FITNESS 101: ASK AUDRA
Audra Yocom is a certified personal trainer based out of Los Angeles, who will be answering your fitness questions on a weekly basis (every Monday) and will also bring you monthly fitness tips via her regular column (resuming in April) to help us to disspell those myths we’ve all been subjected to regarding fitness at one point or another in our battle with the bulge. You can also hear Audra with her fitness tips during the early morning (5am – 7am) A.M. Blast block of upbeat tunes geared towards your morning workout and via her new “Fitness and Health” Show the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30 pm on intraffikradio.com (http://tinyurl.com/intraffikradio) or under Intraffikradio under the eclectic section under iTunes Radio. To learn more about Audra or to inquire about training sessions visit her site http://audrayocom.com.
QUESTION: My backside could use some toning, what are some things I can do to make sure it looks great?
ANSWER: Everyone wants to look good from behind – especially during bikini season! So if you’re dying to hit the beach looking good from the backside here are are some great exercises for your back and glutes:
Back
Seated Overhead Lat Pull-down:
-Sitting at a seated lat pull-down bar style machine using a pronated grip (palms facing away from you) grip bar about 6 inches wider than shoulder width
-Grasp bar with arms slightly bent and elbows pointed away from the body
-Make sure your knees are planted directly under the support pads and feet are flat on the ground
-Lean back slightly so bar will travel correctly down in the correct path (lean back about 15 degrees)
-Keeping your back in a natural arch in the starting position, pull your shoulder blades down and together. Begin contracting your latissimus dorsi muscles by bending the elbows down to the floor
-Contract your latissimus dorsi and keep your hands and arms relaxed as you bring the bar to your chest.
-Slowly return the bar back to the starting position and repeat
Seated Machine Row
-Seated at a seated row machine, your seat should be adjusted so that the handles in front of you are slightly lower than shoulder height and the chest pad is resting at a point where it will allow your body to stay erect
-A starting position elbows should be slightly bent and pointed down
-Retract the scapula by pulling the shoulders down and then squeezing together as you contract the latissimus dorsi by pulling the arms back until your elbows are beneath the shoulders
-Slowly return back to the starting position
Back Hyperextension Exercise
-Lying face down on your stomach with your hands resting (more…)
FITNESS 101: ASK AUDRA
Audra Yocom is a certified personal trainer based out of Los Angeles, who will be answering your fitness questions on a weekly basis (every Monday) and will also bring you monthly fitness tips via her regular column (resuming in April) to help us to disspell those myths we’ve all been subjected to regarding fitness at one point or another in our battle with the bulge. You can also hear Audra with her fitness tips during the early morning (5am – 7am) A.M. Blast block of upbeat tunes geared towards your morning workout and via her new “Fitness and Health” Show the second and fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30 pm on intraffikradio.com (http://tinyurl.com/intraffikradio) or under Intraffikradio under the eclectic section under iTunes Radio. To learn more about Audra or to inquire about training sessions visit her site http://audrayocom.com.
QUESTION: As a drummer, having full range of motion with my wrists is a big deal. Is there anything I can do to prevent a wrist injury/carpel tunnel or to strengthen my wrists?
ANSWER: Strengthening the muscles of the wrist is a great way to prevent injury. The wrist curl and reverse wrist curl are great wrist strengthening exercises. To do a wrist curl you would rest your forearm on a flat surface with your palm facing up. Place a small dumbbell in the palm of your hand and curl your wrist upward. It’s similar to doing a bicep curl but bending at your wrist instead of at your elbow. For the reverse wrist curl you would turn your hand over so your palm is facing down and then curl your wrist up toward the ceiling.
In addition to wrist strengthening exercises you’ll want to stretch the muscles by rotating the wrist in a circular motion in both directions. Then extend your arm out in front of you and point your fingers to the ceiling. Lace your other hand’s fingers through the extended hand and pull gently toward you. Then point your fingers to the floor and gently pull your palm toward you again. It’s also a good idea to ice your wrists to avoid swelling or inflammation. Be sure if you are playing drums for an extended period of time to take frequent breaks to stretch and relax your muscles.
QUESTION: I’m a night owl and really enjoy going for a run at night. Unfortunately, sometimes the run leaves me a little wired when I should be getting to sleep. I’ve tried switching to running in the morning, but found I don’t enjoy it as much. Is there any type of wind-down exercise/routine that I could do to not have to give up my night runs and also not sacrifice getting a good night’s sleep?
ANSWER: Unfortunately I run into the same problem myself. I, too, am a night owl and would prefer doing my workouts at night, but I’ve always found that I can’t fall asleep when I do this. I’ve tried everything including taking melatonin and Tylenol PM. The only things that I’ve found to help a little is to do my work out early enough in the evening to give my body a chance to wind down. I also do relaxing yoga stretches, meditate, and eat a healthy snack to fill my stomach just before going to bed.
Audra will be answering your fitness questions every Monday. If you have questions you’d like answered you may email her at Audra@intraffik.com or send to info@intraffik.com. To see if your questions have been addressed check out past “Ask Audra” Column Entries here
FITNESS 101: ASK AUDRA
Audra Yocom is a certified personal trainer based out of Los Angeles, who will be answering your fitness questions on a weekly basis (every Monday) and will also bring you monthly fitness tips via her regular column (resuming in April) to help us to disspell those myths we’ve all been subjected to regarding fitness at one point or another in our battle with the bulge. You can also hear Audra with her fitness tips during the early morning (5am – 7am) A.M. Blast block of upbeat tunes geared towards your morning workout on intraffikradio.com (http://tinyurl.com/intraffikradio) or under Intraffikradio under the eclectic section under iTunes Radio. To learn more about Audra or to inquire about training sessions visit her site http://audrayocom.com.
QUESTION: I’ve been battling a health issue that leaves me a little low-energy, what are some things I can do that won’t completely wipe me out?
ANSWER: It’s really hard to answer this question without knowing what that health issue might be. If we’re talking about something like a cold then really you should take a break from exercise until you feel better or you could make yourself worse. If you’re battling something as serious as cancer, then your doctor is really the person you should talk to about that to ensure that you don’t overdo it. However, if you are suffering from something like depression getting yourself to the gym is one of the best ways to help get you out of it. Exercise will usually help invigorate you and wake you up when you are fatigued in general, but if you’re battling something more serious your physician is the first place you should start to find out what is advisable for your specific condition.
QUESTION: I like swimming, but it’s all I do. Is swimming enough of a workout to not do cardio/weights?
ANSWER: Swimming is great and would actually be considered a cardio workout. I would suggest adding weights to your routine for a more complete workout regimen.
QUESTION: What is the best exercise to do to get the best results for toning up arms quickly if I have a limited amount of time before I have to show my bare arms? What are best things to do to keep them in shape for the long run (also any tips for women who want definition without ending up broad-shouldered)?
ANSWER: Tricep kickbacks, *skull crushers, tricep dips, bicep curls, hammer curls to strengthen and tone, but in order to show off those muscles you still need to burn the layer of fat on top of them by losing overall body fat percentage with cardio and eating right.
*Barbell Skull Crusher
The skull crusher is an exercise for isolating the triceps. The triceps brachii is composed of three heads. The three heads of the triceps have separate attachments near the shoulder but a singular attachment for each muscle just below the elbow.
Starting position: Lie on your back. Elbows bent and bar behind head.
Movement: Keep your upper arms static as you press the bar towards the ceiling.
Audra will be answering your fitness questions every Monday. If you have questions you’d like answered you may email her at Audra@intraffik.com. To see if your questions have been addressed check out past “Ask Audra” Column Entries here