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Equinox: 54th St, New York, NY (2026)

09/07/2015

Heart Rate on the Stationary Bike

Pedaling a stationary bike, either at the gym or at home, provides an up-tempo workout that you can use to burn calories and strengthen your muscles. The heart rate you'll experience during this form of workout is unique to your age -- no specific heart rate is universally ideal for workouts on the stationary bike. Knowing and monitoring your heart rate allows you to make the most out of your workout.

Your Target Heart Rate
Elevating your heart rate through an aerobic workout such as riding a stationary bike contributes to a vast array of cardiovascular health benefits, but too high a heart rate can be unhealthy. As you ride the bike, your heart rate should be within your target zone, which is 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. For example, a person who is 35 years old has a maximum heart rate of 185 beats per minute and a target heart rate of 93 to 157 beats per minute.

Checking Your Heart Rate
During many forms of exercise, it's necessary to find your pulse and count the beats to determine your heart rate. But when you use a stationary bike, the machine might be equipped with a heart-rate sensor. Before your workout, familiarize yourself with the machine's controls. Although all machines are slightly different, many stationary bikes have metal-covered handles that you grip when you wish to learn your heart rate. After a moment, your heart rate in beats per minute will appear on the machine's screen.

Heart Rate Considerations
Over time, you'll be able to tell when you're exercising within your target heart rate just by your level of exertion. When you're new to a stationary bike workout, however, repeatedly monitoring the rate is ideal. The American Heart Association suggests keeping your workout toward the lower end of the target zone during initial workouts, as doing so strengthens your heart slowly. As you get more comfortable with the workout, slowly increase your intensity to approach the upper end of the target zone.

Stationary Bike Benefits
Working out with the stationary bike is a simple way to improve your health in a number of ways. This form of exercise increases your endurance, lessens your chance of developing many forms of serious illness and can also clear your mind. Stationary bikes are ideal for people who routinely contend with lower-body joint pain during exercise. Stationary bikes provide a low impact that can help you exercise without experiencing pain.

09/04/2015

Strength Training Using 100 Percent of Your Body Weight

Strength training using your entire body weight is one way to meet your resistance training goals other than using machines or free weights. Multiple exercises for both the upper and lower body can be done using your body weight, and they are all effective at increasing strength and endurance. Body-weight exercises require full-body coordination, which is one of their advantages.

Pushing Up
When performing push-ups, you use your body weight as resistance and work several muscles, including the muscles of your chest, arms and shoulders. To perform a push-up, begin on the ground with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes touching the ground. Keep your body in a straight line and your head looking slightly ahead of you. Start with your arms straight and your hands and wrists directly underneath your shoulders. Then, lower yourself until your elbows are at no more than a 90-degree angle and bring yourself back up again, completing one repetition.

Planking
A plank is a core exercise that uses your abdominals and the muscles in your lower back, arms and shoulders to hold up your body weight. To perform a plank, start in the push-up position but with your forearms on the ground instead of your hands. With your elbows lined up directly underneath your shoulders and toes on the ground, tighten your abdominals and keep a neutral neck and spine. Hold this position for as long as you can, with 30 seconds to two minutes being ideal.

Burpees
Burpees are another exercise in which just your body weight can be used as resistance. To perform a burpee, begin in a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart. Next, lower your body into a squat position, bending your knees and placing your hands on the floor in front of you. Kick your feet back so that you are in push-up position, with your hands on the ground. Bending your elbows, lower your chest to do a push-up. Straightening your arms, bring your chest back up and then kick your feet back to their original position. Next, stand up and jump into the air with your arms overhead. One set is 15 repetitions. The muscles worked during this exercise are the hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes and hip flexors, as well as the muscles of your upper back, chest and shoulders.

Lunge and Walk
Walking lunges use your body weight as resistance to work your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. To perform walking lunges, start in a standing position with your hands on your hips. Step forward and wide with one leg while also lifting up onto the ball of the back foot. With your back straight and your shoulders back, bend your knees and drop your hips downwards, straight to the ground. Your back knee should not touch the floor and your front knee should not pass your toes. Rise up with your front leg and bring the back foot forward. Take another step forward with the opposite leg and repeat the lunge. Complete 15 on each leg or 30 repetitions total.

09/03/2015

Do Squats & Situps Work Your Core?

Although building strong core muscles has numerous benefits, including improving your posture, many people build their core to develop a set of six-pack abs to show off at the beach. You can work your core muscles through a long list of body-weight exercises, including squats and situps. These exercises are ideal because they don't require a gym, meaning you can include them in your home-based workout regimen.

Squats
Squats target your quadriceps, rather than your core, but this exercise's proper ex*****on relies on tightening your abs. To perform a body-weight squat, stand upright with your hands pointed away from you and your arms parallel to the ground. Contract your abs and, while keeping your back straight, bend at the knees and lower your buttocks toward the ground. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground and then return to the standing position. To add resistance to this exercise, place a barbell on your shoulders behind your neck. "Men's Fitness" notes this variation forces your core muscles to work harder.

Situps
Situps are a simple exercise that can provide an intense challenge for your core muscles. This exercise targets your abdominal muscles, but also involves such muscles as your obliques and hip flexors. You can perform situps in a variety of ways, but a common method is to lie on your back, bend your knees and tuck your toes under a heavy object to keep your feet stationary. Hold your hands behind your neck, contract your abs and lift your back off the ground. While keeping your abs tight, pull your chest to your knees and then return to the ground to complete one rep. For an extra challenge, hold a weight plate behind your neck or against your chest.

Strong Core Benefits
Even if you're just intent on building a strong midsection for visual appeal, strengthening your abdominals and obliques plays a key role in everyday life. Harvard Medical School notes a stronger core helps you execute such common movements as bending, turning and even standing upright. Core muscles provide support during physically demanding jobs and active pastimes such as sports, while also helping your posture, improving your balance and alleviating pain in your low back.

Other Core Exercises
Squats and situps are effective ways to strengthen your core muscles, but including a variety of other core-building exercises in your workout regimen prevents it from becoming monotonous. Consider such exercises as front and side planks, lunges, crunches and bridges. Each of these exercises is convenient to add to a home-based workout regimen and in the same way as squats and situps, you can add weight to each exercise to increase its resistance. For example, wear a weighted vest while you perform the plank exercise or hold a pair of dumbbells during a set of lunges.

09/02/2015

Cheap Places to Workout

Keeping active doesn't mean you necessarily have to spend a lot to do so. Many gym memberships are expensive, and if you're concerned with wearing the latest workout gear as you get in shape, it's easy to spend more than you'd like, all in the name of fitness. Instead of breaking the bank, shift your sights to any of the cheap -- or completely free -- places to work out in your community.

Home
It doesn't get any simpler than working out at home, and whether you enjoy a quick calisthenics routine before work each morning or enjoy weight training, a home-based workout can help you boost your physical fitness. A spot on the carpet in front of your TV can be ideal for stretching and doing cardio exercises such as jumping jacks and body-weight activities such as crunches and push-ups. Perhaps best of all, you don't have to contend with prying eyes as you work out.

Community Parks
Breaking a sweat at your community park doesn't cost a cent, and many parks are conducive to a wide variety of workouts. If the park has a path, use it for jogging, cycling or inline skating. Many parks are equipped with adult-style jungle gyms for pull-ups, incline push-ups and even box jumps. Grab a basketball and some friends and start a pickup game of hoops at the park's court or, if the park has a set of bleachers, feel the burn by sprinting up the steps.

Gyms
Yes, some gym memberships are prohibitively priced, but others are extremely reasonable. Browse the websites of the gyms in your city and see which are within your price range. Subscribe to one or more daily deal websites and look for a deal on a gym -- with these sites, it's often possible to find a gym offering monthly memberships for the price of just a few cups of coffee. If you work for a large company, your office might have an on-site gym or an arrangement with a local gym to provide reduced memberships for employees.

Think Creatively
Getting in shape doesn't have to be expensive. If you're on an extremely limited budget, find simple ways to add more exercise to your everyday life. Work around your yard instead of assigning the tasks to your kids, bicycle to work a couple days a week or start a walking group in your neighborhood. Saving money on your fitness routine keeps more money in your pocket that you'll need for buying new clothes once you shed a few pounds.

09/01/2015

Exercises Without Pressure on the Feet

Foot injuries are a pain, but you can still get in a solid workout while you’re healing without putting pressure on your feet. For example, yoga poses can help you condition and heal, while more vigorous exercises like swimming laps can help you get out all your pent-up energy. Low-impact versions of strength training activities like weightlifting and bodyweight exercises can help keep your muscles strong during recovery.

Yoga
Many yoga poses require no pressure on the feet, such as hirasana, or Hero Pose. Start hirasana by kneeling with your thighs perpendicular to the ground, your knees touching and the tops of your feet flat on the ground, slightly wider apart than your hips. Lean forward with your torso, and exhale as you sit back slowly on your calves. Put your hands in your lap, and hold the pose for 30 to 60 seconds. To ease out of this pose, place your hands on the ground and lift your buttocks off of your heels, then sit back onto the floor and stretch out your legs in front of you. Yoga can be therapeutic for people with foot trouble, as poses like hirasana can help relieve tension in your feet and improve arch flexibility.

Swimming
Swimming laps is an effective method for getting a vigorous workout without putting pressure on your feet. Moves such as the breaststroke and backstroke are safe and low impact in the pool. Swimming is an aerobic exercise, which means it rhythmically works major muscle groups and elevates your heart rate for an extended period of time.

Weightlifting
Many forms of weightlifting put pressure on your feet, but you can modify some of these exercises to do them while seated on a bench or an exercise ball. A seated dumbbell bicep curl targets the triceps and biceps. Start with your back against a backrest, with your feet firmly on the floor, your arms at your sides and a weight in each hand. Without arching your back or bending your wrists, slowly bring both dumbbells toward your chest. Straighten your elbows as you lower the dumbbells back down.

At-Home Exercises
Bodyweight exercises can be gentle on the feet while mercilessly whipping your muscles into shape. A crunch is a low-impact bodyweight exercise that targets the abdominal muscles. Start by lying flat on your back with your feet elevated on a bench, chair or couch. Engage your abdominal muscles and lift your shoulder blades off the floor. Lower yourself back down until your back is flat before repeating. To target the obliques, try twist crunches. You also can perform bodyweight dips to work the triceps and pullups to target your back muscles and pectorals. Use caution, however, as some of these exercises have the potential to put indirect stress on your feet during the dismount.

08/28/2015

Calories Used From a Seated Leg Press

The seated leg press uses the same movement and works the same muscles -- glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves -- as the standard squat. However, the machine guides the weight throughout the range of movement. If you aim to lose weight, you won’t burn many calories from just doing a leg press. However, a high-intensity resistance regimen in which the leg press is one component can offer a fat-burning workout.

A Guided Squat
A leg press can be performed in a horizontal or angled body position so you’re pushing the weight with your legs either forward or up. It’s a compound exercise that strengthens the major muscles in your legs and works the triple flexion -- ankle, knee and hip joints. If their legs and backs are too fatigued to handle barbell squats, weight lifters often use the leg press as a safe alternative. Also, the leg press is convenient because you don’t need a spotter. If you aim to build muscle mass, use a heavier load and perform eight to 12 reps for three sets. For an endurance workout, increase the number of reps to between 15 and 20 and do three to five sets.

The Calorie Count
A resistance exercise can burn anywhere from five to 10 calories per minute, according to the “Men's Health Better Body Blueprint: The Start-Right, Stick-to-It Strength Training Plan” by Michael Mejia. If you only do a leg press exercise at the gym and then walk out, you’re burning a negligible number of calories. However, if you’re engaging in a 30-minute workout in which you’re also doing other compound exercises involving large muscle groups -- bench presses, deadlifts, squats and rows -- you can burn as many as 300 calories. The average number of calories burned for a half-hour of weight training is about 250 calories.

Lazy Fat, Active Muscle
Resistance training is designed to build muscle mass. Compared to fatty tissue, muscle fibers are metabolically active and burn more calories throughout the day, elevating your resting metabolic rate. While 2 pounds of muscle can burn up to 100 calories per day, the equivalent amount of fat only burns six calories per day, according to “Personal Training: Theory and Practice” by James Crossley. Additionally, your metabolism stays elevated for many hours after you complete a resistance workout in what is known as exercise post-oxygen consumption, or EPOC, according to Mejia. Compared to resistance training, moderately intense aerobic exercise doesn’t raise your post-workout metabolism in the same way.

Don’t Starve; Nourish Your Body
Instead of focusing on how many calories are burned on a leg press, it may be more useful to consider your energy balance, diet and hydration. If you aim to lose weight, you need to reduce your daily caloric intake by 15 to 20 percent, which will result in the loss of about a pound per week. By following a balanced nutritional plan, focusing more on lean protein and complex carbohydrates, and moderating your caloric intake, you’ll shed stored body fat. A starvation diet not only slows your metabolism but can tap into your muscle mass for energy. At minimum, drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. On days that you’re training, boost your water intake to anywhere from 1.5 to 2 gallons.

08/27/2015

The Proper Placement of the Feet on a Leg Press

Walk into any reasonably sized gym or health club and you're almost guaranteed to see a leg press machine. Indeed, you may see several different types of leg presses, including machines in which you sit up straight, lie down or recline at a 45-degree angle. No matter which type of machine you use, you'll place your feet on a resistance plate and then push the plate forward. The position of your feet on the plate helps determine which muscles the exercise targets.

The Leg Press Exercise
Think of the leg press as basically a squat performed in reverse. In a squat, your legs extend to push your body weight -- plus any weights you're holding -- upward. In a leg press exercise, your legs extend to push the resistance plate forward. The plate is attached to some type of weight, such as a vertical weight stack. To perform the basic leg press, sit in the seat with your back against the machine's back support. Place your feet flat against the plate -- typically in the middle and spread about shoulder-width apart -- with your knees bent roughly 90 degrees, and then extend your legs against the machine's resistance. Stop just short of locking your knees and then return under control to the starting position.

Muscles Worked
The leg press, performed from a standard position, targets the quadriceps muscles in the front of each thigh and the gluteus maximus in your butt. The adductor magnus muscles of your upper, inner thighs and the soleus in each calf also assist in your movements. Stabilizing muscles include the hamstrings on the back of each thigh and the gastrocnemius, your major calf muscle.

Moving Your Feet Vertically
Relatively small changes in your foot positioning can shift the exercise's emphasis. In the standard position -- with your feet in the middle of the resistance plate -- you target your quads first and your gluteus maximus second. But if you position your feet high on the platform, you'll focus more on the gluteus maximus and also work the hamstrings a bit harder than normal. Setting your feet lower on the platform makes the exercise more challenging than usual for your quads. If you place the balls of your feet on the bottom of the plate, with your heels in the air, you transform the exercise into a calf press, which targets the gastrocnemius.

Adjusting Your Feet Horizontally
If you leave your feet in the middle of the platform, from a vertical perspective, but move them closer together, you'll shift some emphasis to your outer quads and also work the abductors on the outsides of your hips. Spread your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and you'll hit your inner quads harder, as well as the adductor magnus.

08/26/2015

The Best Heart Improvement Workout Program

With regular exercise, your heart muscle gets stronger, meaning it will be able to pump blood more forcefully and will also be able to pump more blood with each stroke. At the same time, your body gets more adept at using the oxygen and turning it into the energy that will fuel your workout. Keeping the notion of progressive improvement in mind, the best heart improvement workout program will start a level that you can handle and continually get more intense.

The Basics
The general rule to improving heart health is this: You'll get more benefits the more time you spend doing physical activities that get your heart pumping. If you're currently sedentary or you don't exercise much, it's important not to take on too much at a time. During this "general heart conditioning" phase, your focus should be on developing a regular habit of moderate-intensity exercise, with a goal of about 30 minutes per day most days of the week. Moderate-intensity exercise includes walking, downhill skiing, roller skating, bicycling at a leisurely pace and gardening. If you're not able to do 30 minutes a day just yet, do as much as you can and gradually add more as you're able. If you've had a heart attack or are taking medications, it's probably still OK to do moderate-intensity exercise -- but talk to your doctor first.

Adding Intensity
When you're regularly doing 30 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise, five or six days a week, increase the intensity into the "vigorous" range to improve. You don't have to do a vigorous-intensity workout every day, but try for one or two "hard" days of jogging, cross-country skiing, jumping rope, aerobic dancing or some other challenging workout each week. During these workouts, focus on elevating your heart rate to between 50 and 75 percent of your maximum heart rate. A simple way to calculate your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220, though that's only a broad estimate. In the beginning, you may only be able to maintain that level of intensity for a few minutes, but as your heart, lungs and muscles adapt, you'll be able to add more time.

High-Intensity Training
Emerging research suggests that high-intensity interval training is an ideal way to improve cardiovascular health -- though it's not for beginners. "HIIT" involves periods of exercise at high intensity followed by periods of recovery. For example, you might sprint at near-maximum speed for 30 seconds, and then slow down to 50 percent for another 30 seconds, cycling between the two up to 10 times. HIIT was safer and tolerated better than steady-state, moderate-intensity exercise by cardiac patients, found a 2012 review published in the journal "Sports Medicine.” Once you're able to handle longer, more vigorous workouts, try adding a HIIT workout into your routine one or two days a week.

A Healthy Exercise Routine
A healthy exercise routine should also include strength-training workouts two days a week, helping you build bone mass and maintain muscular strength. And since overweight people are more likely to develop heart disease, rmake an effort not to consume more calories than your body requires. Eat well-balanced meals that favor lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, and complex carbohydrates over excess sugars, fats and simple carbs.

08/25/2015

How to Get a Bigger Butt on a Treadmill

Strange as it may seem, sometimes bigger is better when it comes to your butt. If your figure is on the slight side, then enhancing your derriere can help to give your body definition and curves. Enlarging the size of your butt with lean muscle mass – and not unhealthy fat – is the way to go. Building your glutes, the main muscle group in your butt, with treadmill workouts two to three times per week can help you to be all beauty, with just a bit of braun.

Step 1
Warm up with five minutes of walking or light jogging at the beginning of your treadmill session. Gradually increase the pace as your body temperature and muscles begin to warm.

Step 2
Climb hills by increasing the incline on the treadmill; walking uphill places the emphasis on the posterior muscles of the body, especially the glutes. Start with a grade of 1 or 2 percent and increase slowly as you acclimate to the steeper incline. Take small steps when walking uphill, which can help to protect your ankles. Avoid the tendency to lean forward; elongate your spine and keep your torso centered over your pelvis.

Step 3
Lunge on the treadmill. Walking lunges strengthen your glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings. Performing them on a moving treadmill increases the amount of stress placed on your muscles. Slow the treadmill to an easy walking pace and hold onto the handrails for safety. Insert a set of 20 walking lunges into your treadmill workout every five minutes or so.

Step 4
Insert sprinting intervals into your workout. Sprinting requires a sudden burst of energy from your muscles; combining sprints with endurance runs can help to maximize the muscle growth in your glutes. Run as fast as you are able for 30 seconds and recover with walking or moderate jogging for one to two minutes. Repeat five to 10 times.

Step 5
Stretch your glutes after your treadmill session with Big Toe pose. Separate your feet by hip-width. Bend at the hips and bring your torso toward your thighs. Reach your hands down to your feet and take hold of the big toe and the second toe on each foot. Lift your glutes toward the ceiling; you should feel a stretch in your glutes and the back of your legs. Deepen the stretch by lifting your back up, yet do not let go of your toes. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.

08/24/2015

What Yoga Postures Stretch Tight Muscles of the Sacroiliac Area?

The sacroiliac joint joins the sacrum and the two iliums -- the bones in the pelvis that meet the sacrum. This joint is used in several twisting and forward bending movements, and it can become stiff and painful if overworked or injured. Several yoga poses can stretch out a stiff sacroiliac and restore it to its correct alignment, relieving any pain or discomfort. But pushing yourself beyond a natural range of movement when performing yoga poses such as forward bends or twists can strain the sacroiliac further. Consulting an experienced yoga teacher will help you to identify poses and modifications that will help instead of increase your pain.

Cobra Pose
Some people may experience sacroiliac joint pain because of hypermobility in the hips and lower back. This means that the sacroiliac can pop out of place because of lax muscles in the pelvic area, which do not keep the joint stable enough. Cobra pose is very good for stabilizing and strengthening the back of the pelvis. However, the pose should be performed gradually and care should be taken not to compress the lower back. Enter the pose slowly and without pushing up too fast.

Bow Pose
Another pose for strengthening the muscles of the pelvic area is Bow pose, which is a slightly more intense lower back stretch than Cobra pose. Bow pose also strengthens the spine muscles that run vertically from the sacrum up the back. If your back feels tight or aches after practicing Bow pose, you've gone too far and likely compressed your lower back instead of stretching out the muscles. Enter the pose slowly and do not push yourself if you begin to feel any pain.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose
Although twists can cause sacroiliac stiffness and pain, they can also alleviate it. Half Lord of the Fishes pose can alleviate muscle tension in the pelvis or compression in the lower back joints. This twist can be performed in modified versions, and it can sometimes be helpful to rotate one side of the sacrum backward and one side forward. If you are experiencing extreme sacroiliac pain, consult an experienced teacher before attempting this or any other twisting poses.

Lizard Pose
A modified version of Lizard pose can be very effective in returning the sacroiliac to its correct alignment. Traditionally performed as a hip opener, a modified version of this pose can free up and loosen the lower back, alongside strengthening the pelvic region. By placing your back knee on the floor for stability and shifting your elbows from the front of the mat to point toward the upper corner of the mat, you can use inner thigh strength to release and stretch the sacroiliac.

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