Next Level Fitness: Beach Body Fresh for Her – Hot Workout!

    Ladies, if you are tired of wearing a T-shirt over your bathing suit, this article is dedicated to you. If you don’t want to be mistaken for a beached whale while in Cancun, this article is for you too.     July is National Bikini month. Some of you women may not be happy […]

 

 

Ladies, if

you are tired of wearing a T-shirt over your bathing suit, this article is

dedicated to you. If you don’t want to be mistaken for a beached whale while in

Cancun, this article is for you too.  

 

July

is National Bikini month. Some of you women may not be happy about this;

if so lets do something about it. When you aren’t happy you have to do

something about it, in this case you will eat healthier and exercise

more. We got a good response from the men with the first Beach Body Fresh article [May 29], so let’s get to it!

 

Below

is the plan. I saw the big girl in the “Lollipop” video just like you did,

and that is not who you want to be when wearing a two piece. Consider

this quote to live by, “If you want to wear the two piece, don’t order a

three piece!”

 

Legs

 

So,

you feel a little insecure about wearing really short shorts or a bathing suit

because your thighs are fat.  My mother is a larger woman, I’ve seen this

first hand. Look here, Dream Girls are trying to be Beyoncé or Jennifer Hudson,

so the way you get your legs right is by avoiding the four myths below.

 

Myth 1– If I just use a machine on the area I don’t

like it will tone up

. Understand that if you sit on one of those inner

thigh machines in the gym and squeeze your legs together for an entire workout

you will NOT end up with a toned body. You

will have big thighs, they will just be stronger. Variety is the key for

toned legs.

 

Myth 2- Riding the bike will make your thighs

smaller. No! Have you ever seen Lance Armstrong’s legs? They look

like horse legs. The bike makes your thighs bigger, but the Stepper on the other hand is better if you are looking

to reduce size and tone up. The stepper engages the glut muscles the

most and because the gluteus is the largest muscle group in the body, it can

burn up the most calories compared to the other cardio machines.

 

Myth 3- The elliptical is great cardio for your

trouble areas. The elliptical will get your target areas but only if

used backwards. Most elliptical machines can move

in both directions, backwards and forwards. By moving it backwards you

engage the hamstrings, which are the muscles at the back of your thighs instead

of the front ones, which are the quadriceps.

 

Myth 4- Weight training will bulk you

up, so you shouldn’t do it.

 Never

avoid weight training if you want a well toned body and sculpted thighs. The

lower body has the largest muscle groups and these muscles when developed can

contribute major elevated metabolism benefits. This means you burn more

calories while doing your cardio. 

 

Lower

Body Workout – Four sets:

Quads

Superset-Barbell

Squat 8reps, Leg Press 15reps

{one

minute break}

Leg

Extensions, 10 reps

Hamstrings

Dropset-Leg

curls  25reps (point your toes downwards, this way you fully engage your

hamstrings!)

Outside

of thighs

Seated

abductor machine, 15reps

Inner

thighs

Dumbbell squats with feet pointed, 15 reps

Calves

Calf

raises, 25 reps

 

**Do lots of stretching before and after

your workout

 

Arms

 

Another

key target area for women is the back of the arm. At Chicago Fit 4 Life we call

it “wavy arm,” because when you wave your arm, the fat waves back at you! 

The “wavy arm” is a combination of fat and untoned muscle which is just hanging

around. You do not need to spot train that one specific area, but you

should add variety to your upper body program, with many different

exercises. If you want arms like Ciara, here is what you do:

 

Watch

Erika Shevon, R&B Queen of Chicago, going through the workout: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV16x-rOHk8

 

Upper Body Workout – Four sets:

 

Chest

Superset-

One arm frontal raises (cable cross over machine) 10 reps, Frontal raises

resistance bands, 15

{one

minute break}

Shoulders

Superset-

Shoulder Press 10 reps (dumbbells), shoulder press resistance bands, 10 reps

Upper back/Triceps

Reverse

frontal raises

Chest

Push-ups,

10 reps

 

Perform all workouts in a circuit until you

have finished the four sets.  

 

Abs

 

The

critical component of loosing stomach fat relies on your metabolism and certain

hormones flowing through your body. This is why shorter, more intense workouts

are much more efficient.  This means walking or sitting at a stationary

bike reading for your workout will not give you the body that you really want.

When performing your cardio you should feel like Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown –

like you have NO AIR !

 

Success key 1- You cannot spot-reduce the

midsection by doing extra ab exercises like

crunches or sit-ups. You must first burn

off the body fat through proper cardio in order to define the area. Abdominal

training by itself will not do much.

 

Success key 2- Although carbohydrates have

an important role in the body, do not base your meals on them. Try to avoid simple sugars like cane sugar, honey, fruit

juices, syrups, and even a lot of fruit (i.e. apples, oranges, bananas).

 

Success key 3- If you want proper ab

development, you need to add resistance (weight) to your ab exercises. Abs are muscles just like any other muscle. Grab a

dumbbell, either hold it in front of your face, or let it lie on your upper

chest under your chin, and perform regular crunches.

 

Success key 4- Drink at least a gallon of

clean water each day as well. It will

help in nutrient absorption and digestion and will help flush toxins from the

body. 

 

30 minute routine – repeat two times

nonstop:

 

Three

minute incline running

One

minute jump rope

One

minute ab shockers

60

second plank

30

second side planks

30

second side planks

Three

minutes of stretching

 

Bonus Tracks – Eating while on Vacation:

 

Rule 1- Turn in the mini bar key. This is too tempting and once you start drinking, any

inhibition you had regarding your diet is thrown out the window.

 

Rule 2- Find a market place or grocery

store.  Grab some fresh fruit,

vegetables and sandwiches to eat instead of going to a restaurant for every

meal. The portion size is always bigger at a

restaurant than you would normally eat.

 

Rule 3- If you have to go out and eat

at a restaurant, do so only when you are hungry. Try to wait out your hunger pains by engaging in some

activities. 

 

Rule 4- Do not eat late at night (i.e.

after 8pm ). When your body gets ready for sleep

and slows down, it also burns calories at a much slower pace.

 

Rule 5- 

Exert some will power. Just stop at a certain point. I have had clients come off a vacation

gaining 10 extra pounds just because they felt that a vacation is a free-for-all. What

happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what you eat comes back home! 

 

This

is for all those single ladies out there; get your body right and you won’t be

single for long. Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson both got their bodies

right one landed a man and the other one landed Nick Cannon. You

heard Kanye say “a nice stomach and you can maybe land a ball player.”

 

Definitions of exercise terminology: 

 

Superset-  It is performing two exercises with no break. Perform

barbell squats and jog immediately to leg press machine with no rest in

between. 

 

Dropset-

Start heavy and continuously lower the weight when you burn out until you hit

rep goal. Let’s say you start at 50 pounds and can only do 10 reps – drop

the weight to 30 pounds until you cannot perform any more. Let’s say that

number is 10 reps, then perform five reps.  

 

Dumbbell squats with feet pointed- perform squats by holding a dumbbell with both hands in

the middle and feet pointing 45 degrees outwards.

 

Calf Raises- Stand on the edge of a platform or anything that is

elevated like stairs, and tip toe, flexing the calf and go all the way down for

a good stretch.

Siddiqu Muhammad is an ACE

(American Council on Exercise) certified personal trainer, NFPT

(National Federation of Personal Trainers) certified personal trainer,

a Professional Athlete Strength and Conditioning coach, and

Motivational Speaker. Send questions to him at

chicagofit4life@yahoo.com. To view more of Chicago Fit 4 Life’s eating

and training philosophy visit www.cf4life.com