Thursday, June 6, 2013

10 Exercises to Lose the Last 10 Pounds


Oh, the infamous "last 10 pounds." How do you get rid of that bit of extra weight that seems to hang around your waistline due to age, stress, a recent birth, or simply falling into a workout rut? To help give your metabolism a boost and keep you from throwing in the towel, I created the "Last 10 Workout," a unique group of exercises that will end your mundane routines and get your body fired up to shed that stubborn weight.

To be successful, don't forget to incorporate these core lifestyle changes as well:
1. Remember that what you eat is 80 percent of all fitness and wellness success.
2. Divide your body weight in pounds in half. Drink that number of ounces of water a day.
3. Aim for 6 to 8 hours of sleep daily.
4. Don't starve yourself.
5. Make time for yourself. (The workout below is just 10 minutes. Don't tell me you don't have time for that!)

How It Works
For each exercise, perform as many repetitions as possible in 60 seconds. Don't rest between moves. (Repeat: There is no rest between sets.)

RELATED: Losing pounds fast isn't always safe. Try these smarter quick weight-loss strategies.

1. Burpee Twist: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, arms at sides. Quickly lower hips into a squat and place hands directly in front of feet. As soon as hands touch the ground, kick both feet back into a pushup position. Pause. Jump feet under hips. Jump up, reaching hands toward the ceiling while rotating torso 180 degrees. Land facing start position.
Coach's tip: To ensure maximum strength gain, fully extend your body when you are jumping.

2. Burpee Back Up: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, arms at sides. Quickly lower hips into a squat and place hands directly in front of feet. As soon as hands touch the ground, kick both feet back into a pushup position. Pause. Jump feet under hips. Jump up, propeling yourself backward by driving hips back as far as possible while fully extending body. Land and repeat, this time jumping forward. Continue alternating jumping backward and forward.
Coach's Tip: Aim to create equal backward and forward jumps with each burpee. This will help increase caloric expenditure and maximize musculature development.

3. Single-Leg Burpee: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, arms at sides. Quickly lower hips into a squat and place hands directly in front of feet. As soon as hands touch the ground, kick back right leg into a pushup position while left leg is suspended in the air. Pause. Reverse direction (with left leg still off of the floor) and drive hands and hips toward the ceiling. Upon landing, squat. Jump left foot back into a pushup position with right leg suspended in air. Continue alternating legs.
Coach's Tip: To ensure proper form, move through this exercise in a controlled and steady manner.

RELATED: Diet is a critical compenent to shedding the last 10 stubborn pounds. Make sure you're eating the best foods for a bikini body this summer, not the worst ones.

4. Single-Arm Burpee: Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, arms at sides. Quickly lower hips into a squat and place right hand on the ground in front of feet. Kick both feet back into a pushup position. Pause. Jump feet under hips. Jump up, reaching hands toward the ceiling. Land and repeat, this time placing left hand on the ground. Continue alternating between hands.
Coach's Tip: Place hand in front of and between your feet. This will ensure greater support while keeping your body balanced throughout the move.

5. Half Moon: Begin in a traditional pushup position, feet touching each other, hands touching each other. Reach right leg out to the side as far as possible. As soon as your right foot lands, swing your left leg over to join the right. Continue this sequence, turning your body like a hand on a clock 180 degrees. Reverse direction.
Coach's Tip: With each step, slightly turn both hands in the direction you are moving.

6. Plank Dip: Start in a traditional pushup position with feet hip-width apart and hands directly under shoulders. Brace core, lift right hand off ground and lower right forearm to the ground, elbow directly under shoulder. Pause. Come back up to right hand while lowering left forearm to the ground. Continue alternating.
Coach's Tip: To ensure stability and balance throughout this movement, aim to land your hand as close as possible to opposing elbow on the "dip" portion of the exercise.

7. Break Dancer: Begin on all fours. In one powerful movement, swing left leg under hips (as if you were threading a needle) and extend foot fully to the ceiling. As your drive left leg under hip, simultaneously take right hand and reach it to the side. Extend left foot as high as possible and tap right hand to left toes, arm extended. Return to starting position and repeat on opposite side. Continue alternating back and forth.
Coach's Tip: To ensure maximal musculature strength and development, aim to have your belly button face toward the ceiling as your rotate your feet and hand to their highest point.

8. In and Out: Start in a traditional pushup position with feet hip-width apart. Brace core and walk right hand in front of you as far as possible. Pause, then reach out equal distance with left hand so both hands are shoulder-width and side by side. Reverse direction. Continue, alternating between reaching out first with your right and left hand.
Coach's Tip: To ensure a stable and healthy spine, keep your chin parallel with your feet throughout the entire movement.

RELATED: These top 10 new exercises for thinner thighs are your ticket to lean, sexy legs.

9. Catapult Squat Jump: Kneel on floor, glutes resting firmly on heels, arms by sides and hands slightly behind hips. In one explosive motion, swing hands in front of you toward ceiling while simultaneously pressing into the floor with feet. Jump upward, swinging feet off the ground and under hips until they land firmly on the floor positioned slightly wider than shoulder width. Drop back into the original starting position.
Coach's Tip: To ensure that your hips drive quickly and feet lift off the ground, swing your hands out and up as fast as possible.

10. Rockin' the Cradle: Start in a traditional lunge position with right foot forward, both knees slightly bent, hands firmly on hips. Lower hips toward the floor and drop left knee until it is approximately 1 inch from the floor. Pause and brace core. Quickly raise hips, drive right knee toward ceiling while simultaneously pushing hips back, shifting all your weight to your left foot. Upon landing, drop back into a full lunge position and repeat. Switch sides after 30 seconds.
Coach's Tip: To gain maximum hip mobility and strength, attempt to drive front knee as high as possible to the ceiling.

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