Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

  • I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

    ALL CLASSES ARE ON ZOOM AT 10:00 AM PDT

    Tuesday Gentle Yoga 

    Wednesday Nia

    Thursday Stretch

    Please see my website for details!

    I am also available for private Nia / yoga / Personal Training all virtual, of course!

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • My Bloggey Past

  • ******

    Chose a month above to visit archives, or click below to visit a page.

Posts Tagged ‘exercise equipment’

Hamstring Curls

Posted by terrepruitt on June 14, 2011

In putting together the exercises for a Ten Minute Workout, I wanted to get a quick “full body” workout.  I understand that this ten minutes might not target the ENTIRE body, but it gets most of it.  Plus I was trying to use the exercise equipment that I have.  I was bothered by the fact that I had these toys and I didn’t use them.  So I was thinking of exercises that utilized them.  Although, all of these exercises can be modified to be done without the equipment.  This Hamstring curl uses the stability ball.

Lie on your back with your calves/ankles on the stability ball.  Push your hips up into a bridge.  Pull the ball, rolling it towards your butt so your feet end up on it and your knees are up.  Then roll it out.  Your arms can be wherever they are most comfortable.  Arms can be used to help stabilize your body.  It could be at first that your body has a tendency to roll to one side or you feel as if you are going to tip over.  🙂  That is part of the exercise.  You are using your hamstrings to pull the ball back, but you might be engaging your arms a lot to stabilize your body as you learn this exercise.  Eventually your legs will be able to control the ball AND your balance without really USING your arms.

Each time the ball rolls towards your butt count that as one.

How is that for you?  What questions come up?

Posted in Hamstrings, Ten Minute Workout (Posts) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Before Nia – 10-10-10

Posted by terrepruitt on June 3, 2011

I have a Nia Class to teach today.  I decided to do my Ten Minute Workout before I teach.  I was mellow on my left step forward in my long lunges because my right foot is still learning to be strong again and so I didn’t want to push it before I teach.  I am saving my bow stance for Nia class.  But I got my Ten Ten in Ten in (I made it through twice).  I left the equipment out in case I want to do it again when I get back.

How about you?

Posted in Ten Minute Workout check-in | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

List Of Ten Favorites (Exercises)

Posted by terrepruitt on November 12, 2009

Today is “whatever” Thursday, I wanted to find some pictures to post, but nothing really struck me.  I have thought about it all day and I couldn’t come up with anything.  Then I thought of lists.  People are always posting lists.  In fact, my last post was somewhat of a list; a list of benefits of resistance training.  On my short drive after class from Santa Clara to San Jose, I decided to post ten of my favorite exercise in no particular order:

1)  Dumbbell Chest Press (especially on a stability ball)
2)  Upright Row (on one Pilates DVD I have she calls this the “Zip Up”)
3)  Lat Pull Down with Alternating Backward Lunge
4)  Tricep Kickback (with a dumbbell)
5)  Standing Tricep Pushdown
6)  Heel Raises
7)  Wood Chops
8)  Bent-Over Row
9)  Bicep Curl
10) Sit-ups (on the BOSU) (she did NOT just say that, oh yeah, I did)

Of course, I love Nia for my aerobic (cardio) workout and with that I get a lot of these same motions as some of my favorite exercise, but this is just a list of some of my favorite exercises I like to do with equipment and/or weights.

Comments?  Questions?  What are your favorite exercises?  What do you like to include in your workout?

Share your list.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

BOSU

Posted by terrepruitt on October 13, 2009

 

Know what a BOSU is?  It is a piece of exercise equipment.  Picture a stability ball, you know those round ones full of air that you can sit on?  Picture that cut in half with a plastic “cap” on the flat side.  It is very versatile.  It can be used for a variety of exercises and it can be used on either side.  The flat side can be placed on the ground so you are working on the rounded side or you can place the rounded side on the ground and do your work on the flat side.

Flat side on ground, standing on rounded sideEither way–depending on what you are doing–you are going to be challenging your stabilizing muscles in addition to the muscles you are exercising.  That is a great way to get more muscles working during your workout, burn more calories, and make you a more strong and stable body.

You can stand on either side (the flat side or the rounded side) and do dumbbell work: biceps curls, shoulder presses, upright rows, lateral and rear deltoid raises, bent over rows, etc.

You can lie on either side (the flat side or the rounded side) and do dumbbell chest presses, supine triceps extensions, curls, crunches, and sit-ups to name just a few.

Using either side you can do push-ups, mountain climbers, or add it to your burpee.

With push-ups you can either put your feet on it or hold it with your hands.They can also be used for cardio work.  They can be jumped on and off of, they can be used for lunges, or as I mentioned before, they can be used for mountain climbers and burpees.

I think they might be a favorite of personal trainers because there is so much you can do with it.

To me they are a little easier to store than a stability ball because they take up less space, but unlike a ball they won’t really challenge your muscles just by sitting on them.  But as I mentioned above you can use them for a lot of different exercises and they will add an additional challenge to almost any workout routine. I think I have see them in the Target by my house in San Jose, so I am sure you can buy them at Targets or stores where they sell sports equipment/exercise equipment.

As with any exercise equipment you use and as with any exercise you do–caution is required.

Posted in Exercise and Working Out | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »