Getting a good workout on the Elliptical machine

The elliptical trainer is one of the most-used machines at a gym, but a lot of people said they don’t get a good workout on it. Fitness Trainer says just like many things in life, you get out what you put in. “If you use it and you use it the way it’s recommended, it’s going to be effective.” If you don’t feel it, you’re not working hard enough. “You can make it as hard as you want to make it.”

Here’s some tips to really step it up. Try to zero-in on the muscles you want to activate.  “If you really focus on pushing and pulling your arms, you’re going to feel it more in your chest and shoulders,”.

Same goes for your legs. If you really want to amp it up, try doing intervals in a squat position. “Move your hands from the handles to the static grips then you’re going to squat down. Lean back and squat down.”

Go for 30 seconds to a minute.  “You should notice pretty quickly, doing this, that your quads start burning.”

You can also change the angle of the deck. The higher is it, the more similar it is to a stair-stepper.

Fitness trainer suggests keeping your heartrate in the high 120’s to 130’s and go as long as you can. “The more past 20 minutes you can go, the better off you’ll be from a fat-burning standpoint.”

If you happen to notice your feet going numb, just shift your weight and try turning your toes slightly in or out.  “The numbing part is the fact that your feet are locked into one position, which you don’t do on a natural basis.”

Bottom line, the elliptical can be a great upper and lower body workout, so really push it. also you can mixing up your cardio to really challenge all your muscles.

Source: http://kwgn.com/2016/05/03/ask-the-trainer-getting-a-good-workout-on-the-elliptical-machine/

Seven exercises to burn stomach fat fast

If building a six-pack were easy almost everyone would have sexy abs. It's not only the actual effort that's hard, it's also knowing "how" to burn stomach fat correctly that's a challenge. Read on and burn the unwanted calories with these exercises to burn stomach fat quickly.

Running or walking: As you exercise, calories are burned and your body fat percentage decreases. So, exercising not only helps you lose belly fat, it also sheds fat from other areas. Running and walking are two of the best fat-burning exercises. Plus, the only equipment you need is a good pair of shoes. Between the two, running burns more calories, but walking really isn't too far behind.

Also Read: 17 foods to detoxify your system

Running and walking can be part of your interval training routine and do not forget to warm up and cool down if your take up running for weight loss.

Elliptical trainer: Some of us no longer have the strong joints we had as teenagers. Jogging is out of the question and walking doesn't cut it. The good news is elliptical trainers provide an intense, low impact cardio workout. In fact, a 145-lb. person can burn about 300 calories in 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer. That's about as many calories as running burns, but without the joint wear-and-tear.

Also Read: Simple exercises you can do in your car

The bicycle exercise: Burning body and belly fat with cardio exercises is half the battle. Next is strengthening abdominal muscles so you have something to show once the fat is shed. In a recent study, ab exercises were ranked from best to worst. The bicycle exercise ranked as #1 because it requires abdominal stabilization, body rotation, and more abdominal muscle activity.

These are some bicycle exercises you can do before you hop on your bike:

-Lie on your back with hands behind your head

-Raise knees to your chest while lifting head and shoulders off the ground

-Bring the right elbow to your left knee and straighten the right leg

Also Read: Why men need yoga

-Switch sides - bring the left elbow to your right knee and straighten the left leg

-Continue switching sides to simulate a pedaling motion

-Breathing should be relaxed and even

-Do 1-3 sets with 12-16 repetitions

Bicycling: Bicycling is another great low impact cardio exercise. Not to mention, it's a great way to travel or see the countryside. Depending on the speed and intensity the average person can burn between 250 to 500 calories during a 30-minute bike ride.

Reverse crunch: The reverse crunch was also ranked above regular crunches as the 5th best exercise for strengthening core muscles.

-Lie flat on the floor with arms at your sides

-Cross your feet and lift them off the floor so your knees create a 90-degree angle

-Contract ab muscles and lift head and shoulders off the ground

-Exhale when you contract; inhale when you lower back down

-Do 1-3 sets with 12-16 repetitions

Vertical leg crunch: The vertical leg crunch is similar to a regular crunch. But it requires you to keep your legs straight, which makes the abs work harder and increases the workout's intensity.

-Lie down with hands behind your head

-Put your legs straight up with knees crossed

-Flex abs to lift head and shoulders off the floor

-Lay back down

-Keep legs extended in the air the whole time

-Exhale when you flex; inhale when you lay back down

-Do 1-3 sets with 12-16 repetitions

Exercise ball crunch: This exercise needs a lot of stabilization which engages more muscles. You'll need an exercise ball.

-Lie on the ball so your lower back is supported and feet are firmly planted on the ground

-Place hands across chest or behind the head -Contract abs and lift your torso up and forward

-Lower back down

-Keep the ball stable during each crunch

-Exhale when you crunch; inhale when you lower back down

-Do 1-3 sets with 12-16 repetitions

Death Ride, tour of the california alpsSlaney goes the distance

During a legendary track and field career that spanned the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, Mary Decker Slaney was accustomed to running before crowds that numbered in the thousands.

Since then she has exchanged her track spikes for an elliptical bicycle, and on Saturday, was one of 3,500 registered participants in the non-competitive Death Ride, Tour of the California Alps. She was one of at least 13 ElliptiGO Inc. riders who came to Alpine County for the 35th annual Death Ride.

Slaney, a four-time U.S. Olympian, who now lives in Eugene, Ore., and is just three weeks shy of her 57th birthday, couldn’t have been happier. After all, she finished the challenging five-pass Death Ride route aboard a red, white and blue bike painted by her husband, Richard Slaney, a British Olympic discus thrower.

Well, there was still one more goal to achieve when she spoke during an early afternoon break at the Woodfords aid station. Having already completed ascents of four mountains passes, she was on pace to finish the 129-mile distance in under 12 hours, but still faced 8,580-foot Carson Pass.

“I haven’t done the last one yet,” she said.

The odds were in favor of a woman who began running at age 11 and at age 14 in 1973 won an 800-meter race during a USA-Soviet dual meet in Minsk. Ultimately, she became the only athlete to hold every U.S. track and field record from 800 meters to 10,000 meters. She qualified for U.S. Olympic teams in 1980, ’84, ’88 and ’96 and was the 1982 James E. Sullivan Award recipient as the nation’s top amateur athlete.

Injuries and the onset of arthritis, however, finally forced Slaney to seek an alternative to running. Three years ago, she found that alternative thanks to ElliptiGO.

The elliptical trainer “delivers a high-performance workout experience that closely mimics running outdoors while eliminating the impact,” according to the ElliptiGO website. Has it been a good replacement to running?

“Absolutely,” said Slaney, adding she has had 40 surgeries in her lifetime.

“The concept of this is for people who can no longer run. Runners developed it for people that didn’t cycle and couldn’t run but still want to run.”

ElliptiGO CEO Bryan Pate noted that the company has had participants in the Death Ride since 2009, and this year had nine attempt the event for the first time. Slaney was one of 10 to complete all five passes (two stopped after four passes). Another, who accompanied his young daughter, only planned to do two or three passes. The fastest ElliptiGO rider was Rick Bienias who completed the Death Ride in under 10 hours, Pate added.

“The bike handles the downhills great because it has a really long wheelbase, which makes it quite stable,” Pate explained. “Plus, the additional drag created by the standing position naturally keeps speeds under 50 mph even on long steep descents.”

Oh, by the way, Slaney is still highly competitive and is gearing toward the sixth annual Founders’ Cup, the World Championships of Elliptical Cycling, on Oct. 17 in San Diego. She has been a top-three finisher in the open women’s division the last three years.

“My favorite part of the race was the starting line because it was the first time since 1996 that I had the opportunity to start in an event of any kind,” she told ElliptiGO.com after racing to second-place at the 2012 world championships. “I hope this sport takes off big time because it’s so fun and it gives people with injuries like myself the opportunity to pursue another sport and be competitive again.”

by Dave Price
dprice@recordcourier.com