Six Moves to a Six-Pack

Nothing says "fit" like a wash-board stomach. And nothing makes achieving one harder than doing the same exercises every week. "Your body adapts and stops responding to exercises over time, stalling your progress," says Bill Hartman, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training. That's why it's important to regularly hit the refresh button on your ab routine. "Adding different exercises to your workouts gives your muscles a new stimulus and triggers growth," says Hartman. The result: head-turning abs in significantly less time. 

But attracting more attention at the beach—and in the bedroom—isn't the only reason to pursue a chiseled midsection. "A strong core helps you maintain the optimal alignment of your pelvis and torso in everything you do, whether you're going big at the gym or carrying a cooler across a campsite," says Hartman. "If you can't maintain that alignment—characterized by a natural S-curve in your spine—your joints are thrown out of whack, increasing your risk of injury and limiting the amount of weight you can lift." 

This summer, take a break from your usual ab exercises and weave two of these moves into each of your weekly workouts. Which two you pick doesn't matter as long as you choose a different pair each time. Then prepare yourself for the result: a six-pack that goes everywhere you do.

 

KETTLEBELL PULLOVER

HOW TO DO IT: Lie on your back and raise your legs. Bend your knees 90 degrees and spread them apart while keeping the bottoms of your feet together. Lift a kettlebell straight above your head, holding the sides of the handle in both hands. Lower the weight behind you, stopping a foot off the floor. Hold for 30 seconds, and lift it back above your head. That's 1 rep. Do 5.

WHY IT WORKS: "Pulling things overhead while lying on your back is what you did when you were a baby," says Hartman. "It's a natural movement that perfectly aligns your extremities and loads your trunk, activating and strengthening your core."

PLANK CABLE ROW

HOW TO DO IT: Attach a handle to the low pulley of a cable station and face it in a plank position, resting your weight on your forearms. Grab the handle in your right hand with your arm outstretched. This is the starting position. Pull the handle toward your right side, stopping when your elbow touches your ribs. Return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 10 reps per arm.

WHY IT WORKS: "Pulling weight toward you in a plank engages your lats, abs, and obliques," says Tony Gentilcore, C.S.C.S., a trainer at Cressey Performance in Massachusetts. "That not only rocks your core and boosts torso stability but also helps you build a better-looking back."

KETTLEBELL RACK CARRY

HOW TO DO IT: Grab two kettlebells and "rack" them, holding the kettlebells in front of your chest with your elbows tucked, your palms facing in, and the bottom of each bell resting between your biceps and forearms. Walk 50 to 75 feet. That's 1 set. Do 3 to 4, resting 30 to 45 seconds between them.

WHY IT WORKS: "When you walk with weight in the racked position, your core has to work extra hard to keep you steady," says Zach Even-Esh, founder of Underground Strength Gym in Edison, New Jersey. "That forced stabilization is one of the most effective methods there is for developing strong abs and a healthy back."

HALF-KNEELING VERTICAL PALLOF PRESS

HOW TO DO IT: Attach a triceps rope to a cable machine and turn away from it while holding the ends of the rope in your hands on either side of your head. Drop into the bottom position of a lunge, with your front knee bent 90 degrees and your rear knee touching the floor. Brace your core and press the ends of the rope overhead until your arms are fully extended. Pause, and lower them. Do 3 sets of 8 reps.

WHY IT WORKS: "This move forces your abs to battle against the backward pull of the weight stack," says Gentilcore. "That's a new stimulus for most guys, making it a good core builder that also smokes your shoulders."

   

BAND-RESISTED JACKKNIFE

HOW TO DO IT: Secure a looped resistance band to a pullup bar and suspend your ankles in the end as you assume a pushup position. Without rounding your back, bend your knees and pull them toward your torso. Pause, and return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 8 reps.

WHY IT WORKS: "This exercise forces you to move your hips and thighs against resistance while keeping your core stable," says Mike Robertson, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training. "It's a jackknife on steroids, and it builds the type of core strength you need to maintain stability during big lower-body exercises, like squats and deadlifts."

Do More Pushups Than Ever Before! Use this plan to push past your limits and go way beyond average

How many pushups can you do? Scratch that. How many pushups can you do with perfect form? That means your body stays in a straight line, your chest touches the floor, your elbows are tucked to your sides, and your arms are fully extended at the top of each rep.

“When done right, the move works almost every muscle from head to toe and is a true test of upper-body endurance,” says BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S., owner of Men's Health StreamFIT and author of Your Body Is Your Barbell. “If you do it wrong, you’re using less energy and performing less work.”

Go ahead and test yourself. Drop and give us as many pushups as possible in one minute. The second your form breaks, stop. Keep the clock running the entire time. How’d you do? Below is the list of how many reps the average guy can do by age group. Don’t worry if you fall short: You can follow Gaddour’s performance plan to push past your limits and way past average.

THE AVERAGE GUY’S PUSHUPS
Age             Total (reps)
20-29          40+
30-39          35-40
40-49          30-35
50-59          20-30


Go Beyond Average
Increase your pushup count by focusing on strength, speed, and stamina. “You probably won’t ever be able to sustain a furious pace of one rep per second, but if you focus on these three aspects of your pushup, you’ll be surprised at how quickly your number will rise,” says Gaddour. After upping your pushup fitness, retest yourself after a month.

For strength: Perform advanced pushup variations for fewer reps. Try doing a feet-elevated pushup or an explosive pushup in sets of 5 to 10 reps each. "The stronger you get with these more-challenging versions, the easier the normal pushup will feel," says Gaddour.

Explosive Pushup: Assume a pushup position. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your ankles. Bend your elbows and lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor. Then push up with enough force for your hands to come off the floor. Land and repeat. 

10 Best Strategies for Long-Term Weight Loss

So, you don't just want to lose weight, you want to lose the extra weight forever. Ta-ta. Sayonara. Good riddance. While losing weight does take focus and dedication, it's important to remember that losing weight isn't really a start-and-end process. Sure, you have a weight-loss goal to reach, but once you get there, you don't just stop eating right and working out. No way! You keep it up because it's a healthy lifestyle that's livable and lovable—and it makes you feel great.

Despite this, when you make the transition from losing weight to maintaining weight, you have a little more wiggle room in your diet and workout plan because you don't need to create a deficit of calories anymore—you just need to take in as many as your body needs in order to not gain or lose. (For more on how many calories you need, be sure to update your weight and goals regularly on SparkPeople.)

So whether you're just starting out on your weight-loss journey or if you've reached your goal weight, follow these top strategies to keep the weight off for good.

Get Moving and Stay Moving
Being active is extremely important for keeping weight off—not to mention it has a slew of other great health benefits, including helping cholesterol ratios, reducing blood pressure, improving mood and well-being, and strengthening the heart. Be sure to get active doing something you love; whether it's dancing, walking, biking, or playing sports—life is too short to do something you don't like! Shoot for at least three days of cardiovascular exercise a week and two days of resistance training. Sessions should be at least 20 to 30 minutes each (which can even be broken up into smaller segments) with your heart rate up to 60 percent to 85 percent of its max. Not sure how to figure out your training heart rate? Check out this resource that shows you how.

Drink Enough H20
Ask any successful weight-loss maintainer and I guarantee they do one thing—drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Water helps support your metabolism, aids in removing fat from the body, can help cut cravings and is just darn good for you. So drink up!

Get Support
Whether it's a friend, family member or buddies on SparkPeople, having a support system is key. Another study that looked again at the National Weight Control Registry found that those who lost weight and continued going to bi-monthly support group meetings for a year maintained their weight. Those who didn't go to support meetings regained almost half of the weight they lost. Support doesn't have to come from a face-to-face interaction, so if you can't make it to a meeting there is hope for you too. Another study shows that online socialization and weight-loss support works, too!

Keep Challenging Yourself
Even if you're already at your goal weight, never stop setting smart goals. Whether it's adding more weight to your strength training routine, walking or running a bit faster, fitting more fruits and veggies in your diet or simply saying "no" when Aunt Myrtle tries to guilt you into having that second piece of pie, keep setting weekly, monthly and yearly goals to keep you focused and challenged. And be sure to reward yourself (go see a movie, get a pedicure, enjoy a massage, buy new workout clothes, etc.) with good stuff when you reach your goals! Rewards can sometimes be the best motivator of all.

Switch Things Up
Make a point every month to try something new. Whether it's a new exercise class, a change in your workout, a different recipe or a food you've never tried, changing things up regularly will keep things fun and engaging. After all, no one (not even those fitness nuts who love to work out) likes to eat the same meal or do the same workout day after day.

15 Ways to Burn Fat Faster

Want to trim the fat from your muscle more quickly? Try these things to speed up fat-burning:

1. Do Yoga

Yoga is excellent at fighting stress, which is known to contribute to belly fat and a slower metabolism. Beat the stress by getting your yoga on!














2. Plan Your Meals

Don't allow yourself to find "convenient" meals. Actively search for healthy, balanced meals that you can prepare ahead of time for convenience. Plan your meals, and it will be much easier to stick with a healthy diet.

3. Drink More Water

Stay away from soda, alcohol and sports drinks. Stick with good, old-fashioned water.

4. Sprint

Sprinting forces your body to use more energy during and after the workout, and it is good for your muscles as well as your cardiovascular system. It will speed up your metabolism and burn off fat more quickly than jogging.

5. Sleep More

A lack of sleep inevitably leads to weight gain, because your body interprets "sleepy" as "hungry." Stop cravings, increases in appetite and poor food choices by sleeping a full eight hours every night.

6. Be Sporty

Want to burn more fat without having to suffer through exercise? Play sports, and you'll be able to push yourself for much longer! Sports are higher intensity than regular cardio, and they lead to better fat-burning.

7. Stop "Spot Reducing"

You're not going to burn fat just around your belly, arms or thighs, so quit trying. Focus on total-body fat-burning and muscle training, and you'll get rid of that fat much faster.

8. Lift Heavier

What's wrong with building a bit of muscle? Lift heavier weights in sets of 12 to 15, and you'll see the muscle grow. As muscles grow, it becomes easier to burn more and more fat.

9. Switch It Up

Don't let your body grow accustomed to the same workout. Change things up! Switch the number of reps, the amount of weight, the sets per muscle and the muscle groups you workout. Every four to six weeks, it's time for a change.

10. Track Progress

Want to keep yourself on the straight and narrow? Tracking your progress will help remind you of how much you've accomplished and help prevent slipping back into old habits.

11. Push a Friend

The best way to place more emphasis on your workout is to help someone else do it. Either workout together or train each other, and you'll find that group training is key to faster fat-burning.

12. Walk/Cycle More

Do you really need to drive everywhere? If you can walk to your destination, do so. If not, cycle there. Only use your car when you absolutely need to.

13. Track Meals

Only put the right nutrients into your body! Balance out your fat, protein and carbs intake, and count every calorie. A slim body is made in the kitchen more than in the gym. Start tracking your meals to know exactly what you're consuming!

14. Eat Right

Eating a bit of food before you workout will give you energy to hit the gym hard. A hefty post-workout meal will ensure that your body has all the nutrients it needs to repair the muscles and replenish energy. These meals are key to getting better results in the muscle-building department, which will lead to faster fat-burning.

15. Get Off Your Rear

Just because sitting in front of the television is enjoyable, that doesn't make it the right choice. The more time you spend doing nothing, the slower your body works. Increase your activity to burn more fat.

Do these things, and you'll see the fat start to melt away!

The 12 Best Exercises for Women

They say a fit body is made only 30 percent in the gym, but that 30 percent is still pretty darn important. So, when you're working out, you want to make sure that you're doing the right exercises to meet your goals--whether it's weight loss, fat burning or muscle-building.

Here are the best exercises for any woman that's looking for a fit, toned and sculpted body.














1. Squats 

Get those legs looking great with a few sets of squats. Leg workouts burn more calories than upper body workouts, and squats will do wonders for your fat burning as well as the shape of your legs.

2. Lunges 

Nothing shreds your thighs and glutes as effectively as lunges, making this one of the best butt-sculpting exercises around.

3. Deadlifts 

Targeting your lower back and glutes, this exercise hits every muscle group effectively. It will release muscle-building hormones into your bloodstream, and it should be the cornerstone of your workout.

4. Bench Press 

Women can burn away the fat on the backs of their arms, perk up their boobs and shape their shoulders with this excellent exercise.

5. Pushups 

Do this exercise correctly and you not only tone your core and legs, but you also work out your shoulders, triceps and chest.

6. Plank 

This static exercise is ideal for any woman with lower back issues who wants a strong core. It places your core under greater tension for longer periods of time than regular exercise, leading to a more defined, yet still feminine, six pack.

7. Bridge 

Want to strengthen your lower back while working out those glutes? Bridge is one of the best butt-sculpting exercises around. Plus, it gives your core a nice workout simultaneously.

8. Farmer's Walk 

This exercise is surprisingly difficult despite its apparent simplicity. Holding heavy weights and walking around forces you to keep your upper body erect, all the while setting those forearms on fire and strengthening your grip.

9. Burpees 

You love-to-hate this exercise, but it's definitely one of the best full-body movements around. Squat for your legs and glutes, jump back into plank for your core and upper body, push-up for your upper body, and leap into the air for your legs and cardiovascular system. It's a total-body workout that will have you gasping for breath in no time.

10. Overhead Press 

If you want to develop a sleek, toned upper body, this is the exercise for you. It burns the fat on the back of your arms while toning your shoulders, all the while forcing your core to maintain proper erect posture.

11. Back Extensions 

Don't do this on the machine, but instead hit the floor for this workout. The high tension of this exercise forces your lower back to work harder, leading to more muscle growth and increased strength in your back.

12. Barbell Curls 

Give those biceps a little love and definition. While curling barbells may lead to more isolation, using a barbell is always better for overall strength and conditioning.