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You are holding onto the bars while your knees are placed on a pad and slowly pull yourself up and down. I didn't bother shaking my head and waving my hands in defeat, protesting to McDonald that I couldn't do it, it only seems to motivate him to push me harder when I do. So, I simply nodded as he showed me the exercise and said it looked interesting. The key with this machine, as McDonald demonstrated is to use more weight. The heavier the weight the easier it is to lift yourself up as the weight is pushing you back up. You don't want it too heavy though so that you cannot drop your body down to lift yourself back up. It's a delicate balance. I must admit, once I got the hang of the machine and over my fear of being so high up, it was actually kind of fun. "Use your hands just as hooks," says McDonald. "This isolates your back." This is definitely a thinking exercise that takes some practise but has lots of fun potential once you get the hang of it. For the next exercise, McDonald and I walked over to the free weight section where he tied one of the exercise tubes to the wooden bar in front of us. "This is a great exercise for posture," says McDonald. "You're going to need a door handle or something to tie the tube around," suggested McDonald for at-home use. You can adjust the intensity of this exercise depending on the number of times you wrap the tube around the door knob and how close you are to the fixed object. Keeping your shoulders down, elbows and hands high and wide, pull the tube back in a rowing motion. "If you're not thinking you will lose the form," says McDonald. I know I've said this before, but this exercise I found difficult. I kept dropping my elbows, it seems to be a recurring problem. But McDonald says that with time, the form with improve, you just have to keep at it. The final exercise involved dumbbells. With one leg bended on a bench, and your arm holding a dumbbell towards the ground, lift the weight up as if you are starting a lawnmower. It is important to keep your back straight during this exercise, by pushing your butt out and your chest forward. Of course, you do not have to do these exercises all in one session and you should keep the sets between eight to 15 repetitions. Speak to your doctor before beginning any new exercise program. I never knew how important is was to work the back until I saw a woman at the gym with incredible definition in this area. It really made a big difference to the appearance of her entire body. I guess you hardly get to look at your own back often, but remember when you're not looking, there are many behind you that are. "You've got to keep things working together, so that you don't have any weak links," says McDonald. "You want this both for aesthetic reasons and functional purposes." Check out some exercise tips for these body parts: Get your abs fit for summer A challenge for your arms Hamstrings, bun and thighs, Oh My! Don't forget about your chest
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