Maire Claire TV: Body Beautiful: Waist

More from Joanne at Marie Claire UK. Here she shows an exercise for the external obliques and why you want to target these instead of the internal obliques. She says NO! to Side-bends.

First, she explains that the External Obliques are the diagonal muscles of your stomach and the internal are the ones that run up and down.

Target the External and you get a trim waistline, but if you target the internal you can end up with a bulkier waist.

Don't do side bend, do do Leg Cross-overs:

1. Engage ab muscles and make sure your feet are far enough from butt that your big toe is about to come off the floor. Rotate, think about coming from ribs to hips

Specific and Tips
1. Think small. Foot only comes only slight off ground. Anything more and you are actually engaging the leg muscle.

2. Think about rotating through the torso - so visualize rib across to hip.

3. Keep knees still and don't move arms around. If you start to move knees, ti can take the emphasis off the waist.

Video here.

Marie Claire TV: Body Beautiful: Arms & Biceps

More arm exercises from Maire Claire's fitness guru Joanna Hall! This one targets biceps and is called "Frontal Raises."

She starts out by explaining the major muscles in the front of the arm and which to target and why. So basically the front of your arm has two types of muscles - Short-haired and Long Haired. Target the long haired which goes from the shoulder to across the elbow joint to get long,sleek muscles. Don't do bicep curls.

Dumbbell Weight = .5 to 1.5 kilos or 1 to 3 lbs
Reps = 12 to 16
Keep elbows soft.
1. Make sure you hold the weight lightly b/c otherwise you are engaging the muscles of the forearm.
2. Make sure the elbow stays soft but not too bent. If the elbow is straight, the emphasis is on the joint.
3. Keep the wrists neutral to reduce the risk of energy. That means, not rolled out and not rolled in.

Video here

Marie Claire TV: Body Beautiful: Super Flat Abs

Here's another one from Marie Claire on Abs. It's a take on the classic sit-up, but with a variation. Lots of good tips on how to get the technique right.

Specifics & Tips

1. Move legs away from butt, so you almost feel like your big toe is just coming off the floor. That helps you engage your abs and lengthen.
2. Rib-Hip Connection. Imagine you're wearing a corset and it needs to be tightened. Pull your rib cage in and down slowly towards your hips. That way your abdominals are starting to contract.
3. Lengthen as you lift.

Marie Claire TV: Body Beautiful: Arms & Triceps

I saw this today and it's going immediately in my "To Do" list for the week! Basically, despite the bored looking model, the instructor - Marie Claire UK's fitness guru - Joanna Hall gives a no nonsense speech on how to get long, lean arms with a tricep move called "Pilates Scissor Lift", and urges us to give up the "Kick Back" - which is a standard tricep exercise. (That happens to be one I've been doing for the past few weeks and struggling with.) Even better, this does not encourage using heavy weights!

According to Joanne, the problem with many tricep exercises is this:

"They engage more then just the triceps, so we start losing technique and comprising on our posture, ending up in an exercise that can create a kind of hunched over, bulkier look -- which we really don't want."

Pilates Scissor Lift Specifics and Tips:

Dumbbell Weight = .5 to 1.5 kilos (or 1 to 3 lbs.)
Number of reps = 12 to 16

Perform slowly and keep elbow soft. Really use the tricep muscle.

1. Choose light weights.
2. Hold the weight lightly, and keep the elbows soft.
3. As you extend arm back, make sure you really engage the tricep.

Video here

Class and YogaKai sab 4

Sometimes it's inspiring just to watch a fitness class (these are yoga). Just normal folks, no music, no tips, no talking. Just do it.

Click here for the first one which is sooo familiar. Just a bunch of folks going through a vinyasa...and here for the second one. Yoga practioners warming up in an airy, well-lit studio with lots of colorful blankets and mats.

Core Balance (2:28)

What:One exercise with slight variations (with and without dumbbells) that strengthens your core.

Why it's good:There's something about moves that involve balancing which make me feel extra strong, maybe since they require lots of control.

Click for balance.

FRV# 15: Long Jump 101 (5:30)

What & Why it's good:Female athletes doing the long-jump. Just inspiring.

Click here to jump

FRV# 14: Jump Rope (1:00)

What & Why it's good:A commercial for x-box and it's all jump roping. Just cool.

Click to jump.

FRV# 13: Bosu for Runners (2:46)

What:An exercise promising greater efficiency and speed in your running that uses two Bosus (or is it Bosi?). Anywho, for this exercise you basically switch your feet back and forth, until you're mimicing running. Long-distance runner Jen makes it look easy)

Why it's good: Well, it looks fun, though possibly a chore on your ankles. I've never used a Bosu but want to and most of the Bosu exercises I looked up focused on strength exercises, not on improving a specific activity like running

Click for video.

FRV# 12: Six Pack Abs (3:50)

What: Four ab moves focusing on upper, lower abs and obliques, demonstrated by host Valerie.


Why it's good: Instructor seems practical, friendly and has great form. You can easily follow along. This one is two for two, though, meaning two of the moves are one you've prob seen before (the bicycle or what she calls the criss-cross and the hip ups), the other two are variations of ab moves, which I wanted to try right away: the Roman (kind of a roll-down but with legs kept extended and up in the air) and the Plank with a twist (where you dip your lower body from side to side).

Click for Video

if you're doing these, here's a list of the exercise s for your work-out log:

1. CRISS-CROSS
2. HIP UPS
3. ROMAN
4. PLANK W/ A TWIST

FRV# 11:Pilates on Fifth Video:EP 10 Plank with Leg Lifts (<2 min)

What:One pilates move - Plank with leg lifts - is demonstrated by Kimberly with instruction and tips by instructor Katherine. Okay, this is a bit a cheesy-looking as this appears to be mother/daughter duo and it doesn't help that in some of their videos they wear coordinated outfits. But whatever.

Why it's good: It shows one move and the instruction is clear and consise. Katherine (the one with the orange ponytail who's the teacher) is specific in her direction and Kimberly (the one also with the orange ponytail) has great form so it looks like you can follow these at home and do them right.

Click for video.

FVR# 10: Oblique Twists (<1 min)

What: A woman called Elaine demonstrates one ab move in each of her three videos, which are less than a minute each. This one is a variation on the side plank and she only manages to do one -- even though she's clearly fit, underscoring just how difficult these moves can be.

Time: 0:30

Why it's good: This is one of those a picture is worth a thousand words thing. None of that "Rah! Rah! You can do it" cheering. Just the move. While the music is muzac-y, it's as real as it gets. Like I said, Elaine can only do one of these moves which kinda works as a reverse psychology thing -- made me want to try it, too. (I can't do more than one). It's basically a side plank, with elbow bent, lowering to one side until your chest is parallel to the floor, than going back up. Check out her other ones: Parallel Pike and Rotational Obliques.

Click for video.

FVR# 9: Lone Cyclist in Paradise

What: Beautiful scenery + cycling.

Time: 5:20

Why it's good: See above.