Put Some Fun in Your Run (Part 2)

For fitness buffs and runners who live in New York, even the many trails, loops and hills of Central Park can get monotonous. If your mind and body are craving a change of pace, make the park your personal training playground.

The first article focused on mile one of the four-mile route that will eventually take about an hour. In the spirit of the obstacle theme, I use visual landmarks so you’ll remember the moves and not have to bring a printout.

We already completed a low ab circuit in the playground at 81st street, a step up leg circuit near CNN, and pull-ups at the second playground. That took us to the middle of the park at Central Park South.

Start running again to the east end of the park and as the two lane road curves to the left, follow it north until you start to smell the horses pulling tourists in carriages. (If you don’t notice, the horse carousel is there on the left as the path turns North.) Here’s your memory cue: “P-U equals pushups.” Find another bench and bust out 20 good pushups. If you are advanced and don’t mind a little dirt, take it to the ground instead. Otherwise use the seat or the back of the bench, depending on your level of strength.

Get your jog on again until you see the lake and the Boat House restaurant on your left. Time to “jump in the lake” with jumping lunges. You want an intense New York style move? This is it! 20 jumping lunges starting with right foot forward, knee over ankle and feet about the-length-of-your-leg distance apart. As you literally jump to switch legs scissor style, get some air in the center of the move - what we trainers call plyometrics. You are really strengthening your legs and lessening jogging jiggle while boosting the booty with this move.

Now shake it out, get some more water at the fountain by the café, and run up the hill to the black cat on the left. “Top tones triceps.” Find a bench to your right and set yourself up sitting normally. Place your hands and knuckles forward, at the edge of the seat. Straighten your legs so you are balancing on your heals, and lift your backside off the bench. Lower your hips down toward the ground until your elbows point directly behind you at a 90 degree bend (pictured). Do 20-30 dips. (Trainer tip: the slower you go the harder they will be. Also, do extra bicep curls at home or at the gym at some point this week with weights or tubing to work the opposing muscle.)

If you are out of time, take the path to the left at the stoplight ahead past the great lawn, theater, castle and keep walking toward the West side, and you are back where we started. If not, continue north toward the reservoir.

Check out part one and part three of this article:
Put Some Fun in Your Run (Part 1)
Put Some Fun in Your Run (Part 3)

For more info: Nikki's free stretch video and multitasking fitness DVDs available at

www.nikkifitness.com

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.

Top 10: You know you need some NikkiFitness when...

You know you need some NikkiFitness when...

1-People ask when the baby is due but you aren’t expecting

2-The last time you made a workout mix the first song was by MC Hammer

3-You walk to the meeting room to start a conference call, and the client thinks it’s a sick heavy-breathing prank.

4-Gossip magazine photos of Tara Reid’s flabby backside would be an improvement.

5-Your trainer celebrated when you jogged for 3 minutes without stopping

6-You cry after cheeseburgers, and have dreams about plastic surgery.

7-You spend 2 hrs a day working out but your heaviest weight is 5 pounds and you think pilates is hard.

8- Your “healthy lunch” included diet coke, lean pockets, and twizzlers.

9- It takes you a week to work through all body parts (legs M, chest and back T, abs W, arms TH, cardio F.)

10-You are a skinny b*t%h who eats whatever she wants but can’t do a pushup.

Get some NikkiFitness in your life. Sign up for my e-newsletter to motivate your workout and fit in your fitness! www.nikkifitness.com

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.

The Secret to a Devastating Elbow Strike

One of the most devastating strikes you can use in close quarters combat is the elbow strike.

However, many people don't understand the dynamics of this powerful move and end up getting it completely wrong, resulting in a missed target and insufficient power at the point of impact.

Let me explain...

Striking someone with your elbow requires you to be very close to their body because you don't have as long of a reach as you do with throwing a regular punch. Because of this shorter range, the farther away you are from your attacker, the more your whole body has to move in order to hit your target (in this example, the head).

Many people who try to throw an elbow strike from "punching range" (about 3' from your attacker) therefore end up signaling their intentions too early as the person they're trying to hit picks up their movement with their eyes and instantaneously flinches backward.

This creates a "moving target" for you that's harder to hit and because their head is moving back in the same direction as your elbow strike, less force is generated at impact.

Does that mean that you can't take advantage of the elbow strike unless you're right up in someone's face?

Not at all. Here's the secret to overcoming this obstacle and still be able to land a devastating elbow strike at further distances...

The answer is in your "lead hand", or the hand that is closest to your attacker.

Assuming that you're going to strike with your right elbow, you would first bring your left hand up, under your attacker's line of sight, and grab the back of the neck/head.

At the same time as delivering your elbow strike, you're going to pull his head, trying to get your left hand to meet halfway with your right elbow.

This accomplishes several things...

1. Your lead hand is closer and quicker so you can control your attacker much faster and easier by quickly grabbing on and pulling him in.

2. By pulling and striking at the same time, you shorten the distance it takes for your elbow strike to hit it's target by 50%.

3. Because his head and your elbow strike are traveling toward each other, you greatly increase the amount of force at the point of impact (think about a head-on collision in your car vs. rear ending a car going in the same direction as you)

Learn to use your lead hand to your advantage and you'll quickly master the elbow strike.

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.

Put Some Fun in Your Run (Part 1)

The first time I ran through Central Park, I got lost.I was visiting friends on the Upper East Side and went for a jog. I wondered, “How can anyone run in this place without stopping to look at a map every few minutes?”

How things change. Now I live near the park, walk through it to get to work, run there at night, and take personal training clients to the sheep’s meadow for boot camp. I even shot part of a fitness DVD near the Belvedere Castle. For fitness buffs and runners who live in New York, even the many trails, loops and hills of Central Park, get monotonous. If your mind and body are craving a change of pace, make the park your personal training playground.

We’ll start our revved-up running route at Central Park West and 81st, because you have to start somewhere, but you can do this routine in any order. The first article focuses on mile one of the four-mile route that will eventually take about an hour. In the spirit of the obstacle theme, I am going to use visual landmarks so you’ll remember the moves and not have to bring a printout. Warm up with a brisk walk to the entrance and find the playground on your left. Lay down on the top of the slide, holding on the sides with your hands about at shoulder level. Do long leg lifts for the lower abs, the large range of motion starts from an inch off the slide to 90 degrees, feet pointing to the sky. To make it interesting you can even lift your hips off the slide at the top of the move and push your feet into the clouds. Aim for 20 or so.

Next, lay face down with your hips over a swing and feet more than shoulder width apart, anchoring you to the ground and inching forward for balance. Hands at your head and do a set of 20 back extensions by lowering head and shoulders about 30 degrees toward the ground and then lift the torso back to hip level. Runners depend on strong backs and this will offset the lower abs we just worked. Now start with a slow jog and follow around to the right to join the running, bike and car road heading south. As you round the corner at the light, follow to the right, this is around 70th street. We are heading for the CNN building. (Note: You’ll pass a water fountain on your left.) Once you see the red CNN tower in Columbus Circle and are close enough to read the time on the clock, find a bench on your right.

Memory cue: its “time to step up” the effort. Place your right foot onto the bench and muscle your body up off the ground. As the right straightens, bend the left knee and lift it to hip level to engage the abs. Step down with both feet on the ground to finish one rep. Do at least 10 before switching to the left. Each week you will be able to do more. Now pick up the pace and run parallel to Central Park South on the main road again. There is another playground on your left if you want another set of abs, and back. Add pull-ups as a bonus. Next week I’ll map out complete mile 2. Try just adding these moves to your run and we will build from there. Remember, it’s bad to get lost in the park, but great to get lost in your workout!

Check out part two of this article:
Put Some Fun in Your Run (part 2)
Put Some Fun in Your Run (Part 3)

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.

No Cramping!

Muscle cramps got you down? Certainly if you work out a lot, or have been to military basic training, you have experienced muscle cramps.  Check out this video I made for you to help you reduce muscle cramps, brought to you by UltimateBasicTraining...

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival, available at UltimateBasicTraining.com.

Thumb Trick for Chest Training

Any bodybuilder worth his salt knows that to REALLY add some flare to your pecs, you MUST add Incline Dumbbell Flyes to your chest routine.

But now there’s a way to make this powerful exercise even MORE effective using a killer THUMB maneuver for more forcefull contractions.

Here’s how YOU can take advantage of this awesome tactic…

1. On an incline bench (set to no MORE than 30 degrees incline), hold a dumbbell in each hand at the starting position (arms extended above you, palms facing each other).

2. With your arms slightly bent, perform a standard flye by slowly lowering your arms to the side. BUT…

3. As you lower them, instead of keeping your hands and wrists locked, ROTATE your hands so that your THUMBS point TOWARD THE CEILING at the bottom of the movement. (Make sure you feel a good stretch in your chest at the bottom.)

4. While focusing on contracting your chest muscles (rather than your arms), quickly raise both arms to the starting position while ROTATING your hands so that your palms face each other again at the tip.

This maneuver actually creates an isolated range of motion movement within your pecs resulting in increased muscle contraction and fiber stimulation.

To prove it, try this…

Hold one arm in the "bottom" flye position while placing your other hand on the chest muscle of the “working arm”.

Now, rotate your hand back and forth between the thumb “up” and the “normal” position.

Feel that movement in your upper pec?

Good! Now stick a dumbbell in your hand and get ready to GROW!

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.

Tone Your Bum and Then Some - Part 3

Booty Camp Part 3

Have you been working on your beach bum this winter or did comfort food attack your back? If the later is the matter, I have a solution. Tone your beach bum and then some!

By multitasking your toning moves you can work the arms, back and abs, but also work your butt with every move. By adding cardio intervals that also work the backside, you’ll melt away fat and boost your metabolism. Pressed for time? It only takes half an hour 3 times a week.

Leading up to summer, each weekly blog includes a backside-focused multitasking toning move and one cardio interval - this is #3.

If you can’t wait for all the moves in the columns, then my new 30 minute multitasking toning and cardio interval BOOTY CAMP DVD is available staring now for 19.99 at www.nikkifitness.com and on Amazon.

Toning

The Move: Triceps pushup with glutes lift (works chest, back of the arm and booty). Start in pushup position on your knees. Move your hands in closer than a traditional push-up and directly under your shoulders. Allign the shoulders, hips and knees in one line and do not allow your butt to go up to the sky – keep most of the weight in your hands. As you lower to the floor, bring the chest almost to touch the ground and bring the elbows back and almost touching your ribcage (not out to the sides). As you push back up to the sky, raise your right knee off the floor and push the flexed sole of your foot to the ceiling. Lower knee back to floor to complete one rep. Do 12-10 reps on the right side, then skip to the cardio move below, and then come back to a tricep pushup on your left side.

Trainer’s Tip: If the triceps pushup is too difficult, do the first 8 or so with hands in under shoulders and elbows close to sides, and then the rest with the hands wider than shoulder width and allow the elbows to point away and out to the sides, over the wrists.

To Intensify: This is harder than a normal pushup, so I am showing the modified version in the photos. For advanced, do a full pushup on your toes instead of the knees and with elbows in by the sides. Lift your straight leg about a foot off the ground up towards the sky, lower and repeat.)

Cardio

The Move: Lunge to touch (works quads, glutes and thighs). If you are working this in with the other moves from blog 1 and 2, then you have been using weights. Place the weights on the ground about 7 feet apart. We will use these as touch targets. Lunge sideways to the right with toes pointing forward, right hand on your right quadriceps (above the knee). Reach the left hand across the body to the floor where you placed the weights, just in front of the right foot.

Push off your right leg and reach both hands over head to reach for the sky. Land into a left side lunge, reaching the right hand across to the other weight on the floor in front of your left foot to complete one rep. Repeat the move for 30 seconds, then do 30 second of pretend jump rope, followed by 30 seconds more of the lunge to touch (This cardio interval should last a minute and a half all together.)

Go back and do your second multitasking triceps/glute pushup on the left side and repeat the cardio. Work the moves from this blog in with the other two Booty Camp moves from blog 1 and 2 to boost your booty and your metabolism!

Check out these articles:

Tone Your Bum, and then Some! Part 1

Tone Your Bum, and Then Some! Part 2

Tone Your Bum, and Then Some! Part 4

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.

Tone Your Bum, and Then Some! Part 2

Booty Camp Part 2

So you've decided on the bathing suit instead of the cover-up this summer. You need a beach bum for that bikini! (Guys, this works for you too, nothing like looking good in those summer khakis.)

By multitasking your toning moves you can work the arms, back and abs, but also work your butt with every move. By adding cardio intervals that also work the backside, you’ll melt away fat and boost your metabolism. Pressed for time? It only takes half an hour 3 times a week.

Leading up to summer, each weekly blog includes a backside-focused multitasking toning move and one cardio interval - this is #2.

If you can’t wait for all the moves in the columns, then my new 30 minute multitasking toning and cardio interval BOOTY CAMP DVD is available staring now for 19.99 at www.nikkifitness.com and March 30th on Amazon.

Weights

The Move: Triceps Skull Crush and Booty Bridge (works triceps and glutes) If you are coordinated, this multitasker will be a nice change from boring triceps dips! Lay on your back with light to medium weights in both hands and arms straight up to the sky, palms facing in. Lift the butt off the floor into a bridge by bending knees and pushing through the feet. Lift the right foot off the floor and extend the leg straight out, parallel to the floor.

As you lower the weights toward each side of your head, next to your ears, be sure to keep the elbows over the shoulders - we are only moving from the hands and wrists to the floor, not the whole arm. At the same time, raise the right foot to the sky as pictured.

Lower foot parallel to the floor again as you raise the hands to the sky. Your leg and arms move together as if your shoelace were tied to your wrists. Do 15 reps. Change sides and do another 15. Put down the weights and get to your first set of cardio.

Cardio

The Move: Plyo Power (Works glutes, quads, abs) Start by standing up. Do a right front kick leading with the knee, then exploding that powerful kick with the foot flexed, hands in ready fight position in fists by your chin. As you lower the leg, lunge back with the left foot. Support yourself by keeping your right hand on the right quad as you lower town to touch the floor with your left hand.

Trainers tip: lunge far back so that your right knee is directly over the ankle as you reach for the floor. Hop back up for the second right kick by using your powerful leg and glute muscles! Do 20 on the right, 20 jumping jacks, then 20 on the left.

Go back and do your second multitasking skull crusher move and repeat until you compete 3 sets of both exercises.

You’ve just toned your bum and then some!

Check out Part 1: Tone Your Bum, and Then Some! Part 1

Check out Part 3: Tone Your Bum and Then Some! Part 3

Check out Part 4: Tone Your Bum and Then Some! Part 4

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.

The Hidden Stomach Muscle

Everyone can identify with the 6 pack abs look, but few enjoy doing sit-ups. With this article, I will teach you how to get your stomach flat with less sit-ups.

There is a muscle called the Transverse Abdominus that acts as a stabilizer to your entire middle section.  If your not familiar with this muscle, go through basic training.  Drill sergeants love exercises that involve the Transverse Abdominus because when this muscle is strong, your back and stomach are strong.  Unfortunately, traditional sit-ups and crunches hardly exercise the transverse abdominus.  In order to maximize that 6 pack abs look, you will need to strengthen this muscle.

Let me tell you a brief story. I was doing stomach crunches my entire adult life, but when I reached 30 I realized that my ad muscles were getting harder to see. No matter what I ate (or didn’t eat) and no matter how many stomach exercises I did, my abdominal muscles kept slowly disappearing. Then, I started incorporating exercises that involved the Transverse Abdominus.  Ever since then, I am happy to stay my stomach muscles are more prevalent than ever before. Not only that, my posture is better.  Why? The Transverse Abdominus is connected to your back, ribs and pelvis.  In essence, it is the ultimate stabilizing muscle for your entire mid section.

A simple Internet search will reveal many techniques and exercises for strengthening the Transverse Abdominus, but I will name a few of my favorites here. Again, if you have ben through basic training, some of these exercises will be familiar to you:

The Focused Crunch – Although they are similar, do not mistake this exercise for an abdominal crunch.

• Put your back on the floor with your knees bent and your feet should be firmly on the floor.
• Put your hands just below and to the sides of your belly button. Press a couple fingers from both hands into your lower abdomen.
• Begin by drawing your lower abdomen down towards the floor but do not move your pelvis.  Your chest should raise slightly.
• Stop drawing in your stomach as soon as you feel your muscles being to tighten. The muscles underneath your fingers should feel tight. If you move too far, you will stop working your Transverse Abdominus and begin stressing your oblique muscles instead.
• Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds while breathing normally.
• Do ten to twelve repetitions if this exercise is new to you, increase repetitions as needed.

Scissor Kicks – A drill sergeants favorite

• Put your back on the floor with your knees bent and your feet should be firmly on the floor.
• Place your hands under your buttocks.
• Raise one leg about 12 inches off the ground and slowly lower it back down.
• As you lower one leg, raise the other in the same manner.
• Start with three sets of ten to twelve repetitions, increase repetitions as needed.

The Modified Plank - This is a tough exercise, proceed with caution.

• Start in the push-up position with your palms on the floor and toes on the ground.  Your back should be straight and your feet should be hip-width apart.
• Raise one leg as high as you can and then to a push-up.  Switch legs and repeat.
• Start with three sets of ten to twelve repetitions, increase repetitions as needed.

For other great workout tips, consult the Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook and Workbook at UltimateBasicTraining.com.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival, available at UltimateBasicTraining.com.

Seeking USMC RECON Advice?

Stew - I am an infantry Marine. I've done a couple deployments to Iraq and now that my end of enlistment is coming up I decided I wanted to give RECON a try. I'm a good runner and decent swimmer. However I have a hard time treading water for more than ten minutes. What would you recommend to help me improve? Thank you sir any help is greatly appreciated.

You know you have to practice treading water...I do this after every swim for 5-10 minutes without hands - you have to build up to it that is all and check out egg beater kick without fins on youtube.com for a visual of how water polo guys tread water...but also try it with fins - basically swimming vertically what I call it...

Stew