Sunday, April 17, 2011

Workout Tips from Jiffy Lube

Got my oil changed at Jiffy Lube today, which meant there was time to read a Better Homes & Gardens mag. In that mag were two cool exercise ball moves that I thought I'd share.

(You just never know where you find a good idea!)

I love my exercise ball. As mentioned before, I use it to do sit-ups. I even occassioinally use it for push-ups ... balancing my hips/thighs on the ball and pushing my bodyweight up with my arms.

The two moves in the magazine went something like this:

Post Hole Digger: Lay your shoulders/upper back on the ball, head sticking out over one side looking at the ceiling, feet flat on floor, bent at knee on the other side of the ball, holding a medicine ball, kettle bell or even hand weights. Raise your weight toward the ceiling, arms straight out. Then lower the weight toward the floor, keeping arms straight. So at the end of this move, your arms are really straight out above your head. Move the weight back and forth. (If you were standing up, you'd be moving the weight from over your head to straight out in front of your chest.)

Flasher: Same position on the ball. Start the weight straight out in front of your chest, arms straight. If you're using hand weights, you can do both arms at once and the motion you're making is similar to how a flasher would open his trench coat to show you the goods. If you have a kettlebell or medicine ball, do one arm first, then the other.

Have fun!

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