Pilates Workout

What is Pilates?
Pilates stands for Proximal Integrating Latent Agile Toning Exercise System - a. fitness system developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s. He originally named these exercise techniques “contrology” and designed it around the effects of lifestyle and stress on the body. In simple terms, Pilates is an exercise program that focuses on the core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and provide support for the spine. All exercises use deep abdominal muscles and back strength and a minimum number of repetitions to develop core stability and prevent back pain.

Types of Pilates
Stott Pilates, Winsor Pilates, Stability Ball-based Pilates, or Yoga with Pilates are newly developed exercise methods that use core stability to develop strength, flexibility and endurance with less risking of injury.
How to Do Pilates?
Pilates exercises are performed either on a padded floor mat (mat classes) or with special apparatus (machine classes). Mat exercises focus on strengthening the muscles of the trunk and hip and increasing the flexibility of both the spine and hips. The equipment uses the resistance of springs to create effort. Pilates machines include the Reformer, the Cadillac and the Wunda Chair. A typical Pilates workout is about an hour long.
What are the Benefits of Pilates?
The Pilates exercise method has a wide range of health and fitness benefits. It's especially beneficial for women. For example, the deep muscle worked and strengthened is the transversus abdominalis, which crosses the abdomen and those of the pelvic structure, which support abdominal organs and play a role in maintaining continence. Pilates exercises can also be helpful during pregnancy as well as after childbirth to restore abdominal-muscle strength and realign posture.
Other Fitness and Health Benefits
If you perform Pilates exercises regularly (twice a week) and carefully, then typically your program will:
- Improve posture - Tone stomach and butt. - Develop longer, leaner muscles (e.g. legs and arms). - Improve core strength and stability (e.g. abdominal area). - Create a stronger, more flexible spine. - Improve body flexibility. - Help relieve joint stress and back pain. - Improve balance and coordination.

How to Start Doing Pilates?
The best way to learn Pilates exercise is to take a class at your local gym/studio or hire a personal instructor, which usually costs $50 - $100 per hour. Once you learn how to do the moves, you'll be able to do many of them on your own. There are also some very good beginner’s Pilates videos available. You can find them at many online and offline stores.

Jogging Exercise Workout

What is Jogging?
Jogging is simply slowed-down running. There is less risk of injury with jogging than running, but it still provides a good aerobic workout. The aim is to gradually increase distance rather than speed when jogging. In one weight loss study of women who jogged recreationally, those that jogged the most miles per week had the narrowest waists and hips, regardless of how fast they ran.

How Does Jogging Help Weight Loss?
Jogging burns calories and uses up stored body fat. It also raises our metabolic rate even after exercise. According to one weight loss study, the resting metabolic rate of middle-aged female runners stayed steady as they grew older, while sedentary women gained weight and body fat as their resting metabolisms slowed. Over a long period of time, older runners burn up to 600 additional calories per week, even at rest.
 
How Many Calories Does Jogging Burn?
Jogging burns about 105 calories per mile. [This is based on a 150-pound woman. If you weigh more, you’ll burn extra calories; if you weigh less, you’ll burn fewer calories.]
How Often Should I Jog For Optimum Weight Loss?
Beginner 20 minutes a day alternate jogging and fast walking, 4 days a week.
Medium 40 minutes jogging, 4 days a week.
Advanced 60 minutes jogging, 5 times a week, not to exceed 30 miles per week. Beyond 30 miles, there is really no extra benefit and your risk of injury increases.
 
How To Start Jogging
Unless you are already fit, slowly work up to jogging. Start by walking, and then gradually increase to jogging pace. When you are ready for more, run longer and not faster. To be sure that you are exercising hard enough (but not too hard), monitor your heart rate as you jog by using a heart rate monitor.

Stepping Machine Workout

Stair climbing and Stepping Gym Machines
Both machines are a good way to burn body fat and give definition to the thighs and butt. Offering a form of step-aerobics, stepping machines only work the lower body, but stairclimbers work the whole body, including the chest (pecs), shoulders (deltoids) and arms (triceps/biceps). It’s important to stand correctly on the machines, as correct posture means you work the body more and burn more calories.
 
How Many Calories Does Stair climbing and Stepping Burn?

30 minutes of Stepping or Stair climbing burns about 250 to 350 calories. [This is based on a 150-pound woman. If you weigh more, you’ll burn extra calories; if you weigh less, you’ll burn fewer calories.]

Dual-Action Exercise Bikes

What are Dual Action Exercise Cycles?
The dual-action bike machine is one of the most frequently used stationary fitness cycles on the market. The difference between dual-action gym bikes and others is that dual-action models have movable bars or arm handles.

How to Use Dual Action Bikes?
Being very flexible exercise machines, some models allow the handles to be locked into position so you can just workout the lower body. Or, you can rest your feet on pegs while exercising only your arms and upper body. In addition, most dual-action cycles allow you to adjust tension or resistance, and provide data on time, speed and distance cycled.

Fitness Benefits of Dual Action Bikes
Dual-action bikes allow the user to work both upper and lower body muscles while pedaling and operating the handlebars. With its lower and upper body workout features, a dual-action machine provides a highly effective cardio-aerobic workout, which is good for both upper and lower body-toning, as well as burning calories. Recommended by cardiologists and physical fitness experts, the dual-action exerciser is an excellent all in one piece of exercise equipment. 

Price Guide: $100.00 to $600.00.

Hanging Knee Raises (Beginner)

1. Hang from a pull-up bar.

2. Contract your abs and slowly raise your knees.

3. Return to the starting position.

4. This is a very difficult exercise. Maintain strict form and do not swing.

Hanging Knee Raises (Advanced)

1. Hang from a pull-up bar.
2. Contract your abs and slowly bring your knees up towards your chest.
3. Return to the starting position.
4. This is a very difficult exercise. Maintain strict form and do not swing.

Windshield Wipers

1. Hang from a pull-up bar. Brace your abs.
2. Slowly bring your feet up with straight legs by contracting your abdominals.
3. Rotate to the left and to the right in a controlled movement with straight legs.
Should mimic the same movement as a windshield wiper on a car.
4. This is a very difficult exercise. Maintain strict form and tempo.

Hanging Leg Raises

1. Hang from a chin-up bar with your legs and feet together using an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) that is slightly wider than shoulder width.

2. With knees slightly bent pull your legs up as you exhale until you almost touch your shins with the bar above you.

3. Lower your legs as slowly as possible until you reach the starting position. Avoid swinging and using momentum at all times, and do not perform this exercise with an arched back.

Tip: If you have a weak grip or have shoulder problems try using hanging elbow straps. Advanced users can perform this exercise with ankle weights.

Abdominal Workouts Guidelines

· There are three workout levels: Rookie, Advanced, and
Hardcore. 

Unless you already have an incredibly strong core and washboard abs it is better to hold off on trying the Hardcore workouts and starting with easier levels.

· If you are just starting, try the Rookie Workout first.

· Begin each workout with 5 minutes of dynamic stretching and / or light cardio on a treadmill or stationary bike. Never skip the warm-up, even if you are pressed for time.

· Do not jump from level to level. Stick with one level for 1-3 weeks before advancing to the next level.
· Train your abs 2-3 days per week. An ideal rotation would be Monday, Wednesday, and/or Friday.
· A “Superset” is a set of two exercises where you will do one exercise followed immediately by a second exercise.
· A “Tri-Set” is a set of three exercises where you will do each exercise back to back.
· A “Giant Set” is a set of four exercises where you will do each exercise back to back.
· You will probably be very sore after a few of these workouts, but don’t just quit because of soreness. Take a day to recover and then keep pushing forward with your training. If you need to, just use lighter weights, but keep the reps, sets, and rest periods the same.
· Take a week or two to get used to this way of training. Depending on your experience level, you may need to adjust the weights and rest periods accordingly.
· Always train with maximum intensity and focus.