Blog Feed – Auro

Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises That Can Easily Be Done at Home

You don’t have to buy exercise equipment and machines to achieve a proper workout that can build muscle and improve your strength and endurance. There are a whole range of upper body bodyweight exercises that require no machinery or specialised equipment whatsoever. The moves for bodyweight exercises are supportive by nature, so they are effective at activating the lower back and abdominal muscles. That’s a win-win when you want to target your upper body, such as your arms. Here are a few examples of some exercises you can incorporate in your upper body bodyweight workout:

Commando plank

This is a great exercise which works your arms, shoulders, core and back. Start in the high plank position and hold. Drop your right forearm to the floor, followed by your left so now you’re in a low elbow plank. Slowly bring your left forearm up to place your palm on the floor, followed by your right palm, now you’re back into high plank. Repeat this exercise for 10 reps, engaging the core and keeping your hands below your shoulders.

Close grip pushup

Start in the high plank position, ensuring your hands are below your chest as opposed to your shoulders. Keep your elbows tucked by your side and low yourself to the ground until your chest nearly touches it, then extend your arms back up to push yourself back to the starting position. Ensure your elbows remain tight to your side throughout the movement. This is great for your triceps, chest, back and core.

For an extra burn you can also couple this exercise into a push up superset. Start with 10 wide grip push ups, then move on to 10 normal shoulder width push ups, followed by 10 close grip push ups. This superset will, without a doubt, burn your upper body. Feel free to also bring your knees to the ground with these exercises if you don’t feel comfortable in the high plank position.

Bear crawl

The bear crawl is a fantastic exercise which strengthens and increases endurance in your arms, shoulders and chest, AND they also improve your total core function and stability – it’s an ab burner! To perform this exercise, start off in the high plank position, bring your feet below your hips, keeping your knees a few inches off the ground. Slowly walk your right hand and foot forward, taking a small step and ensuring your knees remain only a few inches off the ground and keeping your hips low. Then slowly move your left hand and foot forward, again, taking a small step. Ensure that your back and hips remain as flat as possible and avoid over rotating your torso – you should be able to balance a glass of water on your back as you move so keep strong and steady!

Think you need the gym to get you in shape? With help from an audio fitness personal trainer, you can maximise your workout, minimise injury, and make sure that you are doing the right exercises for your body’s size and your fitness goals. Auro can be right by your side, every step of the way!

Outdoor Interval Walking to Lose Weight – Is it Possible?

Health and wellness programs are in high demand these days as more and more people discover the importance of leading a more active lifestyle. Thanks to technology, it has become a lot easier to stay in shape, with the help of all kinds of resources available online. From websites that are dedicated to health and fitness, to mobile apps that teach you how to stay healthy, you’ll find no shortage of tools that can help you achieve your wellness goals.

Auro is a great example of a home and outdoor fitness app designed to give you access to motivational audio workouts through expert and experienced personal trainers. The best thing about this fitness app is that it can be tailored to your fitness level and goals, much like having your own personal trainer that you can train with at your convenience.

One of our recommended workouts for weight loss is outdoor interval walking. This light exercise involves alternating periods of slow and fast-paced walking, which studies suggest, offer great health benefits as opposed to steady-state walking. Incorporating interval walking into your exercise regimen can mean great things for your health and fitness. By changing pace while walking, it stimulates higher metabolism during exercise, which in turn, means greater weight loss benefits.

Apart from helping you lose those unwanted pounds, there are also many other health benefits to interval walking, such as improving blood sugar levels and helping control diabetes. It also enhances physical fitness by increasing endurance, lowering blood pressure levels, boosting aerobic capacity and improving your range of motion. Interval walking can even boost your mood, as you get to stimulate neurotransmitters in the brain, which helps generate feelings of wellbeing and combat depression.

So next time you’re out on your walk, why not add a little hop in your step and increase the pace at different times. And if you would like some structure to your outdoor walks, why not give Auro a try. We have a number of different outdoor classes and training plans for all fitness levels. So whether you’re just easing into fitness or a fully fledged athlete, there’s definitely something for everyone!

Reverse Dieting – Who Needs It and When to Do It

Reverse dieting is a method of recovering your metabolism and bringing it back to its ‘maintenance level’ or where it was before you started a fat loss program. It involves gradually increasing your calorie intake to increase your weight to a healthy level.

Who needs reverse dieting?

Not all people who are into sports or fitness will need to go for reverse dieting. It is typically recommended to weightlifters, specifically those who join bodybuilding contests. Why? Because they are more prone to a phase that nutritionists call ‘metabolic damage’. This is a state wherein the body is no longer able to lose body fat despite low calorie intake and increased cardio exercises.

Metabolic damage happens when you make a dramatic switch from one diet to another. For example, if you are preparing for a bodybuilding contest and want to look super lean, you might start eating much less. After the competition, you may be tempted to eat much more than usual, gaining more weight than when you started training for the competition.

This yo-yo kind of dieting causes the body’s metabolism to be confused and eventually leads to metabolic damage, that makes it harder and harder to lose weight and get back into shape. The solution is to give your metabolism the time to reach normal metabolic levels again that is exactly what happens when you do reverse dieting.

When should you start reverse dieting?

If you are ending your low-calorie diet because you’ve already reached your desired weight, you can slowly transition to reverse dieting. That way, you re-establish a healthy metabolism, keep that lean physique, and make gains while eating normally again.

If you have hit a plateau and are no longer losing weight, your metabolism may be damaged. Reverse dieting is a great way to reset or restore metabolic function.

Keep in mind that there are many ways to do reverse dieting. Before you follow any program, it’s always a good idea to consult an expert.

For strength training workouts and training plans, let Auro lift you up and guide you through. Start your 14-day free trial today and transform your fitness for the better.

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial

Source URL : https://blog.auro.fit/weight-loss/reverse-dieting-who-needs-it-and-when-to-do-it/

Tone Your Legs with These 5 Inner Thigh Exercises

The inner thigh is usually one of the most challenging areas to slim down and tone up. You could do leg day more frequently but you may still find that area in need of shaping up—this means building muscle, while reducing fat. There are many resources online on what you can do to tone your legs and your inner thighs, but which ones are truly effective and suitable for you? Here are five suggestions on inner thigh exercises:

Scissor Legs Plank

This plank variation will challenge not just your inner thighs but also your core. Assume a full plank position, with each of your feet on a gliding disk, a paper plate, or a folded towel. Slide your feet apart while keeping your upper body stable. Open your legs as wide as you can, then slowly slide your feet back together by squeezing your inner thighs. If this is too easy, use a resistance band to increase the difficulty.

Side-Lying Double Leg Lifts

Proper form is very important with this exercise. Lay on your side on a fitness mat, legs stretched and stacked. Put your head on your bottom arm, and the hand of your top arm on the floor for stability. Squeeze your legs together and lift them off the floor simultaneously. Hold the position for one breath, and return to start.

Inner Thigh Circles

Lie on your right side on a mat, propped up on your forearm and elbow. Bend your left leg and place your left foot firmly on the mat. With your stretched out right leg, trace circle in the air in front of you. Do 10 circles in each direction. Repeat on the other side.

Side Lunges

Hold a 5kg weight with your left hand and stand with your feet and knees together. With your right foot, take a large step to the right side, then lunge toward the floor.

Your right knee should not extend past your right toes.
Your left leg should stay relatively straight and your feet should stay planted to the ground.

Return to starting position by pushing off through your right foot. Aim to do 2 to 3 sets of 10 on each leg.

Barbell Squats (also known as Sumo Squats)

Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, your toes turned out (about 45 degrees).

Take the barbell out of the rack with it resting on your rear shoulder muscles. Lower into a squat, inhaling as you do. Remember to keep your core engaged and your back neutral. Your shins should be vertical and your knees tracking over (but not past) your toes.

Pause at the bottom. Press into your heels and outer edge of your foot to stand, exhaling as you do. Try 4 sets of 12 reps each. Use a resistance band + weights to increase difficulty level.

The Auro app offers a great range of workouts to target your legs and inner thighs. Download your workouts on your phone wherever you go. Start your 14-day free trial today!

Source URL : https://blog.auro.fit/workouts/tone-your-legs-with-these-5-inner-thigh-exercises/