It’s happening again. Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving, “the Holidays,” Uncle Ed’s birthday, the in-law’s anniversary, New Year’s Eve, then New Year’s Day! Are you short on time too? This is a very busy time of year for everyone, and you have to keep up, or you’ll find yourself even more overwhelmed. Though it is hard to find time for yourself during the busy holiday season, making time for fitness doesn’t have to equate to an hour-long workout at the gym. My motto: Do what you can, when you can, because ALL activity adds up!

Here are 10 fun ways you can burn 10 calories, FAST!

1. Run up and down the stairs for 45-60 seconds.
2. Vacuum two large rooms (okay, maybe not fun – let’s call this “multi-tasking”).
3. Put on some great music and dance like no one is watching.
4. Play tag with your kids.
5. Go get the mail, and take three fast laps around your house while you’re out there.
6. Park in the furthest space from the door at the grocery store. Pushing a full cart of groceries clear across the parking lot burns calories and provides resistance for a two-for-one mini-workout.
7. Better yet, park at the end of the driveway and unload the groceries. The extra walking with heaving bags in your hands will be great exercise. You get bonus points if you have a steep or very long driveway.
8. When you’re unloading the groceries, before you put that gallon of milk in the fridge, use it to do 6-10 bicep curls per arm, then hold it in front of you while you do a set of 8-12 squats or lunges.
9. Set the timer on the microwave and see how many jumping jacks you can complete in one minute.
10. Rake leaves! This is a great upper body workout.

these are "soft" weighted fitness balls

Some recent research shows that crunches, the old standby for ab exercises, only targets 3 of the abdominal muscles. Yet there are muscles that surround the entire core, acting as a girdle to support your spine, increase power and speed, improve stability, and oh yes, give you that six-pack look.

Six-pack abs aside, you need a strong core…

A strong core is your center of power. Powerhouse. Like a rocket ready to take off on a moments notice. Okay, you get the idea. When your core is weak, or shall we say, not as strong as it could be, then your back is not supported as well. Think of all the daily activities you do that require reaching, bending, twisting, turning, and so on. Every time you do that ‘stuff’ you’re asking a lot of your back, and while it is designed to do all of those things, without a strong core acting as a girdle around it, one day that little twist to reach for something could send you right to the couch for two days. Or worse.

But wait, there is more. If you are an athlete or participate in regular physical activity, a strong core is your secret weapon. It helps propel you forward (really fast, if you want, and with POWER), can help you change directions on a dime (without losing your balance), and can take minutes off your personal best if you are a runner. Golfers…a strong core will improve your swing, and help reduce the risk of repetitive stress injuries. Sports requiring jumping, like basketball and volleyball, require explosive power. Yeah, the legs deliver a good bit, but the core – a strong one will make it SO much easier. Have I convinced of the merits of having a strong core? I could go on…but I won’t. I’ll save it for another post, but take away this much: include core work in your exercise routine a minimum of three times per week. And one exercise alone won’t do it – you need to work the front, back and sides, ideally from different planes, to get the best bang for your buck. More on this multi-directional stuff later. ;0)

Here are 2 moves to try, neither of which requires a single crunch!

1-LEGGED REVERSE CHOP

Ideally, use a medicine ball (4-6lbs should do) or a Duraball (a soft, smaller weighted ball). If you have neither, a dumbbell will do.

Begin by standing on one leg. Make sure hips are level. You can check this by raising and lowering the hip of the raised leg until both knees are level and hip points are facing forward.

Next, hold the weighted ball, or dumbbell, in both hands at about hip height. At a speed that is appropriate for your level of fitness and experience with this exercise, raise the ball diagonally from the hip, upward across the body, ending above the ear of the SAME side as the leg you are standing on.

The abdominals should be drawn in (this is what I call, “zipping it up,”) toward the spine, and pelvic floor contracted throughout the move.

Return to starting position without lowering the raised leg and repeat 10-12 times before switching sides, or direction of the ball.

For added challenge, you could take the ball in the opposite direction of the raised leg, increase the speed of the ball, add a bit of rotation, or stand on a BOSU or balance cushion. You can get creative as your balance and core strength improves.

To progress this exercise, you can use a heavier ball, add more repetitions, add an additional set or two, or again, begin using an unstable surface as I mentioned above.

MEDICINE BALL PLANK

This is a fun one too. I use the word “fun” when I really mean, “challenging.” ;0)

Using any hard medicine ball (weight of ball isn’t important for this exercise, and a softer med ball probably won’t large enough), place the ball near your feet.

Then, assume the standard elbow plank position: up on the toes, elbows stacked under shoulders, forearms on the floor, neck neutral (this is important!), and abdominals pulled in tight.

Next, hoist your toes up onto the medicine ball. The nature of the ball is, of course, to move, so it is your job to KEEP IT STILL. This is the “fun” part.

For starters, hold for 10-15 seconds, gradually building up to 30, 45, and 60 seconds. Eventually, you may be able to pass the ball back and forth between your feet, add Pilates push-ups, and more “fun” stuff.

Do you wish your tush fit into your jeans just like Cameron Diaz’s? Heck, I’d be happy if any of my pants fit like hers do. The good news is that you CAN slip into your jeans and feel confident that you look terrific – it is just a matter of learning to activate the right muscles while sweating through your lower-body strength training routine.

The hip movers in a nutshell

From a functional perspective, the hip movers are quite handy. Together, they allow you to flex and extend the hip (climb up/down stairs, walk and run), the abductors enable you to move laterally, and the adductors help move the leg across the midline of your body. Even though the glute muscles are used quite often throughout the day, they sometimes suffer from overpowering counter-muscles (namely, the hamstrings and quadriceps). When the hamstrings and quads are very strong, they tend to become a bit bossy, if you will, and take over for the glutes when the glutes are very capable of doing their job all on their own, thank you very much.

The trick to properly isolating this large muscle group and toning your tush requires three steps:
1) Isolate the glutes
2) Select the most effective glute exercises
3) Perform the exercises in the right order

Here are the top glute exercises, in order of amount of muscle activation based on research conducted by scientists at the University of Wisconsin:

Best Gluteus Maximus exercises:

• Quadruped Hip Extensions
• Four-way hip extension
• Traditional Squats

Best Gluteus Medius exercises:

• Quadruped Hip extension
• Step ups
• Front Lunges

EXERCISE HOW-TO’S

Quadruped Hip Extensions

Description: On your hands and knees, draw your navel in toward your back to stabilize your spine. Keeping the knee bent at 90 degrees, lift one leg up until the bottom of the foot is parallel with the ceiling and the thigh is in line with the body (parallel to the floor). Lower leg and repeat on the same side for 8-12 repetitions before switching to the opposite leg.

Four-way Hip Extensions (this requires the use of a multi-hip machine)

Description: Stand on the platform facing the side (your hip will be toward the arm that swings the roller pad). Swing the inside leg over the roller pad so that it’s resting on the back of the thigh. Hold onto the handles to help keep your balance, and keep the abs in and the torso straight. Adjust the roller pad so that when you place the roller under your knee, your thigh is slightly higher than parallel to the floor. Press the roller pad down with your thigh until the heel is out behind you (knee slightly bent). Be careful not to arch your back when you press your heel back. Squeeze your glutes!

Slowly bring the leg back and repeat all reps before switching sides. Adjust the weight so that the 8-12th repetition is challenging.

Traditional Squat

Description: Stand with feet shoulder width apart, both hands behind head, on hips or hold dumbbells to the side. Draw abdominals in, and focus eyes in front of you (not at the floor, as many beginners often do). Descend in a slow and controlled manner by bending at the hips and knees until the hips are parallel with the knees and thighs are nearly parallel with the floor. This is much like sitting into a chair, so pretend there is a chair behind you as you lower your hips.

Return to the starting position by contracting the glutes and hip muscles. In order to keep your body weight over your heels, it helps if you lift your toes slightly off the ground during this exercise.

Step Ups

Description: Stand either facing, or parallel to a step platform that is 6-18 inches in height. Feet should be shoulder width apart, and as always, abdominals should be drawn in.

Step onto the box with 1 leg, keeping foot pointed straight ahead and knee aligned over mid-foot. Push through the heel and stand up straight, balancing on one leg. While maintaining alignment, return trail leg to the starting position and step off of the platform. Alternate legs or repeat on the same leg for the assigned number of repetitions and sets. For an added challenge, perform a 1-leg squat after stepping onto the platform, then return to starting position.

Forward Lunge

Description: Use bodyweight, or dumbbells, a body bar or weighted medicine ball if you want added challenge. Start with feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up and abdomen pulled in — take a long step forward. The heel of your trailing leg will come off the floor as you settle into your lunge. The thigh of your lead leg should be parallel to the floor, your shin perpendicular to the floor (assuring that the knee is aligned over the front heel rather than forward over the toes).

Tips: Try to keep your chest high and eyes forward to prevent tipping forward. As you return to the starting position, keep your core tight (this will help with alignment on the return movement and assist with balance). Push through the front heel (you’ll feel your glutes engage here) and return to the starting position. Notice also how the glute of the trailing leg has to “pull” you back (you’ll feel this in the hamstring and glute of the trailing leg). Repeat with opposite leg.

Bonus: Aside from looking great from behind, having a strong tush goes hand-in-hand with a strong back. From a functional standpoint, that is a wonderful side-effect of strengthening the glutes.

Short attention span? Mix and match moves to avoid boredom.
No access to a gym? No problem. The moves above require no equipment at all. Use a sturdy chair or park bench for step-ups.

A final word of caution: If you suffer from back problems, avoid performing the squats with weights. Also, lunges, step-ups and squats can be painful for individuals with knee problems, so sticking with the quadruped hip extension or 4-way hip extension machine may be a safer, more comfortable alternative.

* Note: Blue Sky Gym and the author disclaim any liability for any injury, physical or emotional, suffered during or as a result of exercise or activities recommended. As always, you should use common sense and consult your health professional before beginning any exercise routine or program.

From this week’s inbox…

A great question from Kali in Cincinnati, OH: “Do you think it is better to strength/weight train everyday along with some cardio, but work different muscle groups each day…..or is it better to strength train 3-5 days a week and do cardio with no strength training on the other days?  I have been reading a lot about how more ST is better for fat loss than cardio.”

I think the difficulty many of us fall into is using the time available to us. We want the most bang for the buck, right? I know I do. If time were no obstacle, the ideal scenario would like something like this:

• Steady-state cardio in your target heart rate zone for 30-40 mins, twice  per week
• Interval work (either cardio intervals, strength-cardio intervals, or Tabata intervals) once or twice per week
• Strength training (this includes boot camp classes and/or any body-weight exercises that may also elevate the heart rate, such as jump squats, jump lunges…really anything that involves repetitive jumping until the muscle(s) being worked are ready to grow a hand to slap you with) – twice per week

Any more strength training than this, and you may be overworking your muscles and not leaving enough time for rest. Body builders and fitness competitors are the exception, but I’m talking about regular Janes like you and I.

These workouts would be on separate days per week, so SIX separate workouts and a day of rest, yoga, or stretching. Most of us don’t have that kind of time, SO, to answer Kali’s question, I would say it is okay to combine strength workouts with cardio like this:

• Sustained, steady-state cardio for 30-40 mins, followed by core training and also upper body strength training. Most cardio activities involve the lower body, therefore strength training AFTER cardio often means your legs are too cooked to strength train if you’ll be lifting heavy weights or doing intense plyometric work. BUT, there is an exception: simple lunges and body weight squats or squats with light weights are okay if the point of the exercise is to build endurance – i.e, low weight, high reps.
• Slipping cardio into the strength training workout. For example, two to three sets of three different exercises (upper body, then lower body, then upper body), followed by 5-7 minutes of more intense cardio, followed by another grouping of three different exercises (lower body, then upper body, then lower body, for example), followed by another 5-7 mins of more intense cardio, etc. I do this with most of my clients and you get the best of both: cardio intervals, higher intensity, strength training, variety…and it burns calories like lighter fluid.
• Last, but not least (I could keep going, but don’t want to bore you to death), if you are doing strength training the way you should – that is, not chit-chatting with everyone who passes through the gym while you are between sets, but rather, doing 8-10 different exercises, in succession, for two to three sets, and fatiguing each muscle group as you go, you will accelerate your heart rate. Do 20 walking lunges with a set of 12-15 lb wts and tell me I’m lying . Getting down to business in the gym, staying focused, and minimizing “stand around” time, you’ll inevitably get some cardio benefit too.

Thanks for the question, Kali. Keep them rolling…please send questions to: draymond@blueskygym.com

You might also like: Strength Training: What to do when

Side, reverse, walking, curtsy, diagnal…there are almost as many lunges as there are days in the week, which is great if you like variety. The wonderful thing about any lunge is that you don’t need any equipment at all to load the muscles being worked – you just might have to do more repetitions to achieve fatigue. But when you do add load, wowhooza – what a workout! My new favorite “loaded” lunge is the front lunge. Note the picture demonstrates a body weight load, where the load is the upper body leaning over the quad, loading the hamstring and glute.

To increase the degree of difficulty, hold a dumbbell at chest level, then take a step forward, as shown, then slowly hinge forward at the waist and place the dumbbell (or weighted ball) in front of your front foot – preferably touching the floor. Pause, then return to the starting position by first bringing the weight back up to the chest, pushing off the front heel, and engaging the gluteal muscles of the trailing leg until your feet are positioned side-by-side again. Repeat 8-10 times on the same leg, then switch legs.

(photos from AceFitness.org

Experiment with an 8-10 lb range to see how it feels – you can always add more or less weight if you need t0.

Muscles worked: Primarily, the gluteas maximus, medius, and minimus, quadriceps, and hamstrings. You also use the transverse abdominus and obliques to help stabilize the core. Notice that if your core isn’t engaged, or is weak, you may experience a balance challenge as you lunge forward.