Sadly for all of us, it’s just not enough to sit on a cycling machine with a copy of ‘Heat’ perched strategically in front of your stats screen to stop you from looking at the time. You could be there for a whole hour – or even a whole day – but if you’re paying more attention to Beyoncé’s new baby than you are to what your core muscles are doing, your time would actually be better spent elsewhere.
Once you nail the correct technique and set those core muscles before you work out, you could be burning three times the calories and looking more toned much faster, while avoiding those post-workout aches and injuries that you will use as an excuse to avoid the gym for the next week. It’s not a case of dramatically changing your exercise routine, but rather getting the most out of those exercises so you can spend less time in the gym and more time doing something fun, or at least something that doesn’t involve smelly exercise mats and chilly walks home…
ABS
When: During ab exercises, such as crunches, the plank and leg lifts.
What: Imagine your belly button is being pulled in towards your spine and up, behind your ribcage. If your press your fingers in the cranny next to each hip bone, you should feel it tensing up. Hold this position at about 20% of your maximum whilst training.
Why: This will make your abs work harder, resulting in a flatter stomach and those sexy three lines everyone wants, but will also stabilise your lower back and pelvis so as to avoid low back injuries.
BACK
When: During back exercises, such as rowing, the seated row and the ‘latpulldown’ machine at the gym.
What: Squeeze your shoulder blades together each time you pull back, ensuring you keep your back straight and your shoulders relaxed.
Why: Your back muscles will work harder, and tone faster, just in time for that sexy backless number you have lined up for your next black tie do…
SHOULDERS
When: When you’re lifting weights to tone your shoulders
What: Pull your shoulder blades back slightly and hold during exercise. Avoid excessive shoulder movement or rotation, but rather keep the movements strong and controlled.
Why: I used to wake up after upper body toning with aching shoulders because while bobbing along to Bruno Mars, I’d let them drift up to my ears like Quasi Modo. After trying this technique, I haven’t experienced any aching at all. Also, if the core muscles in your shoulders are strong, it’ll be much easier to maintain a good posture later in life.
LEGS
When: During squats, running, cross-training, cycling and any exercises that work your leg muscles.
What: Whatever the exercise, ALWAYS ensure that your knees are bending over your feet, not turning too far in, like a pigeon, or too far out, like… a strange person. Maintain a good body posture (back straight, shoulders down), even when you start to tire. Try running on a treadmill in front of mirror. If your head is bobbing up and down, NOT side-to-side, your core muscles are on and your technique is right.
Why: Correct knee alignment will activate all the key bum, thigh and calf muscles to ensure you get the best muscle tone and lose the most calories. This technique will also prevent knee injuries when you get older. Also, good posture activates those core muscles, allowing you to burn more calories per minute.
Sure, it’s tough to remember all these things while you’re working out. In fact, the reason why we listen to music or read magazines while we exercise is to distract ourselves from the pain our bodies are experiencing. But a work-out is supposed to be tough. If you emerge from the gym feeling sweaty, exhausted, weak in the legs, but strangely high on endorphins, you know you’ve done good, and you can have a drink or six, scoff a Timepiece burger, and not worry about exercise for a day or two.
So next time you hit the gym remember to…
- Hold your core
- Defy gravity and keep those shoulders back
- Drop the magazine and listen to your body
- Stop when you get tired instead of letting your technique suffer
And finally… by all means work SHORT, but work HARD!