Listen and Get Fit This Holiday Week!

NikkiFitness now has playlists on iTunes. Follow this link for over 5 new DVD or treadmill interval soundtracks!

A great soundtrack tailored for my mood and workout! That is why I don't include standard music on my DVDs and instead have sugggested playlists on my site.

Nikki Fitness Playlists

Fitness - Fit it in!

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Back Up Your Health

Imagine a virus going around that causes pain, and stops you from driving, picking up your toddler, shopping for groceries, and exercising.

Now imagine a medicine that prevents this virus. You would take it, right?

This pretend "virus" is back injury. It is real and happens to people every day when they trip and try to catch their balance, roll out of bed, bend over to pick up a bag, take a kickboxing class, or perform a dead lift. The medicine I prescribe to avoid "catching" the virus is a few exercises for the upper and lower back. I will explain two easy ones here today.

Lower for Living:

Strengthening your lower back muscles is important for people who don't exercise on a regular basis, but equally as important for those who do exercise but overlook the lower back. If you have a bad lower back, you can't do those crunches, bicep curls, lunges or daily living activities.

Upper for Posture:

The upper back exercises are important as well, especially if you sit at a computer or hunched over a desk much of the time. It is equally important if your exercise routine includes pushups and bench presses but not working the opposite muscle group - the trapezius and rhomboids. Hunched posture can cause painful knots and strains, chiropractor bills and give the wrong first impression.

Moves:

Airplane - This exercise will work but upper and lower back. The airplane (pictured below) is performed by lying on your stomach with arms extended out to the sides at shoulder level.

1) Lift your head, chest, arms, knees and feet off the floor, leaving just your torso on the mat. It is also important to keep looking at the floor, not cranking your head up to look at the wall in front of you. Keeping your gaze on the floor keeps the neck in line with the spine. Hold for 3 seconds and release. Repeat 10 times.

2) Next, speed up the move to 15 faster singles, not pausing at the top.

3) Finally, hold the arms, legs and chest up to the top of the move keep the legs and chest lifted, and "flap your wings" by moving the hands up and down for 10 repetitions. As a bonus, this exercise also tones your tush!

Stretch - That completes one set. When done with each set, do a cat stretch on all fours and drop the head while rounding the back up to the ceiling.

Balance Reach - To perform the balance reach (pictured below) stay on all fours on hands and knees.

Keep looking at the floor as you reach your left leg up and straight behind you, as you lift your right arm straight in front of you. Hold the leg and arm up for a count of 3 and release. Straighten and lift your right leg and light arm simultaneously, hold for 3 and release to complete one repetition. Continue to gaze at the floor throughout the move. Do 10 reps for one set and finish with a cat stretch.

Back it Up

Before I became a trainer I didn't realize the importance of working my back as much as working my abs. I ask you to add these moves to each workout you do. In the future I will do a column on more challenging back exercises like wheel pushups, stability ball back extensions and airplane supermans, but for now I put these exercises and others on my DVDs to help others from falling prey to a back injury.

So take this advice from someone who went through a back injury and could not do normal daily tasks... and take your medicine.

Fitness - Fit it in!

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Could You Survive?

There is a great new show that you will like for many reasons. It is Survivor meets the Biggest Loser, only better.

Discovery Health's Could Your Survive? involves military instructors and married couples who have gotten out of shape, and a disaster where they must literally run for their lives.

I love it and hope you will too. Maybe you can gather your family in front of the TV little holiday motivation!

Fitness - Fit it in!

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Operation Battle the Bulge

Think you have what it takes?! Enter our fitness contest Battle the Bulge™ and submit your workout.

Operation Battle the Bulge™ is a contest where individual Guard Soldiers are encouraged to compete in GX magazine's first ever Battle the Bulge challenge! By utilizing the template provided by Army Master Fitness Trainer SSG Ken Weichert (also known as 'SGT Ken'), individuals may create and submit one (1) full-body workout. The workout must follow the rules and specified guidelines listed on http://1800goguard.com/fitness/contest. All participants must be current ARNG members and at least 18 years of age.

The Battle the Bulge panel of judges will select one winner. The winner will be selected based on technical merit, creativity and overall effectiveness.

The winning workout will undergo a photo shoot, editing, the print design process, and will be published in a future issue of GX magazine!

Now is your chance to show your state and country your fitness creativity!

Please visit http://www.1800goguard.com/fitness/contest for official rules.

HOOAH!
SSG Ken Weichert a.k.a. "SGT KEN"

Ken Weichert (a.k.a. “SGT Ken”) is a Six-time Soldier of the Year, Master Fitness Trainer and veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. Ken and his wife Stephanie, a Certified Personal Trainer, founded START Fitness, a group exercise and hiking business that delivers military-style workouts to Soldiers and civilians since 1998. Ken and Stephanie have led thousands of Soldiers to better health through Operation Fit to Fight, a tactical fitness instructor training program designed to prepare Soldiers for Basic Combat Training, deployments, leadership schools and post-deployment reintegration. Operation Fit to Fight creates tactical athletes who lead by example and are ready to perform necessary duties in response to natural disasters or in defense of our country! Ken and Stephanie currently produce health and fitness programs for GX magazine, and for the National Guard website.

Advanced Bench Press Tip for a Bigger Chest!

Want a bigger chest?

I know...stupid question, right?

I mean, there's a reason why the most frequently used piece of equipment is the bench press station.

But there's a VERY common mistake I see most people make when training their chest and it's costing you some serious muscle!

So ignore this info at your own peril! The difference in muscle fiber stimulation is IMMENSE!

Here's what I'm talking about...

When you perform "pushing" exercises like the Bench Press, most people don't know where to place their "focus" and ultimately just end up instincively pushing the weight up in any form that feels "natural".

However, what happens to 95% of you is you end up using too much "front shoulder" and take a large part of the focus off of your chest muscles, leaving them short-changed on fiber stimulation for maximum growth.

Here's how to overcome this common blunder with what I call the "Shoulder-Rib Lock":

1. When lying on the bench (for a Bench Press), begin by dropping your shoulders BACK (toward the bench) as far as comfortably possible.

2. Next, roll your shoulders DOWN (in the direction of your feet).

3. And lastly, "puff" out your ribcage to keep it held high.

Consider this your "locked" position for the entire movement and keep your pectorals "aimed" high toward the ceiling!

You'll be amazed at how much of a difference you'll see in your chest workouts!

Now I'm a BIG fan of bodyweight exercises and incorporate several top-notch picks in my downloadable bodybuilding programs because of the enhanced muscle fiber stimulation they provide.

Well, these very same principles apply to the PUSHUP as well!

Just go through the same little "checklist" and keep your shoulders locked back and down while keeping your ribcage "puffed out" and you'll see the same difference in your training (AND your RESULTS!)

More from Jeff at:
- www.CloseQuartersCombat.com
- www.AdvancedMassBuilding.com
- www.OptimumAnabolics.com
- www.CombatTheFat.com

Jeff Anderson is a 10 year veteran of the U.S. Army, a Master Fitness Trainer, and Master Instructor of Close Quarters Combat self defense. A full time fitness and self defense author, Jeff has trained thousands of men and women in the practical application of advanced military fitness methods as well as close combat tactics for "real life" self defense.

Workout of the Week: Long Weighted Abs

It's the Heavy Holidays, so our middle is on our minds!

Everyone asks about abdominal toning moves, and between Thanksgiving and January 30, I get the most questions about great moves for this area.

Here is one that I love, because you can change it to 3 different levels, from modified to advanced, to athlete.

I will explain the "athlete" or level 3 as pictured here, and then explain how to modify it.

Athlete (Level 3, pictured): Lay on the floor with one weight the size of what you would use to challenge yourself with 15 bicep curls. I usually use 10-15 pounds.

Hold the fat ends of the weight in each palm and lay on your back.

Extend our arms and legs long - this is set position.

To crunch, lift the weight with your arms straight, like a lat pull-over, while you bend your legs into your chest. LIFT THE SHOULDERS off the mat as you reach your hands toward your shoelaces. You will be crunched in as tight as you can, with your gaze on the ceiling to keep the neck in line with the spine.

Return to set position WITHOUT resting legs on the floor, let them hover about 3 inches from the floor for each rep.

Do as many of these as you can while keeping your lower back pressed into the floor. Remember the number you can do in the first set and take a break while completing some of your usual workout moves or cardio. Return and try to do close to the same number again. Break and repeat for a 3rd set. You will likely be able to do more the first time and work down as your abs fatigue.

To modify:

Beginner (Level 1) - do not use a weight. Extend arms overhead and straighten legs up to the ceiling instead 90 degrees from the floor, feet over hips (set position). Reach your straight arms up to ceiling and down towards your shoelaces as described above while bending the knees into the chest and lifting the shoulders off the mat. Return to set (feet to ceiling).

Advanced (Level 2) - follow the athlete instructions, but use a 5-8 pound weight and set position for your straight legs is a 45 degree angle between the ceiling and the floor, or about 2 feet off the floor.

Don't forget that half the battle is 3 days of cardio per week and every day following a diet of lots of water, and 5-6 small meals of lean protein like fish and chicken, whole wheat carbs (yes, even pasta), natural fruit and veggies, and calcium from sources like skim milk and yogurt. Include nuts like almonds and walnuts and always plan ahead to keep your tank 1/4 full. When you are running on empty is when you make poor food choices.

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

How to Start an Active Holiday Tradition

I recently interviewed for an article about starting healthy holiday traditions, and I think the article turned out great – things that apply to just about everyone traveling during the holidays and dealing with family and outside pressures that can be unhealthy.

Here is the article featured in Healthy Living.

My grandparents' house, where I spend most holidays, is like a black hole—in a good way: Whenever I'm there, I spend most of my time sleeping, eating, and lazing about, pleasantly sedated by the combination of the blazing fireplace, the comfy blankets that Grandma knits and leaves on all of the furniture, and the inevitable food coma that results after one of our afternoon Pennsylvania Dutch feasts. My parents have actually asked me if I ever sleep in New York, since I seem to need a lot of catching up in that department whenever we're at Grandma and Grandpa's.

But this season, I'm determined to approach the annual trip differently. Holidays are all about tradition, and that's exactly what I need: A new tradition that keeps me, and my family, moving. So I talked to Nikki Glor, a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor at Crunch Fitness in New York City, and creator of her own NikkiFitness DVDs. Chances are, your family may be planning a similarly lazy couple of days; if so, here's now to get them (and yourself) out of the rut.

Read the full article here.

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Chest Training Tip To Blow Up Your Pecs!

To get full pectoral development, you need to hit the chest from different angles.

You know that, right?

Traditional bodybuilding lore has told you that the best way to do this is by simply changing the angle of the bench (incline, flat, or decline) to hit upper, mid, or lower chest.

But I have a BETTER tip for you...

Instead of changing the angle at which you work your chest, focus on your GRIP WIDTH!

Here's why...

Depending on how close your hands are together on the barbell, you target either different areas of your chest.

The closer your hands, the more you work the inner and upper pecs (but also your triceps).

The wider your hands are, the more overall chest stimulation you get as you take a lot of the triceps out of the power equation.

So here's how you can use this knowledge to further your chest development...

Start with the flat bench and do one set of the barbell bench press with a close grip until you reach failure at about 8-12 reps.

Rest 2 minutes and then do another set of 8-12 reps to failure with a shoulder width grip.

Finally, after you next 2 minute rest, do another set with your hands about 6-8 inches wider than shoulder width.

From here, you can move on to the incline bench and do the same exact thing for 3 more sets.

Follow it up with a trip to the decline bench for 3 more and you're all done for "Chest Day"!

More from Jeff at:
- www.CloseQuartersCombat.com
- www.AdvancedMassBuilding.com
- www.OptimumAnabolics.com
- www.CombatTheFat.com

Jeff Anderson is a 10 year veteran of the U.S. Army, a Master Fitness Trainer, and Master Instructor of Close Quarters Combat self defense. A full time fitness and self defense author, Jeff has trained thousands of men and women in the practical application of advanced military fitness methods as well as close combat tactics for "real life" self defense.

5 Healthy Holiday Tips

Here is a helpful video from Fox and Friends last week - 5 tips to avoid the heavy holidays and how to do a perfect pushup.

Enjoy!

Healthy Holidays: How to Stay Fit During the Party Season

Nikki
Crunch Manhattan Group Fitness Instructor/Personal Trainer

More from Nikki at www.nikkifitness.com:

- Military Wife Workout DVD
- NikkiBeachBride Destination Wedding Workout
- Nikki on YouTube

Nikki Fitness is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, writer and publicist living in New York City. She started as a cheerleader at Syracuse University, but became certified in fitness before her beach wedding so that she could get back in shape. Laura, a graduate student, working mom, and military wife, inspired Nikki's Military Wife Workout (MWW) for all military wives. Find more articles by Nikki at her article archive. Learn more at www.nikkifitness.com. For more Nikki Fitness blogs, visit her blog archive.

Navy SEAL Fitness at BUDS

Multiple Fitness Questions from Future BUDS Student - post your BUDS questions here!!

I have questions regarding the day to day fitness/performance requirements of BUD/S.

I understand the timed run/ swim/o-course requirements. However I am curious to know the specific intensities of the pt/ evolution sessions.

Most specifically, I want to know I can put out more than what will be required of me...

1) What is the pace (min/mile) at which trainees run to and from breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Is it slower than the timed run pace? I want to know the mileage an pace at which I will be running every day...

THIS IS SLOW PACE UNLESS YOU ARE PRESSED FOR TIME - WE HAVE DONE IT IN SUB 7 PACE AND HAVE WALKED / SLOW JOGGED IT TOO.

2) What is the pace and stroke at which pool workouts are to be completed?

YOU WILL NOT DO MANY POOL WORKOUTS ONCE IN TRAINING (ONLY IN THE BAY OR OCEAN). PRE-TRAINING WORKOUTS ARE USUALLY DONE IN THE POOL AND USUALLY AT LEAST A MILE OF SWIMMING WITH FINS USING THE CSS / SIDESTROKE. YOU SHOULD SWIM THIS FAST AND BE ABLE TO GET UNDER 35 MINUTES WITH EASE...

I have an understanding of the timed swim, but know nothing about "pool workout" specifics..

IT IS JUST SWIMMING WITH FINS BACK AND FORTH...

3) What is the count of push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and dips expected of us during PT? This is to be performed over what time period? What about the counts during the most demanding PT sessions?

USUALLY PT SESSION RUN 1-2 HOURS FOLLOWED BY A RUN - TOTAL COUNTS VARY BUT USUALLY RANGE IN THE 200-300S IN PUSHUPS / 300-400 IN ABS VARIETY AND AT LEAST 100 PULLUPS RUNS AFTERWARD WILL BE DONE ON THE BEACH (SOME SOFT SAND / PACKED SAND) AND VARIES FROM SUB 6 PACE TO 7 PACE USUALLY...

4) How long should I be able to hold my breathe?

DO NOT PRACTICE THIS UNDERWATER!!! PEOPLE DIE DOING THIS EVEN WITH LIFEGUARDS. AT LEAST A MINUTE WILL SUFFICE.

5) Any other fitness benchmarks I should know?

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO EASILY DO 20-30 DIPS FOR MULTIPLE SETS...

Thanks for the emails. Keep posting and feel free to ask me fitness related emails...

Stew Smith CSCS
www.stewsmith.com
www.intrainingear.com

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at stew@stewsmith.com.