GGX Schedule for Friday, Dec.9:
AM:Yoga (NJ)-8:30am-9:30am
PM: Pilates (Daenna)-5:30pm-6:30pm

WORKOUTS

The Gold’s Gym Wings & Thighs Workout

In honor of Turkey Day, we dish on the six best moves to pump up your wings and thighs.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we have bird on the brain, so we asked Gold’s Gym Fitness Institute trainer Adam Friedman to give us exercise moves that would focus on your very own wings and thighs (aka your delts and upper legs) plus the hows and whys behind each one. Add a serving of these six simple and effective moves to your regular routine once or twice a week to get your gobble on.

DEADLIFT

Why: This powerful hip movement helps tone the entire body while simultaneously developing muscle mass in your thighs. Friedman urges people to focus on clean technique rather than maximum weight. “That means a straight spine with perfect posture through the shoulders,” he says. “Use your lats to really stabilize your spine. The movement should be dominated by the hips.”

How: Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, and a dumbbell between your feet. Bend your knees, as if sitting back, while keeping your back straight, and pick up the dumbbell. Take a deep breath, stand up, then exhale. You’ll know the dumbbell is too heavy if your spine rounds forward instead of staying neutral.

Start with 3 sets of 5 reps

BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUAT

Why: This exercise focuses on the quads but also tones and strengthens the entire lower body. Friedman offers a word of caution: “People put too much weight on the back foot. The working leg is the front leg, and 90% of your weight should be on it. The back foot is there for balance and just a little bit of assistance.”

How: Start with one foot on the floor and the other leg extended backward so the sole of your foot is facing upwards resting on a bench. If you want, put a bar on your shoulders for added weight resistance. Bend your front knee and keep your back straight while your other knee lowers toward the floor. Just before it touches the floor, pause, then return to the starting position.

Start with 3 sets of 5 reps on each side

SIDE LUNGE

Why: This one is simple and works to build muscle while increasing flexibility.

How: Stand straight with your abs tight to maintain balance and place your hands on your hips. Move your left foot to the side, bending your knee, while keeping your right leg straight. Make sure your left knee doesn’t pass your left toe. Push your left foot into the floor and return to a standing position. Complete the set, then go down to your right. Hold a medicine ball in your hands for a more advanced move.

Start with 3 sets of 8 reps on each side

DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS

Why: This move targets the shoulders along with the triceps and back. Friedman recommends standing up rather than sitting while doing shoulder presses because it encourages proper form. “People make a mistake when they don’t use their abdominals and core to stabilize,” he says. “It comes down to keeping the spine neutral and making sure there’s no arching of the lower back.”

How: Take a dumbbell in each hand using an overhand grip, with your arms out to the side and your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle with the dumbbells toward the ceiling. Simultaneously push both arms upward until each one is straight. Bring them back to the original position, controlling the dumbbells throughout the movement.

Start with 3 sets of 5 reps

DUMBBELL SIDE-LATERAL RAISE

Why: The raises work the lateral delts on the side of the shoulder, which are difficult to train and can be overlooked as a result. Make sure to watch your arm movement. “I typically don’t advise raising the elbows above the shoulder, because that can impinge the cartilage in the AC joint that attaches your shoulder to your torso,” Friedman says.

How: Start by standing straight with a dumbbell in each hand and your arms hanging down by your sides. Pinch your shoulder blades together and tighten your stomach, then raise the dumbbells up until your arms are parallel to the ground. Pause briefly, then return to the starting position.

Start with 3 sets of 5 reps

BENT-OVER DUMBBELL REVERSE FLY

Why: This works your posterior deltoid in the back of your shoulders as well as your upper back and neck. Using free weights helps train the entire spectrum of muscles, as opposed to using a machine that can focus too much on one group. “It’s super important to maintain a neutral spine in any bent-over move, especially here,” Friedman says. “Make sure to maintain it the entire time. Don’t swing the dumbbell to get it up, and really focus on retracting the shoulder blades. It’s an excellent exercise that helps with the postural muscles and balance.”

How: With a dumbbell in each hand, bend at the waist while keeping a straight back, your chest up, and your knees slightly bent. Bring your elbows up until they are even with your back, focusing on a tight stomach then lower back to the starting position.

Start with 3 sets of 5 reps

  GGX Schedule for Friday, Jan.8:

AM: Pilates (Valerie)-8:30am-9:30am
PM:Circuit Training (Sami)-5:30pm-6:30pm

 

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

6 Fitness Killers

We asked two Gold’s Gym Fitness Institute trainers to name six small things that can stop you from seeing real results.

Getting in good shape and staying that way is all about attention to detail. Picking the right running shoes and a healthy spot for Saturday dinner can be just as important as making sure you get to the gym. You have to be aware of small fitness killers that can creep into your routine and stall your progress, making all of that hard work you’ve put in less valuable. Gold’s Gym Fitness Institute trainers Adam Friedman and Jamie Eason each gives us three seemingly small things that can be fitness goal blockers.

ADAM FRIEDMAN

1) The Issue: Phone stops between sets.

The Details: Texting and talking between sets leads to bad gym behavior for two reasons. One, you might end up taking more time between sets, wasting valuable gym time and letting your heart rate slip. Two, while you’re typing away, your body wants you to be hydrating and stretching to recover from the work it just put in. This can throw off the overall rhythm of your workout and put you at risk for injury.
The Fix: Leave the phone in your gym bag or, if you use it as an MP3 player, put it on Do Not Disturb mode. Never rest more than a minute between sets to keep your heart rate up.

2) The Issue: The weekend.

The Details: It’s easier to stick to a diet plan during the workweek when you have a more set schedule. Once the weekend starts and your social life picks up, you might be tempted to slip, and a few drinks might cloud your judgment. Allowing yourself a cheat meal or two is fine, but you can’t outtrain an entire cheat weekend. High-calorie free-for-alls will ruin all the hard work you put in on Monday through Friday.
The Fix: If this is something that happens to you, plan your cheat meals around a social event where you know you’ll be tempted, pick restaurants that have healthy choices, and alternate alcoholic drinks with club soda or water.

3) The Issue: Single-minded cardio.

The Details: Sticking to one type of cardio can allow your muscles to adapt and get too familiar with the training—so you don’t get the same results you once did. Also, you might become too passive, logging just time instead of intensity.
The Fix: Your muscles like surprises, so switch it up. Try switching machines every 10 minutes (for example, stationary bike to stairstepper to treadmill). Also, don’t forget to add in some strength training—a cardio-only regimen is bound for a plateau.

JAMIE EASON

1) The Issue: Your playlist.

The Details: The gym may not be the best place to listen to smooth jazz. Choosing the wrong music can negatively impact the overall focus of your workout. It can adversely affect the rhythm and intensity of both cardiovascular and muscle-intense training.
The Fix: Try syncing the rhythm of a song to the pace of your workout. This can help sustain the intensity, as well as stifle that little voice in your head that often tells you to stop. Also, try switching things up, rotating your playlist for more variation, or sharing workout playlists with your friends on Spotify.

2) The Issue: Sports drinks.

The Details: Unless you are engaged in prolonged physical activity such as a marathon or a bike ride, sports drinks can usually do more harm than good. A 16-ounce sports drink usually contains 14 grams of sugar, which is very difficult to burn off in one session at the gym.
The Fix: Drink water! Aim to drink at least half of your body’s weight in ounces each day. Hydration is essential for all aspects of training.

3) The Issue: Tight grip.

The Details: This issue applies to the weight trainers out there. An overly tight grip does nothing more than strengthen your forearms and will tire you out faster when performing exercises. This can leave you exhausted at the end of an arm row, wasting energy you could be saving for a more effective session.
The Fix: Simply try loosening your grip, or invest in some padded gloves and straps to help ease the tension in your hands, wrists and forearms when performing various exercises.

Notification: Elly's Zumba class will be cancelled tomorrow.
GGX Schedule for Thursday, Dec.31
AM: Spin Bike (Kanae)-5:45am-6:45am
Circuit Training (Sami) -8:30am-9:30am
PM:TRX (Ferleen)-5:00pm-5:30pm
TRX/Abs (Ferleen)- 5:30pm-6:00pm
Spin Bike (JP)- 5:15pm-6:15pm
Boxing Circuit (Jasper) - 5:30pm-6:30pm

GGX Schedule for Tuesday, Dec.29
AM: Spin Bike (Kanae)-5:45am-6:45am
Tone and Sculpt (Bel) -8:30am-9:30am
Yoga (Nicole)- 9:45am-10:45am
PM:TRX (Ferleen)-5:00pm-5:30pm
ABS/CORE (Ferleen)- 5:45pm-6:20pm
Spin Bike (Gerald)- 5:15pm-6:15pm
Zumba (Liz) - 6:30pm-7:30pm

Join the 2015 GOLD"S GYM SAIPAN CHALLENGE DOUBLES EDITION registration starts January 2-15,2015