5 SENSATIONAL GYMSTICK EXERCISES FOR LADIES TO TONE UP

Dale Ringin, managing Director of Peak Fitness Challenge in Geelong gives us some great fitness tips:

What if you could use a fitness tool that is compact, light, portable and requires little storage space? What if the fitness tool also allowed you to do hundreds of movements and exercises that are the same as you can do in the gym? And the end result of those exercises is giving that toned look all done in the comfort of your lounge room! Well that’s what you can get from training with a Gymstick. The total body resistance you can achieve using a Gymstick will:

• Improve muscle strength and endurance, balance, joint stability, coordination and postural awareness
• Develop heightened proprioception
• Add variety to traditional types of exercises by adding resistance that is not reliant on the body’s position in relation to gravity
• Reduce the risk of injury as the exercise bands are pulled from below the centre of gravity
• Help develop explosive power in a safe and effective way
• Improve fat loss and developing lean muscle (toning)

Here are 5 simple exercises to get you started and help tone up:

1. Squat & military press

Great for toning legs, backside and shoulders. Place the gymstick at the chin, squat with feet shoulder width apart and keeping your weight through your heels. As you stand up out of the squat position use your momentum to help extend the gymstick above your head.

2. Triceps squeeze with squat

Great for triceps, legs and backside. Place the gymstick on the ground and step over it. Pick it up again and wind it up slightly to get some resistance, resting it near your backside. Slowly extend your arms out away from your body and at the same time go into a squat. Release the hold behind your body as you come back up out of the squat.

3. Crunch with seated row

Perfect for working abdominals and upper back muscles. In a seated position wind the gymstick up to get some resistance. With knuckles on top, the gymstick resting at the top of the legs and shoulders back perform a row (bringing the gymstick to your chest). After doing the row, perform a crunch (like a sit up) making sure you don’t let your shoulders touch the floor.

4. Kneeling leg extension

Great for toning backside, quadriceps and hamstrings. Kneeling on all fours, extend your left leg straight out from your body so that it ends up parallel with the ground and no higher than your hips. Work one side of the body before changing legs. Aim to keep your hips reasonably square and no pressure through your lower back. To add some variety, add in a hamstring curl after you extend your leg.

5. Laying shoulder press

Perfect for lower back strengthening and working the upper back and shoulder muscles. Laying on your stomach and with the gymstick at your chin, raise your shoulders and arms off the ground and then press the bar out in front of your head before returning to the starting position and relaxing the lower back muscles. To add a degree of difficulty, lift one or both feet off the ground as you press out with the gymstick.

For more information about Dale and Peak Fitness Challenge go to www.peakfitness.net.au

Mention this article when you contact Dale to get:

• Two Free Group Fitness sessions (including but not exclusive to Gymstick Muscle classes) – value $30

Or

• A Free 1 on 1 personal training session and fitness consult – value $100

Phone Dale on (03) 5242 8912 or email info@peakfitness.net.au