Tom Williams is the owner of Burn Fitness—one of the best ranked gyms in Santa Monica—and the creator of Fatburn.com—an easy to use, fat-loss program that not only works but also teaches you how to eat correctly. His Saturday morning aerobic class is a combination of plyometrics, weights and cardio drills delivered in 90-second bursts with 15 second rests between each exercise. In other words—it’s a really hard class, but the results are incredible.
As mentioned in my last column (see link below) we start Williams’ class with core exercises beginning with squats then moving from the core exercise of using the entire lower body, to doing a lunge where we’re using glutes, hamstrings and quads going forward and then we move laterally doing the same motion.
The exercise we are going to look at here is one of the lower body core exercises called “Step Up with a Tap.†Again, this is a functional exercise that works the entire body. It mostly works the legs, the glutes, the hamstrings and the quads but because of the energy it takes to step up and because it is part of a series of exercises you are also keeping your heart rate up. Modeling is singer/model Alanna Vicente; who recently became a certified personal trainer.
Photo #1
Start by holding a weight in your hands, evenly balanced in front of your chest. Step up to the block with your right foot. Knees should be relaxed and your back should be flat. Keep your eyes on the mirror and not on the ground.
Photo #2
Rise up onto the block, keeping your weight on your right foot. You should strive to be erect while in this position.
Photo #3
Tap your left foot on the block and then step down. Then repeat 20 times on each side.
You are essentially stepping up onto the block with one foot and tapping the block with the other. While this exercise may seem simple, it is not. You can get more resistance by stacking blocks so that you are lifting yourself higher and working harder and / or you can increase the weight of the barbell or the speed in which you step up. In either case, make sure you are not sacrificing proper form.
For more info on classes or how to get fit check out www.burnfitness.com
Taylor’s Fitness Column: http://www.westsidetoday.wpengine.com/n8657/burn-fitness-lower-body.html
For information on Alanna: www.alannavicente.com
Burn Fitness is expanding spring of 2013 to a new location. Stay posted on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram:
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