All posts tagged: Weights

I swapped lifting heavy weights for this six-move lower-body Barre routine—these are my honest thoughts

I swapped lifting heavy weights for this six-move lower-body Barre routine—these are my honest thoughts

Published by skeptic

If you don’t have much time to work out, it’s easy to feel like it’s not worth bothering at all. But regular, short bursts of exercise can still have a big impact on both physical and mental health. Barre instructor Mara Cimatoribus recently shared a lower-body routine for people who don’t have a lot of time to exercise but still want to move their bodies. It doesn’t require you to have any equipment, either. If you’ve never tried barre before, it’s a ballet-inspired style of movement that builds strength, improves posture and enhances stability. Barre isolates and activates muscles that are often overlooked in typical weights workouts. This routine is designed to build stronger glutes, while also targeting a range of other lower-body muscles. How to do this quick barre workout You don’t need any weights for this workout, just something to lean on, ideally a sturdy chair. A yoga mat, towel or blanket can also make the exercises done lying down more comfortable. The workout consists of just six moves and Cimatoribus suggests completing …

I swapped dumbbells for ankle and wrist weights for a week—here’s how it improved my workouts

I swapped dumbbells for ankle and wrist weights for a week—here’s how it improved my workouts

Published by skeptic

As a certified personal trainer, I love introducing my clients to new and interesting fitness tools. While ankle and wrist weights might not dominate your gym floor, they’re great for adding variety to your gym routine and engaging your muscles in different ways. Recently, the dreadful weather in my area has kept me from getting to the gym. Rather than doing my usual heavy dumbbell circuits, I decided to stay warm indoors and pull out my ankle and wrist weights for a change of pace. I hadn’t used them in ages and I was amazed at the impact they had on my workout. Here’s why I’ll be incorporating them more often. My hips and glutes felt stronger My usual workout routine features squats, lunges and deadlifts with dumbbells, which are fantastic for building lower-body strength. These moves target large muscles in your lower legs, so you need to use heavy weights to make them challenging. As wrist and ankle weights are lighter than dumbbells, I switched out these exercises for leg lifts and kickbacks. These …

An expert trainer says you can build strength without weights as long you follow this simple training tip

An expert trainer says you can build strength without weights as long you follow this simple training tip

Published by skeptic

You might assume you need to lift weights to build muscle. While it’s true that dumbbell exercises and kettlebell workouts can help you get stronger, you don’t always need heavy equipment to reach your goals. Lots of studies have shown that you can build muscle with body weight alone. In fact, personal trainer and Peloton instructor Joslyn Thompson Rule encourages everyone to start with beginner bodyweight workouts. But how do you keep tabs on your progress and strength gains if you’re not lifting heavier weights each week? Instead of focusing on the numbers, Thompson Rule suggests tracking how every workout feels. “One thing I always encourage people to do when they’re starting is monitor how your body feels doing a movement,” Thompson Rule says. “So not where in the body you’re feeling the movement, but does it feel smooth? Does it feel clunky? Does it feel disjointed? Be aware of that feeling and then the next week, the same movement that felt clunky or disjointed might feel smooth—and that’s a progression.” Once you’ve noted that …

I tried doing a 10-minute Pilates HIIT routine. Here’s my honest opinion, as someone who likes to lift weights

I tried doing a 10-minute Pilates HIIT routine. Here’s my honest opinion, as someone who likes to lift weights

Published by skeptic

I’ve never practiced Pilates consistently. I do occasional sessions and always feel better for it, but then I inevitably return to my usual staples of lifting weights and running.  In 2024 I resolved to add some variety to my exercise routine, so I reached out to the team at the fitness app Alo Moves for something fresh to try.  Instructor Bianca Wise served up something new for me: a hybrid HIIT and Pilates session that promised I would “complete both cardio and strength training in just 10 minutes and experience an immediate energy lift”. This sounded good, so I slipped into my workout gear and gave it a go. How to do Bianca Wise’s 10-minute Pilates workout This workout contains eight exercises split into four pairs. In each pair, there is an “activity” exercise and an “active rest” exercise.   For the activity portions, you’ll work continuously for 40 seconds. Each of these is followed by an active rest section in which you have 20 seconds of a less strenuous movement to give you a …

Best wrist and ankle weights for more challenging workouts

Best wrist and ankle weights for more challenging workouts

Published by skeptic

These chic weights, or bangles, are cult favourites among Pilates and exercise enthusiasts – and for good reason. They are adjustable with a Velcro closure and are suitable for wrists and ankles, and come in cute pastel colours, including Blush, Sea and Sage. Users can choose from three different weights; 1/2lb (0.22kg), 1lb (0.45kg) and 2lb (0.9kg) and all are made from soft silicone. They are easy to clean and are sweat- and odour-proof; an obvious bonus if you’re wearing them a few times a week.  However, keep them out of watersports like swimming, as the moisture can affect the efficiency of the elastic and Velcro. Admittedly, Bala Bangles are among the most expensive options on this list, but with A-listers like Reese Witherspoon and Hailey Bieber among their celebrity fans, the star-quality is clear here. Source link

I swapped out weights for this eight-minute Pilates core workout and it challenged my mid-body strength

I swapped out weights for this eight-minute Pilates core workout and it challenged my mid-body strength

Published by skeptic

I’ve had a consistent routine at the gym for years, following a CrossFit based programme which involves lifting weights and high-intensity workouts. But when I went traveling for nearly two months I didn’t have access to a gym, so I decided to switch to home-based Pilates routines. My main aim was to maintain my strength; I didn’t expect to make big gains without access to weights. One routine I tried while traveling was this eight minute Pilates core workout from instructor Katy Bath. There are four moves in the routine and the aim is to complete 10 reps of each, up to three times. Each of the exercises in this routine are completed from a hollow ‘boat’ position, so your abs will be engaged at all times.  Watch Katy Bath’s 8-minute Pilates workout With Pilates workouts like this one, moving slowly and intentionally will challenge you more than rushing through reps as it will increase the time your muscles are under tension.  That’s what I did when practicing this routine. I also maximized engagement by engaging …

I swapped the gym for Schwarzenegger’s two-move bodyweight workout, and it showed you can build muscle without weights

I swapped the gym for Schwarzenegger’s two-move bodyweight workout, and it showed you can build muscle without weights

Published by skeptic

I exercise regularly and love lifting weights. When I want to challenge myself, I whack some extra weight on my barbell or try squeezing out a few extra repetitions. However, there is another way to ramp up the difficulty of an exercise, which is by doing it at a slower pace.  That’s the idea behind this recent workout featured in Schwarzenegger’s Pump Club newsletter. The session is based around two foundational exercises, the push-up and squat, but you’re challenged to do them at a leisurely “5:3:1” tempo.  This means you take five seconds to lower your body, pause for three seconds at the bottom of each movement, then drive explosively back to the starting position. Doing this increases the amount of time the working muscles are under tension. As a long-time barbell lover, my interest was piqued by the idea of a slower-paced bodyweight workout that could help me build muscle at home, so I decided to test it out.  How to do Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Max Tension Workout’ There are scaling options for this workout, so …

Weights & Biases, which counts OpenAI as a customer, lands M

Weights & Biases, which counts OpenAI as a customer, lands $50M

Published by skeptic

One of the more prolific AI and machine learning development platforms, Weights & Biases has secured a new tranche of cash from ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and former Y Combinator partner Daniel Gross. Friedman and Gross, alongside existing investors Coatue, Insight Partners, Felicis, Bond, BloombergBeta and Sapphire, have invested $50 million in Weights & Biases in a strategic round that values the company at $1.25 billion. Bringing the startup’s total raised to $250 million, the investment comes as Weights & Biases prepares to launch Prompts, a new product designed to help users monitor and evaluate the performance of large language models (LLMs) along the lines of OpenAI’s GPT-4. The $50 million investment is far smaller than Weights & Biases’ previous haul, its Series C, which came in at around $135 million. But Lavanya Shukla, VP of growth at Weights & Biases, described it as opportunistic. “We believe that giving employees machine learning tools should be table-stakes for CTOs and their teams,” he told TechCrunch in an email interview. “By tackling testing, security and reliability, Weights …