Did you know that May is National Physical Activity and Sports Month? In celebration of this exciting month, it is time to put all of the excuses aside and get moving! Exercise is a great way to accelerate your weight loss, build muscle mass, and improve your cardiovascular system. Check out The Biggest Loser's famous trainer Bob Harper's favorite workout moves to inspire your next training session!
Incline Chest Press
Grab a pair of dumbbells and challenge yourself with the weights. Sit back on the incline and press the weights above the chest and back down until your arms are in a 90-degree angle.
Rowing Machine
Keep your abs engaged and use your arm strength to pull the rower back, utilizing your upper back strength. This is a great activity for those of you that are looking for a cardio workout but can't handle the pressure of body weight on your knees and joints.
Overhead Presses
Standing with your legs at shoulder-width apart, core engaged, and palms facing front, press your arms straight up to the ceiling and lower your weights down below your heart.
Straight Bicep Curls
Standing with your legs shoulder-width apart, elbows directly to your sides. The only movement should be from your elbows down to your waste. Concentrate on activating your bicep muscle. Challenge yourself with moderate to heavy weights.
Step-Ups
A great cardio activity! Using a block for beginners around 12 inches high (for more advanced, 20 inches) step up as if you are walking up a flight of stairs. Keep your abs strong and use your leg strength to step up. Be careful when stepping off. Slow is always better.
Tricep Dips
Place your hands on a bench, fingers facing forward, feet flat on the ground and shoulders down away from your ears. Lower your hips down toward the floor until your arms are in a 90-degree angle and then use your triceps to lift your body back up to starting position.
Wall Sits
Lean your back against a sturdy wall with legs in a 90-degree angle as if you are sitting in a chair. Your quads, hamstrings and core will hold you in this position. This one is a KILLER!!!
Leg Extensions
A great quad exercise to strengthen knees, using an extension machine with a challenging weight, around 70 pounds. Sit up tall and focus on the contraction of the quads when you extend the legs into a straight position and then lower down slowly.
One -Armed Rows
Place your right hand on the bench and right foot on the floor, with a weight, around 25 pounds up to 45 pounds. Place the weight in your left hand. Keeping your back straight, and head and neck in a neutral position, lower the weight to the floor and then bring the elbow up to the ceiling, engaging your upper and mid-back muscles.
Underhanded Push-Ups
On a Smith machine drop the bar down about hip height. Get under the bar in a reverse push-up position to focus on your back muscles. This is one of my favorite exercises. It's a great way to get you ready for regular pull-ups.
Trunk Twists
A great core exercise. Stand with a challenging weight, shoulders relaxed, and twist your upper body from side to side with the emphasis on keeping the lower body stationary.
Planks
Another great core exercise, get your body down on the floor in a push-up position, but instead of being on your hands, get down on your elbows and hold position for 30-45 seconds. Make sure to focus on your ab strength.
Arc Trainer
A great piece of cardio equipment that gets your body weight off of your joints. When using the arc trainer, challenge yourself with the manual function. Hit the resistance up around 15 and pump your arms as hard as you can.
Wall Sits While Holding Medicine Ball Above the Head
Repeat the same movement as the wall sit but this time get a HEAVY medicine ball and hold it overhead to take this difficult exercise to a whole other level.
Treadmill Sprints
A great way to get your heart rate pumping. Jump on the treadmill and find a challenging speed, beginners around 6 mph and more advanced, 9-10 mph for an entire minute. This will increase your cardiovascular strength and is a tremendous fat burner.
