought I'd share it with you. Please note that this involves standing upside down so if you get queasy or you feel you are not strong enough, do not attempt this workout. Otherwise, give it a go! You'll feel amazing after! I didn't do it for all four minutes, so just do as many as you can.

Check out the video below.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Pole Dancing: Yes, I Did It!

Pole dancing has been gaining popularity in the media lately as a form of exercise because a lot of celebrities are beginning to be interested, and a lot of women are beginning to see it as empowering. As you are aware, it has been pretty much associated with strip clubs in the past, and so it is still sort of a "taboo" topic in some circles. But pole dancing is more than just shaking your bum and grinding in a man's lap.

In fact, in places like China and India, they have different forms of pole dancing that is predominantly performed by men, and is a very intense sport. In many other countries, including the US and the UK, pole dancing was a competitive sport before it became the thing you did in strip joints. However, most pole dancing fitness classes offered to women incorporate a lot of the sexy bit as well.

Why did I give you a little of that history? To lead into my next point. Pole dancing is not easy. You require a ton of upper body strength, flexibility, and the ability to endure pain. Why the last bit? Because you need that to use various parts of your body to grip the pole.

Usually, you start by learning basic little teasing moves, and then it gets a little harder as you learn strength moves, and how to grip the pole to hold yourself steady. At my first class, for a beginner like me, it was a little confusing to focus a lot on strength moves before the class started, mostly because I didn't know how much upper body work was required. But I followed on anyway, secretly wondering if we were going to ever touch the pole.

And then the instructor showed us the first spin. My mind was blown at something so basic. How was I supposed to spin around the pole without my legs touching the floor? This was the first class, no? But after trying and trying, I realized that just like any exercise, the bulk of the process is getting comfortable doing it. So after a few tries, I did the basic spin well.

Spinning!

We did a few other kinds of spins as she showed us how to place our hands and feet to make it easier, and not to hurt ourselves. By the end of my first class, I thought I was getting the hang of it, and my arms and core were starting to feel the burn, until the instructor said "Okay, it's time to climb the pole". Huh? I thought I was in a beginner class? I seriously did not believe there was any way I was climbing a slippery pole without falling on my butt. But I was determined to give it a shot. 

So I lifted my right knee so that my foot was on one side of the pole, and my knee was on the other (pressing my shin against the pole and grabbing it with the upper part of my foot). And then as the instructor said, I jumped up and put my other leg on the front of the pole so that I was cross-legged and the pole was now between my knees and ankles. And then I gripped the pole with both hands. And then she said to climb up the pole like a caterpillar. So basically, you grip with your knees and slither up one step at a time. And yes, I did it! That was probably my proudest moment in her class :)

Oh, but that wasn't all. Once we were up, we had to figure out how to stay up and then slide down sexily. We had to grab the pole between our inner thighs and just sit there that way. It may sound easy, but this is probably the part of all the classes I've taken that hurts the most. Gripping on to a steel pole with your inner thighs is not easy at all. Imagine the friction!

I'm smiling but it hurts!

I must admit, the funnest part of class is the humor of the pole dancing instructors. They are a lot of fun. I couldn't believe it when my instructor was training us to the "My Neck, My Back" song. A couple of us couldn't stop laughing. And then when they do some poses and you see how flexible they are, you come back down to planet earth.

Pole dancing has been a great experience and I will definitely be doing more. If you haven't tried it, you should. It is a good strength workout. You may not sweat too much because there is not too much cardio involved, but you build a lot of upper body strength, core strength, leg strength, and endurance. There are several classes being offered in different cities now so use Google, Groupon, Living Social, or one of those sites, and you'd be sure to find one near you.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photos by Oby Enyia

Proper Pushup Form - Eights & Weights Video

Another day, another video :) I promised I would make a few more videos showing the proper form for popular exercises because the last few ones I did got a lot of positive feedback.

Today, it's the dreaded pushup. Most people that start a fitness regimen don't start being able to do multiple pushups, and definitely don't start being able to do it absolutely right. But the pushup is one of the best exercises out there because it works so many muscle groups (they call these types of exercises "Compound exercises") - the arms, shoulders, upper back, and core. Not only does it work many muscle groups, it also helps you to gauge how far you've come from when you started working out.

So here are some key tips:

• Lower yourself as close to the ground as possible without compromising your form. Even if you don't get too far down, you are still working out.

• Use your abs to hold your body up for a core workout.

• Do not sag your butt down or raise your butt up. Try to keep your body straight.

There you have it! And a video to help you out! I would love your feedback on the videos so I can give you more tips that help you. I know the quality of the one below is not that great, but we'll continue to work on that. While you are checking the video out, check out our other exercise videos on our Eights and Weights Youtube channel.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

10 Minute Bootcamp with Jeanette Jenkins

Continuing with our 10 minute workout series, here is another one from Jeanette Jenkins on Fit Sugar. I like Jeanette because you can relate with her body and it doesn't intimidate too much, but at the same time, you can see she works very hard on it.

This bootcamp workout mixes cardio with upper and lower body for a total body conditioning. If you don't know what a burpee is yet, get ready to cry because she makes it a little harder. If you do know what it is, then you already know it is a great exercise.

If you don't have much time, it is great to get it in here and there during your day. If you do, there is no harm in repeating the video a couple of times :)

Try it out, and let me know what you think!

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Bosu Ball Pushups

Challenge yourself to build a better, stronger, and leaner upper body with pushups. Do them all the way, half way, or on your knees. Though the degree of difficulty may vary, you'd still be working your upper arms, chest, and back. 

The Bosu ball pushups work the same muscles that pushups do, but they also help work on your balance. Try doing some today.

• Balance on the Bosu ball in the upper pushup position gripping the sides of the ball.
• Do a complete pushup the way you would do one on the ground.

You can add your own twist and do it on your knees as well. Remember, it is not only important to challenge your body by pushing yourself with the exercises you are used to, it is even more important to make slight changes to your exercises to confuse your muscles a little bit.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Stack.com

Building Upper Body Strength

You want beautiful biceps and triceps, and yet you can’t do a full push-up? Don’t despair. Many people, especially women, don’t just wake up with arm strength. You have to keep working on it and pushing your body until you see improvement.

Why is upper body strength important in the first place? Besides keeping you strong for everyday activities, you need your strength for last through your exercises. The older you get, the more strength you need to perform the same activities. Have you ever seen a 40 year old that cannot lift 10-pound weights with a well-shaped back? Yep, you have your answer.

So you know you need upper body strength. What do you do?

• Do More: You cannot stay at the same level you are and hope that you’ll magically get better. Try as hard as you can to do more upper body exercises every day. As you’re working out, you see that you can do 5 push-ups? Tomorrow, try to do 6. Even if you can’t actually do 6, keep trying until you can complete those 6. Push yourself to do one more than you are comfortable with. And what happens when you actually complete that one more? Add another one more! 
• Anywhere, anytime: Okay, maybe not on the floor of your boss’ office… but whether you’ve worked out on a day or not, it doesn’t matter. Before bed, when you wake up, before dinner, at your friend’s house, anywhere, get down and do some upper body exercises. I keep referring to the push-up because it is a perfect upper body exercise, and you don’t need any equipment. You can drop down and do a push-up anywhere. And the more you do, the stronger you get. 
• Find your trouble spot: There are some exercises you may be good at, and some you struggle with. When you are in the gym, you feel like you have to do the ones you are good at so you don’t embarrass yourself. But honestly, you should be focusing on the ones that give you trouble. That is where you can really see your growth. Can you do a push-up well, but have trouble with side planks? Keep doing more side planks until you can do it for longer and longer. 
• Do it right: So you do your push-ups with your belly sagging or your butt pushed out? You may be making it easier on yourself and not actually being true about what your body can do. If you’re not true to yourself, you won’t push yourself. Make sure you are doing your upper body exercises the right way, in the right position. Have you seen the video of Ellen DeGeneres and Michelle Obama doing push-ups? I was super impressed with Ellen's push-ups, even more than Michelle's.
• Mix it up: I say this a lot, but that’s because it is important. When you do the same thing day in and day out, your body gets used to it. You can do the same exercises with a twist. For example, with the push-up, don’t just do the regular push-up. Do it with one hand, do the half-way down push-up, do it on one leg, do an upper push-up position, do it whatever way you can as long as you mix it up. 
• Do at least one: You know how girls do push-ups on their knees, or alternate other exercises to make them easier. While that’s fine, you won’t graduate much if you just keep doing that. Even if you can’t do many sets of a full regular exercise, try to do at least one every day. You’ll build strength to be able to do more.

We all want really strong upper bodies. But there is so much we think we can’t do because we don’t try. Progress is slow sometimes, but that’s what it is: progress. That means you won’t see it if you don’t push for more every day.

For some diet and nutrition tips on gaining big muscle, check out this site.

Cheers Eights & Weights!