Justin G. Walls, Certified Personal Athletic Trainer

The Best Thing About Five Minute Workouts... ...Is That You Can Do As Many Rounds As You Want! Exercise #1 Body Saw You'll need a little bit of equipment for this, like  Glidders  or any furniture mover, or even just a towel if you are on hardwood. Start off in a solid plank position ( I discussed good form for planks in an earlier post ). Extend your forearms forward to slide backwards and tuck your hips under you so as not to squeeze your low back for balance. You abs and lats should start to become more active and you should bring your shoulder blades to the front of your body as you extend the arms to engage your lats even further. Pay particular attention to how his shoulder blades come forward to stabilize the body. Proceed through this exercise slowly for :30 seconds Exercise #2 Opposite Side Toe Touches From the plank position, raise up into a straight arm plank. Swing your left leg under your body as straight as possible until you can touch your l...

5 Minute Core Workout! Try one, two, or three rounds 1:00 Push-Up With Opposite arm and leg Raise   Start with both arms and legs on the floor, perform one push-up, and finish the push-up by lifting opposite arm and leg (pictured).  :30 Single Leg Squat Right   :30 Single Leg Squat Left              Use a bench, couch, or whatever you find stable.              Shift your weight to your toes as you stand up. To modify, place your straight leg's heel on the floor to assist you as you stand up   1:00 Alternating Side Planks     Start with arms straight as pictured, transition to side plank on right arm, return to straight arm plank, switch to side plank on left arm 1:00 Jump Squats     I think the picture says it all. :30 Side Plank Toe Touch     You can go into the side plank either on your hand or on your forearm. Raise your upper le...

We Tried This: Strong vs. Skinny | TIME.com According a recent edition of the ACSM Health and Fitness Journal , the fitness industry has made some strides into what is considered a healthy body image. No longer is the muscular look taboo, but the 'lean' look is still the appropriate trend- and the fitness trends are changing too: Lean isn't always healthy. Body fat percentage and muscle tone, like rings on a tree, tell the true story of how well the body has been kept. Blood tests also tell the tale that lean isn't always healthy. Trendy fitness fads like Zumba and other dance classes aren't getting the job done. Neither are the spin classes. Classic, good-ole fashioned boot camp and weight lifting are getting the results. The attitude is different. People (especially women) demand to be pushed and challenged. And they aren't afraid of 'getting too big' anymore. Just of climbing the next hurdle. Check out the latest trends as we head to the end of...

No, the question is not absurd! Some of issues related to waist size cannot be solved by dieting or even regular "exercise" such as running, hiking, or biking. Let's discuss the "belly" problem, frankly: 1. Large and flabby - if the abdomen protrudes beyond the bottom if the ribs AND it jiggles quite a bit as you move, then you may have a water and mineral retention issue. Usually this is the result of too much salt and plain flour in the diet. Sodium is stored in the abdomen until it passes through the kidneys and excreted. Until that time, it surrounds itself with water near the suprailiac (a.k.a. "love handles"). Solut ion: Drink more water, sweat more, and limit salt intake from 500-1000 mg per day. 2. Large and firm- If the abdomen is protruding but doesn't jiggle, then most of the fat is sticking to organs and not skin. Jiggly fat is subcutaneous fat, which is just below the skin and burns up faster. Hard fat is viscer al fat , which s...