It’s Vegan Fitness Friday and today I’m sharing the top five effective stability ball exercises I recommend for strengthening your core!

1. High Plank Hip Extension: Start in a high plank position with your hands on the floor and the top of your feet on the ball. Make sure your hands are directly underneath your shoulders. Engage your core so stabilize your body, and using your right glute muscles, raise your right leg off the ball about 6 inches. Hold the position for a few seconds before gently placing it back down and performing the same movement with your left leg. Make sure to keep your leg straight (do not bend at the knee). Repeat until you reach failure.

2. Plank to Pike: Start in a high plank position with your hands on the floor and your shins on the ball. Make sure your hands are directly underneath your shoulders. Engage your core and stabilize your shoulders. Pull your bellybutton in and up toward your spine in order to lift your hips up into the air above your shoulders and only your toes are in contact with the ball. With control, allow your hips to lower back to the start position. Repeat for 10-20 reps or until failure.

3. Supermans: Position the ball under your hips and stomach, with your legs stretched out straight behind you, toes on the ground. It helps to also have your feet against a wall. Stretch your arms straight out, elbows by your ears. Lower your upper body until your hands touch the ground. Using your back muscles, raise your upper body, as far as up as you can, arms staying as straight and close to your ears as possible. Lower with control and repeat 15 reps or until failure.

4. Full Range of Motion Sit-Up: Sit on top of the ball, securing your feet under a stable object. The further back on the ball your butt is, the more challenging this exercise will be. Bend your arms positioning your hands by your ears. Engage your core, and slowly roll your back down the ball one vertebrae at a time. Starting with your chin moving toward your chest, use your abdominal muscles to roll back up one vertebrae at a time pulling your bellybutton in toward your spine throughout the entire movement. If you feel any pain in your lower back stop and position the ball further up on your back so you have more support. If it’s too easy on the other hand, stop and move the ball further down under your butt to make it more difficult. Repeat 15-20 times or until failure.

5. Russian Twists: Start with the stability ball positioned under your upper back. Adjust your feet and lift your hips so that your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle. Arms stretch straight toward the ceiling, hands together. Engage your abs and twist at your midsection, lowering your arms to one side. Alternate, doing a total of 20-30 reps or until failure. Make this exercise more challenging by holding a dumbbell or medicine ball.

29 Apr 2015

Ella Magers, MSW

Going Vegan Tips, Vegan Fitness, Vegan Nutrition

Tags: abs, diet plan, fit body, sexy midsection, summer, tips

3 Comments

5 Tips for Beach-Ready Abs

Summer is creeping up on us quickly… Time to take action for beach-ready abs!

As featured on PeTA’s “Living” blog…

Who doesn’t want a beautifully sculpted stomach? As a fitness trainer and nutrition coach, I hear it from my clients all the time: “How do I get rid of this,” they ask, as they grab and pinch belly fat, “and get abs like yours?” Well, I have compiled a list of what it takes to achieve the toned tummy that you are longing for. If it were easy, everyone would have a shot at the cover of Fitness Magazine! Although it’s not “easy,” it is definitely doable … and YOU CAN DO IT! Just take the following steps:

1. Cut “empty calories” from your diet. Your first thought might be that you don’t want to “deprive” yourself of the soda and chips that you love so much. But here’s the deal: You are actually depriving yourself by eating them! What I mean is that you are filling up on foods that are missing the nutrients that your body needs to survive and thrive. Make this a habit, and your body will actually go into starvation mode and hold onto your body fat. By replacing the empty calories with nutrient-dense ones, your body gets what it wants and allows fat to be eliminated. Don’t get me wrong: I am not saying never splurge, but even when you splurge, you can do it without filling up on empty calories! For example, I make delicious popcorn with coconut oil for movie nights. And when I get a sweet tooth, one of my favorite treats is coconut-milk ice cream. Give it some time, and you will never miss that chemical, fake buttered popcorn or Ben & Jerry’s! All my top healthy vegan swaps can be found in the 60-page “How To Go Vegan Beginner’s Guide!“

2. Make time for cardio workouts. Cardio workouts (in which you elevate your heart rate for more than 30 minutes) are important for two main reasons. First, it’s how to keep your heart beating strong, which keeps you alive and able to live life to the fullest for years and years to come! And second, cardio burns fat. Pretty simple! Do your cardio!

3. Choose exercises that involve “core strength.” Your core basically encompasses your body from your chest to your butt. Increasing your core strength means not only sculpting a sexy, toned midsection but also strengthening your body in such a way that will improve your posture, give you stability, and prevent injuries. If you focus only on your abs, you will set yourself up for bad posture, back problems, and injuries. Most exercise machines take your core out of the exercise by acting as a stabilizer, which is neither functional nor efficient. Instead of using the leg-press machine, for example, do squats. Instead of using a chest-press machine, do pushups. You can add weight to your back to make it more challenging. Get creative! Have fun with it! Flip tires. Also, do dumbbell rows from a plank position so that you work your back and core at the same time.

4. Stay Hydrated. Water retention leaves us puffy and bloated—not so helpful when your goal is a flat stomach! The most effective ways to prevent water retention are to stay hydrated with plenty of water throughout the day, keep your sodium intake low (especially iodized salt found in processed foods—I use either Celtic or Himalayan sea salt at home), stay away from junk food, eat whole foods with lots of fiber, and exercise.

5. Eat anti-inflammatory foods daily. Chronic inflammation can be one of the main underlying causes of illness and premature aging. It can also cause weight gain and swelling, which is why it’s included on this list. But the truth of the matter is that reducing inflammation in your body can literally save your life. The good news is that there are some simple ways to prevent and treat inflammation. Eating foods with anti-inflammatory properties, while eliminating inflammation-causing foods is first and foremost. Eating fiber-rich, nutrient-dense vegan whole foods will give you the perfect anti-inflammatory diet. Processed food, refined sugar, and saturated and trans fats cause inflammation. Regular exercise is also helpful in reducing inflammation, as are avoiding allergens (such as dairy products, gluten, and peanuts for some people) and managing stress. Check out the “How to Create Your Own Super Food Shake” to learn more about easily incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods into your daily routine!

06 Jan 2014

Ella Magers, MSW

Going Vegan Tips, Vegan Fitness, Vegan Nutrition

Tags: abs, core, exercises, fit body, fit midsection, sexy abs, sexy stomach, weight loss

5 Comments

Top 5 Tips for a Sexy Stomach and Fit Midsection

Ella Magers' sexy stomach and fit midsection

Who doesn’t want a beautifully sculpted, sexy stomach and fit midsection?!

I hear it from students and clients all the time. “How do I get rid of this?” they ask, as they grab and pinch belly fat. Well I have compiled a list of what it takes to achieve that toned tummy you are longing for. If it were easy, everyone would have a shot at the cover of Fitness Magazine! But it is do-able… And YOU CAN DO IT!!!

1. Cut “empty calories” from your diet.

Your first thought might be that you don’t want to “deprive” yourself of the soda and chips you love so much. But here’s the deal. You are actually depriving yourself by eating them! What I mean is that you are filling up on foods that are missing the nutrients your body needs to survive and thrive. Make this a habit and our body actually goes into starvation mode and holds onto your body fat because of it. By replacing the empty calories with nutrient-dense ones, your body gets what it wants and allows fat to be eliminated. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying never splurge, but even when you splurge, you can do it without filling yourself full of empty calories! For example, I make a killer popcorn with coconut oil on movie night. And when I get a sweet tooth, one of my favorite treats is coconut milk ice cream. Give it some time and you will never miss that chemical, fake buttered popcorn or Ben & Jerries!

2. Get in your cardio workouts.

Cardio workouts (workouts in which you have your heart rate elevated for over 30 minutes) are important in two ways. First, it’s the way to keep your heart beating strong, which keeps you alive. And second, it burns fat. Pretty simple.

3. Choose exercises that involve “core strength.”

Your core basically encompasses your body from your chest to your butt. Increasing your core strength means not only sculpting a sexy, toned midsection, but also strengthening your body in such a way that will improve your posture, give you stability, and prevent injuries. If focus only on your abs, you will set yourself up for bad posture, back problems, and injury. Most exercise machines take your core out of the exercise by acting as your stabilizer. This is neither functional nor efficient. Instead of doing the leg press machine for example, do squats. Instead of chest press, do push-ups (you can add weight to your back to make it more challenging! Get creative, have fun with it! Flip tires 😉 Do dumbbell rows from a plant position, so you work your back and core at the same time! For examples of exercises that utilize your core, click here.

4. Stay hydrated.

Water retention leaves us puffy and bloated. Not so helpful when your goal is a flat stomach! The most effective ways to prevent water retention are to stay hydrated with plenty of water throughout the day, keep your sodium intake low, especially iodized salt found in processed foods (I use either Celtic or Himalayan Sea Salt at home), stay away from junk food and eat whole foods with lots of fiber, and exercise.

5. Eat anti-inflammatory foods daily.

Chronic inflammation can be one of the main underlying causes of illness and premature aging. It can also cause weight gain and swelling, which is why its included on this list. But the truth of the matter is, reducing inflammation in your body can literally save your life. The good news is that there are some simple ways to prevent and treat inflammation. Eating foods with anti-inflammatory properties, while eliminating inflammation-causing foods is first and foremost. Eating a whole-foods, fiber rich, nutrient-dense vegan diet is synonymous to an anti-inflammatory diet. Processed food, refined sugar, and saturated and trans fats cause inflammation. Regular exercise is also helpful in reducing inflammation, as is avoiding allergens (such as dairy, gluten, and peanuts for some people), and managing your stress.

Tag Archives: abs

Top 5 Stability Ball Core Exercises