February 22, 2011
It’s cold out. It would be easier to travel across Antarctica than to get to the gym, but I worry that my home workout won’t “bring it” like the gym does. Does this sound familiar? If so, I am here to show you that there is no reason your at-home workout doesn’t have to make you grunt, sweat, burn and pant. You just need plyometrics! In this month’s Prevention Magazine (pg. 75) I provided four at-home plyometric moves from my “NikkiFitness Booty Camp DVD” Check it out to prevent winter fitness plateaus.
Plyometrics are workouts that incorporate fast leaping, jumping, or skipping, and basically doing level-change moves which require strength and power. What’s more, plyo moves burn calories and build lean muscle fast.
Because plyometrics are so powerful, they should be treated as an advanced workout move. If you’re new to working out, or recovering from injury, stick to machine workouts that isolate one muscle group first, then get into free weights and moves that require balance. Then, add upper– and lower-body together (multitasking toning) with cardio intervals, before going to plyometrics.
As with other advanced exercises, your muscles need to recover, so be sure to get proper rest and nutrition, and don’t do too many per week. I like to do plyometrics about two times a week, along with multitasking toning workouts, cardio endurance, cardio intervals, and yoga. They make a great addition to a well-rounded cross-training regimen.
If you want to see more, check out my workouts on Fox and Friends on Sunday, February 19th at 9:30am.
Fitness - Fit it in! Nikki
NikkiFitness, Nicole Glor, is an AFAA certified NYC personal trainer, group fitness instructor at Crunch in Manhattan and fitness columnist for Military.com. Her workouts focus on multitasking toning and cardio intervals to cut workout time in half and boost metabolism. She has 7 DVDs and downloads on Amazon including the new Hard Core Abs DVD, Fit Travel Workout DVD, Booty Camp, Red Carpet Runway Workout, Military Wife Workout, Baby Bootie Camp, and the Beach Bride Destination Wedding Workout. Nikki's workouts have been featured in over 60 national media outlets including Fox and Friends, CNBC, Shape Magazine, Women's Health, Fitness, Girls Life, First, Woman's Day, Martha Stewart Radio, Health Magazine, NEw York 1 TV News, WABC TV, Pilates Style Magazine, Oxygen, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents TV, The New York Daily News, US Air Magazine, The Knot.com, The Washington Post, Military Spouse Magazine, Get Married TV, Destinations Wedding Magazine, and many more. Get her newsletters, music playlists, video demos and DVDs at www.nikkifitness.com.