Life Time Fitness: Tempe

What Muscles Are Targeted on the Elliptical?

An elliptical trainer machine is a cross between a stair machine and a stationary bike. To use it, you step on a set of peddles and hold on to a bar as you pump your legs. The machine is easy on your joints and can be used as a replacement for walking, running or stair climbing to give you a low-impact, cardiovascular exercise which you can set the level of resistance for. An elliptical machine targets several muscles, including your hips, thighs and butt.

It's In the Way You Sway
As you use an elliptical machine, you move your hips. The movement of your thigh or the top of your pelvis moving forward engages your gluteus maximus, the main muscle located in your butt. A number of major muscles at the rear of your thigh are also used when you move forward. These muscles are your semitendiunosus, semitendiusosus, biceps femoris and your adductor magnus muscle, which is located in the inner part of your thigh.

Hitting An All-time Thigh
When you use the peddles of an elliptical machine, you move your lower leg away from the back of your thighs. This action engages your quadriceps femoris, the major muscle group located at the front of your thighs. The heads of these muscles are called the re**us femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius and vastas medialis.

Hip, Hip, Hooray
As you work your thighs and move your hips, you engage your hip abductors, a small muscle in your butt called the gluteus minimus, another small muscle located at the very top of your thigh called the tensor fasciae latae, and your sartorius muscle, which runs down your inner thigh. This muscle is also the longest muscle in your body.

The Spine is Fine
As you move from side to side while peddling, your spine moves and your neck bobs toward each shoulder. This movement engages the sternocleidomastoid, scalene, spenius and levator scapulae muscles in your neck. The other muscles used are the ones connected to your neck that run down your spine. These include your longissimus capitis, along with your longissimus crevices and iliocastalis muscles.

Inner-Thigh Building Exercises

If you’re a regular exerciser, the chances are good that the large muscle groups of your thighs -- the quadriceps and the hamstrings -- receive regular attention. But the smaller muscles of your inner thighs deserve some notice as well. The inner-thigh muscles, such as your hip flexors and adductors, move your hips in a variety of ways as you walk, run, jump and perform various athletic activities. Warm up your muscles with five to 10 minutes of light cardio work and then choose a method for strengthening your inner thighs.

Body-Weight Exercise Options
Leg raises work your hip flexors while using your body weight as resistance. For example, hang from a high, horizontal bar with your arms and legs straight and then bend your hips and knees as you bring your knees as close to your chest as possible. You can also perform leg raises while lying on either a flat or incline bench or while gripping parallel bars. Many exercisers target the adductors with weighted or other resistance activities, but quadriceps exercises such as squats and step-ups also work the adductors in your inner thighs. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions of your selected body-weight exercises.

Feel Free to Lift Weights
Remove one weight plate from a barbell to perform a lying hip-adduction exercise. Lie on your left side and prop up your torso with your left arm. Hold the single-weighted barbell with your right hand and position the bar on top of your left foot so the remaining plate rests against the bottom of your foot. Keep the bar on top of your foot as you raise your left leg as high as you can. Perform eight to 12 reps with both legs. Use free weights to target your hip flexors by wearing ankle weights or holding a dumbbell between your legs when you perform leg raises or by holding a weight plate against your chest when you do incline situps. Do eight to 12 reps.

Machine-Made Thighs
If you prefer exercise machines, you’ll find a variety of leg-raise devices, as well as a hip flexion machine in which you stand straight on one leg with a resistance pad against the opposite thigh and then press the pad upward. Work your adductors in a seated adduction machine. Sit with the insides of your legs resting against the resistance pads and then squeeze both legs simultaneously, bringing your legs together in front of you. You can also attach your ankles to a low-cable machine to perform leg raises for your hip flexors and adduction exercises to strengthen your adductors. Do eight to 12 reps with each exercise. Perform an equal number of reps on both sides for single-leg activities.

Building a Program
Include at least one adductor and one hip flexor exercise every time you perform a leg or thigh workout. Rest your thighs for at least 48 hours before you work them again. If your thighs aren’t fatigued after you complete a set of an exercise, add 5 to 10 percent more weight and do another set. You must progressively add more weight over time to build stronger inner-thigh muscles

How to Firm Up the Upper Back of Your Legs

The upper back of your legs, or hamstrings, consist of three muscle groups, which include the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. These muscles work together to perform two primary movements -- hip extension and knee flexion. When you run, your hamstrings draw your heels toward your buttocks. By building strength and power in your hamstrings, you can lengthen your stride and improve performance in competition. A combination of resistance training, hill or stair running and jumping exercises can help to firm up the backs of your legs.

Hamstring Curls
Step 1
Attach an ankle collar to the low pulley of a cable machine. Secure the collar around your right ankle.

Step 2
Stand about two to three feet away from the machine with your body facing the machine.

Related Reading: How to Stretch Out the Knee

Step 3
Raise and extend your right leg in front of you so it forms a 45-degree angle relative to your body.

Step 4
Bend your right knee slowly to draw the lower leg up toward your buttocks. Form a 90-degree angle with your right knee.

Step 5
Hold the peak position for a second and then slowly return to the starting position.

Step 6
Perform eight reps for three sets and then repeat on the other leg.

Tuck Jumps
Step 1
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.

Step 2
Bend your knees and sink your hips down into a half squat. Keep your hands by your sides as if you’re holding invisible ski poles.

Step 3
Jump up toward the ceiling and simultaneously lift both knees. Try and touch your knees to your chest. Keep your arms by your sides and avoid using them to gain momentum.

Step 4
Return to the starting position, first touching the ground with the balls of your feet. Perform 10 to 20 reps.

Hill Running
Step 1
Perform a 10- to 15-minute warm-up run.

Step 2
Select a slope that is about 33 to 273 yards long.

Step 3
Shorten your stride as you run up the slope, maintaining the same turnover rhythm as your run.

Step 4
Push off with a light ankle-flick for each stride without resorting to explosive and energy-wasting movement. Keep your feet low to the ground and your breathing cycle calm and regular.

Step 5
Run through the slope’s peak without slowing down. Gradually decelerate as you loop around to go back down the hill.

Step 6
Accelerate the pace on your descent gradually, maintaining control of your lower body. Progressively lengthen your stride and increase your turnover.

Step 7
Perform four to five hill runs. Boost intensity by increasing the number of reps or compressing the recovery time between hill runs.

Do Arm Circles Work to Help You Lose Arm Fat?

The key to losing fat from your arms is to lose fat from your entire body. Spot reduction isn't possible, and solely doing arm circles to combat flabby arms isn't enough. Regular exercise and a healthy diet can trigger weight loss. When your entire body slims down, so will the fat in your problem areas. Arm circles can be part of your full-body, weight-loss routine but shouldn't be the only exercise you're doing.

Arm Circles Benefits
Arm circles are often used as a warm-up exercise before engaging in static stretching, or more strenuous exercise, such as strength training. This exercise targets your shoulders, triceps, back and biceps. During arm circles you engage in a dynamic stretch, which means that you're stretching as you're moving. In addition to warming up your shoulder joints, arm circles increase circulation to you arms, fingers and shoulders. If you hold a set of lightweight dumbbells in your hands during arm circles, you can optimize the toning effect of the exercise. You'll notice the muscle tone when your excess arm fat reduces.

The Arm Circle Exercise
During arm circles, you should stand in a shoulder-width stance with your arms extended out to your sides parallel to the floor. Then circle your arms forward using small, controlled motions. Gradually make the circle larger until you feel a comfortable stretch in your shoulder and armpit area. Keep your shoulders down during the exercise. Make 20 circles, and then reverse the direction, circling your arms backward. For an extra challenge, hold lightweight dumbbells in your hands that are heavy enough so the last few repetitions of the exercise are hard to do.

Reducing Body Fat
To lose 1 pound a week, a daily deficit of 500 calories is required. Cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging, jumping rope, bicycling, rowing and climbing stairs, can contribute to this. The American Heart Association recommends doing at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio on most days. Strength training, during which you work your muscles against resistance, is also recommended on at least two days of the week. It promotes caloric burn, because compared with fat, muscle tissue uses up more calories to exist; it boosts your metabolism so you burn calories even when you're at rest. Work all major muscles groups, including your chest, back, legs, arms, hips, shoulders and abdomen, for optimal muscle stimulation. In addition to arm circles, include arm exercises, such as biceps curls and triceps dips and kickbacks.

Diet and Safety
Changes in your diet can also contribute to weight loss. Avoid skipping meals, but make sure the meals you eat are healthy. Fill up on veggies and fruits, lean protein, whole grains and reduced-fat dairy. Compare food labels so you can make smart choices. Avoid fried foods and foods with added flour, salt, sugar or starch. Emphasize filing fiber and vitamins. Eating smaller portions can also contribute to weight loss. Before you make any changes to your eating and exercise habits, consult a doctor, especially if you have sustained an injury, have a health condition or have been inactive.

How to Focus on Hamstring Exercises for Results

The hamstrings, which make up the large muscle group at the back of the thighs, have four heads: the long and short head of the biceps femoris, the semitendinosus and the semimembranosus. These muscles play an important role in mobility and are responsible for knee flexion and rotation, as well as hip extension. Many people, especially runners, have muscle imbalances from weak hamstrings -- which can eventually lead to injury. Focusing on your hamstrings while performing targeted exercises can help you effectively develop them for notable results.

Step 1
Envision the contraction of your hamstrings as your perform barbell squats. Squats will work your hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps, but if you focus on driving your hips back as you lower your body, and up as you contract, you'll activate the hamstrings much more. To maximize hamstrings during this exercise, you'll need to lower your body so that your thighs are parallel to the floor, or slightly deeper, at the bottom of the movement.

Step 2
Use your hamstrings to pull your body up when doing barbell or dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts. Stand with you feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Keep your back straight and bend forward at the waist until you feel tension in the backs of your thighs. Contract your hamstrings as you stand back up. Don't roll your shoulders forward or round your back during dead lifts, as this can lead to injury and will reduce hamstring activation.

Step 3
Keep your torso held firmly to the pad when doing lying leg curls. Allowing your body to lift can strain your neck and back. It also creates leverage which will minimize hamstring isolation. Visualize your hamstrings contracting as your bend your knees to curl the pad up to the back of your legs. Move slowly and deliberately so you aren't using momentum to cheat.

Upper Thigh Workouts for the Knees

Building strength in the muscles that surround and support your knees helps reduce the amount of stress placed on the joints, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. When your upper thigh muscles are stronger, they’re able to better absorb shock when you’re standing, walking and running.

The Upper Thighs
The muscles in the upper thighs include your quadriceps, which are a collection of four muscles at the front of your legs, and your hamstrings, which are four muscles on the back of your leg. Both muscle groups run down the thigh and cross over the knee joint. The quadriceps extend your knees and the hamstrings flex them.

Starting Out
Begin with hip bridges, single-leg chair squats, standing hamstring curls and wall squats. To perform the hip bridge, which works your glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings, lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Press your feet into the floor to pick up your hips. For single-chair leg squats, which work your quads, stand in between two chairs and hold their backs for balance and support. Stand on one leg, with the other extended slightly in front of you. Squat down slightly to lower toward the floor. Switch legs. To strengthen your hamstrings with standing hamstring curls, stand facing the back of a chair and hold it for balance. Bend the knee of one leg until the joint is bent to 90 degrees. Repeat on the other leg. Wall squats, which develop your quads, are performed by leaning your back against a wall and then sliding your torso down until your knees are bent to 90 degrees and then holding that position for 10 to 60 seconds.

Advancing On
A more advanced quadriceps and hamstrings strengthening workout includes body-weight squats, single-leg deadlifts and lunges. To perform body-weight squats, which work your quads, set your feet to hip-width and then push your hips back and bend your knees to lower to the floor until your knees are bent to about 90 degrees. To strengthen your hamstrings with single-leg deadlifts, stand on one leg with the other bent and held slightly behind you. Bend forward at the waist and reach down towards your foot with the opposite hand. Lunges work both the quads and hamstrings. Take a big step forward with one foot to get into a staggered stance, and then bend your front knee to lower your back one toward the floor. Don’t forget to switch legs during both exercises.

Workout Notes
Complete your upper thigh workout two to three days per week. Before you begin, warm up with five to 10 minutes of light cardio, such as walking or cycling. Start out with the beginning strengthening exercise until your muscles and knee joints have adapted to the stress and then move on to more advanced strengthening activities. Complete one to two sets of 10 to 12 reps for each exercise. While it’s likely you should feel muscle fatigue, you shouldn’t suffer any knee pain during the exercises. If you do, stop and see your medical professional.

How to Stretch Your Thigh Muscles

Thigh muscles that are strengthened without being stretched can become tight and painful. The thigh muscles – which consist of the quadriceps, hamstrings and inner adductors – connect from the hips and pelvis to the knees. When these muscles are tight or become shortened, they can pull on your hips and lower back; over time, results of this can include a compromised posture, hip pain and knee injuries. Incorporating stretching exercises at the end of your workouts, for at least 10 to 15 minutes, can help to prevent pain and injuries.

Step 1
Warm up your body -- especially your thigh muscles -- before stretching; working cold muscles can result in injury. Run, walk or cycle, for example, for 10 minutes. Follow the cardio with a 10-to-12 repetition set each of lunges and squats to activate the lower-body muscles.

Step 2
Perform the standing quadriceps stretch to loosen the front of your thighs. Place one hand on a wall or a sturdy piece of furniture for balance. Take hold of your right ankle with your right hand. Keep your right thigh perpendicular to the ground and the knees close together. Pull your ankle toward your buttocks, gently, until you feel a stretch in your quadriceps. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Step 3
Stretch the back of your thighs with the seated hamstring stretch. Sit on the floor with your legs extended straight out in front of you, feet flexed. Bend at the hips and lower your torso toward your legs; take hold of your feet, ankles or shins, whichever is available to you based on the tightness or flexibility in your hamstrings. Engage your quadriceps to deepen the stretch.

Step 4
Relieve the tightness in your inner thighs and hips with Bound Angle pose. Sit tall with your legs extended out in front of you. Bring your feet in toward your pelvis and press your soles together; allow your knees to drop to the sides. Relax your thighbones toward the floor. Stay in this position if this provides enough of a stretch; otherwise, lean forward with your torso to deepen the pose. Place your hands on either your feet or the floor in front of you.

How to Do an Inverted Row With Legs on a Swiss Ball

Inverted rows with your feet on a Swiss ball, also known as an inflatable exercise ball, work your core as well as your latissimus dorsi muscles, or lats. Your lats are the large muscles of your upper back on either side of your spine, for which pullups are an old standard exercise. Inverted rows with your feet on a Swiss ball are a horizontal version of an exercise normally performed with your feet on the ground and your body at an angle. Using an exercise ball makes the exercise more challenging by requiring you to engage your core to keep your balance.

Step 1
Warm up your muscles before attempting an inverted row. Walk, jog or ride an exercise bike for 10 minutes. Swing your arms in large circles 20 times to the front and 20 times to the back to stretch your lats.

Step 2
Place the Swiss ball approximately 4 feet in front of a horizontal bar. The bar should be high enough for you to fully extend your arms without your upper back touching the floor.

Step 3
Grasp the bar in an overhand grip, as you would for regular pullups, with your hands in line with your shoulders. Lift one foot at a time onto the ball so your heels are in the center of the ball and your feet are slightly higher than your head.

Step 4
Pull your chest up to the bar, keeping your body straight and your upper arms and elbows against your sides.

Step 5
Lower your body back to the starting position by extending your arms. Control the movement so you perform the rows in a slow, fluid motion.

Step 6
Repeat nine more times for a set of 10 reps. Take your feet off the ball one at a time, stand up and rest for one minute before performing another set. Work up to three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.

How to Stretch Out the Knee

To stretch your knees properly, you must understand which muscles are involved in knee movements. The hamstrings are involved in rotation and knee flexion, which involves bending your heel back toward your butt, while the quadriceps are responsible for knee extension movements, such as kicking. The long sartorius muscle and the smaller gracilis and popliteus assist during flexion and internal rotation. Additionally, a tight iliotibial, or IT, band, which extends down the outsides of your upper legs, can cause knee pain. Make sure your knee stretching program works all these.

Stretch the IT Band
Step 1
Stand straight, within one arm's length of a chair or similar sturdy object. Hold the object for balance if necessary.

Step 2
Cross your left ankle in front of your right ankle.

Step 3
Raise your left hand above your head and then angle your forearm to the right until you feel a stretch along your left hip.

Step 4
Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds and then repeat it on the opposite side.

Target Your Hamstrings and Popliteus
Step 1
Stand erect in front of a table or other raised surface that is at about hip height.

Step 2
Place the back of your right heel on the raised surface with your leg straight.

Step 3
Bend forward from the waist, lower your head toward your raised leg and extend both arms toward your foot.

Step 4
Grasp the toes of your raised foot and bend them gently back toward your body. Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds and then repeat it with your opposite leg.

Stretch Your Quads and Sartorius
Step 1
Stand straight and have a chair or similar object within reach. Hold the object to maintain your balance, if necessary.

Step 2
Bend your right knee and lift your right heel toward your butt. Simultaneously reach down with your right hand and grasp your foot behind you.

Step 3
Pull your heel toward your butt until you feel a stretch in the front of your thigh. Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds and then repeat the stretch on your opposite leg.

Step 4
Perform a deeper quad stretch by standing in front of a raised surface that's a bit below hip height. Turn so your back is closest to the surface. Instead of grasping your raised foot, position the top of your foot on the raised surface. Lean back until your heel touches your butt.

Stairway Exercises

You can purchase plenty of expensive exercise gadgets for your home, but one of your best fitness tools is free, if you have a stairway. Simply walking up a stairway, against gravity, can help strengthen your lower body and improve your cardiovascular fitness, and you can diversify your stairway routine to make the workout more intense. Whatever approach you choose, you can make the stairs more than just a pathway from point A to point B.

The Benefits of Stairway Exercise
When you walk up the stairs for exercise, you target the quadriceps muscles in the front of each thigh. The gluteus maximus in your butt, the hip adductors and the soleus and gastrocnemius in your calves assist your movements, while a variety of back and core muscles act as stabilizers. A stairway workout is also an efficient fat-burning exercise. The American Council on Exercise reports that stair running burns about three times as many calories as walking for the same duration.

Hop to It
Hopping is a plyometric exercise that develops explosive lower-body power while working your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves and hip flexors. Perform hop-ups with your feet spread about shoulder-width apart or with your feet together. Either way, hop up the stairs, walk down and then repeat for a total of four reps. If you’re confident of your balance, perform single-leg hops up the stairs. Alternate legs on each rep for a total of six reps.

Stairway Exercise Is a HIIT
Stairs are a natural to perform interval training, in which you alternate high-intensity exercise with lower-intensity recovery periods. Moving up the stairs is the high-intensity phase, while walking down uses much less effort. Find a stairway you can run up in 10 to 30 seconds to try a four-set, high-intensity interval training workout recommended by the American Council on Exercise. Begin by running up every step and then walking down to complete one repetition, and do five to eight reps to complete the workout's first set. Perform three to five reps in each of the final three sets: Run up every other step in the second set, run up every step laterally in the third set, and run laterally in a crossover pattern -- crossing your right leg over your left during one rep and your left over your right the next -- in the fourth set. Don’t rest between reps.

Stairway to Calisthenics
You don’t have to travel up and down the stairs to make them a part of your exercise routine. You can perform lunges by putting your front foot on a stair and lunging forward. Do triceps dips with your hands on a stair’s front edge. Make pushups easier by placing your hands on a step, or make them more challenging by putting your feet on a stair.