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BACKROADS CREATIVE

Workout Wednesday - Boat Pose

6/25/2014

1. Start by sitting, balanced on your tailbone, and your spine straight and upright. Your arms should be extended along your legs which will be bent at a 90 degree angle, parallel with the floor.

2. Keeping balanced on your tailbone, spine straight, and arms extended, slowly extend your legs straight.

3. Pull your legs back in to form a 90 degree angle just as in the first position

Repeat this move for 20 reps, and incorporate into your abs routine.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday - Clam

6/4/2014

1. Start out by laying on your side with your head propped with your bottom arm, and your other hand directly in front of your chest. Your knees should also be bent about 90 degrees. Simply tap your top knee to your bottom knee...

2. Then, staying in the same position, reverse the motion and tap your top heel to your bottom heel.

Repeat this motion for 20 reps, then rest and repeat for 2 more sets. Then roll onto your other side and repeat.

You will definitely feel this move on the outer glutes and lower back. These will give you that nice tone and indentation on the sides of your glutes!

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday - Triceps Extension

5/7/2014

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells. Start out slightly bent directly from the hips, keeping your back straight. Raise your arms up so that your palms are facing each other, weights are resting directly in front of the chest, and elbow are bent at 90 degrees.

2. Keeping your straight and strong form, begin to push your dumbbells behind you, straightening out your elbows, until your reach your full extension.

Reach your dumbbells forward again until you reach your original position.

Repeat this move for 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday - Forearm Plank

4/23/2014

Place elbows directly below your shoulders, and extend legs back while pushing your heels down. Hips and back should be parallel with the ground. Hold plank for 1-2 minutes at the end of your abs sequence.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday - Rear Fly with Booty Kickback

4/16/2014

1. Stand strong with one foot slightly off of the ground and hold your weights directly in front of your body.

2. Keep your arms and legs straight and strong as you begin to kick your leg back and hinge at the hips.

3. Fully kick back lifted leg with a slight bend in standing leg. Keep back straight and make body parallel with the ground.

4. Keeping this straight and strong form, extend and lift both arms back into a rear fly and think as if you are pinching a pencil between your shoulders and upper back.

This move targets so many different muscles in the body which will help to get your heart pumping and increase your metabolism. You will feel lots of work going on in the thigh of the standing leg by balancing and keeping the knee lifted. In your extended back leg, you will be working your hamstrings and butt. The rear fly part of this move targets your shoulders and upper back.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday - Extended Leg Sit-Up

4/9/2014

1. Lie flat on your back with your legs as straight as possible up in the air. Put your hands, clasped behind your head for support.

2. Keeping your legs as straight as possible, crunch up, lifting your shoulders and upper back completely off of the ground.

Depending on your current ab strength, perform 100 reps, 2 sets of 50 reps, or 4 sets of 25 reps of these sit-ups.
Each week, try to increase the number of reps you do.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday - Upright Bicycles

3/26/2014

1. Start by sitting upright. Then, lift your legs up and bend at the knees so that your calves are parallel with the ground. Take a slight 45 degree bend back at the hips and place your hands behind your head for support.

NOTE: This position, boat pose in yoga, is the basis of many lower core exercises, so form is key!

2. From your boat pose, twist from the center of your core to one side. Extend one leg out, and crunch the other in towards your chest. Aim to touch the opposite elbow to the bent leg.

3. Switch to the other side.

For best results, push yourself! If you have a strong core, do 100 reps/50 reps on each side. If you are looking to build up your core, begin with doing 50 reps/25 on each side, take a break to work another muscle group like arms, then do another set of 50 reps/25 on each side. Continue to work up to doing 100 reps straight through.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday -Jump Switch Lunge

3/19/2014

1. Start out in a high lunge, with hands on hips or out to either side for balance and core straight and strong. Sink deeper into front leg and gather energy in legs.

2. Pop up and jump to switch legs in the air so the opposite legs land in front and back. Be sure to maintain balance.

This is a great move to work those quads, stretch your hip flexors, and to also to get in a bit of a cardio workout.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday -Row

3/12/2014

1. Grab a pair of dumbbells from 5-10 pounds each. Bend at the hip, keeping your back straight, and hold dumbbells in front of you.

2. Perform a row by lifting dumbbells, bending at the elbows and creating a 90-degree angle with your arms.

This move is great for working the back of the arms and the upper back. To really make sure to create definition in that upper back, act as if you are pinching a pole between the back of your shoulders when you perform the row.

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich

Workout Wednesday - Turkish Sit-Up

3/5/2014

1. Lie on your back: One leg and arm stretched out, and the opposite leg bent with that arm straight up in the air holding a 5-15 lb weight. Make sure weight is directly above shoulder

2. Push up on the forearm resting on the ground, keeping the head/neck straight and weight/shoulder aligned.

3. Continue to push up on the forearm, keeping proper form.

4. Reach your peak! Push all the way up so you are leaning onto your hip on the stretched out leg, and the bent leg's buttox is slightly lifted off the ground. You should also feel a twist in the waist

Photo Credits: Natalie Rich