VIDEO

Knee to Elbow Crunches, Crunch With Knees to Chest, Plank Knee Kick
  • Core
  • Biceps
  • Triceps
  • Trapezius
  • Lower Back
  • Shoulders
  • Gluteus
  • Quads
  • Calves
Level:Beginner
Trainer:Nikki Adams
Equipment:No Equipment
Knee to Elbow Crunches, Crunch With Knees to Chest, Plank Knee Kick
  • Core
  • Biceps
  • Triceps
  • Trapezius
  • Lower Back
  • Shoulders
  • Gluteus
  • Quads
  • Calves
Level:Beginner
Trainer:Nikki Adams
Equipment:No Equipment

1. Lay back on the ground. With hands on the back of your head, crunch up bringing your elbows to your knee, and get down to the starting position. 2. Lay on your back, with your legs straight and your hands resting on the floor. Make a crunch bringing your knees to the chest. 3. Get into a plank position. Get your knee high to your chest in the direction to the opposite elbow. Repeat with the other knee. Make 4 sets.

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Many people mistakenly believe that developing shoulder muscles is not important. Well, obviously, it’s not true. So why is it important to work on the shoulder muscles and how to improve them is the topic of this article. What Are Shoulder Muscles? Shoulder muscles are basically the muscles that provide shoulder movement. These muscles are voluntary, meaning we control their work. The main functions of the shoulder muscles are the following: Holding the shoulder joint and its bones in place Allowing your shoulder joint to rotate Providing the ability to move your arms forward, up, and down Shoulder joint protection As you can see, these muscles are extremely important for performing basic things such as lifting objects or holding something. In addition to that, these muscles are rather important for certain sports that require lots of jerky movements in the shoulder area. For example, dancers, basketball players, tennis players, swimmers, and others. All in all, shoulder muscles do a lot of work, which is why we have to develop them. Why Do I Need to Work on My Shoulder Muscles? We have already partly answered this question above, but we’ll give you a more detailed answer just to make things clear. First of all, strong shoulder muscles are a must for many athletes, dancers, and fitness enthusiasts who actively involve arms and shoulders in their activities. The thing is, these muscles are rather fragile, and jerky movements can lead to an injury. At the same time, if one works on these muscles regularly, they significantly lower the risks of possible injuries. But what about people who are not professional dancers or athletes? Well, even if you are not a pro athlete, you still need to go to the gym at least a few times a week to maintain your health, and simple workouts can also cause an injury if you have weak shoulder muscles. So as you might have already understood that working on the shoulder muscles is a must for everyone. Exercises for Improving Shoulder Muscles So what workouts can you do to improve your shoulders? Well, why don’t you consider the following ones: Push-ups Barbell overhead press One-hand push-ups Half-kneeling landmine press Dumbbell shrugs Arnold press Sideways dumbbells Push press Barbell press Wide-grip seated row Final Thoughts Stronger muscles minimize the risks of having severe injuries while working out or even doing your regular chores. So no matter if you are a pro athlete or dancer or just a regular person, you should consider working on your shoulder muscles.
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The quadriceps is a large and strong muscle that acts as the primary extensor of the knee joint. Because the knee joint carries most of the body's weight, the quadriceps is the main muscle of the lower thigh. Weakness of this muscle, in fact, would simply make it impossible for people to maintain an upright posture. Quads are made up of the four coronary muscles: the straight, inner, outer, and middle muscles. In spite of this, during various exercises, the load falls completely on this muscle. Sure, strengthening your quads is important, so let's give a quick look at a few of the best exercises for them. Barbell and Dumbbell Lunging You can do lunges in many different ways. You can do this either with a barbell, or dumbbells, while walking around the gym, or from a stand-up position. Let's consider a variation where the athlete stands in a position using a barbell or dumbbell. This position is similar to the squat position with a barbell on your back. Take a step forward with your right foot. The lunge should make the thigh of the working leg to be parallel to the ground at the low point. Simultaneously, the knee of the left leg almost touches the floor, also forming a 90-degree angle. Back to the previous position. Change legs - take a step forward with your left leg. Leg Press The leg press takes as much of the work out of your back and hips as possible. At the same time, it allows you to train with a much heavier weight than a deep squat. In order to place the load on your quads, your feet should be shoulder-width apart while doing the leg press. Just follow the right workout technique. Press your back and head firmly against the bench, with your legs almost completely straight and resting on the frame and your hands firmly gripping the handles. Bending the knees, form a straight angle between the thighs and calves. Lower the legs back to the previous position. Single-Leg Squat Make single-leg squats if you can't go to the gym to train with training machines. It is a perfect way to get your quads workout done. Because it allows you to load your legs without using extra weight. Start in a standing position, extending one leg slightly forward. While squatting down, extend the leg forward and straighten it. Get back to the previous position. Repeat at least 10 times for each leg. Kick Squat Standing with feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly to the side, place your hands at your waist or cradle them in front of your chest. Focus on the center of your feet. Squat down horizontally at the hips, remembering to keep your back straight. Stand up shifting your weight to one side. Lift your knee to a horizontal position and make a kick with your foot. The kick should be done in one movement. Squats With Fitness Ball Position your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes out to the sides at a 45-degree angle. Grasp the fitness ball, keeping a tense and natural bend at the waist, straight shoulders, and neck. Holding the exercise ball, raise your arms up to shoulder height. As you inhale, begin to bend your knees to your sides, making sure they don't stick out past your toes. Your hips should go down first. Your weight is on your heels. Bring your back slightly forward as you squat down and extend your arms to lift the exercise ball over your head. Perform 30-50 repetitions. Final Thoughts Every person dreams of having beautiful legs, and luckily, getting great quads isn't that hard if you know what to do. So why don't you try these exercises?
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Lower back muscles easily get sore and injured as well as are rather challenging to train. At the same time, these muscles are essential for one’s back health. So what is the anatomy of lower back muscles, and how to develop them? This is exactly what we are going to talk about in this article. Lower Back Muscles: Anatomy & Functions The lower back muscle group consists of several muscles, which are multifidus muscles, erector spinae, spinalis, and latissimus dorsi. These muscles are essential for posture, moving, and even involved in the walking process. In fact, lower back muscles are super important for normal functioning, and those people who have suffered any lower back injuries know it. In addition to that, these muscles are actively involved in the special moves in certain sports like gymnastics as well as in various dance styles. So even though these muscles seem to be small and unimportant, yet they actually have lots of functions. Why Is It Important to Develop Your Lower Back Muscles? Many people believe that, in terms of the spine, you only need to work on the trapezius and upper back since these muscles are essential for the right posture. Certainly, it’s not exactly true. In fact, you have to work on your entire spine to harmoniously develop all the muscles of your back. Plus, the lower back easily gets injured, especially if you lift something heavy, but if you have strong and developed lower back muscles, you can reduce the risks of having such an injury. So no matter if you are an office worker or a professional athlete or dancer, you need to work on your lower back muscles. Workouts for the Lower Back Muscles So how can you make your lower back muscles stronger and therefore lower your chances of getting a nasty injury? Well, here are some exercises you might want to try: Rack pull Harvesting apples Bent over row Side stretching Barbell good morning Belly roll Back extension Side plank Superman Glute hamstring raise These simple exercises will no doubt help you make your lower back stronger and healthier, so do not hesitate and give them a try. Final Thoughts Developed lower back muscles are not only needed for professional athletes or dancers but also for those people who want to maintain their back health. So make sure to include at least a few lower back workouts into your exercise routine. Trust us, you won’t regret it.
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СWorking on the core muscles is not only essential for good looks, but also for your health. In this article, we will talk about core muscles and how to develop them. So without any further ado, let us begin. Core Muscles: What Do They Consist of? To put it simply, core muscles consist of two main groups, which are central and peripheral. The central muscles resemble a sac that protects internal organs by covering the abdominal cavity. In other words, we need these muscles to keep the vital organs safe. In fact, if we didn’t have these muscles, a slight kick in the abdominal area would cause significant damage to vital organs. Central muscles can be divided into several parts, which are: Front - abs Lateral parts - oblique muscles and the surrounding muscles Back - the muscles that support the spine Upper wall - diaphragm Lower wall - pelvic floor muscles The second group of core muscles, the peripheral muscle group, consists of the trapezius, the latissimus dorsi muscle, the pectoralis muscle, the buttocks, and the muscles of the shoulder girdle. These muscles are essential for our posture and back health, which means that developing those is rather important for everyone who wants to be healthy and look beautiful. Both central and peripheral core muscle groups are extremely significant for our health, posture, as well as the way we look. Therefore, in the next paragraph, we are going to talk about the best exercises for strengthening these muscles. Best Workouts for Strengthening Core Muscles So we made it pretty clear that developing core muscles is important for pretty much everyone. So what exercises can you do to strengthen these muscles? Well, here they come: High plank Supine toe tap Hollowman Bird Dog Crunches Bicycle crunch Superman Warrior crunch Supine leg lifts Elbow to knee Bridge Mountain climber V-sit V-ups Side plank Plank shoulder taps Turkish get-up Elbow plank twists As you can see, there are many workouts that will no doubt help you develop core muscles and eventually become healthy and fit. So why don’t you grab your fitness mat and try at least some of these useful exercises to see their effectiveness yourself? Wrapping Up Not only are core muscles essential for beautiful abs, but also rather important for your back health and posture. Furthermore, these muscles protect your internal organs, which is a pretty important feature. Therefore, if you regularly train but you always avoid core exercises thinking they are not as important as the workouts for your legs or arms, you better stop doing that because core muscles are perhaps the most important muscle group in your body.
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While working on their arms, many people concentrate on the biceps and completely forget about the workouts for the triceps. Of course, working on your triceps is super important since you have to develop these muscles in order to have strong and relief arms. So how to train your triceps and grow beautiful muscles? This is the question we’ll try to answer in this article. Is It Difficult to Develop Triceps? Many people believe that growing triceps is extremely challenging, but luckily, it’s not true. The thing is anatomically triceps are rather easy to train and eventually grow. At the same time, these muscles easily get sore after training and therefore impact your entire arm workout routine since you aren’t able to do certain exercises. In general, working on triceps is not as difficult as many people think, yet it still requires some time and effort. How Long Does It Take To Grow Triceps? The amount of time it takes to develop triceps depends on what you are striving for as well as what you start with. For example, if you are skinny and you just want to make your arms more fit, a few months will be enough. In case you want to grow really pronounced muscles, you might need from 6 to 12 months. At the same time, if you have some extra pounds, working on your triceps can take longer since you also have to lose weight. As you can see, every situation is different, so it’s hard to give you the precise amount of time you’ll need to grow your triceps. How Often Should I Exercise? To grow any muscle group as well as be healthy and fit, you need to work out at least three times a week. Of course, you need to understand that even if you try to develop triceps, you still have to work on other muscle groups, so all the muscles in your body are harmoniously developed. In general, most trainers recommend doing 4-6 exercises for triceps during your workouts. Each exercise has to be done in 2-3 sets, while the set has to have 10-15 repetitions. In addition to that, you have to keep in mind that you should start with simple workouts and gradually move towards more advanced ones to see the results of your training sessions. Exercises for Triceps Of course, many of you are interested in the best workouts for developing triceps muscles. Well, first of all, you can head to our video sessions and rain with our experienced coaches. Secondly, you can check out the following workouts: Close-grip bench press Tricep dips Lying triceps extension Isolated triceps extension Cable rope tricep pushdown JM press Diamond push-ups Underhand cable pushdowns One-arm overhead extension Dumbbell tricep extensions Bench dip Dumbbell floor press Push-up One arm kettlebell floor press 45-degree incline dumbbell chest press Wrapping Up Gorgeous triceps is a dream come true for any fitness enthusiast and professional athlete, so no wonder why these exercises are so popular. Head to our videos section and explore triceps workouts from our instructors.
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