Crunch Gym: Elk Grove

Butt Lifting Exercise Moves A tight, toned butt is a sign of youthfulness and energy, and an attribute desired by men and women, alike. Though both time and gravity tend to work against you, with the proper butt-lifting exercises, you can maintain a bottom that is shapely and round. Perform regular workouts that target the gluteal muscles of the buttocks for a rear-view you'll be proud to show off in your tight jeans. The First Step Toward A Tighter Tush... You will need a pair of dumbbells and a bench for step-ups. Hold one dumbbell in each hand and place your right foot on top of the bench. Without shifting your feet, drive through the ball of your big toe on your left foot to come all the way up to standing. Slowly lower down until your left foot touches the ground. Your right foot stays on the bench the whole time. Keep your chest up and core engaged throughout the exercise. Repeat for 10 reps each leg. Raise It High And Proud No equipment is necessary for the butt lift exercise. Lie on the ground face-up with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart. Place your arms to your sides with palms facing down. Lift your butt and bring your knees together. Hold this position for two counts before releasing your knees and lowering your butt to just above the ground. Repeat this motion 30 times. Squat It Out Squats are a full lower body exercise with butt-lifting capabilities. Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width and your toes turned slightly out. Keep your hands by your sides and your palms facing inward. Pull shoulders down and back. Engage your core muscles to stabilize your spine while lifting your chest. Keep your weight on the back of your heels as your hips push toward the wall behind you. Hinge at the hips, shifting them back and down. Move your hips and knees simultaneously as you begin your squat, taking care that your knees do not extend beyond your toes. Continue to lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor then exhale and return to starting position by pushing your feet into the floor through your heels. Repeat this motion for three sets of 15. Liven Things Up You will need dumbbells once again for deadlifts. Take one in each hand with an overhand grip and hold them at arm's length in front of your thighs. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Without changing the bend in your knees, bend at your hips and lower your torso until nearly parallel to the floor. Your weights should be kept as close to your body as possible. Hold this position for a moment then return to standing. Make sure your back stays naturally arched throughout the exercise. Repeat three sets of 10.

What Muscles Does a Scissor Workout Work? Building strength in your core muscles helps you maintain proper posture, which in turn protects your spine and reduces your risk of back pain. The scissor is one such core strength exercise that develops several muscle groups in your torso and hips. It uses your own body weight as resistance and is typically performed on a mat. While the scissor develops strength, it can place stress on your lower back if performed incorrectly. Take ...a couple minutes to warm up prior to your workout. Scissor Technique To perform the scissor, lie on your back on an exercise mat with your legs extended and arms down by your side. Contract your abs as you lift both of your legs slightly off the floor, keeping your knees straight. While holding one leg in that position, lift the other to a 45-degree angle. Then switch the positions of your legs, raising your lowered leg while simultaneously lowering your raised leg without touching the ground. Cycle back and forth in this manner until you’ve completed all assigned repetitions. Major Muscles Worked The primary muscles involved during the scissor exercise are the collection of hip flexor muscles at the front of your hips. The hip flexor muscles include the iliopsoas, pectineus, sartorius, rectus femoris and tensor fasciae latae. They’re responsible for flexing your hip, or lifting your legs forward. During the scissor exercises, the hip flexor muscles are working dynamically, which means they’re causing movement. Assisting Muscles Also assisting during the scissor exercise are the obliques and the rectus abdominis, which is the major muscle in your abs. The rectus abdominis runs down the front of your torso from your sternum all the way to your pelvis and is responsible for flexing your spine. This means that it bends your spine forward. It can also work isometrically, which means it works to hold your spine in a stable position. This is the type of contraction your rectus abdominis is performing as you complete the scissor exercise. Safety Considerations The first, but commonly overlooked, step when performing the scissor exercise is to contract your abdominals to push the arch of your back to the floor. As you lie on your back with your legs extended, you’ll notice the creation of a natural arch in your lower back. Press your lower back into the floor to remove that arch. This step ensures that you’re working your abs while also protecting your spine. Performing the scissor without contracting your abs can place a significant amount of stress on your lower back.

Torso Roll With a Medicine Ball The torso roll, also called a roll up or sit up, targets your abdominal muscles. Besides building muscle, the exercise helps to ease and prevent back pain, improve posture, increase stability and make every day activities like lifting, twisting and standing easier to perform. Holding a medicine ball while doing torso rolls adds resistance and therefore increases the difficulty of the exercise. Because handling and throwing a medicine ball can b...e difficult, start out with a lighter ball -- one that weighs 4 to 7 pounds -- and use a heavier medicine ball as your strength improves. This is How You Roll Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Hold a medicine ball with both hands in front of your chest. Drop your chin toward your chest slightly and slowly roll your torso up until your head, shoulders and upper back come off the mat. Lift the ball or toss it once into the air. Catch the ball and slowly roll back down. Repeat for a total of 12 repetitions. Your abdominal muscles should do all of the work. Do the exercise slowly and keep your abdominals tight and contracted. Spice it Up Vary the torso roll to prevent an exercise plateau. For example, sit all the way up and touch the ball to your toes before rolling back down. You can also do the V roll up by lifting your legs as you roll your torso up so that your body forms a V. To work your obliques on the sides of your abdominals, twist your torso from side to side and touch the ball to the floor on either side as you roll up. You can also do the torso roll with a partner by throwing the medicine ball to your partner when you roll up and then catching it before rolling down to the floor. Form Matters For best results, always practice proper form when doing torso rolls with a medicine ball. Pull your shoulder blades back and together before you roll up. Keep your head and spine aligned throughout the entire exercise. Roll your torso up and forward as if you are doubling over. Draw in your belly button and bring your ribs toward your pelvis. Your lower back, tailbone and feet should remain on the mat at all times. Roll with Caution Always perform torso rolls slowly and with control. Rolling up too quickly puts stress on the lower back and recruits the hip flexors rather than the abdominals. Never yank your torso or head up from the floor, which can strain a muscle and lead to injury. Immediately stop exercising if you feel pain or extreme discomfort. Readjust your form or take a break until the pain goes away. Breathe properly to help prevent spikes in blood pressure and dizziness. Exhale as you roll up and inhale as you roll back down into the starting position.

Core Workouts for Softball Players Although commonly overlooked, the core muscles are what enable a softball player to transfer power as they swing a bat or throw a ball. The explosiveness created by your hips and legs is transferred through your torso, where it then makes its way to your arms so that you can swing and throw at a high speed. The core muscles are also constantly working to support a softball player’s trunk to keep the spine protected. Core workouts for softbal...Continue reading

Do Boxers Do Mostly Pushups for Their Upper Body? Boxers have different body types and different areas of strength. As such, they have focused workouts based on a number of factors. While pushups are both effective and important, they are far from the main emphasis in a boxer’s upper-body conditioning routine. Workouts for boxers need to address more than just the ability to lift their own weight. Power, Speed and Endurance... In boxing, the upper body is primarily responsible for technical aspects such as accuracy, endurance, defense and the ability to land punches. Balance, power and movement are mostly controlled by the lower body. Which training and conditioning methods are most effective depends largely on the individual boxer’s strengths and weaknesses in these areas, as well as on factors such as weight class. These factors will help boxers and their trainers determine which muscles should get the most focus, and which exercises are best. Bodyweight Exercises Pushups are indeed an important exercise to include in a boxer’s workout routine. This exercise builds power and strength in the chest and shoulders, as well as in the triceps and core muscles. But pushups are just one type of exercise relying on the body’s own weight that boxers typically do. Pullups, chinups and dips are also effective for building strength and endurance in the upper body Weight Training Boxers don’t rely on bodyweight exercises alone. Weight training is also a fundamental aspect of upper-body conditioning. Besides dumbbell exercises, such as rows, and barbell exercises, such as the military press, medicine ball exercises such as slams and slide throws are also used to strengthen the arms, shoulders and core muscles. Many boxers also rely on simple tricks of the trade such as using weighted gloves and jump ropes in their workouts. Bag Workouts Punching bags are primary tools in a boxer’s conditioning. Punching a heavy bag improves fighting mechanics as well as providing conditioning to the entire body, including the arms and shoulders. It’s an essential workout for improving overall power. The speed bag also helps to train the arms and fists for speed and accuracy.

Stomach Twisting Exercises Exercises that challenge you to twist your torso against resistance are beneficial for athletes. Baseball players require rotational strength when they throw and hit, as do golfers when they swing a club. However, torso twisting exercises also help those interested in building core strength to improve spine stability and posture. Warm up your torso muscles prior to each twisting workout with a few minutes of walking or jogging and then a few standin...Continue reading

Stretch Cord Exercises for Beginners If you travel often and want to carry some workout equipment on the road, or you like to exercise at home and space is limited, resistance bands offer a handy solution to your fitness needs. As the name indicates, a resistance band becomes tighter as you stretch it, forcing your muscles to push or pull against the band's resistance. Get off to a good start by beginning a new resistance band program with some basic exercises. High Pulls... The resistance band high pull replicates the barbell version and targets your shoulder and upper-back muscles. Stand straight with your feet about shoulder-width apart and step on a circular band, or on both ends of a straight band. Hold the middle of the band in both hands at hip level. Adjust the band, if necessary, so it's taut. Raise and spread your hands so they're in front of your shoulders at the peak of your motion. Your arms should be roughly parallel with the floor and your elbows pointed away from your sides. Pause for about one second and then lower the band under control to the starting position. Squats Squats work a variety of muscles, most notably your quadriceps, gluteus maximus and calves. Stand erect, step on the middle of the band and hold one end in each hand. Move your hands high enough to make the band tight. If you use a short band, for example, extend your arms downward with your hands at your sides. Hold your hands at shoulder height if you have a long band. Squat slowly -- don't let the band pull you down quickly -- until your thighs are roughly parallel with the floor. Rise to the starting position against the band's resistance. Keep your knees aligned with your toes to avoid a knee injury. Biceps Curls Stand straight, step on the band and hold one end of the band in each hand to perform biceps curls. There should be no slack in the band, with your arms extended downward at your sides. Perform the standard curling motion by bending your elbows and lifting your hands toward your shoulders. Keep your elbows at your sides throughout the exercise; don't let them move more than a few inches forward as you raise your hands. Lower your hands slowly to the starting position. Other Beginners' Considerations The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that beginners use a long band with a handle at each end. If possible, purchase bands with different tension levels for a variety of exercises and then match each activity to the correct band. A band with excessive tension, for example, won't let you complete an exercise's full range of motion. If the band isn't tight enough, the exercise will be too easy and you won't receive the maximum benefit. Ideally, the exercise should be challenging toward the end of the movement, when the band is stretched to its maximum distance. Perform 20 repetitions of each resistance band exercise, or work up to that level.

The Best Way to Do Lunges Without Hurting Your Knees Lunges are often referred to as one of the best functional lower-body exercises you can do, but when done with incorrect form, the repetitive motion and the excessive load can wreak havoc on your knees. To prevent this, learn proper exercise form by starting with basic forward lunges using just your body weight. Once you master these, move on to more challenging lunge varieties. Muscles and Joints... Lunges mainly work your quadriceps at the front of your thighs, especially when you take small steps forward during the exercise. When you take large steps forward, you put more emphasis on your hamstrings at the back of your upper legs. Your glutes, or buttocks, also engage during lunges. The joints involved in this compound exercise are your hips and knees. The latter is made of four bones and uses the surrounding muscles and ligaments to provide motion and stability. The Lunge Exercise Lunges look deceptively easy, but there's more to them than meets the eye. This is why it's best to perform the exercise in front of a mirror so you can monitor your form. Start in an upright stance with your feet shoulder-width apart, your back straight and your abs contracted. Breathe in and then step forward with one leg. Bend both your knees and lower your hips to the floor. When your knees are bent 90 degrees and your back knee is close to the ground, push off through your front heel and exhale as you return to the starting point. Then repeat the motion with your other leg. Correct Lunge Form During lunges, it's essential that your front knee remains above your ankle and points in the same direction as your foot. If your knee passes beyond your toes or points in a different direction, it can make you lose your balance or trigger joint damage. Draw your belly button to your spine to engage your abs and to help stabilize your body. Also, be sure to face forward and push your chest out slightly to help keep your back straight. At the lowest point of your lunge, your knees should be bent 90 degrees. Avoid going deeper or not deep enough, as this can injure your knee joint. It also keeps you from working your muscles in the most efficient way. Increasing the Challenge Once you master basic front lunges, progress to walking lunges, reverse lunges, side lunges and lunges with one foot on a platform in front or behind you. For a greater challenge during any of these lunge variations, hold dumbbells in your hands. Combination exercises can also make for a greater challenge. For instance, combine dumbbell lunges with lateral or front raises, shoulder presses or biceps curls. Regardless of which lunges you do, always make sure the knee of your working leg is above your ankle, not your toes.

How to Exercise to Lift the Butt & Get Curves Most women desire a toned curvy body. While there is no such thing as spot-reduction -- targeting one specific area for fat loss -- there are certainly exercises that can be incorporated into an entire full body routine that will help lift your butt and build sexy curves. For maximum results, do exercises to target these areas three to four days week, in addition to a good cardio routine for weight loss. Step 1... Warm up with 15 minutes of your favorite cardiovascular exercise to warm up. Try dancing, running, jump rope, aerobics or any activity that gets your blood pumping and your heart rate going. Step 2 Lift your butt and build curves with squats. Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart and lower your bottom toward the floor as if sitting in a chair. Come back up when your knees reach a 90-degree angle. Aim for three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. Step 3 Do three sets of 10 lunges on each side for a shapely, toned look. Keep your upper body upright and step forward with one leg. Lower your hips until both knees are at a 90-degree angle. Push back into starting position by putting your weight on your heels. Repeat with the other leg. Step 4 Add shoulder presses and pushups to tone your upper body and enhance your curvy look. To do a shoulder press, hold one dumbbell in each hand next to your shoulders and position your elbows below your wrists. Press the dumbbells straight up over your head, extending your arms and lower back down to your shoulders. Pushups can be done either on your knees or toes depending on your level of upper body strength. Focus on using your chest and arm muscles to raise and lower your body. Aim for three sets of 10 to 12 reps. Step 5 Finish your workout with some core work to tone up your midsection. Choose three or more core exercises such as crunches, reverse crunches, side planks or trunk twists. Aim to do three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions. Step 6 Stretch out your legs, glutes, arms, chest and abs. Hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds. Breath deeply and slowly throughout each stretch.

How to Stretch Your IT Band & Glutes The iliotibial band -- a band of tissue located along the outer thigh -- crosses the hip and knee. This thick band works with muscles of the hips, thighs and butt to keep your knees stable. Distance runners and other endurance athletes are particularly susceptible to IT-band tightness, which can lead to tugging, pinching, pain and weakness in the knee and hip joints. Regular stretching of the IT band, or ITB, and nearby gluteal muscles can...Continue reading