With a tip of the ski cap to the Winter Olympic Games, I'm awarding gold medals to a trio of exercises that can help you tighten and tone your butt.Before going into workout details, however, I need to dispel a few myths and misconceptions surrounding the topic.First, it's important to understand that you can't spot reduce body fat. There is no way to dictate what are of your body you lose fat from. Fat is burned globally from all areas of the body, and how this plays out is largely dictated by genetics.The bottom line: You can do butt exercises...

When you hear the word core, what comes to mind? Abs? Lower back? Obliques? If you thought one or more of these answers, you're partially right. Basically, your core comprises all the muscles that are responsible for moving and stabilizing the trunk or spine.Simply, your core is your body without arms and legs. If there's any weakness in any muscle of this system, your core is compromised.I hear all the time about people who have strong abs, but a bad back. One of the reasons is because they do 5,000,000 crunches a day and neglect the other muscles of the...

Oh, the wonder of the human body! From the time you're born, your body is doing its best to achieve or maintain homeostasis, the process by which the internal systems of the body maintain a balance, despite external conditions.Your body is doing all it can to maintain posture, stay at ideal weight, and gain strength.Unfortunately, some of us are to blame for sabotaging its efforts.Other than inherited sickness, or an unfortunate accident beyond our control, we thwart our body's efforts to be in optimal health.While there are a myriad of ways to be healthy, I believe the gateway to...

If you haven't heard it before, I'll say it again: muscle responds to resistance or load. Whoever told you that loading the muscles with weights just gets you big, is a load of crap.Whether your goal is to increase bone density, get stronger, or sharpen the nervous system; the level of tension placed on the muscle dictates the measure of results.If you're a woman doing bicep curls with those 2-pound "insect weights" -- those cute little colorful dumbbells stacked neatly in the gym -- it's going to take you a long time to get lean.Or if your a man who's...

Trainer shmainer... who needs one? Well, I'd say most people can use one. In our service-oriented society where people are hiring people to do everything from financial advising to holding their umbrellas, why not personal training?The rewards for personal training are far greater than the common services requested by most patrons. Besides peace of mind, there's nothing greater than having a sound and healthy body to take you anywhere you need to go.A personal trainer is your best bet to getting into the best shape of your life! Let's look at my top 5 reasons you should...

About 80% of all people who start an exercise program stop working out within a few months. This usually follows a familiar pattern: After a short time the novelty of training starts to wear off. Enthusiasm wanes. You begin to skip workouts. Little by little, the number of missed workouts increases until your goal of getting into shape becomes a distant memory. Don't become a statistic. You can beat the odds and become a life-long fitness success story. All it takes is a commitment to goal setting. Goals are a function of your motivation-the reasons for wanting to exercise. So...

I have been motivating and educating people on exercise and fitness for almost 20 years. I enjoy teaching people the truth concerning how their body works-either for or against them-depending on how they exercise.I believe it's best to first exercise your mind before you exercise your body. Comedian Emo Phillips once said, "I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this." Very funny! But seriously, it is your brain that tells you what to do. So if you expect your brain to instruct you accurately, it...

Circuit training seems to be the latest trendy workout routine... and for good reason. Everyone is either trying to lose body fat or to build muscle or cardiovascular endurance.Unfortunately, some of the workouts I've seen belong in Cirque du Soleil rather than a gym floor.What's worse, some of these people are under the guidance of a McTrainer -- run of the mill "fitness pros" you can find everywhere. Because they're more affordable than the average experienced trainer, consumers end up getting these trainers off the dollar menu.In the long run, it's the consumer who ends up getting supersized with some...

It's common knowledge that exercising is a great way to boost your metabolism. But while virtually any type of physical activity will provide a metabolic lift, some routines are better than others in terms of ratcheting up your body's ability to burn fat.If you're interested in reducing body fat (and really, who isn't?), I'm going to make things easy for you. The actual workouts won't be easy, but the template for success certainly is.I've compiled three high-energy fitness routines guaranteed to stoke your fat-burning furnace-all you need to do is put in the necessary sweat and effort to achieve terrific...

If you're like me, you probably started out exercising, getting your strength training information from magazines. So with a degree in magazinology, you basically followed every routine that worked out for some oversized gym rat or inexperienced model. What you don't read about are the aches and pains some of these "experts" go through by doing contraindicated exercises. What are contraindicated exercises? Exercises that go against natural movement, and that may cause harm to you in the long run. Because the body is resilient, you can get away with doing something bad for a long time before it puts...

Sorry folks... weight training doesn't work. Well, at least for some people it doesn't. There are plenty of reasons why one may think that weight training isn't working for them, or that it isn't producing the results they want. I've narrowed down a few things I think have great effects on your results when using weights.Tempo!Slow down jackrabbit! I've seen people do reps like they're in a race with someone. While a quick tempo may work at times, you risk injuring yourself if you lose control. Instead, try going at a slower tempo for better results. Concentrating on...

Got love handles? Get rid of them and be on the other side of the jealousy fueled insults when you're flaunting your abs on the beach... or working out at the gym in your cut-off shirt!Well if you don't like showing off, maybe you just want to take control of that situation down below. Now I must say that I am a proud member of the AACFF group -- that's Americans Against Crunches For Fat. Although this group exists solely in my mind, I must say that you will only see your abs through diet and exercise. You cannot...

Are you one of those people who spend so much time at the gym that you might as well have your mail forwarded there? If not, I'm pretty sure you know someone that looks like they spend more time at the gym than the managers.Now besides the gym mice that run the treadmill for two hours (unnecessarily), there are some people that hog all the dumbbells and set up their little home gym in some part of the facility. In this regard, I'm going to show you some exercises that'll save you precious time in the gym while stimulating the...

Summer's knocking on the door and with it comes the type of weather that begs for performing outdoor activities. After all, who wants to stay indoors when the sun is shining and the temperature is hovering around 80 degrees? With this in mind, here are a few of the hottest fitness trends for shaping up this summer. Give them a try and you'll soon see that you don't need a gym to stay fit! Boot Camp Workouts: Boot camp workouts can be a great way to increase your strength and endurance while burning a boatload of calories in the process. In theory...

I'd like to touch on a few tips for kick-starting stalled weight loss. If you fall into this category, you're not alone. It's usually pretty easy to lose weight at the beginning of a diet. Those initial pounds just seem to melt away and then, as you get closer to your goal weight... the dreaded plateau! Sound familiar? Don't fret. Follow these tried-and-true strategies and you'll soon be back on the road to slimming down and, more importantly, staying that way for the long haul. Tip #1: Lift weights! Most people think of performing cardio rather than strength training to aid...

If you want to get your body beach-season ready, you need to start training now. Wait until summer and you've waited too long. To help you get swimsuit fit, I'm going to detail a targeted, high-energy abdominal training routine that's guaranteed to help you sculpt a terrific midsection—an essential component of a head-turning beach body. You'll have abs to die for in no time at all… if you stick to the program and use proper form. It's important to realize that achieving fab abs first requires shedding the layer of fat covering your midsection muscles. Despite what you may have...

Before you know it, Memorial Day will be upon us along with outdoor barbecues, pool parties and trips to the beach. That means you’ll be wearing less clothing and showing off more skin. Is your body ready? Too often we wait until the warm weather is here before we begin exercising. That leads to frustration when we realize that there isn't enough time shed those unwanted pounds and tone up in time for warm weather fashions. Fitness is not an instant gratification process. If you want to want to look good in that tank top or tankini by summer, the best time to...