Isometric exercises

Taken from Livestrong.com

“Isometric exercises are performed when the muscle length remains the same for the whole duration. Isometric exercises are beneficial because they do not add a lot of stress to your joints. They are great for use in rehabilitation and for increasing your strength.”

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/473052-what-are-the-benefits-of-isometric-exercise/#ixzz1vGOkXlFy

Now what is an isometric exercise?  A universal exercise that most people can associate an isometric movement is the plank.  The plank is one of my favorite exercises that I teach in my classes.  ”It can help you get past strength-training plateaus and improve energy transference between your upper body and lower body. Plank exercises, in particular, benefit multiple elements of physical fitness and your general well-being.”

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/500440-what-does-the-plank-exercise-benefit/#ixzz1vGaN8R3m

Holding just a plank can be quite boring.  For my advanced group I like to throw in some movements that keep their core tight, yet using resistance, balance, and motion to strengthen the fibrous muscles.  

My favorite is to take them to their lowest point, and have them pulse for 10 downwards and upwards.  Or to even just have them hold at their lowest point for 10 seconds is also another great challenge.  There are lots of ways to spice up an isometric movement, while still strengthening the core muscles used during that exercise.

Here are a few exercises for you to try at home.

1.  First stretch out your wrists.  If you are a beginner, your wrists will not like what they are feeling.  Especially if you are someone who works at a computer.  This is an exercise that will help strengthen your forearms to your wrists.

2. Stack your shoulders on top of your wrists.

3.  Bring your feet out behind you, and squeeze everything tight.

4. Bring your navel into your spine holding, and squeezing here.

5. Hold for 10+ or more seconds.  Repeat if you need to come down after 10+ seconds.

6.  For more advanced, bend your elbows directly behind you until you are your lowest point.  Hold for 10 seconds.

7.  For an even tougher challenge, pulse down for 10.

8.  Come back up and reset, pulling your navel into your spine and drawing your hips lower so your back is flat.

9.  Go back down to your lowest point.

10.  Pulse up for 10+ and stretch out when you are finished.

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Truth be told.

I was looking on Pinterest today to get some inspiration for the next two weeks of my training when I realized that there are some bodies out there that are realistic and not so realistic.  One, I will never have a Kim Kardashian booty no matter how much I work out my ass but, I can probably get a nice firm small bubble butt.  Two, I’m pretty much done growing boobs, so as far as curves go on my body, they are pretty nonexistent.  Every woman, no matter what shape or size has insecurity about their bodies.  I am petite, little hips and short.  So when I gain weight, the first place it goes too is my stomach.  Literally, last week I was soooo good with my diet and training that my stomach looked amaze a balls.  I hadn’t seen my stomach like that since probably 8th grade when I was still in gymnastics ha!

And then, my family came and visited me from the Bay and we ate out and I said, screw my diet because this is my only chance to eat hella good meals from yummy delicious restaurants.  And then that weekend of eating anything I wanted ended,  and well my stomach reverted back to being nothing.  Nothing meaning, no definition.  I wish I could gain weight in my boob area.  That would be amazing!  Furthermore, I will never have the curvalicious body so that means I need to work on my @ssets that will accentuate what I lack in the curvy apartment.

What sucks about lacking in the curavlicious department is that when I workout hard, I lose my boobs.  And I will never get boob implants because I get squirmy just thinking about the surgery and post surgery and eek.  I look at all these woman in fitness competitions and their bodies are amazing, and they have breast implants.  It makes me sad, but I understand that when it comes to working out, sometimes you still want to look feminine at least!

I don’t think I will ever do fitness competitions so that means I won’t have to get breast implants, but I want a nice fit body.  Realistically, this is the kind of body I can achieve.  This may look like nothing to you, but to get just this kind of body is a lot of insane workouts and dieting.  I work at Crunch and have discovered some killer classes that make me look and feel amazing after, but if I don’t eat right, it doesn’t matter.  An hour later I will be right back to square one if I decided to get something that was not protein, and veggies.  I have a problem, I love carbs.  I also love to think that because I worked hard, means I can eat whatever I want.  I am blessed to have a super fast metabolism but it also makes me work less.

So here is another journey that I must begin.  And documenting is what I need to do.  From when I wake up to the very end of my day, you will witness some of the workouts I do, some of my bad eating habits and maybe some of my good eating habits.  Lets hope I can get to this shape by July!

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One handed handstand.

Remember when I said my sister Amber Nimedez is kind of  rock star?  She was voted in 2008 as LA’s top fitness trainer, she does posture alignment therapy and she was an Hawaiian island fitness competitor who placed first!  She is now the face of eHow’s Fab Fitness and has a series of videos.  She is also going to be the female fitness host for Livestrong, where her videos will be out next month.

As per my previous posts, I have a lot of hand stand pictures.  I love handstands and it is really something remarkable when you can balance on your hands.  Check out Amber’s way on how to hold a handstand against the wall with one hand.

http://www.ehow.com/video_12232766_better-onehanded-handstand.html

1.  Learn how to do a handstand against the wall.  The max tries you should do as a beginner is 10 times.

2. Stretch and roll out your wrists.

3. Do kick ups while switching legs.

4.  Once comfortable against the wall, practice shoulder shrugs.

5. Repeat as necessary.

 

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Amber Nimedez for eHow Fab Fitness

Check out my sister Amber Nimedez in the series Fab Fitness for eHow!  She was also asked to be the fitness host for Livestrong and will be featured on the site next month!  

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Last week I had a really good workout and healthy eating streak.  This week has been totally off and that little definition in my stomach is gone.  It is so crazy how consistency is SO KEY in getting the body you want.  I want to have a defined stomach, and if I want to have a pretty rocking body by June 1st, I need to start NOW.  I just moved into my new place, which means I am closer to work, which means everything else follows.  Since I work at Crunch, that means I can take every class for free, and there are some rocking crazy toning/bootcamp, killer x, pound classes that I can easily go into.  And a washboard ab class too that I want to make it into.  I have no excuse!!  If I eat something off, that means I better workout 10x’s harder. Time to FOCUS and make it work this month.  Lets do this!

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My weaknesses

I can honestly say that I am not perfect.  There are a lot of things about my body that I want to change.  I want to get my body to the best that it can be, but with that comes dedication, diet and consistent workouts.  As a fitness instructor I need to walk the walk and from what I have seen from other instructors at Crunch, god damn they walk the walk.

When I was in training for Pop, I went to class every day and although Pop is mostly isometric movements where you burn calories through holding and pulsing, I did feel my muscles change.  In fact, my boyfriend told me my thighs were getting bigger and my butt looked muscle-y!  No joke, I had muscle-y thighs when I was in gymnastics, so I am pretty sure that they were starting to revert back to what they were from muscle memory and because I was in a chair position pulsing up and down for half the day.  It’s not my bottom half nor my top half of my body that I am worried about.  In fact, like my thighs, my arms are starting to revert back to how they were from gymnastics days.  And if I don’t diet correctly, I am about to have some crazy shoulders.

It’s my mid portion of my body that is my problem area, like most people!  I am the most inconsistent dieter on the planet! I’ll be sooo good for a week, and then I’ll go crazy and eat what I want.  And although what I want is usually not so bad, it definitely throws off all my hard work.  At one point I saw a huge change in my stomach.  I actually had a defined two pack.  Yes a two pack.  The bottom of the two pack is/will always be something that I need to work on, but if I can get the two pack on top to be defined that would be the first step.  I have a lot of muscle memory from gymnastics that if I did the conditioning that I did when I was in it, I could get what I used to have.  BUT that is the hard part.  I think I am going to have to start doing a video diary because I can easily keep writing about what I can do, but never really do it because I’ll just always put it off.

If I do a video diary of little workouts, even if they are a minute or 10 minutes, at least I have a reason to show that I am working out.  And, this is basically my lifestyle, my industry.  What has always been in, but now so more than ever, are instructors putting themselves out there.  I already have for skin, I should do it for fitness.

 

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Crunch Burbank Schedule

Here is the evening scheduled or Crunch Burbank!  Here you will find I teach Monday’s at 7:00pm and Thursday’s at 6:30pm.  This upcoming Thursday, I will be subbing the 11am sculpting class, so come and catch me in the morning if you can!!

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I have a long way to go. Shawn Johnson > Me

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Crunch BARRE KICK ASS ASSETS schedule.

My class at Crunch Burbank is called BARRE ASSETS, but I like to say BARRE ‘KICK ASS’ ASSETS, cause sometimes people think of barre as boring, but I like to think of my class as more of a kick ass barre class.  What makes my class so kick ass?  Well instead of being at the barre for half the class, to dull no life music, and to also a dull lifeless instructor, I add beat pumping music, and I keep the class flowing.  Some people, like the ladder…but if you like that, you won’t like my class.  Which is fine because can you never please everybody.

For example, yesterday in class I had the most I have ever had in my history of teaching! 50 people.  And to some instructors, that is not a lot, but for me I was truly amazed at all the people in there.  I had to split the class into two groups and I have never had to juggle two groups before, so I had to pretend and be on my best A game to make sure the groups were working their butt off while I would turn my head away and focus to people at the barre or on the floor.

I am thankful that my sister Amber had come to my first class because she knew right away that in the future I was going to have to split the groups into two.  YIKES!! Glad I planned it out for my Thursday class cause it was cray cray! Although I felt really sloppy running back and forth, I received some great positive feedback and I still am so overwhelmed with everything.

If you are ever in the LA/SGV/Valley area come check out my class.

CRUNCH BURBANK:

Mondays: 7pm

Thursdays: 11:30 and 6:30pm.

Pop Physique schedule coming soon.

 

 

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Sisters.who.stick.together.

I can’t tell ya enough how much I love this girl, my sister, Amber Nimedez.  And I can’t express how much I am grateful to have her in my life as well as my ability to still be able to do some of the things I am able to do.  Fitness has always been a part of my life but it hasn’t been until recently that I truly believe in “all” that it can do for one’s body, self confidence, and HEALTH!  I may not be the cleanest eater, and eat steam veggies and chicken breast the size of my palm all day everyday, (I do like to indulge in some yummy desserts every now and then) but I do watch what I eat and I do love to challenge my body with different kinds of workouts.  Since I have a gymnastics background, I do love yoga, parkour, martial arts, some cross fit, trx, and anything that can move my body in ways that will transform it.  Here is my journey to the uncharted, and I can’t wait to see what my mid twenty year old body can bring on!!!! 

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