Spring Forward to Action: Week 4, Day 2: Happy May Day!

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

01 May 2007 08:33 AM

Welcome to the first day of May here in the Fitness Blog as we count down the last week of our Spring Forward to Action Challenge. How are you doing with your workout? As I described yesterday, I'm feeling pretty great about my workout. Today is a strength-training day and I'll make use of my free weights and my balance ball.

Balance Balls Are Great For Core Workouts

They allow you to focus on key muscle groups and provide you with strong support. Performing crunches, sit-ups, and 7-7-7s with the balance ball is straightforward and easy enough to do. When I say easy, I don't mean it doesn't give me a workout - I mean performing it doesn't put a strain on my back and allows me to target the muscle groups I want to work.

Using the balance ball for a bridge also allows me to work on strengthening my lower back and actually improves my posture. As I've described here before, posture is an important facet of our overall fitness. When we develop strong posture, we improve our fitness from our appearance to our comfort and more.

Free Weights

My free weights come in a variety of poundage from the 2 pounds that I carry during a walk to the 5, 10 and 15 pound ones I used for upper and lower body workouts. The 15-pound weights, for example, are great for upper body workouts for me including chest flies, bicep curls, triceps presses and shoulder raises. I use the 10-pound weights for lunges and side bends.

When you use hand weights in other forms of workouts, you increase the use of your core and strengthen your whole body. By using weights, your balance is challenged while you focus on muscle groups such as your quadriceps and more. There is a lot to be said for building your strength and your endurance. I have a great question from a reader on what to expect from strength training, so be sure to check back here on Thursday for our next installment of Dear Heather.

Please send in any fitness questions you may have with Dear Heather in the subject line and if you have a fitness story to share from this year's Spring Forward to Action Challenge, I'd love to hear from you. What are you doing for the strength-training portion of your workout?

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Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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