Tone Up Before Tanning

Summer is near and it is time to put away the long sleeves and expose our arms. Since we are going to be showing them, why not look our best. We can tone and define our arms with tricep extensions. Therefore, I want to share the proper way to execute a dumbbell triceps extension. You can do this exercise at home for at least three days a week to see results. This is my second favorite home exercise, next to chair dips. 

Prepare by positioning one dumbbell overhead with both hands. With elbows overhead, lower forearm behind upper arm by flexing elbows. Flex wrists at bottom to avoid hitting dumbbell on back of neck. Raise dumbbell overhead by extending elbows while hyper extending wrists. Return and repeat.

Position wrists closer together to keep elbows from pointing out too much. Let dumbbell pull arm back to maintain full shoulder flexion. Consider using a seat with back support. The back support, however, should not be so high that it interferes with dumbbell being completely lowered. If shoulder flexion flexibility is not adequate, position hips slightly forward so elbows are positioned upward. Position body upright if shoulder flexion flexibility is adequate.

This exercise targets the triceps brachial while using anterior deltoids, major pectorals, clavicle, pectorals and wrist flexors as stabilizers. To get tips from Raymond Day Masters Champion Bodybuilder on proper bicep exercises see my Fitness Coach page at DebraBakerFit.com 

Get Active to Help Your Heart

How much of a difference can exercise make in your life and how much do you really need to do? Exercise improves your health. You don't need to spend countless hours in the gym to achieve the benefits needed for a healthy heart. Just get active.
  
There are easy ways to add different types of activity to your daily routine:

• Park the car farther away from your destination.
• Get on or off the bus several blocks away.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
• Take fitness breaks. Walk, stretch or do some office exercises.
• Start doing some gardening, yard work, house cleaning or home repairs.
• Remove the television from the bedroom and hide the remote controls.
• Exercise while watching television. Some examples are using hand weights, using a stationary bike or treadmill, crunches, push ups, squats and stretching to improve your flexibility.   
• Walk while doing errands.
• Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car and office so you can be ready for activity wherever you go.

The good news is that it's never too late to start an active lifestyle. No matter how old you are, how unfit you feel, or how long you have been inactive, get started. Research shows that starting a more active lifestyle now through consistent moderate intensity activity can improve your heart health and your quality of life.


Personalized Total Training 

Preserve and Protect Your Back

Back pain is the most prevalent source of chronic pain, and the leading cause of disability for Americans under the age of 45. Working at desks, slouching over phones, and leaning over keyboards, millions of people put themselves at risk for back pain because of poor posture.

Awareness of posture is key to transforming bad habits that form early and do damage over time. By holding your body in good posture, you strengthen your core and supporting muscles, building good muscle memory and protecting your back. Good posture is also tied to everything from stress to confidence, appearance, and general well-being. So what if we had a sensitive and subtle way to know immediately when we started to slouch, a quiet reminder felt only by ourselves?

The Lumo Lift approaches posture in a way that’s never been done before. Clipped onto your shirt, right below your collarbone using a secure magnetic clasp, the Lumo Lift tracks your posture and activity. Using subtle vibrations as feedback, it will gently vibrate to remind you to straighten up your posture every time you begin to slouch. Patented biomechanics monitoring sensors in the Lumo Lift use angle displacement as a measure to let you know when your body slouches away from what you’ve calibrated as your standard of good posture. The customizable time delay for vibrational feedback allows for a personalized posture coaching experience. With the integration of technology, the Lumo Lift is the agent of change needed to improve your posture long-term.
I recommend Lumo


Being able to consistently sit and stand with a posture that supports overall health and well-being involves learning with the body as well as with the mind. The Lumo Lift situates learning in realime, permitting you to make the steady small adjustments that quickly become vitally useful habits in daily life. 

My favorite exercises to strengthen your core muscles are abdominal crunches, the modified plank, the side plank, sit ups, single and double leg abdominal presses, and the bridge. To learn the easiest way to properly execute the bidge, see step by step on my website exercises. 09body 

Live Long and Prosper

We can dramatically reduce the likelihood of heart disease prior to old age by adopting a healthy living lifestyle. This is according to a long-term study. The study found that people who followed healthy living recommendations, such as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise, reduced their odds of heart disease by ninety percent over twenty years. The study group was compared to others in their age range that were living the unhealthiest lifestyles such as excessive smoking, drinking, high fat diet, over eating and lack of exercise etc.

A healthy lifestyle was also associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing heart disease among men and women who had already developed a cardiovascular risk factor like diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol. The study confirms the importance of healthy behaviors, such as not smoking and exercising more.

These findings also play a role in moving the public discussion toward adopting a healthy way of life as the standard norm. Fitness is a lifestyle. However, it is a choice. So, if you choose to start living fit and healthy and you need help getting started, contact a personal trainer in your area. We sometimes need extra motivation and encouragement to keep going. A personal fitness trainer may be the answer. If you need a referral, contact me and I will put you in touch with a trainer in your area.

Debra Baker CFT/SFN    Tap into your motivation      

What is Your 2016 Fitness Goal?

You can have the fit body you always wanted. If you are ready to start an exercise and weight loss plan, you need to be eating healthy meals and exercising regularly. I can tell you how to choose the right fitness program so you will get your new and fit body. This year, on my blog, I will give you the motivation and training tools necessary to keep you on track. As a certified personal trainer, I care about your success. Not only that, it is free. I only promote products and services that I know work.  

Many have wanted to start getting in shape but just lacked motivation. So let us try a different approach. Instead of making excuses why you did not exercise today, let us start with the right motivation. One of the best places to begin is by setting personal goals. A well thought-out goal can help you achieve what you really want in life, that is to be healthy and feel good about yourself. Why not, start your fitness journey using Blurb. Take photos as you progress. Your very own Blurb story will motivate you and others for years to come.

Be specific when setting a goal. Make sure it is a measurable goal. If you want to define your abdominals, then make a goal to perform a certain number of crunches during your workout. You can then count out every repetition. Your goal could be "I will work on my abs 3 days per week and perform 2 sets of 50 each workout." Write it out and place it where you are certainly to see it every day. This works and it has a way of holding us accountable. So let us get started. If you need help getting start, feel free to post your question. Today, it the time to start living fit and healthy

Make your goal to quit smoking in 2016      

CORE TRAINING

Everyone should think about including core training in his or her life. A strong core is essential to maintaining a good level of flexibility and preventing injury. This article looks at what is meant by core training and how it can be of benefit to you.

What Is Core Training?

Core training refers to exercises specifically designed to work and improve the condition of the muscles in the midsection of the body. This includes the abdominal muscles, the lower back and the muscles at the side of your body.

Why Is Core Training Important?

Unfortunately, in modern society, too many people are taking too little physical activity. Many jobs now involve remaining in a sitting position for a lot of the day, and in the evenings, we often spend time sitting in front of the TV and computer screens instead of participating in physical exercise. To retain good mobility, as we get older, it is important to exercise and train the core muscles, as they are vital to the stability of your whole body. When the core muscles become weak, it can negatively affect your posture. This could lead to back pain and restricted movement.

How Can Core Training Benefit Me?

When you practice core training, the torso becomes much stronger, making the whole body more powerful and more able to resist injury. Those who exercise their core muscles will have improved posture and balance, better mobility levels, as they get older, and much more flexibility of movement. Everyday tasks will become much easier, and simple activities, such as lifting, bending and stretching are less likely to result in accidental injury, back problems and pulled muscles.

How Do You Train The Core Muscles?

Many exercises help you train the core muscles. Practicing them regularly will really help to improve the quality of your day-to-day life. Examples of useful training exercises include:

Abdominal crunches

Modified Plank

Side Plank

Sit-ups

Single and double leg abdominal presses

Bridge 

At first, you should start by carrying out just five repetitions of each exercise but eventually, once you have gained enough strength, you could increase this to 10 or 15 repetitions. In the beginning, you should only aim for two or three days of exercise a week, but you could increase this once you feel comfortable. As you progress with your core training, you may want to enroll in a core training class at a gym where you will learn a greater variety of exercises and be able to take part in a longer and more intensive training session. Remember the importance of doing a warm-up before you begin exercising, otherwise you could strain your muscles and cause an injury.

As you can see, strengthening your core muscles is a great idea for every one of all ages, so begin working on core training today. You will soon see and feel the benefits!

Journey To Fitness: Improve Your Overall Health and Lifestyle

Journey To Fitness: Improve Your Overall Health and Lifestyle: Many people are searching for ways to improve their overall health and lifestyle. Some people often fail when it comes to reaching their w...