Toning and strengthening your back muscles may not be in the forefront of your mind, but this often-overlooked area can do so much for your shape. Celebrity trainer Jennifer Cohen says that strengthening your upper body, back, and shoulders helps you achieve a long and lean "V-shaped" back that makes you appear "10 to 15 pounds thinner." Using bands, weights, or equipment can definitely help your cause, but working your back at home is possible with these easy-to-follow no-equipment moves. Rotating Deadlift
Stand on your left leg with your right leg behind and right toes resting on the floor. Bend both knees slightly and place your hands behind your head allowing your elbows to open wide.
Pull your abs toward your spine and keep your back straight as you hinge forward from your hips until your torso is almost parallel to floor.
With a flat back, press through your left heel and return to standing. As you do this, twist your torso (shoulders included!) to the left over your front left. Be sure to keep your pelvis and hips still and facing forward. This completes one rep.
Single-Leg Deadlift
Stand with all your weight in your right foot, abs engaged and chest lifted.
Reach your torso forward as you lift your left leg behind you. Reach your arms out to the sides for balance as your torso and leg come parallel to the floor.
Hold this position for a moment, and reach through your left heel to engage the back of the left leg.
Moving in one piece, lower your right leg toward the floor as you return to standing upright, resting the left foot lightly on the ground. This completes one rep.
Twisted Bird Dog
Get on all fours, with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. Remember to keep abs engaged and keep your back flat.
As you extend your right leg out straight, open up your left shoulder for an oblique and back twist.
Round your back and head to connect your left elbow with your right leg under your body. Extend right hand and left leg back out for one complete rep.
Marching Bridge
Lie on your back with your hands by your side, with your heels about 12 inches from your pelvis. Press your heels into the floor to come into a bridge position with a neutral spine.
Press your right heel into the floor, and keeping your knee bent, raise your left leg until your hip is a 90 degrees. Lower your left leg down, pressing through your glutes so your pelvis doesn't drift to the floor along with the leg. This completes one rep.
Seated Trunk Twist
Begin sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you; lengthen your spine to keep your back straight.
Pulling your navel in tight, twist from right to left, lightly touching both hands from side to side to complete one rep.
Superwoman Locust
Lie on your belly with your legs together. Lace your fingers behind your back with straight arms.
As you inhale, lift your legs, head, upper body, and arms up and off the floor.
As you breathe, extend the crown of your head away from your toes, lengthening as much as you can through your spine.
Stay for five breaths, and then release back down to the starting position. This completes one rep.
Pilates Mat Swimming
Begin on your stomach with your arms extended in front of you.
Keeping your neck neutral and in line with your spine, lift your feet, arms, and chest from the floor.
Begin to "swim" by lifting your opposite arm and leg a little higher, then alternate sides, making a fluttering motion.
No matter how you feel about the weighing yourself, Dietitian Julie Upton, MS, RD, of Appetite For Health, shares details from a new study on how the scale can help with weight loss.
According to a first-of-its-kind study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers from Duke University Obesity Prevention Program reported that those who weighed themselves daily lost about three times as much weight and body fat, compared to those stepped on the scale less frequently. Related:Nutritionist-Recommended Foods to Suppress Your Appetite Naturally
The Duke obesity researchers enrolled 47 overweight men and women into a weight loss clinical trial that used electronic scales that were networked to the researchers' computer network. All subjects were instructed to weigh in daily and were given some basic advice about healthy eating and exercise behaviors (i.e., increase water consumption, walk more, eat fewer snacks, enjoy more fruits/veggies).
Using data from the subjects' escales, the researchers could objectively track the frequency of weigh-ins as well as the actual weights recorded. Previous studies have relied on subjects' self-reported information about weigh-ins, which is considered less reliable.
After six months, the researchers evaluated both body weight and composition of all subjects and found that those who weighed in daily (51 percent of all subjects) lost an average of 20 pounds, compared to about seven pounds lost among those who weighed themselves about five days per week. Subjects who weighed themselves daily were also more likely to report following through on more healthy diet and lifestyle behaviors.
The authors concluded: "Daily weighing may trigger the self-regulatory processes that promote behavior change. Those who weigh daily report greater adoption of diet and exercise behaviors associated with weight control." Related:Weighing Yourself With Clothes On? Feel Free to Subtract This Much
This study adds to previous studies that also reported that those who weigh themselves more frequently lose more weight and are less likely to gain weight over time. As a dietitian, I've always been hesitant to recommend getting obsessed with the number on the scale, but newer studies suggest that it's important to keep tabs on your body weight so that you can alter behaviors when you notice small increases in weight gain. It's a lot easier to lose three or five pounds than it is to lose 20 or more, so frequent weigh-ins are one way to keep your weight stable for a lifetime.
Are you finding yourself counting calories, sticking to your numbers, and even still not seeing results? The problem might be not about the number of calories, but the kind of calories.
We chatted with certified personal trainer and nutrition coach Carrie McMahon, author of the e-book Why You Should Count Macronutrients, Not Calories. With a life revolving around calorie counting and uncontrollable cheat days (sound familiar?), McMahon was stuck in a restrict-and-binge cycle that she couldn't seem to escape. She soon realized that in order to make a change in her health, she needed to change her approach to food — so she ditched the calorie counting in favor of a less mainstream concept: macronutrient counting.
"Macronutrients are what make up the caloric content of a food," says McMahon. Sometimes referred to as "macros," the three categories of macronutrients are carbohydrates, fat, and protein. The caloric combination of the macros is where that mysterious total number of calories comes from. Here's the breakdown:
1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
So it's not about how many calories are in your food, but what kind of calories are in your food. Even if you set a strict calorie limit and stick to it, you could be eating total garbage and not getting the nutrients you need. McMahon herself said that back in her days of calorie counting, she would eat "low-fat bars and cereals, fat-free ready meals, et cetera . . . all day long." The result? "I felt like sh*t."
What are the benefits of ditching your calorie-counting ways? For starters, you can indulge with a little less guilt. "Let yourself eat those treats!" says McMahon. "Fit them into your macro allowances, and don't just stick to 'boring foods' or you'll burn out" — and in turn, binge. When you're eating a balanced diet, "cravings go away, because you're not deficient in anything." This balance will "give you more energy, better workouts, and better results." Feeling better, working out better, killing cravings, and treating yo'self? Sign us up!
Ready to get started? Decide whether you want to increase your metabolism, lose fat, or build muscle. McMahon recommends the following daily proportions to her clients beginning this nutritional program:
Since tracking can be tough (and a tad math intensive), download a macro-counting app (she recommends My Macros+ app ($3)), where you can enter your foods for each meal while the app does the math for you. That way, you can see if you're reaching your daily numbers, and start reaching your healthy goals.
Deadlifts may as well be deemed the unicorn of exercise moves. Praised by trainers and physical therapists alike, the strength training move simultaneously works the core, back, butt, upper body, and legs — no stone unturned here. But if you want an even bigger challenge, try it on one leg with a kettlebell — you won't be disappointed! (In fact, be proud of yourself for stepping up to the advanced variation.) Doing so challenges your balance, increasing the intensity of the core workout, and also gives your hamstring some extraspecial love.
Hold a kettlebell (between 10 and 20 pounds) in your right hand, and lift your left foot slightly off the ground.
Keeping your back neutral, lean your entire torso forward while raising your left leg, which should stay in line with your body. The kettlebell will lower toward the ground. Keep your left shoulder blade pulled down your back.
With your back straight, return upright, coming to your starting position. This completes one rep. Maximize this move by keeping your right foot off the ground as you go through your reps.
