Skechers Shape-Ups: Innovation or Ruse?

Kim Kardashian’s face has been following me everywhere since she became the spokesperson for Skechers’ Shape-Ups. That “It’s not someone else, it’s something else” line makes me want to slap random people. But then this review is not about the Shape-Up commercial, but about the actual product. From the name, you can probably tell that it is supposed to tone your bum and legs and help you lose weight. And if their sales numbers are any indication of the success of this product, we should all go to the store and buy a pair. But in reality, do Shape-Ups actually work?

Here’s a little background on the technology in this shoe. Shape-Ups actually come in a variety of styles, some more expensive than others. I believe new ones start somewhere around $70 and can go up to a couple of hundred. However, whatever style you buy, the technology behind the shoes, and the soles of the shoes remain the same. What’s different is the look of the shoes. Unlike most sneakers, they have a hard layer first making them a little heavy, and then a spongy layer right on the bottom to give you that padded feel. One thing that really differs with these shoes is that the highest point of the sole is actually in the center of the shoe (about 2 inches high) and then the part of the soles beneath the heels and toes are lower. So you feel like you’re balancing on the balls of your feet. Constructing the shoes this way is supposed to help with balance, which makes workouts more effective. The shoes come with a DVD that shows you how to use them effectively.

I have to give it to the Skechers marketing team though. They know how to play on the minds of people. These shoes seem to be made to make workouts more effective, but they are being sold as if just wearing them is a workout. Everyone wants a great body, but most people don’t want to put in the time and effort to get it. So why not tell people they can get great bodies without stepping foot in a gym? Yes, exercise DVDs do that too, but this is different. They tell you you don’t even have to spend an hour trying to have your own aerobic class at home. All you have to do is take a walk. Genius!

For a moment though, I want to just let you know what you’ll experience when you do wear the shoes. Obviously, whenever we introduce our bodies to something new, we feel it in our muscles for the first few days. Your ankles, your lower back, your neck, and your knees would definitely hurt because those are the main muscles we use for posture. Also, because they are heavier than the regular pair of sneakers, you probably burn a few calories from lifting them with your feet. You will feel different when you wear them, no doubt, because you have to focus on keeping yourself balanced. The most important thing to do over the first few weeks though is to limit the period of time you have them on your feet. Don’t wear them 24/7, but rather just for a couple of hours each day. Ease in to the shoes.

After a while, you’ll start to feel more comfortable with the shoes. But doctors have come back with conflicting theories about the long-term effects on our bodies. Some doctors say that it helps with lower back and hip alignment to prevent problems that may be caused by poor posture. Others say that long term wear of these shoes actually make it difficult for you to wear other shoes because of the way they force your ankles and heels into a certain position. People who use the Shape-Ups for months have reported pain in their ankles and heels when they take them off. So it seems they are fine when you wear them, but cause problems for your legs when trying to get into other shoes.

Give all this information, what’s my verdict? I think it may be better to stick to regular sneakers/trainers for your daily workout routine, and use Shape-Ups just for periodic walks to give yourself that little boost. If you were already working out before, and just want to occasionally make it a little more effective on your lower body by getting the proper alignment, these shoes seem like a good idea. But if you haven’t been going to the gym, and you are hoping that buying these would magically give your bum a lift, I don’t believe that’s ever going to happen. The only caveat I would add is this: if you think buying these shoes would make you want to start going to the gym and then you can slowly ease away from them and work out on your own, then you have my full support.

What is your own opinion about shoes that tone? Have you tried any?

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: mbtshoesports.com

Yoga-nese: Learning the Basic Moves

Last week, we talked about the popular types of yoga and how they are different from each other. This week, let’s talk more about the basic moves you need to learn to get into yoga. Let me preface this post by saying that contrary to what you might have seen when you peek into a yoga class, not every consistent yoga student can lift their legs above their heads and twist their bodies like a pretzel. The more you do yoga, the more flexible you should become, but about 40% of our flexibility is based on our bone structure so some people might go to yoga classes every day and not be as flexible as you think they should be. How much you get out of a class should not be based on how far you were able to bend compared to the next person. It should be based on how far you body allowed you to bend.

That said, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try hard. Don’t force your body till you feel intense pain, but push yourself as you try these poses. You body is probably capable of more than you think. Remember, keep your stomach and bum tight and your posture right, and you’ll be good :)

Mountain pose (a.k.a. Tadasana): This is usually around the beginning of any standing yoga series. It is meant to help to fix the posture and clear the mind. Here’s how you do it. Stand tall with your chest out, shoulders down, and arms to the side. Keep your neck and chin level by looking straight ahead (not down or up). Place your feet either with your big toes touching, or with your feet about hip width apart. If you can’t figure out how wide your hips are, you can put two fists between your feet to gauge the distance. Here is a picture of how it should look below. However, remember that everyone’s body is different, and because yours doesn’t look exact does not mean it is wrong.

Photo credit: yogaclass.ie

Photo credit: stu.cofc.edu

The mountain pose is the basic beginning to standing poses like the tree pose, extended mountain pose, (see image above) eagle pose, and chair pose.

Downward facing dog: When you watch movies, there is never a mention of yoga without the downward facing dog. This is because this is such a great pose for your arms, legs, shoulder, core, and back. However, it is hard to hold for an extended period of time, especially if you don’t have much upper body strength. Here’s how you do it. Start on the floor on your palms and knees. Lift your knees off the floor so your bum is pushed upward, and you’re left just on your palms and feet. Make sure your fingers are spread out, and your bum is pushing upwards. Now, even though your bum is pushing up, make sure your stomach is not sticking out so you don’t hurt your lower back. Your palms should be about shoulder width apart, and your feet should be about hip width apart. Try to bring your heels toward the floor (emphasis on “try to”. They don’t have to touch the floor).

Photo credit: pureinfusion.com

Variations of poses that you can learn from perfecting the downward facing dog: upper pushup position (or plank), lower pushup position, dolphin pose, up and down cat poses, and much more.

Upward facing dog: Isn’t it funny how a lot of yoga poses come from animal stretches. Makes you wonder… Anyway, the upward facing dog is a really good pose for your lower back, arms, stomach, and bum. Start by lying on your stomach with your toes pointing back. Place your palms right under your shoulders and roll your torso up resting on just your palms. Some teachers say to leave your legs on the floor, and other say to take your legs just a couple of inches off the floor. I don’t believe it matters too much either way. Push your chest out and drop your head back so you feel the stretch right from your shoulders down. Try not to strain your neck by pushing too far back though.

Photo credit: mandyingber.com

More intense poses that you can learn from perfecting the upward facing dog: cobra, crane, bow.

The Warrior poses: There are three warrior poses Warrior I, II, and III), but I’ll talk about the two major ones you’ll find in every yoga class. Warrior I starts with standing in the mountain pose, and then stepping one foot back. The front leg should be bent at about a 90 degree angle and the back leg should be straight. Turn the back foot somewhere between a 30 and 60 degree angle so that your heel touches the floor, and your hips are comfortable in the position without your front knee bending to the side. Lift your arms up straightening your torso. Your arms should come straight over your head as you lean your body back from your waist (so your legs shouldn’t move back).

Photo credit: blog.gaiam.com

For the Warrior II, stay in the same position, but bring your arms down to shoulder level. The arm on the same side as the front leg should be stretched forward, while the other arm should be stretched back in a straight line. Look over your front arm, but don’t lean forward.

Photo credit: yogaashram25.blogspot.com

More intense poses that you can learn from perfecting the warrior poses: triangle, inverted warrior.

Child’s pose (a.k.a. Balasana): If you’ve ever been to a yoga class, this is always the pose people assume when they need a minute to rest or give their muscles time to breathe. It’s sort of like a bowing pose. Start by kneeling on the floor with your knees and toes about hip width apart. Sit back with your bum on your heels and extend your toes towards the back of the mat. Now, extend your torso into a bow position with your arms stretched out in front of you and your forehead on the floor. Arms extended might be uncomfortable for some people, so you can also have your hands extended back beside your body. See an example below.

Photo credit: fooyoh.com

More intense poses that you can learn from perfecting the child’s pose: camel, and cow.

Corpse pose (a.k.a. Savasana): I hear you go “What the … ?” Yes, there is a pose called the corpse pose. It’s the relaxation pose at the end of most yoga classes. Now, you might think it is easy to be in a state of total relaxation, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Lie flat on your back with your arms beside your body. Now, neutralize every muscle you can feel. Seriously. Try to clear your thoughts completely. Relax your feet and they’ll drop slightly to the side, relax your shoulders and they’ll fall back, relax your stomach, your arms, and even your face. Relaxing your face is kind of difficult because our faces are usually a reflection of what is going on in our heads. Relax your jaw muscles, your eyes, your tongue (yes, I just said relax your tongue). Make sure you lie for about 5 minutes at the end of every class to give your muscles time to recover. If you have lower back problems, or if it is uncomfortable to lie on the hard floor on your back, you can do this position with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. This puts less pressure on your back.

Photo credit: lightbliss.com

More intense poses that you can learn from perfecting the corpse pose: fish, happy baby, and bridge.

Phew! I had thought this was going to turn out so long that it won’t fit in one post. There are so many more yoga poses, but these are the basics I think you should know. Don’t hesitate to ask me questions!

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Yoga-nese: Getting Your Body to Speak a New Language

Yoga. We’ve all heard about it, heard about a class in our local gym, and maybe even passed one or two studios filled with people doing strange things with their bodies. Some of us have tried it, and just given up because we look around us and we can’t seem to move our bodies the way we  think we are supposed to. And some of us are scared to try either because we don’t want to look silly, we have misconceptions about what it really is, or we just can’t wrap our head around all the “ummm” sounds. I’ve had so many people say to me “Yoga is just for the mind” or “I’m not into spiritual meditation” or even “Yoga is not for me because I’m trying to build muscles, not just stretch”. Well, I’ll give you a little introduction to the different styles of yoga to ease some of those misconceptions. And if you do decide to try it, next week, I’ll walk you through how to do some basic yoga moves on your own.

Popular Yoga Styles
There are so many forms of yoga, especially since a lot of them are slight modifications of other versions named after the person who created the modification. But the basic forms we see in western society today are these five.

1. Hatha yoga: Hatha yoga is a combination of all the other forms of yoga. It helps to learn all the basic yoga poses, but you’ll find yourself holding the poses for longer than you would in the other fast-pased or aerobic versions of yoga. It helps to build strength, endurance, and flexibility, and emphasizes breathing a lot. If you’ve been to any other type of yoga class, you’d see some of it incorporated in this version of yoga. One thing that is important to note is that although hatha involves a lot of stretching, this form of stretching helps to build muscle as well. If you’ve ever done any of the forms of yoga below and felt the pain the morning after, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about.
2. Ashtanga yoga: This is a very fast-paced style of yoga with six predetermined pose sequences that you do over and over throughout the class. It certainly helps improve your endurance, especially since you do the same poses over and over. I also think it improves your concentration because you tend to master the art of the class a short way through, and can try to (emphasis on “try to”) clear your mind as you keep going through the sequences. Because it is fast-paced, there is no time to get lost in the pose though. You have to keep moving, and movement burns calories, right? So doing this type of yoga frequently will help you lose weight. Plus, if you are OCD and want to know exactly what to expect from each class, ashtanga yoga is a good way to go.
3. Power yoga: This is pretty much a westernized version of the ashtanga. Because the ashtanga is very repetitive movement, those of us who haven’t mastered the art of “just being” find it boring doing the same six movements over and over for about an hour. So this style of yoga was created to be fast moving, and to mimic the style of an aerobic class. There is some breathing, but the focus is on the movement and building muscle tone. Because of its fast pace, power yoga students sweat a lot and burn a lot of calories in the process. But one big difference is that a lot is left to the discretion of the instructor, who can make up his or her own poses, and change the order of poses to whatever seems to work for the class.
4. Bikram yoga: This style of yoga has a defined flow. There are about 26 poses involved, and each pose is done twice. So when you attend a Bikram yoga class, you know exactly what you’re getting. The twist here is that these poses are done in a steam room sort of setting, with temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (above 38 degrees Celsius) and with about 40% humidity. That may not seem that hot if you are from Lagos, but imagine having this indoors as you try to concentrate on your poses. Not so easy.  The positive about this style of yoga is that your muscles feel looser because of the heat, and it teaches you much endurance. But the negatives are that it is very very difficult to focus on the poses in immense heat, and the steam could actually leave you feeling light-headed. Because of all that sweat though, you burn tons of calories.
5. Prenatal yoga: From the name, you can tell that it is for expectant mothers. Lamaze classes were created from this extension of yoga. This style of yoga focuses on keeping the muscles strong so that the mother can stay healthy and get her body back to normal much easier after labor. It is also structured to help with aches associated with pregnancy, and perfecting the pregnant posture.

I hope you’re beginning to see that there are different syles of yoga for everyone. And although some of the more meditative versions, like Bikram and Ashtanga, focus a lot on breathing, it is not all about the spiritual aspect. Very many people take yoga the physical benefits alone. Frankly, although there is a spiritual side to yoga, I have never tried taking it anywhere beyond the physical. For beginners, I would really encourage taking a look at www.yogabasics.com.

Next week, we’ll talk about a few beginner yoga poses. But till then, what has your experience with yoga been? Anything you’d like to share?

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Weight Watchers: Weighing In

If you didn’t know about Weight Watchers before, you certainly know about it now with Jennifer Hudson on practically every TV station as their spokesperson. But just like with all diet programs, we always ask, “Is this just money and advertising, or does this really work?”

I’m a fan of Weight Watchers simply because of how it started. A lady found it really difficult to lose weight, and she thought she’d gather all her friends struggling with weight loss to meet up periodically and just support each other. No judgment, no instructions, no superiority. It was all just a way to share experiences, cheer each other on, see how much progress they were all making, and support each other. Now, wouldn’t we all like that?

Now, even as Weight Watchers has grown into this amazingly successful company, they have not abandoned the premise of the system, which is meet, share experiences, give advice, and weigh in. It’s important to say that the weighing in is in private at the same time every week.

If you had questions about if Weight Watchers is worth it, check out the details of the program. I guess I look at it from a different perspective focusing on the community aspect, but there may be other reasons you’d like to try it:

Community: As I said before, this is the highest point for me. You can form a bond with people with the same goals as you, and meet them once a week to share your experiences. Rather than put your health goal on the bottom of your list somewhere, it moves to the top because you have the accountability factor to think about.

Internet: You can find so much information on the internet (I mean, I’m on the internet), but having one single point of contact for most of your weight loss questions is great. It’s like WebMD for medicine. Professionals write articles, and you can ask questions anonymously.

Eat Anything: The main premise of Weight Watchers is that there is no restriction on what specific kind of food you can eat, just how much. Everything you eat is assigned a certain number of points. For your weight loss goals, you have a pre-determined number of points you want to eat in a day. If you decide to spend all your points on cheesecake, that’s on you. But rather than tell you you cannot eat cheesecake, they just tell you cheesecake has 20 points and you’re allowed 50 points in a day (just an example). This is great news for those of us who have cravings. You won’t feel incredibly guilty afterwards because you know what choices you have to make for the rest of the day. No guilt? That’s awesome!

PointsPlus System: The way the PointsPlus system works is a little strange. Some things are easy to understand, but some are not. For example, if something is a fruit or vegetable, even if it has high calories, it may have lower points that something that has lower calories, but is refined. This is because most adults don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables and they want to encourage that we should. So don’t try to figure out the point system yourself because it may hurt your brain. But just know that a meal with higher points means you have less points for the rest of the day. And eat more vegetables… Not too much because they still have calories… Just more than you’re eating now… Unless you’re already eating a lot… Okay, moving on.

Activity points: Ha, you hoped I forgot about physical activity, didn’t you? Well, of course Weight Watchers encourages exercise. But the great part is how they incorporate physical activity into the whole program. Any exercise you do reduces your daily points so you have more to work with. So if you’re the type that doesn’t mind exercising like crazy as long as you get to eat more, it works well for you. Or if you find that you are getting close to your allowable point total for the day, you can just go work out so you have more to work with. Now, on the negative, it’s not always easy to figure out how the exercise you’re about to do translates into points, especially if you’re not good at math. But I found a good explanation on ehow about how to do the conversion. Check it out here: Calculating Exercise Points.

Reading my overall tone, you can probably tell that I’m a fan of the system. Especially since I already said it. However, it doesn’t always work for everyone. If you like to figure out how health and fitness goals alone, and not be part of some ‘group’, then this won’t really work because it’s all about community. Also, if you like to compartmentalize your life (like separate your diet from your exercise plans), it might not work for you either. The points system is great, but it might make you sluggish in the gym on the day that you find you didn’t eat too much.

In summary, I still think anyone trying to lose weight should definitely try it. It just seems to make logical sense unlike most of the diet programs we see today. Check it out at www.weightwatchers.com.

What’s your take on the Weight Watchers program?

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: news.tvoneonline.com

Kicking Your A**. Literally.

People tend to get bored with their exercise routines when all they have been doing is running, running, and more running. And then maybe some weight lifting here and there. Well, if you haven’t considered boxing, you might be short-changing yourself.

Men tend to gravitate towards sports with players that women swoon over, like football, American football (see what I did there), and basketball. And women tend to gravitate towards sports that require a ton of aerobic effort and not much bleeding. Since boxing tends to get looked over as a sport, and since it does not require team effort, a lot of people don’t consider boxing when they are looking for a plain and simple way to stay fit. Well, as the girl who has tried it all, I figured I’d tell you why it is.

When I talk about boxing here, I will be focusing more on boxing using punching bags as a way to stay fit, not as a sport. So you can relax your jaws around me now.

Benefits?

The number of calories you burn depends on your level of intensity, but with boxing, you both burn and work on toning your muscles at the same time. It is mostly an anaerobic exercise, which means that you keep going without much oxygen for a few minutes and then you rest for a few minutes. So it’s very much an interval type of workout. And if you’ve been reading this blog, you know that interval training is a really good way to lose weight.

However, if you look at some boxers that don’t spend too much time on cardio, they may look very muscular, but their bodies are not very well defined. This is where the cardio comes in. Boxing just works on every area without the focus of other strength exercises, and so this could leave you muscular, but not evenly defined all over. Adding consistent cardio to your workout routine gives you that definition.

So it’s boxing plus some cardio.

Where do you start? Get a bag!

If your gym has a punching bag or boxing classes, that’s great. But if it doesn’t, don’t use your friend’s face as your test bag! You can buy one online. There are many different types: ones you can hang from your ceiling, ones that come on a base that you can fill with sand or water, and even ones that come with their own stands. Just remember, if you hang one in your ceiling, make sure the nuts and bolts you use can actually handle the weight of the bag. Not that I've had a bag fall of my ceiling or anything...

Since we all can’t go from zero to hero in one workout, if you consider getting into boxing, you have to gauge your level of fitness. The non-stop intense portion of the intervals are pretty hard, and so make start with a few jabs for a few seconds and then rest. Keep going until you can do the high-intensity for longer. If you skimp on your routine and don’t keep moving, you are robbing yourself of a proper workout. And since there is no treadmill to estimate the number of calories you’ve burned, you may not know that you are doing poorly.

Don’t know how to punch?

There are 4 basic types of punches. See the picture at the top of this post for a visual on all four.

Jab: The basic punch most of us know. It starts with the left foot forward (for right-handed boxers), and basically, the body does not move to much as you punch. It is a straight punch.

Cross: This involves more movement from the knees. If you are right-handed, a cross is done with the right hand. It is also a straight punch, but you move your torso forward as you jab.

The jab and the cross are usually done as a sequence; left hand with the body facing the side, and then right hand with the body facing forward.

Hook: This is a side punch. If you were boxing with an opponent, this would be one of the punches that get you the side of his face or his liver in a semi-circular type of motion. Unlike the jab, even though the hook is mostly done with the left hand, it can be done with either. Again, I’m using a right-handed person as an example so it would be different for those who are left-handed.

Uppercut: If you’ve ever played Mortal Kombat, you know what an uppercut is. It is also a side punch where you bend slightly and get your opponent in the jugular. Getting an opponent in their chin or torso can push them of balance really quickly so you can finish them off. When hitting a punching bag, it is a little hard to get the uppercut right because, well, the punching bag doesn’t have a chin. But if you act like you’re going for the torso rather than the chin, it works out better.

Any more tips?

• The biggest mistake people make when they box is to just run right into it. Don’t do this. Make sure you practice in front of a mirror first. That way you can see if the punches “make sense”. This idea of practicing in front of a mirror is called shadow boxing.
• You see boxers jumping rope, right? Do you ever wonder why? Jumping rope helps to improve speed and coordination, which boxers definitely need to keep punching at high intensity. So to improve your technique, buy a rope. Your consolation? You can use them to the cardio bit we talked about earlier.
• Your footwork is very important too. You have to learn to move your feet right so that you can keep moving and not burn out. Plus, it helps with burning calories all over too.
• After you have punched a bag the first time, you may realize you are not as strong as you thought you were. But that is what the training is for. You improve your strength, your speed, and the look of your body.

Want a sample?

Here is a beginner’s boxing training video. Check it out and try it today. You might love it.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: allfight.blogspot.com 

Eights & Weights Healthy Recipes: Banana Soy Protein Shake

All about natural, homemade food? A consistent “exercise-holic”? Well, I thought it would be fun to give you one of my protein shake recipes to help you recover after an intense workout.

The most important part of any protein shake is the base. You can usually use anything from milk to soy-based products. If you like thickness, the best base would be low-fat plain yoghurt. If you’re lactose intolerant, use soy yoghurt. Now, if you just want some protein, and don't care too much about the calories, you can even use a scoop of ice-cream as your base.

The next thing to think about is flavor. Usually, you can add flavor by adding a fruit. I like bananas because of their thickness, but you could use any fruit you want really, as long as it’s not too juicy. That might make the shake watery.

Even though the base holds some of the protein, you need to add additional protein. You can simply buy some plain whey protein powder or add in some chopped nuts or peanut butter. If you use peanut butter, note that it may contain more fat that if you use whey protein powder. Some people use raw eggs here, but I can’t imagine drinking raw eggs. I’ll stick to the whey protein powder, thank you very much.

Ingredients for my Super Duper Eights & Weights Banana Soy Protein Shake:
¼ cup of soy yoghurt
1 cup of soy milk
½ cup of whey protein powder
1 chopped banana 

Blend it all together to an even consistency and enjoy! This shake contains about 24g of protein. When I want more protein, I usually just add in more protein powder or come chopped nuts.

Know any potential health/fitness contributors? Have some healthy recipe ideas you’d like to share? Please contact us at editor@eightsandweights.com.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Four Basic Exercises You Should Know

There are so many machines and workouts out there that it’s easy to overlook the basics or get thoroughly confused. But no matter what muscles you are toning this week, I believe there are four basic muscle-toning exercises everyone should know. And you can do them wherever whenever with no equipment needed.

Pushups: For a lot of guys, when they start exercising, they measure how fit they are by the number of pushups they can do. For ladies, they tend to gravitate towards the cardio equipment and stay away from the “masculine-looking” exercises. But male or female, the pushup should be more than some random exercise we do.  It is a compound exercise that works out so many upper body muscles at once.

Muscles worked: Shoulders, Back, Abs, Chest, and Arms.
Proper form: Lie flat to the floor on your stomach. Lift yourself up, and balance on just your palms (palms to fingers) and your toes. Make sure your body is in a straight line from head to butt, and then from butt to toe. Some people say your whole body should be in a straight line, but we all know our lower backs and knees curve slightly. Make sure your bum isn’t sticking out, your palms are right under your shoulders, your stomach isn’t sagging toward the floor, and your elbows are close to your body. This is the upper pushup position.

To lower down, keep your elbows close to your body, and press downward keeping your body’s form. When you get low, make sure your knees are not touching the floor. It should still just be your palms and toes.

This up and down motion continuously is the proper pushup form. If you cannot do the full pushup, you can still do the pushup on your knees. Just make sure you’re not lifting and dropping your legs as you lift and drop your upper body. So if your knees are on the ground, whether your legs are raised or on the ground, just keep them fixed in one position.

Planks: If you receive Eights & Weights daily email fitness tips, you have probably heard me rave about the plank. It is another great compound exercise that does not require movement, but requires strength and endurance.

Muscles worked: Back, Abs, Arms, and Legs.
Proper form: This is basically like the upper pushup position. There are two major ways to do the plank. You can do it in the upper pushup position on your palms (see above), or do it on your elbows. If you stay on your elbows, keep your hands (the part from your elbows to your palms) on the floor facing forward. Remain in this position for 30 to 60 seconds.

Lunges: From yoga to contemporary dance, many forms of workouts incorporate the lunge into their routines. And if you’ve ever done the lunge, you’d know why. It’s pretty painful (most lower body exercises are) and so you know you’re working hard while you’re doing it.

Muscles worked: Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves, Inner and Outer Thighs, and Quads.
Proper form: Stand with one leg forward and the other leg back. Bend both knees to a 90 degree angle. The forward knee should not bend forward past your toes, and the back knee should not touch the floor. Your legs should be angled properly, so make sure your feet and knees are not flopping to the sides. Raise your knees using strength from the toes of the back leg. Switch legs and repeat. Some people jump from one foot to another to add intensity, some do the lunges forward, and some do the lunges back. Whichever way you choose, make sure your upper body is straight, your legs aren’t wobbly, and you lift carefully to not cause knee injuries.

Squats: Oh, the squat. We’ve also created various forms of this exercise, from the frog jump to the chair squat, but the fundamentals remain the same: Your butt does not thank you while you are doing it, but thanks you after. This is another compound exercise that works more than just the butt actually. So what does it work?

Muscles worked: Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves, and Quads.
Proper form: There are so many ways to do the squat. The basic squat involves keeping your feet hip-width apart, your upper body straight, and lowering your butt so that your knees are in a 90 degree angle. Again, just like the lunge, your knees should not bend forward past your toes or flop to the sides. Lower, raise, lower, and raise continuously. You can stretch your palms in front of you, keep them on your waist, or just leave them hanging. As you do the squat your feet should face forward or slightly to the outer sides, but do not completely turn them out to the sides.

Other ways to do the squat involve opening up your feet wider than hip-width apart, and touching the ground when you lower your butt. Whichever way you choose, you should feel it in your butt and your thighs.

The way to get the most out of these exercises is to keep your stomach muscles tight throughout. Don’t ever forget, you are working your abs as you are working all other parts of your body!

Cheers Eights & Weights!