Fitness Friday - Squats vs. Lunges

Lunges were our topic of choice for last Fitness Friday, I started thinking more about this subject after writing that post up and it lead me to wondering if lunges are better than squats or vice versa.  They both work similar muscle areas and I have found that lunges are much harder for me to do.  Is it a better use of my time to work to better my lunges or is it more useful for me to continue my squat routine?  I set out to find the answer to my question and decide how to best use my time during leg day, I have limited time until the end of finals and need to maximize every moment that I have at the gym.

I found a great article from Pop Sugar Fitness that addressed this topic and gave me a much better idea of how I should be using my time at the gym.  The article agrees with me that squats seem to be much easier for beginners and lunges are a more advanced exercise.

We will start with Pop Sugar Fitness' thoughts on squats.  "If you're just starting to get your backside into shape, then consider squats your go-to exercise. Because they are a functional movement, squats are a good introduction to the weight room; it's easy to add weight or resistance to the exercise, which quickly helps to increase strength. Since the weight is distributed onto your heels when doing squats, the exercise requires less balance than lunges. Instead, doing a squat is much like sitting down in a chair, making them a great exercise for working the glutes and hamstrings. Turn squats into a quick cardio workout by adding jumps, or challenge your core with the addition of a BOSU ball. Whatever you decide, expect to build a firm backside in no time!"

I do add weights to my squats but I have never tried adding jumps or any type of BOSU ball.  I have squats pretty well mastered but I was excited to see ways to make them harder and to burn more calories working through them

Lunges work many of the same muscles but in a very different way.  "Rather than the up and down motion of a squat, lunges require a step forward or backward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Because lunges involve the transfer of weight to one leg, they are a test of balance, especially when using weights, meaning your core gets a workout too! And depending on the variation, lunges can also allow for an increased focus on the glutes or inner thighs; do side lunges to work your hips or reverse lunges to counter the forward movements of everyday life. Bonus: lunges offer something that most exercises don't — a good stretch! Depending on your depth and range of motion, lunges help to increase flexibility in your hips"

Pop Sugar is very correct when they state that lunges require much more balance than squats do, I tend to lose my balance at least once or twice during a set of lunges.  I also can feel the core work that this exercise does and I love that they work two muscle groups at once, I can get double the bang for my buck once I get better at these exercises.

Reading over this article, I feel that my best bet for gym will be to spend some time working more cardio into my squats and then deciding how it balances out with reducing my time spent on the treadmill.  I need to continue to improve on my lunges and keeping my balance while doing them so that I can do a bit of extra core work on leg day.  I'm not surprised that this article didn't give a clear answer as to which exercise is better and I agree that doing both of them will be more beneficial than trying to only do one.  It will be easier for me to work the cardio into my squat routine now and then I will need to take more time at the gym after finals in order to put the time into perfecting my lunge formation.

photo courtesy of fitwirr.com

Fitness Fridays - Plank

Today is my first Fitness Friday post and I wanted to start off with a simple strengthening exercise that everyone should be doing at least three or four times a week yet I feel that many people are not aware of.  "Holding plank" is a term that I saw in many issues of Women's Health over the years and never really understood what this exercise is or how I should be doing it for best results.  It took some articles and Google searches for me to understand the power of this exercise and today my goal is teach many of you about the benefits of holding the Plank position and the best way to reap the benefits.

Plank is basically push up position...if you can do a true push up, then this exercise will be absolutely no problem for you.  Imagine getting into push up position (different arm positioning) and then holding the position for as long as you can.  Like any exercise, this will not be easy the first few times that you try it and will get easier the more than you practice it.

The Women's Health magazine is one of the best sources of information for females that want to get and stay in shape.  I am going to use their website for many of the Fitness Fridays and I hope that many of you will take more time to read their great magazine or check our their website articles.

This is categorized by Women's Health as a Basic Workout, this is a good way to start strengthening and toning as a workout beginner.  "Starting at the top of a pushup position, bend your elbows and lower yourself down until you can shift your weight from your hands to your forearms. Your body should form a straight line. Brace your abs (imagine someone is about to punch you in the gut) and hold for 60 seconds. If you can't make it to 60 seconds, hold for 5 to 10 seconds and rest for 5 seconds, continuing for 1 minute. Focus on form: Don't drop your hips or raise your butt."

The key of this paragraph is holding your abs in, your should feel your core tightening and the muscles being used.  The second key piece of information here is keeping your body in a straight line, you not feel your butt up in the air or see your hips at a lower place than the rest of your legs.  Once you have the feel of the position memorized, it is a very easy position to correctly get into each day you do a workout.

This position is not as easy it appears the first few times that you try it out.  I personally found that one minute is not realistic for someone just starting out with this position or with anyone that hasn't been working their core for several months beforehand.  The first time that I held plank, I couldn't get much longer than five seconds and then I had to go back and forth in between holding for five seconds and then resting for five more seconds.  After a month of doing this three times a week, I still cannot hold this for more than ten seconds without starting to feel a good burn in my core.  I will keep holding for about five more seconds with the burn and then I have to rest for five seconds. 

Holding plank is a key part of a great core workout and I have already found that core and abs are my hardest areas to work out and keep toned.  This move is one of the best ways to tighten your core and I mix it ups with multiple kinds of crunches to keep the toning power going.

Hope you enjoyed a change from the beauty products and next Friday we will continue health and fitness!

photo courtesy of Women's Health