Tone Obliques With Cross Body Mountain Climbers

Add cross body mountain climbers to your ab exercise routine. This exercise will build strength and help tone your obliques. Cross body mountain climbers also work the calves, quadriceps, glutes, back, chest, triceps and shoulders. You will need high levels of core strength to do this exercise the right way for each set.





External obliques - these muscles are on the side and front of the abdomen and wrap around your waist.

Internal obliques - these muscles lie under the external obliques and run in the opposite direction.

Do the exercise this way:

1. Start by getting in the push up position with your arms fully extended. Keep your hips and torso in a straight line. Don't let your hips sag and don't point your butt in the air during this exercise.

2. Do the exercise by moving your left knee straight up and across your body to the right armpit area (keep your abs braced). Also, don't let your foot touch the ground as you do the movement. Move your left leg back to the starting position and repeat with your right leg. Alternate your leg movements until you have completed all repetitions.

If you are doing the mountain climber exercise then just add on the cross body mountain climber!

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Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Burn More Calories And Fat With Balance Exercises

You can burn more calories and fat with exercises that require large amounts of dynamic balance. Why? Because these balance-type exercises are tougher to do than sitting or stand-still exercises.



Improve your dynamic balance and you will be more athletic and leaner. Here are some examples:

Incorporate many one-legged exercises such as power step ups, single leg squats, single leg good mornings, single leg medicine ball exercises, etc.

Include exercises with your eyes closed to improve limb position sense (proprioception).

Train your body in all 3 planes of motion to improve multi-planar balance. An example would be a grouping of walking lunges, side lunges and transverse lunges.

Train on different surfaces such as grass, sand, astro-play and soft surfaces. Doing this will burn more calories because of difficulty.

Do combinations of one-arm and one-leg exercises such as single leg squat-to-single arm shoulder press. Single-limbed exercises are more intense than two-limbed exercises.

Jump rope every day using different variations---two feet, one foot, shuffle, etc. Jumping rope is one of the best body coordination exercises out there and burns tons of calories. And, speed jump rope is even better.

Better muscular balance will give you better dynamic balance. For example, your quadriceps should not be significantly stronger than your hamstrings. This helps prevent injuries.

Quickness and agility drills will improve your dynamic balance. These full speed drills will burn tons of calories and sculpt your body.

Balance training also improves your core strength.

Train hard and smart!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Functional Training Burns Fat, Improves Life

Functional training can help you burn more fat and help you live a quality life. You see, functional training prepares your body for how you want to live. For example, if you are a hiker, you should train your body with intense exercises to get you ready for hikes. Exercises like mountain climbers, bodyweight squats and pullups would be good to get you ready for hikes. Train movements and not just muscles.



A major reason for exerciser (and every day life) injuries is a weak core area. Functional training would definitely include core stability, strength and power training.

The saying "you are only as strong as your weakest link" is true in the case of the human body. Core strength is inadequate for many people. The majority of movements are either initiated or transfer through the body's core area.

Here are some tips to follow during functional training:

1. Your body needs to be stabilized and strengthened before progressing to high-speed power exercises. If this is not done, you are headed for certain injury when more intense exercises are introduced. Along the same lines, you should perform an exercise correctly before progressing to power exercises.

2. Many strength and core exercises should be performed in a standing position since most daily movements are on your feet. Standing exercises also burn more calories and fat.

These exercises will also involve the important hip stabilizer muscles and not just the abdominals. A great full-body core exercise is the medicine ball chop.

3. Your functional strength and core exercises should be multi-planar, multi-dimensional and progressive. Many daily movements involve twisting, rotating, turning, etc. The exercises should also constantly challenge and improve (progressive) your athletic ability. Finally, your functional training should target endurance, strength and power.

Train your body for how you want to live!

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Tone Hips And Glutes With One-Legged Exercises

One-legged exercises will help to better tone your hips and glutes. The muscles that move your hip joint (mainly gluteus medius) are activated more with one-legged exercises. Many running injuries can also be traced to a weak gluteus medius.



Sometimes, too much focus is placed on two-legged (bilateral) exercises. These two-legged exercises, like squats, are needed in your exercise program. But one-legged exercises improve your muscular balance in each leg. Having dynamic balance means that you are able to maintain your center of gravity over a constantly changing base of support. You cannot have dynamic balance without muscular balance.

To achieve muscular balance in your lower body, one-legged exercises should be a big part of your training program. These one-legged exercises can be performed as strengh or power (full speed) exercises.

One lower body exercise that should be in your program is one-legged step ups with knee lift (pictured above). This exercise is done one leg at a time to force each leg to work evenly. For example, you would do 10 repetitions with your right leg and then 10 repetitions with your left leg.

The hanging leg should not touch the bench and you should lower your body under control. This exercise can also be done with dumbbells to increase difficulty. Other good one-legged exercises would be squats and lunges. Add more one-legged exercises to your training program to better tone your hips.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Cross Training Varies Your Workouts

Cardio cross training will burn more fat and keep you from getting bored! Cardio is a naturally monotonous exercise that can bore you to tears, unless you change it up and keep it short. This is where interval training comes in.

The good thing about interval cardio cross training is that it doesn't require long sessions to be effective. And, it gives superior calorie-burn, fat-burn and heart-heart when compared to steady-state cardio. I usually do my interval cardio sessions in 20 minutes or 2 separate 10-minute sessions (about 5 minutes apart). Research has shown that 2 separate workouts will give you more calorie-burn and fat-burn.

How do you do regular interval cardio? Here's an example:

1. Sprint for 30 seconds
2. Walk for 1 minute
3. Repeat this rotation for 20 minutes

To do interval cardio cross training, just mix up the exercise modes to get even more fat-burning benefits. Here is an example of an interval cardio cross training workout that I do:

1. Step Ups, 15 repetitions each leg
2. Walk 1 minute
3. Jumping Jacks, fast, 1 minute
4. Walk 1 minute
5. Sprint Intervals for 6 minutes (run 1 minute, walk 1 minute)
6. Mountain Climbers, fast, 1 minute
7. Repeat this circuit 1 more time

You can use any exercises you like. I like to mix in at least one strength exercise. You could do squat jumps instead of jumping jacks. Or, you could do bodyweight squats instead of step ups. One-legged exercises (unilateral) are more intense than that two-legged (bilateral) exercises. If you don't want to run on a particular day, just do all bodyweight strength exercises.

Cross training will make you less prone to repetitive stress injuries. Cross training will also tone more muscle groups, especially if you include strength exercises.

To get better fat-burning results, do interval cardio cross training.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Burn Major Calories With Athletic Workouts

Athletic workouts will burn major calories and help you burn fat and lose weight---sooner! If you need to ramp up the intensity and break through your weight loss plateau, athletic workouts will work.



Athletic workouts are very intense and will improve your body's composition (fat loss, more muscle). These workouts will sculpt your body without your joints taking a pounding from lifting heavy weights!

To get your muscles to improve power (how fast your muscles can produce force), do some or all of the exercises full speed. Also, you will really burn fat and shape your bulkier, fast twitch muscle fibers when doing exercises at full speed!

Athletic circuit workouts are a tried and true method to burn more fat, increase strength/endurance and improve heart health.

Do each exercise (10 repetitions) one after the other with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2-3 minutes and do the circuit 2 more times. Here is a good athletic workout:

--Medicine ball front chops, moderate pace
--Side shuffles (pictured above), full speed
--Pushups, full speed
--Walking lunges/Side Lunges/Tranverse Lunges, moderate pace (one for each circuit)
--2-Handed medicine ball soccer throw, full speed
--Squat jumps, full speed
--Back extensions, moderate pace

Use correct form and burn calories!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Fast Cardio Burns Fat

Fast cardio workouts are intense and burns tons of fat. You won't get bored doing fast cardio workouts but you will be exhausted! If your cardio workouts are 60 minutes, you are wasting your time. And, you are probably not getting the fat loss results you want.



Fast cardio will help you break through your weight loss plateau. All of the early success associated with starting an exercise program can send you into a tailspin when you reach a plateau. You become frustrated and wonder "what am I doing wrong?" You probably just need to change up your exercise routine and you'll be okay.

There are many ways to change up an exercise routine----do new exercises, adjust the intensity, adjust the amount of weight, adjust the repetitions/sets, etc. One of the best ways to get you "out of your exercise funk" is to do fast cardio workouts! Shorter, more intense workouts (weight training or cardio) will give you more fat loss!

Here's an example: instead of doing cardio on the elliptical machine or treadmill, change it up. All it takes is 20 intense minutes! It can go something like this:

--Sprint 60 yards
--Walk back to starting line
--Sprint 60 yards
--Walk back to starting line
--Do this rotation for 20 minutes

Or, you could do this type workout:

--Full speed medicine ball diagonal chops, 1 minute
--Slow jog for 2 minutes
--Full speed medicine ball front chops, 1 minute
--Slow jog for 2 minutes

Just do this rotation for 20 minutes and you have a very intense fast cardio workout! And, on your weight training days, you could mix in some power exercises. Before you know it, you will have broken through your plateau! Try it! From personal experience, I know it works!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Use Sprints To Burn Fat Faster

Sprints help you burn fat faster! Sprinting is one of the best ways to get your total body lean and toned. It is one of the least used exercises done by general exercisers. And, you don't have to be fast, just run as fast as you can! To avoid injuries, always sprint on surfaces like grass or sand and never run on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt.



Sprints will lean and tone your body like never before if combined with full body strength training.

You see, sprinting activates your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers. These fast twitch muscle fibers lie dormant when you do slow-paced cardio sessions (hint). Sprinting will really burn the fat on your butt, hips, thighs, hamstrings and lower legs. Fat will also be burned on your upper body.

It is important to properly warmup before doing sprinting intervals. A proper warmup is a dynamic warmup such as doing 5-10 minutes of jogging, walking lunges, half-speed sprints and three-quarters speed sprints. Do static stretches after your workout to bring your muscles back to normal length.

To sprint efficiently and avoid injuries, you need to master correct running mechanics. Most people that I see at gyms need to work on running mechanics. Running the right way really does make running easier (and vice-versa)!

A 20-minute sprint interval workout is very simple---and tough! Do it this way:

--Run a 50 to 60 yard sprint
--Walk back to start line
--Run a 50 to 60 yard sprint

Do this rotation for 20-minutes and you are done (exhausted)! Do this type of workout no more than 2 times a week. This will allow your body to recover from this intense form of exercise.

A sprint interval workout will also give you superior heart-health.

Do more sprints and watch your body sculpt like never before!

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Sculpt Your Body With Bodyweight Workouts

Sculpt your body better with bodyweight workouts! You can do bodyweight strength workouts and bodyweight cardio workouts at home, at the park or anywhere you want. No gym membership is needed!



Burn body fat like crazy with bodyweight workouts! Bodyweight workouts use natural body motions that don't limit your natural range of motion like machine lifting does. And, doing bodyweight exercises at full speed will burn even more fat and calories!

Tired of doing the same old cardio workout? The answer to your boredom with cardio is an intense bodyweight cardio workout! You will be too challenged to get bored!

Bodyweight workouts allow you to develop strength that allows your body to stabilize itself. Also, no two people have the same exact motions.

My Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Bodyweight 200, 300 and 400 Workout Books allow you to train in all 3 planes of motion (machines usually limit you to training in 1 plane of motion--sagittal).

Doing bodyweight strength exercises will give you more calorie burn, more fat burn and will sculpt your body faster than doing the same exercises on machines!

Get My Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Bodyweight Workout Books individually or as a total package!

"SCULPT YOUR BODY FOR LIFE OR SPORTS!"

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Burn More Fat With Challenging Exercises

If you want to burn more fat, do more challenging exercises! Challenge yourself with exercises that test your balance, coordination, strength and flexibility! This might require that you put that old favorite workout on the shelf and try something new! If you do, I guarantee you will burn more fat and lose more weight!



Try some of these challenging exercises:

1. Incorporate many one-legged exercises such as power step ups, single leg squats, single leg good mornings, single leg medicine ball exercises, etc. These types of exercises are more intense than two-legged exercises.

2. Include exercises with your eyes closed to improve limb position sense (proprioception). This will also help you burn more fat and calories!

3. Exercise your body in all 3 planes of motion to improve multi-planar balance. An example would be a grouping of walking lunges, side lunges and transverse lunges.

4. Exercise on different surfaces such as grass, sand, astro-play and soft surfaces to add more challenge.

5. Do combinations of one-arm and one-leg exercises such as single leg squat-to-single arm shoulder press.

6. Jump rope every day using different variations---two feet, one foot, shuffle, etc. Jumping rope is one of the best body coordination exercises out there. And, speed jump rope is even better to burn more fat.

7. Quickness and agility drills will burn fat like crazy and improve your dynamic balance.

Balance training also improves your core strength.

Challenge yourself more and watch the fat melt away!

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Fat-Burning, Speed-Based Workouts

Fat-burning, speed-based workouts give you maximum benefits in minimum time! One 20-minute, speed-based workout will burn tons of calories and fat---during and after your workout!



Speed-based workouts don't have to be "running only" workouts. But, running sprints are usually included in a speed-based workout. Working out at a fast pace has been proven to shape and sculpt your body better because these type of workouts activate your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers.

If you are going to use a fat-burning, speed-based workout, you need to learn correct running mechanics! Many people I see running have terrible running mechanics! Bad running mechanics make your workouts inefficient and many times lead to injuries.

You should master the basic running mechanics to become faster and more efficient. Posture, arm action and leg action are keys to improving your speed and efficiency.

Other fat-burning, speed-based exercises you can do during your workout are jumps, medicine ball exercises and agility drills. Master bodyweight speed exercises before progressing to assisted or weight-bearing speed exercises.

Your body also needs adequate strength (including core strength) and speed strength (power) for you to reach your running speed potential.

Running and jumping will not give you the leg strength you will need to sculpt your legs and improve your running speed. You should strengthen your legs with exercises like squats, step ups and lunges because these exercises use the same pathways that it takes to run with speed.

And, don't forget about your calf muscles. Your calf muscles provide at least 30% of the strength and power it takes to run fast. Use speed calf raises (seated or standing) to strengthen the calves.

You have to train fast to get faster, burn more fat and better sculpt your body! Too much distance running will defeat your goal of improving your speed. When training for speed, distance running should be kept to a minimum because it reduces explosiveness.

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Weekend Warriors' Exercise And Injury Prevention

If you're a weekend warrior, you need to exercise to prevent injuries and win those games for bragging rights! If you just show up for your game on the weekends without preparation, you will blow out a hamstring or pull a quad muscle (or worse injury).

Begin your training by getting your body in general condition to play your sport. Full body strength training (3 days a week) and interval cardio (2-3 days a week) sessions will get your body ready for more intense training to follow. Do this training for 2-3 weeks.

You would then progress to do basic plyometric exercises like squat jumps and cone hops. Plyometric exercises help you to increase power. Traditional barbell and dumbbell strength exercises do not allow you to move at the speeds necessary to improve power. Strength training gives you muscular and nervous system development needed to develop optimal power.

Advanced sports power training supersets a strength exercise with a biomechanically similar power exercise. An example would be barbell squats and repeating full-speed squat jumps. The squat jumps would be performed immediately following the barbell squats to get maximum neuromuscular adaptations.

You would do a set of squats at 85% of 1 Rep Maximum (5 reps) followed immediately by a set of full-speed repeating squat jumps (8-10 reps). This is an advanced training method and should not be performed by those who do not have adequate stabilization strength and muscular strength. Other plyometric exercises can also be superset this way. It is also advisable to choose exercises that mimic the movements in your sport (transfer-of-training-effect).

Surprise your friends with improved power and explosion during your games! And, do so without getting injured!

If you want to get in shape and lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE and has workouts!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Lateral Tube Walk Tones Lower Body

The Lateral Tube Walk is a strength exercise that tones your lower body. It also looks like an easy exercise to perform. Don't be fooled by appearances. When done correctly, the lateral tube walk will challenge your strength (especially in the frontal plane), endurance and balance.



The lateral tube walk will strengthen and tone your butt, hips, core, adductors (inner thighs) and outer thighs.

Do the exercise this way:

1. Attach the resistance band just above each ankle. Place your feet shoulder-width apart with your knees slightly bent and your back straight.

2. Maintaining good posture, step your right foot out to the side about 2 shoulder-widths apart. Then, step your left foot inward until your feet are again shoulder-width apart. Your knees should remain aligned over your feet during the exercise. It is important to not let your knees "cave in" or spread outside your feet. Also, keep your glutes contracted during the exercise.

3. Do 10-15 steps in the same direction and repeat in opposite direction. That is one set. Do 2-3 sets.

If you've never done the lateral tube walk, try it during your next workout. It is an exercise you should do on a regular basis.

Learn how to lose weight the right way and get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Shuttle Runs Burn Fat Faster

Use shuttle runs to burn fat faster and really lean and tone your body. Shuttle runs are proven fat burners and would be a great change of pace exercise for you, if you are ready for advanced exercise.



Shuttle runs are effective fat burners because of at least three mechanisms:

1. Interval cardio - Research has proven that the benefits of anaerobic exercise (like sprint interval cardio) is superior to aerobic exercise for fat loss, fitness and heart health. The progression of your cardio exercise should be low-intensity aerobics to moderate/high-intensity aerobics to high-intensity anaerobic exercise.

2. Speed - Sprinting activates your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers. These fast twitch muscle fibers lie dormant when you do slow-paced cardio sessions (hint). Sprinting will really burn the fat on your butt, hips, thighs, hamstrings and lower legs. Fat will also be burned on your upper body. You don't have to be fast, just run as fast as you can during the shuttle.

3. Sudden changes in direction - This adds more intensity to an otherwise intense form of exercise. Shuttles will improve your dynamic balance, power and coordination.

Try these two shuttles in your workouts to burn more fat:

Speed Shuttle Drill or 5-10-5 Cone Drill (see picture above) - Place three cones in a straight line, 5 yards apart. Start in a 2-point or 3-point stance at the middle cone. Run as fast as you can to the left cone (5 yds) and touch ground, run as fast as you can to the right cone (10 yds) touch ground and finish running through the middle cone. That's one repetition. Rest 1 minute between sets. Do 8-10 sets per workout session if you are doing this for cardio exercise.

Speed Endurance Shuttle Run - Place cones at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 yards. Sprint to the 5 yard cone and sprint back to the start. Then, sprint to the 10 yard cone and sprint back to the start. The same would be done at the 15, 20 and 30 yard cones. That is one set. Rest for 2 minutes between sets. Do 5-6 sets.

Add shuttles to your exercise mix and you will start to see your body toning up faster.

Learn how to lose weight the right way and get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Read more »

Jump Off Body Fat

Jump more when you exercise and you'll jump off more body fat---guaranteed!



Have you been doing the same workout for 2 months, 6 months, 1 year or 3 years? If you're doing the same basic workout you've always done, you're probably not making any progress with fat loss or weight loss. You're frustrated but you can do something about your stalled progress!

One of the best ways to "wake up and change your body's composition" is to add intensity to your workouts with jumps. Sixty minute cardio sessions won't lean out your body but they will waste away your muscles (and your muscle tone).

Exercising at a fast or explosive pace (like jumping or sprinting) has been proven to shape and sculpt your body better because these types of exercises activate your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers (think butt, hips, thighs, etc.).

Its pretty simple dudes and dudettes! Jump off your body fat! Here are some workout tips:

1. Jump rope for at least 10 minutes every day (if your knees and back allow). A 10 minute jump rope warm-up before your workout always gets the job done. Actually, a 20-minute interval jump roping session is one of the best fat-burners and body-sculptors available. Try it for cardio at least once a week.

2. Do at least one workout a week that includes mainly jumping exercises. Squat jumps, tuck jumps, cone jumps, jumping jacks, jump rope and pike jumps are some examples. Full speed jumps will give you more fat loss and weight loss.

3. Include at least one jumping exercise in your regular workout routine.

4. If you need a change up from jumping, run sprint intervals. Sprints are also top fat-burners and body-sculptors.

You should perfect jumping and landing techniques or you will injure yourself. And, if you have knee and low back problems, high-speed jump training is not for you. Do no more than 2 jump training workouts a week.

Jump off more body fat this week!

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Stabilize Deep Core Muscles

Stabilize your deep core muscles with exercises like the stability ball plank, a great core exercise to advance you from the plank exercise on the floor.

The ball plank strengthens and stabilizes your deep, foundational core muscles even more than the regular plank. Balancing on the ball while holding the plank position is not easy! Your deep, foundational core muscles are more important than your "six pack abs!"



1. Place your elbows on the ball and balance on your toes while keeping your body in a straight line.

2. Hold the plank position for a count of 5-10 seconds without moving. The ball will move, so it is a challenge to hold the right alignment. This will obviously improve your balance. Your abs and shoulders will also work much harder.

Keep your head in line with your torso and brace your torso (as if taking a punch to the gut).

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Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Fat-Burning Bodyweight Workout

Use bodyweight workouts to burn fat. A bodyweight workout is always waiting to happen because you take your body everywhere you go. You don't need exercise equipment to burn fat so you don't need a gym membership. You don't need much time to burn fat (a 30 minute workout will do the trick). You need to consistently work hard and eat right to burn more fat and lose more weight.



Here is a great little 30-minute bodyweight workout that you can do at home, at the park or at work. This workout is a strength and cardio workout so it will save you even more time during your busy day. If you have been doing some heavy weight training this week, this workout can be a good change of pace for you:

--Y bodyweight squats, 12 repetitions
--Plank (pictured above), 12 repetitions, 10 second hold
--Pushups, 12 repetitions
--Squat jumps, 12 repetitions, fast
--Pullups, 10 repetitions
--Superman, 12 repetitions, 5 second hold
--Do this circuit 3 times.

Do this circuit with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2 minutes between circuits.

Have a great fat-burning bodyweight workout today!

Learn how to lose weight the right way and get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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BOSU Ball Exercises Do Not Activate More Core Muscles

BOSU ball exercises DO NOT activate more core muscles! You can do your squats, deadlifts and shoulders presses on stable ground.

Researchers from Eastern Illinois University found that doing squats, deadlifts and shoulders presses on BOSU balls was not more effective for core muscle activation. Doing these exercises on stable ground activated more core muscles.



There are tons of fitness gadgets on the market. In general, you can save your money. Do your exercises with free weights or use bodyweight workouts and you will get maximum muscle activation. Limit machine exercises unless you are a beginner or you are in rehabilitation. Machines stabilize your body for you and don't allow you to move your body naturally (functionally). You get faster, lasting fat loss results when you do exercises that force your body to stabilize itself.

Do as many compound strength exercises like squats, deadlifts, rows and shoulder presses standing up as possible. These types of exercises work major muscle groups and many times are full-body strength exercises. This helps you workout with more intensity and burn more calories. You will also build more muscle and speed up your metabolism.

Have a great workout today!

Get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE! Use the course while you travel this holiday season!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Read more »

Burn More Fat With Power Exercise Workouts!

Burn more fat with power exercise workouts and shorten your workouts! Many of you just need to ramp up your workouts to get past your fat loss plateau!

Try a power exercise workout 1 time a week to start out and you will burn more fat during and after your workout! Make your whole workout one power exercise after the other! The ultimate advanced level workout! Its definitely not for beginners! And, all it takes is 45 minutes to 1 hour! You might need 2 days to recover!



Remember that power is the ability to exert maximum muscle force in the shortest amount of time (rate-of-force production). Because power exercises are so intense and done full speed, they are great for burning body fat.

Among other benefits, power exercises recruit more muscle fibers (mainly fast-twitch bulky fibers) more frequently which helps the fat-burning process. Recruiting your fast-twitch muscle fibers during your workouts will give you a more lean, toned looking body.

Here is a power workout that I have done frequently (do all exercises at full speed with little or no rest between exercises):

Warmup - Jump rope, 3 minutes; Butt Kickers, 2 minutes

Sprints - 8/60 yards each (sprint, walk back and immediately sprint again)

Medicine Ball Chops - 10 repetitions each side

Power Step Ups - 10 repetitions each leg

Push Ups - 20 repetitions

Squat Jumps or Mountain Climbers - 10 repetitions

Bentover Rows - 10 repetitions

Rest 3 minutes and repeat circuit.

There are plenty of other power exercises you could choose. Try it sometime!

Get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Read more »

Burn More Fat With Vertical Jumps

Are you looking to burn more fat? Vertical jumps will burn fat and sculpt your lower body!



Vertical jumps will burn more fat because they are very intense! Shorten and intensify your workouts with jump training (plyometrics)! Plyometric workouts also burn more fat and calories during and after your workout! Just do 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions at full speed! Jump as high and fast as you can and jump on a soft surface like rubber or grass to protect your knees against injury.

If you're having trouble sculpting your butt, hips and thighs then you need to do more jump training.

Jump training workouts are advanced workouts. You need to perfect jumping and landing techniques or you will injure yourself. And, if you have knee and low back problems, high-speed vertical jumps are not for you.

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

Read more »