Abdominal Bicycles

This exercise is designed to strengthen the muscles of your abdominals. This is a great exercise for skiing and snowboarding because it isolates the lower abdominals, which you use continuously to hold your body upright as you make your way down a ski run. Strong abdominals also help to protect your lower back from injury.

To start, lie on your back with your knees at a 90-degree angle. Your feet should be flat on the floor. Contract your abdominal muscles and press your lower back into the ground. Raise your legs up while keeping your lower back pressed down into the ground. Move your legs as if you are riding a bicycle. The two most important things to remember while you perform this exercise are; to keep your stomach contracted and to keep your lower back pressed firmly against the ground. If you feel your lower back lift up off of the floor stop immediately and readjust your position. You should feel your stomach area, not your neck or lower back. Do 10 repetitions per leg, rest for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat three times.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

Ball Trunk Rolls

Start by kneeling on an exercise mat with your hands on a stability ball directly in front of you. Keeping your torso and your arms straight, slowly roll your arms forward along the ball until your head is within inches of the ball. Once in this position slowly return to the starting position ensuring that your torso remains straight. Do not be surprised if you cannot perform many repetitions, start off slowly and progress at your own pace. Not only is this one of the best abdominal exercises, it is also one of the best exercises for all of the muscles around your trunk and mid-section.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

Two-Arm Cable Curl

Attach a straight bar handle to the end of a long cable. Take a shoulder-width under-grip on the pulley handle. Stand erect with the arms hanging straight down at the sides and the pulley handle resting across your upper thighs. Keep your elbows motionless for the entire set. Use your bicep strength to curl the pulley handle in a semicircular motion from the front of your thighs to a point beneath your chin. Hold this peak-contracted position and then slowly return to the starting point.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

Standing Barbell Curl

Stand erect and grasp a barbell with a shoulder-width under-grip on the bar (palms facing away from the body). Your feet should be set comfortably at shoulder-width distance and the barbell should be resting across your upper thighs. Without swaying your torso, use your bicep strength to curl the weight upward in a semicircular arc to a position just beneath your chin. Hold for 1-2 seconds at this peak contracted position and then slowly lower back to the starting position.

(primary muscles: biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors)

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

Standing Dumbbell Alternated Curl

Grasp two dumbbells, stand erect, feet at shoulder-width distance, and the palms facing forward. Press the upper arms against the sides of your torso and keep them in this position throughout the set. Use the strength of your left biceps to slowly curl the dumbbell upward and forward in a semicircular arc to shoulder level. As you begin to lower the dumbbell in your left hand, slowly begin curling the weight in your right hand up to your shoulder. Continue curling in a seesaw-like fashion until fatigued.

Note: For variation, this exercise can be performed while seated at the end of a flat bench.

(primary muscles: biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors)

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl

Grasp a moderately weighted dumbbell in one hand and place the upper arm along the angled surface of the preacher bench, with the upper edge of the bench wedged beneath your armpit. Slowly lower the weight to straighten the arm. Use biceps strength to slowly curl the dumbbell from the starting point on the bench up to shoulder level. Hold this peak-contracted position for a moment, intensely tensing your biceps and then slowly return to the starting point. Repeat with the other arm.

(primary muscles: biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors)

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800

Incline Dumbbell Curl Workout

Grasp two moderately weighted dumbbells and lie back on a 30-45 degree incline bench. Allow the arms to hang downward from your shoulders with the wrists facing inward at the beginning of the movement. Hold the upper arms motionless throughout the set. Use biceps strength to curl the dumbbells directly forward and upward to shoulder level. Hold this peak contracted-position for a moment while intensely squeezing your biceps and then slowly return to the starting position. It is effective to twist the dumbbells on the way up so that the thumbs rotate away from the body and then rotate towards the body on the way down.

(primary muscles: biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors)

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

Hammer Curls

Grasp two dumbbells with the arms hanging straight down at your sides. Your palms should be facing inward toward each other and your elbows should be stationary throughout the entire set. The palms face each other during the entire movement. Curl the dumbbells directly forward and upward in a semi-circular arc to shoulder level. Hold this peak-contracted position for a moment, intensely tensing your biceps and forearms and then slowly return to the starting point.

(primary muscles: biceps, brachialis, and forearm flexors)

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

Reducing Your Blood Pressure Through Exercise

Blood pressure is defined as the amount of pressure exerted by blood on blood vessel walls as it passes through the vessel.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, causes the heart to do extra work in order to pump blood throughout a person’s body and is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease such as stroke, heart failure, angina, renal failure, and myocardial infarction or heart attack. The recommendations for exercise for those with mild hypertension are generally the same as those for healthy adults. Read more

How to Improve Your Motivation

Many people want to improve their physical fitness, but are unable to motivate themselves enough to reach their goals. If you want to get in shape but never find the time or the energy, try exercising with a workout partner.
A workout partner can be anyone: your spouse, friend, or even someone that you meet at the gym. The key is to surround yourself with the right people. You could find someone who has already achieved the weight loss goal you are striving for or someone who is working toward the same goal. A spouse can be a great workout partner because if you adopt a fitness lifestyle together, it will be easier to maintain.

With a busy schedule, you can often miss seeing friends or spending time with a spouse; or maybe you use social appointments as an excuse to miss a workout. Although you want to make sure that while you are at the gym socializing doesn\’t detract from your workout, having a workout partner can be a great way of spending some quality time with someone.

One of the benefits of having workout partners is that they can provide a \”spot\”. As illustrated, a spotter can help you get the most out of a workout by ensuring that you perform your repetitions safely and with full effort. If you get stuck on an exercise in the middle of a set, your spotter can provide a little help so you can finish your set safely. At those times when you are not sure if you can do one or two extra reps on an exercise, a spotter can also provide motivation and push you a little harder than if you were on your own.

Having a workout partner can be like having a trainer or a coach to guide you. Your partner will soon get to know your good and bad habits and recognize when you are not pushing yourself to your normal limits. Of course, the relationship should be mutual. If your partner provides you with good motivation and support but you do not provide any in return then your relationship may not last long. Furthermore, it is important to be respectful of your workout partner. Be sure that you are always punctual for your workouts and if you can not make an appointment, give your partner 24 hours notice as you would any other professional.

Working out with a partner can be a great step in achieving that healthier lifestyle that you have been working toward. Once you see the benefits of having a good workout partner you can take it one step further. Outside the gym, you can be more aware of your social activities. If you have some friends that are healthy and active you may have more fun going on a hike and out for a healthy dinner instead of ordering pizza and going to a movie. Surrounding yourself with positive people who have similar goals as you both in and out of the gym is invaluable to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.

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